Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō
Chapter 11
Future King VS The Sword's Past Chosen
Umi and Kokuo decided to check out the academy's cooking club on recommendation of 10th ranked Aadyn Rodgers, however instead of being taught the proper method to bake a turkey…. they were instead treated to a match between the 2nd ranked Phang Ze Dong and 3rd ranked Rei Yukinoshita where the latter was revealed both to be the victor of the fight and the president of the cooking club. Phang had to leave right after due to Aadyn's request, and now Rei intends to put Umi and Kokuo through the ringer thinking that they were here to actually join the club. Just what kind of trials will they have to face?
"I'm the cooking club's president and 3rd year student…. Rei Yukinoshita and next to Sekai Akira… I'm officially ranked as the academy's 3rd strongest fighter." Rei declared, "I'll be your opponent for this trial."
"Did it suddenly get hot in here? Or is it just me?" Umi thought as she attempted to stretch the collar of her shirt a little.
"So this is what the pressure of the top 10's upper tier is like isn't it?" Kokuo thought.
If the pressure from Phang and Rei's fight could be described as the shockwaves from the collision between two powerful fighters of some battle manga…. then the pressure Rei is placing on Umi and Kokuo would be like they're wearing weight suits that the infamous Demon King of Exercise makes them wear.
"Bring it on. I'm ready for whatever test you'll place before me." Kokuo declared as he held out his deck to indicate that he's ready for a fight.
"Are you an idiot?" Rei said in a blunt fashion as he looked at Kokuo as though he were indeed a simpleton.
"Huh?" Kokuo mumbled as he was clearly confused by the reply of this famed fighter.
"This is a cooking club, so how would a fight be useful in testing your cooking skills?" Rei retorts.
"His last name is Yukinoshita…. and he's the president of the cooking club…. cooking….. then could his mom be her?" Umi thought as hearing Rei's last name gave her a nagging feeling in the back of her head.
"Oh… okay…. I guess that makes sense." Kokuo mumbled as he felt embarrassed by how gung-ho he was a moment ago.
Rei then sits back down with the same odd seating posture (his feet resting on top of the stool with his toes curled around the edge) he had before.
"Now…. What would be the best way to ensure that they fai…. have their cooking related skills be properly tested." Rei mumbled as he had realized mid-sentence that he was still speaking aloud, "No…. that would take too much effort to clean after….. oh okay… that will work."
Rei continues to mumble to himself both internally and externally over the course of several minutes before the expression of one having an epiphany appears on his face. There's no doubt that he's finally decided on what kind of test to present to Umi and Koku.
"You two just sit and do whatever you want for a bit. I wasn't expecting that bastard to rat out this place this early, so I can't do the test I had in mind for the people who figured out the clues." Rei explained as he started taking out ingredients from all over the club room.
A few of those ingredients include things like thick slices of pre-cooked ham, melon of both bitter and non-bitter varieties, artichoke, olives, and a few other herbs for seasoning. Before you continue reading, Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō is not a cooking fan fiction.
"Pardon me senpai, but you said your last name was Yukinoshita correct? In that case would you be the son of-" Umi was saying.
"Yes…. my dad is indeed Kenji Yukinoshita… the retired pro fighter famed for barely winning any of his fights throughout his entire career." Rei said in an annoyed monotone voice as though he'd been asked the same question or a similar one countless times.
"Who?" Umi asked as she clearly didn't recognize the name.
"My father…. Rei Yukinoshita….. the guy who lost to a pro that was considered worse than him while drunk... the other pro not my dad." Rei explained as he was actually quite surprised to find that someone at Setsuzoku had no idea who is father was.
"Ahh.. now that you mention it I have heard of him, but that's not who I was going to ask about." Umi retorts.
The only reason Umi knew of the name of Rei's father was due to Kokuo bringing it up one day years ago after finding the whole matter as pathetic as it was hilarious. Umi also had the train of thought to not mention that detail in front of Rei for fear of making Kokuo look bad in front of one of the academy's strongest fighters.
"You couldn't possibly be asking about my mom the gourmet restaurant chain owner." Rei pointed out as he firmly believed that to be the case.
"Then your mom is Harumi Kono…. owner of the Japanese/European Hybrid Cuisine restaurant chain… Snowy World Crossing." Umi said somewhat as though she had just realized she was talking to her idol, "Wow… I went to one of her restaurants once and I loved the vegetable stir-fried Yakisoba….. and now that I think about it I believe my fu… dad mentioned he graduated from the same cooking school as her."
"Heh… it was my favorite dish growing up, so of course mom would do her best to make it well." Rei said with a smile as he thought back to his childhood. "Wait….. you mean he also graduated from that super strict school that's effectively the cooking version of Setsuzoku?"
"That is the one." Umi lightly chuckled.
"I don't believe what I'm seeing." Kokuo thought as he had a surprised expression on his face due to Umi rarely getting along with someone she had just met this well.
"Ha ha… it's been a long time since someone could recognize me for my mother's name instead of my father's." Rei lightly chuckled as a smile appeared on his face, "You've put me in a good mood after Phang dragged me out of bed, so….if you want to you can skip over the test and directly join the cooking club."
"Now that isn't very fair is it?" Kokuo pointed out.
"The rules are decided by the one with the biggest fist in this school, and since I have the 3rd biggest fist in the school and that this is my club…" Rei said as he was annoyed at Kokuo for interrupting his pleasant mood, "In other words… while I'm in the room I am the rules. Now if you don't like it you can just as easily leave."
"He's looking at me the same way Sekai did." Kokuo thought as he clenched one of his fists out of frustration, "No…. I can't turn away…. If I can't even handle the pressure if the 3rd strongest fighter here…. then I can forget about ever surpassing Sekai."
The look Kokuo is referring to is not the expression of looking down on someone because one thinks they're better, but the expression one gets when they know they're dealing with someone vastly weaker than them.
"I never said that I was running away, and though granted not so soon….. I did expect that a few of the trials I'd have to get past here wouldn't involve an actual fight." Kokuo declared as he stood his ground in the face of Rei's pressure.
"At least you have a spine unlike most freshmen." Rei smirked as he started to take out more kitchen related instruments whilst his opinion of Kokuo improved slightly at the same time.
"I don't want to take any more short-cuts senpai." Umi answered, "I'll reach the end of my own road the same way as everyone else."
Before you continue reading let me just state that this is not a cooking fanfiction. Anyways… Rei then dices the ham to 1/4th of an inch sized cubes before sautéing the mixture in butter, brown sugar, and a bit of agave syrup. Then he slices all the herbs to the consistency you'd get out of one of those herb shakers from the grocery store, and then Rei sautés the remaining vegetables and fruit in separate pans before combining everything into two sandwiches. All of this might have seemed simple to describe, however there were a lot of complex techniques involved throughout the entire process that in turn had Umi's undivided attention.
"Bon appétit." Rei said in a monotone yet charming fashion as he placed the two plates before Umi and Kokuo.
"Ah.. umm…. Yukinoshita senpai…. Forgive me, but as a dinner kid I can't help but pay attention when I see professional work in action." Umi explained, "I should have mentioned this a few moments ago, however I'm actually allergic to most forms of meat."
"Ah sorry…. no…. it's my fault… I should have asked about any food allergies." Rei said with somewhat of a guilty look on his face before turning to face Kokuo once more, "Then you just try it and let me see what you can deduce."
"Deduce? What exactly am I supposed to be looking for?" Kokuo asked with a confused tone.
"You still haven't figured it out? Are you sure you're not an idiot?" Rei asked as the expression on his face made it clear that he believed his aim should be obvious, "This is a Cooking Club and I put a dish before you…. so if you have any knowledge of cooking you should be able to make some kind of detailed deduction after observing the whole cooking process and trying the dish."
