Princess Sora turned to run away in sheer embarrassment, her cheeks still burning as the weight of the ridiculous situation caught up with her.
She had just accepted the "love declaration" of a complete stranger… who was only slightly cool.
But her escape was instantly thwarted as the path ahead was completely blocked.
Dozens of Royal Guards thundered into the hallway in synchronized formation, armor clanking and boots slamming against polished stone. They had arrived at full force, faces grim and weapons drawn, reacting to the butler's earlier panicked scream.
And then, cutting through the tension like a blade through fog, General Raikuro made his entrance once more.
He halted mid-step, eyes scanning the chaos. He stared at Princess Sora, then at Akira, then back at Sora, and again at Akira, repeating the cycle several times as if he needed to check, double check, triple check, quadruple check whether the two were indeed standing there and whether the absurd series of events had truly unfolded the way his ears had just reported.
A long sigh escaped his lips. He slowly rubbed his eyes with one gloved hand, then brought his fingers to his temples, massaging them in small, tired circles as though trying to erase the headache beginning to bloom behind his eyes.
Without a word, he began walking toward Princess Sora.
She had frozen in place, her body stiff but her fingers twitching nervously, eyes darting everywhere except where General Raikuro was coming from, as if staring into the air itself might make her invisible.
"Esteemed Princess Sora." General Raikuro bowed deeply in sincere reverence.
"Huh? Ah! Ge-General Raikuro. Fancy seeing you here! Ha ha ha ha! What a coincidence! Wha-what are you doing here? Ha ha ha ha!" Princess Sora replied and laughed awkwardly.
General Raikuro came to a slow stop before Princess Sora, casting a long, quiet shadow over her.
She flinched.
He inhaled deeply through his nose and said with calm gravitas, "Princess Sora. Please confirm. Did you just… declare a stranger to be your fiancé?"
"I-I was emotionally compromised!" she blurted. "H-His hand landed on my head and I wasn't thinking straight and it's his fault for being weirdly gentle and maybe slightly cool-looking!"
"I see." General Raikuro's eye twitched.
He turned to Akira.
"You."
"Yes, sir?" Akira straightened, still trying to figure out whether he'd been romantically cursed or spiritually mugged.
"Why did you propose to Princess Sora?" General Raikuro glowered at him, the muscles in his jaw clenched even as the source of his never-ending headache that particular cursed morning glared back at him with wide, bewildered eyes.
"PROPOSE?!" Akira shouted in disbelief, his voice cracking as frustration and confusion finally spilled out from the very depths of his aggrieved heart. "I only patted her head!"
"Yes. You proposed to Princess Sora, who subsequently accepted your proposal. Tell me why." General Raikuro demanded calmly, though the veins on his temple suggested anything but serenity.
He had been fully expecting Princess Sora to turn Akira into an ornamental ice sculpture the moment Princess Yuki had burst into the Royal Palace in tears.
After all, Princess Sora wasn't just any royal. She was the feared and beloved Princess of the Northern Ice Kingdom, a small but terrifyingly powerful sovereign nation perched atop Japan's frigid northern island.
She and Princess Yuki were inseparable. They were closer than blood sisters and her protectiveness had long since become legend.
Once, she had turned an entire pride of lions into frozen popsicles because one of them roared too loudly and startled Princess Yuki.
The lions had been Emperor Takeshin's personal collection, lovingly raised by him since they were adorable, little lion kittens.
She didn't give a single hoot. Not one.
General Raikuro had mentally prepared himself to fight for Akira's life, fully expecting to find the boy shattered in a glacier of regret.
He had even mobilized the Royal Palace's elite first aid team, placing them on standby just outside the lobby, with their full emergency tools and blood pallets and high powered heaters at the ready.
But now…
His eye twitched again.
Damn it.
Emperor Takeshin was going to be furious.
An awkward silence fell like a heavy curtain.
The entire 1000-man Ninth Royal Battalion, the most elite fighting force in the empire, stood in perfect formation around them.
Yet not a single soldier dared to move or even breathe too loudly. Their obsidian-black armor shimmered faintly under the high glass dome of the lobby, each piece etched with ancient runes that pulsed quietly like restrained beasts.
Helmets masked their faces, but their collective aura betrayed their disbelief.
These were warriors who had faced monster tides, slain B-class beasts with ease, and suppressed rebellions with cold precision. Yet now, they were bearing witness to a diplomatic disaster of unprecedented proportions.
The beloved Princess Sora of the supremely powerful Northern Ice Kingdom just got herself engaged while in their Royal Palace. Without her father's approval. Or knowledge.
Heck, King Kakashi hadn't even heard of this so-called fiancé, let alone seen him.
To say he'd be furious was an understatement.
King Kakashi would be hopping mad. And if past tantrums were any indication, he might just march his army down to the Royal Palace gates to demand an explanation in person.
And knowing him, he wouldn't come quietly.
A few coughed quietly behind their visors. One soldier's finger twitched above his trigger before he consciously stilled it. Somewhere in the back, a drone emitted a soft beep as if even it didn't know how to process the current situation.
And in the center of it all, Akira stood frozen in place, feeling very much like a deer surrounded by heavily armed and deeply confused statues.
General Raikuro slowly exhaled through his nose.
"By the gods." he muttered under his breath. "I knew I should have called in sick today.."
Suddenly…
CRACKKKK!!
The sky above the Royal Palace split open like glass under pressure.
Every head turned upward.
A chasm of seething red lightning slashed through the clouds, revealing a vortex of swirling darkness.
From within it, an ominous voice with fearsome mechanical distortion thundered out eerily.
"GIVE USSSSS THE TIME ANOMALY… OR FACE THE WRATH OF THE NINE HELLS."