Chapter Text
Azure eyes meet amber ones, neither expecting to see the other in this particular circumstance.
“Before you ask– yes I am undercover,” Kronii took the initiative, whispering as she inched her way closer to Mumei. Mumei understood the situation, and while she wasn’t that covertly dressed, understood what was asked of her and was willing to cooperate under the reasoning of similar circumstances.
“So I can hold your identity at ransom right?” Mumei teases, gently elbowing the hooded figure. “If you dare pester me about your request I will yell your name and summon a mob at you,”
Kronii scoffs at the sheer ludicrousness of Mumei’s accusations. “You have little faith in me, O’ great high mage. I have decorum, at the very least,”
“Better to nip the problem at the bud,” Mumei defends her perspective.
“You dare talk about nipping buds in the church of Nature?” Kronii laughs. “Budding nips, meanwhile–”
“Gross!” Mumei interjects, hitting Kronii in the shoulder. “You pervert! I should call the guards!”
Kronii gave a quick rub at the spot Mumei hit her at. “Kidding aside, what brings you here? I’ve gotten word that you rarely visit the capitol, no less the chances of us running into one another. I’d say it’s fate, if you ask me,”
Ever the skeptic, Mumei simply pursed her lips as she mulled over the emperor’s words. It was rather disturbing to learn that her routines have apparently become a gossip talking point– all the more reason for her to avoid visiting the capitol, she supposes. Then again considering the fact that Kronii is the emperor, she could’ve just hired investigators to monitor her movements. That would explain how she was able to track her home in the first place.
At the end of it all, the only conclusion Mumei was able to reach was that she does not trust the emperor at all, and that she should be very wary with what she says when around her.
“Take a guess,” was Mumei’s curt reply, no more no less.
“Ah,” To Mumei’s surprise, Kronii took on a somewhat apologetic tone, raising an arm to cover her face in seeming embarrassment. “I mean it’s quite understandable, after everything I told you. Prayer is a very… uhh, reliable source of comfort,”
A rather loud hum of confusion escapes Mumei after hearing Kronii’s rather perceptive guess– deduction, really. “You’re quite the empath it seems,”
“Really now? I’m quite flattered,”
“Well don’t flatter yourself too much,”
After having concluded her little chat with Kronii, Mumei kneels on the pews in front of her. Kronii follows shortly after, Mumei feeling the pew shift ever so slightly at the additional weight. Clasping her hands together, Mumei thought to herself her silent prayer.
My Goddess, do I have to walk back down the path you told me to abandon?
Mumei gazes up at the image of the Goddess she worships. A spitting image of the Goddess Ceres leaps out of the trunk of the World Tree, etched into its sides with utmost precision. Mumei’s eyes travel across the statue, from the face of her Goddess, down to the intricacies of the dress she adorns.
It was almost as if she could still feel her touch.
Should I act in your authority or your safety?
Such questions are questions Mumei never thought she had to ask again. Mumei bites her lips at this realization, a requiem of yet another promise she has to break.
Unbeknownst to Mumei, Kronii says the exact same prayers.
Kronii was the first to abandon the pew, standing from her knees and opting to sit down beside Mumei. Mumei realizes this, concluding her own prayer not too long after.
“You seem intent on keeping me company, your majesty,” Mumei whispers as she seats down beside Kronii. “Anything on your mind?”
“A lot, actually,” Kronii does not hesitate with her reply. “One of such thoughts wondering exactly how much of what is in my mind that you know,”
“I’m a great magician by all means, but I can assure you–” Mumei glances at Kronii with an unimpressed look, “–I am not a mind reader of any sorts.”
At Mumei’s expense, all Kronii replied with was a chuckle. Mumei laughs along, she can admit as much that the moment was quite amicable at least.
Mumei’s gaze begins to wander once more, a stray leaf floating in the air catching her attention. To another, onto another. It was a gentle cascading of leaves dancing above her, only to finish its chorus once it hit the floor.
A couple of heartbeats passed before Kronii spoke once more.
