Cold Water poured out of the steel bucket that Tokita hoisted above his head, dousing him with another layer of freezing water. He had been so accustomed to Warm Water from his normal life he couldn't expect how much this type of bath would be hurting him.
Not literally, of course. The Cold Water continued to cause chills to travel throughout his spine, almost making him drop the bucket.
"It's not a huge surprise that I smelled like shit...I haven't bathed myself since I got here..." Tokita said to himself, pouring another dousing of freezing water over himself before rubbing himself down with a bar of a suspicious substance which he could only assume was this world's version of soap.
He scrubbed his body continuously till he rinsed himself off.
Despite this being the first shower he'd had since he'd arrived, he wanted to be finished as quickly as possible, firstly because the freezing cold water made him feel like he'd die of hypothermia, and secondly because he knew the girl that had accompanied Grensvall was waiting outside of the Medical Ward. He really didn't want to keep her waiting, especially because of how angry she seemed.
He dumped one last bucket of water onto himself and placed the bucket into the pool of water that sat beside him, a well that went several meters deep. He grabbed the towel that had been given to him by the Nurse and dried himself off.
He looked into a broken mirror that hung on one of the walls in the bathing room, seeing no scars from his battle with Nolan.
"It really did fix everything..." Tokita mumbled, doing one last examination of himself before leaving the room. He entered the low-quality hospital room he had been staying in previously, happy that the nurse wasn't inside, so she didn't see him naked.
He hurried over to his bed, where his new clothes had been neatly folded. He grabbed his boxers first, placing them on quickly, and enjoyed the warmth they gave. He grabbed the grey pants that he had been given, putting them on and kicking the air a few times.
Happy that they hadn't torn, he grabbed the black cloth long sleeve shirt and slid it over his neck and torso, then pulled his arms through and pulled the ends down to his waist. He enjoyed the warmth that his clothes absorbed before he snapped out of his small trance and began to walk out of the hospital room.
As he exited, he noticed the Nurse treating another patient in the room opposite him. She looked up and noticed him and waved before going back to work. Tokita waved as well, but he doubted she noticed it.
He continued down the hallway; the humming buzz of the flickering yellow lights flickered in a rhythm that kept his mind entertained.
Eventually, he reached the end, entering a lobby-type area with dozens of patients; some just seemed sick, while others were vomiting their guts out. He covered his nose and mouth with his shirt as he exited the lobby area and took a fresh breath of the air-
He gagged; the air was thick and difficult to breathe in. He looked forward. The entire area the Medical Warn surrounded was easily identifiable as the slums of Setale. He saw homeless children on the sides of the main pathway, traders with barely anything on their bones attempting to make a living, and something that stood out from the rest.
An annoyed woman with dark platinum blond hair that edged on a silky grey, with her bangs swept off to one side of her face. The length of her hair that reached her lower back was in a braid, reminding Tokita of how the ancient Norse used to look.
She had two goat horns on the top of her head, and she wore a tight-fitting leather top that showed off the definition of her abs and trained shoulders and arms. It went down until it reached her waist, turning into something like a leotard. She additionally wore tight-fitting shorts, making her extremely powerful thighs obvious.
She waited with an annoyed expression on her face until she looked and saw Tokita staring at her. She suddenly growled, aggressively approaching him. The Closer she got, the more Tokita realized her size. She was even taller than he was, standing about six feet tall. In other words, she was taller and had more muscle than Tokita.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting? The Messenger Tallow already came back to me!" Aila shouted, making Tokita's ears ring.
"The...what now?" Tokita asked, flinching while rubbing one of his ears.
"Seriously? You don't know what a Messenger Tallow is?" Aila stated, her annoyance being obvious. She raised her arm as if she was waiting for something to land on it, and then a small white bird landed on it.
The Bird perched itself, turning to Aila.
"What is it you wish for me to say?" The Bird spoke in a mix of a robotic and forced voice.
"Tell the newbie that he's fucking annoying," Aila said nonchalantly. The Bird simply nodded, flying in front of Tokita's face.
"You're fucking annoying." The Bird stated, its voice mimicking Aila.
Tokita shushed the bird away, embarrassment and annoyance mixing on his face.
"I get it; I get it! I made you wait; I'm sorry!" Tokita said sarcastically.
Aila, appearing not to understand his sarcasm, nodded. "You'd best be sorry." She stated with continued annoyance that grew exponentially. She hunched her eyebrows as she let out a heavy sigh of displeasure, making her increasing anger even more apparent. "Let's just hurry up and get going before I drop dead from the smell of this rancid part of town."
Tokita, not wanting to be reprimanded again simply nodded. It was early in the day, judging from the position of the sun he'd say it was about...six in the mourning? The thought of checking the time felt alien to him at this point; despite him not even being in this world for longer than a week.
His mind fogged for a moment, recollecting on the memories of his previous life. It was a calming feeling that rested in his mind.
It didn't last long though, for Aila's words cut through his thoughts.
"Hurry your slow-ass up! We don't have all day!" Aila shouted, now a couple of meters away.
"Ah, coming!" Tokita stated, quickening his pace to catch up with her.
.
..
...
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.....
The click of heels cracks against the gold-rimmed stone flooring of Saint Levara; causing the sound to reverberate throughout its high-class walls. They step with confidence, being worn on legs with black thigh-highs with a skirt accompanied by a black thin turtleneck with a light-brown coat around their shoulders.
