Contrary to what Yuriko expected, the elections didn't resolve into violence. Instead, there were crowds of people rushing to their voting precincts. The city was home to more than a million people, and from what Juliette told her, everyone within the Virtalla Province, which was the city itself, and the farms and lands outside of it within a ten-league radius, had to come in to vote. Despite the fact that there were as many people living outside the city as inside, they were forced to squeeze in during election day, which was on the last day of the week and the 7th Day of Fire.
The Abad family's precinct was located in the southeastern petal, but was just off the first circumferential road, hence, within a few hundred paces of the central district.
"Pops bought a townhouse there, and registered it as the primary residence," Juliette scoffed. "It's why we have to go all the way here instead of closer to the estate."
"Why buy here then?" Sofia asked.
"Tax breaks and prestige, I think," Juliette muttered. "Pops…well, he wasn't fond of staying at the estate."
"So he bought a house in the city that's less than a couple of hours away?" Yuriko asked ruefully.
"Yeah, well…" Juliette mumbled and looked away.
The rest of the day wasn't so bad. Juliette entered the precinct and went back out a couple of hours later, looking quite relieved. "Done. Now that it's over, we can focus on the Gala."
Yuriko nodded, "More training?"
"Dance!" Juliette insisted.
"If you say so."
After voting, the three of them had lunch in a restaurant nearby, one that served local cuisine. It was called Blue Orchid, and while the prices were quite reasonable—if five silvers a plate could be considered cheap—the flavour lacked a bit of spice. The vegetables were crisp and fresh, but the meat dishes were somewhat bland.
Yuriko spent the rest of the day training and meditating. She also tried the True Connection spell to Heron and Gwendith, as well as her Mum, but the interference was too much. She could feel the threads attenuating when she tried to send the spell over.
She'd tried the spell every day, and after it inevitably failed, she went about trying to modify and strengthen the spell. The only indication that she was making any progress was the fact that it took longer, just by a fraction of a second, for the spell to fail. Perhaps if she kept at it, it would eventually push through and connect with her family.
The next day, she spent the morning in meditation. But the peace didn't last for long. The whole household was in a tizzy. Ryoko swept in with the gown from Madame Romero's, along with the accoutrements. Then, the rest of the morning was spent being pampered.
Bathed in purified water, hair and skin rubbed with aromatic oils, though most of that was burnt off with Yuriko's Radiant energy. Her natural scent, according to Gwendith, was practically non-existent because of the Radiant energy burn. Instead, there were hits of sizzling heat, like that of raindrops that fell upon a burning hot pan. At most, it was akin to snifting a dried flower field at the height of the Season of Fire. Objectively, not bad, and not that good either.
Yuriko used to love floral perfumes when she was younger, but that got overridden by her time in Kogasi and Bella plane. Well, she still liked smelling them, but just not necessarily on her. She loved it when Gwendith wore scents.
Then, there were the last-minute reviews of the series of events and rituals that the Gala would have. Before Yuriko knew it, it was four o'clock in the afternoon and they were to head towards the Bluebell Theater in the city's central district. The trip took an hour, and all three of them, Yuriko, Juliette, and Sofia, were riding the Abad family's coach. Juan Carlos and Juliette's mother, Ester, accompanied them, of course, though they were riding a different coach.
"Nervous?" Yuriko asked Sofia, who was plucking at her skirt.
"A bit," the red-haired girl said. She had light makeup on, just enough to conceal the imperfections of her skin. Her hair was short so she couldn't have it done in any kind of updo. Instead, she wore a silver chain around her head adorned with small gems. They glimmered and reflected the light wonderfully.
Juliette's hair was long enough to brush her shoulders. Her dark tresses were curled into corkscrew curls, though they were smaller and tighter than Gwendith's normal locks. She, too, had a tiara of silver adorned with gems. Rubies, from the looks of it.
Yuriko had her hair flowing naturally down her back instead of her usual ponytail. It glowed softly with Radiant energy. Ryoko procured a ferronnière for her, and the gem set in the middle of her forehead was a wonderful sapphire. The band holding it was gold, so it actually blended against Yuriko's hair. She wore no other jewellery but she did have a shawl that was made from a sheer purple fabric.
By the time the carriage reached the central district, it was already half past five o'clock. Thankfully, there were some refreshments aboard, and Juliette brought a book. Yuriko simply meditated and spread her Anima perception across the city. Her sunblades were once again scouring the sewers of its filth. The practice was good for her Intent as well as fine manipulation skills. Controlling a hundred individual blades to perform a non-repetitive pattern, and an action that did not involve using the Ennoia of Radiant Flying Swords pushed the limits of her control. But this, and her previous instance of practice had already borne fruit. She could split off another strand of consciousness already; a grand total of a hundred and two now.
Hmmm, why were there more weapons cellars? She found another three near the main radial road towards the central district. And this time, they weren't deserted. There were small groups of people huddled within the cellars, at least according to her Tremorsense Spell. She didn't want to press her perception against them as they were likely to feel it if they were Magi.
Well, at the current rate that the coaches were going, she had a few minutes to observe each cellar, and so far, none of the inhabitants did anything other than sit and drink wine or ale. Or whatever liquor they had secreted down in the cellars.
