Chapter 107: Grinding XP with the Emperor

The koi pond is quiet. It is shielded by tall, perfectly trimmed hedges.

The chaos of the party sounds far away.

An old man is sitting on a stone bench. He is wearing a simple, very expensive kimono.

He is throwing fish food into the water with aggressive force.

"Eat," he commands a fat orange koi. "Grow strong. You are my tank."

He looks up as I approach.

He has sharp, intelligent eyes. They are Fuji's eyes, but older and scarier.

He does not look surprised.

"You are late," Emperor Kagehito says.

"I had to detour," I say, stopping in front of him. "Your mini-bosses are very clingy."

He snorts. It is a most un-Imperial sound.

He taps an earpiece he is wearing.

"She is here, Deception. She is wearing blue. Not beige. You were right."

"You are talking to Daiki?" I ask.

"He is coaching me," the Emperor says, throwing more food. "He says I need to check your vibes before I give you the quest item."

"My vibes?"

"Daiki is a strange boy. He uses many confusing words. But he is good at virtual murder."

The Emperor stands up. He is not tall, but he feels huge.

He walks around me. He is inspecting me like I am a new weapon he might equip.

"So," he says. "You are the Bloody Twilight."

"Aoi Isuzu, sir."

"I prefer the other name. It has character. My grandson is soft. He has always been soft. He likes soft things, like poetry and silence. You are not soft."

"No, sir. I am very brittle. And loud."

He stops in front of me.

"Takahito wants him to marry a nice, quiet girl from a good family. Someone who will not rock the boat."

"Boats are boring if you do not rock them," I say.

He laughs. It is a dry, rasping sound.

"Indeed. I rocked many boats in my youth. Now I just sit here and feed digital fish. It is dull."

He looks toward the party. We can hear Takahito yelling orders.

"My son is afraid of chaos. He thinks order is strength. He is wrong. Adaptability is strength. You cannot plan for everything. Sometimes you just have to press all the buttons and hope for a critical hit."

He looks back at me.

"Do you love him?"

It is a direct attack. No parrying allowed.

"I do not know about love, sir," I say honestly. "I am sixteen. I mostly just want to punch him sometimes. But when he is sad, I want to punch the person who made him sad. A lot."

The Emperor grins.

"Good answer. It is better than poetry."

He reaches into his kimono sleeve.

He pulls out a small, plain wooden badge. It has the Imperial chrysanthemum carved into it.

"New quest item acquired," he says, tossing it to me.

I catch it.

"What is this?"

"It is an access pass. It is an old one. It overrides Takahito's security protocols. It means you are my guest. If anyone tries to stop you, show them that. They will freeze like a lag spike."

He sits back down on his bench.

"Now go. The cutscene is over. Go save your Prince."

He throws a massive handful of food at the orange koi.

"Eat up, fat boy. We have a raid tonight."