Plunging his alabaster head back into the warm water, King Tidal III let out a long sigh of well-being, small waves of the basin gently soothing his ivory scales. Turning on his back edged with deep blue spikes, he spat out a fountain-like spray of water.
"How sweet it is to relax and not care about anything ..." he thought with delight, letting himself float.
The sun, bright and warm, was at its zenith. The daytime star mercilessly darted its powerful rays over the entire Foam Kingdom, land of sea, swamps, and rice fields, causing a damp and heavy climate. As usual, the Foamians exercised their daily nap in a place where were water and warmth. Like rice, they were meant to be immersed in temperate water, full-exposed to the sun. The temperature of the water had to reach 25 to 30°C for the leviathans to come and sleep. This restorative nap seemed to be their only source of vital energy, and they were perfectly content with it. Just like tropical plants, they vegetated during the hottest hours of the day. Some rare toddlers preferred to frolic in rice fields, hot spring pools, or the ocean rather than resting there. However, they were only a minority of the population, as this obligatory rest was sacred.
It was a custom that had become law: they would take a nap from noon to three o'clock, period. In other words, one had a relatively early and light lunch, so that one could take full advantage of the sun's rays afterwards.
The Foamian king returned to a prone position, then raised the tip of his scaly nose and back from the water like a crocodile.
"What if I went to the terms, then? Maybe Laerob will be there, so we could talk ... Mmmh ... But what could we talk about ? ... I don't know ... I'll decide about the subject later ... In an hour maybe ... Or two ... ? I don't knooooow..." Tidal thought softly.
Slightly opening his closed eyes, he was assaulted by the blinding and aggressive sunlight that attacked his retinas.
"Aaaaaaoouuch …" he scolded, closing them immediately, in a slow reflex.
He then felt a bubble come to life and burst on his snout.
"Irisée ... ?" he pronounced in his sleepy voice, raising his head slightly, and braving once again the bright light to open his eyes.
"Yes?" the graceful Mizutsune answered, sliding into the basin in which he had been drowsing for some time, spreading soapy foam on the ground.
The Mizutsunes were a breed of leviathans of great agility and remarkable grace. Indeed, they were able to naturally secrete a soapy, foam-like fluid that could be transformed into bubbles. But more generally, this liquid was used to help them move more fluidly, in particular by letting their serpentine bodies with purple fur slide over them. In this way, they developed increased speed and steering precision. These displacements were so aesthetic and appreciated for their elegance that, during the rare animated festivals of the Ecumian king, where he received Khryselios and Chryselene, some Mizutsunes of the kingdom agreed to present a dance in the moonlight simply magical. While the leviathan dancers moved in a rhythmic way, snaking and leaping, lit by the ardent undulating glow of the braziers, the bubbles they produced rose gently in the night skies, mixing with the Thunderbugs. The marriage of these two flying elements gave the scene a truly mystical and fabulous cachet. Often, this ritual was accompanied by a few panpipes or bamboo xylophone players. Alas, this did not happen often.
"Why ... Are you just arriving now?" the Ivory Lagiacrus yawned.
" I was making final preparations for tomorrow ... You know, the departure of our soldiers to support our friend Khryselios …" Irisée explained gently.
"Departure? Soldieeerss ? What are you talking about?" Tidal articulated with difficulty, his jaws numb.
The queen looked embarrassed, and nervously fiddled with her claws.
"Hm ... The ... Ignis' defense, Tomorrow ... Remember?"
It took some time for the information to be picked up by the Foamian king.
"Ooh. I forgot ... he said dreamily. Thank you for... taking care of that."
"You're welcome," Irisée said, letting herself flow like her companion in the spring water.
"You shouldn't work so hard …" Tidal added.
"I was worried," the Mizutsune apologized.
"There was no reason to …"
He seemed to remember something.
"Opal ... Does she still wanna go?" the Ivory Lagiacrus asked, letting the water cover his back again.
Irisée shook affirmatively her head in anguish, and the water from the spring was suddenly flooded with pinkish moss.
"This isn't normal ... How can it be so dynamic, so impetuous ... So stubborn! We raised her with all the love we had, and yet she is like that ... I often wonder what went wrong with her... "
The white crocodile shrugged his shoulders and leaned his head to the side.
"I hardly know. But it's true that this fighting spirit does not come from us. I wonder from whom she got it ... Why is she so eager to defend our friend Khryselios? Sure, he is an excellent host, but that's probably not why she wants to support him, isn't it ? I can't think of any other reason why she would do this ... "he confessed, tired.
