It was 4:28 pm and I was sitting at an empty table in Sakura Cafe, drinking water. I noticed two waitresses speak to each other, while secretly looking at me, so, as a means to frighten them, I smiled and waved at them.
Instead, they blushed and got back to work.
Oh, and here I thought they were talking shit about me since I was drinking water in a cafe.
There was the ring of a bell and people began whispering.
"Woah, she's beautiful."
"That white hair, is she a foreigner?"
"Hey dude, you wanna try to talk to her?"
"Are you serious? I wouldn't be able to live if I got rejected. She's way out of our league."
Sounds like the right person.
I put my glass down.
Then, a woman, dressed in a red dress, sunglasses and a straw sun hat.
"Well, here you are."
She said.
The woman said sitting down.
This woman was one of my teachers at Olympus and shares the same title as me. The title of an Emperor, though, she looks like someone who should be one.
"Why did you call me?"
The waitress came and interrupted us.
"Oh, so you were with her..."
She blushed.
"Hm?"
"Ah, what will be your order, miss?!"
She practically screamed.
"I'll have a glass of water."
"Yes!"
She ran.
We waited for a minute or so until she came back with the glass of water and placed it in front of Azuka.
"Thank you for ordering!"
And she jogged to another table.
"So, as I was saying, why did you call me?"
"I thought you were the best person to go to."
"For?"
"Relationship advice."
As Azuka reached out for her glass of water, she froze and smiled, before chugging the whole glass and slamming it onto the table.
It's not a shot of alcohol so why is she drinking it so aggressively?
She smirked.
"You came to the right woman. Now, feed it into me."
"Well, I have two problems."
While I'm at it, I might as well introduce the Anastasia problem too.
"I'll start with the more recent one."
Azuka nodded.
"I have a childhood friend."
"Mhm."
"We were good friends but then, when I had to go to Altheria, I didn't tell her. And, now that I've come back, she's treating me coldly."
"Is she being different?"
"Different?"
"I mean, other than treating you coldly, has she been acting weird?"
"Uhhh..."
I guess her anger isn't weird so, what else?
"Don't leave out even the things that seem normal."
"Eh, then she was really angry. I mean, she hated me so much that she degraded me."
I was getting frustrated just thinking about it.
"Degraded? Ah, as in she used your last name, right?"
I nodded.
"I'm so used to America that I forgot that they use given names and surnames here."
Right, since in some western countries, that I know of, they just use given names. I don't know Azuka's family name but her given name is Alice when she's not an Emperor.
"Anyway, you left her without telling her and came back three months later and she's somewhat cold and pissed off. If she was a good friend, then she would've been slightly mad but welcomed you. Have you left her before unannounced?"
I thought back.
"Yeah, when I was a kid, like when I was nine, we left to go on holiday for six weeks and when we came back, Maki was crying because she didn't know where I went. She forgave me though. Maybe it's because we were kids."
"No."
Azuka said, narrowing her eyes and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.
"There is a chance it's because you were nine at the time and now you're..."
"Sixteen."
"Yes. But I think it's something else."
A smirk perked up Azuka's face.
"What?"
"When you're nine, you're still young and naïve. However, when you go through puberty, your mind matures and you begin to think about the future. When you think about the future, you think about continuing your bloodline, and when that happens... You think about getting a significant other. That's how it goes for some people but for most, it's personality and looks."
I only understood what she was saying when she said her latter sentence.
"You mean she..."
"Yes. I'd say there's an 85% chance that she likes you and she can't express that love in an obvious way. There must be something that's making her act that way or she's too embarrassed."
"Something that's making her act that way..."
That's when I thought about Kuro. Kuro wasn't with me before I left.
"Perhaps..."
"Hm?"
"Kuro. Maybe she's the reason."
"Kuro? You mentioned that name when we first met."
Ah right, they don't know that I gave Kuro a name. Only Aden-Lada knows.
"She's what you guys call Schrödinger's Cat."
"Oh. What is she to you?"
"A familiar and one of my best friends. She even said that she's my best friend in front of Maki but I don't think she understood."
"Then, I'll say this to you."
I listened intensely.
"Talk to her and if she refuses to talk to you or shuts you down, then you can't do anything. If she does shut you down, leave her alone. She should come around with time. If she does, you decide what to do then."
"Is that it?"
"Yup."
That does make sense, I guess.
"Now, your second problem."
"Right. Back in Altheria, a girl, a close friend of mine, confessed to me. She's a nice girl and I definitely would date her but..."
"But?"
"I have an ideal girl in mind but I don't think I'll ever meet her. What should I do?"
Azuka stared at me.
"You don't know, do you?"
"What?"
Azuka turned her head. On the base of her neck was a red tattoo. Her Emperor's Sigil.
"This is my Emperor's Sigil, Infernal Might, as you should already know. You see above the sword, there's a black dot, right?"
There was a black dot. Seems out of place.
"Uh, yeah."
"It's called an Oath. This oath was made between my husband and I."
"Huh?!"
I shook as I listened to her.
"You have a husband?! Why do you seem like you're always with men and women?!"
"Well, he said I can do whatever. He doesn't seem to have a problem. Don't worry, I don't have sexual intercourse with anyone but him."
I don't think that makes it right.
"Anyway, my point is that you can oath more than one person. I'm saying that you can oath and marry more than one woman. One woman doesn't have to be an option for you."
You know what, I kind of take back what I said about what Azuka did as not right. If I can have more than one wife without having a hard time choosing, of course, I'll put a limit on it. Let's say that five is the limit for now.
I'll probably have less.
"How do I make an Oath?"
"Well, for that, you need to..."
We talked for the next twenty minutes and then she left and I went home.