The troops pressed forward, their rhythmic march blending into the background as Mize and Liam remained engrossed in the map.
It had become second nature, really.
Even back when they were just players, the map had been an extension of themselves, always open, always being analyzed.
Scouting for resource points. Marking treasure locations. Tracking enemy movements.
Checking the positions of nearby lords.
Every little detail mattered.
Mize's fingers drifted over the translucent screen, scrolling smoothly over the digital terrain, until something unfamiliar caught his eye.
He stopped.
Brows furrowing slightly, he tapped the icon, enlarging its details.
[Village] [Tier 2]
[Population]: 500
"Liam, look… a village."
Liam glanced up from his own screen, tilting his head slightly as he scanned the information.
"Oh?" A brow lifted. "Thought I already scouted this area a few times… didn't expect to miss one", his fingers tapping the armrest, "I will mark this location for later"
Mize turned to him expectantly, eyes gleaming.
"Are you going to take them in?", hands clasped together before his chest, "It would be great for the town's population if you could take them in"
Liam's answer was immediate.
A shake of the head, calm. "Not for now. I prefer laying the territory's foundation with the summoned population first," his words were finalized, "And there's no point in bringing unnecessary trouble into the territory early on. Elias's management skill... "
...
"He's still working on it"
Mize's face visibly dropped. "Because of the loyalty issue?", he pressed closer.
Liam's eyes flicked toward him, noting the slight clasp of hands before the chest, the hopeful look that couldn't quite be hidden, and the big ruby eyes blinking like a lightbulb, misty.
He sighed.
His hand shifted, fingers gently tilting Mize's chin up, forcing their gazes to lock.
His golden eyes deepened, voice dropping to something quieter.
"We can't save everyone just because we want to"
"You need to understand that loyalty is the cornerstone of the territory's future"
"Just because we can shelter them and fill their stomach, their hearts wouldn't automatically fall under our feet"
Mize's lips parted slightly. "But I"
"Think about it," Liam interrupted, leaning closer. "You know just as well how difficult it is to integrate villagers into a territory. You've done it before, haven't you?"
"Their hearts are deep, troublesome people"
Mize's throat bobbed.
His heart wasn't naïve, he knew Liam was right.
The headaches of managing people, their fears, their distrust, their complaints… it was never as simple as just taking them in.
"But you have the soldiers to quell any unrest," he countered, tilting his chin up slightly in defiance. "It shouldn't be that hard for you."
His confidence was solid, though the slight quiver in his lashes and the way his gaze wavered ever so slightly betrayed his uncertainty.
Still, he puffed his cheeks, standing firm in his argument.
Liam held that look for a few beats longer, eyes unreadable, then exhaled through his nose, his lips curling slightly in amusement.
"Alright... I can take them in" he admitted. "But not now."
"As early as possible," Mize pushed, voice firm.
Liam hummed in response, noncommittal. Whether that meant agreement or mere acknowledgement, Mize couldn't tell.
All he could do was hope.
Then.
[Host]
Mize barely flinched as the system's voice chimed in. He leaned back against the throne, adjusting his posture gracefully.
Casting several careful glances to the side, making sure Liam doesn't notice.
And then, the system continued.
[Why do you want to bring the villagers into the territory so badly?]
A grin curled at Mize's lips, but only inwardly. His thoughts flickered.
'For points, silly.'
[For points?]
'Duh?' Mize rolled his eyes mentally. 'Do you think I'm some kind of saint? I'm just a regular person at the end of the day.'
'Liam is right, I can't save everyone'
[Then why not just ask upfront, Host? Why the elaborate approach?]
'That won't work.'
Mize's fingers tapped against his armrest, legs crossed, eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed out at the horizon.
'In front of Liam, I need to appear feisty, shy, naïve, and kindhearted. Like a proper tea b*tch.'
The system fell silent for a moment.
[Tea… b*tch?]
'You know. A heart-tugging mix of innocence and charm. Playfully challenging, yet sweet enough to be unforgettable. The more emotions I stir, the more points I get. Simple strategy.'
[Host is truly a genius.]
'Of course I am.'
Mize smirked to himself.
And, of course, increasing the population also meant more long-term points in the future.
Two birds. One well thrown stone.
'Huhuhu!' Mize grinned inwardly, his complexion smug.
'Genius Mimi scheme!'
----
----
----
The march pressed on, a massive tide of soldiers stretching across the wasteland, their synchronized footsteps pounding against the cracked earth.
Dust curled into the sky, carried by the dry wind, but atop the towering throne, another kind of storm brewed.
Liam had made a habit of pulling Mize onto his lap, arms locked around his waist, his grip firm and unyielding.
Mize, trapped against his chest, had tried, tried, to keep his composure.
Back straight, head high, an image of grace and dignity.
But Liam's hands…
They didn't allow dignity.
His fingers moved in slow, lazy circles, tracing the delicate curve of Mize's waist before sliding lower, never hurried, never rushed, just a patient, tormenting exploration.
At first, Mize parried the worst of it, his small hands swatting away any attempts that strayed too close to forbidden territory.
But Liam, damn him, was relentless.
His hands found other places, other weaknesses.
A firm squeeze at his hip.
A teasing drag of his fingertips over the outer curve of his thigh.
A slow, steady kneading, there.
Mize's breath hitched, fingers tightening around the armrest of the throne.