There is a sharp contrast in Rei's treatment of Umi and Kokuo. Rei is being very respectful in the case of the former, however in the latter case Rei is treating Kokuo as though he were a 3rd wheel on a date.
"Alright then." Kokuo said as he takes a bite of the sandwich whilst swallowing his frustrations in regards to Rei's attitude.
Kokuo takes a 2nd bite thinking that eating a simple sandwich was no big deal, however his body reacts as though receiving an electric shock upon taking a 3rd bite. Kokuo takes a second to regain his bearings before taking a 4th bite, then a 5th, and then he takes as many bites as necessary before finishing the entire sandwich within a couple of minutes. Kokuo then turns to face Rei before opening his mouth as if to say something before ultimately deciding against such a course of action.
"You want another one don't you?" Rei asked as he had an arrogant grin on his face, "But desires aside…. tell me what you think?"
"Regrettably…" Kokuo mumbled as he starts clenching his fists in frustration, "Since all I know about cooking is no more than what a normal person would, all I can say that it is delicious….. amazingly so."
"Alright then….. you pass the first test." Rei said as he purposely paused for a moment for dramatic purposes.
"I see… I understand… looks like I'll just have to focus on… wait…. what?" Kokuo said as his mind only registered Rei's response mid-sentence.
"Whenever members of the top 10 have joined clubs in the past…. there would always be an influx of students who'd follow so that they'd have a thick thigh to hug resulting in members with half-a**ed skills, knowledge, effort, and or some combination of all three. A common method to cut down on this is to make the requirements to join impossibly strict." Rei explained, "This is a mistake since it prevents people who truly want to learn from joining the club they're interested, you're not trying to suck up to me, and you admitted your lack of knowledge so I have no reason to not pass you for the first trial. Still….. from your reaction just now…. there's another club you actually want to join isn't there?"
"Yes…. I want to join the Swordsmanship Club both to fulfill a childhood fantasy of mine, and to learn more about Sekai so I can surpass him." Kokuo honestly declared.
"Like that chuuni who won't leave me alone said…. it's good that you have enough balls to set a goal like that for yourself, but…. assuming you actually pass the second test, there's no rule preventing students from joining more than one club if you're still interested." Rei explained, "I might not like dealing with people since I purposely made it difficult to join the club, but since this is a school I'll properly do my duty by passing on knowledge."
"I see…. then I'll put serious thought on whether or not to take you up on your offer senpai." Kokuo said as he bows slightly out of respect due to Rei's words having washed away the earlier frustration he caused.
"Actually…now that I think about it… one of the few other members of the Cooking Club is in a second club as well." Rei mumbled as he once again takes the same thinking posture he had in his match against Phang minus sitting in a stool while checking the time on his phone, "And speaking of which… she should have been here by now."
"Sorry I'm late senpai, but my doctor's appointment lasted a bit longer than I was expecting…. plus there was a traffic jam because of a robbery at some high end fashion boutique along the bus route here!" a young woman declared from the other side of one of the other doors to the Cooking Club.
"The other door's unlocked." Rei said after hearing this newcomer rummage through a set of keys and before turning to face Umi and Kokuo, "Speak of the devil… that's the member I mentioned who was in more than one club.
A teenaged girl the same age as Umi and Kokuo walk into the Cooking Club room that is in the middle-ground between them in height, has green eyes, dark red hair that reach just past her shoulder blades, said hair is tied in pigtails like Umi's though placed closer to her face having the effect of framing her face, is obviously wearing the girl's uniform for the academy, and the build of her body would indicate that she's very flexible.
"Oh….. I thought it would have been a couple more hours before someone showed up." the red head said after paying Umi and Kokuo a momentary glance.
"Ah… I see." the red head said as she barely resisted the overwhelming urge to like Phang and Rei… call Aadyn a bastard, "These two must be pretty special for him to leak out the location like that."
"I suppose, but I don't personally see what's special about them." Rei said in a blunt fashion, "Oh… go on and introduce yourself before I forget."
"Hello Kitagawa-san and Rettousei-san." The red head said as she turned to face Umi and Kokuo once more, "I'm Nicolette Kurosagi, I'm a freshmen like the two of you only I came up from the junior high division, and I guess you could say I'm the club secretary in all but name."
"That's because there's not enough members where I actually require one." Rei said in a somewhat annoyed fashion.
"You know who we are?" Umi and Kokuo ask at the same time.
"Of course. Who doesn't know about the freshman with the guts to challenge Akira-senpai in front of the entire school?" Nicolette retorts, "Then there's also no way I should not know about how a fighter at the bottom of the academy's rankings passionately fought against someone on the top of the rankings during the premiere of a real life MF system."
"Forgive me if this seems rude Kurosagi-san, but how do you and Yukinoshita-senpai know each other?" Umi asked out of curiosity.
"Oh please….you don't need to be so formal. Just call me Nikki or Nikki-san if you still feel you have to add the honorifics." Nikki said as she just casually waved off the whole naming issue.
"I had no choice but to force her into the cooking club before she killed someone with her terrible skills." Rei said in a blunt monotone fashion.
"Hey… I've worked hard to improve my cooking skills!" Nikki said as she was clearly offended by Rei's remark, "You said it yourself that I've gotten a lot better since we met last year."
"The fact that no one lost consciousness the last time you had people try your cooking is indeed an improvement, but everything still tasted terrible." Rei said bluntly, "Enough about that though… did you remember to place the last clues around campus like I asked?"
Rei got his answer when Nikki suddenly turned to the side refusing to look him in the face as anime levels of sweat start rolling down her cheeks. That should be sufficient in giving you an answer in regard to what Nikki had done.
"You airheaded idiot… I swear you're almost as bad as that chuuni fool who keeps calling himself my friend!" Rei said as he starts to berate Nikki, of which the tone he takes seems to indicate that this is not the first time something like this has happened.
"Sorry." Nikki said as she started to stare at her feet due to the shame she was feeling.
"No… since this is the first couple weeks of school…. Just don't forget to do it before you go home today." Rei sighed as he decides forgive Nikki.
"Oh thank you senpai…. I promise to work even harder in both my cooking and vanguard skills for this." Nikki fervently declared as she perked right back up after receiving Rei's pardon.
"It'll be a lot of hard work, but your next goal is to make something that doesn't cause people to lose their lunch immediately after trying it." Rei declared as she pats Nikki on the shoulder.
"Yes senpai sir!" Nikki said aloud as she salutes Rei with her other shoulder due to the latter's preference for a certain navy themed clan, "Oh did these two past the first test?"
"Yeah…. they both did." Rei answered.
"Excuse me senpai, but I haven't said what my thoughts are on what you made." Umi said as she raised her hand like she were still a kid in grade-school.
"Don't worry about it… just consider it compensation for my not asking about any food allergies." Rei said in a dismissive monotone voice.
"Oh okay." Umi said as she wished to continue objecting but decided against it due to like Kokuo, she doesn't want to offend a member of the academy's strongest fighters.
"Wow… Rei rarely makes exceptions for anything like…. Ever." Nikki said as she stares at Umi in awe, "Oh… I also like the way you styled your hair. How do you do it? When I try… I can't seem to get my hair to stay straight down since it always naturally curls at the end."
"Oh that's easy.. I use this shampoo I found." Umi answered.
Cue several minutes of girl-talk this author can't be bothered to write despite actually being one.
"Alright… enough… I'd like to administer the second test before the day is out thank you very much!" Rei said aloud as his tolerance for girl talk has reached its limits.
"Oh second test then? So that must mean-" Nikki was saying.
