Chapter 158: New Creation (1)
Chapter 158: New Creation (1)
Garuda gently let go of the wagon at the gates of the castle in Lunatic Lake, the capital of Arkite.
「Thanks for your hard work.」
Stepping out of the wagon, Mira thanked Garuda before sending it away. Then turned to look at the castle, wondering how long it had been since her last time there, but then she furrowed her brow.
「What’s the meaning of this…?」
The path from the castle gates to the entrance was lined with soldiers. There was even an orchestra, setting up a magnificent welcome party.
There was one time when she had visited the castle, and Solomon decided to play a prank on her by making a loud party like that. At first she thought the same thing was happening again, but then she doubted Solomon would play the same prank twice.
That made her think that maybe Solomon was expecting a very important guest. She had already crossed the outer gates when she realized that, so she quickly turned around to leave.
「Welcome back, Lady Mira. We’ve been expecting you, please follow me.」
A knight approached Mira and bowed respectfully. He held a very elaborate and distinctive spear, which was probably only used for ceremonial purposes. That made Mira realize that the welcome party was for her.
(What in the world is he thinking…)
The orchestra’s performance was at its height as Mira grimaced following the knight. They passed under a flowery arch before entering the castle.
Mira was led to the audience hall, where Solomon sat on the throne. To his side stood Reynard, the commander of the imperial knights, and Joachim.
It was like a replay of that day, though there was one big difference. There were nobles lined up next to the walls of the audience hall.
The audience hall felt even more intimidating than the other time, so Mira’s heart would not stop racing as she was brought to the center of the hall, where she carefully glared at Solomon, who had to be the organizer of everything. Reynard seemed to notice that, glaring back at Mira.
While that senseless staring contest continued, Suleyman spoke from Solomon’s side.
「Lady Mira. We congratulate you for your long service and work as special envoy for the king. You may submit your report afterwards, please hand over the signed agreement in your care first.」
Suleyman spoke with an unusual tone of voice as well, and a guard approached Mira, bowing next to her.
The signed agreement. Mira was at a loss, wondering what that meant, but then realized they had to be talking about the envelope Ulysses gave her, so she quickly handed it over to the guard.
The guard took a step back, bowed again, then slowly walked towards Solomon. Reynard took it from the guard.
(What a bothersome way to do things.)
Mira looked exhausted at the envelope that was finally making its way to Solomon’s hands. The way everything was conducted felt like it was all carefully planned for, ceremony worthy of a king. It was necessary to undergo such protocol once one reached the position of king.
「Thanks for delivering it. This will greatly bolster the alliance between our kingdom and Roseline. I’m sure it’ll lead to increased trading activity as well.」
Solomon read through the envelope’s contents, then stood up and announced with a loud and strong voice. It was like he wanted everyone present to hear that.
Then he added 「Mira, you’ve shown loyalty and courage」 his voice sounding somewhat artificial. Mira quickly understood what he was trying to say, so she grinned slightly as she made her coat flutter behind her as she planted her feet firmly on the ground, placing her right hand on her chest.
「My duty and life are for Arkite.」
That was one of the main poses to show loyalty in that world, which was performed so perfectly that even Reynard was left stunned, even though he had been complaining about her lack of etiquette for the longest time.
After that, everyone except for Reynard and Joachim knelt facing Solomon and chanted 「For Arkite」 after Mira.
That was how Mira managed to somehow make it through the sudden ceremony she was thrown into. The reason why Mira had grinned slightly was because she recalled something she used to do often with Solomon during the game days, pretending to be kings. It did not matter where they were, or what they were doing, any time Solomon said 「You’ve shown loyalty and courage」 she would kneel. It was like a game between the two. There was another version with Mira being the one addressing Solomon, but they would leave that for another time.
「I’m sure you must be tired after your long trip. Feel free to take a relaxing bath before we talk again.」
Mira was told that before leaving the audience hall, and she headed straight for the large bathhouse. She was already familiar with the castle’s layout so she could have gone there on her own, but as the ceremony was still on-going, a maid went with her.
