- Shari -
"-AAAAAAHHHH!"
Okay.
Well, I'm screwed.
The maid's still-lasting scream should have been heard well enough by anyone who isn't completely knocked out.
As I see it, there's no way to get out of this.
Even if we retreat back to our rooms this woman's testimony should be enough to convict us.
But aside from that they also have all the evidence they need.
The holes, the slime.
Nope, no chance.
Showing them the network of holes in the first place won't support my position.
I consider jumping out of the window and running, or "sliding", as fast as possible away from here.
Yet I'm unwilling to do so.
Despite this obviously bad situation, I might be able to solve this somehow by talking.
At least there might be some hesitance from the soon-arriving guards to engage us directly.
While I already turn to open the window in advance I contemplate if I can manage to convince whoever will come here that there is no need to punish us.
Yet our already, thanks to Liqu, quite strained reputation might make this difficult.
The second thing I contemplate is when this woman will finally stop screaming to catch some air.
I mean, I can understand her.
That girl is apparently important and if she even has the slightest idea about us then it's a very well-founded concern.
Especially as Liqu still has spread quite far and the girl is basically standing in her center.
"-aaaaaahhhhhhh..." (maid)
Ahh, it seems like she finished now, but it's mostly just because exhaustion finally got the better of her.
I highly doubt that we can convince this person that we have no ill intentions for being here.
Still, I try to play it down by making a friendly impression with a smile.
Yet her cramping-up face tells me it might have stretched a little too far.
Her state might be described as shocked, but then she seems to catch herself.
The next moment she sets her eyes on the girl.
"Your highness!!" (maid)
"What!?" (Shari)
Okay, no time for this yet!
The maid rushes to the girl which is apparently of much higher status than I assumed.
I step directly in between.
Now one might ask why I'd do this and like this aggravating any sprouting sentiments by actively denying her to take that child away.
The reason is simple: While doing so might upset this maid more than she already is, I need to convince whoever is coming next.
And for this, it would be more beneficial if the girl might put in a good word for us.
That much I've got out of my brief exchange with her.
While she has a very wrong impression about my relationship with Liqu, she seems to be quite infatuated with her, even going as far as protecting her from... Well, me.
So it's not farfetched that she will do the same against any arriving guards.
For now, I need to keep that maid occupied and prevent this situation from looking too much like a hostage scenario.
"Good night, miss... Sorry, I don't know your name yet. Mine is Shari. May I inquire about yours?" (Shari)
"GET AWAY FROM HER!! GO AWAY! FIEND!" (maid)
She tries to get past me.
No common action considering that most sane people keep their distance from a mass that could dissolve them down to their basic components and turn them into gooey mass.
But it seems like the worry over the girl makes her ignore everything else.
Quite committed I need to say, yet that's not good for me.
I position myself so I'm blocking her off from the girl.
At least directly walking through me should be a bit too much for this woman.
"Well, it seems like we've got a rough start. I'm sorry for such a late disturbance. I would like to solve this. Pleased to make your acquaintance." (Shari)
I am sure she isn't, but that's not what I'm aiming for.
With a now fixed business smile, I extend my bare slime hand in her direction waiting for a shake that will never come to force her to focus on this instead of further saving attempts.
The longer I can keep her at bay the more time her panic has to recede which might stop further reckless saving attempts.
It seems to work somehow.
The initial terror subsides and all that's left is desperate fear.
"P-please. Don't do anything to her. Please don't." (maid)
Just desperate whimpering comes now from her, even if I didn't do anything that would incline her to fear for the worst.
"I didn't intend anything in that regard." (Shari)
"Lorena. You misunderstand! They're friendly! Please, don't be angry." (Anvenia)
My plan to let this girl vouch for us already bears results.
Even if I noticed that girl's short questioning gaze in my direction when she said friendly.
Well, she doesn't know me yet.
The maid meanwhile stares dumbfounded.
