Part 6: Lithisia’s Training Shovel

Part 6:
Lithisia’s Training Shovel

 

THAT NIGHT, Catria—who was familiar with the area—guided the group to an inn at a small town near the border. While still in front of the building, Catria decided to shoot straight with the miner.

“Sir Alan, just for the record, I still don’t trust you. However, it appears that Her Royal Highness does…so let’s just say I’m watching you very carefully.”

“I appreciate that. I’m looking forward to working with you, Lady Knight.”

“...Wh-what’s with the whole ‘nice guy’ act? I’ve got my eye on you. I’m not here to be friends,” the knight responded, her cheeks growing warm. Despite her words, she was just a wee bit happy that he was treating her like a knight.

Lithisia looked around inside the building. “So this is an inn? Wow, they even have alcohol!” The princess wasn’t wearing her usual outfit, but rather a well-tailored one-piece. She looked like the daughter of a wealthy family. Her long blonde hair had been cut short. According to the princess, this transformation ability was one of the abilities possessed by her “Prismatica Dress”.

“Its power is all charged up, so I can transform my clothes into any disguise I want.”

“You can even change your hair? That’s nuts. I bet that thing must be really useful.” Alan surmised that her magical dress was likely what helped her escape the capital.

“Useful…?” Lithisia tilted her head as the miner stood by, impressed. “Ah!” The princess’ cheeks turned bright red and she cast her gaze at the floor. “Y-yes, um, it can transform into all kinds of clothes… I imagine it’ll be quite useful to you, Sir Miner…”

She was acting odd again, but this was nothing new. “So how are we splitting the rooms?”

“Two were available. Rooms 205 and 206,” Catria answered.

“Then Sir Miner and I will take 205, and you can have 206,” Lithisia replied with a smile.

“...Um, excuse me, Your Royal Highness, but is your brain still filled with shovels?”

“C-Catria, how dare you say something so rude to your princess?!”

“No, I think Catria picked the right words,” Alan added. “There’s no way the two of us are sharing the same room. You can stay with Catria.”

“Thank goodness. I’m glad you’re a man of sense, Sir Alan.”

“Huh?!” Lithisia shouted in surprise. “B-but Sir Miner, didn’t you promise me we’d practice ‘shoveling’ together?!”

“Shoveling practice?” What did she mean by “shoveling” this time? The word had taken on so many different meanings in her head that it was impossible to decide which one she meant at any given time. “I assume you mean making a sign, yeah?” Alan figured that posting signs at village inns and taverns would be useful in letting the townsfolk know that he was looking for an apprentice.

“Huh? U-um, no, I mean the one where we work, um, together.”

“Oh, so you mean getting down and dirty, then?” By which Alan meant actually digging into the dirt, of course.

“Down and dirty?!” the princess repeated, by which she did not mean digging into the dirt. She began to fidget and her cheeks turned pink as she made a few embarrassed little noises. “Y-yes, um…I’m certain we’ll be exerting lots of energy together…” Lithisia nodded.

Alan decided that Lithisia was definitely referring to the act of digging. “Got it. Perfect timing. I noticed a lovely little garden around the inn, so we’ll work there.”

“In the garden? Um, outside?!”

“Huh...? Why’re you so surprised? Shovels are usually used outside.”

“What…? ‘Shoveling’ is done outside?!” Lithisia’s eyes were darting all over. She looked like a cat tracking a small flying insect. “I’m so ignorant…” she moaned. For some reason, her breathing had become rough and uneven. “I see… Doing it outside is normal for you…” She straightened. “All right! Th-then I’ll do my best outside!”

“How does nine tonight sound? Make sure you wear something easy to move in.”

“O-okay! I’ll take a bath and clean myself off first!”

“Uh...you should probably hold off on the bath until afterward.”

“O-oh, yes. I suppose we will be getting dirty in all kinds of ways!”

Lithisia was acting suspicious again, but again Alan thought nothing of it. If anything, this had become her normal way of acting since they began their journey.

 

 

 

Time passed, and eventually the two met up in the garden.

“Sir Miner, I-I’m here.”

