Azusa’s training journey had turned into a matchmaking tour.
“Don’t you find it strange?” Azusa asked Jijii.
“It is a bit unnatural.”
Azusa’s tone grew harsh in response to Jijii’s unperturbed demeanor. “A bit?! It’s totally unnatural! Jijii, you know the rules of this journey, right?”
“Yes. The nature of the training journey taken by the Crown Prince of the Juraian Imperial Family is such that, once he sets out, there is no obligation to report your whereabouts to even the Juraian Emperor himself. In the event he is caught up in any trouble, even the most mortal of peril, they will not be notified.”
“Right. Exactly. I change my destination on a daily basis, so why are there always girls being attacked there?”
“It is strange,” Jijii conceded.
“It all has to be the work of that old bat!” Azusa seethed, a scowl on his face.
In other words, this bat, Kamiki Seto, was somehow locating his position and passing that information along to these girls’ fathers. She had even clearly set a few of them up personally.
Azusa had a three-year-old fiancée named Misaki. This adorable little girl, 18 years his junior, was the daughter of Seto, the puppet master behind “Operation Arranged Marriage.” So, why was Seto trying to arrange a marriage for her future son-in-law? It was not that she did not want to give up her daughter, Misaki. She did not really have any objections to this marriage. However, she felt sorry for him that he was unable, out of deference for Misaki, to associate with another woman (and meet a young man’s immediate needs, as the saying went).
Providing a partner for her daughter’s fiancé… She was doing something that was frankly none of her business, knowing full well that he did not want it. This was an example of Seto’s warped expressions of love for others.
In any case, Azusa had been her favorite since childhood, and he was well acquainted with her methods after often suffering mischief of this sort. You could say he had developed a sixth sense of sorts. If Seto was involved, he somehow just knew.
Rumor had it that she was subtle, but bold; ridiculous, but precise; and acerbic, but loveable. Seto, Jurai’s most fearsome schemer (which she of course took as a compliment), was being so blunt.
“That old bat should’ve just told me she was arranging a marriage for me instead of coming up with something this ridiculous.”
“Will we be making an escape?” inquired Jijii.
“Of course,” Azusa reflexively snapped back at Jijii. While he had gotten used to this nonsense, he had grown frustrated, not only at the nerve of these arranged marriages, but also that Seto could see right through him.
Yes, it was true that Seto was concerned about Azusa, but that was not the only reason. Since he had begun his journey one galactic standard week ago, Azusa had tasted a heretofore unprecedented feeling of liberation. The Juraian Imperial Family bloodline was originally of pirate stock, with a tendency towards wanderlust, and that disposition flowed within Azusa as well. For him, especially, the splendid life and political power of the scion of the galaxy’s largest territory held no appeal. Handed a ticket called “freedom” and leaping out into the void of space, the hot-blooded nature of his ancestors sleeping deep within his DNA had sprung forth. Unfortunately, this tendency was strongest in those who had what it took to be the Juraian Emperor.
“Operation Arranged Marriage” came just as he was starting to think he wanted to just run away from it all. In other words, knowing Azusa’s personality well, this was Seto’s prank to keep him in check. Nobody was supposed to know where he was going, yet here she was, accurately predicting Azusa’s haphazard journey, letting him know that “escape was impossible.” This sort of circuitous lesson was very much in her character.
While he was disappointed that she still treated him like a child thirteen years after he had first met her at age eight, it was not as though he did not understand the position in which he had been placed. No matter how strongly he might have longed for freedom, he would never abandon Jurai. And Seto knew that, too. Yet here they were. It bore repeating that Seto’s affection was a bit warped.
Azusa sighed in defeat. He was still wrapped around Seto’s little finger. Moreover, he knew that she was just getting started. Not even the future Emperor of Jurai could be a match for her. That was Kamiki Seto. “Pathetic…”
“Young Master, I beg your pardon, but why not just go meet the lady?” Jijii suggested.
“Don’t be absurd! I will never do as that old bat says!”
The Juraian Emperor took several wives—they were polygamous. Forming ties with new families was beneficial. In fact, Jurai had grown to its present power through both the Royal Trees and its taking many wives, continuously binding other national powers by blood. In the present day, others flocked to Jurai, not the other way round. Had Azusa been so inclined, he could have chosen any number of wives.
And yet he did not. It was not that he was being stoic. There had been a number of women who had made a good impression on him. However…
“Azusa-chan…” The voice calling to him in his heart stayed his actions. Her elegant smile and white hair longer than her body blowing in the night breeze. Each time he became interested in anyone, he heard her voice again in his heart.
“Could that old bat know…?” Azusa wondered. “No, she’d never,” he said, shaking his head in denial of the doubts that seeped from his heart. And so, with his freedom guaranteed while also under complete surveillance, Azusa’s journey continued.
Ping, ping. An alarm chimed softly, and a mayday message popped up on the forward panel.
“For crying out loud!” Azusa blurted out, but who would blame him? It had only been two hours since he had escaped the last lady’s ship. To hell with galactic law; he could not take this anymore. Seto’s sarcastic laughter echoed through Azusa’s mind. “Jijii, ignore it. Ignore it and just go!”
“Young Master, hold on. This isn’t like the others we’ve been getting.”
“What do you mean?” Azusa turned his attention to the screen. The mayday appeared to be coming from a transport fleet belonging to a famous company that occasionally visited Jurai, along with its escort fleet. Azusa and Jijii could not confirm specifics because subspace communications were being jammed. It was clear that the attacker was obscuring their actions. Odds were slim that it had anything to do with “Operation Arranged Marriage.”
“Looks like it’s for real,” Azusa concluded.
“What shall we do, Young Master?”
“Hmph… Why do you think I’m even out here?”
“By your command,” Jijii changed Kirito’s course and headed for the scene at maximum speed.
Azusa’s eyes shone intensely as he stared at the void of space onscreen. It was not out of a sense of justice, but merely a desire to kick some pirate ass to work out his irritation over what had been going on, and his indignation at the old bat (Seto). Even knowing it was Seto’s handiwork, he kept rescuing the damsels mainly because the attackers were “pirates,” and even now, that thought was subconsciously driving him.
Perhaps the old bat does know… Azusa thought as he recognized the feeling inside him.
“Azusa-chan…” He heard the voice calling him from the depths of his heart. It was not his imagination.
By the time Azusa arrived, it was all over. The escort flee was destroyed for the most part; it truly was one-sided slaughter. If there was one oddity, it was that the attackers went after only two of the transport ships, leaving the others completely untouched. It was clear that the attackers acted with a target in mind and that they were not lowly pirates who randomly plundered and kidnapped.
The display zoomed in on the distant pirate ship, and there was no doubt that this was no ordinary assailant. The ship was chalky white, like two serpents coiled around each other, a shape that did not seem to belong to any star system, and far too ostentatious for any mere pirates to possess.
Azusa opened all channels and broadcast a message to the pirates. “This is Masaki Azusa, Crown Prince to the Imperial House of Jurai. You are engaging in piracy. Under galactic law, I advise you to come to a halt and surrender. I say again…” The message was set to continually broadcast on auto-repeat.