“So–” Mumei found it amusing how Kronii cleared her throat. “–Ahem, got any plans after this?”
“Why should I tell you?” Mumei was rather pointed with her reply.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t be asking you about the thing from yesterday,” Kronii gave a reassuring smile as she spoke. “Quite frankly even I don’t want to be thinking about all that junk–”
Mumei interrupts Kronii, pressing her pointer finger on Kronii’s forehead. “Alright alright I get it, out with the question big guy,”
“Big… guy?”
The sudden gesture from Mumei forces Kronii to look down– who could blame her? Mumei was much, much shorter than Kronii is. Her eyes snap to look at the finger on her forehead, eventually moving down to meet Mumei’s eyes as well.
She was rather close.
“Uhh–” A sudden flush creeps across Kronii’s face at the realization of things hitting her all at once, but before she was able to stammer up a storm, she was able to regain her composure. “Aha I see now, you trust me enough that I no longer have to give you context to things, is that it? I’m flattered once more, miss Nanashi,”
That feeling of flusteredness infected Mumei as well, her face growing red as well.
“Answer quickly or I will revoke that trust, Kronii,” Mumei flicks Kronii’s forehead before distancing herself once more. “What do you want?”
“Alright alright, no more jokes,” Kronii laughs, nonchalantly brushing aside Mumei’s arms, the skin of their hands briefly grazing one another. “Well, since it seems like a rarity for you to visit the capitol in this capacity, I thought it would be my honor to give you a little tour of the place,”
Mumei fidgets as she contemplates on Kronii’s offer. How many years it has been since she roamed the capitol? Whenever she ventured out of her humble abode, she would only limit herself to the capitol’s marketplace, but never has she granted herself the luxury to simply stroll around and take a look at what the rest of the capitol had in store for her.
Closing her eyes, she tries to recall whatever brief glimpse she had of the rest of the capitol that she saw on her way to the church– quite frankly not much of a visio came to mind.Mumei never really considered herself that much of a narrow minded person, but it seems that she ought to reevaluate her personal assessment on that particular manner.
To be fair, can one blame her? Such a mindset of simply making it from point to point has been a manner that the war trained her on.
“You’ve been away from the court for about what– half a decade by now?” Kronii’s voice cuts through Mumei’s racing thoughts. “Pray tell, what was the last thing you remember of the capitol?”
“The church,” Mumei was swift with her answer.
“And?”
“Rubble,”
Mumei looks away in contemplation of her own answer. Rubble, huh? The empire was war-struck, what once were a catastrophic conglomeration of destruction and death now adorned with ornate walkways and cobbled roads.
“Well,” Mumei sighs as she speaks. “I must admit that things seem to have improved… turned better under your leadership,”
Kronii smiles at her. “My my, and you tell me to not flatter myself? You have no idea how difficult your plea is whenever you tell me things like this,”
Before allowing Kronii yet another utterance of a word, Mumei speaks once more. “Well, then I accept your tour. Show me the improvements you have done,”
A long and sullen bow is what ultimately concludes their visit to the church, both Kronii and Mumei receiving solace and comfort at the gentle gaze given to them by the image of their Goddess. Mumei watches as Kronii puts on some tinted glasses, possibly to hide her iconic azure eyes.
“I have to be honest,” Kronii starts off. “One of the reasons I invited you to this tour is to clear up my own name,”
Mumei spares Kronii a hearty laugh at this comment. “Well then that’s quite obvious, ain’t it captain obvious? But sure, go on defend yourself,”
“Your wings,”
“Mhm?”
Wordlessly, Kronii started walking to a particular direction, Mumei swiftly following afterwards. They stopped in front of what appears to be a wall divider for the general city layout.
“See,” Kronii points at the engravings on the wall. “This was the design that the city architects recommended when we had talks about rebuilding the city. The remaining magistrates in the high court also approved of this message– well, imagery rather.”
