Unearthing Secrets and Making Progress

Hinata woke up with the ever-pleasant dull ache spreading throughout her body. Gathering her senses, she found herself hugging Testa while the latter was lying on her side with her back facing her. Rimuru was nowhere to be found, so she guessed that he either had an intense night with Ciel, or more likely, he wanted to let the two recover a bit. Last night was intense even for her, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to recuperate away from him.

It wasn't that she didn't love Rimuru. It was quite the opposite, however, she also knew that his last girlfriend was all the way back in his 11th grade of school, and they were hardly mature when it came to anything intimate. The most they really did was kissing, but that relationship ended when they eventually graduated and went to separate colleges. Perhaps it was because he had felt it before, but intimacy wound up being one of the things he cherished the most with his women.

In college, he was pretty much drowning in work and school to pay off his bills, and when it came time to enter the work force after graduation, he never had any time to devote to relationships due to his work schedule and the work culture in Japan as a whole. In a way, his whole experience during Tempest's more lull moments were kind of healing him of that, but once his harem started forming, the intimacy he experienced on a daily basis was something he constantly cherished, even to this very day. As such, many of his women felt that his love could, at times, be overbearing.

Spreading her senses throughout the castle and a little further out, she was slightly surprised to find out that the maids were just starting their daily duties which most likely meant that it was at the crack of dawn. Since it felt like she had slept for almost nine hours, she surmised that Rimuru had sped up their recoveries. As much as she wanted to just waste the day away in the comfortable bed, she had things to do.

Giving Testa's breasts a light squeeze, she found out she was either awake or on the cusp of being awake when she let out a slight groan.

"Oh? Awake already?"

A louder groan washed over her ears, and she responded with another squeeze, this time on the nipples. "C'mon. We need to get up now."

Testa finally turned over to be on her back, and Hinata saw a line of drool running from her cheek to past her ear. "You drool when you sleep?"

Testa was still half asleep and ran her hand across her cheek. Confirming that it was there, she responded to Hinata. "Oh, shut up."

Hinata chuckled at her reply and leaned over to give her fellow woman a deep kiss. Once she pulled away, still hovering and looking into her eyes, she once again said, "Ready to get up?"

Testa gave a weak smile and closed her eyes for a little bit, then pushed Hinata's face over to the side. She truly never thought that this would ever get any easier, but as she has always done every morning, she gathered up the necessary willpower and sat up. Feeling very pleasant phantom pleasure in her core, she turned to Hinata and asked, "How long?"

Whether she was referring to how long they had sex or how long they slept, she had no idea. Either way, the answer was the same. "God, I have no idea. It was nice though, right?"

Though she couldn't help but agree with the woman next to her, she didn't give any form of response, either verbal or physical. Instead, she chose her words about last night. "I'm never making another bet like that again."

This time, Hinata couldn't stifle the laugh emanating from her throat. "Everyone always says that. And then the next time comes. Besides, it's nice to be treated like a whore by the one you love every now and then."

A faint blush painted Testa's face, something that was now becoming more and more scarce with the physical intimacy and words from the three she was constantly with. "Yeah… but I would like to take the lead sometimes."

While she has been riding cowgirl every now and then with Rimuru, she knew that he was always the one in control. Part of her secretly desired to be the one with complete control over him while another part of her condemned even the thought of that. The two were at constant odds with each other, especially since she knew that Rimuru really wouldn't mind, at least if Hinata's recollection of her experience was anything to go by.

"Believe me, Testa. The only way that is that he either relinquishes it to you willingly, or you get Ciel's help. Trying to wrestle it from him…" She put her hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes with a serious face. "You push him past his restraining point completely at your own peril. Believe me when I say that, even if you want to lose, you are not ready for it."

Hinata's experience about that faithful encounter was ingrained into every fiber of her being. She felt the ridiculous, borderline frightening amount of pleasure should only be used as a form of torture. However, her pride was also egging her on to eventually try and conquer Rimuru when he adopts the mentality of a mindless beast that only cares about breeding.

Testa was understandably off put by her sudden change in demeanor and gave a light nod. As Hinata gave her a nonverbal response, she surprised the woman by saying, "Well, maybe I could try taking the lead with you…"

Though Hinata knew she was joking, even with the coy smile on her lips, she felt obligated to give her a real response. "You could…" Giving a warning smile of her own, she continued, "I fight back though."

