Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 281: Attempting Connection (01)

--This Chapter contains suggestive, non-explicit sexual content.--

Submerged in a sunken bathtub the size of a swimming pool, I relaxed and enjoyed the warm water that reached up to my chest and the careful touch of a dutiful foxgirl.

Much like a certain head maid, Reina stubbornly refused to enjoy herself before making sure I was properly taken care of, so she left the bathtub and knelt on the tiles behind me.

She gently scrubbed my back, almost as quietly as the muffled moaning of the elf who, threatened by the approaching fox, rushed to take her favorite spot on my lap.

In response to the cute, selfish actions of such a kind girl, I could only hug her tight.

This made Ellie notice what her movements had done to me, and she promptly took responsibility.

Even though she was as much of a reason for it as the sight of all the girls I loved surrounding me in water so clear it hid absolutely nothing.

While I kept quiet about this and treated Ellie carefully, the demon sitting by my side inched slightly closer, questioning why I had summoned everyone like this.

This small, meaningless motion prompted Cassandra to stop mimicking Ellie and me.

Feigning jealousy, she left Licia’s lap and, after sitting next to me, proudly declared I could use my hands to answer that question.

Elizabeth didn’t take kindly to this.

Their rivalry sparked, sharp insults flew left and right, occasionally interrupted by the coquettish moans that slipped from Cassandra’s lips.

It was childish for the two oldest women in the room to bicker like teenagers, but it was still preferable to Mia and Claire, who were firing bullets of ice and fire across the water at one another.

Meanwhile, left abandoned by Cassandra, Licia looked lonely enough to gain Isabella’s sympathy, who took the vacant spot.

In a lovely sight, the two hugged and snuggled, whispering and giggling, almost like a pair of mother and daughter.

Unfortunately, since this happened right after Licia’s play with Cassandra, it left a profound impression on Anna.

Sitting beside them, she stared intently, her expression an extreme mix of astonishment and confusion as her eyes shifted to me, expecting I’d scold them.

No matter how much Beatrice and Angelica tried to, they couldn’t convince Anna that Licia was innocent and nothing indecent was happening on that side.

When I summoned the girls to the penthouse’s "bathfloor", I didn’t intend for such a chaotic atmosphere to take root.

Seeing the scene unfolding before my eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Not at Anna, not really.

Her misunderstanding was funny, but at that moment, I was laughing at nothing and everything.

The girls had swayed me in their momentum, the serious reason I summoned them for disappeared from my mind, swallowed by their chaotic dynamics.

All I could remember was that, for a brief second before gathering them, I felt a slight discomfort.

Even though I was excited to see with my own eyes what a penthouse’s bathroom looked like, and even though this place was perfect and didn’t disappoint...

All the white luxury it had and all the silence it meticulously preserved paled in comparison to the colors and emotions the girls brought.

Both the well-hidden and the absolutely clear.

I had a serious reason for summoning them, but it felt minor compared to this.

Because I wasn’t sure myself and didn’t want to answer dishonestly, it took me a while to reach my answer.

I had wondered why the Kingdom’s mansion didn’t feel as luxurious in comparison to the penthouse, but perhaps I had it wrong.

The Kingdom just didn’t feel as solitary.

Took me a while to realize it, but I had finally gotten the honest answer Elizabeth deserved.

Isabella: "Miwen... Are you perhaps more into older women?"

Then, out of nowhere, Isa hit me with another question, completely derailing my thoughts again.

Ellie: "Nghn... Ah...!"

Such an honest question, yet it had such a profound impact.

It caused Ellie to think she had been found out, even though, much like everyone else, she was barely hiding anything behind her attempt at a composed face.

Still, the shock caused her to jolt and jump in surprise.

She didn’t intend to, but in more ways than one, Isa had pushed things too far.

Miwen: "What makes you think that?"

Isabella: "The average age around you is about a few millennia, and you have the biggest, dumbest, smuggest smile I have ever seen plastered all over your face."

She misunderstood the meaning behind my smile.

Worse, her words gave the three culprits behind the millennia-old average age incredible ammunition against me.

I could almost taste the unique flavor of each of their amused smiles and the way they planned to use this against me in the future.

Mia: "Huh. I thought that was just his face."

Mia’s attempt to shift the focus towards me, thinking Isa’s words could be misunderstood, was praiseworthy.

However, she also jumped to conclusions, and her attempt to diffuse a situation that had not started only led to it starting.

Claire: "Hm. Doesn’t really make sense. Licia and I are the closest to him, after all."

Ellie: "Hmm... And I... I’m young for an elf..."