"Yeah…. and since I've been fighting that chu… Phang for the past few hours, you'll be his opponent instead of me." Rei interrupts as he nods his head towards where Kokuo was standing.
"I know I don't have the same level of cooking knowledge as any of you here, but I don't believe my skills in a kitchen is that poor." Kokuo confidently declared as he got his game face on.
"For the third time…. are you sure you're not an idiot? I was talking about a card fight." Rei said as he took his deck out for example's sake, "This is a school dedicated to training the best Vanguard fighters in the world, so why wouldn't it be an option to joining a club here. In fact all clubs are required to allow it to be a way for people to join."
Kokuo had wanted to say something about the somewhat contradictory statement Rei had just made, but instead he once again decides to swallow his tongue.
"Well I certainly don't mind having a fight." Nikki said as she starts stretching her shoulders after taking out her deck, "It would be a nice way to de-stress after the morning I had."
"Alright then… bring it." Kokuo declared as he starts walking towards one of the stools after taking out his own deck.
"Umm… not here please?" Rei said in a purposely sounded confused monotone voice as he raised his hand as if he were a student asking a question in class.
"Then where senpai?" Umi and Kokuo simultaneously ask.
"Ha ha… oh I know what he's going to do." Nikki lightly chuckles aloud.
"That obvious I'm planning to abuse my authority?" Rei asked as a somewhat cocky grin appeared on his face, "Just make sure to lock up properly before we go…. emphasis on LOCK UP Nikki."
"I promise not to forget senpai… absolutely nothing like last time will happen." Nikki said in an innocent tone as she raised her hand as if she were being sworn in at trial.
"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but what happened last time?" Umi curiously asked.
"I don't want to talk about it, so make sure you two have all your stuff before we leave." Rei answered as for a moment he looked as though he was going to have a brain aneurism from thinking about this mysterious incident.
Rei has Umi, Kokuo, and Nikki follow him after he takes a couple of minutes to make sure none of the other stoves are on or that there aren't any faucets of water running. Nikki then double-checks both doors to make sure that she properly locked them. This improvised quartet has over a few dozen eyes placed upon them within minutes of leaving the Cooking Club's room, and why wouldn't they? This group consists of Rei who is a member of the academy's strongest fighters, Kokuo who had the guts to challenge Sekai on the first day of school, Umi who won one of the more passionate fights of the real life MF system's first uses, and even Nikki has a sizable reputation amongst the students.
"What did you actually do?" Kokuo whispered as some of the supporters wandering around campus during club recruitment week slowly start gathering around them.
"I still want to that too myself." Umi politely interjected.
"Well since it looks like he won't be able to hear us under all of this noise." Nikki said obviously referring to Rei as she adjusted her walking pace to get as close to Umi and Kokuo as possible without looking suspicious, "Long story short…. In the Cooking Club's previous room before it was partially destroyed by Phang, Rei was baking a few pies for a formal event behind hosted by the principal and left them out to cool."
"What did a bunch of animals start chowing down on them after they smelled how good these pies were?" Kokuo whispered in a joking fashion.
"Ummm…. well…. yes." Nikki said in both a blunt fashion and embarrassed tone of voice.
"Seriously?" Kokuo and Umi whispered in shock as the former didn't think what he said as a joke would turn out to be exactly what happened.
"It was a charity event for injured military veterans all over the world, of whom many brought their service dogs. Those dogs then smelled the pies, wandered into the Cooking Club's own room, somehow knocked over shelves in front of the doors, and by the time we could get inside….." Nikki was saying, "Well let's just say there was a big mess from between the leftover crumbs from pie crust and dogs doing what dogs do, and Rei's anger in response reached a level I haven't seen since that incident last year with Phang senpai."
The business of a dog's life is truly a messy and smelly thing, but that aside students continue to gather to observe Umi, Kokuo, and Nikki as they continue to walk towards wherever Rei intends to lead them.
"Oh my god…. It's true that really is Yukinoshita-senpai!" an excited student turned fangirl yelled.
"I know right…. when I heard the same thing from another friend…. I didn't believe them at all." A friend of that fan girl pointed out, "I heard that outside of major academy functions that he rarely goes anywhere asides from the dorms, class, and his club."
"I know right…. he must be the type that's so dedicated to improving that he'll forgo anything else… that dedication makes the tired look he always has even more cute." The excited fangirl said.
"Please….. if we're talking about cute….. I'd say Rettousei-san is way cuter. I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I get the feeling that he's a total gentleman underneath that bad boy exterior... the contrast I think makes him look cuter…. I think the concept was called gap moe." The fan girl's friend retorts.
"Well imagination is important in this game so you could be right." the fan girl said just before she and her friend burst out into laughter because of it.
Girls weren't the only gender observing the short proverbial journey that Umi, Kokuo, Nikki, and Rei were undertaking. There were naturally several guys present with each of them making comments of their own.
"Huh…. so that's the Umi girl all you freshmen have been talking about right?" a male 2nd year student asked of his freshman friend, "I mean the bright red hair makes her look a little cute, but asides from that being a bit of an anime cliché…. I don't really see what he big deal about her is."
"What?!" the male freshman said in shock as though his friend insulted his mother, "Didn't you see the recording of how passionate her fight against Kitashirakawa-san was? Outmatched at the bottom of the leader board against someone at the top and thought defeat was inevitable, but pushed through all of that for the win. I mean how could you not admire someone like that?"
"Hehe…. It looks like you have a bit of a crush on her old buddy old pal." The male 2nd year chuckled in a snide manner, "Well she's right there….. so just walk up and ask her out."
"Wha… hell no… actually hold off on that." the male freshman said blushing slightly as he had a sudden epiphany, "Tell you what…. I'll try asking her out if you do the same for Kurosagi-san since they're walking together."
"Wha… oh hell no yourself… back when I was on the ranking list in the junior high division, Nikki was ranked way way higher than me….. near the very top of that board in fact even though she was a year younger than me." the male 2nd year retorts as he looks at his friend as though he had asked him to try riding a tiger like it were a horse.
Comments about Umi, Kokuo, Nikki, and Rei continue to go on with subjects such as their skills to their personal lives being the basis of the conversation as the people themselves head to their intended destination. As for what their destination actually is….. well… Imagine that your eyes are looking down to the ground from a helicopter flying in the sky, and on that ground you see the largest of the arenas that Setsuzoku uses for their internal school functions….. that is to say the one capable of holding 25,000 excited Vanguard fans within its seats. Now imagine that you're sitting in one of the arena's seats right next to one of the random press teams as they record the various fights going on through the very real MF system.
"Man this is boring." The reporter mumbled aloud as he played a game on his phone thanks to knowing that they're not currently broadcasting live.
"Now don't say that…. the invention of a real life MF system is going to create a new wave of Vanguard fighters…. eventually all kinds of ordinary fighters will be able to use their own MF system all over the world, so wouldn't having pictures of ordinary fighters be better for promotional purposes?" the cameraman asked as he continued to look through his camera lens.
"Oh the common students being the core of the news article we're working on is a good idea…. In fact it should already be expected of us as well as the other guys covering this historical moment in Vanguard history, but I'm saying it's boring because we don't have anything to sprinkle on top of that…. it's like a cake with no icing." The reporter explained as he put away his phone.
"Then what would you want to make as that icing?" the cameraman asked as caught onto the reporter's train of thought.
"Well I'd like for there to be a fight between members of the academy's 10 strongest fighters, and if that's not an option….." the reporter mumbled aloud as he started to think about the issue with more detail, "Then at the very least…. I'd like to see a fight between people strongly connected to the top 10 in some way or form."