"Y-your highness. You have to get away from them." (Lorena)
"Why? They're nice. You don't need to worry." (Anvenia)
I think I should at least ease her up by making Liqu stop being everywhere around that girl.
"Liqu, can you form back to normal, please?" (Shari)
"Am I not normal?" (Liqu)
"No. I meant back to your usual human form." (Shari)
"Oh. If it's just that, sure." (Liqu)
In a blink, Liqu reassembles herself to her usual appearance.
"You don't know what these are! Please, run away!" (Lorena)
It doesn't help, as "her highness" has no real intention to do so.
Like this, the situation got kinda stuck.
Until...
"What is going on here?! Y-you!?" (Dion)
"Hello, Dion." (Shari)
It might be due to the fact that his room is on the second floor, but I'm really glad that someone familiar came first.
Yet on the other side, he might be upset.
Especially the fact that he is in his nightgown points in that direction.
"You see, it seems like we got a little situation here, but I can assure you that this is truly just a big misunderstanding." (Shari)
"Great God. Just what is wrong with you?" (Dion)
"There is a very good explanation for this." (Shari)
"I am very curious and doubtful about what kind of excuse you have." (Dion)
Yep, and as soon I made one up I will tell you.
Almost at the same time, some guards arrive at the scene.
But as I predicted no one is willing to jump straight at Liqu, but the halberds make me quite nervous.
"Would you kindly point these things in another direction? I would like to solve this peacefully. Also, you can basically see through us. We are both completely unarmed." (Shari)
Yes, I know the fact that we don't have any weapons with us won't bring me very far concerning that we are monsters and per se dangerous.
But at the moment I am willing to use all the distracting comments I can throw at them.
Confused guards are more to my liking than aggressive ones.
"You need to save her! You can't leave her highness to these monsters. Do something!" (Lorena)
The guards grow again a little twitchy at this and I ask myself if there is a way to get them down without killing them since everything that happens here is obviously Liqu's fault and these people who just act according to their duty don't deserve to die.
Yet before anyone can storm at us Dion raises his arm.
"Everyone, calm down!" (Dion)
The guards stop, while the maid looks quite exasperated.
Then he looks at us.
"Just to confirm, you don't intend to harm her highness in any way, right?" (Dion)
"No, they wouldn't! Liqu is my friend!" (Anvenia)
Dion tries to hide any reaction to this statement and looks at me for an answer, but the bewildered looks behind him tell what is the consensus.
And that is that this little girl is not in her right mind.
"I absolutely don't intend to do anything to her. In fact, I would like to get as fast as possible out here and pretend this never happened." (Shari)
"I fear this won't be possible. The count will be informed about this, but I as well would prefer a peaceful solution." (Dion)
"Perfect. As I said, lowering the weapons would be a good start to make this happen." (Shari)
Honestly, it's not perfect, but the best I can get at the moment.
"Sigh, fine. Men, lower your weapons. Now it would be better if you on your side would move away from her highness." (Dion)
"Sure. As long no one tries anything stupid. Liqu! Come to me!" (Shari)
I move extra slowly, so Liqu can catch up and in the worst case, deflect any attacks on me.
Yet she gets impeded.
A small hand grabs her arm.
"Will you come back? Please, say yes!" (Anvenia)
Uh, I'm rather sure she will get an extensive scolding for anything that transpired here.
We aren't really the first choice as caretakers for children.
"I'm sorry, but it seems unlikely that we would get the permission if we even make it out of this unscathed. I wouldn't count on it." (Shari)
"You're a nice human." (Liqu)
Well, that smile Liqu shows her friend might look charming, but the fact that she just now patted her head and totally drenched her hair will weird some people out.
At least this maid looks as if she might faint at any moment.
"Could we now leave her highness' accommodations?" (Dion)
"Sure. And really, the part with the highness absolutely took me by surprise." (Shari)
"It should be obvious, but you aren't allowed to talk about this." (Dion)
Well, even if I doubt that anyone would see me as a reliable source of information I guess rumors would be just as bad.
