Gacha Kingdom Building

Chapter 87: That Which Is Hidden. Lies Hidden.

After my business with the Merchant was done, I stayed in the kingdom for a little while to see the status of the forest.

Apparently, the monsters there stop spawning after a certain number, and only increase their number by "natural" means. If the population drops enough, the spawns will resume though. At least, that's what everyone has been reporting.

Thanks to this, we can safely control their numbers.

Mia reported that she's been getting experience from the monsters, so it seems there isn't a level cap inside the kingdom. Well, the Merchant's existence already proves that, but the interesting bit is that it's possible to use the kingdom as a secondary means of acquiring experience.

The only problem with that is that for that to be worthwhile, we'd have to expand the land and hope strong monsters spawn, resulting in the kingdom losing its current safe zone status.

For now, I believe it's better to refrain from creating unnecessary risk inside the kingdom, so after confirming the overall strength of the horned rabbits and killing a few to maintain the quota, I went back with Anna.

It was about time for dinner, and since I had volunteered for today's hunt, Licia and Ellie were charged with cooking since the others either didn't want to deal with that or didn't know how to do it.

It's still amazing how they use the same ingredients and utensils I do and still come out with something that tastes completely different.

I tried to help them with the dishes later, but they refused saying that I should kick back and relax, and since they were emanating very strong housewife energy I wasn't strong enough to resist.

Once that was done everyone returned to the kingdom one by one, except Claire and Licia who remained with me on the sofa, resting their heads on my lap.

We were "watching" something on TV, but to be honest I wasn't paying attention. The warm feeling of their cheeks and the way their hair was entangling was so calming that I found myself completely focused on caressing them.

Claire: "What did I tell you? He likes it."

Licia: "Hm... I still think the other way around would work better..."

Claire: "But it would be too much work, also, I wouldn't be able to pay attention."

As much as I'd like to call her out, everything she said ended up being right.

Still, it's pretty clear to me that they are doing this to help me relax a bit. And while I'd like to say they don't need to trouble themselves with something like this, I already know that any comment I make on that will be immediately rejected.

I also appreciate it a lot and there shouldn't be a problem in indulging myself every once in a while.

Miwen: "Have you two made peace already?"

Ever since the incident, it seemed like they weren't on good terms with one another. I prioritized getting out of the dungeon before talking to them about it, but now that it's just the three of us it's as good an opportunity as I'll get.

Licia: "Mm... I don't know... It wasn't anything that serious, we just had a disagreement so..."

It's that kind of situation where things didn't escalate enough to create attrition, but things became awkward and neither side seems to know how to best approach reconciliation, even more so since both seem to still maintain their opinion.

I didn't want to give this any chance of permanently hurting their relationship, so I decided to listen and help them out...

Claire: "I swore my loyalty to him, if he wants me to fight, the opponent doesn't matter..."

Licia: "I get that. If a fight broke out I would also help, but it seemed like you weren't going to hold back at all..."

Claire: "Yeah? That's because I wasn't."

All of this started due to them having different opinions about how to deal with Roy and Sam once they viewed them as potential enemies.

Due to their relationship, Licia was going to hold back to not hurt them.

On the other hand, as soon as they presented a threat, Claire was ready to strike them down as if they were the same as the other members of that party.

Licia: "But you also know them, wouldn't you feel bad about it?"

Claire: "I guess... but that wouldn't impede me. As his sword, once pointed to an enemy I'll do my job. I'll only hold back if he tells me to, my allegiance takes precedence..."

Licia: "...But that's... you'll end up hurting yourself then. I think ultimately that would hurt Miwen too since he cares so much about you. Do you really think he desires unthinking weapons that hurt others on his name without batting an eye ?"

Hmm... that's a bit hard.

In the end, both show concern and loyalty to me in different ways.

While my own actions are more biased towards Claire's, as in, if an ally turns into an enemy I don't think I'll be as merciful as Licia might expect, it's still true that I want them to think and come to decisions on their own, so as far as the argument is concerned, I'd rather Claire was honest to her feelings and held back without me having to tell her to if she feels bad about it.

They were so close to each other, but they didn't look at one another while they spewed forth their thoughts. As for me, since I was still patting them, I could feel as they became more restless...