Testa did want to take her up on that offer, but she felt too tired to say anything just yet. Besides, her brain was still processing that she was supposed to be awake. After she finished stretching her arms and arching her back, she turned to look at Hinata, who was now getting off the bed and looking for clothes to wear. While she was admiring her figure, her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the tattoo on her back. When she asked her about it, rather than some grand meaning surrounding why she got it, she just thought it looked cool.

While that was the main reason, it did actually serve a functional purpose, and that was to seal the purifying nature of her body, effectively nullifying her immunity to magic, but also allowing her to properly use it as well without a medium. Initially, it was just a seal on her back, courtesy of Rimuru and Ciel, but ever since she got into the idea of a tattoo from Veldora of all people, it slowly grew on her. Though Veldora had this weird air around him where he could make you doubt or believe anything just by sounding serious enough, this was something she genuinely desired.

She cycled through multiple designs in her head before settling on something she knew she would enjoy, and that was Rimuru in his dragon form. Unlike other dragons who have a very uniform and majestic design with their colors, albeit simple, Rimuru's was undoubtedly the most complicated of the bunch. Standing almost as tall as Veldora's dragon form, from head to toe, it was an awe-inspiring meld of dark blue, purple, and a little black, and was looking like the dark nebulae that colored the cosmos. Stars peppered all over his body, ranging from tiny specs to galaxies the size of basketballs, and one incredibly large star-like figure at his core.

The resulting figure on her back was one Rimuru, curled up like a wolf asleep, and was faithfully recreated with some added shading around the tattoo, referencing additional star dust. When the other members of the harem first saw it, they felt a mixture of admiration and jealousy. Admiration to the fact that they could get something like it themselves, and jealousy that she was the first to get it, simply because she asked for it first. While the others wanted something similar, they didn't want the exact same thing, so many chose to improvise.

Some chose a different position, some chose a different place on their bodies, and others chose writings along with murals. However, each and every one of them were dedicated to Rimuru. Testa definitely wanted something similar, but she wasn't sure exactly which one she wanted, and she didn't want to nag him about changing it later on down the line, even though he wouldn't mind it.

As she watched Hinata get dressed, she figured that she should throw on some clothes of her own. Riling herself out of bed and using her innate ability to form blood-red underwear and bra, she was searching through clothing to wear before Hinata stopped her.

"Here, let's go to a place that will wake you up more. Put on some warm clothes."

She had some reservations as to what Hinata was planning, but agreed, nonetheless. Sporting a jacket and wool pants, she took Hinata's outstretched hand and was immediately surprised with where they wound up. Rather than walking out the door like they usually do, she teleported them to a nearby balcony, and if she looked behind, it was the balcony of the king's room. The one that Souma, to this day, still wasn't using in favor of his bed in his office.

Immediately after her teleporting, brisk cold air assaulted her face and instantly, yet rudely, woke her up. Even though she really wanted to lambast her for bringing her outside without warning, as she clung to her for warmth, her irritation gradually decreased, and she begun to feel more refreshed. Hinata was very used to this feeling as she was one of those people who enjoyed the shock that coldness could bring. Clasping the hands that were around her stomach, she gently pulled Testa closer until her head was resting on her shoulder.

When Testa noticed where, exactly, they were, she asked, "No one's going to wonder why we're here, right?"

"Don't worry. The maids only go in that room to dust, and that's usually at midday."

"Speaking of the maids…" They both chuckled at her words. Once Hinata gathered herself, she responded with a pleasant smile, "They are going to have a fun time cleaning up the mess we made."

Though they said that, there was actually somewhat of a race to see who gets to clean up their room. There was an assigned maid to them, a wonderful woman by the name of Kathy, but that didn't stop the others from cleaning up at the first sign they got, that being whenever they saw Testa out and about. If Kathy was even slightly late, she would find their room sparkly clean.

Additionally, the maids had a surprisingly efficient information network inside the castle. They were the first to discover Hinata and Rimuru's relationship based off the fact that sometimes her bed wasn't touched the night before, and there were more spots than usual in Rimuru's and Testa's bed. The rumors spread like wildfire before Hinata herself confirmed it during one of the times she was working on an invention. The only downside is that many of the maids would indirectly try to proposition themselves to get Rimuru to notice them, as in their eyes, he laid hands on Hinata less than a month after knowing her, and he was one of the best options to secure a good future.

Outside of that, however, the two were incredibly well liked by most of the people in the castle, especially the maids. The reason being is that during their tinkering, they were able to invent something akin to a heating pad. This worked wonders when the days were particularly cold, but it was especially a hit with the women as heating pads worked wonders when dealing with menstrual cramps.

