WHEN your brain is overworked, you crave sweets.
The tea and sweets Atou and Emle had prepared for Takuto satiated that craving, increasing his blood sugar levels and granting him an energy boost. As someone who understood the changed state of his body, Takuto was surprised to learn that he still had the same physiological functions as a normal human from his prior world. His thoughts turned to the Nameless Evil God, and the boost he’d received from the prayers directed his way by the Cult of Ira.
Am I really human or not? he wondered. He wasn’t particularly attached to remaining human if there were no consequences, but on the other hand, he’d rather avoid any changes if they came with baggage. Takuto suddenly realized that he really should look into the circumstances surrounding himself when he got the chance, and that would add yet another annoying task to the pile.
“By the way, I noticed you two have been locked up in the Throne Room since morning,” Emle said, attempting to find something to talk about just as Takuto had finished his drink and sighed contentedly. “What were you working on?”
It was a great conversation starter, but Atou was at a loss for how to explain the unusual topics they had been discussing.
“Um…” Takuto began awkwardly.
“Oh! W-Was I not supposed to ask about it?!” Emle panicked, quick to catch on to the wrong thing. “I-I’m terribly sorry! I’m such a dunce when it comes to these things!” Her face turned a deep shade of red as she apologized profusely.
“St-Stop it! What are you imagining?! Don’t get the wrong idea, Emle!” Atou rushed to deny whatever it was Emle had misconstrued about their time together, her face taking on the same red hue.
“Nah, we were just discussing the invitation from the Succubus Army. Since it also involves the Land of Gods, we wanted to hash out the details alone,” Takuto calmly explained the situation to clear the misunderstanding.
He wanted to avoid making all the decisions alone with Atou since they had recently decided on a policy of involving the Dark Elves in managing the empire. Emle seemed to be operating under a weird misunderstanding, and he’d hate for that to lead to Elder Moltar and Gia kicking up a fuss. That’s why Takuto had implied this time was an exception, and one which the Dark Elves had no business getting involved in.
It had become the norm for Takuto to keep things vague when it came to topics related to the Players.
“Is that so?” Emle responded. “And here I was, l-letting my imagination run wild… Please forgive the indiscretion! How silly of me… King Takuto and Lady Atou would never do such things together… Me and my naughty imagination!”
“D-Don’t worry about it,” Takuto coughed. He realized from her reaction that he was worried for nothing.
The young Dark Elf woman became even more flustered once she realized her mistake. Takuto was honestly curious just what kind of things she was imagining, but he’d rather not stir up that hornet’s nest, so he decided to pretend it never happened. He was relieved neither Elder Moltar nor Gia was there to make things worse. Those two loyal hounds would have criticized Emle, forcefully exposing her indecent thoughts. That would have been unbearably embarrassing for Takuto, so he was glad to be spared that horror.
“Still, how odd that it’s come to Succubi now… They are things of legend to us,” Emle said, regaining her calm. “I never thought they would appear for real. And they even made use of that giant projection that surpasses any illusion spell known to man… Is it possible they also hail from the Land of Gods?”
“It’s possible,” Takuto said. “There are things about the Land of Gods you mustn’t learn about. That’s why I was consulting Atou in private.”
“A valid reason, my king. However, please know that we Dark Elves are also doing everything in our power to be of use to you.”
“I know. Don’t worry, I promise we won’t decide what direction to take without telling you,” he assured her. “We rely on all of you, after all.”
“Actually, Emle,” Atou chimed in, “without your people’s dedication to the empire, King Takuto and I would never be able to sleep. Your work is a necessity.”
“As it stands, we’re all lacking sleep…” Takuto said wryly.
Was that a good enough explanation? Takuto was still trying to figure that part out. He wanted to share as much information with them as possible, without oversharing the more troublesome details. The Dark Elves seemed to at least recognize their enemies as formidable, and that was as good a place to start as any.
Takuto took a bite out of one of the sweets Emle had baked. The sweet aroma and sweeter flavor spread through his mouth. It had been made with generous amounts of high-quality butter, milk, and flour. Unfortunately, Takuto wasn’t a sweets expert. Hence, he had no idea what exactly he was munching on, but he figured it must’ve come from one of the several Earth recipe books he’d made for her with Emergency Production.
His mind grew clearer as the sugar circulated through him, and he sighed. “The All-Faction Conference is still a ways off, anyway, so let’s discuss it in detail with the others during an official meeting. Actually, since Emle’s here and all, why don’t we have an impromptu progress report now? What do you two think?”
They were going to dive right back into discussing their plans after their break anyway, so it seemed like a great idea to casually throw around ideas over snacks and drinks. Atou and Emle perked up at the suggestion.
“I’m for it. I’ll relay all the information that has come in so far,” Emle said.
“Since we’re taking a break and all, why don’t we breeze through the digests, King Takuto?”
It was necessary to confirm the current situation before they delved into the particulars with Elder Moltar and the Dark Elves later. Takuto felt a greater need to ensure he had time to parse the information, as he had just recently recovered from being sick. He didn’t actually feel ill or anything, but that didn’t change the fact that he had been in a quasi-comatose state for a long time. To be on the safe side, he wanted to confirm the facts first to make sure his brain was still running on all cylinders.