Shin's brain was a blue screen of death. The woman standing before him was a masterpiece of elegant, intelligent beauty. The kind of woman who wouldn't have looked twice at him in his old world. The kind of woman who was currently, and inexplicably, offering herself to him.
And she was Celia. The tiny, glasses-wearing, clipboard-wielding head of domestic affairs.
Okay, his mind finally managed to compute. Definitely, one hundred percent, not a lolicon. This changes... everything.
Celia took a step closer, her movements precise and deliberate. Her mature, calm voice was a stark contrast to her previous, child-like tone.
"The Rite requires a physical and energetic convergence to establish the anchor bond," she stated, as if reading from a technical manual. "Let us proceed."
She didn't wait for an answer. She simply took his hand, her touch no longer cool and clinical, but charged with a potent, structured energy. She led him towards a more private alcove, away from the prying eyes of the kitchen staff.
This Rite was different. It wasn't a battle of wills like with Valeria, or a taming of chaos like with Solara. It was a... merger. A system integration.
As their bodies joined, Shin didn't feel fire or sunlight. He felt pure, cold, structured data. A torrent of information flooded his mind: inventory lists spanning centuries, personnel files with detailed performance reviews, structural schematics of the entire castle, water purification cycles, guard rotation timetables... it was an ocean of pure, unadulterated logistics.
He wasn't anchoring her power; he was interfacing with her network. He felt his own Aura of Kingship, the warm, human element, flow into her rigid, magical systems. And in return, her cold, efficient logic flowed into him. It was a perfect, silent synchronization. The Rite wasn't an explosion; it was a blueprint of pure blue light that unfolded in his mind's eye, a detailed map of the entire castle and its operations, all connected to him.
With a final, silent pulse of energy, the connection was sealed. The blue light receded, and Shin stumbled back, his head swimming. He felt like he'd just downloaded the entire internet.
Celia stood before him, her adult form radiating a new, stable power. For a moment, she was still. Then, with a grace that seemed completely out of character, she sank to her knees and pressed her forehead to the floor in the now-familiar gesture of absolute submission.
"My King," she said, her voice filled with the same temporary, magical devotion he'd heard before. "My systems, my knowledge, my body... are now aligned with your command. I offer myself as a concubine. My assets are now your assets."
Shin let out a long breath. Here we go again. He was already preparing his awkward, "it's an honor, but you don't have to do this" speech.
But then, something strange happened.
Celia lifted her head. The devotion in her eyes flickered, like a faulty connection. She blinked, a slow, analytical blink. The magical haze cleared, replaced by her usual, razor-sharp intellect.
She stood up, brushing off her uniform with a few precise pats.
"Fascinating," she said, her voice once again calm and clinical. "The post-Rite devotion protocol is temporary, approximately 3.7 minutes in duration. It appears to be a neurological and magical side effect, not a permanent state of loyalty. An inefficient design, but understandable."
Shin just stared, his mouth open. "What?"
Celia looked at him, her head tilted slightly as if studying a curious specimen. "My previous offer of concubinage was a product of this temporary state. While the offer itself remains logically sound for the purpose of strategic alliance, the emotional impetus is now null. We can proceed on a purely professional basis."
She dismissed the most intimate moment of his life as a "temporary state" and a "side effect."
"Now, if you'll excuse me," she continued, already pulling out her data slate, "I must update the castle's structural integrity logs. The energy surge from the Rite was... significant. It will require a full systems diagnostic." She turned and walked away, her long, dark hair swaying behind her, already completely absorbed in her work.
Shin stood alone in the alcove, next to a plate of cold eggs. He had just performed the Rite with the most intelligent, organized, and utterly unromantic woman in the kingdom. And she had already filed it as a systems update.
Shin stood alone in the alcove, staring at the plate of cold, congealed eggs. He had just performed the Rite with the most intelligent, organized, and utterly unromantic woman in the kingdom. And she had already filed it as a systems update. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or deeply, deeply concerned.
Just as he was contemplating the existential nature of his new job, a familiar swirl of golden and silver light filled the kitchen. Luna and Solara materialized, looking slightly windswept.
"The Confluence was... tedious," Luna declared, smoothing her dress. "Far too much talk of inter-dimensional tarriffs."
Solara, however, ignored her sister completely. Her eyes locked onto the plate of food in front of Shin, and her face immediately soured. "You ate without me?!" she accused, her lower lip jutting out in a pout. "You made that for me! It's my favorite!"
"I was hungry," Shin said, a little defensively. "And Celia was here."
Solara's pout deepened. She crossed her arms and turned away, her back ramrod straight. "Hmph. Fine. I don't care. The castle's food is terrible anyway."
Shin couldn't help but smile at her terrible attempt at a tsundere act. "I'll make you some later," he offered.
"F-fine!" she stammered, a faint blush creeping up her neck. "But only because I need to maintain my energy!"
Luna watched the exchange with an amused smile before turning her attention back to more important matters. "Now, my love," she said softly. "The Rite with Celia. How did it go?"
"It... worked," Shin said, still sounding a bit dazed. "I think. It was very... organized."
He looked at Luna, a question that had been nagging him finally bubbling to the surface. "That adult form she had... is that her real one? I mean, she usually looks like a..."
Luna let out a light, melodic laugh. "Of course. Everyone in the castle knows Celia's true form is that of a woman. She finds her... endowments... to be a significant drain on her energy and an impediment to optimal efficiency. So she maintains a more compact, child-like form for day-to-day operations."
Shin processed this. "So... her adult form is... inefficient?" he asked, his mind immediately framing it in project management terms.
Before Luna could answer, Solara, who had been eavesdropping, burst into a fresh peal of wicked laughter.
"Hah! I knew it!" she howled, pointing at him. "I knew it! You were worried you'd have to do the Rite with a little girl, you pervert!"
That was it. The final straw. The "lolicon" accusation, for the third time, combined with the utter absurdity of the day, finally snapped something in Shin. His easygoing demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, firm anger.
"That's not funny, Solara," he said, his voice low and dangerously calm. "And for that, I'm not cooking for you."
Solara's laughter died in her throat. Her face went pale. "What?"
"You heard me," Shin said, standing up and clearing his plate. "No more of my cooking. Enjoy the castle's 'terrible' food."
The threat was more effective than any royal decree. Solara's defiant facade crumbled instantly. Her eyes welled up with huge, glistening tears.
"I'm sorry!" she wailed, her voice cracking. "I'm so, so sorry! I was just joking! Please, please, Shin, cook for me! I'll do anything! I'll... I'll polish the sun! I'll make it extra shiny! Please!"
She was now openly sobbing, a truly pathetic and heart-wrenching sight.
Shin let out a long, weary sigh. He looked at the blubbering Sun, a being of immense power currently reduced to a crying child over the prospect of missing a meal. He looked at Luna, who was trying, and failing, to hide her smile.
"Fine," Shin conceded, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "But you're on dish duty for a week."
Solara's tears stopped instantly. "Deal!" she chirped, her face brightening as if nothing had happened.
Shin just shook his head. His reign, he decided, was going to be one long, endless negotiation.