Before, they just had to grit their teeth and bare it, but now, there was actually some relief to be found. The only catch was that they were using the gemstones that Hinata had shown off for her talent and they were being infused with fire magic, but they were low in quantity, which fueled their desire to see Amidonia conquered as it was very rich in these types of materials.

As they were admiring the sunrise, Hinata posed Testa a question. "How are you liking this place so far?"

Testa pondered on the question before answering, "It's definitely not Tempest. It reminds me of the time before Kondou got summoned to the Empire. Corruption is plenty and the quality of life for the average citizen is abysmal. However…"

"However…?"

"However, its progression is something I want to see. I'm honestly interested in seeing just how far Souma and the others will go. I want to see the heights that these people can reach with what they have."

"And as for your part in it?"

"Only Rimuru-sama can tell me how much I can do. Personally, I have no interest in helping them, but if he wants me to, that alone is enough of a reason to act."

Hinata felt that her answer was acceptable given what she was working with. Hell, the fact that she didn't immediately brush these people off as insignificant was something in and of itself, especially since she really doesn't have much of a vested interest in anything non-Rimuru related. Still, something else caught her ear, and that was where they were from.

"Tempest, huh. Feeling a bit homesick?"

"It's slowly getting to me. Even though we stay in contact, I still would like to meet face to face with the others every now and then."

"I can't deny the appeal of that. Why don't we just ask Rimuru then?"

From this question, Testa removed her head from her shoulder and looked at Hinata properly. "What if he needs us here?"

Though it was a fair question, it didn't stop Hinata from lightly pinching her cheeks and pulling. "You realize that we can always go right back to where we are at this point in time. I highly doubt Rimuru would deny us from visiting our home."

Grabbing her hands away from her cheeks, she agreed with the woman in front of her before resuming her position, hugging Hinata around the back and wrapping her arms around her. They stood like that for a few more quick moments, just taking the time out of their day to admire the area before Testa noticed something.

Big.

Removing her arms from around Hinata's waist, she rapidly expanded her visual senses to their fullest and focused her full intention at the scenery, acting as if she was scrutinizing a very important document. Though Hinata had seen this side of her multiple times, it was the first time she had seen it coming into this world.

Feeling a little concerned, she asked, "Is everything alright?"

"…Yeah…" came the absentminded response.

How in the hell did I not notice this before? Was I just blind?

Though Testa just came to a huge epiphany, Hinata was still left in the dark. As it was clear that there was no danger around, she started feeling a bit irritated. "Care to mention what you've found?"

"Oh, right. Sorry." Being brought back to her immediate senses, she grabbed hold of Hinata and continued. "Expand your perception and take a good look at the city around us."

Still wondering what the big deal was, she did just that before her eyes slowly widened. What she found was an intricate pattern of alleyways and streets. While that in of itself wasn't anything special, the real important takeaway was that the entire capital city of Parnam was structured in a way that was eerily reminiscent of an incredibly large summon circle, and the castle was at the center of it.

"Jesus, there's some insanely intelligent design around this place."

Testa nodded in affirmation. "Unlike us, their power isn't nearly enough to summon others, and they don't have the Voice of the World to help them in the process. But hundreds of thousands of people slowly feeding magic into something like that would do the trick."

Hinata understood the concept behind it, but something was still missing. "Still, unless there is a proper channel to output such a level of magic, at best, it's useless, and at worst, it's a ticking time bomb."

"Yes. Unfortunately, the one who built this is most likely long dead. The records for Parnam go back over 500 years, but none mention who built such a structure."

"Well, even if they were alive, it still doesn't explain how even you were unable to break out of it. I get that it's complicated, but I doubt it would keep you locked in long enough for the entire summon process to go through."

Hinata's point was only partially true. Though it was a masterful piece of engineering, architecture, and magic, it also had the power to save up energy in the circle past what is required for summoning. Though Testa hadn't fully grasped this, she did understand that if the people had been feeding it magic throughout a few decades along with the natural energy of the earth also feeding into it, then it most likely would have enough power to complete the summoning despite her resistance. Given that the last hero was summoned many decades prior, this was most likely the case.

*Still, summoning three people? I feel like I'm still missing something…*

Deciding to tell Rimuru about this, they teleported back into their room where he was waiting for them. After the revelation, they were a little deflated to learn that he had known since the beginning. One of the first things Ciel did when they were summoned was to learn the landscape, and she told him of all the secrets that lay within. When Testa voiced her concerns about the quantity summoned, even he was stumped, and Ciel was being oddly quiet.

