Preparations

Walking back to my room I begin to think of what message to send to the other kingdoms. It would be best if I made sure that each got a different piece of information that was only partially true, and only tell the whole truth to those that I could fully trust.

Upon entering my room, Naitsu was sitting quietly on the bed. Still entirely naked. Fight off a nosebleed I thought 'oh right, there is still this'. Walking over, eyes half closed so as not to see her, I sit on the bed.

Before a word leaves my mouth she jumps on top of me, pressing hard into me. I try my best to remove her, but this time she doesn't let up. I open my eyes only to see her face staring at me expectantly.

I pat her head, "Can you please get off of me".

She sits up, still on me, "Why?" she asks.

"I am just not all that comfortable with this situation, but I'm sure we can work something out that works for the both of us, right?" I tell her.

After staring at me for roughly 2 minutes she gets up, "Fine" she says.

I sit up and throw one of the many blankets over her. It was pretty hard to talk seriously with someone who is naked. She didn't tighten the blanket and let it fall off, over and over. Finally I worked up the courage to make sure it was wrapped tightly around her so that it wouldn't fall off while we talked.

"Why are you doing this?" was my first question.

"It is my job to serve the king's candidate in anything he needs or wants." she responds.

"Well, I don't want sex, that I can assure you." I say, a bit flustered.

"Is my body not to your liking? I can seek out some of the other bodyguards that may be to your liking if you want" she adds in.

"It is not as much your body as it is… wait, did you say other bodyguards?" I question.

"Well yes, there should be a lot more of us, we are ultimately supposed to help the king's candidate control the floating lands. As they can only be controlled by a king or the king's bodyguards." she elaborates.

We spend a bit longer talking about the functions of the bodyguards. A normal king, and not just me, has the power to control the islands, but only from the throne. From the throne I can command the creature on the island, and also move the island, or leave the island in a dormant state so that the creatures don't become wild again. But ultimately I would not be able to control all the islands or even partake in the battle without the help of the bodyguards.

"Is there any other purpose to the bodyguards?" I ask her. Bodyguards already seemed extremely valuable but I was still interested to see if there was more that they could do.

"There is, we each have our own magics, ranging from healing to advanced artisan works. We are also able to follow you out into your world, and when the competition ends, regardless of the outcome, we will stay with you." she explains.

"Wait, follow me into my world!?" I yell at her. Having the idea of a bunch of overpowered women following me was not half bad in my idea.

"Yes, and we are also obligated to fulfill any desires that you have, no matter how outlandish they may seem." she adds.

My thoughts are filled with all the faces of my fellow college students seeing me walking around with a pack of gorgeous women at my back. I felt it would be pretty awesome. I quickly drew myself back to reality. 'I'm not a womanizer' I thought to myself. There was only one woman for me, and that was Fuyu. I would not sully myself with all the women I want.

"Now then, back to the problem at hand" I say, bring us back to the now.

"Your body is not really the problem, I'm just not up to, well THAT tonight" I say, giving her a stern look.

She looks a bit disappointed. "There must be something I can do." she says in a slightly depressed voice.

I sit there thinking for a moment. She was really nice looking and all, but I just didn't require those kinds of services. I finally came up with an idea.

"Ok, first go get on your bra and underwear." I tell her.

She gets up and when she comes back she's wearing even more revealing undergarments. I didn't even think that would be possible. "Now then, I'm just going to go to bed, and you can cuddle as close as you want to me, does that work?".

She looked a little disappointed there was not anything more to the deal, but she ultimately nodded her head and laid down right on top of me. Cuddling up close and burying her head into my chest. If anyone in the kingdom had seen this woman, who usually wore a face that looked like it could kill, being this intimate, then they would surely have a stroke and die.

I finally drifted off to sleep, thinking of all that was to begin tomorrow.

------------

The next day I woke up, almost unable to breath. Upon opening my eyes I saw that Naitsu was awake and instead of trying to shake me awake, decided to smother me in her breasts.

I shoot up, almost flinging her off of me. "What the hell are you doing!" I shout at her.

"Well, you had to wake up, and I figured that this was the best way." she replies, slightly wigging her chest from side to side.

"One hell of a wake up call" I say getting up.

I put on some more breathable and more maneuverable clothing, as the royal robes got stuffy and were hard to move in. I went to the bathroom and splashed my face a few times while doing my hair the best I could. I didn't normally care for my looks, but now I was a king.

Walking out I was met by a team of maids. "My lord, if you would please follow us." they said, quickly turning to lead me away.

I followed them to what appeared to be the dining hall. They sat me down at the head of the table and after bowing, left into the kitchen. A few minutes later they all appeared, holding various dishes. It smelled amazing, but there was no way I would be able to eat all of the food there. This much was enough to feed several families!

Lurrel walked out behind the procession carrying a medium sized pitcher. She poured the contents into a cup and handed it to me. It looked like milk but upon drinking it, it was far from it. Its texture was smoother, and had a slightly sweet taste to it. Upon swallowing it I immediately felt more awake and revitalized.

It seemed similar to coffee in the caffeine books, but didn't seem to have any of the richness that coffee contained. The maids then set down the various dishes before bowing and leaving. Upon leaving the other 5 officials walked in, or rather the 4 and my bodyguard. They all sat at the table and looked at me expectantly.

Assuming I was supposed to be the first to dig in, I took a small amount of food and took a bite, then looked at the others. They all looked at me a bit weirdly but then grabbed their own food to eat.