"Oh yeah…. I can totally see what you mean now….. hold on." the cameraman mumbled as he noticed a commotion starting to form at one of the entrances leading directly onto the arena floor.
"We have to move man…. I just got messaged by one of my friends that Yukinoshita-senpai is walking onto the arena floor here right now!" a male freshman said excitedly into the ear of a friend sitting next to him.
"You heard the man…. we have to move… we may see just yet the exiting icing on the cake for this article." The reporter excitedly ordered as he put away his phone, picked up his mic, and started running.
"Wait for me!" the cameraman yelled as he ran in pursuit of his boss.
Though the commotion going on at the aforementioned arena floor entrance, it went mostly unnoticed as the arena floor itself was packed nearly to the brim with students both heavily focused on the battle going on the fighting stage itself and the hope that they'll be the lucky person to be randomly selected to go on stage next. It's only been a couple of days since they were first used, but this real life MF system has indeed caused the next revolution of the Vanguard world. Speaking of the current fight going on the stage itself….
"And now to bring things to a close… Raging Form Dragon's limit break…. Superior persona ride!" a female fighter declared, "And now Raging Form Dragon will attack your vanguard!"
"Damn…. no guard!" the male opponent yelled in response.
"Winner: Kourin Sendou!" the MC of this arena yelled, of whom will likely lose his voice once he wakes up the next day given the amount of yelling he had to do.
It only takes the slot-machine themed randomization program being displayed on the arena's big screen TVs less than 30 seconds to work their magic before displaying another pair of names after the "purely coincidentally" named character mentioned a moment ago was able to win her fight.
"Next…. Ren Amagi versus Machias Albarea!" the MC in two charge of this packed to the brim event declared.
Of whom has his work cut out of him considering that nearly everyone in this stadium whether or not they're actually students of the academy, all want to have a taste of what it is like to see their units come alive before their very eyes. At any rate… the two named individuals (Ren being a girl and Machias being a guy) start walking up the steps to the fighting stage.
"Out of the way!" a young man yelled.
That young man who spoke was obviously Ray, and everyone around him does indeed give him room to walk along with Umi and the others following behind him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have a surprise guest in the form of the Academy's 3rd strongest fighter Rei Yukinoshita!" the MC declared as he showed of his ability to stay calm under pressure with his response to this unexpected situation while holding a microphone up to the man himself, "Please tell us just what has brought you here today?"
"I'm here to abus… use my authority as a member of the academy's 10 strongest fighters to (given the situation) metaphorically 'cut ahead in line' for the sake of my own club activities." Rei bluntly and blatantly declared as the expression on his face already shows he's not interested any responses to his proclamation.
"That's not fair!" Ren and Machias yelled simultaneously in frustration.
Who could actually blame them for yelling in that moment? They were on the precipice of elation due to being about to accomplish their dream of seeing their units come alive only to be smacked down to the deepest levels of hell.
"Oh….. you're actually questioning the authority of the academy's strongest fighters?" Rei asked in an annoyed tone as he glares at the two freshmen with a hostile look in his eyes, "I don't recall hearing someone defeat Phang and Sekai in a ranking match….. nor have I heard about the principal passing his position over to someone still in high school."
Naturally the two gutsy freshmen became scared as they listened to the words that came out of Rei's mouth.
"We…. We wo-wouldn't dare to do such a thing." Ren said as she started stuttering out of fear.
Rather than respond, Rei starts silently tapping on his fancy school phone when all of a sudden a pop-up forcibly appeared on the phones of every student and staff member of Setsuzoku currently present. It doesn't take these people long to realize that a section of the student-handbook concerning privileges granted to highly ranked students being shown before them.
"Paragraph 6, Line 5, Subsection 2: Students who rank within the top X percentile (X to be decided by yearly basis) can cut ahead of other students ahead of them in line with the only exception in this regards being a student who is ranked even higher." Rei said loudly as he paraphrased the aforementioned section.
"But it was specifically said in the rules that students aren't allowed to pull rank for this event." Machias pointed out.
"Idiot." Rei said as he glanced in Machias' direction while using tapping on his own phone to change the pop-up showing on the phones of everyone else, "Addendum 2 of Paragraph 6, Line 5, Subsection 2: Even if a teacher or approved official were to organize an event with the rule where pulling rank is not allowed and if the principal himself did not make this declaration, then students who are ranked within the top 10 of the Academy can still 'pull rank' and skip ahead in line for himself or those under him especially if though not limited to…. conducting business beneficial to the academy."
Machias and Ren still wanted to object, but they knew they had no grounds to say anything.
"Forgive me for interrupting." The MC said as he nervously raised his hand due to being scared by Rei's display of authority, "I'm not objecting to your right to take advantage of the authorities granted to you by your rank Yukinoshita-sama, but…. what business are you exactly planning to conduct?"
"To assess the abilities of one of my precious juniors, and to see if they poses ability worth taking under me in my club." Rei said in a monotone yet snide manner, "Taking the effort to promote and asses the talent of the school… do you wish to say that isn't me conducting business beneficial to the academy?"
"Of course not… I wouldn't dare." The MC said as he looked as though he was being forced to face the jaws of death.
"Good." Rei said as a slight smile formed on his face.
"That's why I really enjoy learning under Yukinoshita-senpai." Nikki whispered into Umi's ears, "He might really seem disinterested in everything, but if you slight those he cares about…. he'll be tyrannically unreasonable against the guilty party. Who wouldn't want to learn under someone willing to go to such lengths for their juniors? He and Phang-senpai get along so well because they're exactly the same in that regard."
Umi and Kokuo, of whom the latter overheard Nikki's whispers couldn't deny her words in the slightest. The pair of childhood friends could indeed feel their hearts moving towards the desire of learning under such a senpai regardless of their initial impressions of him.
"Who is it you intend to assess Yukinoshita-sama?" the MC asked in a respectful fashion as he slowly regained his senses.
"Quickly…. start the camera!" the reporter from earlier yelled, "Even if we're not allowed to broadcast this live… we simply must catch this fight or whatever event happens from start to finish."
"Am already on it boss." The cameraman from earlier said in affirmation as he pointed his shoulder mounted recording device towards the fighting stage.
"It's…" Rei was saying when a slightly awkward expression appeared on his face before turning to face Kokuo, "What was your name again?"
The shock from the absurdity of Rei going through such lengths in order to arrange a proper field to assess his junior only to forget his name caused a great deal many people to enact the "Face Fault" trope where they would collapse to the ground in many an odd pose.
"He definitely heard….. he definitely must have heard Phang-senpai say my name." Kokuo thought swallowing his anger as any good feelings he had built up about Rei were instantly washed away.
"Don't take it too personally." Nikki interjected as she whispered into Kokuo's ears, "I know this won't make it sound any better… in fact it'll make it worst, but Rei is the kind of person who won't remember anything that doesn't interest him even if you shove it in his face a hundred times.
"Hey…. isn't the one Yukinoshita-sama is pointing to that one freshman who had the balls to challenge Sekai on the first day of school?" the cameraman pointed out.
"You're right….. you definitely can't miss a single moment of whatever happens now." the reporter retorts.
More and more people started to realize this same fact as they picked themselves up off the floor, and once again the gutsy young freshman with the courage to challenge Sekai became a topic of conversation. If Yukinoshita-senpai is taking an interest in such a person, then none of the people here would dare to miss just how he would decide to assess Kokuo's abilities.
"Forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself senpai, but my name is Kokuo Rettousei." Kokuo said in a polite fashion as he swallowed down the frustration of two members of the top 10 being unable to remember his name.
