The second that he finished ushering the others out of his home, Rimuru then decided to work on some of the other details and particulars that went with making Ichigo his Queen and co-ruler. Some of which were far easier to muddle through than others.
He had to think of a generous stipend for her to receive for her work as a co-ruler since he couldn't exactly expect her to work for free. Especially since not even he worked for free.
In the short time he'd become a Lord/King and started to amass more monsters seeking homes, work, and safety from the looming threats of abuse, and death at the hands of others. All of which were far too tempting for many to turn away from.
But with those, he had also begun to do some trading and other things which had made he and the small country that he ruled fairly rich. And as his Queen and co-ruler he felt that it was more than fair for Ichigo to receive half of what he had- money wise.
Especially since he was still branching out his trade routes and other things and expected whatever money he made to triple in no time at all.
There were also the details of a new wardrobe. His Queen would need some nice dresses, and eventually- some armor and other things, just in case war ever broke out.
From what he already knew of Ichigo, she wasn't like Princess Shuna. She wasn't a girly girl.
So, he wasn't certain if stuffing her into a bunch of fancy and incredibly flattering dresses would be very appreciated by her. But since he had to decide on something, he'd at least make a small part of her wardrobe dresses.
Something for her to wear at formal events like feasts, and diplomatic events outside of Tempest. Along with some fur lined cloaks, boots, gloves and other odds and ends. The rest of her wardrobe he'd leave entirely up to her.
The next thing that he needed to think about was her crown. Since even he had one, as ridiculous as it was. Then she should have one too. The only thing was it couldn't be as thick and cumbersome as his own.
Hers needed to be small, dainty...and feminine. Something that wouldn't slip down her head to fall in her eyes like his tended too.
He was thinking of employing the dwarf brothers to create one for her using several different elvish crown designs. Since Ichigo was a girl, he thought that she might be able to pick one or two so that she could accessorize her outfits.
Girls liked things like that, even the non girly girls. Right?
He even had a chest full of gemstones that he could let her pick from so that her crowns wouldn't be plain. His thoughts got derailed for a little bit while he wondered what kinds of gems she might like.
Emeralds? Amber? Citrine? Various shades of purple amethyst and blue sapphires? Or maybe even clear or multicolored topazes? Or would she prefer black diamonds and blood-colored garnets and rubies?
Actually, he kind of thought the black diamonds and blood-colored garnets would look good in one crown. So, after hunting down some paper and a pen, he was quick to jot those down along with some ideas for the metal that they would be set in.
After that, he was able to focus a bit more on the left-over details.
Since an elevation of status was imminent, along with all of the other things mentioned, he also needed to talk with Geld about maybe clearing some land next to his home and making Ichigo a nice, cozy mansion to live in. One befitting the co-ruler of Tempest.
But as much as he wanted to jot down some ideas about that, he had no idea what sort of mansion she'd want. Though he supposed that just like he'd thought before, it should at least be spacious and accommodating enough to fit her friends as well as herself. So, her new home would likely be a bit bigger than his own.
Which wasn't terrible.
And since it would be close to his own home, he might be able to spend some of his down time over there observing how she was handling her new duties.
He was super excited now! So much so, that he was practically vibrating with it when he suddenly heard the door to his bedroom slide open and Ichigo's stealthy footfalls alerted him to the fact that she was awake now.
Hearing her footsteps drawing closer to his location, he turned and watched as she stepped into the room looking as if she had just had a tornado uproot her and drop her in another dimension or something.
It wasn't a bad look on her per se. She just looked...wild. Sort of like a caged tiger.
"Hello." He said as she spotted him and walked over. He eyed her until she stopped a few inches from him and then gracefully dropped down to the floor to sit next to him.
"Hi." She mumbled in greeting.
"Did you sleep okay?" He asked.
"I had a weird dream." She said with a frown. He tilted his head inquisitively and waited to see if she would tell him about it, but she just shook her head after a moment of silence and then asked him, "What happened?"
"You passed out from stress. Don't you remember?"
She groaned and buried her face in her hands and said something that he couldn't understand due to the words being muffled. But it sounded almost as if she said something along the lines of, "How embarrassing."
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Rimuru said kindly. "Even I pass out from stress from time to time. It just means that you got overwhelmed. Noone can fault you for that given everything that you were blindsided with."
She peeked at him from between her fingers, her citrine-colored eyes looking more than a tad bit doubtful. But he merely smiled at her. A look of understanding on his face that seemed to make her feel a bit better.
She dropped her hands away from her face and suddenly blurted out. "Please don't tell anyone that I passed out."
