Chapter 5 NO.5

*Tetsuya*

"Wait! Shouldn't I get a change of clothes before meeting the king?" I asked.

"You'll be fine, " the princess said, opening the golden doors in the center of the two staircases. Suddenly, the smell of lavender emerged from deep within the room, wafting to the rest of the castle.

The chamber itself was fancy, having walls of gold and silver and a floor made out of black marble. Cutting through the sea of black was a long purple rug following the path of the two rows of purple pillars, which dotted the path from the entrance, all the way to the onyx and yellow diamond encrusted platinum throne at the end of the room.

Sitting on the throne was a man who bared a resemblance to Setsuko. He had long messy dark brown hair and a beard like a lion's mane. A large fur cape of unknown origin that was big enough to cover most of what he was wearing underneath draped his body. Meanwhile, a black crown with yellow diamonds adorned his head.

Serrano quickly bowed. "King Osamu. I have returned with the fifth knight." He nudged me to also bow.

I did as cousin said, but when I looked up I was met by a cold look from the king, one worse than what Eiichi and the black haired boy who stood next to him were giving me.

Why is he given me that look?

"You may rise, children, " the king Osamu said as he also stood up, snapping me from my thoughts.

"So he really was one of us?" the blond haired boy from before said.

"Wow, " one of the others said. It was the boy with short black hair who had given me the cold stare. He looked younger than everyone else here present. "An actual peasant, " he said as his emerald eyes looked me up and down. "Uh, we don't have any work for you here."

"Nonsense, " the king said. "I requested he come here. He is the fifth knight." He returned to his throne and sat down. "Knights step forward and introduce yourselves."

The blond haired boy went first. "Hello, I'm Eiichi Kuroichi Raiyama. We Raiyama are the third house of the Kuroriku clan. I was born and raised in the city of-"

"That's enough, " Setsuko said. "We won't get anywhere if you tell us your life story."

"Setsuko!" her father said, his eyes furious.

Setsuko crossed her arms, pouting in a un-princess-like manner.

"That's fine, I'll just save my story for later, " Eiichi said, flashing the princess a sly grin.

The black haired boy stepped forward. "I'm Hideo Makkuroyama. I was born in the frontier lands to a noble family of the fourth house of the Kuroriku clan. I'm the eldest, so I'm sort of expected to inherit that boring wasteland."

"The frontier?" I said, eyes wide. I had always wanted to visit there! Though Takuya said that it wasn't all that different from where we were from. "That's so cool."

Hideo sighed. "No it's not. It's so boring. There are no places to go. Also it takes an hour to get shipments from the interior."

"Only an hour?"

"Gah, you don't get it, you are speaking from a position of privilege."

My eyes blinked. "Huh?"

"He's saying that because you're poor you're used to it and don't understand others unlike yourself, " Setsuko whispered. "Even though he's not one to talk."

"So, what do you do all day?"

Hideo took out a light green portable game system. "I play video games!"

"As do I, " Eiichi said, glaring at me. "Why didn't you ask me more questions peasant?"

"Uh, Hideo lives in a more interesting place?"

Eiichi crossed his arms. "The frontier, interesting? Ha, Hideo just said it's boring."

"Well to me it's interesting, " I said, scratching my head. What was up with these people?

"So what do you do daily?" Eiichi asked.

"Well, first let me start by introducing myself. I'm Tetsuya Kuroriku...uh that's the second house."

The blond broke out in bombastic laugher. "Second house you said? Really? Aren't the second house a bunch of losers who went into hiding eons ago?"

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean we went into hiding? We've been around for a long time, working the fields of this country!"

"Dude, how entitled can you be?" Hideo said.

I didn't know what the heck the guy was talking about. Was he just spitting out a bunch of random phrases that people in the cities thought made them sound smart?

"Let's move on, " Setsuko suggested. "I'm Setsuko Kuroriku and I'm from the first house."

The last of us stepped up, his head held high. It was another young man. Unlike the others, he didn't smile but at the same time wasn't frowning. "It's my turn now?" the tall black haired boy with cold eyes said. "I'm Hyosetsu Kuroyuki no San. I come from the fifth house of the Kuroriku clan, the House of Kuroyuki no San. I am also its future heir"

"Huh?" I said, staring at him blankly.

Eiichi also gave the guy a strange look. "You're the future leader of the Kuroyuki? You just called yourself Hyosetsu. I heard it was the younger brother, Kohri Kuroyuki no San, who was named the heir."

I nodded. That's what I heard in the news too, and we barely get much info on the outside world where I'm from.

Hyosetsu chuckled. "I will be the heir. I accepted the Grand Clan chief's invitation to prove my worth to my mother. I will show her that she made the wrong choice in naming my younger brother the clan leader."

That's interesting. though Takuya is expected to inherit everything that mother owns, we siblings never really argued for it.

Rather, we shared what little we owned without envy or greed of what the other had.

"Tetsuya, " the king finally spoke up, making his presence known. Honestly, I forgot the guy was even there despite his size... Hmm, the others did too. Damn, being king and having no respect must suck. Ah, that must've been why he had a perpetual frown. "Are you listening?"

I gave him a shy nod. Damn! The guy might fade into the background but he sure is scary when he makes himself known.

"As I was saying, " the king continued. "Other than the Raiyama lands being the hosts of... never mind that. We still have time to prevent the worst."

What did he mean by 'the worst'? Also, why did the branches all have different names except for mine?

"How come my house didn't get another name?" I asked.

"The second house is an informal branch of the first, " Setsuko responded after clearing her throat. "The so-called members of the 'second house' left the clan prior to the splintering of the clan beyond two branches. The second branch kept the Kuroriku name in case the main branch ever needed an alternative heir. In fact, new members are added to the 'second house' each generation as the new ruler casts away their siblings once they take the throne."

The king held out his hand toward the door. "I gathered a small number of people to serve as your soldiers. Come in, please."

Setsuko pulled me away from the gold encrusted doors as they were opened from the outside. Serrano walked out of the room and quickly came back in, this time leading a group of brown armor clad soldiers all donning their helmets so one couldn't make out any distinguishable features other than their height and width. The armored soldiers stopped a couple feet away from the throne as the King returned to his throne. "My lord, " they all said at once.

"I gathered you here today to serve as soldiers of these five knights. He snapped his fingers and in came five maids holding golden boxes. One of them handed one to me. It was oddly light so I figured it was clothing. "You may open the boxes, young ones."

My heart pounded as my sweaty hands moved to the corner of the box, its texture like fine wallpaper.

"Go ahead, " Serrano said, nudging me. He gave me a supporting smile.

"Alright, here goes..."

**Character Section**

King Osamu Kuroriku- Age:? Birthday:?

Spear Knight Eiichi Kuroichi- Age: 21 Birthday:?

Gun Knight Hideo Makkuroyama-

Sword Knight Hyosetsu Kuroyuki no San- Age: 21 Birthday:?

Mace Knight Setsuko Kuroriku- Age: 21 Birthday:?