"Do you intend to fight yourself Yukinoshita-sama?" the MC asked, "If so… I'm sure everyone here would appreciate the chance of seeing one of the academy's strongest fight on a real life MF system."
"No…. I only intend to observe today, but I'll be having Kurosagi handling that responsibility." Rei answered as he quickly returned to his usual monotone manner of speaking.
It was then that people noticed that Nikki was standing between Kokuo and Umi (who was quickly disregarded by the audience). Though it wasn't as intense a reaction as it was with Kokuo, many in the crowd are once again sent into a tizzy of discussion. Umi and Kokuo can't help but wonder what kind of reputation Nikki has to warrant such a reaction.
"Don't just stand there….. get up on the fighting stage you two!" Rei yelled in a monotone fashion, "We've already caused enough of a scene as it is, so there's no reason for us to make it any bigger."
Many who heard what Rei just said thought something along the lines of "It's just you who is causing a scene…. don't drag anyone innocent into this!"
Still….. Kokuo and Nikki couldn't dare to defy Rei at this point, so of course they head up on stage, place down their decks, and go through the typical starting motions of a fight right up until just before the point they're supposed to say that iconic starting phrase.
"Well…" Rei said as he glared at the MC.
"Well what…. Yukinoshita-sama?" the MC asked in confusion.
"Aren't you going to do your job?" Rei said in a monotone fashion as he showed off just a little more of his tyrannically unreasonable side.
"Oh of course." The MC said as he ran towards the outer midpoint of the fighting stage, "Are the two of you ready?"
"Yeah." Kokuo and Nikki simultaneously declared.
"Wait…. hold on!" Rei suddenly yelled as if he had just noticed something unexpected.
"What now?!" were the collective thoughts of Nikki, Umi, Kokuo, and many of the other people here.
"You two….. get off the stage now and give them some room!" Rei yelled as he pointed his finger towards Ren and then towards Machais, of whom were both still on the fighting stage.
Ren and Machias were once again tempted to object, but then they peacefully walked off stage after remembering just who they were dealing with. These two suddenly and simultaneously received a message on their school phones just as they were about to walk through the precipice of the arena floor's exit, and they were going to ignore the messeage until they realized that the ring tone that came with this notice was the same one the academy uses for private yet official notices to its students.
"This….." Ren and Machias couldn't help but mumble out of shock from what they read.
This message was informing them that an amount of yen equal to 1,000 US Dollars was transferred into their student stipend fund account. The message also included the identity of the person who had sent them this money.
"Thank you Yukinoshita-senpai!" Ren and Machias simultaneously with a tremendous amount of gratefulness in their voices.
Umi of course is unaware of her senpai's action, but she still can't help staring at him in response to seeing people who initially wanted to swear in Rei's face being suddenly grateful to him.
"I'm not so heartless as to not compensate the precious juniors of mine, of whom I suddenly inconvenienced like this." Rei explained due to already knowing what Umi was likely about to ask him next.
Rei then turns his gaze back towards the freshmen Nikki and Kokuo, of whom are about to fight on stage rather than the several underclassmen who are staring at him off stage.
"I'll ask again… are the two of you ready?" the MC asked after taking Rei's action as an excuse to get this show back on the road.
Nikki and Kokuo nod in affirmation.
"Then begin!" the MC yelled as he waves down his arm as though it were a checkered flag signifying the start of a Fortune 500 race.
"Stand up, Vanguard!" both fighters yelled.
Though this real life MF system isn't far enough along to allow for a backdrop to go along with this fight, the circles of light that bursts forth from both fighters consoles in which their decks are placed seemed to have affected how the coloration of the proverbial "room" looks.
"Guidepost Sage, Elron [Power: 5000]!" Kokuo yelled.
"Wingal Brave [Power: 5000]!" Nikki yelled, "You can go first if you want."
"Then I'll take you up on that offer." Kokuo retorts, "I ride Knight of Technomancy, Breunor [Power: 7000]!"
"Take my advice…. If you want to prove your worth… don't underestimate that ditz like you did with Sekai." Rei said to Kokuo in a blunt fashion as he points a finger towards Nikki before the former could continue with his turn.
"I never went into that fight expecting to win." Kokuo retorts out of annoyance.
"But you still didn't think he'd be able to beat you that badly." Rei counters, "Therefore you were indeed underestimating that monstrous nervous wreck."
"Fine, I'll take your advice senpai." Kokuo said before turning his attention back to his female opponent.
"I'm a little hurt that he called me a ditz, but he's not wrong you know." Nikki said in a fashion so relaxed that this may as well be a casual fight in a coffee shop, "The part about underestimating me I mean…. Not the ditz part."
"Why should I?" Kokuo asked and he has good reason to do so considering that Nikki's not matching anywhere near the amount of pressure he's seen some of the other fighters here put out.
"For the record, I would have ranked higher if it weren't for me catching a pretty bad viral infection during the graduation exams of the academy's junior high division causing me to be off my game, but-" Nikki was saying.
"But if it wasn't for that….. then Nicolette Kurosagi, she would have been the 2nd ranked high school division freshman at the start of the year instead of that other guy who got it." Rei interrupted, "This is considering that out of all of those who came up from the academy's junior high division….. she was the second strongest next to Kisaki."
To Be Continued
Rei: I wonder if you can handle fighting the closest friend of your avatar's ancestor?
Umi: Wow…. to think this is what a fight between those who use the same clan can be like.
Kokuo: Amazing….. so this is what it's like to fight the other hidden experts of the academy!
Umi: Next time on Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō "Duel of Friend and Friend's Descendant!"
?: Soon…. I shall have everything I need for my grand performance of thievery.
Royal Paladin
OC Card List
Grade 1
Knight of Technomancy, Breunor
Power: 7000 Shield: 5000 Race: Human
[Auto](RC)[1/Turn]: When your other unit is placed on (RC) due to an affect from one of your cards, if you have a vanguard with "Alfred" in its card name, choose up to one of your units, that unit gets [Power]+4000 until end of turn.
[Auto](RC)[1/Turn](GB1): When your other unit is placed on (RC) due to an affect from one of your cards, if you have a vanguard with "Alfred II" in its card name, choose up to one of your units, that unit gets [Power]+4000 until end of turn.
Lore: Just as his majesty King Alfred II is descended from a great figure in the past, so is this young knight who prefers to balance the use of a sword and technology through magic. His great ancestor, of whom was a high ranking knight during the rule of King Alfred that was granted the title that is only given to the strongest knight of the United Sanctuary "Higher Deity". Several historical records have been lost around the world due to a computer virus that was unleashed during a war about 2.5 centuries in the past from Alfred II's timeline, and as a result scholars heavily debate who his great maternal ancestor was. The most popular of such theories was that it was the female vampire who led an army of pirates, others say it was a bioroid that finally moved past her deceased first love, and the remainder believes it to be the former No. 2 of a force obsessed with gears. Every time someone tries to end this debate by asking the young knight himself…. somehow another matter forces it to the side.
Cardfight Vanguard: Setsuzoku Sensō
Lore Short 2
Freedom From Exile & Thievery Part 2
A flash of light appears in a forest clearing not that far from the United Sanctuary's capital city and a few dozen horses, their riders, and all of the supplies that they're carrying appear in place of that light once it dissipates.
"Your majesty, where are you?!" Polyantha Rose yelled as she used her (limited) connection to the forces of nature to quickly get her bearings within this timeline.
"Could it be that his majesty appeared somewhere else?" Teutonic thought, "Men… fan out and search the are-"
Teutonic was interrupted by the sound of someone upchucking their lunch in a rather loud volume from behind a very large tree.
"That won't be necessary Blas…. again I forget that it's Teutonic while we're on this mission." Alfred II said as he emerged from behind that large tree while rubbing his face with a silk napkin, "As you can see I'm perfectly fine.