We head down the stairs, past a number of guards who seem to have been rallied to storm the third floor any moment.
"Everyone! Return to your assigned post! The incident has been settled!" (Dion)
No one asks any questions, but I guess most of them are confused regarding why the slimes are coming from above when we're supposed to be in the cellar.
"I would like you to retreat to your lodgings for now. Wait there. I'm sure the count will send for you in due time." (Dion)
I'm partly wondering why the count didn't come himself, yet it might be that it's not part of the emergency protocol that the count runs in the direction of the panicked screams.
That's what you have an aide for.
We walk back into our dungeon.
There's no other way to call an underground facility that houses monsters.
I notice that the number of guards in front of the exit quadrupled.
Not that I believe they're going to attack.
I made it very clear that this would end rather messily.
I don't even know if there's a way to fight Liqu in an enclosed space.
At least, some of Dion's words implied that they won't try to kill us off, even with all the trouble we caused.
Yet I can't be sure that the count will share his opinion.
After all, we now know too much.
But heck, how could I get into this?
A goddamn royal?!
Why is royalty in an almost militaristic estate close to the southern border?
These lands have for a reason the reputation to be savage.
Mum told me it's for my best if I never will get involved with nobles.
Then where do royals rank in this regard?
And Liqu played with her!
I don't even know what they did together to be this close, but I can be absolutely certain that nothing they did was upholding the dignity of the royal family.
She slimed her goddamn hair!
And who knows what else.
This will for sure be considered as lèse majesté.
Can monsters get convicted for that?
For all I know, I should prepare for the worst, and this foremost means bringing that slime back into line.
"Okay, Liqu. Would you kindly tell me how you ended up in that girl's room?" (Shari)
I try my best to get the same dark tone into my voice that my mum had when she once asked me why all the boys in the village had teary reddened eyes and inflamed nostrils like you might get them when someone throws a spice bomb in your face.
But hey, they started it.
It seems to work somewhat as she becomes visibly uneasy.
"You see, yesterday..." (Liqu)
"Yesterday!?" (Shari)
She started to work on our downfall the moment we arrived?!
"Uh, yes. When I mapped out the building to know where everyone is I encountered her by chance. Or rather, she noticed me." (Liqu)
"And then for some reason, you got along and you decided today to repeat this visit, right?" (Shari)
"Yes." (Liqu)
Honestly, knowing Liqu and her craving for someone to spend time with her I can somewhat understand why she did it.
"And please tell me, why did you even map out the building back then? Don't say it was to find Elin. I won't believe this. You two aren't so close." (Shari)
She looks guilty to the ground.
"Liqu." (Shari)
"I wanted to know how everyone is positioned so I might... take them all out when it might become necessary. I didn't trust these people. I still don't." (Liqu)
This slime was fully prepared to go on a killing spree.
Great. Just great.
And sadly just within my expectations.
"A-are you very angry?" (Liqu)
Sigh. How to raise your slime?
"Somewhat. You know, what you did was incredibly reckless, and this so soon after what you pulled during the day. This might have severe consequences for us. I really try to make do with what I have. I even try to include you in my future. So it would be nice if you wouldn't ruin everything behind my back. I know that you don't know very much, but because of this, I want that you to talk to me in advance. Now our situation might worsen drastically. If we just get thrown out of this place we can still call ourselves lucky. Yet now people might die because of your carelessness. I know, you don't care about human lives, but I do. It weighs on me. Even more, if a conflict could have been avoided. Do you at least understand my point?" (Shari)
"I guess so. You are too kind. You don't know how it is to get hunted your whole life. It's true, I never felt much for my prey and it was like this ever since the beginning. Yet I guess the steady exchange of lives also numbs you. I can't say that I have trust in your plans, I think they're terribly risky. You wish for a kind of peace I couldn't even dare to imagine. Yet now... if it's you this might be possible. I love you. So I have trust in you, and I'd love to have a future. With you." (Liqu)
Maybe I put too much of an idea in her head or core by referring to a shared future.
