Chapter 4 NO.4

*Tetsuya*

Serrano, Takuya (who had decided to come with us on his route northward), and I emerged from the bus as the sun began to set over the horizon.

"Wow, this place is amazin', " Takuya yelled, glancing around the place.

Before us stood a majestic city with buildings whose surfaces glimmered like silver and whose windows shone like crystal. The streets and roads looked as if they were recently paved, a clear contrast to the roads of the other towns we passed.

Even from the point where we were, one could make out the ivory palace that loomed overhead. At the very least the four towers that pierced the sky.

"We should buy you some shoes once we're done with the meeting, " Serrano said, staring at Brother's bare feet. "There are parts of town filled glass."

Takuya and I stared at the shimmering streets around us. "You sure?" I asked. "This place looks as if it's the cleanest city in the world."

Cousin shook his head, putting his hands into the pockets of his blue jeans. "I thought so too, but this isn't all of the city."

"Well then, I'm off to explore, " Takuya said, adjusting his backpack filled with food and maps. "I'll meet you two at the castle!"

Serrano and I nodded. "Take care, " we said in unison.

Takuya sighed. "I'll be fine. All of you worry too much. See ya!" He ran off like a child at the circus. Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was the oldest.

"Let's get going, " Serrano said, signaling for me to follow.

The two of us continued on the road we were on. After a good walk, we reached the imperial stronghold. It towered above all the other structures around it. Even the skyscrapers, which already threatened to pierce the sky, struggled against its enormity.

"Surprised?" Serrano asked, chuckling. "I was too. I mean, it already looks enormous from afar, but when you're up-close, you start to wonder if this was even made by the hands of people."

I nodded. "All of this wealth, it's amazing."

"Well then, wait until you see the inside."

I followed after him but two lances slide down in front of the door. Serrano turned around briefly but didn't seem especially alarmed as he continued on his way.

"What purpose do you have here?" one of the guards asked as she pointed her golden lance at me.

I showed her my letter. "I was invited here, " I answered, flashing her a smile.

She snatched the note and skimmed through it. "Seems authentic but just to make sure..." She gave me back the letter. "Hold it and don't get scared." She backed away from me and struck the seal on the letter with her lance. An orange barrier shielded the letter. "Wow, so it was real...um, I mean, go on ahead."

My cousin was right, the inside of the palace was even more amazing than the outside. Various white marble statues were displayed throughout the wide room, reminding me of a museum that I once went to with my older siblings.

The interior castle walls were black marble, and the floor was a mosaic of different materials I couldn't even begin to name. The brilliance of the colors of the mosaic was like that of jewels. I wouldn't be surprised if it was made out of actual gems considering the wealth of the monarchy.

I ran up the stairs to look at what the image on the mosaic was. It was of two angels, a female with brown hair and orange eyes and a male with black hair and purple eyes. Something about the male angel reminded me of my own family.

I wasn't sure if it was true but in my family, there was a story about how we descended from the Angel of Darkness. The only possible proof of that was my last name and the rosary around my neck.

My mother taught me a story, one day a child would appear who could transform my black rosary into its sword form like our ancestor could. Unfortunately, I was not that child, the rosary had no response when I tried to transform it. If the rosary were any other kind of angelic tool I would be able to use it. As it is one of the Seven Angel tools, only the chosen one can use it.

"Admiring our ancestor?" Serrano called out as he appeared behind me. He had changed into dark blue robes whose fabric shimmered in the light coming down from the chandeliers. My guess was that his clothes were made out of silk or something similar. His long navy blue hair was swept back, allowing one to see his ears. The right one had an earring with a shimmering blue stone.

"Nice clothes. Where can I find a pair?" I asked.

He snickered. "I'll go find you something nice. We can't have you meeting the king like this."

I nodded. This wasn't the first time that cousin was going to meet the king. He had previously met him when he became one of the Seven-Hills, the strongest knights in all of Kuroriku. That's how strong my cousin was. Never had I expected that one day I would be serving an even greater role than he.