The sensation sent a slow, unbearable heat curling through his stomach, spreading down his spine like liquid fire.
"L-Liam…" His voice came out in a trembling whisper, barely audible over the wind.
Liam's arms flexed around him, pulling him closer. His lips brushed against Mize's ear, voice low, intimate. "Hmm?"
Mize squirmed, his back arching ever so slightly as Liam's fingers pressed again, molding against him as if testing, memorizing.
"C-can you not knead my butt" His voice faltered. "As if it's dough?"
Liam stilled.
Then, a slow, wicked smirk tugged at his lips.
"Oh?" His voice was all innocence. "Am I doing that?"
His hand moved again, a slow press, deliberate and firm.
Hhch!
Mize clamped a hand over his mouth, mortified. His entire body shuddered, every muscle tightening, toes curling.
Liam chuckled, and damn it, Mize felt the vibrations against his back, traveling straight to his core.
His legs twitched, his heartbeat slamming against his ribs, but Liam wasn't done.
He leaned in closer, breath hot against the curve of Mize's neck, his free hand sliding along Mize's outer thigh before ghosting back up, inching dangerously close.
"Y-you" Mize gasped, his hands flying down to grip Liam's wrists, desperate to stop him before he lost control of himself.
Liam chuckled again, low and husky. "Me?"
Mize's breath came in short, uneven bursts.
His body was betraying him, warmth pooling in places he refused to acknowledge, his skin hypersensitive to every tiny shift of Liam's fingers.
"L-Liam… if you keep this up…"
Liam's lips hovered just over his ear. "What?" His voice dipped lower, a whisper against Mize's flushed skin. "You'll beg me to stop?"
Mize's breath hitched. His fingers curled into Liam's sleeve, knuckles white.
He was trapped between the heat of Liam's body and the unbearable teasing of those hands.
Damn him.
Damn him and his knowing smirk and his golden, wicked eyes.
Mize's legs squeezed together instinctively, his thighs pressing as a last-ditch effort to suppress the heat curling inside him.
But all that did was make Liam chuckle again, his grip tightening ever so slightly.
"You're sensitive here, aren't you?"
Mize nearly choked on air. "W-would you shut up?!"
Liam grinned, pressing one last time, slow and deep.
Mize slapped his hands away.
Liam laughed.
Breathless, flustered, and utterly mortified, Mize threw him a venomous glare. "You're a menace!"
Liam, ever shameless, only smiled wider. "But you love it."
Mize's mouth opened, to argue, to yell, to deny.
But nothing came out.
Because he wasn't sure if he could lie right now.
And judging by Liam's victorious expression, he knew it too.
Despite Mize's best efforts at retaliation, kicks, swats, and venomous glares, Liam's hands carried on their onslaught, completely unfazed.
Mize swore, in all his years of life, nothing had ever pushed him this close to just letting go.
His body was burning up, feverish under Liam's hands.
It was too much.
The slow, indulgent kneading at his thighs, the teasing pressure just below his waist…
Every touch sent a pulse of something unbearable through him, heat curling and twisting in places he wasn't willing to acknowledge.
'I need to control it…' Mize's thoughts swam in a haze. His legs twitched, thighs pressing together as he subtly shifted his body to the side.
But then.
Liam's voice broke through the tension, casual, as if he hadn't just spent half the journey tormenting him.
"Ah… It's here."
His hands finally, finally! Stilled, retreating from their wicked exploration.
Mize exhaled, a slow, shuddering breath, as if he'd just been pulled from the depths of a fever dream.
His entire body felt like it had been wrung dry, left trembling from the echoes of everything that had just happened.
Relief flooded him, though… there was something else, something fleeting in his expression that he barely even registered himself.
A sense of loss.
Liam caught it. The faint, almost imperceptible flash across Mize's face.
And he smiled.
'Oh? So you were enjoying it after all?'
He kept that thought to himself, letting amusement flicker in his eyes before turning his attention back to the task at hand.
A shame. He would've loved to tease Mize about it.
The shifting structure ahead pulled both of them back into focus.
"It's huge…" Mize murmured, voice soft, lashes fluttering under the wind as he gazed at the ever-enlarging spectacle before them.
"It is," Liam agreed, shifting forward from his seat. He rose, but his grip around Mize didn't loosen, still holding him firm in his embrace.
Mize didn't mind.
In fact, if given the option, he would've preferred to stay in Liam's arms forever.
Every second counted toward his points.
The heat, the adrenaline, the sheer addictiveness of it all.
His eyes flickered to the floating panel only he could see, a rush of excitement sparking through him.
[69, 000!] Points
A rapid progress toward his next beauty breakthrough.
'Just a little bit more! A little bit more to enter a whole new realm!'
One point might not seem like much, but Mize had a hunch, once he entered that realm, once he reached the next threshold of beauty, his current appearance would be nothing but dust in comparison.
His fingers tightened subtly against Liam's chest, excitement humming beneath his skin.
But Liam, mistaking it for fear, softened his hold, his voice coming like a soothing breeze against Mize's ear.
"No need to be scared, Mimi." A whisper, smooth and reassuring. "As long as I'm here, nothing will harm you."
Mize, ever in character, gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.
His ruby-red eyes shimmered with unreadable emotion before drifting elsewhere, toward the horizon, where the structure loomed closer with each passing second.
And then, the world shifted.