After I prevailed in the War of the Bucket (Lotion Pool), the morning greeted me with a usual sermon. Yeah, a great Flat Gaze today too.
Now, despite the perfect Flat Gaze conditions today, I had to see a middle-aged man. Well, itâs Meripapa-sanâs aide who came to relay a message. The contents of which is that there is no message, in other words, the discussion is still continuing.
The middle-aged men seem to be still talking in the conference room. Do nobles and royalty like conference rooms that much?⌠Are they going to live there? Well, if they like it so much, then I donât care how long they spend on conferences there, as long as they give the conclusion beforehand? If they just announce what they agreed on ahead of time, then they are free to conference there for the rest of eternity? Yeah, what are they gonna do?
For now, it seems that at the very least they concluded that no action will be taken today. Repeat the process ten times and the enemy forces will be here even if no conclusion is reached. Then there will be no point to those talks.
The girls also gathered and are having a discussion of their own. Everyone seems to really like having those big meetings, but for some reason, it feels like Iâm never called for those talks?
ăThere is plenty of unexplored dungeons nearby, so how about exploration and training at the same time?ă
ăăăAgreed~!ăăă
Well, there is nothing to do at Murimuri Castle, and no matter how many dungeon items we find, itâs never enough.
ăHaruka-kun, you are staying home, okay? Omui-sama seems to have something to talk about, and the princess was looking for you too, so you are on home duty.ă
ăEeh, home sitting! So Iâm a jobless ostracized outcast loner NEET who is getting left out of dungeon groups? Well, it sort of matches the titles, but this in turn makes the emotional damage even greater? Kind of?ă
Indeed, there is nothing to use money on in Murimuri Castle. Even so, Iâd like to hit some profitable dungeon with nice loot, which would also help with Slime-sanâs food expenses, and whatâs most important, I want nothing to do with the middle-aged menâs talks!
Thatâs right, at this very moment, Murimuri Castle has the highest middle-aged men concentration that was ever observed. Every room is packed with middle-aged men. Murimuri castle is currently boasting such a high Middle-Aged Men Ratio that itâs threatening to turn into Middle-Aged Men Castle. Yeah, if it wasnât for the Royal Girl, Sexy Female Knights, and some others, the castle would have already been burning⌠I mean, I even finished all of the preparations for that?
ăThe lord specifically asked for you to stay, so you have to remain. You are on home duty, but since itâs a castle, you donât have to do anything?ă
I wonder what Royal Girl wants? Is this another invite for a bandit hunt? Thatâs pretty bothersome, but brings a bit of coin. However, dungeons are far better. I mean, bandits are broke as heck. Both their items and weapons are shabby, and those middle-aged men canât even be turned into magic stones, totally useless! They donât even have a single treasure chest between them, dungeons are much better.
ăWe are starting from the first floors, so we wonât earn much either~, even though I want to make up for the money I spend to complete Frontier T-shirts collection~.ă
Looks like we had a Frontier  Seriesâs fan. Many thanks.
ăWe are hitting three nearby places with two parties for each, so I guess we should be able to get to the middle floors or so? Well, the main focus is practice anyway.ă
They must be trying to test out new equipment and review formations. Each party leader received a powerful weapon, but as a result, they now have to reconsider their tactics.
Especially the PresâăChain Whip of Savage Lightning ă, being such a peculiar weapon it complicated coordination quite a bit. I also gaveăDemon Godâs Zweihanderăto all five of the idiots, but new weapons change nothing for them. In the first place, they might not even be aware of how swords are supposed to be used. Well, those are great swords of more than 2 meters in length, I doubt theyâd throw them. They weigh a lot too.
ăWe will be back by evening, so if you have time tomorrow, please check for hidden rooms? Well, canât expect much from middle floors, but ignoring them is kind of a waste.ă
Indeed, there is a deficit of equippable gloves, boots, cloaks, and hats, so even items from middle floors could be of use. Moreover, a single item can influence a war situation. If considering strengthening and safety then dungeons should have the highest priority.
With those words they left while waving their hands, one after another they kept goingăIâll be offăso I kept replying withăTake care?ăevery time, after which they set out beaming with smiles? Whatâs up with that?
ăAnd thus, since there is nothing to do, how about we use the giant bucket and⌠Nevermind, I didnât say anything. No, you got me wrong? I mean like, for laundry or something? Yeah, the weather is so nice today~~~~ Itâs cloudy though? How should I put it, one can wash a lot of clothes at once with such a big bucket? Eh! Right, I donât have any clothes apart from the Villager Set. Hmm, well, thereâs that? Kind of?ă
Stared, scolded, and the bucket confiscated! My slimy and slippery lotion life was stolen from me. I made four of those, but the first one was stolen from me. Even so, it can be said that it was worth it, the wild rampage in the slippery lotion with the wet transparent swimsuit was well worth it! The transparent slimy substance covering her delicate pure white skin and the dream-filled mounds filled me with a certain something, getting the highschool boy part excited, setting the stage for a very crazy experience. The real fantasy adventure was there all along. I greatly enjoyed it.
