Chapter 215: Change in Dearie's approach

"The queen will now meet with you." This simple sentence was as simple as it could get. Using it, one could as well try to kill the other party with simplicity, or start a new religion of simplism.

But the meaning behind this word, the situation that it was spoken in, and the expectations of the people who heard it, made it into a hellishly complex sentence.

"That damned…" Longinus muttered under his nose, stopping only when my elbow sank into the side of his stomach. "What?!" He asked, protesting about my unfair treatment.

"Just stay silent. That's the best you can do for now." I answered before turning myself silent as well.

There was no huge door leading to the throne chamber. There were no doors and there was no chamber in the first place. What was used as the audience's room, was nothing more than a simple tent, raising for about three meters in the sky and build on the base of a small, roughly four-meter-wide circle.

And right now, the three of us, stood for over an hour before the cloth making up the entrance to the tent, awaiting the moment when Dearie would finally invite us in.

"Guys, I'm sorry for the delay, there is just too much stuff on my head right now," Dearie said as soon as I stepped into the room. With her head buried in papers, I could tell that she wasn't just whining about the reality like some people back before the apocalypse struck the earth. And that alone, allowed her to rack a bit more points in my personal assessment system.

"Your majesty, it's only right for the servants to diligently await their master's command!" I lowered my head before falling on one knee in front of Dearie's seat.

"You are quite sly," the queen suddenly informed, sending me a lovely glance. It was at this moment, when her damned beauty struck me once again, making it a bit harder to keep my physiological reactions bottled in.

After all, I was in this world for quite a while now. And for this long while, I was deprived of Ayda's affection, left at the mercy of being alone once again.

"Your majesty, sly?" I couldn't leave this opinion just hang in there. "How did I earn such an insulting view in your eyes?"

While I could bring up the fact that I was the only reason why she didn't end up as an incubator for the true ruler of this world, as a simple breeding mare tasked with giving birth to the person that bastard god envisioned as the savior of this place, I decided not to.

Given how I still have yet to know what was the reason behind those summonses, it was better not to pull out the heavy guns yet.

"You continue to address me with the utmost respect," Dearie started, putting a lovely smile on her face, "but every single sentence of yours is phrased in such a way, that you can avoid acknowledging my authority." The queen said, leaning her head over her shoulder. "Or maybe you can prove me wrong, here? Given the problem, it shouldn't be that hard!"

That was what I got for trying to be lenient for this lass. Her smile told me everything. She was just so damn confident in her beauty now enhanced by the expensive, royal robes of the winged tribe, that she didn't seem to take me as an equal opponent during negotiations!

"Your majesty, I do acknowledge your authority. Just not as one falling under it, but an outside observer." Lowering my head, I avoided her dangerous eyes. Right now, popping up a boner just because of a smile was the last thing I wanted to see happen.

"Oh, come on!" Dearie suddenly protested. She stood up from her chair behind the papers-filled desk. Then, she started to pace around the room, finally showing the signs of anxiety befitting a ruler in the middle of a great conflict. "You should know that I'm not going to hold you so tightly, so why don't you drop your play?"

Unexpectedly, Dearie called my bluff out along with sending me an angry stare.

"Okay. Then while you might be the queen of both the winged and the wingless tribe, since I'm not from this world in the first place, you have no claims to authority over me in the first place." Rather than trying to push deeper into my farce, I  ultimately decided to just admit to my own thoughts.

"I know. And I'm not going to punish you for that, so please, don't start this game ever again." Dearie stopped in her tracks, before casting an annoyed look at all the papers still dirtying her desk. "Trust me, I have my hands full with real problems. Thinking how to deal with you is not something I can bother with." 

Finally resuming her march, Dearie returned to her desk before sitting down on her chair and stretching her hands up. Due to the lapse of my attention, I was forced to witness just how joyfully her breast bounced when she finally brought her arms back to a natural position.

"But let's forget about all of that, it's not why I summoned the two of you here," Dearie announced, abruptly standing up from the chair she just sat on.

"Longinus Magnus, fourth of the name, prince of the fallen Caratia Kingdom," Dearie suddenly spotted a chain of titles, starting with the name of the man beside me. And rather than just staying motionless and silent, Longinus visibly twitched when his whole name was revealed. "I'm grateful for your help in those challenging times. While I cannot promise you that I will bring your home state back to life,"

The beautiful girl walked away from her desk only to stand before the mercenary and place her hand on his head.

"I…" Longinus attempted to say something, only for his words to get stuck in his suddenly tightened throat. "As long as you can guarantee the safety of my people," the young mercenary said before taking a short pause to calm himself down. He then raised his head and looked Dearie directly in the eyes, "as long as you can do that, I'm willing to pledge my loyalty to you."

For a moment, the atmosphere turned tense. Or rather than that, grand. As if we suddenly teleported to the very middle of some kind of important ceremony, the air itself seemed to turn stale from how grand the aura between Dearie and Longinus appeared.

"Good," Dearie said, lowering her hand on Longinus' face before adding her other one. As a result, she caught Loningus' face between her hands, before lowering her own head and placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"You are hereby named my knight. From this day on, the world will know you not as Longinus Magnus, but as Magnus Longinus, the first of his name, the first knight amongst equals and the protector of the people." Dearie suddenly showered the man with titles and honors, as if he conquered half of the world and came here only to offer it all to her. 

"Your majesty…" Once again, Longinus' words ended up stuck in his throat. This time though, rather than due to anxiety and uncertainty, it was caused by the sheer pride and happiness that visibly exploded in his soul.

"Now then, let's topple the elephant in the room," Dearie straightened up before looking at me. Thankfully, my reactions were quick, allowing me to lay my eyes low, avoiding her dangerously enticing eyes.

"Magnus, leave us alone for a moment," Dearie ordered, instantly making use of her new retainer. "I would be thankful if you could stand guard at the entrance and make sure no one will disturb us." While her face remained still, a strange flurry of emotions exploded in the girl's soul. 

"My queen!" Longinus lowered his head, before standing up and leaving the room without a second of hesitation. Left all alone with this damned girl, I couldn't stop myself from swallowing a bit of my saliva.

It already took a great toll on my mental state not to adore her loosely covered charms when Longinus was beside me. Now, I would have no more excuses to keep my eyes lowered, and thus, would be subjected to the constant onslaught of her beauty!

"I heard all about your exploits. Not only you managed to destroy the main sources of evil in this world, you even faced the legendary puppeteer and came out victorious…" Dearie started to recount my recent achievements, clearly leading up to something.

"Legendary puppeteer?" As unorderly as it was to speak while the monarch was still speaking, not only was I surprised with the apparent title that the man I clashed with held, but I also wanted to change the topic away from whatever Dearie was leading to.

"Yes, he was a prominent figure in this world, even before I was imprisoned in that place," Dearie explained before suddenly starting to shake her head. "No, no! That's not it!"

With how she suddenly started to act weird, I could only turn my eyes away in hopes that this would be all.

But rather than heeding my silent wishes, Dearie approached me before suddenly placing her hands on both of my shoulders.

"Look at me." She ordered.

"I would rather not," I answered, still hoping I could find a way out of this quandary.

"Listen." Dearie continued despite my protests. "Back in that place, I wanted you to do me just to free myself." Her words stopped. Her soul trembled with agitation.

"This time though, I want to offer myself to you as thanks for everything you did for me."

Ding!

The sound of the mission completion sounded in my mind.