"What is a pleb doing here?" called out a voice. "Did the guards somehow failed at their job?" A blond haired young man glanced up at us, his light blue eyes staring at me with a mix of curiosity and mockery.

Who the heck did the guy think he was?

I flashed the golden letter in front of his eyes, grinning. "I was invited by the king."

"I did not think that the clan leader would call upon a plebeian. I wonder if he called upon any more peasants."

I attempted to shrug off his words. All city folk that I'd met thus far were like him, pretentious, and egotistical. The wealthy such as him were especially guilty of having those traits.

Yet I couldn't help but look down at my clothes; a pair of black jeans, a white shirt, and a black vest. They were the best clothes that I had for the occasion but compared to the boy, I was dressed in rags. He had on a black, double-breasted, woolen trench coat along with matching black gloves. Actually, the rest of his outfit (black dress pants and dark brown slacks) fit the coat too.

"Don't mind him, " Serrano said. "Eiichi, treat Tetsuya well."

Eiichi's eyes went back and forth between us. "Is this guy your relative?" He scoffed, raising his hands over his own head. "I forgot that you were a peasant yourself."

Serrano's eyes grew unusually cold. "So what if I'm a peasant?"

The guy stepped back. "Woah! Way to talk to a friend."

"Right back at ya."

Eiichi turned away. "You seem so lighthearted around this guy. Its almost as if you're a different person. So, which of the two Serranos is the real one? The stoic and reserved one, or the friendly and snarky one?"

I glanced at my cousin who remained as serious as a statue. "Both of them, " I responded, leaping over the golden rail. Landing in front of the mosaic I looked up. "Are you the prince?"

The boy snickered. "You sure are a country bumpkin. The king only has daughters. Though, I guess that you could say that it would soon have a prince." His eyes glanced up, directed at my cousin.

Serrano?

A tall, brown haired young woman ran into the castle. "I'm not late, am I?" She glanced up at me. "Who is this guy?"

"Ahh, here's one of the princesses, " Eiichi said, putting his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Well then, I'll meet you in the king's chamber." The blonde left the two of us alone with the newcomer.

"He's one of the golden letter recipients, " Serrano answered, glancing back at me. The serious look in his eyes remained.

She studied me for a while. "Are you sure? He looks like a simple college student."

I snickered. She was sort of right, except she needed to add 'graduated'. Why had the king called upon someone like me?

Taking out my letter, I stepped toward her. "Unless I got this by mistake."

She glanced down at her own. "If you passed the guards with that then it must be authentic. I look forward to working with you." She extended her hand out and smiled. "My name is Setsuko Kuroriku."

I smiled back. "I'm Tetsuya Kuroriku."

"So, you're the boy who is said to be related to us, " she said.

"Yeah, " I asked, eyeing my cousin. "Are we related somehow?"

"No, " Serrano said, shaking his head. "Well, we're considered long distant relatives. She's our third cousin."

"So, I guess that you told him about why we called him here?"

Serrano smiled slightly. "No. I thought that I would leave that to you."

"Well, he'll see soon enough, " she responded, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Just know that you'll be playing an important role for this kingdom. The role of a knight."

I extended my hand out to Setsuko. "I look forward to working with you."

"Come, let's not keep the king waiting, " my cousin called out, waving at us as he leaped over the rail.

"Right!" She ran after him, leaving me behind with the mosaic of our ancestors.

A Knight, huh? I never would've thought of putting down the shovel to pick up the sword. What was my purpose here?

"Tetsuya!" Setsuko yelled, waving at me from several feet away.

"Coming!" I yelled, snapping back to reality. I followed after her and Serrano, ready to see what awaited me inside of the king's chamber.

**Solar Note: What do you think Tetsuya will discover behind that door?

If you enjoyed this chapter then click on that star :D! I'll also like to say thanks to those readers who have stuck with this story thus far. Its been half a year since I originally published chapter 1 of the original version of this story ^_^!*