The news of the king’s death came after rumors that the royal family was forsaken by the gods. That made the wildfire gossip make more and less sense at the same time. It actually felt like the east of Gin might be affected for once.

It caused a minor panic in a few towns, then everything proceeded as normal. Whether or not the royal family was ‘worthy,’ they were the only ones who could inherit the throne—the only ones Lady Aimiki would give silver hair. She wouldn’t betray her son’s line by doing anything else.

Unfortunately, not everyone understood that; the royal family called for more soldiers, and those that opposed them took that as their admittance of failure. Soldiers weren’t drafted, per se, but citizens were told to pick sides. Lord Gin wanted to resolve it peacefully if he could—Sonoru had a good enough idea of what people were capable of when slighted that he knew ‘peace’ wouldn’t happen. Not in the two months since the king’s death.

The royal family promised good pay and, honestly, that’s what his family needed right now. They dug up some old memories and checked if Sonoru might have some company heading to the capital. Fortunately-unfortunately, Kinjo Asahi was the person they sent.

They got along like oil and water some days, but it was infinitely better than making a week-long journey alone. Sonoru had a chance to catch up, too—mainly about Asahi’s older siblings, what they were doing, and their spouses. Both Sonoru and Asahi were at the age where they were getting lectured on looking out for ‘the right girl,’ albeit for different reasons. Asahi’s parents were more insistent, making it something of a sour topic, but he didn’t mind talking about his brother and he only slightly hesitated to share some details about his sister.

They arrived at the capital around midday. Neither of them knew the way so they decided to wander.

“The townsfolk look pretty well off, for being so close to danger,” Sonoru noted.

It reminded him of Masaaki territory—or what it used to be, at any rate. Children ran around, unwatched by anyone older than a teenaged sibling, playing and laughing. He would’ve thought there was a festival if there were any decorations, anything to show why the people here were so…naive. Maybe, because it was built into a mountain, they had a sense of superiority.

Asahi half-hummed in response. He looked at everything without actually observing anyone.

Sonoru attempted a smile, betraying his actual thoughts. “Could you loosen up a little? You’re making yourself seem at least two decades older.”

“We’re heading to the palace to fight. I don’t see why I should be happy about that.”

“Well, try to find a tiny reason so you don’t permanently indent a scowl on your face. That’ll hurt your reputation more than scars.”

Asahi sighed and shook his head. “I’ll never understand how you still manage to joke after what your family has gone through.”

“Humor is a fine way to cope,” Sonoru replied with a shrug. “You would do well to learn a few jokes and actually tell them with some heart. Or learn how to give a deadpan delivery and anything becomes hilarious.”

“If you’re Nayano, maybe. Not if you’re anyone else.”

“Maybe you need someone like your sister.”

“...I’d rather be skewered by a Kuro sword.”

Sonoru laughed. “Okay, Mr. Frowny. I’ll keep an eye out for you, let you know if anyone wants a complete downer as a husband. I’m sure women will come in droves.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Asahi chose not to answer, letting them continue on in silence. Sonoru looked for any signs they were getting closer, but there weren’t as many soldiers as he expected—not as many obvious soldiers, anyway. Barely anyone even had a knife, unless they looked like merchants.

They approached the grand shrine, and he noticed a young woman and a boy sitting on the bench; probably waiting for their sister to finish work, or waiting for an older family member to pray. They played with a little ball, bouncing it between them with their hands.

A girl came out of the shrine just as the woman tossed the ball back; the boy got distracted and forgot to grab it. The toy fell to the ground and rolled over, stopping right in front of Asahi.

Asahi just blinked at it like an idiot, so Sonoru sweeped down to pick the ball up in his place.

“Who dropped it?” Asahi asked, looking at the other side of them. He wasn’t paying attention beforehand.

“There’s a family at the shrine,” Sonoru replied. Asahi glanced in that direction, his expression shifted from blank to slightly curious.

The oldest of the three started making her way over there; she brushed herself off a little self-consciously, although she seemed focused on the toy and nothing else. Asahi just looked at her for a second, then half-choked and looked away again. Sonoru gave him a quizzical look before he noticed his friend’s expression—a kind of respect noble boys were taught to give girls they thought looked cute, so it wouldn’t look like they were ogling her—and Sonoru tried not to laugh.

Even if he knew what story he would tell as soon as Asahi got out of earshot. At least he had genuine respect and didn’t just fake it.

Sonoru could guess the woman wasn’t from any noble circles just by the way she didn’t seem to notice it.

“Is this yours?” Sonoru asked, offering the ball.

“Yes. Thank you for getting it.” She took it without much hesitation.

“Try to keep your brother from losing it,” Sonoru suggested.

She hesitated for long enough to someone to say a word or two, then shook her head.

“I’m not his elder sister—I work for his father.”

“Oh? You could’ve fooled me; you look a lot alike.”

He glanced at Asahi to see if he would take the chance at smalltalk, but he continued to ignore her. Sonoru lightly jabbed him with his elbow, soliciting an ow and an annoyed look.

The woman turned back towards the other two not-siblings. Sonoru smiled when Asahi actually managed to get some words out—even if they were relatively useless.

“Could you tell us if we’re going the right way to the palace?” The woman glanced over her shoulder and blinked; Asahi pulled out the fabric patch identifying him as a member of the Kinjo family, and she seemed to understand.

“Are you applying for the soldier positions?” she asked.

“Mhm. We haven’t been here before, so we’re a little lost.”

She nodded. “Just follow this road—it’s hard to miss, once you know what to look out for. Even easier now that there are soldiers. As long as you’re unarmed and have some kind of identification, you shouldn’t have trouble getting inside.”

“All right. Thank you, miss.” Asahi slid the patch back into his bag.

The woman stayed there, apparently noticing Asahi’s hesitance. She flinched away when his eyes met hers, although something in her expression implied she didn’t fully read Asahi’s. His look, at least, wasn’t the reason she moved.

“Do you frequent the palace much, miss?” Sonoru asked, half trying to avoid awkwardness and half trying to show Asahi how to talk to nice-looking women.

“...Yes.”

“Maybe we’ll cross paths again.” He bowed with a bit of theatrical flair. “Masaaki Sonoru. My shy friend here is Kinjo Asahi.”

Asahi bowed. The woman just…blinked, like she didn’t know how to exchange greetings. Her shoulders tensed, then relaxed again.

“...Tsujihara Seiko.”

Sonoru didn’t succeed in making it less awkward—he might have made it worse, actually, now that Miss Tsujihara here didn’t know whether they were done talking or not—but he did get her name in less time than it would take Asahi, at least. This way, they were all acquainted.

“Miss Tsujihara!” the girl from behind her called. Tsujihara’s attention immediately shifted to the girl and boy. “We’re all ready to go now.”

“I’m coming.”

Tsujihara gave no wave of goodbye, no murmur of parting—she just went straight to the younger ones, gave the ball back to the boy, then let the girl lead in the opposite direction of the palace.

Once they left and Sonoru and Asahi continued walking, the former gave his friend a smirk.

“So? She seemed nice. What’s your opinion?”

Asahi looked off to the side, failing at hiding some embarrassment. Knowing him, the whole conversation only now hit processing.

“...I both do and do not wish she lives somewhere nearby so we can talk more.”

Sonoru laughed. He always appreciated a chance to tease.