““Wow! The capital looks fantastic!” is what I expected to here, instead of “Why are there so many prostitutes running amok?””
Akihiko said disappointingly to his daughter who wore a vexed expression with crossed arms. He sighed and sat back up, clearing his throat.
“Come on, Kana. You can’t be mad at me forever.”
“Want to try me?”
Her voice was threatening.
“Finally, you talk.”
Akihiko closed his eyes and rested his head on his palm in boredom. Anyone at this point would have been terrified at Kana. From her eyes to her body language to her very vulgar expressions, it was obvious as day that she was not pleased.
Why though? Akihiko intentionally did not go with concubines since those seemed to tick her off a lot. He had ordered for the finest carriage in his possession with one of the best horses available. They passed through the Tourist Section of the capital just so she would be able to see and experience a lot of things that she normally wasn’t able to experience. So right now, what was the problem?
“I can talk more, you know?”
She said.
“Oh? Is that so? Since when?”
“Tch, why is Silas not here with us?”
She ignored his previous question and proposed her own.
“The young hero is currently in the Dhijan Hero Nation.”
“What? Why that place of all places?”
Her voice sounded so disgusted that if a resident of that nation were to here, they would be offended and with good reason.
“Tone down the hate. That’s the only neutral nation in the world. Don’t suddenly make them our enemy.”
Kana’s nostrils flared with rage.
“How would I not hate them? Silas has spent way too much time there ever since they said he was a [Paladin].”
“Well, you know how those matters go. Become a paladin, depending on who blesses you, go to either the Mexar Empire or the Dhijan Nation, be raised to your full potential, combat the demons, blah blah blah. All that tedious stuff.”
Akihiko really did not like to have to go into details with any issue. He was a simple man who simply wanted everything to be black and white and easily discernible.
“Sometimes, I wonder if you’re just pretending to be an idiot.”
Kana asked with a teasing grin on her face.
“Ha! I got you to smile!”
“What? No! I did not smile.”
“Then what was that?”
“It was an evil smirk. Not a smile.”
Akihiko started to laugh wildly at his daughter. Feeling embarrassed, she shouted back at her father in a comical fashion.
Within a few minutes of arguing, sight seeing and father-beating, they arrived at the Imperial Castle.
The carriage paused on the runway and the doors were opened for the duo to get out. A red carpet had been laid out for them, leading to the massive doors of the castle. Behind a red line, the residents stood, holding trinkets in their hand.
Some were bears, some wolves, tigers, eagles, tortoises and dragons. The symbols for the Elder Clans. Each and every single person came together to celebrate the existence of the founding families. From the six sectors of the empire, all members had congregated simply to honour the day the Five Original Clan Heads met up and formed the Elder Clans and New Kyoto Empire.
The sounds of drums being beaten resonated through the night. The residents were getting restless at the appearance of the final Elder Clans.
“The Ferocious Tiger has appeared!”
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
The drums were being beaten in what seemed to be messy at first, but soon revealed to be synchronized work of art.
“Remember, the secret is being flashy.”
Akihiko winked at his daughter and took up his spear as he got down from the carriage. The spear was a fine steely-blue with black stripes on the sides. Its tip was like a fine, sharpened dagger, possessing the insignia of the Taira Household on it. A lightning magic stone had been placed at the intersection between the blade and the shaft. A simple yet powerful tool.
With one thud on the ground, the spear sent a pillar of lightning into the sky that made the lights go out, then come back on. The residents all roared at the display of power and Akihiko waved.
Kana, feeling nervous about all of this was still sitting in the carriage. She was never ever a nervous person. In her entire life she had never had anxiety about any matter. She could face it head on without much care and succeed easily. What made this so different?
Looking at her father doing this so nonchalantly made her feel a bit jealous. If she messed this up, her father would never let this down. It would be the most embarrassing moment for her.
‘Wait… am I anxious because this man-whore is here?’
The realization hit her like thunder.
‘Priceless. The very first time I’m nervous and it isn’t even because of a boy! It’s because of my dad!’
BAM! BAM! BAM!
She looked out the carriage again having heard the drums beating again.
“The Ferocious Tiger seeks to bless our eyes with his cub this year! Please, welcome the Tiger Cub!”
‘That’s my que. Let’s do this and rub it in the old man’s face!’
Not liking the idea of losing face in front of her father, she decided to show him up. She grabbed her spear and sent a bit of mana in the air to distort the natural flow, affecting the magically lit flame torches.
It quickly became dark and everyone turned dead silent.
Three pillars of lightning shorter than her father’s boomed, making the residents “Ooo”. With a snap of her fingers, a boom thundered, shaking the residents to the very bone. The lights came back on, and standing in front of the carriage was Kana.
“Oh my! It would seem the Tiger’s Cub has inherited his flare! Rest assured, for we are in good hands with this tiger!”
The announcer’s voice boomed and the silent spectators roared with excitement.
“Ha! Talk about being flashy!”
He patted her head excitedly.
“Shut it, that was nothing.”
“No, no. I am genuinely impressed.”
“You’ll mess up my hair! It took me half a day to get it this good.”
She tried to break free of his grasp, but her father was obviously way too strong. Still, there was something nice about this. She had no problems with it, even if it was from a man-whore.
Both of them walked to the door together.
“Ha! Like father like daughter, it seems.”
A voice up ahead drew Kana’s attention. Once she noticed who it was, an excited grin replaced her face and she ran towards the source.
“Uncle Mori!”
He jumped and wrapped herself around the giant of a man who stood there.
“Hahaha! Kana chan, you’ve grown into a fine little lady.”
The obtuse man said with grin. She felt a hand pat her head and she looked at the source, she found someone who looked like a younger version of her Uncle Mori. Quickly, she jumped off her Uncle Mori and on to the new character.
“Daisuke! How have you been?”
“Good. My food addiction has gotten better though.”
“Really? Then that’s really good.”
She dropped herself and straightened up.
“It’s been what? Five, six years now?”
“Yeah, my master refused to let me go till I was set. I’m only here because of the Elder Clan Summit.”
“So, you’ll be going back soon? What a bore.”
“Hehe, the grown-ups will be talking all night in a secret room. We can run about doing whatever we please. Why don’t we heist all the candies they’ll present and sneak into one of the rooms to eat them all?”
“You mean, the old Hit-And-Run?”
“Of course, my dearest Kana. Would there be any other thing I’d suggest?”
“Hoho, indeed not. In that case, very well.”
While both teenagers were scheming their food heist, the grown ups were busy in a grip contest. What started as a friendly handshake soon turned into a violent competition that could have shattered a regular person’s rib cage.
While the two sets of friends talked with each other, the doors to the castle opened up, revealing a line up of beautiful women in black and red kimonos, all containing the insignia of the Tatsumaki Household on their back.
In the center of these women, was girl who looked younger than Kana. She had fair skin, hair that was tied into twin curly ponytails and a bun on top with curly bangs on the sides of her face. Her face had been splattered with make-up, giving her a more mature appearance. Her kimono was different from the others, in a sense that it was smaller than the others, more fitting and showing off more thighs than normal. Her lips were a red as her eyes and her movements so regal one wouldn’t believe she was not of royal lineage.
“Taira Clan Head, Taira Akihiko, Minamoto Clan Head, Minamoto Mori, fellow Kazoku, my name is Tatsumaki Shiro of the Tatsumaki Clan. We have been awaiting your arrival.. Welcome, to the Elder Clan Summit.”
