Summertime. S1199.
Having no other business within Ordis's depths, Crow and Vita exited the City of Water. Crow could have denied Vita's suggestion to travel abroad to another country outright, but he felt compelled to go for some reason. It gnawed at him, so he didn't deny it, and decided to tag along.
Just like that, the duo caught the next flight, heading out of Erebonia.
Some time later...
The scenery changed upon Vita's request to depart from Ordis, and Erebonia entirely. Vita was now classified as a Wandering Witch, allowing her the freedom to move around Zemuria as she pleases. She now hung out with Crow amongst other people due to his potential as the Azure Awakener. Crow's Azure Trials aren't set to take place until around S1201. This particular year is pivotal in what Naoto wants to do next, as it is the very same year Guy Bannings dies.
The duo could now be seen standing in front of a large pearly-white castle that hung over a glistening lake. Different kinds of fish would hop out of the water in glee as it was presently summertime.
"...Are you sure we are at the right place, Vita?", Crow asked, doing the classic motion of his head. Moving it around, he felt weirded out. Such a grandiose castle now stood present before him. And with Crow being in Liberl now, he wasn't an idiot. He very well knew what this place was!
"This most certainly is the place.", Vita immediately responded without hesitation.
Several soldiers clad in green could be seen patrolling the castle. Many of them were observant as these two individuals split off from other sightseers. Grancel Castle wasn't blocked off to the public, but people knew not to wander close to the castle. It was then a higher-ranked soldier approached the two, preventing Crow and Vita from heading further inside.
"Halt. While the streets leading here might be available to the public, do not approach any further. Her Majesty the Queen is not receiving any guests today. If you are here for sightseeing, please observe the castle from a safe distance.", The green-clad soldier said.
Vita didn't immediately respond. Instead she looked elsewhere. Sensing a subtle change in the air around them, a shadowy blur quickly jumped from the terrace up above.
"Kyuuu~", A familiar and cute-sounding voice reached everyone's ears. Even the soldiers became distracted by this voice. The voice spoke out as if it were saying "Vita's back!"
"Ahh, there she is.", Vita replied, and smiled. Stretching her arms out, Vita caught what appeared to be a silvery-white fox.
"The hell?", Crow cursed, seeing a shadowy blur enter Vita's embrace. It...seemed to be a silvery-white fox who now had five tails. They were spinning around happily. Vita laughed seeing how big this fox had gotten. It wasn't the little fox she had come to enjoy several years back.
"Hehe, you sure have grown big while I wasn't looking, Tama. You haven't slacked off in your training a single bit. Five tails now. Impressive.", Vita said, praising the fox.
"Kyuu.", Tamamo happily replied, accepting Vita's praise. Crow just couldn't help but stare at the fox. He couldn't even do anything before he saw something appear out of nowhere.
"Just what in Aidios's name is this thing?", Crow asked after regaining his composure.
"For one, Tama is not a "thing", Crow. She's an adorable Familiar that's assigned to the person we're about to meet. I could have sworn I've told you that Grianos has siblings, didn't I?"
"Kyuu kyuu.", Tamamo also said, acting as if she said "That's right!".
"Then that must mean the person we're about to meet is...", Crow uttered. His earlier confusion turned into shock. Seeing Crow react like this, Vita giggled.
"Hehe, it looks like you've finally realized it. They've already been notified of our arrival.", Vita said, and grinned.
"It is as you say, visitors from afar.", A firm voice spoke out. Before Crow could even say anything, a loud 'cachunk' sound reached their ears. One moment led to the next, and the double-plated doors that led into Grancel Castle began to open on its own. More soldiers, who were led by a green-haired woman clad in blue, began to pan out on both sides. Once the two saw the green-haired woman arrive, she gave Crow and Vita a salute. "We welcome you to Grancel Castle. His Royal Highness is expecting you. Please follow me."
"See what I mean?", Vita replied, looking back at Crow. "After you."
"Right...", Crow uttered, seeing such a nice welcome for him. Unlike other people, Crow was just your average run-of-the-mill dude who was just slightly more cool than the average person. The place he once called home in Jurai no longer existed, at least in his memory. He no longer has a place to call home there since his last remaining relative passed away. He was now equivalent to that of a drifter. It was unclear how Sara even scouted Crow in the first place to join the first Class VII.
Still, Vita brought him here with a purpose in mind. The only thing that Crow could do was imagine the person they were about to encounter.
Liberl's so-called Crown Prince. Next in line to the throne.
Seeing the large doors shut behind them, they soon wandered toward the second floor, ascending a long, windy staircase. This time, on the left side. Several maids could be seen out and about, working or cleaning. Crow whistled at the sight, and placed his hands behind his head. The shock had worn down by now.
Before long, they entered a room with a long, red carpet and regal decorations plastered against the hall. That's right, this was the throne room.