The mixed band of dryads and knights all heard what had just happened, but none dare say anything for the sake of preserving the king's face.
"It's alright your majesty…. If necessary, Sage Zenon has given me the means to regain that title once more." Teutonic retorts while thinking, "Hmm.. Sage Zenon did mention that nausea was an occasional side effect of time travel, but at least his majesty is fine." Teutonic thought.
"Lady Polyantha Rose, did any of your fellow dryads have any issues with the trip?" Alfred II asked with a concerned tone as it was his way of seeing if his old friend was okay without getting to personal in public like this, "And while we're at it… Teutonic, how are the men?"
"Save for a few being mentally exhausted from the journey, my sisters are fine." Polyantha Rose said quickly answered after glancing over the face of each of her fellow dryads.
Note: Dryads close enough in age referrer to each other as sisters in the Zoo nation.
"The same can be said for our men your majesty." Teutonic answered.
"Then let's confirm where we are shall we? Sage Zenon's magic circle should have dropped us off near the capital, but let's make sure. We'd have a serious political fiasco is a large band of his majesty King Alfred's personal royal knights appeared in one of the few forests of the Dragon Empire. It would be especially inconvenient for you wouldn't it Teutonic?" Alfred II said in a joking fashion in order to ease the mood.
"Forgive the rudeness your majesty, but that's not funny considering how the Kagero's commander-in-chief would come and find me if I even so much as sneezed in the direction of the Dragon Empire." Teutonic said as he clearly didn't find his liege's joke amusing, "Still…. Breunor, you're the foremost tech expert amongst his majesty Alfred II's royal knights… have you got our location yet?!"
Teutonic was addressing a member of this band of knights far in the back, of whom was also wearing leather armor in the colors of the Royal Paladins like Alfred II though far less fancy in design. Currently he was preoccupied with interacting with an ultra-thin tablet device.
"I've been at it since we arrived Sir Teutonic…. though our timeline's technology is obviously centuries more advanced, the security around this timeline's global positioning systems were still heavily encrypted none the less, so it'll ta-" Breunor was saying before being interrupted by a beep coming from his own tablet device, "Never mind I'm in….. we are indeed near the capital…. about 50 miles to our north-east would be our destination, but there's a cliff overlooking the capital about half a mile in the same direction if you or his majesty are interested."
"What of Chronojet Dragon? Do the local historical records say anything about his location in this timeline?" Alfred II asked.
"One moment…. If the military intelligence files of this timeline are to be believed… he is currently in the head quarters his faction has established in the Dark Zone." Breunor said after tapping and swiping on his tablet a few more times, "Even if they use the best means of transportation that Gear Chronicle had at the time… it'll still take him several hours to get here."
"Then Lady Polyantha Rose, would you be interested in joining me to examine the United Sanctuary's capital of yore?" Alfred II asked of his old friend.
"Naturally I can't refuse a request from his majesty considering how much I've already imposed all of a sudden." Polyantha Rose answered.
"Then Breunor... you'll be joining us for this short excursion, so dismount your horse. Teutonic, tell the men to rest but save setting up camp for later. Once you're done you'll be joining the three of us." Alfred II said like the dutiful/responsible king his men view him as.
"Yes your majesty." Teutonic and Breunor said as they nod their heads simultaneously.
"Sir Teutonic, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could tell my sisters the same in my place." Polyantha Rose interjected.
"Of course my lady." Teutonic said as he nods in affirmation.
A few minutes later this small band of a king, two knights, and a dryad exit the forest onto a triangular-shaped grass covered cliff akin. Then deep into this temporary quartet could see the city walls of the royal capital along with the towering bluish white buildings within, some such buildings are actually hovering above the city, and they could even see things flying in & out of the city though it's impossible to tell whether or not they're people flying under their own power or in the Cray equivalent of an airplane due to the distance.
"So…. this is the how the capital of the United Sanctuary looked during King Alfred's time. Quite a beautiful sight…. don't you think everyone?" Alfred II asked as the concept of seeing history in the making started to take new meaning for the young king.
"Of course your majesty." Teutonic answered in a matter befitting a loyal knight.
"It's splendor is truly impressive." Breunor declared.
"Indeed, and it's a shame that we can't bring back souvenirs." Polyantha Rose pointed out.
"But back to the affairs at hand….. Breunor, the forest clearing we arrived at is too small for us to set up camp after considering the presence our additional guests. Find us a new one within the forest." Alfred II ordered.
"I'll finish as soon as possible your majesty." Breunor said as he started swiping on his futuristic tablet again.
"Lady Polyantha Rose, would you be interested in joining me in a tour of the capital as we heard towards the residence of this timeline's Sage Zenon?" Alfred II asked in a respectful manner.
"Of course your majesty… since we snuck out to explore the capital in the future as children… it'll be interesting to do it in the past as adults." Polyantha Rose said as she appreciatively accepts Alfred II's offer.
"With all due respect your majesty, I must strongly object to this course of action. The retinue of knights assigned to this mission are here to protect you as much as they are here to accomplish their mission, so you should not go alone." Teutonic interjects in an adamant fashion.
"None the less…. my order stands." Alfred II said as he took out his sword and drove it into the ground to display his authority, "I shouldn't need to tell you how a band of his majesty King Alfred's personal royal knights showing up outside the city gates will cause problems for our mission here.
"Pardon me Lady Polyantha Rose, but do you know what his majesty is referring to?" Breunor whispered, "I realize it clearly has something to do with the historical records of this period, however much to my own shame history is my worst subject."
"Unlike how his majesty's personal royal knights are organized in our timeline, the royal knights of this timeline rarely gathered together in large number outside official functions due to all the conflicts that had occurred during King Alfred's reign over the United Sanctuary. The times they did gather together outside official functions would be some celebration being hosted by one of the other knights or (and this is far more likely for the governing bodies of the United Sanctuary to assume) during serious emergencies that effect the nation's overall power on Cray."
"I see…. if we were all to show up outside the city gates… then King Alfred would be heavily alarmed making our mission that much harder. That's why his majesty must want me to find a bigger forest clearing since the same alarms would be rung if we camped alongside the main road to the capital." Breunor deduced after hearing this explanation.
"Once Breunor has found a suitable campsite, you'll lead the rest of the men and Lady Polyantha Rose's fellow dryads there and await my return. I'll also be passing this to you to give to Chronojet Dragon in case he finds you before we get back." Alfred II said as he passed Teutonic the letter from Zenon that was meant for Chronojet Dragon, "Besides…. no one would dare cause a scene this close to the capital, and lady Polyantha Rose is more than capable of assisting me in my own defense if need be. I trust that I need not repeat myself correct?"
"Of course your majesty…. your humble servant shall comply with your request." Teutonic said as he bowed to his liege.
After packing some additional food & water for appearance's sake on their horses as well as packing away some of the specially printed (forged in the future) currency of the nation in their coin-purses, Alfred II and Polyantha Rose begin the short journey to the capital. The whole journey only takes a few hours since these are the horses of a fantasy world like Cray rather than the normal horses of Earth; however they still decide to leave their mounts in stables right outside the city gates for the sake of remaining inconspicuous. The pair of friend's start walking through one of the capital's shopping districts after about an hour.
"My my….. some of these outfits are rather charming." Polyantha Rose observed as she and Alfred II started walking by some clothing stores.
"Perhaps you should put one of them on while we're here in the capital." Alfred II politely suggests.
"What… do you think I look ugly in this outfit your majesty?" Polyantha Rose asked after seemingly misunderstanding his majesty's intention.