Since continuation seems out of question I thought Iâd continue with my side job, but Maid Girl showed up, of course, prepared for a possible emergency, she is wearing the generously enchanted lewd maid uniform! This see-through maid uniform with numerous gaps and openings should have a great affinity with lotion too, but I can sense that a certain someone pulled out a morning star behind me, so letâs forget about it. Yeah, please donât swing the morning star indoors? Outdoors is scary enough, so Iâll be happy if you stop swinging it altogether? Looks like Armored Pres really likes the morning star, despite being the Genius Swordsman. At this rate she might get a skill for it soon.
ăHaruka-sama, the Princess is calling for you. Could I kindly ask you to accompany me? Iâll stab you if you refuse, itâs lese majeste.ă
ăNo⌠I mean, itâs not that I mind, but at the point where you are so eager to stab me for refusal, thatâs not asking anymore, is it? Since there are only two options, coming or getting stabbed, thatâs not actually a question? Wouldnât a simpleăCome or Iâll stab youăbe better then? Well, itâs not really better, but donât think that Iâm following only because of the lewd uniform! Kind of? ă
I tried to show a bit of a dere side. Going tsun could lead to getting tsun (stabbed) with a sword, so letâs just follow her for now. And thatâs because the true magnificence of this lewd maid uniform lies in the view from behind!
Gracefully dodging the iron ball I tumble after the lewd maid uniform, or rather, Maid Girl. Dancing in a corridor with a flurry of morning star swings sounds pretty hazardous, but it seems to be set to the safe mode, which means itâs fine to relax since the only person who might get hit by it is me. So Iâm the only person thatâs in danger and absolutely canât afford to relax!
Maid Girl is glaring at me. Thatâs probably her wanting to say that I should be polite. Well, in modern society even ordinary people receive a proper education, so speaking formally is not a problem at all. This maid is such a worrywart.
ăHeeding Your Royal Girliness-samaâs summons I hast cometh, I was extremely duper delighted by the call and made my utmostest hastiness to arrive by your side? And just for you, we have a special offer today -ăThe Frontier Speciality â Frontier Wooden Swordă, order one in the next three seconds and receive one for free? Like, dual wielding style? Kind of?ă
Sold. Profits made. But for some reason Iâm still getting stares? No, look, Royal Girl is happy with this too? In truth, she was late, and three seconds already passed, but I gave her another one anyway? Where would you find a more considerate rip-off? I donât get them.
ăHaruka-sama, are you intending to have yourself handed over to the noblesâ forces? Why are you going so far for the frontierâs sake as to even sacrifice yourself? This is an issue that should be handled by royalty. If it were His Excellency or I that wouldâve been one thing, but you bear no fault or responsibility for this. Please reconsider.ă
Eehm, is this about the peddling journey to the noblesâ army? But she herself bought a wooden sword, if she wonât allow the nobles to get ripped off that would be a tyrannous abuse of royal authority and noble discrimination. Even though upholding the law equally for everyone is a statesman duty, what a bother.
ăWhat do you want to do though? The middle-aged excellency is still planning to negotiate with the noblesâ army. If you go there too, youâll have two heirs to the throne lined up before the enemies? Is this really the time to worry about me? He seems to want to settle things by talking it out, do you think itâs possible? Since you are telling me not to come, I donât think you do. I have no idea if you are trying to enter the enemy camp to get the first prince or maybe chop some noble heads, but how is it any different from going to your death like you were trying to do earlier? And Iâm sure you noticed that killing the first prince or the great nobles wonât change the situation? If thatâs not trying to atone with your death, then what is that? Dying is a waste, pointless, irresponsible, and useless?ă
ăBut⌠But⌠But even so, Iâm a princess and part of the royal family. Even if itâs useless, even if itâs pointless, as long as there is at least a shadow of a chance, staking my life on it is my responsibility and my duty. Even if it ends up being a waste, even if itâs pointless, irresponsible, and useless, there is no way I can send you, who has nothing to do with this, into enemy territory, while Iâm sitting it out, neglecting my duty as royalty! That would be not only irresponsible but would put a stain on the Royal Familyâs pride. A royal family that canât even stick to their pride is what is actually pointless.ă
Leaving Royal Girl to Maid Girl I leave the room. She is in no condition for discussion right now. No matter how much pride or honor one has, accumulates, or stockpiles, there is no way they can remain calm when preparing for death. She may be Royal Girl, or the Knight Princess, or the Sword Princess, or Half-Naked Hooray Girl, there is no way an 18 year old girl wouldnât be afraid of heading to her death! Even so, she wonât stop, she will keep pressing on.
In the end thatâs how Royal Girl is, even that middle-aged Royal Prince is still putting his life on the line, tossing about in agony, struggling unsightly, with no regards to how ugly or disgraceful it gets, trying to find a way to fix things. He doesnât even realize that the only value his head now has is none at all. Pathetic royalty? Miserable royal family? Thatâs exactly right. Incompetent royal family that has nothing going for them but their pride. But with nothing but that pride alone they are desperately struggling, dragging themselves through the mud if needed. A proud royal family. Thatâs why Meripapa-san is considering taking action too. Even if the frontierâs army, that should be defending the frontier, would do nothing but raise the curtain for mayhem by taking action, he is going to fight for the royal family. Even if it means ruin for the frontier, he isnât going to consider alternatives.
Thatâs why they canât finish their talks. After all, the solution doesnât exist? I mean, the situation they are discussing right now might seem like the worst, but itâs about to get way worse.