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"I welcome you on behalf of the Fujiwara family," Kaoru greeted with a bow. Their guest today was just a merchant, not an important politician or visiting nobility. Still, Kaoru felt it was important to give everyone who visited the palace the "royal treatment". It reflected well on the imperial family, showing off that they had the resources to spare on each and every guest. And, more importantly, it reflected well on Kaoru. The more outsiders Kaoru served, the greater their reputation would become. This was important to standing out as a Goefu member, an organization whose members were mostly relegated to the background.
These greetings were routine, never straying from the norm. They would exchange the usual courtesies and then get down to business. But Kaoru didn't get their expected bow back from the man. Rather he crouched down, like one would do when speaking to a child.
"Hello there!" He spoke in that amiable voice that was typical of merchants, like he was already your best friend, despite this being your first meeting.
Was he mocking Kaoru? Sure, Kaoru may have been young, but they were still a uniformed Goefu officer. Kaoru was offended, but there wasn't much they could do other than grin and bear it.
"Ah, hi."
Kaoru heard a soft voice behind them. It was Iyozane, the emperor's first-born child. That must have been the true target of the merchant's greeting. Kaoru was relieved that the greeting wasn't directed at them, but they didn’t appreciate having been ignored.
"Would you happen to be one of the emperor's children? You look just like your father!"
Iyozane was flustered by the sudden attention, as well as the comparison to their father that they had never met. So Kaoru decided to take back control of the conversation.
"Indeed, this is one of the emperor's children. It is a lot of responsibility, and it keeps them busy. They should be attending to their studies at the moment."
Iyozane didn't seem to appreciate Kaoru sending them right back to the very studies they were attempting to skip out on, and shot them a pouting look. Kaoru was used to being on the receiving end of this by now. They had been taking more responsibility for the royal children than their actual parents.
"I completely understand," the merchant said with a laugh. I wish my own children could be as diligent as you!"
Kaoru thought that compliment was undeserved.
"But before you go, I actually have a gift for you."
Iyozane's eyes lit up at those words, but Kaoru was skeptical. It wasn't unusual for people to send gifts to the royal family, but they already had more fancy lacquerware or intricate wood carvings than anyone would ever need. Most gifts given to the Fujiwara family ended up abandoned in storage before ever being touched by royal hands. It was difficult to impress a family that already had everything.
The man produced a small box from his satchel. Bright red, but because it was printed cardboard rather than lacquered. Judging by the picture on the box, it was some sort of food item. The text was written in bold, inelegant lettering, with more English words than there were Japanese. It was hard for Kaoru to read.
"This is a treat that's popular in the outside world. I've been trying to get it imported to Devanagara regularly. I think it would be a hit with multiple demographics." The merchant gave his sales pitch, but Iyozane wasn't interested.
"Can I really have that, mister?" All of Iyozane's reservations had now disappeared.
"Why, of course!" The man gladly handed over the box to the young heir. Instead of thanking him, Iyozane turned their back to him and began to run off.
"Iyozane-sama, remember to say thank you!" Kaoru reminded them.
"Oh, right!" Iyozane spun around and gave a quick bow. "Thanks, Mister!"
Kaoru sighed as Iyozane left, then turned to the merchant. "I apologize for their behavior."
The man waved it off. "It's fine. They're still a child after all. You're pretty young, yourself."
Kaoru opted to ignore that. "Anyhow, allow me to direct you to where the Ministry of the Treasury is meeting."
Now that their business with the merchant was over, Kaoru needed to redirect their focus back to the imperial family. Their first order of business was to confirm Iyozane's location. They made their way towards the residential buildings.
They found Iyozane in their room, along with Mitori, the third-born child. The two of them sat cross-legged on the bed, surveying their prize. Mitori was well known for having a penchant for sweets. They must have been even more excited about this gift than Iyozane was.
"Give it to me," Mitori said, holding out their hand expectantly.
Ah, so this was how it was going to go.
Kaoru chuckled a bit. Mitori had always been forceful. The two of them had yet to acknowledge Kaoru's presence, so they decided to stand back and watch.
"Of course I'll share some with you."
"No, all of it."
"But Mitori, it was a gift for me…"
"What did you do to earn it?"
That question stumped Iyozane. "He just gave it to me."
"Aren't prizes better earned? We should battle it out to see who is more worthy."
And that's where Kaoru needed to step in.
"Absolutely not. Mitori-sama, while we have been lax on your recent adoption of the utilization of spell card rules, I ask that you do not involve Iyozane-sama."
Mugenri's spell card system was most definitely not part of the children's education, but it seemed Mitori had picked it up somewhere. Probably from spending so much time around the soldiers. Despite being a child, they were already incredibly skilled at it.
"But that's how everyone in Mugenri does things!"
"This system is in place for the settlement of serious issues. Spell card rules should not be used in petty sibling squabbles such as this."
"You and Sanra use it for trivial things all the time."
Well, Kaoru couldn't deny that.
"Iyozane-sama, I promise I will buy you more later." Kaoru plucked the box out of Iyozane's hands and passed it to Mitori, who greedily accepted.
"Hey!"
Kaoru had opted to deescalate the situation by giving in to Mitori's whims. It wasn't ideal, but that was the reality of dealing with strong people in Mugenri. They couldn't have the emperor's precious firstborn getting injured over some snacks.
"Yay!" Mitori tore into the packaging and revealed the treat inside. They were thin biscuits coated in chocolate. Chocolate was still rare in Devanagara, so this must have pleased Mitori greatly.
"Ah, Iyo, it's chocolate! Have you ever had chocolate before?" Mitori waved the biscuit in Iyozane's face. Were they aware of how cruel they were being?
"No..." Iyozane reached their hand out slightly, but Mitori quickly pulled back and shoved the treat into their mouth.
"You should really try it sometime!"
Dejected, Iyozane grabbed the discarded box and began to busy themself with reading the unfamiliar text they had ignored earlier.
"Hey, Kaoru, can you read English?" Iyozane pointed at the biggest text on the box, written in gold.
"Just a bit. Let me see." Kaoru examined each letter individually and tried to come up with a reasonable pronunciation. "… Pocky. I don't believe that is a real word. It must be the name of the product."
"What about this?" Iyozane then pointed to the smaller text written on the top flap of the box.
"Hmmm... 'Share'," Kaoru paused. "… 'Happiness'. It's 'Share happiness.'"
"Really?" Mitori took a break from their eating to question Kaoru's English skills. "That must be why it comes with two bags, so you can give one to someone else." Mitori examined the second, still unopened metallic bag that has come from inside the box.
Iyozane looked towards Mitori, who was still staring intensely at the bag.
"Well… if that's how it's supposed to be eaten," Mitori finally said, "then I guess you can have this." Mitori handed the unopened package to an enthusiastic Iyozane.
"Thank you, Mitori!" Iyozane opened it and threw a piece into their mouth as fast as they could, as if to at least get one bite in before Mitori changed their mind. But surprisingly enough, Mitori let them have it.
"You did a good thing, Mitori-sama!" Kaoru beamed like a proud parent.
"Sweets are something to be respected, so I had no other choice."
"Whatever you say."
Mitori was forceful and difficult to deal with, but Kaoru couldn't help but admire them. Sometimes they even caught themself thinking they should have been born first, so that they would have the position of emperor guaranteed. But Kaoru wasn't going to concern themself with the future of the monarchy right now. They were just going to be satisfied that they had the privilege of serving these children.