"Please don't call me that while we're here, but still…. of course you look beautiful in the traditional robes of your fellow Dryads… however that's precisely the problem." Alfred II explained.
"What do you mean?" Polyantha Rose asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Haven't you noticed all the people looking at us?" Alfred II said as he inconspicuously points his finger all around him.
There were indeed people staring, pointing at, and even taking pictures of Alfred II and Polyantha Rose with the Cray equivalent of a cellphone. It's almost as if the pair were actually brand new transfer students going through their first day at a new Japanese high school.
"According to our history lessons, dryads at this point in history were mostly isolationists. Save for a few being assigned to foreign embassies or them overseeing food shipments… your fellow sisters most of the time rarely left the Zoo nation and even when they did they would stay within the embassy and vehicle delivering the aforementioned food unless absolutely necessary." Alfred II explained, "In short…. You're both a foreign beauty and a rare animal to the people of this timeline.
"I see…. then I'll apologize in advance if my or the presence of my sisters affects the mission you and your knights have undertaken." Polyantha Rose said with guilt, "And thank you for the compli-"
"Oh my god…. I can't believe it's him!" a citizen of the United Sanctuary yelled.
"Come on…. Let's hurry up and get a closer look." Another citizen said to a nearby friend.
It doesn't take long for Polyantha Rose and Alfred II to see a crowd of people start to form on the sidewalks around the street corner up ahead as if a surprise parade or royal procession was going on.
"I wonder what's happening?" Polyantha Rose mumbled out loud.
"Regardless of whatever's going on….. it doesn't concern our mission. Now let's go already." Alfred II said as he suddenly started pulling Polyantha Rose by the hand towards the entrance to a nearby alleyway.
"Hey… a**hole, you're pulling to hard… that hurts!" Polyantha Rose said as she broke the grip of her old friend, "Aren't you curious at all what's going on around the corner?"
"It's obviously some kind of celebrity, of which is precisely why we should leave right now." Alfred II answered, "Regardless of whomever celebrity this is in the local timeline….. the common folk will be on the look-out for anyone famous because of it…. and if they see me who strongly resembles King Alfred… well I know you're at least smart enough to figure that out."
"Sorry.. I understand." Polyantha Rose retorts while thinking, "He means that he'll get hounded by autograph requests, and the fact that the king is seen walking around downtown wearing the armor of his subordinates will cause all kinds of gossip to be spread before the misunderstanding can be cleared."
Alfred II and Polyantha Rose only make it halfway through the alley when….
"Your majesty, please wait up!" a man yelled.
"I thought you told Teutonic to stay back in the forest with your men and my sisters." Polyantha Rose whispered.
"I did, but unfortunately that voice doesn't belong to him or any of my knights." Alfred II explained as he pointed his finger upwards as if to indicate the direction the speaker was coming from.
Alfred II and Polyantha Rose looked up only to see a figure jump down from the roof of the building before them. This person was clearly a knight of the United Santucary of this timeline… he had white metal armor, dark blue tights or something akin to it underneath, a long cape running down his back, he had light glowing aqua blue stripes upon his armor, and he had a legendary weapon strapped to his back that Polyantha Rose and Alfred II have seen used countless times in Teutonic's posession. How could either of them not immediately realize who had just addressed them?
"Lord Blaster Blade, what are you doing here?" Alfred II asked as he was surprised to see a figure he admired from history right before him so soon.
"I toured the streets of the capital in order to stay connected to and raise morale of the common citizen of the United Sanctuary your majesty." Blaster Blade explained.
"That explains the crowd we saw…. Then this Blaster Blade must have seen us as we ducked into the alley." Polyantha Rose deduced.
Unlike Teutonic who was loyal to Alfred II yet still kept the appropriate distance, Blaster Blade speaks in a reserved yet intimate fashion to Alfred II thanks to mistaking him for his ancestor.
"I immediately changed my plans when I saw you walking the streets without your usual guardsmen. Though I doubt they'd be so courageous as to try something in the capital, you know that those members of that strange new guild of thieves have been active lately." Blaster Blade said in an admonishing tone.
"My apologies lord Blaster Blade, but I'm afraid you're mistaken about the circumstances as I'm not alone." Alfred II interjected.
"Not alone?" Blaster Blade asked as a confused expression appeared on his face.
It was only then that this great hero of the United Sanctuary noticed Polyantha Rose's presence, and then Blaster Blade couldn't help but glance back and forth between Alfred II and Polyantha Rose's faces.
"I see…. I understand." Blaster Blade said as he nods in affirmation.
"Now that you understand, could y-" Alfred II was saying.
"With the constant conflicts that have occurred all over the United Sanctuary as well as the rest of Cray over the past several years, the people are understandably nervous about the future. It'll do the morale of the common people as well as that of our nation's own noble families good to see that you're taking the time to look for a potential queen again." Blaster Blade deduced not realizing that he had interrupted the person he believed to be his liege.
"I'm sorry?" both Alfred II and Polyantha Rose say simultaneously out of a combination of shock and confusion.
"No doubt you will have to deal with marriage interview requests again because of this, but I can see that your first choice looks to be quite the kind-hearted beauty… and a dryad to boot. I heard that their beauty will be everlasting so long as nature does the same." Blaster Blade said as continued on with his very incorrect deduction, "My apologies for interrupting your date my lord, but no doubt if your relationship works out… the people will be in joy at the thought of an heir or heiress coming from such a "down to earth" lady."
Polyantha Rose was once again annoyed by the fact that someone was mistaking her relationship status with her old friend again, but she held her tongue given the massive historical significance of the figure before her. When the comment about the concept of child-making came into the picture, however; Polyantha Rose's self-control slipped and she even placed her hand on the hilt of her rapier. Alfred II quickly noticing his old friend's reaction had grabbed Polyantha Rose's sword arm by the wrist, of which she's lucky to still have as Blaster Blade seemed not to have noticed her actions.
"Easy there…. we've already lost this Blaster Blade to time-travel nonsense once…. I'd rather not have it happen again." Alfred II whispered.
"My apologies for losing my self-control." Polyantha Rose said after regaining her mental faculties.
"My apologies sir Blaster Blade, but I'm afraid that you're truly misunderstanding the situation." Alfred II said in a respectful manner, "Lady Polyantha Rose is only an old yet close friend of mine, and furthermore…. I'm not his majesty King Alfred, but rather a member of the royal knights who happens to strongly resemble him. Lady Polyantha Rose and I are on a top secret mission for the king and you pointing us out like that may have put it at risk."
"Ah… my apologies if my speaking in such intimate matter made you uncomfortable, and for misunderstanding your relationship." Blaster Blade said apologetically, "That being said, I know his majesty has a few body doubles amongst his personal knights, but I don't recall having seen you before sir….?"
"Coincidentally my parents had named me Alfred in hopes I'll accomplish great things like our king has done." Alfred II explained as he gave a fake name in order to avoid any temporal complications caused by his real bane, "And it's understandable you don't recognize me as I've only recently been appointed the title of knight."
"I had heard his majesty had appointed a few new personal knights to replace those we lost against those thieves while I was out of the capital up until yesterday…. then allow me to offer you greetings Sir Alfred." Blaster Blade said as he respectfully bowed to who he believed to be a fellow knight, "As for the task his majesty had assigned to you….. if it results in failure because of my mistake… then please let me know and I shall petition his majesty to allow me to take the blame."
"You need not go far for a young knight, and that's unlikely to be the case regardless as my mission though important was a simple one." Alfred II interjected as he didn't like the thought of having a historical figure feel like they owed him.
"Might I be so bold to ask what mission his majesty assigned to you?" Blaster Blade asked out of simple curiosity seeing as how he had the United Sanctuary equivalent of top secret security clearance.