To Mumei’s surprise, the engraving in front of her was a rather familiar one. It was of a woman in a ponytail, notable streaks framing her face, wings outstretched from her back. The engraving itself bared general nature motifs such as vines and flora, but the centrepoint of it all was the woman.
The woman that bore a splitting image of Mumei.
“And that’s supposed to be me?” Mumei gasps, her wings folding closer to herself in seeming self-consciousness. She forever remains grateful to her Goddess Ceres’ gifts to her, but at times like this she wishes she could chop off her wings or phase it away.
“Yeah,” Kronii replies. “You’ve seen it before?”
“Mhm,” Mumei nods, jogging her memory. “I always see it as like, a wooden carving hung up around vendors’ stalls– nah nah no, you have> to be kidding me, right? No way that’s me?”
“If that isn’t you then consider me not a woman kisser,”
“Excuse me?”
“Anyways–” After vehemently clearing her throat, an act to which Mumei was quite frankly flustered and confused about, Kronii regains her composure to stand her ground. “During the war, I served as the main general for the back lines of the army. I have seen you in combat, believe it or not. As a general, you were far more than just a warrior.”
Mumei crosses her arms as she listens. Flattery usually never gotten anyone anywhere with Mumei, so the emperor’s current spiel is certainly the farthest it has gotten.
She remains silent, of course, wanting Kronii to finish her strings of flattery for her.
“You were a calamity,” Kronii continues. “When I had the honor to lead one of your troops alongside my father, you did not have your wings yet,”
“So you thought the wings were like, I dunno, a metaphor of my power or something?”
“I guess you could put it that way,” Kronii nods. “So yeah. I really apologize for my rude shock when we first met,”
To Kronii’s surprise, Mumei lets out another humorous laugh. “Okay I’ll be honest, that is quite funny– very funny actually. I mean a human with wings– even magic cannot explain this kind of thing, yeah?”
“There’s transmutation and transfiguration?”
“What, you really think I’d subscribe to conducting outlawed magic?”
“Ah– I’m… sorry again,”
Mumei throws a fist at Kronii’s shoulder, Mumei still seeing through her glasses the way Kronii’s eyes widen as she flinches at the sudden contact. “Here’s a suggestion on how to apologize, why don’t you take me to see something else apart from a wall, yeah?”
“Right,”
At the suggestion, Kronii leads Mumei to what appears to be a stable parking lot, one of the horses apparently being hers. “Would you be fine being a passenger princess?” Kronii asks, gesturing Mumei to sit right in front of her.
“Riding on the horse would certainly be a change for me, actually,” Mumei wasn’t shy about the ordeal, hopping onto the horse. She folds her wings, allowing it to rest parallel to the sides of the horse.
“Are you comfortable?” Kronii asks.
“Uhh– yeah?” Mumei replies, unsure what Kronii wanted out of her.
“Mhm, you might fall off once we start moving,” Kronii replies, shifting around a bit. “Ah, would it be fine if you hold onto me? Or I can hold onto you, if that’s what you prefer,”
Wings suddenly tighten around Kronii’s waist, Kronii recognizing the gesture as Mumei’s answer. “I’ll hold onto you!” Mumei yelps in a rather flustered tone, much to Kronii’s confusion. “Keep both of your hands on the horse’s reins, would you?”
Mumei was swift in asserting her preference, the idea of the emperor’s arms around her waist certainly not deterring her or anything.
“Alright, get comfortable then,”
With a flick of the reins, the horse gallops onwards, though compared to the swift runnings of the hordes Mumei once rode to war, this was more akin to that of a brisk jaunt to see the sights. Well-kept establishments lined cobbled pathways, a far cry from the destruction and catastrophe Mumei remembered the area to be.
She is reminded of the woman behind her– the current Emperor. Quite frankly Mumei was more familiar with her father, but to see her pick up the scraps he left behind, rebuilding the nation they once sought to protect.
“All this, in just three years?” Mumei mumbles, keeping her impressed disposition mostly to herself. Kronii picks up on this though, a quick notion of approval.
Approval she ought to further sow within the mage.