But on the other side, this gave her a goal.
If this makes her more prone to follow my lead then I've achieved my goal.
Suddenly an officer with an entourage of soldiers enters.
"The count will receive you now." (officer)
That is if we ever get another chance to make plans.
And on an invisible character sheet somewhere, Shari's [Diplomacy] skill is ticking up rapidly, but will it be fast enough?
Thanks for the chapter.
Not to forget the intimidation skill. The way she prevented the nurse from getting past her.
@expentio speak softly and carry a big slime!
@Mimicsbane Best of all one during lunch time
Was not including the POV character thing at the start of the chapter intended?
thanks to Liqu, quite strained -> remove extra space after comma
idea about us then it's a very founded worry. -> very well founded concern(?-worry does work, but I usually see this phrase as "well founded concern")
like she finished now.
Yet mostly just because the exhaustion got the better of her. -> now, but it's mostly just because exhaustion finally got
might be described as shocked but then she seems to catch herself. -> shocked,
reason is simple,
While doing so might -> simple: while
going as far as protecting her from... me that is. -> me? (Or "from …me.")
GO AWAY FROM HER!!-> GET AWAY
need to say.
Yet that's not good for me. -> say, yet
through me should be a bit too much for that woman. -> for this woman
do anything to her. Please not." -> Please don't
that his room is on the second floor but I'm really -> floor,
little situation here. But I can assure you -> here, but
But as I predicted no one is willing to jump straight at Liqu.
Yet the halberds make -> As I …Liqu, but the
guards are more to my liking than agressive ones. -> aggressive
while the maid looks quite exhasperated. -> exasperated
answer, but the bewildered looks behind him tell what is the consens. -> the consensus(?)
informed about this. But I as well would prefer -> this, but
get the permission. If we even -> permission, if
Well, that smile Liqu shows her friend might look charming, but the fact that she with her pat right now totally drenched her hair will weird some people out. -> no mention of Liqu patting Anvenia's head. Maybe include it with the sentence before? "Liqu pats Anvenia's head. "You're a nice human." ?
looks as if she might faint any moment. -< faint at any
The incident was settled!" (Dion) -> incident has been settled
any questions but I guess most of -> questions,
very clear that this would end rather dirty. -> maybe "that that would end rather messily." ?
did together to be this close but I can be absolutely certain that -> close,
This will for sure be considered as lèse majesty. -> lèse-majesté
prepare for the worst.
And this means foremost -> worst, and this foremost means
get the same dark tune into my voice, my mum had when she -> dark tone in my voice that my
why did you even map out the building back then. -> then?
Don't tell me to find Elin. I don't believe this. You two aren't this close." -> me it was to find Elin, I wouldn't believe that since you two aren't that close.
know, you don't give much on human lives but I do. —> give much care about human lives,
Even more, if a conflict -> remove comma
in your plans. I think they're terribly risky. -> plans, I
So I have trust in you. And I'd love to have a future. With you. -> you, and …future with
Liqu to Shari later-"That maid was annoyingly loud. You should have at least let me stuff slime in her mouth to shut her up."
"Tempting as that might have been, no need to make the situation even worse. …I might do it myself next time though, getting tired of people screaming their heads off when they see me."
"Am I not normal?" (Liqu)"
"………………." *raises hand and opens mouth* "………………." *lowers hand and closes mouth*
"Well that wasn't a no, so I must be normal after all!"
"-!!! Liqu!!!!!!!!" *Shari throws slimeball at Liqu*
"Great god. Just what is wrong with you?" (Dion)"
"There's nothing wrong with my Shari!"
"Don't even get me started!"
"Also, you can basically see through us. We are both completely unarmed." (Shari)
*Liqu makes her arms disappear*
"Not literally, Liqu! Not. Helping!"
"I don't even know what they did together to be this close but I can be absolutely certain that nothing they did was upholding the dignity of the royal family."
That's exactly why they're so close Shari. Liqu is probably the first person Anvenia has ever met that didn't treat her like a princess that has to act a certain way or be kept at arms length
"How to raise your slime?"
