章 59: 2.8.
Fireworks lit up the sky in a blaze of colours. The cheers of the crowd and blessings from the people. The hero has come! A merry mood and festive atmosphere exploded throughout the entire city.
The celebration was not merely limited to the academy, rather, it was one which spread to the outreaches of Rika Nation. From the militia guarding the forts to fiefs that worked off golden harvests in each cycle of the year. It was a public celebration of a new era, a new light and hope– the New Dawn.
Shiro Takashi and Risa Takashi were seated inside an ivory chariot decorated pompously with gold ornaments and various rare crystals. Royal knights assembled themselves on both sides as they marched forth. The cheers of the people forming lines outside, the two waved their hands with a troubled smile to show their recognition of the people. Love struck maiden clutched their hearts in joy, high ranking mercenaries and knights saluted the passing of the new heroes.
It was the uniformity of culture in a mess, one which Shiro would have to get used to in time. He hated all this attention.
The slow chariot finally reached the school gate where hundreds of students could be seen welcoming their arrival. Shiro and Risa flinched at the design of the academy uniform.
'This is.. so like Rika.'
Shiro felt a pang of loneliness and nostalgia, seeing these things that have been passed down from her time till now.
'How did she feel back then?'
The innovations, designs and culture she introduced to this world. Did she have fun? Or did she miss home? Shiro didn't know. He couldn't know. Beyond the lie these royal people would espouse to try to convince him to slay the Sovereign of Demons, he and his sister knew that they would never be able to return home. After all, despite all these achievements Rika had amassed, she didn't come back in the end.
The chariot passed the Sage's Hall and stopped.
"Takashi, Risa, we'll need to go on foot from here," Her Highness Evelyn said with a wry smile.
The second imperial princess of Equestria. She had chosen to become this era's sacrifice. By the jurisdiction of her family, she would accompany the heroes in their journey. As a proficient healer herself, she would likely become the key figure which represented the Priest, as depicted in old history books.
"Big brother.." Risa appalled at the crowd that was ogling them outside the chariot. Even though the royal knights were stationed there to keep them at bay, it couldn't resolve the anxiety of being treated like a global celebrity.
"So this is what being a superstar feels like. It's unpleasant.."
Evelyn merely showed a stiff smile at their response. It wasn't that she didn't understand where they were coming from but she herself felt uncomfortable having to take the lead and guide them in this situation. With no one else to depend on, she had only had herself to confide her worries in.
The three alighted from the carriage. The principals of the various departments had come out personally to greet the heroes and princess. It was a privilege to be able to stand before the savior himself– and herself.
Risa was the one who received more goodwill compared to Shiro, simply because the previous hero who saved the world was a girl. The three were conferred their student IDs which were made from holy gold and platinum. It had the highest level of access, allowing them the benefit of entering whatever department they wished.
They entered the campus, welcoming a breathtaking scenery of modern and eastern. Risa's grip on Shiro's hands tightened out of anxiety and excitement. Shiro, on the other hand, tried his best to suppress the bitter feeling in his heart.
'Her dream world huh?'
Rika had always said that she wanted to one day go on a honeymoon trip staying at a traditional home which overlooked a great lake. This scene reminded him of just that– even the pagoda was a reference to her love for eastern styled architecture.
Evelyn, noticing Shiro's dark expression, hurried the knights to bring them to their assigned rooms. Pushing through the crowd and festive tents and streets, they reached the long wooden bridge which connected one side of the lake to the home which Hero Rika once lived in. The crowd watched as the princess and heroes crossed the bridge into the land of the divine. Fireworks continued blooming in the sky, a sleepless night was awaiting them.
===
"Wow… just how many types of food did she introduce into this world.." Shiro muttered in disbelief, observing the many stalls each selling food closer to home. For a moment Shiro thought he was at a Japanese festival, except that he wasn't.
"I want the unagi," Risa tugged at Shiro's sleeve.
"Roger that."
Shiro went to the stall grilling unagi with Risa sticking close, fortunately the line wasn't too long. Evelyn followed from behind with Aaron's keeping watch of them. The four of them were wearing a cloaking artifact in the form of a necklace, which allowed them to wander around the many stalls without picking up any attention from the crowd.
Of course, to make sure that they were absolutely protected from the possibility of being found out, they also had their hair colour changed. Her Highness Evelyn wore her round rim glasses which she would normally not wear out in public, while Aaron took off all his armor except from the inner vest hidden under his clothes and the dagger he kept inside a sheath hanging on his waist
"Delicious! It's like the real thing!" Risa wiggled to the melting taste.
"Your Highness," Shiro held out two skewers to Evelyn
"Thank you. Please take care of your choice of words."
"Sorry– you too Sir."
"I thank you for the offer but I am unable to accept it," Aaron shook his head.
"Nope! If you're not going to take it I'm just going to have to feed it to you," Risa stole the two skewers from her brother's hand and approached Aaron. He retreated backwards till he couldn't, Risa showed a wide smile. "Say ah–"
"Y-You can't do that. I'm on duty you should–"
"No buts. If I say eat you eat."
Aaron, who had a skewer now stuck into his mouth, could only nod obediently. During training, he would be the one to push the two heroes to draw out their latent potential. But during casual times like this, it was the heroes who would push him to enjoy more of life.
Shiro smiled wryly. Evelyn heaved sighed.
They bought a couple more food items, Shiro stored them all into his inventory.
"Let's enjoy these somewhere with less of a crowd. Do you have any idea where we can find a place like that?" Shiro asked Evelyn.
"Maybe we can check out that building?"
"Alright, let's go."
They approached the cafeteria establishment with people flowing in and out in waves. Like sardines, thousands of students crowded this one location.
"There's no way.." Shrio lamented.
"Maybe we should just return?" Risa suggested.
"I recon we should try to go to the fourth floor," Aaron said.
"Third tier? What's that?" Shiro asked.
"It's a privatized location reserved for those with your level of permission. Similar to yourself, I hold the guardian pass of the highest authority."
"Lead the way? I'm unfamiliar with this," Evelyn gestured for Aaron to proceed.
They took the stairs instead of the elevator as the queue didn't seem to be worth the wait. As they ascended, the number of students tapered off. The second tier encompassed both the first and second floor while the third tier was on the third and fourth floor. With their ID, they could be granted a private room at the third tier at a moment's notice.
Risa and Shiro were flabbergasted at the sight. It was like a super luxurious hotel setup with lacquer tables and utensils arranged out properly on the table. Fresh flowers and live decorative shrubs were used to spice up the place. A red, gold, earthy green amalgamation of lux.
"Excuse me, could I ask for a private room?" Aaron reached out to the nearest waiter and showed his card. Knowing the significance of what she was seeing, her eyes widened at once.
"Yes. This way please," she peeked at the other three individuals. Her perplexity was soon cleared up when she realized that it was most likely a disguise. Nevertheless, she brought them to the best room available.
Aaron's eyes flickered. His instincts rang out and naturally he turned towards a specific location. A group of 10 students seated at a long table merrily celebrating the day with food and drinks. His eyes narrowed and caught sight of a guy with familiar brown hair and blue eyes.
"Sir Aaron?" Evelyn called out.
He returned to the call of the princess.
"I thought I saw someone familiar."
'There's no way her son survived that or..'
"Is that so?" Evelyn puckered her lips contemplatively. She turned towards the direction Aaron looked towards previously but couldn't see anyone she recognized.
'If Her Highness doesn't recognize him then it's likely not the one.'
They proceeded into the private room where Risa and Shiro had already entered before them.
Even so, Aaron couldn't shake off the feeling that he looked familiar.
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