Alan turned at the sound of her voice. “Great, I’ve been waiting for—whoa!”

Beneath the pale moonlight was Lithisia, looking like she was wearing some kind of student uniform. It was the sort of formal uniform one would expect from a child of nobility. However, her thighs were exposed, tightly pressed together below the hem of her skirt, and she was wearing white knee socks. The miniskirt she wore was impossibly short. If she moved even a little bit, he’d be able to see what lay beneath it.

“A-ah…” Upon noticing Alan’s gaze, she pulled the hem of her skirt down, embarrassed. She then immediately stopped upon realizing that she should probably let Alan look as much as he wanted. “Um, so this is the uniform I wore at the Royal Academy…” Lithisia explained as she squirmed about. “What do you think, Sir Miner?”

“...What do I think?”

“Yes. If you’re going to teach me how to ‘shovel,’ that would make me your student.”

“Hrm, I see.” For once, Lithisia’s awful sense made...sense. “It’s all fine and dandy that you’re dressed the part, but isn’t that skirt a little too short?” It was, in fact, amazingly short.

“Ah, um, yes. It’s two-thirds shorter than the norm, actually.”

“Why?!”

Lithisia averted her gaze, embarrassed again. “I thought it’d be easier to ‘shovel’ if it was short…” Her face turned bright red, as if she were on the verge of exploding.

“But if you work in that, I’ll be able to see your panties.” If Alan had to be perfectly honest, he didn’t think a fifteen-year-old should be dressing this way at all.

“Yes, but, um, I’m prepared!” Lithisia stated, her voice trembling. It was true that a long skirt would simply get in the way. At the end of the day, all was well…provided Alan didn’t look. “Oh! Or should I have just come naked?!”

“Naked?!” Why?! “No, no. Wearing clothes is a must.”

“Really? I always thought doing it in the nude was standard practice.”

“Absolutely not! Clothes are vital to this kind of activity. Never forget that.”

“O-o-o-okay! I won’t!” Lithisia held her red shovel up to her breasts and breathed in and out to steady herself. “So doing it clothed and outside is the norm? Wow, ‘shoveling’ sure is complex!”

Lithisia and Alan were thinking in completely opposite directions, but neither she nor the miner had yet realized  it.

Alan sat Lithisia down, and as a result, the miner could almost see under her skirt, so he used his orichalcum-tier self-restraint to look away. “Let’s get started. Watch me carefully.”

“Yes, Sir Miner… Please teach me everything you know…”

Ignoring Lithisia’s strangely aroused tone, Alan began to swing his shovel. Lithisia nearly closed her eyes but thought better of it. She had to watch. Sir Miner was going out of his way to practice with her. He was going to teach her all about ‘shoveling.’ Both her mind and heart would become one with the shovel. I have to memorize everything, she vowed, no matter how embarrassing it is!

Before her very eyes, the miner’s shovel dug into the ground.

“Huh?”

This wasn’t a metaphor for something lewd. Alan was actually digging up dirt.

“Hrm, this is some good soil,” Alan said. He continued to dig up the dirt at his feet. He thrust the red shovel into the ground, lifted the soil, and repeated the process over and over again. The repetition was fundamental to shoveling, since one couldn’t just shovel all the dirt in one go. The key was having the physical stamina to keep going.

“Um, er…”

“What’s wrong? Have a question?”

“It looks like you’re just digging up dirt…”

“Of course. This is the cycle of shoveling. The very basics. Repeatedly digging up dirt.”

“The basics… The basics… Ah, I get it!” Lithisia’s eyes shone brightly. “I understand at last!”

“What, exactly?”

“Digging up dirt uses the same motion required for ‘shoveling’!”

At this point, Lithisia’s misunderstanding had grown so large that it eclipsed the largest mountain on the planet.

“In other words, the ground is me, and the shovel is Sir Miner’s…um, ‘shovel’…!” The princess cast her gaze at the earth, her cheeks red.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but whatever. Digging up dirt repeatedly is where it all starts. Here.” Alan positioned himself behind the girl. Practice made perfect, after all.

