Akashi grabbed hold of his knife and flipped it over to throw the knife but stopped. Syvis was already too late but an arrow struck the beast head-on, making the monster miss Syvis' brother.
"Ah..."
Akashi murmured to himself as he stayed in the bush. There was a heavily armored knight that charged forward and a lightly armored archer in the trees. Elves are more known for their archery skills, and most of all royals are taught in the art of elven archery. It was even more surprising to see a knight near Elfheim, that was until he saw the shield that the knight was using.
"Royal guards..."
He was talking to himself for a moment. A few seconds passed and Syvis was healing her brother's injuries.
"Syvis?! How are you-"
"Just shut up! Do you know how reckless you were just now?!"
He couldn't respond as tears swelled up in his eyes and hugged her
"I thought you were dead!"
His wounds got better and she sighed
"The news was fake Shino, though I did almost die, I made it out still..."
At this point, the C-ranked boss fell as it died. There were multiple slash marks and arrows burrowed deep into the monster. The knight had a broadsword as the archer as a unique bow that could not be found anywhere in Astrialite. Akashi felt like this was a good time to make his appearance and stepped out from the bush. The archer jumped down from the tree and Shino thanked them as they went away. They were in the middle of conversing until he noticed Akashi. He immediately got up and pushed Syvis away as he drew his sword.
"Who are you?!"
Akashi stood still for a moment
"It's rare to see an elf that is a swordsman, nevertheless a royal that is in the in the Alliance guild with an emerald badge too."
Shino steadied his sword as he was about to charge but Sylvis grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.
"He's ok, he helped me out of Astrialite alive."
"Really?"
She nodded and sheathed his sword and bowed
"I am truly sorry about that."
Akashi didn't like to be bowed to but dealt with it. He nodded and Shino held out his hand
"My name is Shino Elaris, might I ask yours?"
He didn't expect a handshake but took it anyway
"Akashi Hashimora."
There was dead silence but Shino put his hand to his head
So... The same as the supposed murderer in the paper?
"Indeed."
Sylvis was afraid that they were about to fight but Shino snickered and laughed.
"Who knew that you would be framed as my dear sister's killer?"
"It was necessary."
He kept on laughing but Sylvis looked at Akashi with a questionable look on her face
"Akashi... how is your aura normal?..."
He shrugged. Shino didn't hear them talking as he calmed down
"So, are you heading to Elfhiem?"
"Indeed, is there something the matter?"
Shinora looked at Sylvis with slight hesitation
"With Sylvis announced as deceased, the royal family is arranging an event to declare the next ruler of Elfheim. They are deciding if the third daughter, Erica Elaris, should be crowned or if I should be crowned as they are afraid of losing another heir."
Akashi didn't seem shocked at this at all. Syvis on the other hand stood frozen suddenly. Shino understood why she was standing there all frozen.
"Akashi... do you know about the succession process of all four kingdoms?"
"Vaguely."
Shino nodded for Akashi to explain it just in case there is a misunderstanding. He sighed as he began to explain as they walked
"The succession process is when all of the heirs to the ruling family are gathered together to be interviewed one by one. The answers they give will be judged by each Duke or Dutchess. Although the Duke and Dutchess are judging, the deciding factor in the scheme is the Queen and King. Those who are deemed unworthy will be forcibly taken out of candidacy. They will still be in the royal line, but out of the race for the throne unless special circumstances permit it, such as a single child. If all is right, then the firstborn will be first on receiving the ring of rulership. This ring is like a prophecy. It shows the affinity of how great of a ruler they are and it will color itself accordingly to the kingdom that accepts them as the ruler (To be the next King/Queen of that particular kingdom). Brown for beast-men, Yellow for demi-humans, Red for humans, Green for elves, and last, black for none. Often they will have the color of their kingdom but in rare cases, there are times where they will be married into another kingdom's royal family due to early romance, high deliberation, etc. Then they will have to find a betrothed to produce offspring. Does that suffice as an explanation?"
Shiro nodded lightly as he was leading them on the path. Syvis followed behind Shiro with Akashi to her right.
"What you said is correct... though there is a slight problem, Sylvis was going to be first in line for the ring of rulership, but now that news has spread that she is dead, our parents are deciding if I should have the ring first or my youngest to have it... but if she comes back now, the case with Syvis' true identity could stay hidden, but she will have to marry another noble head, and I can say personally that I object every one of those candidates..."
Akashi nodded at this and raised an eyebrow
"Do all of the candidates not suit your taste as a brother?"
He shook his head and Syvis looked down
"No, she, herself, does not want to get married to these men."
Akashi looked at her to confirm and she nodded in acknowledgment to these words
"All of those men looked like they just lusted over my body and wanted the title of "King"..."
"I see... so you don't want to rule either?"
Shiro shook his head to answer for her but she answered instead of staying silent
"I just want to live a peaceful life without the bother of being married to a man that I don't even have feelings for..."
Silence enveloped the atmosphere
They walked far from where they began talking and they suddenly stopped. There was a large wall that was in front of them made of bark. Akashi realized that they had reached Elfheim. There was the same royal guard and archer from before in front of the gates and bowed when they reached the gates.
"You two, announce that the royal princess, Syvis Elaris, has returned safe and sound."
Visible shock could be seen from their faces but they bowed and ran off into the city
They walked past the gates and into the city. Shiro pointed to the palace ahead of them.
"You guys can catch up later, I gotta report to our parents."
Syvis waved and Akashi nodded as he ran off
"He has quite the energy."
Syvis shook her head
"He's not usually like that. He is more naturally composed, but with how he acted, he either changed from the last time I saw him or..."
"Or?", Akashi reinstated
She waved the question away
"Nothing, nothing..."
They walked on and were about to approach the palace when Syvis felt a yank on her arm before she could open the door
"Syvis, do you truly want to live a peaceful life?"
She tilted her head as she answered without hesitation
"Yes."
Akashi shook his head as he frowned and looked down in deep thought
"There's going to be a lot of problems ahead then..."