(Hmm… having a personal maid should be every man’s dream, but I wonder why I always feel so restless amongst the maids here…)
Lily was the castle’s maid that Mira remembered the most clearly. But the one taking care of her now was called Tabatha. She had semi-long hair, and gave off a calm and composed aura.
The way she looked at Mira was different from Lily’s as well, having a more motherly feel to it.
Mira followed her without letting her guard down. She still remembered having seen her before. Every time the maids would swarm her, Tabatha was standing next to Lily.
The maids of the castle had always treated Mira well, in a certain way. Though Lily had always been a bit more extreme than the rest.
For some reason Mira felt an indescribable feeling seeing Tabatha now though. Something she had felt on Lily before.
Mira continued walking down the hallways with Tabatha, never letting her guard down. Then when they reached the changing rooms of the bath, she saw Lily waiting… and she gave up.
「Alright, Lady Mira. Let’s get your body all clean and pretty.」
「Lady Mira, please allow me to wash your hair.」
They had already taken off her clothes in the blink of an eye, then the two maids quickly pushed Mira into the bath and quickly began washing her body.
Mira already knew there was nothing she could do when faced with Lily. Now she understood the odd sensation from earlier, it had been Lily all along.
She was so focused trying to read Tabatha that she did not think of Lily appearing somewhere else. But Mira had reached the conclusion that no matter how careful she was, it was impossible to escape Lily, so she offered no resistance. That was the fastest way to end this.
Eventually Mira turned into a shiny and soft idol of sorts. Lily carefully washed every corner of her body, and then began admiring her from close up.
「Ahh, what a beautiful sight… I almost want to eat you.」
Lily muttered inaudibly, her eyes and emotions in a trance.
No matter how rotten and troubling Lily’s mind was, as unbelievable as it sounded, her exterior demeanor was that of a perfect maid. Her hands never fell to temptation, and she skillfully washed Mira’s skin, not being too harsh nor too gentle.
As their work continued… their enjoyment increased as well. Almost everything was done now, Lily’s hands only had to reach down for Mira’s most sensitive…
「Lily, stop!」
Tabatha had been busy scrubbing Mira’s rear when she noticed what was about to happen, so she let out a strained shout and quickly stopped Lily’s hand. Lily glared at Tabatha angrily, her blissful moment ruined.
「If you reach down like that, Lady Mira will realize what’s going on!」
Lily’s eyes looked ready to challenge god or die trying, but Tabatha endured that ominous stare and continued letting out her strained voice while pointing at Lily’s hands.
She looked down there, and saw her fingers were twisted into a weird claw shape, like she was ready to snatch a maiden’s purity.
「What a terrible blunder… Thanks, Tabatha, you just saved my life.」
Lily spoke like she was recovering from some illness, forcing her hand to obey her will… or rather ignore her true intentions. At the same time she began forcing away her lust and desires, her eyes regaining their usual(?) appearance.
「Now, Lily, let’s enjoy.」
「Yes, let’s do so, Tabatha.」
With her newly regained composure, Lily resumed her time of pleasure with Tabatha as her accomplice.
Eventually everything was taken care of, but Mira still had to face the embarrassing time of having someone help her put on underwear, so she forced herself to remain calm and endure the rest.
In the changing room, she was offered a set of clothes she had never seen before.
「Alright, Lady Mira. Please wear this. We made it specifically for this day, it’s your Magic Robe Set Zwei!」
Lily took out from a nearby shelf the newest creation made possible by all the maids in the castle, incorporating new designs and concepts. Overall it kept the signature one-piece dress and coat, and it still looked stylishly simple, retaining the cute and coquettish flair of the Magical Girl style, but it was designed with a more summer-y feel to it.
「This is impressive, I can tell a lot of work went into this…」