Rules & Regulations

*Klink*

"Let's get another round of shochu." Cal shouted.

It was seven O'clock in the morning and he had already dragged me to a tavern. I wasn't particularly sure how he wasn't exhausted or even hung over. After the hot spring last night, he found another tavern and drank until he was kicked out. Then in his drunken state, he started hitting on (harassing) any female in his sight. Eventually someone threatened to call the city guard on him for indecent exposure and that's when I forced him back to the inn. He probably only got an hour of sleep before he started looking for somewhere else to drink.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" I asked.

Cal laughed.

"Don't be silly, Arno. It's never too early for a drink. Really if you think about it, what's the difference between alcohol and coffee? ...They're both beverages."

"That sounds like something a true alcoholic would say."

"Hey, I'm not not an alcoholic!... I'm an alcohol connoisseur. There's a difference... I'm in a foreign country anyways. This is my opportunity to sample their exotic drinks."

The young lady tending the bar slammed down two glasses in front of us.

"Hey idiot, could you quiet down! It's still early. Who even drinks at this time anyways?" She scolded.

Cal simply smirked.

"It's a lovely morning isn't it, m'lady. You wouldn't happen to be free late-."

She instantly shut him down.

"I have a boyfriend."

"Oh..."

He had a defeated look on his face as he suddenly became quiet. He began sipping his shochu. I also pretended to drink as well. I had put a sponge in my rib cage to absorb liquids, so I could create the illusion that I was drinking. Once we finished, Cal left the money on the counter and we left.

"I'm going to wander around a bit to see if I can find anything out about Erika. Do what you want, I really don't care." I said.

"I'll tag along too. All the good taverns don't open until late anyways."

I huffed a bit. I would have preferred he stayed back and left me alone for a while...

✨✨✨

We made our way back near the palace. The two of us essentially wandered the area for a while, seeing if we could overhear anything about Erika. For the most part we didn't really find out much of anything.

Around noon though, a bit of commotion started as a group of soldiers gathered just outside the palace. A trumpet suddenly sounded.

*Tooo-toooo-toooot*

An old man wearing purple robes and...cat ears. Stood front and center. He spoke into a large cone to amplify his voice.

"ATTENTION, I have an important meowssage directly from the new Shogun that I've been ordered to deliver to the masses..."

A group of people quickly began to gather out of curiosity. The herald continued on,

"For the first order of business, we are unveiling the nation's new flag that Shogun Erika designed herself."

Two guardsmen unrolled the new flag design. It was a light blue flag with the pink silhouette of... uh... to be blunt it looked like a *censored*. The crowd seemed a bit surprised by this image. Some parents even covered their children's eyes.

"The colors represent trustworthiness and compassion, while the serpent represents the cunning spirit of the East Kingdom."

"Oh." Everyone in the crowd said simultaneously.

"That sure doesn't look like a snake." Cal muttered to me.

The herald pointed to some wooden crates that were wheeled out on carts.

"Next, effective immediately, the city of Unko's name will be changed to 'Nekotropolis' because of Erika-sama's love of cats. Along with this, to celebrate this new name, we have been ordered to release the hundreds of cats inside these crates to freely roam the city."

The citizens looked at each other confused. The guards began opening the sides of the crates.

*Meow* *Hiss* *Purr*

Cats began pouring out of the crates and flooding the streets. Judging from the looks on the vast majority of people's faces, it didn't look like they were very thrilled with this "celebration".

I noticed that the guards, as well as the herald, began inching their way back into the gates of the palace. Just as they were closing the gates, the herald quickly muttered,

"By the way... everyone's taxes are getting raised."

*Clank* *Click*

The gates were locked and they all scurried back inside. The crowd didn't seem to take this news of tax increases too well because they began throwing all sorts of miscellaneous items over the wall, as they shouted curse words.

"That idiot girl is going to get herself assassinated if she's not careful." I said.

Cal put his hand on my shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Arno. Like I said earlier, she'll probably get bored in a day or two. These changes aren't even that big of a deal. These people are just overreacting. I mean, when doesn't the government raise taxes?... Now come on, it's noon already, let's go get another drink."

I wasn't sold on Cal's positive outlook on the situation. In fact, it seemed like he was more concerned about drinking.

He began dragging me once again to another bar. The two of us sat at the counter.

"Let's get some sake going over here." He shouted.

"We don't have alcohol. All we have is juice and water." The bartender said.

Cal laughed.

"Ha, sure you... but seriously though..."

The bartender looked him dead in the eye.

"I'm not joking. There is a new law that was just passed instituting prohibition. Alcohol is no longer legal in this country."

Cal suddenly turned to me with a very serious look on his face.

"That girl's gone too far. There's only one logical thing to do at a time like this... we need to kidnap Erika."

That was probably the best suggestion Cal made all day. We needed to stop Erika before she ruined the entire East Kingdom.