Swarming Sovereignty

Rose stared at her Queen, heart pounding in her chest. Why had things come to this?! All she had done was mention having wanted Analysis and her theories on why she hadn’t received it yet, and now her Queen was asking Rose to command her! The very notion felt…ridiculous, as against common sense as thinking that two plus two was equal to five!

Yet, it had also been a direct command. And so it was that every fiber of her being was screaming at her to both obey and disobey the command. She could not put herself above the Queen, even temporarily, but she also couldn’t disobey the Queen, even if that meant putting herself above the Queen.

Rose shook her head and took a deep breath. She was better than this. She had been granted a soul by the Queen, and it was time to put that to use. She could ignore the instincts that told her not to put herself above the Queen, she just had to get herself back into the habit of dealing with conflicting overpowering urges.

How did it go again…? Right, she had to focus on one of the urges, and then use it to defeat the other. This…didn’t work if the two urges were of different strengths, unless she was focusing on the stronger one, but fortunately these urges were from the same source, and she knew how to play around that.

She focused on the urge to obey the Queen. That was her primary purpose, above everything else. And, if she thought about it, massaging her thought pattern into just the right shape, she wasn’t actually putting herself above the Queen by ordering her around, was she?

No, she wasn’t. The Queen had ordered Rose to order her around, thus Rose was still obeying the Queen’s direct orders. That meant that she was putting herself below the Queen, and there was no way that someone putting herself below the Queen could be putting herself above the Queen.

At the end of the day, the Queen was still in control. The moment the Queen said the word, she would resume her rightful place at the top of the pyramid, she was just…taking a vacation. She didn’t want to do the thinking, so, as any good servant would, Rose would do the thinking for her.

And, finally, the urge to not command the Queen died away, leaving Rose completely in control of herself once again. Well, she was still subject to the desire to obey the Q – Lia, but that was fine. She was confident that that was something she didn’t have to worry about. She didn’t care if the desire was something that she hadn’t had before being reincarnated, it was still hers. And Lia had yet to do anything that would make Rose even consider wanting to disobey her, she had been the picture of a good, understanding boss.

A sudden calm washed over Rose. She was no longer mentally struggling to keep herself thinking correctly. Instead, there was more…a little part of her original self in the back of her head, one that wasn’t truly conscious, but was conscious enough to decide if it was time for the “real” Rose to come back out.

And, to Rose’s delight, her “real” self wasn’t one that was free of Lia’s influence. She could feel that throwing away her mask would lead to her being the person she had come to be after reincarnation, not the one she was before. Whether that was because of her reincarnation setting her “real” state of being to be the one that she had reincarnated into or Lia’s control extending past the system, Rose didn’t care. It just meant that this Title posed no danger to Lia or Rose’s sisters.

Rose? Lia questioned, a worried look on her face. Are you okay?

Perfectly fine, Lia. Rose said. I just had to wrestle with my instincts for a bit. They really didn’t want me to order you around, but once I pointed out that, in reality, I was just following your orders by doing so, they quieted down.

O-oh. Lai replied. I…wasn’t aware that would cause such a conflict within you, sorry.

Rose smiled inwardly. This was but one of the reasons she didn’t want to disobey Lia – Lia was clearly very concerned over Rose’s wellbeing, despite the fact that Rose would gladly do anything Lia asked, even laying down her life if it came to it.

All is well. Rose assured Lia. In fact, it seems to have helped me significantly. My Preserved Soul Title has gone from Fragmented to Disjointed, and I have begun to regain my old Titles. My newest one helps me maintain this sort of thing without making a conscious effort.

That’s great news! Anything else or is it just that for now?

Rose quickly searched through her memories. No, it’s just that for now. This sort of twisty thinking is apparently something I was quite used to doing, I think I might have obtained this Title in that instance anyway, and that prompted the breakthrough. Of course, the moment I remember any details that could be used to identify me, I will tell you.

Good. Lia replied. Now, what are your orders?

I need a moment to properly take your abilities into account whilst thinking of a task for you. While I do so, please use your earth magic to help the terramancer and burrowers dig the tunnel back to our old burrow. It should be nearly finished, so if I do not send a messenger to you by the time it is completed, return for more orders.

Yes, ma’am! Lia replied smartly.

Do not call me ma’am. Rose said. Please call me Rose.

S-sorry, did that make you uncomfortable again?

No, I am past that. You asked the same of me, so I will ask the same of you. In fact, I will ask you to act in much the same way that you want me to act. Tell me if anything I’m doing is stupid, and please converse with me like you normally would.

Of course. I’ll be off, then! Lia replied, setting off for the tunnel to the burrow. Rose turned back to her management, but a moment later, Pager, the Skill that let her know when someone needed her, informed her that Lia had turned back and needed something from her.

Yes, Lia?

Uh…I kind of don’t really know where the tunnel starts? Lia said embarrassedly. I can feel where the burrowers and terramancer are, but I don’t know how to…get there, if that makes sense.

Ah, my apologies, I forgot I had yet to show you that. In that case, wait until the burrower messenger comes back to me. then go back with her, she should be due soon.

Lia nodded, sitting herself down where she was and waiting.

It was at that point that Rose realized she was no longer struggling to call Lia by her name and not ‘the Queen’. It appeared that that was enough of a change in mind for Masked One to manage it for her.