"I hope it's only a phase ... and that she will make a perfect Foamian... Once she finds her reason …" the queen whispered.
"Otherwise we won't be able to marry her," the king nodded pensively.
Irisée was seized with horror by these words, and shivered.
"Do not speak of misfortune!"
Tidal shook his head, sighing at length.
"Don't be so stressed about that, enjoy the moment ... Look at the sun! You'd have to be a fool not to enjoy it, wouldn't you?" he advised her, giving her a gentle glance.
"Yes ... You're right, I'm certainly too worried ..." the Mizutsune blushed, who distractedly had fun blowing some of her bubbles with one of her upper and curved claws.
"She may have a point ... What if Opal doesn't want to change? Mmh, no, she'll get bored... Why defend so vehemently her... Personality? It's useless ..." thought the king as he watched Irisée pop her bubbles.
He shook his head again. He then decided that he was torturing his mind too much at that moment, and returned to the realm of dreams.
King Tidal III was again noding off, while a hundred and third Foamian came, like all the others, to complain in front of him of the pains of daily toil in the rice fields, and demand a shorter week's work. The Gobul in front of him had already been talking for a quarter of an hour, and the sovereign seemed to be already tired of it. His claw was leaning against his increasingly heavy chin, and his eyelids seemed to be gifted with their own will, so much that they refused to remain open.
That's why he and his family had been running the Kingdom of Ecume for three generations: No other Foamian had come forward to take over. One hundred and twenty-five years earlier, the Democratic Republic of Foam had been proclaimed to bring to an end the long period of pacifist anarchy that had governed the Foamian Lands. The "government" of the time had then launched a call for candidacies for the first elections. It was a total fiasco. Only Tidal, the first of his name, great-grandfather of the present king, proposed his candidacy, without much scope or will. But how could one claim to hold a democratic republic if the citizens hadn't even choice between several candidates? Nevertheless, the name "Republic" was kept, because there was no longer any desire to return to the old system, but what was bound to happen happened again when new elections were held five years after Tidal's nomination, there was no other candidate for power than him.
He thus remained President of the Republic for forty years. At the end of his eighth term, for lack of proposals, he bequeathed his role to his son.
As the Republic could no longer exist due to the more or less forced investiture of Tidal I's son, the Foamian Lands became a monarchy. No one contested the transfer of power to the one who called himself Tidal II, and he lived his sixty-year reign without a hitch. Then he also appealed to his son, like his father. Tidal III took over. And now, it's already been twenty-five years since Tidal third of the name was sacred king on the Foamian Kindgom, still without claiming any power. It was necessary to face the facts: no Foamian had enough motivation to govern. They were all far too lazy. The king himself was no exception to the rule. And it was for this peculiar reason that these long sessions of audience harassed him to the highest degree.
Slowly, his chin slipped out of the grip of his palm, and he was taken by surprise when it suddenly pulled him down. His interlocutor was so slow-minded that he hardly noticed the evidence of his sovereign's inattention.
"... And as I said earlier, there is no need to feed the fishes between 6 and 7 pm, as they are usually not hungry after the lunch ration ... Moreover, this cannot be made up for by cleaning the ponds, the work of the fish ponds being carried out in the morning around 10 am, in order to not sweat too much because of the sun ... This 6-7 pm slot is useless, because nothing can be done ... It's therefore a break which must be made official, isn't it ? concludes the Gobul who was finally finishing his tirade.
Tidal resumed.
"Y-yes, absolutely, Mr. Lantern, I agree to study this problem for a possible reform ... " the Ecumian King recited mechanically, trying to look persuasive.
"Thank you, King Tidal," bowed the subject, before disappearing.
The Ivory Lagiacrus gave an umpteenth sigh of boredom.
"How many are left, Irisée?" he asked, glancing behind his throne, or stood Irisée, also sitting on her royal chair, backwards.
"Twenty-nine. Twelve requests for a general reduction of working hours, ten complaints about an invasion of bamboo, four requests for funding, and three requests for information about the construction of dams on the north side of the Salted Plains, the queen informed by reading her parchment of rice paper.
The leviathan with milky scales looked up to the sky.
"The afternoon promises to be long ... To think I wanted to go to the thermal baths!" he protested in frustration.
The Mizutsune had an outraged look on her face, which she immediately repressed.
