The next day, at around mid-morning, Say'ri had Gen'an and Ka'me get Robin and Morgan for a quick trip. "While I would hope to soon show you around the whole country, that necessitates the gathering of supplies and a planned route, which is going to take about a week. Until then you should still get familiar with Shi'ma, the capital city."
"That sounds like fun. We only got a quick look on our way to the palace," Morgan responded, already somewhat eager to explore.
Robin hmmed for a moment, before asking, "Should we not be concerned with Morgan coming with us?"
"Wait, what do you mean? I've been a good daughter, I didn't do anything."
"It's not that, it's the issue regarding succession," Robin said, wanting to reassure his daughter while not trying to hide the truth of the issue. "Having a time-traveling future version of your child is likely going to cause an issue when dealing with succession order. It was a topic that came up in conversation with Lucina, which is the reason she left as soon after Grima's defeat."
"I guess that makes sense, seeing as how that can easily result in another branch of the family having a claim to the throne."
"Your mother and I talked about this a while back, believing it necessary to keep your identity as our daughter secret in order to prevent a succession crisis in the future."
"Is that why Inigo left as well?" "No, I think he was just chasing after Severa."
"Since we are talking freely about this, I have changed my position on having Morgan be publicly known and having a claim to the throne," Say'ri said, deciding that this was a good time to bring this up.
"Wait, didn't we agree this was the best option to prevent a succession crisis in the future?"
"Fie, it would be pointless. If said future family realized this connection, they would be able to lay claim to the throne, and cause such a crisis."
"Couldn't I just abdicate any claim to the throne in order to prevent that from occurring, and allowing for the most clear line of succession? Not to mention it would allow me to spend time with you both without any issues."
"To some extent, yes. However, there have been instances of families still saying they have a right to the throne despite this, usually saying that they did so under some additional factor, such as a threat or the influence of alcohol. And there still is a benefit."
"What benefit is there to gain?" Robin asked, not knowing where this was going.
"A clear, adult heir, that's what you're thinking of, Mother," Morgan said, catching on to what Say'ri was talking about.
"Aye, the nobility are frightened. They feel as though if I were to perish, they stand to lose much in the ensuing crisis of succession."
"Wouldn't that just mean we would have to have baby Morgan as soon as possible?" Robin responded, and would be blushing a little bit if not for the fact he was in a tactics focused state of mind.
"'Tis a solution to a succession crisis, but that leaves the issue of regency."
"Right, because a newborn can't rule, and so the other nobles would take control of the country as a result, possibly even taking the position away from the newborn me," Morgan said, understanding her mother's reasoning.
"And there is always the possibility of the baby dying before being able to rule, meaning that it is in our best interest to have another heir in a worst case scenario," Robin stated.
While discussing plans about one's demise might be typically seen as morbid and is thus avoided, the current imperial family of Chon'sin have the uncanny ability to ignore the morbidity in such topics in order to create plans. In fact, one of the earliest talking points between Robin and Say'ri was discussing a plan to deal with the potential deaths of Chrom and Robin. Morgan eventually joined these talks to provide her own perspective.
"Aye, so it is our best interest to have Morgan be officially recognized as our heir."
"Wait, how do we explain my amnesia and the time traveling?"
"I guess we just explain it and hope the people understand."
"'Tis the most logical course of action. With that settled, shall we begin our tour of the city."
—-
Robin, Morgan, Say'ri, Gen'an, and Ka'me left the palace, with Say'ri leading the way due to being familiar with the city. Their first stop was a building with a black roof that was slanted on both ends with little channels running down the entire roof. The roof itself was held up by many pillars, which looked like logs painted over. The structure ran around an entire courtyard before revealing a house with paper walls, with the main door closed. There were also other buildings of the same style behind the structure.
"This, " Say'ri announced, "Is the imperial temple. This temple is where those who reside in Shi'ma pray to Naga herself. Also within the shrine are the various monks and shrine maidens who help to maintain it and conduct rituals."
"The shrine is impressive, there was not anything like this throughout Ylisse," Morgan said, reflecting on her time in Ylisse.
"Yeah, many of the buildings built with religious matters in mind were singular large structures, not sprawling complexes," Robin added, remembering the cathedral where Chrom was crowned Exalt of Ylisse.
"Yet another difference between Chon'sin and Ylisse," Say'ri said. "Regardless, this is also where coronations occur."
"Any particular reason as to why?" Robin asked, curious about Chon'sin's culture and religion.
