- Shari -

After the queen's declaration, we spend some time witnessing a huge domestic quarrel of literally royal degree.

Those two certainly have different opinions regarding whether or not an amorphous omni-devourer should be allowed to spend time with their daughter.

To put it simply, the argument was quite heated.

"Just how can you even consider letting this creature close to our daughter?" (Parcian)

"And if she would've come flying on a dragon she bonded with? Why won't you appreciate that a powerful, unique being chose to protect her?" (Serenia)

"But that is no dragon! And she arrived inside it!" (Parcian)

"Dragons are bad! They're mean, aggressive, and fight unfairly from above!" (Liqu)

Yes, thanks for your input Liqu.

In this manner, it proceeds.

A mix of calling this idea ludicrous on the king's side and qualifying the possible risks on the queen's side.

This and very, very many personal attacks.

I guess now I know why they're sleeping in different rooms.

"I still won't put my daughter at risk for no reason!" (Parcian)

Well, the count already told me that the king was overprotective of his daughter.

"Risk? They were the ones who brought her in the first place! It's ridiculous to claim they'd be a threat to her." (Serenia)

"You don't know!" (Parcian)

"Well, you're right. I don't know. So I'd say we'll let this decision be dependent on a testimony of a trustworthy person. If they certify that it's fine then there shouldn't be an issue." (Serenia)

"Serenia, I've got no idea what's gotten into you. You're usually far more alert. And as if the threat they pose is the only concern here." (Parcian)

"We're lacking trustworthy agents and I'd like to affirm that those two are dependable. If they're infatuated with our daughter this is good enough for me." (Serenia)

The king ponders for a moment and then apparently comes to a decision.

"Fine, you'll get it your way and we'll inquire into this first. But only because we cannot afford that this quarrel becomes out of hand and becomes publicly known. I have a meeting to attend and trust you that you wouldn't put our daughter at risk." (Parcian)

"I'd never." (Serenia)

In the end, the queen pushed through with her agenda.

The slime monster taking her side might've put some weight on her arguments.

After this, we're guided to her room.

Yet when the stationed, and now suddenly very nervous, guards knock for us on the door the one who opens is the maid we all know just too well.

"Oh no, not you!" (Lorena)

The maid quickly steps out and closes the door behind her.

Yet focused on Liqu she failed to see another notable individual.

"Was this your reaction to my person?" (Serenia)

"Wha-? No! Forgive me, your highness! I'm so sorry! It seems my time in this bastion of brutes and in the presence of these things deteriorated my social competencies. Please, forgive me. I'll focus all my being on remedying this shortcoming." (Lorena)

"Very well. I'll be lenient, under the aspect that you just returned from a perilous journey. I can see you are exhausted and probably had barely any time to rest." (Serenia)

"Yes, my queen. Thank you for your forgiveness." (Lorena)

"If you'd now let us through. The green slime wanted to visit my daughter." (Serenia)

Lorena's face now screams "Oh no, not again."

"M-my queen, m-may you reconsider?" (Lorena)

"I don't like to have all my decisions being questioned. Yet I'll humor you. For what reason should I deny a visit?" (Serenia)

"I-It's a slime! A dangerous creature. I saw myself how it melted people inside its body!" (Lorena)

"Fine, then from another angle. Did this creature, at any point, threaten to harm my daughter." (Serenia)

I'm kinda glad that Lorena never heard how Liqu was contemplating turning the girl into a slime.

The definition of "harm" might be a bit vague in this regard, but from the relative viewpoint of a parent, I wouldn't hope for a favorable reaction.

"Eh, uh, it approached her, had direct contact without minding any kind of appropriate distance. It even completely swallowed her!" (Lorena)

"I saw in what state she came. What I want to know is if you ever thought that there was any intention to harm her." (Serenia)

"Constantly, and ever-present. Especially when it was assigned to guard her... Yet, in hindsight, it never happened. And the creature had many chances." (Lorena)

Okay, for my own state of mind, I need to say something.

And it's better to do this against Lorena than the queen.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to say that I'd prefer our names. Shari and Liqu by the way. Or, if that's not possible, at least the recognition that we're female." (Shari)

Sigh, being constantly called "it" or "creature" weighs quite hard on me in the long run.

And especially for my royalty, I'd like to stop this.