When Rimuru pressed her for an answer, she explained that when a summoning occurs, it is usually directed towards a specific person or thing in a specific world. Her current theory is that the bulk of the energy went to them, and Souma must have been summoned from a powerful enough offshoot to fully complete the summoning. Otherwise, she surmised that at best, he would have just felt a powerful gust of wind along with heat, or at worst, decomposed into basic elements. In order to fully understand the process, she would need to see it in action again, which is something that Rimuru wasn't going to allow.

With the conversation essentially reaching a dead end, the three continued about their day. There wasn't a whole lot that needed to be done, but Souma had a special surprise for the ministers later today. However, before the three could attend what he had planned, they found themselves in the training arena. On the sidelines, Testa, Hinata, Ludwin, Liscia, and Aisha were eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle except for Kaede, who was wearing a worried face.

Rimuru, however, was questioning the sight in front of him. "Are you sure you want to do this, Hal?"

Hal had certainly been humbled from the beating his father gave him, but certain things seemed bound to get his attention. Getting into a battle-ready position with his spear, he confidently said, "If I took your words sitting down, what kind of man would I be?"

"…Smart. You'd be a smart man."

"Well then I'd rather be stupid."

*At least try not to sound confident saying such things.*

Brandishing his newly made katana, he egged him on. "Whatever. Let's just get this thing over with. Whenever you're ready."

Though Rimuru's words marked the start of their impromptu spar, neither side was moving. Hal may be hotheaded outside the battlefield, but when he recognizes an opponent in front of him, he immediately transitions into a calm and calculated persona. Analyzing Rimuru, he saw that his stance was fairly normal with his weapon centered and held with both hands. While he has the reach his spear gives him, Rimuru had the advantage with speed.

Additionally, magic wouldn't really suit him here much as his fire magic is primarily used for throwing spears into enemy lines. He might be able to get a few flames out but generating heat around a weapon made of metal he was using wasn't the best idea.

When it became clear that Hal wasn't moving, Rimuru took the initiative. Darting up to Hal, he tested out a few swings on him, gauging his response. Even though it was an unfamiliar weapon to him, Hal was able to fend for himself with a combination of guards, parries, and the occasional counterattack. Though it was a bit annoying to admit, Rimuru acknowledged that Hal had the qualities to be revered as a prodigy. In almost all their interactions, there was hardly a wasted movement on his part.

However, Rimuru had a lot of practice against Gabil when it came to fighting a spear user, and Hal wasn't anywhere close to his skill level.

Hal, for his part, didn't underestimate Rimuru in the slightest. He knew for a fact that looks could be deceiving, as Aisha and Liscia were prime examples of that. However, his brain was struggling to process just how polished Rimuru's movements were. The more he ramped up his swordplay, the more Hal struggled to keep up. What was even worse was the fact that Rimuru didn't even look like he was really trying. It felt far more like he was guiding him and directing him to block and deflect wherever he wanted.

To the onlookers, save for Testa and Hinata, seeing Rimuru in action was surprising to say the least. While they certainly suspected that he knew his way around a blade, especially since he helped make his own, but the reality of the situation was outside of their imagination. Ludwin and Liscia were fairly certain that they could consistently beat Hal in a duel. After all, while he excelled in fighting, he lacked experience. Additionally, his moves were very practiced, and that made him predictable to someone experienced like Rimuru.

Surprising everyone but the two women with him, Rimuru took a very unconventional approach to end the battle. Rather than simply disarming him, in one quick motion after deflecting, he grabbed Hal's spear and shoved the handle into his chest. Quickly following up, he rammed into him, knocking him down, and rested his blade just shy of his neck. All in all, the entire spar lasted less than two minutes.

Once they finished, however, Rimuru was subject to another form of battle.

"…Where the hell were you hiding that?"

"…Rimuru, what exactly were you before you were summoned?"

At the two battle hungry women who wanted to try their hand against him, he scratched the back of his head and deflected. "Haha… I was fortunate enough to meet a really good teacher. The training was hell, but it really paid off in the end."

"Rimuru, I humbly request a duel."

"Aisha! At least let him rest for a bit first. And besides, if anyone gets to duel him, it will be me."

"How about this princess: we have a duel, and the winner gets to fight him."

Oh boy. I'd rather not deal with this right now.