“Eh? Oh, doing it repeatedly… Ah, you’re so rough…aaah!”

For some reason, Lithisia seemed embarrassed as she averted her gaze. Each time the shovel stabbed into the dirt, she made all kinds of moans, her ample breasts jiggling and her legs lifting her skirt ever higher. Alan was on the verge of peeking where he really shouldn’t, but instead he firmly closed his mind off and just continued to dig.

“Aaah. Aaahh…”

Lithisia’s cheeks were flaming, and she was clenching her thighs tightly together like she was holding something back. She continued to fidget this way over and over again. Perhaps she had concerns about how to move the shovel?

“Oh, and it’s important to put strength into your thrusts.”

“H-huh?! You mean you’re not gentle?” Lithisia held herself tightly. What was she protecting herself from?

“This is important. I know it might be difficult because of your figure, but hang in there.”

“Aaaaaaaaaah!” Lithisia shrunk into herself, looking even more embarrassed than she did when their lesson started. After a moment, however, a look of determination crossed her face. “I…I understand! I’ll be fine no matter how rough it gets!”

“That’s my girl. You especially have to be careful when the dirt changes.”

It took several seconds before Lithisia responded. “Huh? You mean the dirt might change?”

“Of course.”

“You mean it’ll be someone else, not me?!” Lithisia began to actively sob.

“Why are you crying?! Are you hurt?!”

“No, I-I’m sorry… You’re right… Catria is beautiful, after all…”

“What does she have to do with you crying?!”

Lithisia stopped in her tracks. “So…so right now, um…the only dirt you’re digging is what’s right here?”

“I have no clue where you’re going with this, but yes. I mean, there’ll certainly be more dirt to dig elsewhere in the future.”

The expression on Lithisia’s face softened. After a few seconds of thinking about it, she spoke up softly. “I…I’m going to practice all the things you taught me today, Sir Miner.”

“I’m so confused right now, but uh, good luck?”

“So, um, in the future, even if the dirt is different…” Lithisia brought her hands together tightly in front of her chest as if she was praying. “I hope you always remember this dirt…” The princess looked up at Alan as if she were wishing upon the stars. “It doesn’t have to be all the time, but I hope that, from time to time, you remember the first dirt you dug up… It’d make me happy.”

Alan took a deep breath and stared up helplessly at the moon. He was at his limit. He had absolutely no idea what Lithisia was talking about. What did she want from him? Even so…she seems completely serious. He could tell that much with one look at her eyes. He decided to answer just as seriously. “From time to time? Psh. I never forget the dirt I’ve dug up.”

Her feelings reached a fever pitch, and Lithisia began to cry again, tears falling onto her school uniform. “Sir Miner…!”

“And remember, I’m a jewel miner. I keep digging in one place until I find what I’m looking for.”

Lithisia was sweating profusely for some reason. “What you’re looking for? My gosh…!” One thought and one thought alone echoed in her head:

Sir Miner, I wub you!

“All right, that’s that. Let’s continue practicing,” Alan said.

“Of course! Thank you very much!”

And so they continued to dig.

“Aaah! Nnngh! Not there! It’s so rough! Aaaaah!”

With every bit of dirt dug up, the princess continued to make strange noises and twist her body about, but Alan ignored her. Eventually dawn broke.

The pair’s fatal misunderstanding had only grown worse.

 

***

 

The next morning, Alan and the others left the inn and were once again on their way.

“Your Royal Highness, we’re about to enter the Elf Woods soon.”

“Wubby… <3.”

“It’s a dangerous place. If possible, I’d like to avoid… Er, Your Royal Highness? “

“Wubby dubby… <3”

“Catria, what’s wrong with Lithisia?”

“I know not. Did you do something to her last night?”

“Not at all. We just dug up some dirt together with our shovels.”

“I know. I was watching the two of you.”

“I wubby my shovely… <3”

The princess was getting on Catria’s last nerve. She shook her head from side to side, trying to restrain herself. No, no. The princess saved my life. I have to protect her, no matter what. She clenched her fists. Even if she’s become…that!

Even Catria had begun referring to Lithisia’s madness as “that.”