"With lots of love and headpats?"
"…. Strange thing is is that actually would probably work well…"
Shari's getting very good at "panic panic panic" diplomacy and preventing complete and total disaster. She's probably pretty resentful towards fate (the author) making her need to use that skill so much though. At least her rolls for bluff and intimidate have been pretty good recently
(And huzzah! I didn't forget this chapter for a month!)
reason is simple, While doing so might -> simple: while - I'm always confused when comma and when double-point.
going as far as protecting her from... me that is. -> me? (Or "from …me.") - It's not confusion here. It's rather sad acceptance of the ridiculousness of the situation. - How about ...Well, me.
Please not." -> Please don't - does the desperation come through here?
no mention of Liqu patting Anvenia's head. Maybe include it with the sentence before? "Liqu pats Anvenia's head. "You're a nice human." - I rather wanted that Shari says what just happened. - Hows this "but the fact that she just now patted her head and totally drenched her hair"
looks as if she might faint any moment. -< faint at any - I thought this would be possible. Like "Any moment it will happen."
me it was to find Elin, I wouldn't believe that since you two aren't that close. - Is this necessary? I wanted it to sound as if Shari is using deducting arguments to push Liqu into a corner. "Don't even try this excuse. You aren't even close!" felt like it had more power that way.
give much care about human lives, - That sounds a bit weird to me. Maybe "You don't care about human lives"
you, and …future with - There is an intentional break between Future and With. Liqu waits a second before she adds this. I find it is a bit stronger that way.
You're perfectly normal for a slime mutation, Liqu.
Awwh, Liqu has finally found someone to play slimeball with her. The rules are a bit crude, but it is about catching the ball of slime from any distance by reshaping the own body to reach it. (The other can't intentionally throw too far away.
You see, not even arms. Only deadly acid. (not quite the same as acid, but the reaction is too complicated to describe.
Hmm, I think hugs work better. What even is the head of a slime? They like enveloping much more.
Fortunately, Shari can activate high-speed processing in such situations. It might burn resources but helps really much at thinking over what to say. It might make one a bit detached from emotions to go into this mode. (emotions aren't part of the acceleration).
@expentio
: is a colon. There it would be used as indicating something following is a list or orders, or something like that. Could be substituted with a comma, but the colon indicates more of a pause/break between the two sections
'Well, me.' works
please don't-yeah, the desperation does come through. It's a bit more muted than it might be, but the maid is in shock, so it isn't too strange, and she doesn't want to risk setting Liqu or Shari off so she's trying not to panic anymore and flail about
drenched-works well.
at any moment-this is one where it really could go either way, but to me at least "faint at any moment" sounds a bit better. For the other one, an example that sounds right to me would be "should happen any day now"
depends on the tone you want Shari to have-is she loudly yelling at Liqu? Or trying to be sort of ominous/serious and logical and corner Liqu so Liqu can't escape? Last chapter's shouting Shari definitely would be an exclamation point, but this chapter Shari seems to be taking a different angle to try and wrangle the Liqu
"You don't care about human lives" does sound better
the new sentence for "Future. With you." does add more emphasis
Yeah, Liqu might like hugs better, but she'd still definitely appreciate headpats. She already knows how effective they are since she's using them on Anvenia. And Liqu definitely has a head while in human shape, but even as blob Liqu she's still appreciate being patted on the head/top of her body
@FallingLeaf
depends on the tone you want Shari to have - It's thought to e a stern scolding. Because of this, I thought rather shorter sentences, as like with a child she would use short sentences to make sure every single point is received properly.
This shows how much Liqu developed. She intentionally didn't give Anvenia veeery deep hug to not leave too many traces. And in front of the maid would've been bad.
@expentio
ok, shorter sentences works for that then. Though, I don’t think she’d use too many exclamation marks anyways since she’s going for “stern, disappointed teacher” rather than “angry, flipped out teacher”
Liqu is getting better at humaning