Followed behind their beautiful figure was a boy of roughly the same height, maybe just a few centimeters taller. He had pure white hair that seemed almost angelic, contrasting with the deep black hair of the girl that he was following.
She had crimson eyes that made her seem exotic, while he had bright cyan eyes that gave the impression that his eyes were the clear blue sky itself.
He wore a simple black suit akin to a waiter or butler, with a white undershirt resting beneath it. On his lower half were black leggings that were slightly too big for him.
He looked like he was trying to be as small as possible while still staying close enough to keep track of her. He attempted to get her attention as they walked through the expensive halls to the best of his ability.
"M-Miss Nanosaka!" He calls out in desperation, his tone mixed with embarrassment and fear.
"Hm?" She asked, turning and locking eyes with the boy. She had a small devious grin resting on her face.
"Y-you just took all the food from all the other royals, I don't think going to your welcoming ceremony would be a good idea right now." He said as he looked around nervously, not daring to look her in the eyes.
"Why wouldn't I go to my own welcoming ceremony?" She spoke with an aura of pure glee. She truly didn't fear the repercussions at all, or rather, she believed they didn't exist for her.
"W-Well, for starters..." He begins with a nervous laugh. "I-I'm aware of how powerful you are Miss Nanosaka, but the entire idea of the royals is that everyone in it is powerful."
She just stopped and stared at him, a void expression.
"If they're stronger, then I'll simply be stronger. That's all there is to it." Akane spoke with a voice that was void of emotion. She truly believed this to be an absolute truth. "Besides, I have my ultimate knight to fight for me!" She responded with a bubbly tone, insinuating she was referring to the boy in front of her.
He responded with a nervous laugh and fear, "I-I really don't think I'd be able to fight the other royals."
Akane stepped forward, her scent entering Lars's nose and causing blood to rush to his face. She stepped even closer, cupping his face with one hand. "I don't care if you can't win, all I care about is that you're fighting for me." She stated.
The poisonous words that dripped from her mouth weren't detected by Lars, who didn't notice in the slightest.
He was too busy staring into her eyes and responded with a nod. "I'll...do my best," Lars whispered.
"That's what I wanted to hear, now let's hurry up. We wouldn't want to be late would we?" Akane responded, continuing down the hall with Lars following behind.
They continued down the hallway, exchanging a few words as Akane mainly focused on the view from the windows of Saint Levara. The light of the morning sun lightly laid upon Akane's flawless skin, giving her a goddess-like appearance. Lars stared at Akane's figure as he followed behind her, his eyes unable to look anywhere else. He was mesmerized by her very being, with him being unable to understand this completely foreign feeling.
They had only met that day, and yet whenever she interacts with him it makes him feel like he's at her beck and call. He had not experienced this type of feeling from anyone else, and it was almost as if he belonged to her. Perhaps this was one of those pseudo-catalysts that he's heard of, or maybe she's just that charismatic.
His head was lost in his own thoughts as he walked forward aimlessly, following close behind Akane. This was until she stopped and he bumped into her back, startling him and causing him to step back a few feet. He turned to face her and saw that she was staring at him with a somewhat worried look on her face.
"Are you alright?" She asked with a concerned expression.
He swatted his arms in front his face as he spoke "S-sorry, I was just distracted!"
Akane gave him a confused glance before turning forward again. "This is the room right?" She asked Lars.
In front of the two of them was a massive door composed of two, pure titanium plates with silver and gold running through its accents. It seemed like a door for giants, being far more than sextuple their height. A large, rectangular frame ran around the door and was engraved with a simple pattern of gold. No handle was present on the door, implying that you would need to push the door open with pure force to get inside.
Lars coughed "Yes, that would be the meeting room." He said.
"These doors are huge, they must weigh a ton," Akane said to herself as she looked it up and down. "I doubt I'd be capable of opening it with my current physical strength." She stated with a slightly annoyed expression, placing her hand on her chin in thought.
"I-I should be capable of opening the door!" Lars exclaimed, wanting to appease Akane.
"Ah, but then that'd be a terrible example," Akane responded.
"What do you mean?" Lars asked, a bit disappointed.
"Obviously the point of the door is to test new Royals, to see if they're deserving," Akane stated, her eyes beginning to glow as she looked the titanium plates up and down. "No, this entire welcoming party is likely going to be a test." She pieced it together.
"A test? Why would they be trying to test you?" Lars questioned.
"Royals wouldn't like giving out their level of power to weaklings, not that I disagree with that way of thinking," Akane stated.
She stood for a moment as she pondered how to open the door. Suddenly she had a resolution, like when cartoon characters would get a light bulb over their head when they get an idea.
"Logically, this door has been opened previously, correct?" Akane asked Lars.
"Well...of course, this is the only entrance to the room, and this has been one of the Royal's main rooms for centuries," Lars answered. He tilted his head slightly, confused as to what she was getting at.
"That's all I needed to know," Akane stated, pausing for a moment before raising her hand towards the door. Instantly the familiar Mahogany aura she displayed earlier wrapped itself around her hand, as she targeted the door in front of her.
She couldn't open the door? That's just fine.
At some point, someone must have.
So she would place the door at the time of that event occurring.
Within seconds, the door began to creak as it began to force itself open as if someone was pushing it open. Lars stood there in complete astonishment, confused about how she opened the door without even touching it.
"I-how-what!?" Lars exclaimed, completely perplexed about what was occurring.
"Don't think too hard on it," Akane commented simply, striding inside the room with Lars following close behind.
She was ready to face her fellow Knights.
The Royals.