Ayato silently stared at Pride's open hand. He didn't reach out. He looked up at the jester.
"What exactly is the Court?"
"I will tell you when you join."
Pride was still talking in absolutes. It was like he had too much pride to deny the fact that Ayato may not accept the request.
"I won't join if I don't know what I'm getting myself into."
Although Ayato said that, he had no intention of joining the group in the first place.
"Well, I guess that makes sense."
The jester admitted.
"The Court of Jesters. You could say that we're a bunch of misfits. There are eight of us in total, one being our leader. The court jester, so to speak."
"What's your goal?"
Pride giggled.
"Our goal is the same as yours. You want to get rid of all evil in the world, right? We're the shadows. We eliminate all of—"
"Don't make me laugh."
Ayato slapped his hand away. He glared at the man.
"What do you—any of you—know about me?"
Pride looked at his hand before lowering it. The boy could feel the rage emanating from the jester.
"How dare you interrupt me, you worm?! You have absolutely no right!"
He screamed, enraged.
Ayato walked toward Pride and smashed his head into his mask, lowering his chin.
"Do you have a death wish?!"
"That's my line. I could kill you if I wanted to but I just can't be asked. You're not worth being killed by my hand. That mask doesn't hide anything from me. Be careful."
"You—!"
"I'm out. I don't need to deal with you."
Ayato turned away and left. Pride bitterly watched him, clenching his fist. There was nothing he could do against Ayato. Their mission was to recruit him, not attack. There was still a chance he could be recruited.
·———·
It was Golden Week and about a week passed since Ayato's last meeting with Pride. That wasn't important right now, since he received a letter.
"From who?"
Ayato was enjoying an action game. Some games were able to recreate game visuals in augmented reality rather than virtual reality. Instead of using a headset, goggles were far more versatile.
Anastasia didn't look too pleased as she handed Ayato the letter.
"The patriarch sent it."
"Father did...?"
It was true. The coat of arms on the letter was the crescent moon, the insignia of the Kyouya Family. Ayato wasn't exactly thrilled either, recognising the insignia. He and his father didn't get along. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that he didn't like his father but his father liked him.
It wasn't the same as parental love. It would be better to describe it as the love of an object. A possession that's too good to let go of, that's what Ayato is to the patriarch.
"What does it say, Master?"
"Ugh, there's going to be a banquet with all of the Kyouya Family and the branch families. A few people from the Shirogane Family will be there too."
The patriarch was up to something. That much was clear. It didn't matter what exactly because the result was obvious—making Ayato into the heir.
"Seriously though? We live in the 22nd century, who sends a letter in this day and age? Father is close to breaking 40 years old but he isn't that old. We live in the Age of Technology."
"Indeed, the patriarch is quite outdated in his methods of contact."
Even though Ayato questioned it, he managed to get a grasp of why he sent a letter.
'Father doesn't have a phone...'
Anastasia walked to the door.
"When is the banquet? I will have to accompany you for that day."
"It's tomorrow. Father sent this now so that I don't have a way to get out of it."
"How shrewd."
"Exactly!"
The boy shouted as Anastasia closed the door. He sighed and took off the goggles and laid down the sword handle in his hand. It was used for the augmented game he was playing.
Ayato wasn't playing in his room but a large empty room; it was the garage. Games that used augmented reality utilised the surroundings of oneself.
If you didn't have enough space to play, then you would be at a disadvantage during a game. Of course, they had settings which could combat that disadvantage, but it's far more fun moving around.
"The banquet, huh... Father wants to announce me as the heir."
The patriarch has already announced Ayato as the heir once before. That was 10 years ago, after the death of Saya Kyouya. However, the patriarch never announced it himself. Like now, he had sent a letter to everyone in the Kyouya Family, including the branch families.
There was only one other family who knew about the mission that the patriarch gave to everyone in the Kyouya's and that was the Shirogane Family. Since Yukina was engaged to Ayato, of course, they would have to know.
"Well, it's fine. I mean, even if everyone in the Kyouya Family attacked me, they still wouldn't be able to kill me. I haven't survived the last 10 years without reason."
A stomach-churning smirk appeared on Ayato's face. Despite the unfavourable circumstances, he was somewhat looking forward to the banquet.
·———·
At the Kyouya Residence in Kyoto...
It was a meeting. A big man was sitting at the end of the room. There were a multitude of seats, creating a circle. In all of those seats were women. All of them.
There were about 35 women. All of the women were the wives of this one man, however, not a single one of them was his main wife.
That wife died 10 years ago. She was gone forever.
The wives were arguing among themselves, while the man was drinking sake from a gourd.
"We should all just put that brat in a bind and then all of our children can compete to kill him!"
"That wouldn't work since it wouldn't be fair!"
"Then how else can we—?!"
"SILENCE!"
With a single shout from the man, all the women in the room shut their mouths. The man grinned in earnest, slamming his gourd onto the table.
"Don't worry! For the first time in 10 years, all of you will have your chance! Tomorrow is the Midnight Banquet!"
He announced.
The wives murmured amongst themselves.
"The Midnight Banquet?"
"You don't know? It happens once every decade."
"Didn't we have one last decade?"
"Well, something happened at that one."
"Oh, I remember. Didn't it have to do with that woman?"
"Now!"
The patriarch shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I'll formally announce this in front of all of you! Whoever can kill the eldest son, Ayato Kyouya will have the right to become my legal wife and have their eldest child become the heir! Children aren't the only ones who can participate! All of you can too!"
He announced while puffing his chest out.
One wife decided to voice her thoughts.
"But, Patriarch, if we get involved, won't it become unfair?"
She said what everybody was thinking. They all believed this to be a fun game for the patriarch. None of them wanted to ruin his fun.
"Anna, don't get me wrong when I say this, but Ayato isn't an easy one to go down. 7 years ago, I lost to him in a battle to the death."
Everyone had the same look of distress. The patriarch was an earnest man, one who wouldn't lie. If he did, it was for a reason. Except, what he just said couldn't be treated as anything but a lie. Even so, it was too stupid to call a lie.
"Don't take it easy on him."