"The temple holds Sol-no-Tsurugi, the Blade of the Sun. It is used to mark new rulers of Chon'sin, as it was stated to be the blade given to the first Emperor of Valm to unite the continent by sealing Duma and Mila away until Naga may restore their sanity," Say'ri responded.
"Sounds incredibly important," Morgan said, "Why so much importance on this single sword?"
"Simple, the blade was supposedly forged by Naga herself to aid the would-be Emperor."
Robin mused for a bit, before saying, "That sounds somewhat similar to Falchion. A legendary blade given to an important founder of a country to defeat a dragon forged by Naga. The main difference is the name and location."
"Aye, 'tis possible this is another Falchion, though we do not know for certain."
Morgan, having wandered around a bit, yelled out, "Hey, what's with the scoops and the running water? I'm a bit thirsty but I don't want to mess anything up!"
After locating her, Say'ri answered her question, "This is the fountain of improvement. Here, one may select from the waters of longevity, strength, or wisdom to increase that trait."
"What happens if we take more?" Robin asked, recalling how artificial increases in abilities were instrumental in making the wars as risk-free as possible.
"The issue is that taking more is that it can cause the fountain to run dry, preventing others from drawing upon its benefits. 'Tis guarded for that reason by various hidden monks."
"I guess that makes sense, though how does it run out?" Robin asked.
"'Tis a mystery, as the fountain is old and magical, so we do not know how it truly works."
"Well, I guess each of us can select our choice, " Morgan said, grabbing a dipper and holding it under the wisdom water. Robin and Say'ri followed suit, also choosing the wisdom water.
"I guess we all value the same thing," Robin remarked, noting the pattern.
"Alright, we drink on three, one, two, three," Morgan said, before downing her water, with Robin and Say'ri taking it slower. Gen'an and Ka'me also grabbed some, with Gen'an drinking from longevity and Ka'me drinking from strength.
—-
After the temple, the group of five headed back into the core of the city, heading to a small building with a particularly pungent and rather pleasant smell coming off of it, with the smell coming rather easily out of the building due to numerous holes within the walls.
"[Rik'yu, how has it been]" said Gen'an, introducing the owner of the shop.
"[Gen'an,, it has been a while. And Empress Say'ri, what brings you out here]" said Rik'yu, a slightly portly man in his early forties, currently wearing an apron and was at the moment cutting up some vegetables before dumping them into a broth.
"[I was giving a tour of Shi'ma to my betrothed and daughter.]"
"[Wait, daughter. How in the good name of Naga has this not caused a scandal or major crisis?]"
"[I was hidden from the public eye of Chon'sin by being on another continent, and am also from an alternate doomed future]" Morgan said, breezing through the details as though this was her fortieth time explaining who she was.
"[Well, I have no authority on that, so what can I get you five?]" Rik'yu said, clearly wanting to change the subject.
"[One bowl of chicken soba for me, and you know the rest]" Gen'an said.
"[Seafood udon for me, with an extra shrimp,]" Say'ri ordered.
"[I guess I'll have a beef somen, with some added garlic,]" Morgan said, which seemed to somewhat surprise Rik'yu and Gen'an, but Rik'yu got to work on it anyways.
After a bit of hesitancy, Ka'me asked "[Can I have an oden?]"
Robin, meanwhile, having been locked out of the conversation due to the language barrier, just grabbed a menu, found what looked tasty, and pointed at it after showing it to Rik'yu. "[Ah, hiyamugi in miso]"
It took some time, but the food came out, and everyone said "[Thank you for the meal]", except Robin, who was close but said "[Thank you for the seal]". Rik'yu looked confused, but didn't question anything.
"So, how do you two know this place?" Robin asked, referring to Gen'an and Say'ri.
"Gen'an showed me his place back when I was young, and it became my favorite spot for a meal when I left the palace," Say'ri responded.
"I know of it because Rik'yu and I are old friends. We came to know each other after a negotiation began in order to merge a minor state called Gam'da with Chon'sin. He was working for Gam'da, while I was representing Chon'sin. After the negotiations were done, he was out of a job, so I helped set him up with a small business in Shi'ma."
"That makes sense, but I do have to ask about the holes in the building."
"Walhart and his men's doing. I got off pretty easy, as I can work on the holes over time," Rik'yu had jumped into the conversation, given that it was now concerning his shop.
"I meant no offense by it, I was just curious. Also, you can speak Ylissean?"
"Aye, I speak it. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages, it is required if one is to be a diplomat."
"Fair enough. Thank you for the meal."
"No problem. A friend of Gen'an and Say'ri is a friend of mine."
The five continued to eat their meal until they finished, with most of them drinking the broth, with yet another surprised look leveled at Morgan, paid for the meal, and left for their next location.
