The next day, Ayato and Anastasia woke up early at 5 o'clock in the morning. They needed to arrive fairly early. It said on the letter around 10 am but Ayato feared that his father had something planned for him then.
It would take a while to get to Kyoto even by bullet train. With advanced technology, some bullet trains—expensive and private ones—are powered by mana waves, increasing the speed and making it possible to reach somewhere in half the time needed.
It would take around 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach Kyoto from Tokyo with a mana-powered bullet train.
"Are you ready, Master?"
"Yeah, I got our stuff in this suitcase."
The event called the Midnight Banquet did not last for a single day, it lasted for three. The banquet was held on the first and final day. This would mean that Ayato would have to survive three days of constant attacks.
Ayato and Anastasia wore suits.
Despite it being spring, Anastasia had a muffler on her shoulders.
"Well, let's go."
They went to Tokyo Station, where the train was kept. It couldn't move freely to other stations. They got onto the platform.
"..."
Instead of greeting Ayato, the butler at the train door glared at him. Anastasia clicked her tongue, annoyed. She opened her mouth to knock some sense into the butler, but...
"Hey, what's this, Daichi?"
"Huh, Mistress Yukina?!"
The butler reacted to the girl walking up to him. She was in a black high-slit dress with fur around her neck and arm gloves.
"My,"
Yukina smugly smirked.
"You gave me such a nice reaction. Shouldn't you be treating my fiancé with the same response?"
"But..."
Daichi was reluctant. He glanced over at Ayato, tensing his jaw with rage and frustration. The butler stiffly bowed.
"W-welcome, M-Master Ayato."
"Stop overreacting, Daichi, it can't be that bad."
The girl teased him. She hugged Ayato and kissed him on the cheek. Yukina rubbed her cheek ferociously against his.
"Ayato! I'm so happy to be travelling with you! We'll be together for three days!"
"Yeah..."
He passively replied. Yukina did have somewhat of a one-sided love for Ayato but he didn't mind. There was someone who cared for him, that was all that mattered.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"With what?"
"There are probably some people in the Kyouya Family who'll target people with close relations to me. You and Anastasia would fit the bill."
Yukina flicked Ayato's forehead. It didn't hurt, but he still lightly massaged the spot she hit. She pointed behind her.
"Don't worry, I'm strong but I also have some reliable servants."
There were three people behind her, carrying her stuff. One of them looked very familiar to Ayato.
"Retsuya?"
"Ah, Ayato? What're you doing here? Oh right, you're a part of the Kyouya Family too."
Retsuya was a part of the Narukami Family, which was one of the branch families that supported the Shirogane Family.
All of the Seven Great Families have branch families that supported them. For example, the Kyouya Family had three: the Akiyama Family, the Hasegawa Family and the Fujikawa Family.
"You know him?"
"He's my friend at Auralia."
"Really?! Then you better treat him well, am I right, Retsuya?!"
Yukina put her arm around Retsuya this time. He nervously responded.
"Y-yeah..."
"Mistress, I don't believe you should be so touchy with your servant and this boy."
Another boy spoke. He had straight black hair and glasses. He adjusted his glasses and walked up to Ayato.
"No one is worthy of Mistress Yukina's touch."
Ayato yawned in the boy's face, uninterested in his opinions. The boy seemed straight-laced.
"You...!"
"You're just saying that because you're jealous, Ara-chin."
The girl behind him said. She was very scruffy looking. Her hair was messy and blue. She had bags under her eyes. She yawned.
"What?! You're speaking nonsense once more, Ayaka!"
The boy shouted with his cheeks flushed red.
"You have a lively bunch, Yukina."
Ayato commented, looking at the watch on his wrist.
It was around 5:30 am now.
"You don't learn, do you?! I don't care if you're a Kyouya, no one should call the Mistress by her first name without honorifics!"
"Give it a rest, Ara-chin."
The blue-haired girl breathed. Retsuya stayed silent.
"Let me introduce you all then!"
Yukina announced with a proud smile.
"This is Arashi Shinomiya. The tired girl over there is Ayaka Satsuki and you already know Retsuya Narukami."
They all greeted Ayato and Anastasia. The maid bowed.
"I'm Ayato Kyouya, Yukina's fiancé and—not by choice—heir to the Kyouya Family."
"Huh?"
Arashi froze in place. He admired Yukina so much that he couldn't imagine her having a fiancé. Not until he met Ayato, unfortunate for him.
"Oh, can I call you Aya-chin?"
Ayaka asked with a grand smile on her face. It was almost like she admired him.
"Yeah, you can."
"Aya-chin sounds so cool..."
She murmured to herself. Maybe it was because, by her standards, her nickname would be Aya-chin.
They all entered the black bullet train. As they stored their stuff, Ayato sat down. Yukina sat next to him while Retsuya and Ayaka sat opposite. Arashi sat nearer to the lane next to Yukina, although, she leaned onto Ayato's shoulder.
Anastasia approached them.
"I'm done unpacking, Master."
"Good, get some sleep until we get there."
"Yes,"
She sat in the seats behind Ayato. Anastasia lifted the armrests and laid on all three seats. She went to sleep in a quick minute.
"Is your maid tired? Why would she sleep now?"
Retsuya asked.
"Any servant unable to fulfill their role is useless. If I were you, I would—"
"Man, could you shut the fuck up?"
Ayato asked Arashi. The boy adjusted his glasses in surprise and turned away. Ayato was annoyed by Arashi's constant talk.
He wouldn't care if he was talking about something else but he was continuing to insult not only Ayato but Anastasia.
"Anyway, I'm having Anastasia sleep during the day while I sleep during the night. At this Midnight Banquet, I'll be hunted continuously."
"Hunted? Why though?"
"Because everyone in the Kyouya Family is out to kill me. That's how it's been for 10 years."
Retsuya, Ayaka and Arashi all felt perturbed listening to Ayato.
'Will he be alright?'
Retsuya thought, worried for his friend. However, he let go of his worries when he saw Ayato smiling. He wouldn't smile if it troubled him dearly.