Being guided by Second Lieutenant Julia Schwarz, they continued down the long hall. Vita saw a few figures at the other end. To her surprise, she saw the boy she had come to know over the years...sitting on Liberl's throne with one leg crossed over the other, allowing one of his arms to rest on top of his knees. He seemed much taller than before. It was as if his youthful demeanor Vita had known from before had completely vanished. The boy before her...almost seemed domineering, in a way?
It didn't help the fact that a violet-haired girl Vita didn't know about currently had her arms wrapped around him in a loving manner. Princess Klaudia stood off to the right of the throne, while Queen Alicia stood off to the left.
And yet, Second Lieutenant Julia Schwarz calmly walked up to the group. Giving them a salute, she turned around, and looked down at Crow and Vita.
"May we present Her Majesty the Queen and Their Highnesses. Welcome to Grancel Castle. His Highness the Crown Prince had anticipated your arrival today.", Julia explained. Julia then gave the two another salute as a sign of respect.
"You're...not pullin' my leg here, are ya? You sure we're at the right place Vita?", Crow asked again. His earlier gobsmacked look was funny, but he recovered quickly, and asked that. At the same time, he felt an imposing presence from the boy on the throne, especially after looking at his golden-colored eyes which had a vermillion hue. "And what is up with those eyes?"
"I'm...almost tempted to ask the same thing. I think we came at a bad time.", Vita said, feeling a hint of embarrassment. "And as for his eyes, you'll get used to it."
And yet, that answer alone caused the boy to smile, letting out a laugh.
"Hahaha! No, you two came to the right place. Welcome, Vita. And you too, Crow. This is the first time we're meeting like this, but it is nice to meet you nonetheless. I decided to enact a little play at Grandmother's behest. Don't take this jest to heart. I simply wanted to see your expression of me doing this!", The violet-haired boy replied, revealing a playful grin.
Of course, this boy was me. Another year had passed by in a blink of an eye. Kloe and I have turned thirteen, and puberty hit me hard. Seriously, what has Grancel Castle been feeding me with? Or is it a combination of factors like the Gamer System, and me being related to Father? Seriously, I'm thirteen now, but I'm already six feet tall. I might even approach seven feet by the time puberty is over.
Kloe had also seen some nice changes too. She's becoming more and more of her spitting image in one of her newer portraits in the Crossbell games. She's around five feet and three inches tall now.
I motioned Angelica to get off the throne. I do feel a little guilty for asking Grandmother of that request, but she went along with it. She knew it was just for fun. Emperors, like Emperor Eugent III, had more elaborate ceremonies, like inviting all influential figures across the country to partake in the coronation ceremony. As for Kingdoms like Liberl, it can vary from one country to another. I don't think Liberl likes to do such a flashy event, but in due time, I will sit on this throne for real.
This little event was just a sneak peak to what the real thing feels like~
"Kyuu kyuu~", Tamamo happily said, letting her tails move around. Tamamo has shown a lot of growth too, five tails now. She's over halfway to becoming a Nine-Tailed Fox. She jumped out of Vita's embrace and blinked toward my direction. Tamamo now has a habit of doing that now. At the very least, the soldiers have gotten used to Tamamo's existence around the castle, so I just let her do as she pleases most of the time. I saw her wander back toward my side while Crow and Vita just looked at us.
Man, it never gets old seeing Vita's shocked expression. Aren't you supposed to be that calm-and-cool diva personality now? How can you slip up so easily like this? Haha!
"...Is that really you, Naoto?", Vita asked, still in disbelief. It's been a few years since we last met back in Calvard. She didn't directly participate in Instance Dungeon III, nor was she here for Instance Dungeon IV. She hasn't joined one since Instance Dungeon II, so it truly has been a while. Glad to see she has already come across Crow. That means some story points are moving in the direction which they should.
Crow becoming the pilot of the Azure Knight, Ordine, is one of them.
"Of course it's me. It's been quite some time, Vita. Thank you for taking some time to pay Grancel Castle a visit. Just like your friend here, I welcome you.", I happily said. "And it is true we haven't received too many visitors as of late. There is a reason for that."
Second Lieutenant Julia nodded her head at my words.
"Indeed. We have tightened security around Grancel Castle as of late, ever since Her Majesty permitted the Royal Harem. Rumors have started to spread, so it is the duty of the Royal Army to make sure nothing goes awry during this time of peace.", Julia explained.
The moment the words "Royal Harem" escaped from Julia's lips, Vita's eyes turned wide in shock.
"E-E-EHHH? What's this about a Royal Harem!?", Vita exclaimed. She looked back at me, expecting an answer. Even Crow whistled again, not expecting to hear such a thing.
"Oh boy. We REALLY haven't caught up in a spell, have we?", I asked back. My lips curved upward into a grin. "Come. Let's have a little chat, shall we?"