Fortunately, before their bickering could turn into a full-blown fight, Ludwin stepped in. "Princess! Aisha! Please act accordingly in regard to your positions! For now, we all have things to do. Hal and Kaede, with me. If you two are to act as my second, we need to start training immediately."

With him effectively dumping a bucket of cold water on their heads, they both calmed down and remembered their duties for the day. With each person attending to their responsibilities, the day went by fairly quickly until Souma was ready to reveal his surprise.

In the audience chamber, many faces could be seen, some young, some old, but all had one thing in common: they looked well beyond their years. The reason being is the workload that they all took on when Souma became king. In order to be able to enact his policies, every single one of the ministers were run ragged every single day without rest to make sure the kingdom could have a future. And every single day they prayed for a reprieve that they knew wouldn't come, as they also knew that without them, there was no way for Souma to do all the work by himself. Fortunately, a miracle was upon them.

Souma gave an impassioned speech about how well the ministers were doing. However, rather than just giving them congratulations, he gave them five days off for vacation to rest their bodies, and they were more than happy to take full advantage of it. Every single day, they had to leave their wives and kids behind, and many of their families were not very happy with it. What's more is that they fully understood the reason as to why they had to work so much, and while they were grateful that the country needed them, they wanted their husbands and fathers back home. At least now, they would be able to for the next few days.

Of course, in typical Souma fashion, rather than take his own advice of time off, he pressed forward and continued working with Hakuya, the only other person who refused the time off. While they would be able to get more work done this way, this posed a problem for his fiancée, who was starting to feel their relationship stagnate. Liscia truly wanted to get closer to Souma but had no real clue as to how to go about it. With no where else to turn to, she went to the one person in the castle who she felt was similar to her in that regard.

"Getting closer to Souma, huh..."

"Yes, please. More specifically, is there anything you did when you met Rimuru that I can do?"

"Hmm…"

The person she approached as the sun went down was none other than Testa. While she could have gone to her mother, she felt that Elisha and Albert had a bit of a stranger relationship than most due to how their unique dynamic affected their relationship. Surprisingly, they had Liscia before Albert even took the throne, and that was only because Elisha gave it up in pursuit of her love interest. The only reason they wound up being king and queen was because Elisha was the only royal family member left after the rest of them killed each other when they were vying for power.

While Testa's past was uncertain to most, they could still piece together some of the information from her actions. Liscia, among many others, viewed her as textbook nobility, someone that would only bring pride to her house. Almost every one of her movements were refined and polished, which always brought a lofty air around her. Additionally, if what she told Hinata about her violent upbringing were true, they assumed that would either make her a fallen princess or a fallen queen.

Of course, there were still plenty of unknowns when it came to her, and the most glaring one was how she came into contact with Rimuru. He rarely showed the air of a ruler and was far more laid back like Souma, often forgoing any form of regal wear unless it had to be practically forced on him.

The previous consensus was that he was a wealthy merchant who was able to sponsor Testa, but with his impressive display of skill, it was difficult to imagine someone dedicating so much time into both learning the sword and knowing the intricacies of business. What's even more confusing was the fact that she viewed him as someone 'above' her. Unfortunately, asking her any questions that would paint Rimuru in a negative light was a guaranteed way to earn her ire.

In any case, she still had a question to answer. "Well, I simply expressed my feelings to him with words. He accepted, and now we are in a committed relationship."

Liscia gave a defeated sigh to her response. "I don't know if that would work with Souma. We are supposed to be engaged, and yet he hasn't so much as laid a hand on me! And it isn't like I'm not showing any hints!"

"…Have you told him how you feel?"

"In a way, yes. And he even said that he was fine with me."

When they were on their day off a couple days ago, the topic of their relationship came up. While there was no heartfelt confession, she did explicitly say that she was perfectly content being engaged to him. She learned quite a bit about him and his plans for the country, but that also came with learning that he was not very well versed when it came to women. He never explicitly said that he was fine with her, but when she pressed him for an answer, he did say that he wouldn't change their relationship.

"Hmm…" Testa put on her thoughtful look before explaining, "Could it be that you don't know about how he lived his previous life?"

"His previous…" Liscia's eyes widened as she realized that, outside of learning about his basic life and family, she didn't really know how he lived, other than knowing that he was a student in college.

Testa then explained to her what both she, Hinata, and Rimuru surmised about Souma, which was that he is a very principled kid who most likely uses work as a method to cope with the sudden stress of being in a very different environment. Pair that with his lack of relationship skills and the overall culture in Japan, and she guessed that he wouldn't really be the type to make the first move unless something drastic happened, or plenty of time had passed.