He looked startled for a second, but easily caught on and put his index finger to his lips and said, "Your secret's safe with me." She looked relieved as he finally decided to tell her what he'd decided to do to protect her while she'd been asleep.
At first, everything seemed fine. She didn't seem to have any issues at all with him becoming her Champion and protector. Nor with some of the things such a relationship would require of them both since it came with new duties, specific changes to how she lived, and conducted herself around others etc.
The second that he began to lay out his plan to make her his Queen and co-ruler of Tempest- without having to marrying him- he wasn't very sure of how she would react. But he was still excited to tell her everything that he'd already thought up anyways. The whole time that he was explaining everything to her, she remained quiet and attentive. Giving him her utter attention until he had finally stopped talking and seemed to wait on her to reply with an expectant look.
"You want to make me the Queen? Really?" She sounded a bit...shaken by the idea.
In all honesty, he was aware of the fact that it was a frightening prospect to just imagine. In a lot of ways, he supposed that everything that he'd just laid out for her was more than just a bit daunting. After all, a Queen had a multitude of duties. Ruling- or even co-ruling a country, even one as small as Tempest was no easy task.
You had to be a politician, look out for the best interests of the people, and help them thrive. It often meant putting your life at risk, your physical and mental wellbeing were placed second to others. Even your own wants and desires had to be placed on the back burner so that you could do your job.
He wasn't sure...but it kind of looked to him as if she may have been thinking those things over in her head and mulling over whether or not she could do it.
But he smiled at her and nodded anyways. Still patiently waiting for her to say something when she finally opened her mouth and asked, "Is this really the way that you want to do things?"
"How do you mean?" He asked curiously.
"I mean, you're essentially dividing your authority in half and giving it to someone that you don't really know at all. Is that really a wise thing to do? I could be a total sociopath! Your people could suffer horribly if I make even a small misstep! I could be completely incompetent and ruin everything that you've struggled to build!"
He held his hands up to stop her.
He knew exactly what sort of person she was, even without knowing her well.
He'd seen the evidence of her kindness, compassion, and how she tried to alert him to his own oversights by pointing them out so that his people- and others, would benefit from more.
She worried herself almost sick over others and their needs. And whether she was aware of it or not...she challenged him. She pushed him to be better than he already was as a King and lord.
She was also devious, played dirty, had enough power to hold her own against monsters of greater power than anything his wildest imaginings could ever cook up.
She had so much potential to be a great and beloved Queen that it was almost frigging scary. And all of those things were everything that his people needed. What he needed- to keep them all honest, and decent and good.
He was so sure that this wasn't something that he couldn't do alone anymore that he'd get on his knees and beg her to take the position if he had too.
"I've thought this through from every angle I could think of. And I've come to realize that you will make a damn good Queen, Ichigo." He said fiercely. Figuring that she just needed a boost in self-confidence.
"I have seen how much you care for the people in Tempest with my own eyes. How much you like making them smile. You worry for them. For their futures and well beings. But more than anything, you defended them today against a monster that could have wiped them all out even though they aren't your responsibility. You will be wonderful. I have every confidence in you because you aren't incompetent. I know this for a fact because your work ethic and competency are both better than Shion and I combined. You are not a sociopath. You will not ruin anything. You will only create fantastic things and lift Tempest and its citizens to new heights."
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that he was fairly certain that she had been made for this job but refrained. Ichigo still didn't look convinced that he was right. But at least she wasn't putting herself down anymore.
"You won't be doing this alone. I'll be right beside you the whole time." He finally said hoping to reassure her even more. She still didn't seem overly pleased or excited about her upcoming change in status. Nor about anything that it entailed.
"Nothing that I say will convince you that this is a bad, idea. Will it?" She asked almost miserably.
He blinked at the fact that she still wasn't keen on the idea of becoming a Queen. But he had already started down this path, and still fully intended not to do it half assed. Hopefully after taking some time to adjust to everything, she'd find that she actually loved the job of being a ruler almost as much as he did.
"Nope." He said. "I'm pretty much set to make the announcement this evening during the feast."
She groaned and visibly hunched in on herself, her head hanging so that he couldn't see her face, before finally saying in a begrudging manner, "Fine. But you will have the unparalleled joy of telling Rukia, Chad, and Renji about this. In person, please. And no changing your mind later either."
"I can do that." He said easily, agreeing to her terms before then steering their conversation in a different direction.
He decided to start with her crown, and follow it up with her new home, assigned duties, wardrobe etc. The two of them sat and talked for so long that before either of them was even aware of it, someone had come to fetch them both for the feast.