"You ... It's only 4:00 pm, you can always go around 7:00 pm ..."she suggested gently.
Tidal III seemed to make a whim.
"At seven o'clock? But I'll be late for bedtime, then! I don't want to be tired ... I'll find it even harder to pick up words when these people talk to me …"he said with a very annoyed look.
Irisée nervously wagged her tail as a sign of internal boiling, but no sound came out of her mouth.
" Well, never mind," capitulated Tidal, "I'll allow myself to sleep in tomorrow morning. I have the right, don't I? I have done honest work, so I have the right to rest ... I have to work almost all day, while they only work three and a half hours a day ... It would be unfair otherwise! Isn't it Irisée ?" he reasoned then, his eyes shining.
"All work deserves pay …" answered the queen timidly, who noted that she had spread a lot of moss on the ground because of her nervousness.
"So I am right, then! It is prodigious, I carry out correct reasoning, what a scholar I make!" he exclaimed, joyful.
Irisée kept silent, but turned pale and blushed many times.
"Well, let the next one in, while I still have motivation," accepted the Foamian king.
'The number one hundred and four please! announced the Mizutsune who had to force herself on her thin voice to be heard.
"I'm coming ... One moment ... said a clumsy Ludroth Royal who held between his fangs a ticket annotated with the said number, and who slowly but surely advanced towards the throne. "Good morning, my king."
"Greetings, sir ... "began the Ivory Lagiacrus.
"Oh boy, what's his name again? Oh no, I think I forgot! "he panicked mentally.
- Mr. Sponge, Irisée whispered to him, as discreetly as possible.
"Mr. Sponge! Um, may I know the purpose of your request?" Tidal inquired, whose jaws felt to get tired of saying the same words over and over again.
He then mimed an attentive air to suggest to the Ludroth Royal to explain himself.
"Well, I came to share with you my concern about the delay of the work, you know, for the construction of dams on the northern coast of theSalted Plains, which should serve to increase the cultivable surface ... It's already seven months since the construction site is supposed to have started, but no worker or traces of activity are on the site, is this normal? he asked.
The white leviathan with sapphire peaks had a slightly frown pout.
"Hum ... It is true that this project has been delayed, but we are waiting for the agreement of the company that will manage the construction of these dams ... In addition, it will also be necessary to determine which material will best resist the ocean ... It may take a long time ... I hope to have your understanding," he answered.
"Oh, so it's still relevant ... Thank you for reassuring me on this subject, my king, " the leviathan thanked. "I thought it would have been abandoned ... Thank you very much."
"I'm the one thanking you, Mr. Sponge. I wish you a pleasant end of the day, and may Ceadeus keep you," said Tidal, tilting his head slightly, while the other withdrew.
Irisée retrieved ticket n°104 and put it in a small wicker basket which contained other similar tickets.
"Number one hundred and five!" she proclaimed in the direction of the large door made of braided mangrove wood, where the others were waiting behind.
There was no reaction.
"Number one hundred and five ?" the Mizutsune asked again, raising an eyebrow.
Still no answer. Tidal suddenly seemed interested in the silence.
"One less ! At least that's something !" he thought with satisfaction.
"Well, a withdrawal ... Number one hundred and six?"
An ordinary colored Lagiacrus shyly entered.
"It might be me?" he said in a weak voice.
"Please come to the throne and make your request," the queen kindly informed him.
The Lagiacrus complied, and greeted the king.
"H-hello my king," began the leviathan curled up on itself, hesitating, "This ... It would be to ask you ... When do you intend to start a cutting operation? For ... The bamboos? In this season they are multiplying at one crazy speed ... It's very annoying, you know, and the fields are almost all affected by this scourge ... That's my question ... "
This time the king had a more affable expression.
"This is our priority for the moment! he announced proudly. "To tell the truth, we've already started pulling up some near the banks of the Wett River. It is thus only a question of time before the volunteers for this work reach Furosu," he explained to him.
His subject seemed delighted with this answer.
"Okay, Lord Tidal, thank you for this clarification, I needed it very much. May Ceadeus keep you!" the young leviathan wished to him before leaving the room, after handing over his ticket to Irisée.
"It is myself who thanks you. I wish you a good end of the day, and may Ceadeus keep you too," Tidal repeated.
"And may Ceadeus keep me awake for the moment, otherwise I'll faint ..." he thought as he yawned again.
"Number one hundred and seven!" called Irisée.