"Basically, if you want your relationship to progress, you need to be more assertive in your advances."

"Be more assertive? In what way, exactly?"

"Well, for one, you can start sharing a bed."

Liscia showed a panicked expression. "Wait! That's too high of a hurdle to cross right now!"

Testa gave an exasperated sigh at her misunderstanding. "I don't mean that. I doubt having a kid right now would be the best course of action with war looming over the horizon. What I mean is simply sleeping together."

"Oh… Of course. But he's adamant about sleeping in his office all the time."

"Then this is the time to be assertive." Testa said coyly. "Drag him off to your room, or if it doesn't bother you much, join him in his office."

Liscia absorbed her words with a hopeful look. "I see… Thank you for your advice."

"Anytime." Just as she turned around, however, she heard Liscia say, "Wait a minute."

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay sharing Rimuru with Hinata?"

Testa thought that was an odd question. And apparently, it showed on her face as she asked with a quizzical look, "What do you mean?"

"Well…" *Ah. She's entering that 'Rimuru can do no wrong' state again.* "Actually, never mind. Thanks for the advice again!"

As the two women were going to their destinations, another man was finishing up for the day. Souma was alone in his office, finalizing the last bit of paperwork he needed for the day about the budget for his next major plan. Part of the reason as to why he sent the ministers on a vacation was simply because he didn't need them for the next few days, and he wanted to go and pursue his next venture. Stretching after he put everything away, he was prepared to go to bed when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Souma wasn't particularly surprised to hear a knock on the door at this hour, nor was he surprised to see who it was. What did surprise him, however, was what the person was wearing, as the door opened to reveal Liscia in pajama wear.

"Liscia? What can I do for you?"

Though she heard the words coming out of his mouth, her attention was focused on the bed in his office. Getting a good look at it, she only thought one thing.

*It's too small.*

"Souma, I was thinking that we should… share a bed…" As the words came out of her mouth, they got softer and meeker the further her sentence progressed. Which was not something she was ever expecting. Part of her training in the academy had required her and many others to go seek out and kill various small-time bandit groups that were making lives miserable on common trading routes. Given that she has fought for her life then, she felt that this should be a breeze, but was finding it somehow more daunting then when she was squaring off against one of the bandits.

Though Souma was quite tired, he was certain his ears were still functioning properly. "I'm sorry, what?"

*Come on, Liscia, there's no turning back now!*

With renewed vigor, she repeated, "I want to sleep with you, Souma. Do you not want to?"

Souma felt that the way Liscia phrased that question was just plain unfair. As a man, he felt he should respond to her feelings, yet he also felt that he just didn't fit the bill with what she wanted. Or more simply, he couldn't wrap his head around why she wanted him so much. Sure, he was the current king, but Liscia wasn't exactly in a worse off position than he was.

Surely, it isn't just because she wants him for who he is, right?

"Um, Liscia, I don't kno-"

Liscia interrupted him by grabbing his hand and looking directly into his eyes and repeated, "Do you not want to?"

Looking deep into her eyes, he didn't have the heart to refuse her, especially since he felt that there were no real reasons to.

Formulating his next words, he eked out, "Alright. It will be a tight fit tho-"

Waving her hand to dismiss the idea, she said, "Oh, no. We are not sleeping here. We are going to my room."

Helping him up from his bed, she was about to start walking before Souma said, "Hold on, I can walk by myself."

Souma tried to break away from their intertwined hands, but Liscia quickly put a stop to that by tightening her grip. As she led them to her room, both their hearts were pounding, and a giddy expression was found on her face. Surprisingly, not a single person was there to witness their blooming romance, and they quickly got to her room and slid under the covers. The next few days were essential for establishing the foundation for a stable food supply, and Souma would especially need all the rest he could get, something that he found incredibly quickly as he was asleep in Liscia's arms not even five minutes after getting in bed.

(A/n. One more final to go! I felt that this last part of the chapter was poorly segmented with its transitions as it's kind of all over the place, but hopefully it turned out fine. It was a bit difficult to move from space to space without making two shorter than normal chapters and cover everything I wanted to in this one.

Also, let me know if you want the trip back to Tempest as one or two short stories, or just be summarized in a plot chapter. Either way, it won't really add much to the overall story, just some fluff and updates for the main Tensura characters.)