The results of the elections weren't official yet, but according to an unofficial count, the winning party was that of the reigning counsellor. Which meant that the Scions of Virtalla, who'd been raising a snit over the past weeks, had lost the battle. And it looked like they were drowning themselves in alcohol now. Well, if her suspicion that they cellars belonged to them were true anyway. Not that she'd informed anyone about her findings. For one thing, she wasn't supposed to send her sunblades there, for another, it wasn't really her business. Maybe if they were rioting, pillaging, and generally being a nuisance of themselves, she would move to neutralise them. But she did not have judicial power here, and any move she made would be viewed as hostile, too,
Well, only if they threatened her or her people would she move. She wasn't bored enough to pick a fight with those weaker than she was, after all. Maybe if they had a power Magi who was on par with the Dean, she might challenge them, but no, most of the people in the cellars were normal people who did not have an overly developed Elemental Heart.
Oh, but perhaps if they restrained their Elemental Hearts, she wouldn't know. After all, she could only determine relative power by how much the ambient Elemental energy resonated with them. Unless someone was fighting with their full prowess, it was really impossible to outright tell how advanced their Anima strength was.
Other methods involved how well they moved, how much power they leaked, and how confident they were of themselves, and their general demeanour. Well, Yuriko could admit to herself she wasn't all that good at analysing those, but Damien was exceptionally good at sizing people, and other threats actually, up. She's only reviewed and absorbed some of those memories, but she could now generally tell if someone was being sincere to her, or had an ulterior motive, even if she was unable to tell what those underlying motives were.
Either way, her intuition told her that the people in the cellars weren't all that powerful. Perhaps one was a full Magus, but most were below Sofia and Juliette's Elemental Heart level.
Soon enough, they arrived at the Bluebell Theater, and any thoughts that lingered over the Scions of Virtalla were washed away when she saw the opulent display. Gold and silver ornaments glimmered in the sunset, powerful Arcana Woven lights floated in the courtyard, and every participant of the gala was dressed to impress. The men wore carefully tailored suits, with an equal number brightly coloured as those carrying more subdued and understated elegance. Those who had the physique for it wore tightly fitted clothes, while others who were less gifted compensated with flamboyant clothes.
The women wore clothes that were either elaborately designed or dresses such as hers, which were rather understated and highlighted her own body's aesthetics. Juliette and Sofia wore the same style as hers, and when all three of them alighted from their carriage, they drew everyone's eyes.
Sofia acted a bit shy, a contrast to her normal brusque and coarse demeanour. Juliette looked like a fish that took to the waters. She smiled brightly and waved to acquaintances, or maybe to total strangers for all Yuriko knew.
Juliette led them towards where the other debutantes were gathered, at a side hall with a separate entrance from the general gala goers. The chamber was no less ornate than the antechamber they first entered, and it was filled by nearly fifty other women, with an equal proportion of either style.
She noted the hostile looks directed their way from the flamboyantly dressed, but funny enough, the others who wore Yuriko's style were also giving them guarded looks.
There were cocktail tables set around the hall, each with small plates with modest finger foods. Yuriko, Juliette, and Sofia found an empty one and settled there to wait. There was music coming out of a contraption set in the middle of the hall, one that looked like a box with a horn sticking out of it. The music was coming from the hollow horn, of course, and she could see the active runescript components lit up along the box.
Yuriko was fascinated by the device, the music box thing. The melody it played was no match for actual musicians, of course, but it had the advantage of not needing actual people to play. The music it played now was soothing and had a gentle rhythm. Perfect for kids nervous about their gala?
She studied the runescript patterns and would have moved closer if not for the fact that Sofia looked like she was about to faint. She allowed her perception to sink into it and she easily mapped the runescript weaving. It took her only ten minutes or so to memorise the weaving and she was reasonably certain she could recreate the thing perfectly.
It was then that a seneschal arrived from the far end of the hall and said in a voice augmented by a spell, "It is time for the Gala Presentacion to begin. All debutantes, please form a line for the parade."
"Well, I guess this is it," Sofia muttered.
"Yes, we're about to enter adult high society." Juliette's voice was tinged with both excitement and trepidation.
"Well, if you say so," Yuriko said dryly.
"Oh, shush you!" Sofia grumbled. "You don't really count. You're definitely considered a responsible adult by the academy."
"Oh, then why am I here?" Yuriko giggled.
"Because you, my dear professor, are a mystery and an impossible existence," Juliette said in a falsely arched tone. "That and you're bored."
"That's true," Yuriko said with a chuckle. "I'll endeavour not to ruin the mystique then."
They shuffled into place and, to an enormous fanfare, were ushered into the great hall. Opposite them, came a line of young men who were similarly of age, but Yuriko noted that none of them were as interesting or as physically attractive as Heron or Devotee, or even as visually appealing as her brothers…
A wave of melancholy briefly overcame her senses, focused on the one brother who was lost to her forever. She sighed and shook her head, then another thought occurred to her. Mum had been pregnant for a while now and she was due any day. The thought that she was likely to miss her sibling's birth, and growing up if she didn't find a way back home made her tummy twist and turn.
Shaking her head, she sighed again. She would do what she had to, but she wasn't sure if the path she picked even had a chance to bring her back. She just had to gamble and hope to win.