She considered keeping that going after she dropped this mask, but quickly discarded the thought. While it was kind of going against Lia’s desire to have Rose call her by name, she could also see that, whenever Rose messed up, Lia got this sort of…subconsciously happy face; she clearly thought it was cute. Still…

Lia, I have a question.

Ask away!

If there is a relatively trivial matter you have given me instructions on, would you rather I follow your orders to the letter or do the thing that I see makes you happiest?

Lia blinked. What’s this all of a sudden?

I was just…thinking about a hypothetical.

Lia paused for a moment, considering that. This is about you slipping up and calling me Queen, isn’t it?

Rose paused for a moment, then nodded. Yes. I realized that, with my new Title, I can effectively eliminate the chance of me failing, but I’ve also found that you seem to enjoy it when I do. I…must say, I’m surprised you picked up on it. It really seemed like something that was entirely out of your awareness.

Yeah, I didn’t realize it until right now. Lia replied. I knew you weren’t the type of person to just bring up a hypothetical like that, so I thought back to my instructions and realized that was the only one you would probably consider “relatively trivial”. From there, it was a simple matter of reflecting on what you meant when you talked about “doing the thing that makes me happiest” to realize that I think it’s really cute when you slip up.

Even so, she continued, I don’t want you to mess up on purpose or anything. In general, if it’s a trivial thing, do what you think makes me happiest. In this specific instance, I’m going to say keep trying your utmost to call me Lia, but do not use your new Title. Still, if it ever gets to the point where it is beginning to frustrate you, please let me know, and we’ll talk about where to go from there. We can either drop calling me Lia or let you use the Title, whichever you prefer.

Of course. Rose replied. In that case, I will continue to do my best. Thank you for your time.

Anytime. Lia replied, sitting back down.

A few moments later, Pager pinged Rose again, and she turned to find the burrower she was using as a messenger had returned. The burrower gave her status report, noting that the tunnel was nearly complete, and then Rose sent her back on her way, Lia in tow.

As Rose continued her work, she thought about what she could use Lia for. She wanted to keep Lia off of the front lines for as long as possible, but Lia was, unfortunately, right – she was the single strongest thing in the swarm, and it was likely that her power would be needed in order to turn the tide against the goblins.

Rose had only seen goblins this well organized and responsive to threats when she had been fighting against the Lord of Monsters, and that was only because they had other things commanding them. That meant there was a real possibility there was something else leading this group of goblins, perhaps a hobgoblin or even a redcap. Even if there wasn’t, the leader probably had an unusual level of intelligence for a goblin, which only boded ill.

Rose paused. She had just recalled fighting against the Lord of Monsters without even really realizing it. She took a moment to scan her memory, and then, satisfied that there were no specifics she could recall, made a note to tell Lia the next time she saw her. That would put a definitive time limit on her birth, and would probably help rule out at least a few of the Ruby Emperor’s aides.

But she was getting distracted. The point was that she would likely be forced to deploy Lia when sieging the goblins’ main stronghold; her magic was just too useful to pass up. But, in the meantime, she wanted to keep Lia as safe as possible, so that meant having her oversee building fortifications and converting things.

Yes, that was a good role for Lia. Lia was undoubtedly able to make stronger things than Rose; Rose had tried after evolving and had found that, curiously, she was able to make a few things she was pretty sure Lia couldn’t.

She was, for instance, able to create something called a Swarm Middle Manager. They were, essentially, members of the swarm that were almost entirely focused on boosting the efficiency of workers they were overseeing and helping relay orders from Swarm Managers like Rose. She would have to ask Lia for permission to make a few goblins into middle managers; they would probably greatly boost the domestic actions of the swarm.

Still, that could only mean Lia was capable of making things Rose couldn’t. In particular, Rose was guessing that Lia could make magic users much more readily than Rose, and that was something that would be invaluable in their upcoming fights. Goblins only rarely had magic users amongst their number, and when they did, they were usually rather simple ones.

And magic was, in Rose’s opinion, the most important part of any battle. There were a myriad of ways that magic could turn a relatively even conflict into a one-sided beatdown, and as such, it was vitally important to strive to have a more magically potent force than the opponent.

Even if the opponent had the means to counter anything that would instantly win a battle, magic remained useful not only to prevent the opposition from doing the same, but in the battle’s smaller-scale conflicts. It could be used to prop up weak points in formations or strike at an opponent’s weak point, and was just a general force multiplier.

It was a lesson Rose had learned the hard way. The Lord of Monsters had many strong magicians in his army, and they had been used to ruthlessly crush the sapient people’s armies. He used dirty trick after dirty trick until, finally, people adapted. It was only then that real headway was made in taking back the world. It had forever changed the way war would be waged, and Rose was not about to ignore that wisdom.

…She made another note to inform Lia of this epiphany. She felt much more strongly about this than she would have guessed, and it was imperative to make sure Lia knew just how important it was. Perhaps this, too, would help in her identification, but that seemed…unlikely; this was a lesson that any commander in that war would have learned.

So…it was decided, then. Lia would remain in this fort, aiming to create as many magic users as possible. In a conflict of this scale, each individual magician could make a world of difference, and Lia was probably the only one able to mass produce them. Actually, she’d have Lia handle all conversion that wasn’t something that only Rose could make. It would help get her level up in preparation for the big fight.

With that decided, Rose sat back and waited for the messenger from the tunnel to report back, so she could give Lia instructions to come back. Rose wanted to end this conflict as quickly as possible – the faster Lia was back in charge, the better.