Claire, being a little better at reading the room when she wants to, made a pretty reasonable argument that should end any and all debate.

Unfortunately, Ellie didn’t get the memo and sneakily tried to add her own defenses onto it.

In a way, it did work, since no one had anything to say to that.

But it also led to another argument.

Anna: "I think you all look pretty young... Right, Bea?"

It felt like everyone was determined to help, yet every single one of them only made things worse.

Maybe Carter’s ways had rubbed off on them.

Suffice it to say, they spiraled further.

Beatrice: "You might be confusing maturity with size..."

Mia: "Y-Yeah. Elizabeth and I are super mature, despite... You know..."

Angelica: "It doesn’t have much to do with age, though. Licia and Cassandra, for example..."

Did...

Did the girls forget I was there?

Anna: "...All I’m saying is that Olivia, Marin, and Bea look their age."

Bea: "I’m... Not that older than you..."

Angie: "Those are all human, too. I’m not changing past this body..."

Licia: "Nissa looks pretty young, though. But I guess that’s because of Divinity. Ah! What about the Valkyries? They look more like their age."

Yep, they completely forgot.

I wasn’t sure where their discussion was going, either, so I couldn’t give any insight into it.

To me, it just felt like some of them were thinking too much from a human perspective.

But noticeably, the "Ancient Trio" was discussing something else entirely.

Still feigning jealousy, Cass poked fun at how Reina used something squishy that wasn’t a sponge to wash my back, and how Elizabeth was also rubbing on me.

To her dismay, the only one who fell for her provocation was Elizabeth, who responded by saying she wasn’t rubbing anything.

Of course, Cass said it was because she had nothing to rub, even though she herself wasn’t that big either.

Unfortunately, Liz didn’t fall for this provocation and never tried to prove Cassandra wrong.

Still, since this side’s discussion was over, I attempted to close the argument before me, too.

Miwen: "I like girls your age, too, Isa. If that’s what you were thinking, you don’t have to worry."

Isa: "Hm... You’d better."

Despite all the arguments being thrown around, besides the old ones closest to me, everyone was being friendly.

The only possible exception was Isabella herself, who became a little quieter after realizing the unintended impact of her words.

No one minded because, on the surface, it seemed like she just spoke without thinking it through enough.

An old habit that resurfaced, perhaps thanks to Licia’s dangerously relaxing hands.

Whatever the case, her silence said more than she could to me.

Isa was the youngest of our group, one of the few girls younger than me.

Considering I had yet to be with her, even though I had already explained my reasons to her, the intrusive thoughts won.

It wasn’t a big deal, but I had a huge soft spot for her.

So, I couldn’t accept her having such insecurities, and instead of teasing her about it, as I’d normally do, I decided to reassure her.

Honestly.

And it seemed to have worked as I intended.

Even better, since I got a word in, I could finally push the conversation forward.

Miwen: "More importantly. Liz, you asked why I called you all, right? Well, it was just to talk. But seriously. So let’s stop fooling around for a bit, okay?"

While I always tried to gather as much information as possible before a difficult time, this time, I was overwhelmed.

As a unit working directly under the government, Alpha Team’s files on every noteworthy member of the AOTG were as thick as my arm.

Diagonally.

I thought the government would be a little more conservative with the information they shared with adventurers like us, but that led me to a scary thought.

Perhaps the files we had on hand were the concise, processed versions of the full data they held?

That was a can of worms.

One I didn’t want to open, either.

So, I focused on the executives first.

And yet, even the "basics" of the AOTG’s executives’ files were more than I could handle in a single day.

Especially with Maya’s situation weighing on my mind.

Claire: "Ah. So you wanna talk strategy. Why didn’t you say it sooner?"

Miwen: "I got distracted."

This was my original reason, so I first summoned Liz, Claire, Mia, Reina, and Isa.

Then, after surrendering to my desires, everyone else.

In any case, when it came to overall strategy, there wasn’t much to talk about.

Alpha’s Team was a responsive unit. We only moved when the AOTG did.

However, for obvious reasons, this wouldn’t work for long.

Even before my arrival, everyone agreed that they had to go on the offensive to win.

The only problem was deciding the priority of the targets and how to approach them.

Miwen: "We need to open up a path for Piper. So, we win if we take down every executive of the AOTG."

A simple plan, and truthfully, much easier said than done.

Every executive of the AOTG had their own circumstances, and thanks to Maya, I was having a hard time visualizing the war we were fighting.

Elizabeth: "Your Majesty, may I make a suggestion?"

Miwen: "Yeah. What are we thinking, Liz?"