Without a word, the door opened, and a Tidal Najarala entered.
"Laerob, my friend!" exclaimed Tidal, delighted.
"Good evening, my king," the blue snake wyvern said as he came forward. "Good evening, my queen," he said, lowering his scarred skull slightly.
" How are you?" said the Ivory Lagiacrus.
"Pretty good, thank you. I came to tell you that ... "he began, before deciding to get closer to the royal couple. "We have found gold again in one of our rivers, sir …"
"That's fantastic !" nodded Tidal. "Where is it this time?"
Laerob began to whisper.
"In the King's Tear" he informed him.
"Oooh, so this gold would belong to Khryselios?" the salt-colored leviathan realized, disappointed.
"Technically yes, my lord, but it turns out that the Rathiens are hardly aware of the existence of this gold ... If you see my point."
The king thought a little while with one claw on his chin.
"It's not my gold, so I must not take it... Stealing is wrong. And I don't want to steal Khryselios, do I? But I could pay the workers for the dams, with this gold, at the same time ... Luckily, I called on charity to cut the bamboos, otherwise I would be in so much debts ... Why don't they want to grow elsewhere, these bamboos? Or even cut themselves? Oooh, what a complicated choice! "he complained inside.
"No, this money must go to Khryselios. Not to us."
Irisée intervened.
"If I may say so, Tidal, we can legally take thirty percent of this find to reimburse our research, Khryselios will have no say in the matter …" she proposed.
The white Lagiacrus shook its head again.
"Our friend Khryselios is in trouble, we owe it to ourselves to help him, he who receives us so well !" he defended himself, annoyed. "We will only take fifteen percent of what we find."
Laerob and Irisée seemed to sigh in unison.
"As you wish, my king, just keep in mind you can always reverse your decision," the Tidal Najarala said. "On that note, I will wait for you at the baths after your audiences are over. Greetings."
And he left.
"What a joy to relax at the thermal baths! What do you say about that, Irisée?" asked Tidal, who had stretched out all along the mosaic next to the hot bath, breathing the steam as it was incense with therapeutic virtues.
"It's ... Very relaxing, indeed"she smiled, also lying on the edge of the basin.
"Simply divine," agreed Laerob, who had opted for a warm bath, but leaned on the edge separating the warm and cold bath to discuss.
"By the way, Laerob, did you receive the information I sent you about the departure of the reinforcements to Ignis?" asked the Mizutsune.
The Tidal Najarala opened his eyes.
"Yes, the troops left in the afternoon, and I gave them all the recommendations they needed. I hope nothing bad will happen to them ... Especially for Opal, I mean," he said, turning his head to the queen.
"Me too," admitted the anxious queen.
"Do not worry, dear ... " the king soothed her.
"And why is that? I have the right to worry all the same ..." the queen said, offended.
"Because you're going to lather up the whole bath, if you continue to stress so much," he replied, pointing to the tide of soapy fluid flowing in the hot bath with his claw.
The Mizutsune faded with embarrassment.
"Oh dear! Well, I'll have to help the staff clean up this mess ... "she sighed.
Laerob spoke again after an embarrassed silence.
"According to what is being said at the border, the Rathiens are in a very poor position ... I hope that with our support, we can change the situation. If the Rathlands fall into Rakurai II's hands, we will be in great danger ... For the moment, apart from Khryselios, nobody is informed about our ... Secret resources, but if it ever reaches the Rakurian ears ... They might reconsider their idea of our country, only good for growing rice and raising fishes ... I sincerely doubt that we will be able to fight."
"It's not serious," replied Tidal, "we woud take refuge in the ocean. Everyone can live in the ocean, can't they? In the worst case, we'll still have the Mogas' Island, the Rakurians won't come and cause us any trouble there ...
Irisée contested her revolted surprise, remembering that she had already caused enough damage with her foam.
"It remains an option, sir, but it would be very difficult for us to survive like this, deprived of our territorial wealth ... Reconstruction will certainly be difficult and ... "the blue snake wyvern replicated .
"We will see when the time comes, General. For the moment, let us be happy about the present moment. And this present moment, I enjoy it with all my might, concluded the king by sliding into the basin of hot water. Are you coming? The temperature is perfect!" he intimated.
The general and the queen looked at each other hesitantly.
"We won't change him", declared Irisée who plunged in her turn into the water.
"Yes, not anytime soon" nodded sadly Laerob's head, who followed her.