Not gonna lie… I think the best part of this visit was riding the palanquin.

It's soooo comfy~

Ah… Looks like we've already reached the inn… Seems like it's right on time for dinner too.

And I was still in the midst of enjoying it too… How unfortunate…

I climbed out of the palanquin and I was surprised to see that Katsuki was already standing at the door of the inn to receive me.

"Welcome back, Mistress," Katsuki greeted with a bow. "How was your trip?"

"Unn… It was ok. Shall we go in first?" I asked, hinting that there was something I wanted to tell everyone in private.

She bowed again before stepping aside to allow me to walk past her to enter the inn.

"Are the girls here?" I asked, realising that they might just have decided to head out for the day as well.

"They are, Mistress. We had anticipated that you would be returning at this time so we were waiting for you."

Why do I have a feeling that what she meant was that they were watching me the entire time and already knew I was leaving the palace?

I actually wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, to be honest… Though I wonder how any of them might have managed to get into the palace without being seen…

Wait, they don't even need to do that… All they need is to look out for the palanquin to reappear at the entrance to the upper district and they would know I was returning I guess?

Ugh… Now that I was reminded of the palanquin again, I really think it's comfy…

I wonder if there's a way to implement that into carriages? Like maybe the interior could be changed to a giant bed or something?

Maybe I should float that idea to Emilia and see what she thinks? We could even start a new way of travel or something!

Ahem… Calm down… Let's deal with the stuff one thing at a time…

First thing's first, I'll have to tell the girls that the Queen invited me to a tea party that will be happening in two days… And I have to figure out who I should bring with me for this…

That last part was what worried me the most since I have a feeling I know what would happen if I were to bring it up with them…

That's why when Katsuki and I walked into our room, I was filled with a little trepidation.

"Welcome back Aster! Would you like dinner with me, a bath with me, or… Ehehehe~ Me?"

"I would like to talk to everyone, Lisa. Could you ask them all to gather in the living room?" I answered the sudden greeting without hesitation.

Lisa pouted at me, "Mmm… Really, Aster? There's no reaction to me wearing this?"

Well… It's hard not to when she's wearing nothing but an apron and a pair of stockings.

"You look especially scrumptious in that, Lisa. If it was any other time, I would have spun you around to push you against the wall and took you right here at the entrance."

She shuddered and hugged herself, "Ahhnnnn~ So hot, Aster~ Mmm… Maybe we can have a quickie?"

"I'll do you later, Lisa. So you don't need to change out of that."

The front of her apron started lifting up before stopping to form a very obvious tent above her waist.

No prizes to guessing what was under that… In fact, my own skirt was also doing the same thing anyway.

Hey! You try having a really sexy Infrid come up to you wearing only an apron and asking if you want to take her right there and not be turned on by that! That's downright impossible!

Lisa giggled, "Ehehehe~ I'll wait for you, Aster~ Girls!! Aster wants to talk to us! Maybe it's going to be an orgy in the living room!"

No it's not… You know what, I think that would be preferable as compared to what might happen if they learned about the two guest restriction the Queen has imposed on me for her tea party…

As though already expecting it, the other girls immediately appeared from wherever they were hiding to sit down in the living room.

Yeah… They were definitely expecting something lewd to happen because all of them were wearing nothing but revealing lingerie…

"We're ready, Sister Aster!" Odeta giggled, bouncing on her seat excitedly.

I raised my hand, "Ok… First of all, I want to know why you girls even think that I'm here to… Well… Do this?"

Lisa tilted her head, "Eh? You're not? I thought that after you were stuck with all those smelly old men, you would want to have sexy girls to spoil you after that, Aster!"

Ok… To be honest, I can't exactly deny that this thought didn't cross my mind so she actually did have a point… If I didn't need to worry about the tea party invitation, I would have jumped in right now.

Wait… I can do that later… First things first.

I cleared my throat, "Ahem… I have to tell you girls what happened first… So… I was made a middle citizen of this Kingdom…"

Minnera tilted her head, "Wasn't that something that was already decided on, Aster? The prime minister already told you about it, didn't he?"

I shook my head, "The original expectation was to make me an honorary citizen… The King actually went ahead to make me a legitimate permanent citizen…"

Emilia clasped her hands together, "Oh!! That's actually really great news!! I can absolutely make you the face of the company now, Boss!! That would even further boost your standing and also pave the way to make you a high citizen too!!"

I'm… Not too sure that I even want that but whatever helps you with what you need to do, I guess?

"What changed though?" Lisa asked, looking more concerned than happy. "Surely the King wouldn't do something like that without expecting something in return, right?"

"You hit the nail on the head for that one, Lisa… The King knows who I am…" I sighed.

I waited for the reaction from them and… Eh? They're just staring at me like they were expecting something more.

I tilted my head at them, "What's wrong? Did you girls not hear me or something?"

The girls all looked at each other before turning back to me.

"Umm… We're not sure what you mean, Aster?" Delmare admitted sheepishly. "Wasn't it already expected that the King will know who you are since you're appearing before him in person? So he would already know you are Aster, right?"

Ah…

I shook my head, "No, no… I don't mean they know me as just Aster… They know me as Aster Nilm…"

It took them a moment before they realised what exactly that meant.

"Ohhh… So perhaps they were hoping to use you as a way to curry favour with the Nilm Family? That would make sense," Emilia mused, her tail swishing behind her thoughtfully. "If it was me, I would also be doing everything I could to get your favour too, Boss."

Yes, I kind of figured that out when we first boarded your ship as guests, Emilia… And no, I will not be calling it by its name.

Odeta leaned forward, "Did he do anything to you, Sister Aster?! Did he bully you?! If he did, tell us! We'll teach him a lesson!!"

Please don't, Odeta… Even if he did bully me…

I hate to say it but I believe he's also stronger than you in terms of raw strength, Odeta…

Then again, I'm pretty sure that this fact wouldn't even bother her in the slightest and she would go challenge him anyway.

Heck, I think she would just go and challenge him even if he didn't bully me just because of the fact that he's strong.

I waved my hand in front of me, "No, no. He didn't bully me. We just had a nice chat and I got to meet the Queen as well. That actually brings me to the reason why I gathered all of you, actually…"

Lisa perked up, "Eh? It wasn't so that we could have a gangbang?"

I had to resist telling her 'later' because that would have sealed my fate the moment I did.

"Ahem… No. You see… When I had a chat with them, the Queen also invited me to a tea party two days from now and err… Circumstances made it hard for me to turn down the invitation so I ended up accepting it…"

"Hmm? What's the problem with that then? It'll just be like today, right? Aster?"

"There's just one difference… I'm allowed to bring companions with me… But I can only bring two people…"

Odeta immediately stood up, "Don't worry, Sister Aster! I'll keep you safe while I follow you!"

Lisa scowled at her, "Ha? What are you talking about? Obviously it's going to be me that Aster is bringing along!"

Emilia shook her head, "It's obvious that Boss will take someone who knows the local customs the best here, right? So I'm the obvious choice."

"Umm… I… I would like to follow as well… Aster?" Delmare admitted shyly.

Minnera huffed, "I would also like to accompany you, Aster. Wouldn't it be better to have a fellow Off-Worlder along?"

Odeta turned to the other girls and growled, "What's this? You all wanna fight then?! Bring it!"

"Oh, you think I'm scared of you? Let's take this outside, why don't we?"

"I'm not backing down without a fight either."

"E… Eh? Umm… I… I will do my best!"

"So it's a slaughter then…"

Uggghh… This was what I was afraid would happen…

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