—-
The third and final location for the tour was at the foot of a large hill, with a staircase marked by red gates going up the hill. Say'ri, at least after letting Robin and Morgan gawk for a minute or two, began to walk up the stairs.
"Wait, we're going all the way up there?" Morgan asked, already sounding exhausted at the thought of climbing the staircase.
"Aye, our true destination lies at the top," Say'ri responded, already a few steps up the staircase, with Ka'me and Gen'an following suit.
"it 's probably not as bad as you think, Morgan," Robin said, "Plus, we ate about an hour ago, we should have what is needed to get up the hill."
"Yeah, you're probably right."
About two hours later, the five reached the top of the hill. Say'ri and Ka'me were completely fine; Gen'an looked a bit winded, but was otherwise fine; Robin had his hands on his knees in order to support his upper body, panting a lot; and Morgan had just completely collapsed, lying face down in the grass.
"Fie, how did both of you participate in numerous battles and conflicts, but are letting yourself get beaten by a staircase?" Say'ri asked, somewhat exasperated by her family's state.
"Mmh nbrff in fghe ahi fho," Morgan mumbled into the dirt.
"I think what she means to say is that it has been a bit since we have needed to truly push ourselves that far," Robin said, "Also, walking up stairs for multiple hours at a moderately fast pace is much more physically exhausting than casting spells at a distance from the enemy."
"I guess we will take a break for now," Say'ri said, before grabbing Robin's hand, taking him over to a nearby tree, which was close to where Morgan was laid.
They both sat down with Robin next to her and had him rest on her shoulder, while she also lightly petted Morgan's head. Morgan and Robin apparently decided to take a nap, leaving Say'ri, Gen'an, and Ka'me alone for a moment.
—-
When Robin opened his eyes, he saw he was resting on Say'ri shoulder, with Say'ri responding to his awakening with, "Aye, you have finally woken up. Here I was thinking we would need to be here all night."
Morgan had apparently woken up before Robin, but was still lying on the ground, though this time on her back, simply watching the sky.
After getting up, the five continued to their destination, which was a series of small house-like structures, along with a rock with a rope tied around it with some paper triangles hanging off of it.
"What is this place?" Robin asked.
"These are the shrines of Shi'ma, a location where the people can pray to the local deities for aid."
"I thought if the people were to pray, they would go to the temple?" Morgan asked.
"The temple is specifically for Naga, and while she is important, she does not help the rice grow or your business is successful," Say'ri responded, "Two of the most notable of these, to the point that they have their own temple, is that of Duma and Mila, whom the people pray to for military and economic success, respectively."
"So Chon'sin believes in more than one god?" Robin asked
"Aye, and they each are worshipped in a different sense."
"So these shrines are for the minor ones?"
"Aye again, though they are ones dedicated to local spirits who may help you."
"I guess that means each god is less overwhelmed and can do their job better," Morgan said, focusing on the practicality of splitting up the responsibility of answering prayers.
"'Tis an odd way to look at it, but it does make sense."
Say'ri then took the lead and guided the five to a particular shrine. "'Tis the shrine dedicated to the god of the family, Ko'jin. I wanted us to pray together here," Say'ri said, seeming somewhat embarrassed at expressing this to Robin and Morgan.
Robin responded, " Of course. We would be glad to do so."
"Absolutely. I just need to know how," Morgan said, with Robin also looking a bit sheepish after Morgan said the latter part.
"Aye, of course. 'Tis a simple matter, one must provide the shrine with a simple gift, usually of food, which I have prepared beforehand." As she said that last part, she took out some rice from a bag she had mostly left on the carriage they had taken around town.
"After that, we simply ask for the god's blessings for a healthy and happy family."
They did just that, with a minor part added by each of them in a hushed voice that was not heard by any of them, but was said by all of them. They had all asked for a large family as well.
—-
A/N: And that's the chapter folks. The Sol-no-Tsurugi is the Valentian Falchion, just that the name was lost to the world as was the name Valentia. I just took the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and many other things from Japanese culture and modified them to make worldbuilding easier and still fit in with Chon'sin being FE Japan, ignoring Hoshido. It won't have any impact on the plot, I just thought it was neat worldbuilding. The concerns about the nature of succession is a topic that occasionally comes up in Awakening fics, but I felt as though it would be worth discussing the perspective that a Say'ri and Robin pairing would mean in regards to this, along with the general conception of why heirs are important to monarchies. In the end, it also functions as to why I can have Morgan walk around with Robin and Say'ri without any issues popping up due to politics. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.