Last time in Ayame's Legacy, the story finally picked up again with none other than Takami coming back to Helia after yet another mission. Over the years, he has indeed become more mellow and morbid about life, due to the Sybek incident. In order to get his life moving in a new direction, I suppose it is time for someone to give him a gentle nudge…
"That's right Takami," Frey says with a nod, "Your own mother was a princess and didn't even let you in on it. Though to be fair, she was hesitant on introducing you to anything from the digital world, until after that-"Frey cuts himself off. "Never mind…"
Takami's head is whirling inside; not only did his mother hail from a completely different world, but even more importantly, "… Does that make Alacia my cousin?" Ayame nearly falls out of her chair in reaction to his question. 'He finds out that he is a prince of a digital kingdom and his first question is that…'
Frey looks at him for a bit, wondering if his question is serious or not, "Yeah… Alacia is your cousin. She is a princess, and you are her cousin prince. Now that you know all of this are you still obstinate about my mission for you?"
"You haven't told me what that entails… I'm not willing to sign my soul over to collect radishes or something. I've been on missions like that before. And that is precisely why I don't help random townsfolk I meet when I enter new towns."
"It's nothing trivial like that at all. Alacia shall be returning to Helia in a few days for the Coronal Tournament, a competition of suitors who are interested in wooing the princess, along with other members of nobility within our country. The winner shall be granted a special title, be in a hall of fame and have the right to court a lady of their choice. And I require you to participate in it."
Takami stares blankly at Frey for a few moments, "… I didn't know we would condone incest so warmly in this story-"
That remark earns him a swift thwack on the head, "YOU IDIOT! WE AREN'T DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT!" Frey yells, his face a shade of red from the thought of it. Either from embarrassment or anger, Takami will never know.
"I dunno, your majesty… Those two seem like they would make the cutest heirs to the throne~" Ayame chimes in with her usual amused tone.
"NO ONE ASKED YOU, AYAME," Takami yells as well, throwing his clock toward his vixen companion, only to have her catch it with her tail.
"Too slow~" she chimes again, this time sticking her tongue out towards him.
"ANYWAYS," Frey projects, attempting to get the conversation back on track, "The tournament's opening ceremony is between male members of two families, one from Helia and the other from a competitor who specifically would choose Alacia if he won the tournament. He will not be disqualified upon loss, but it's more of a way to test his mettle. You certainly aren't any louse in the fields of combat and it would be a very nice way to set a standard for someone who could protect Alacia as a husband. Interesting, yes?"
"… What if I hurt someone? It wouldn't be the best thing in the world seeing some soldier-turned-prince hack someone up with a sword."
"The match is bare-handed, so only your Aegis will be your aids. Do you think you can hold your own against a man fighting for the love of his life?"
Takami's head sways from side to side while he considers it, "I… suppose I can avoid him scuffing up my meal ticket of a face, but I have one more question…" His posture straightens as his arms cross, shifting from a curious aura to a suspicious one. "What is the real reason I'm going?"
"I told you already; it's for the tourna-"
"Don't insult my intelligence. I may have stupid printed on my forehead, but trust me, it's a diversionary tactic. I know better than to take a mission from you at face value. What do you expect to happen when we are all there?"
"Frey looks down at the floor before turning his back to Takami, "You learn a lot by keeping your ears open. That should be sufficient," and with that, exits Takami's room.
Ayame sighs and slouches in her chair, "How I despise that man's riddles…" Her head turns to her partner. "Things are going to get real serious, real fast around here, aren't they, Takami?"
"As sure as the sun rises and sets…" His gaze returns to the courtyard outside, the sun slowly sinking over the castle's horizon. 'I wonder if Alacia will still speak to me after all this time…'
And there is the second chapter for you! Short, I know. But not all scenes can be ten pages long. So instead of continuing to my next segment with a long time skip, I just end chapters when appropriate. Originally, chapters one and two were supposed to be one entity, but then I cut it off to leave some suspense :3 Tune in next time to find out just what will unfold next as shit slowly inches closer and closer to the fan.