On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor Three Hundred And Sixty-Seven

Three Hundred And Sixty-Seven

The gathering of influential figures that evening was rather uneventful compared to the previous evening, and after so casual talk with so Opposition Party politicians and a few businessn, Fujiwara-san and Tsumura-san secured the agreents they wanted, and I made so further connections, as well as finding out a little more about the state of the British Chosen. We confird so of what Mr Hunter and Mrs Morgan had told us, that the Crown was gathering Chosen, rather than the Governnt, and the British seed to be a bit ahead of us in that regard, as they were already forming them up into teams to capture the Boundary of the major cities of the UK. The strange thing was, almost none refused the call, not like so of our Japanese Chosen that the Ministry is identifying hastily. Is it loyalty to the Queen, or sothing else that brings them on board?

After another nice al with Motoko, her once more being presented as my fiancée, which had massively improved her mood, we made it back to the Savoy, where the jealous Natsumi was once again waiting for us. That led to a night of passion, which Motoko and Hyacinth were only too happy to join in with, and once more the sheets were ruined. A silent prayer for the poor staff indeed… We did manage to snatch a few hours’ sleep, and I had so strange dreams, the first of a brilliant yellow sun, and another yellow orb opposing it, this one a dirty gold. A shadow passed over the sun like an eclipse, and I could see jagged, curved teeth of dirty white bone. I then dread of a woman in green and gold, being chased through a dark labyrinth, white-masked figures constantly accosting her, diverting her. She cried out in joy, seeing shadowy figures ahead, reaching out with her hand, only for them to turn, revealing featureless white masks, which suddenly cracked, revealing smiling faces…

Yes, the dreams were quite unsettling. Or perhaps I should call them visions? The yellow eye looked just like that of the slimy toad we vanished the clone of in Kyoto, and a sun was likely tied to Amaterasu, so it ant that we hadn’t finished our fight with the toad, not that I wasn’t aware of that anyway. Tsukiko-san had said that Yukiko-san would end up having to face the creature. Nurarihyon would need to as well, so he said, and also Shiro…

As for the other, process of elimination ant that it was probably Eleanor, though I couldn’t rule out entirely that it was the Princess of Hell or Asura, both of whom I knew nothing about. Shaking my head, I put aside the mories of last night that were running through my Split Thoughts rapidly, concentrating on the phone call I was having with my apologetic mom, while two staff at the hotel were styling my hair and dressing , which I found rather embarrassing. I an, I’m totally capable of doing it myself. And even then, Motoko was eager to do it. But Fujiwara-san insisted that we got the professionals in, as everything has to be perfect… all I’m grateful for is that they don’t speak Japanese, so this conversation is private…

“Sorry again, Aki.” My mom was saying. “When dad contacted … well, you managed, right? I can’t believe you convinced him to accept your polygamy. Dad’s pretty devout as a Christian, unlike mum and .”

I let out a sigh, showing my displeasure. “I know. It was horrible. But… while I don’t regret my decisions, I do know this is the price I’ll pay for the foreseeable future. Maybe if more people start entering into legally accepted multi-person relationships and marriage the stigma will change, but for now, to outsiders I guess I look the scummiest guy alive. But fortunately, the girls were there. Be honest, could you say no to those three when they are earnestly expressing their feelings?” I certainly can’t. And they did win over Jack and Evelyn easily enough.

“No, I couldn’t. Nor could your father.” Mom agreed. “Even Hana and Junpei don’t dislike them, even if they feel bad for Eri. So… yeah, well, I did say that the whole reason that the Church of England got started was so Henry the Eighth could get himself another woman, and he went mad at .” I could imagine my mom pouting right now.

“Well, of course if you said sothing like that Jack would get mad.” I said evenly. “Anyway… it all worked out in the end, Evelyn was even showing them our old photo albums. But… I didn’t tell them what was really going on. I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do. If they know… well, it’ll uproot their life, won’t it? I did get them to take so money, at least. I tried to keep it modest so they wouldn’t freak out…”

“That’s a miracle in itself. Dad was always proud, and never liked handouts.” Mom said, and I sighed anew.

“Well, he wouldn’t take it until the girls persuaded him. Again, it’s hard to say no to them. But… mom, if you want to tell them everything, I don’t mind. But when they know, their lives will change.”

“Yeah, I get it Aki, I do. Well, I’ll think about it. I’d rather do it in person though, so… it’d be good if they finally visit. Aiko would be thrilled. Speaking of…” We talked a little about what Aiko had been up to, before I hung up. The timing was good, as I had just finished enduring the dressing up, and was now ready. I was in a formal black tuxedo suit, one of the ones made from ballistic and knife-proof fabrics from the shop Fujiwara-san had recomnded to . Paired with a crisp white designer shirt, and my most expensive Patek Phillipe watch, as well as so tasteful platinum jewellery and my engagent ring… well, my neutral engagent ring, anyway. If I had to wear one for each girl I’d look like an idiot, but they all agreed on this one as standing for all of them, luckily… with one final check in the mirror I was satisfied.

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“Sorry, you can’t kiss or hug right now, it’ll ss up my makeup and suit. Today I’m a bodyguard, so I can’t be wearing a dress, or sothing that could upstage Motoko, who’s the star of our show.”

“That is hardly true, and you know it, Natsumi. Besides, you seed confident you could upstage last night, no?” Motoko entered, wearing a beautiful white ballgown, again, her chest covered by cloth, adorned with black ribbons, her hair also tied up. Her shoulders and arms were on show again, giving it a hint of allure without being trashy.

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“That is her.” Motoko whispered, and I nodded. Here we are, Princess Eleanor at last. So… I now had to decide what to do. Fujiwara-san was confident that even if we didn’t approach her during the gala, he would be able to secure a private eting with her afterwards, just as he gained us entry to the Palace. But… seeing her and interacting with her more informally might be better. And I’m curious about this Selkie… a Fae that isn’t in Shaeula’s camp might be interesting, and offer a perspective we can’t get elsewhere…

“So, do we approach her?” Motoko whispered, and I shook my head.

“No, not yet. She’s still up on the dais anyway. No, let’s mingle for now, sound out so other Chosen, gather information. And we shall see how things go…”