Elizabeth: "Hm. I’m most interested in the man known as Adriarch. It seems to me like he is the most worthwhile target to pursue."

Adriarch Tell, currently labeled as "The Colonel"...

When their revolution began, many traditional institutions saw their members defect to the AOTG.

We had no way to tell how many of these were plants, how many of them defected by will, nor how many were forced by Erik’s contracts.

What we could assess was that, for the armed forces, most defectors were enlisted troops and junior officers. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Adriarch was the most blatant exception.

While not a true colonel, his file stated that his promotion was already being debated and was almost guaranteed to happen within the next couple of years.

He was renowned for his bravery, a man who charged alongside his troops to many victories during the First Reminder and the Rampages that followed.

Since this was around twenty years ago, he has faded considerably from the spotlight, yet his authority remained high enough for an entire company to defect alongside him.

Most of his fellow defectors were also decently ranked, but thanks to uniting other defectors within the AOTG, Adriarch and his company became Adriarch and his regiment.

Real battlefield experience, proven combat ability, real leadership skills, and an inspiring figure personally commanding at least a couple thousand...

If "Colonel" wasn’t a high enough rank, I’d personally promote him to "General Headache."

Ellie: "I... Wouldn’t like to fight him..."

Miwen: "...Why?"

Ellie: "Hnm... He doesn’t seem like a bad person."

While Adriarch’s reasons for joining the AOTG weren’t clarified in the documents we received, a few possibilities were listed.

First, his career.

It was commendable, but a man like him, with over three decades of service and enough heroics to write a saga, could easily be at a higher rank than Colonel.

According to rumors, he had animosities with higher-ranking officers due to personal disagreements, which might’ve been a reason for him to be passed up for promotion a few times, if not outright sabotaged.

The papers we received didn’t conclude on that, either due to inability or unwillingness, but personally, considering his other listed reasons, I’m inclined to believe these rumors...

Around five years after the First Contact, there was a small but concerning incident in our country.

Due to some mishap inside a Dungeon, two parties of adventurers entered into conflict.

Both parties knew what would happen if they fought inside a Dungeon, and not wanting to incur the wrath of other adventurers, they took the fight outside.

Their battle lasted several days, and the police were unable to stop it.

So, the army was sent over.

The conflict ended soon after, but among the few casualties was Adriarch’s wife.

It is confirmed that her death occurred during the last days of the conflict, when the army was already in the town.

Adriarch was assigned elsewhere, so he never had the chance to protect her.

The government believes this might have caused discontent to take root in his heart.

No kidding.

If I knew my involvement could have saved one of my girls, but someone prevented me from doing so... Discontent wouldn’t begin to describe it, and the AOTG would be a small problem.

In any case...

Another reason for his defection happened recently, during Catherine’s last Divine Event and the ensuing war of the worlds.

During the initial phase of this Event, our armies not only met their equal, but they were also fairly outmatched.

Many soldiers lost their lives during the struggle, but one name stands out: Hebert Tell, the first son of Adriarch Tell.

The inadequacy of the government when facing this Divine Event was one of the main points of the AOTG.

It stands to reason that Adriarch Tell, after having lost his son, might agree.

Like everyone else, he could have been tricked or forced into joining, too.

Though I find it hard to believe a man like him could be forced into anything.

Miwen: "I’m not going to ask you to fight him, then. But what if I need eyes on him?"

Ellie: "Sure. I can do that."

I didn’t blame Ellie or any of the other girls who echoed her sentiments.

I also felt sympathy for him.

However, he was our enemy.

If it came down to it, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Still, I knew better than to go alone or take someone unwilling with me.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to search far to find someone who shared my thoughts.

Hell, Liz pretty much volunteered for it.

Claire: "I feel bad for him. But that wouldn’t stop me."

Bea: "What? You think a witch would show mercy?"

I didn’t want Elizabeth to go alone, especially since the people of our world recognized her face and knew she was a mage.

But even though Claire had the sword skills to back Liz up, sending more mages with her wasn’t the best idea.

Thankfully, Angelica also didn’t mind who I pointed her to, and Anna...

She was surprisingly conflicted, but reassured me she would see the job done.

Miwen: "He’s currently in a military base, though... Breaking through with sheer force might not be ideal."

Adriarch Tell had the potential to be our biggest obstacle in this war.

Taking him out immediately would be a strong opening move.

At the same time, it was bound to be one of the most difficult things to pull off.

Even for Elizabeth.

Since we still had plenty of targets to consider, we marked him as "valuable" but "risky", and moved to the next executive on the list.