- Shari -

It seems like they're done.

The queen leaves the cell with an expression that is somewhere between content and triumphant, followed by Liqu who gives one last, terrifying wink to its new inmate.

"See? As I said, this kind of man breaks after experiencing the smallest of inconveniencies." (Serenia)

"Well, I suppose that it's positive that you got what you wanted without having to let Liqu slowly peel away his skin. Using her to torture defenseless people isn't exactly what I'm going for with her." (Shari)

In fact, since we started traveling together I was always keen on decreasing her more monstrous traits.

Yes, okay, we have quite the kill count, but I try to avoid raising it if I can, and try to teach her as well to solve troublesome situations without violence.

And if I have to fight, I at least want to kill as quickly and cleanly as possible.

One can't deny that no matter how bad a person is, having Liqu torture them would be a huge step back on that line.

I already don't like it when we have to play the big bad monsters like just now.

It's extremely bad for the image I'm trying to establish here for us.

"Well, it isn't entirely true that we didn't torture him. In fact, this already was part of the deed. So I am grateful that you were willing to assist me on this." (Serenia)

I don't like to hear this.

Being called the willful torture assistant isn't flattering at all.

"Wait, I was observing everything from here. Liqu didn't dissolve anything from him, as was the plan we agreed on. You didn't, did you, Liqu?" (Shari)

I extra told her that I didn’t want her to cause any bodily harm just to make sure of this.

"I only took a bit of the first skin layer. Nothing more than the dead skin was dissolved. He shouldn't even be sore. Well, maybe he'll get a slight rash." (Liqu)

"While it might be debatable in how far you physically exerted force on him, it still suffices for the applied definition. Are you familiar with the three stages of torture?" (Serenia)

What is that kind of question?

"No, sorry. We didn't have a torturing course provided in my village." (Shari)

At "village" she actually shows a reaction.

Just now I become aware that I didn't tell her about my origin and might have slipped too much.

"You see, it is important to know that there are two kinds of torture. The first only inflicts agony for the sake of itself. Either to punish someone, to break them, or simply to live out one's lowest urges. Personally, I consider such a practice barbaric, though, I would lie if I'd say I wouldn't know nobles who rely on it to ascertain themselves the loyalty of their subjects. Utterly pointless if you ask me since it inspires hatred and fear in equal measures, and one can never be certain how the coin is going to fall." (Serenia)

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"And what has this to do with Liqu being a torturer?" (Shari)

"Yes, I was getting to that point. We are talking here about the other kind of torture. This kind exists to achieve concrete results. Usually to confirm something you are already sure about. Something that you can validate so the fear of the punishment for lying can incline the person to answer honestly. The risk is that the victim doesn't actually know anything. Even here there was a small risk that another noble's troops could be the ones guarding the facility and he wasn't involved to avoid this particular result. It needs a good assessment of people to determine the truth. Fortunately, he hinted right at the start that he would know. And since it was about a concrete location, he couldn't lead us to the wrong place. So yes. Things you can check if they are true. And truly, you should never do it if you want to get a truthful testimony. They would affirm anything you ask them to avoid the pain." (Serenia)

"Ahem, three stages?" (Shari)

"Yes, I was getting to that part. So since this kind of torture is result-oriented the funny aspect about it is that it often doesn't require any actual pain and agony. In the first stage, you simply show your future victim around. You present the tools to them and proclaim how you plan to use them in practice. You wouldn't believe how great a mental effect this alone has on the target. The second stage is that you prepare the victim. You force them into the chair, or whatever place you have prepared, and slowly set up the tools. And only if that doesn't work, if you realize that the fear of the torture isn't enough, then you use agony as a tool to break the other's mind. Then it gets messy and you have to ask yourself how far you want to go. In this case, I would say we were somewhere around the second stage and the threat we used was a slime willing to dissolve our dear viscount. And as you can see, it was pretty effective. So once again, thank you for your participation, Liqu." (Serenia)

"It wasn't very difficult!" (Liqu)

God, Liqu is kinda embarrassed about being praised.

It's at least true that we terrorized that man to get what we want.

I can understand how this may translate into torture.

But it could certainly have been worse for him so I shouldn't judge too harshly.

But I truly didn't think that Liqu would be able of playing such a convincing act.

It isn't like her to hide her true intentions.

So it's quite the improvement that she was able to say that she wanted to "take some bits of him".

If not...

"Liqu, were you actually going to dissolve that man?" (Shari)

Oh god, she's fidgeting.

"You know, from all that teasing and dissolving without real benefit I kinda teased myself. I mean, I already had him. Would it have been so bad to go all the way?" (Liqu)

I knew it.

You can't tell a slime not to devour what it already has caught.

It was pure luck that she could control herself.

Well, and maybe the fact that she has more self-control than I sometimes give her credit for.

We proceed to move out of this dark hole and I feel better now that I can finally gain some distance from the sewers.

Now that I think about it, there was something else I wanted to confirm.

"Was that true? When you said that in the past people were executed with slimes?" (Shari)

Call it personal interest in the history of my kind.

If I understood this right, it was even before they were released out into the world.

"I want you to know that I wasn't involved in such a thing. But yes, it happened. Yet sadly, not only like this. Executions were one part of it, but sometimes they were simply sacrificed to feed them." (Serenia)

"Sacrificed to feed slimes!? Didn't they have anything else?! Like, like... I don't know, animals? Rotten fruit? Anything at all?!" (Shari)

"You see, there weren't many slimes directly after they were initially created. They started by throwing the trash towards them. However, soon it was realized that they wouldn't care as much about inorganic matter. Yet it was still a huge boon. Not only to get rid of all the waste but also for an entirely different reason." (Serenia)

"Which was?" (Shari)

"For all the troublesome aspects a slime has, the excess matter they produce is an excellent fertilizer. At that time there was a dire famine riddling the country. So they established a channel system that would enable them to guide the matter to the great southeastern fields." (Serenia)

"The great southeastern fields? But there aren't fields in the south-east, only the Velja lake..." (Shari)

Oh!

"Yes. So at that time, the problem was kinda solved. If not for the problematic question regarding how to keep them productive. And then it was realized that the slimes would even dissolve inorganic matter as long as there'd occasionally be something thrown into the mix that would keep them interested. You should know very well what slimes prefer to dissolve. " (Serenia)

"Are you implying..." (Shari)

"Yes. They had no food to spend but too many mouths to feed. So the ruler of that time made a decision." (Serenia)

Shit.

That's... I don't know what to say.

Aside from that one thought which involuntary comes up.

And she's letting that creature play with her daughter?