As for Liqu, I don't even know if her body is anything else but an assumed shape she simply sticks with.

She might be a man if that would be more convenient.

Yet I am already so used to her being like that, I would be really troubled to call her differently.

The queen at least grants us a glance.

"Then, if "Liqu", the green slime, could now enter this room, do you think there would be any risk for my daughter to suffer bodily harm?" (Serenia)

"I... I am not sure. Probably not. The way her highness speaks about the green one they're getting along. It's unlikely that this will change from one moment to the next." (Lorena)

"Then I don't see a notable reason to deny this request." (Serenia)

"B-but the cleaning?" (Lorena)

"What is there to clean? Slime is clean!" (Liqu)

"I beg to differ." (Lorena)

"Weirdo." (Liqu)

"Glrlbl" (Shari)

Now the maid is exasperated and I have to give it my all to contain the bubbles inside me.

"As amusing as this is, there seems to be no reason to stall any longer." (Serenia)

So the door gets opened once again and a certain slime takes advantage of this chance as well as its bodily features to slip past everyone to enter the room first.

I really regret now not setting up some basic rules here.

"Hi! It's me!" (Liqu)

"Liqu!!!" (Anvenia)

She runs at Liqu, jumps, and is promptly submerged in Liqu's catching maneuver.

Fortunately, her head is promptly moved out again.

"How is this possible? I was so sure mother and father wouldn't allow anyone to come anytime soon!" (Anvenia)

"Ahem, we came to an agreement. Yet as unreserved as I want to be, would you please abstain from doing this... whatever it is." (Serenia)

"M-mother!?" (Anvenia)

"Oh, if I have to." (Liqu)

Liqu, in one "fluid" motion, presses the girl to her front, forms appendages, and lowers her carefully to the ground, before bowing down to her.

Later, when nobody's watching." (Liqu)

Liqu, you're not as secretive as you think!

"Sigh. Now I'm not as sure anymore if this was the right decision and she's actually a bad influence." (Serenia)

"Ehm, she might be childish, but there's no reason to doubt that she means well. She's just... innocent, in her own way." (Shari)

As innocent someone with her kill count can be.

"I'll hold you to that." (Serenia)

Which basically means that I'm going to be held responsible if she's not.

Which would probably be the case anyway.

"Liqu, can you show me the dragon again?" (Anvenia)

"Uh, I don't like dragons." (Liqu)

"Pleeeeaase!" (Anvenia)

"Sigh, if you're asking like this." (Liqu)

Promptly she extends from her body a huge glob in front of her humanoid torso and erects an astonishingly lifelike dragon from its center.

Then the dragon starts to move in a most-fascinating spectacle.

Even I'm so intrigued by this display that I barely remember soon enough the image that makes me go into high-speed processing from one moment to the next.

In this now extended timeframe I contemplate what's going to happen, if Liqu could truly be so stupid and oblivious, answer the question with yes, simulate possible countermeasures, and take the one which is not to my liking, yet the only one to effectively prevent the disaster.

Then I put the plan into action.

I slip out of my clothes, dash in front of the queen, spread to both sides, and just in time manage to shield the queen from a fog of fine-sprinkled slime drops coming from the dragon's maw.

The only good part is that I'm too out of it to really mind all of Liqu's liquid that sprinkled into me, in front of royalty that is.

Meanwhile, for Anvenia there was no saving.

Yet she knew what she got into when she asked.

"Look, mother! Isn't this magnificent?" (Anvenia)

"Sure, that was an extraordinary display. I can understand that children might grow excited about this. Yet I'd like to add that this kind of spraying is also prohibited from now on." (Serenia)

She doesn't look too amused, yet keeps her act together.

In the meantime, I'm busy putting my clothes back on.

"Ahem, now that Liqu is distracted, I might be able to attend to our business in more detail." (Shari)

The queen looks at me with her still obscure eyes that won't grant the slightest hint of her inner thoughts.

"Very well, as far as I know, there are others that came with you. We'll make use of this and conscript them as well since their loyalty is proven at this point. Lorena, I'll leave the rest here to you. Please prevent further misconduct and clean up as soon you find the time." (Serenia)

I look at the still very tense expression of the maid, then at the covered floor, and can only guess what she's thinking.

Probably something along the lines of: "Are you fucking serious!?!"

But before anything of this can come back at me I step out of the room.