"My lord should eat more food, it helps in body development." Renard was the first to speak.

"I didn't want any of you waiting for me to fill my plate, I wouldn't want any of you to have to sit there and watch me eat." I reply.

"It is kind of you to consider us your majesty, but you needn't worry about us." Gilbert chimed in.

"I may be your king, but first and foremost I am a person, and as a person I will treat all of you equally. To that end I don't want any of you waiting for me during mealtimes." I say.

Lilith and Naitsu look at me with admiration, while the men look at me as though I said something ridiculous. Probably expecting me to take full advantage of my position. Lurrel assumed an indifferent look but there was a glint of gratitude in her eyes.

After everyone had eaten and drank their fill I urged all of us to the war room. We filled in one by one and took our respective seats.

"On today's agenda I would like to send out our messengers to the other kingdoms. As well as bolster our forces." I begin, "Reynard, please call in 7 messengers.".

Reynard orders one of the guards to go and fetch the messengers. We sit in silence for a short while until 7 messengers and 2 scribes walk in. The messengers stand at attention and the scribes sit in temporary seats we brought in.

"6 of you will be sent off to the kingdoms to deliver messages of utmost importance. The messages will contain possible allegiances and other offers in them, so it is of the highest importance that these letters reach their destinations." I begin, "I will personally be going to Silver River to deliver their message.".

Lilith stands to object, but before she can speak I wave her away. I walk up to the youngest messenger. A small and slender boy, looking barely over 16. I touched his shoulder and in the next moment I changed my appearance to his. The messengers and scribes stared in amazement.

"This is my magic, to change the composition of anything in this world, it is to stay a secret, even to your most trusted of companions. If this information is to be leaked, it is to be treated as high treason, and death will promptly follow!" I yell.

The messengers and scribes gulp and nod their heads. This magic was absolutely important to the future success of the kingdom. If it were to be introduced to the public, and other kingdoms, we would ultimately lose our ace in the hole.

I walk over to the scribes, and whisper to them what I want written to each kingdom. I did not want their contents to be widely known.

I turn to the young messenger whose appearance I had taken. "Young man, your job is to teach me the ways of the messenger." I tell him.

He looks very nervous at first, but after a while he grows to be used to it. He may be young but his knowledge in his craft was admirable for such a young man. After I told the messengers to return in about 2 hours and that was when we would decide who went where. After he left I gave him 10 silvers for his troubles which he greatly appreciated.

"Now then, Lilith, I would like a report on our numbers in terms of the military." I asked.

Lilith stands up and straightens up like a board. "Our current strength stands at roughly two thousand infantry, five hundred archers, and five mages." she reports.

Mages seemed to be a new form of military as magic was not in the other competitions. I am sure the others were just as confused as I was. I also thought of 'the swelling' that was in some of the reports. I was assuming it had something to do with the magic, the floating islands, and all of the new things.

I shake my head, "These numbers will not do, not at all. As to the mages, what types of abilities do they have?" I question.

Lillith once again assumes a stiff posture, "Mages typically have abilities within the four basic elements of fire, water, earth, and air. There are also those that have comprehended higher magics such as lightning, void, and light. Normal mages can only control one element, but there are some who can use more. The mages currently in our service include two fire mages, one water mage, one air, and one that controls both earth and void." she finishes.

I nod my head, "Here is my plan, by the time I return I want our forces to have reached five thousand infantry, half that in archers, and then ten mages. I want one of the mages to be water, one to be air, one earth, and if possible two to specialize in the higher level elements. I do not mean to sound rushed but I want these done, and place priority on the mages." I order, "I also would like to be tutored in the ways of magic upon my arrival." I finish.

Everyone nods their heads. Quickly I walk outside the room to leave everyone to their tasks. Once outside I sit down and ponder what to do next. I felt that bolstering our forces would very much help if any one of the kingdoms got angry at my propositions, or if there were any creatures out there that would threaten us.

Sitting there for the remainder of the 2 hours that I told the messengers to wait for, they finally arrived. I gave each of them a letter, telling each of them the kingdom in which they would be visiting. I also assigned each of them an emblem that symbolized that they were couriers for the Corcia kingdom. My emblem was an elaborate flower, composed entirely of geometric shapes and everything was symmetrical. 'Pretty good for a bunch of meat heads' I said in my head.

"You all know your respective destinations, I am also aware of the dangers that the wilds bring. So for each of you I will be sending you off with two of my houseguards, to ensure your safety." I said. They seemed to relax a little.

After I explained how I felt each negotiation would go with each of them, I dismissed them and gathered a handful of guards to pick the escorts. Although the guards insisted on having the top two to escort me, I felt I didn't need them and I would probably stick out amongst messengers.

After I sent off the messengers and their respective guards, I myself was about to leave before Naitsu stopped me. "If you are to go, then at least take me as your guard, I will not negotiate on this." she said rather sternly.

I knew I could not argue back, so instead I just nodded my head. "No funny business on the road, you understand me." I told her.

She gave a pouting looking face but nodded her head. I had her dress as a normal houseguard. The uniform looked rather good on her if I do say so myself. After which Naitsu equipped herself with a basic shortsword, while I grabbed a spear. I always loved the idea of wielding a spear.

After which we left the castle, towards Silver River. My adventure was finally going to begin in this mysterious world.