Eventually, silence started to take over as they couldn't agree and waited for me to give my take.

I couldn't bash Claire's loyalty and determination since I really appreciate it. But at the same time, I would like them to avoid going against their own moral code or feelings, there's no way I would feel happy seeing them killing their own hearts

Miwen: "You do realize it's me you're following right? I only take a good decision like half the time, and even then there's a bunch of caveats."

Claire: "Meaning...?"

Miwen: "Meaning that you should trust yourselves and your feelings as much as possible. I count on you to fill in where I lack and I learn a lot from watching the decisions you guys make. Above all, you're free to make your own choices under me, so if you truly want to devote yourself to that extent, I won't go against it. In this case, though, I'd prefer you didn't try to kill Roy and Sam...

monsters don't really matter, but when it comes to people, I think it's better to be careful before deciding to outright kill."

There are a few problems with killing people. Outside of morality, people create connections, and if you unilaterally sever this connection, you might find yourself with a target behind your back without even knowing about it.

Monsters don't care about each other, they won't seek revenge. People will, and that might create a series of problems later on down the line, so I'd like to consider carefully before deciding to take someone's life.

Of course, if my own life is at risk or the girls, then there's nothing to think about, but in this case, we already knew we could deal with them without going all out, and even though it might be mean to say this, the fact is that the addition of Roy and Sam wouldn't change anything.

I know I was a bit vague with them, but this helps them reach their own conclusion about how to act, which-

Beatrice: "That's convenient isn't it?"

Hm?

I recognized Beatrice's voice coming from the kitchen. I thought she had already gone back to the kingdom, but it seems I was wrong.

Since she was quietly reading a book in another room I didn't even notice her presence at all.

Beatrice: "You know... loyalty shows itself in many ways... and while it's correct that you can both demonstrate loyalty while imposing limits on how far you're willing to go against your own beliefs in the name of your allegiance... the best way to be loyal is to act on behalf of the one you're sworn to while considering what is it that you can do and what is it that they desire..."

Licia: "So... you agree with me?"

Strange. I didn't get the impression that Beatrice was in accordance with Licia at all... if anything, it seemed similar to my own feelings, a bit in the middle of the road, but...

Beatrice: "Not quite... sometimes what people desire and what they think they desire is different, leading to what might look like contradictions. You might have to dig deeper into someone's character if you want to act per their true desires. It might lead you to actions that go directly against the one you're following, but if it's to fulfill for his own good, isn't it also a case of loyalty?

Perhaps even more so than someone who acts based simply on the surface desires shown to them..."

Licia: "... I guess... but what are you trying to imply? Even Miwen said that-"

Claire: "I think she's saying I was right."

Beatrice: "That's not what I meant, but since it's getting a bit late I'll be going now..."

And just like that, a pop-up that asked for permission to enter the kingdom appeared for me. It seemed like Beatrice had nothing left to say so I let her go.

As I thought, she and I have a similarly nasty personality when it comes to "other people", but she seems to go even beyond me.

I guess that's the natural path of a solitary, too much time thinking deeply about others makes you capable of looking through them a tad too much, which eventually makes you see things that would be better left unseen.

Still, I gotta thank her for what she did just now. Through her words, she made both Licia and Claire reflect quite a bit, and the discussion changed from arguments directed at each other to trying to further understand their own perspective and what Beatrice meant.

As a result, even if Beatrice meant nothing and just randomly threw an impossible problem for them to solve, it ended up working pretty well to get them back together.

However, I do think she meant something with her words...

They seemed to be aimed at a very precise target, and I know exactly who.

But since it's hard to look at yourself so critically, I wonder what is it that she sees.

Well, I can't even complain about her vagueness... as she said, it's convenient.

I checked up on Roy and Sam before going to bed with the girls, just to see if everything was alright and also to give some advice to them in case they didn't catch what I meant back then.

While they'll continue with their partnership with that party since it's profitable for them, they did say that they'll keep their eyes open for anything that might come their way.

As a gesture, I also offered to help them in case they come to need it.

And just like that, peace had been restored in the house and we enjoyed another night together.