"Once again I must offer my apologies to you sir Blaster Blade as his majesty strictly ordered me not to tell anyone… not even you the details." Alfred II explained, "All I'm allowed to say is that it involves paying a visit to Sage Zenon."
"It's good to see young knights such as yourself dutifully follow orders, but at least allow me to ask if you're familiar with the layout of the capital?" Blaster Blade asked, "Forgive the rudeness Sir Alfred, but I'm only asking as your accent seems to indicate that you're from the south-eastern border region with the Dragon Empire. Newly appointed knights from the outlying regions of the United Sanctuary rarely if at all have been to the capital beforehand, so it's normal for them to not be familiar with the layout."
"As you suspect I've only been to the Royal Capital twice before, and both times I was only here for a few days with no time to look around." Alfred II said while thinking, "Well of course I'd have an accent from that region since the capital was moved to a city there in my grandfather's time as king."
What the young king from the future has said was indeed the truth as he's only been to what he calls the "old royal capital" twice. The first time was for some official ceremony with his father, and the second time was to retrieve something Sage Zenon needed to create the time-traveling magic circle.
"Then I would be honored if you'd allow me to make up for the mistake I caused by escorting you to his residence within the capital." Blaster Blade declared.
"It would be our honor to be shown the city by a famous hero of the sanctuary." Alfred II said as he and Polyantha Rose simultaneously bowed/curtsied out of respect.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I thought you wanted to avoid unnecessary attention?" Polyantha Rose whispered.
"That was no longer possible the moment this Blaster Blade pointed us out. I'm thinking that no one would dare bother a famous hero of the United Sanctuary, a man who could be King Alfred, and a dryad representative from the Zoo nation seen walking together." Alfred II whispered back.
"I see… that makes since." Polyantha Rose thought.
Though there were far more onlookers as a result, as Alfred II suspected… no one would dare bother the famed hero Blaster Blade and "King Alfred" as they were walking through the capital together on what must be important business. After about an hour or two on foot…. Blaster Blade had taken the two time travelers up to right outside their intended destination. Thanks to the fact that Sage Zenon's residence is in the wealthier part of the capital, the massive crowd of onlookers (due to city guards) have been reduced to the members of a few noble families and their representatives.
"I wish you success on your mission Sir Alfred, and I look forward to the day I can fight beside by such a talented young knight in battle." Blaster Blade said before continuing down the road with all the other onlookers following in tow.
Compared to the modern metallic residences of the wealthy businessmen and nobles of the United Sanctuary, Sage Zenon's residence within the capital was an old wooden home with an equally old fashioned knocker on the front door no bigger than a typical two-story residence one might find in the commoner suburbs.
"I would think such a famous sage could afford a bigger house." Polyantha Rose couldn't help but point out.
"Sage Zenon cared little for material possessions even back then apparently, but don't drop your guard because of this." Alfred II said, "If this residence is anything like his home in the royal capital of our time…. then he's likely used space magic to make the interior as big as those minions you see around us.
Alfred II and Polyantha Rose walk up to the front door of the past residence (from their perspective) of the great sage Zenon, and then Polyantha Rose took advantage of the old-fashioned knocker and repeatedly tapped the front door.
"Our master, the great sage Zenon has no time to see some random woman off the street with no appointment…. so go away." an apprentice of Sage Zenon said in an arrogant fashion from the other side of the door.
"Then make some time!" Alfred II said in an authoritative tone as he held a small medallion in front of what he believed to be the door's peephole.
That medallion had the seal of the United Sanctuary's royal family printed upon it, and furthermore it was Alfred II's personal proof of identification rather than something from this timeline. Then the pair of time travelers almost immediately hear heard a series of complex locks being unlocked and magic enchantments being deactivated, and when the door opened the pair of time travelers saw an ordinary looking young man dressed in a blue robe bow so low that it was almost a perfect 45 degree angle.
"Please forgive my rudeness your majesty… I had no idea you were paying the master a visit!" the arrogant apprentice said in a frantic tone as he practically feared that he'd be executed or worse for his earlier actions.
"I'm not his majesty, but his representative… now is Sage Zenon home?" Alfred II immediately declared as he wished to avoid another misunderstanding.
"He is indeed sir knight, however he's currently seeing an important guest from the Oracle Think Tank in the guest lounge." the apprentice explained.
"Then take me to him, and if either party ends up being angered due to this interruption, I'll ensure you aren't punished… regardless of your earlier actions." Alfred II said.
"Thank you for your grace sir knight." The apprentice said as he immediately starts leading the pair of time travelers through Sage Zenon's residence.
After looking around one can tell that Sage Zenon's residence was indeed as big as a mansion on the inside as Alfred II suspected. Once they're guided to the door leading into the gust lounge, Alfred II and Polyantha Rose could hear a couple of voices in a middle of a conversation. They clearly recognized that one voice belonged to Sage Zenon, and they had also recognized the other voice to belong to someone they knew.
"My apologies, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with your request as the warriors of the United Sanctuary's army are as busy as your own given the circumstances." Sage Zenon said.
"So it seems our vision of the future won't be happening after all. This dark cloud is truly covering up our ability to see." a young woman said in a melancholy tone.
"I'm sorry for interrupting master, but a couple guests with the royal seal are requesting to see you." the apprentice said as he knocked on the door to the gust lounge.
"The royal seal?" Sage Zenon said with what the people outside the gust lunge assume to be a surprised expression, "It must be important if King Alfred gave that out… they may enter."
Polyantha Rose and Alfred II saw Zenon and a certain woman sitting across from each other with a coffee table between them as they walk into the gust lounge. Zenon's apprentice had long since made himself scarce given the circumstances. Then as for the for the other the other figure in the room…. a young woman wearing a golden crown in the shape of the sun, like Blaster Blade; how could Alfred II and Polyantha Rose not recognize her?
"Lady Amaterasu, forgive my friend and I for intruding on your meeting. Had we known, we would have never done so even with a thousand times the guts." Alfred II said as he offered a respectful bow to the leader of the Oracle Think Tank.
"I'd like to offer my greetings as well." Polyantha Rose said as she curtsied towards the famed clan leader.
The level of respect Alfred II and Polyantha Rose have for Amaterasu vastly surpasses what King Alfred and his associates might have had for her and for good reason too. Due to the economic damage as a result various conflicts that have occurred on Cray over the centuries between King Alfred and Alfred II's rule, the OTT had no choice but to move past being a simple consulting firm and instead turn into an investment firm as well to save the United Sanctuary's economy. As someone who controls most of the United Sanctuary's purse strings in the future, how could Alfred II not be respectful?
"Now what can I do for his majesty King Alfred's representatives?" Sage Zenon asked.
"You'll understand when you see this." Alfred II answered as he held out in his hand the letter the future Sage Zenon had given him.
Alfred II, Polyantha Rose, and Amaterasu see Sage Zenon take the letter in an ordinary fashion as any other normal person would. What they don't see however is that some kind of aura seeps out of the letter and fuses with Sage Zenon as if they naturally belonged together.
"I see…." Sage Zenon mumbled as if he had some kind of epiphany, "Ms. Amaterasu, I'm going to retract my previous statement."
"You mean…" Amaterasu said as she stood up from her seat while her pupils dilate and adrenaline or the deity equivalent of it starts flowing in her veins.
"Yes…. it is time to retrieve the younger sister of the one who would have led the Oracle Think Tank instead of you were he still alive…. the exiled goddess Izanami!" Sage Zenon declared.
A/N: My my…. things are heating up. Just who is Izanami and her older brother? Find out in part 3 of the lore short.