If Aarav had eyebrows, he would have raised them. The conversation with the Queen was turning into something fascinating already, and she was already hiding things from him that appeared to be common knowledge. The five-foot under man would not have lapsed so epically unless there was nothing that he would typically conceal. Also, isn’t she being a little undignified for a Queen?

“Please attend, his Majesty!” his voice seemed to change to that of a crier, this dude has some lungs on him, and I thought he was about to bite it! Also, aren’t we already attending him? At these words, the assembly smacked right fist to left breast and then lowered it with militaristic timing. Very synchronised! Aarav thought, then when the rest of them all looked at him pointedly, manifested a paw and did the same, is that what they wanted from me?

The King made his first noise since their arrival. He laughed heartily. The deep and booming noise made the others in the room smile genuinely. From that simple interaction, it was clear to Aarav that his man had earned the affection of his subjects, at least the ones in this room. In his various interactions in his previous life, he had learned about reading signals. People’s bodies were always more honest than their words and actions. Here there was no reservation in their smiles. There was no slight hesitation in their motions to check and see if what they did would be acceptable.

And just like that, Aarav was put at ease. If this man was reasonable, then Aarav could reason with him. A, wait for the slayer of the Mad King!? So this guy was a killer, he killed a Mad King, and this world seemed to operate under martial law, so maybe he shouldn’t have been surprised, but it was still a shock to his Blorenar-young mind. When everything you learned in your previous life was useless. That took some getting used to.

You have gained the Sapient Skill, Body Language Reading Level 1! Body Language Learning will allow you to be slightly more aware of the physical micro-movements of the sapients around you. Awareness and interpretation understanding will improve with Level.

Yes! He hadn’t gained a new Skill in a while, but it was precisely the Skill he needed. He had been right about some of his old-world capabilities coming back into use. Time to dust of the old lock picking hands! Ahem, but before that. He eyed The Way Forward is…Forward! It was deafeningly quiet. Well, maybe I will think about it later. Why does it feel like the Talent is glaring at me…?

As Body Language Reading activated, he became more aware of subtle movements. A woman on his right curled and uncurled her fingers, a drop of sweat on the man in the middle's bald head. The woman at the back was itching to tuck a loose strand behind her ear and eying the King. He saw all of this; it did not seem to allow him to see any more than he could already, just be slightly more conscious of it. It was only Level 1 at the moment, after all. It was sure to get a lot better with time. He would want to keep it active all the time. Learn everything he could about the people around him, and with three eyes, that meant a complete view. His interpretation was no better than he had been as a human, perhaps a little worse as he adjusted to the new awareness. Hopefully, with this many people around, it would level quickly.

The King had stopped laughing but was still smiling broadly. He was a handsome man, with a beard framing his face and a small soul patch connecting it to his lower lip. He radiated majesty and warmth. The three women carrying Aarav smiled a little wider, and the men stood a little straighter in his presence. It was a heartwarming display of affection. Aarav wanted in! The Queen scowled in contrast, and the skin sack seemed just to stand there bent double. Aarav did not smile. Between the Queen and the golden oldie, it was hard to.

It was a soft autumn breeze with its warmth and deep rich tones when he spoke, just like his laugh. “Welcome, Resh, was it?” he looked to his left and the advisor confirmed with a curt nod. “You are very welcome to the Palace of Darf! My wife says that you are a sentient monster! I must say I have seen strange, but this would be a first. Perhaps it would not be right to call you a monster? A sapient must be…” the King paused expectantly, but Aarav kept silent. “Must be something more, shall I treat you as Human then? Until we know and understand more?” the Queen nudged him at the hip with her hand gently and cleared his throat. “Hmm, yes, quite right.” He spoke quietly as if to himself. “There is the matter of taking a Soul Oath.”

Soul Oath!? She said an Oath….nothing about my soul came into it. Aarav was about to go into full-on panic mode before he looked at the King again. Deep in his eyes, he saw something. It was like the birth of a universe, the sight so incredible it took away the panic from Aarav, and he calmed. The King smiled again. “The Oath that you are to take will be bound to you. Isabella made that clear, did she not?” Aarav nodded dumbly, still a little stunned, if not crazed. “Then how would it be bound if not to your soul? It is the only suitable anchoring medium.”

Two things become abundantly clear to Aarav at that moment. First, the Slime still didn’t have a choice. That the Oath intertwined with Aarav’s Soul did not change his predicament. It was better to be soul bound and alive, he supposed than dead. What was the chance that his reincarnation would happen again? This time was clearly, a very, very lucky fluke. Second, the King had instantly known his hesitation. Either it was pervasive for people to have this particular qualm about Soul Oaths, or he was more intuitive than he was letting on. Not just a kindly man, someone with a Skill related to empathy. Could I learn something like that? Aside from body language, being an empath would be very handy when convincing people of anything.

“Of course.” Aarav laughed nervously, sounding like a donkey with laryngitis. Several people around him winced slightly, and he quickly cut off the sound. “I understand, your Majesty. Will you be taking my Oath?” The King nodded, and Aarav had a moment to be surprised before the King was in front of him. Did I blink or something? He seemed to have stepped up to his glass cage without bothering with the intervening space. How fast…? It was incomprehensible, and the King looked genuinely confused for a moment before he looked at the Queen, who was smirking and then allowed a small smile to grace his lips. The Slime failed to understand the whole exchange as he tried to collect his thought to understand how powerful this man must be to do the impossible so casually.

“Very well, repeat the words after me.” Aarav was surprised that the King would bind himself to a lowly creature like Aarav. No one else seemed to be concerned, so it appeared as though this was a common occurrence. The King takes the Oaths of the commoners.

“Please, your Majesty, can I just understand a little of this Oath before I take it? I understand that this is something that I will have to do, but I would be remiss if I did not do my due diligence first.”

“Very well, I also would not wish for you to take this Soul Oath without understanding it or being fully complicit in the act. It doesn’t work well if both parties are not fully away of what they are promising.” Oh, so if I hadn’t asked, then I wouldn’t have been as tightly bound? Figures, I would shoot myself in the foot with each word out of my mouth. Too late, he remembered the Kings ability and looked up to see his lips quirk infinitesimally.

He was going to have to watch his thought around this guy, or his emotions at the very least. The expression on his face grew serious. “Okay, please, go ahead, Your Majesty. I am ready.” Aarav silently waited for the King’s explanation.

After a few seconds of contemplation, as if choosing his words carefully, he started, “The Soul Oath is a tradition that dates back to the time before the…previous…King.” A silent “Mad” hung in the air as he spoke. “…that is a tale for another time, though.”

And so it begins.