Celine, Tamamo and I now saw Kloe staring right at us with her head propped up against a purple pillow. How fitting. Celine was extremely quick to react to this.
"Meow?", Celine tried to ask, and feigned ignorance. In times like these, she actually does try to act like a normal cat. She even began to lick one of her paws in an attempt to clean herself. Seeing this, I sighed.
"Uhh, I don't think that is going to work this time, Celine.", I said while watching Celine do that. I then shifted my head back toward Kloe. "How much of that did you hear?"
The girl we were looking at was none other than Princess Klaudia. Normally she'd be Crown Princess, but I took that role from her. She no longer carries the burden of rising to the throne in the future. Now, she is just Klaudia. As for me, I'm the Crown Prince. There can only be one person who is given this role at a single time in a ruling party. If the royal family is big, many princes and princesses fight for it through deception and blood. Liberl has it easy, thankfully. It is just Princess Klaudia and I. I mean, there is Duke Dunan, but we don't talk about him. Remember the War of the Lions that took place a couple centuries back in Erebonia? That was the whole plot. The Imperial Family fought each other using several Divine Knights to rise up and take the throne for themselves. Emperor Dreichels came out on top. That's why you see a statue of him in Dreichel's Plaza!
"I woke up and started listening about halfway through, I think. Is what you mentioned the truth, Naoto?", Kloe asked. I could see a mixture of shock and interest in her eyes.
"I shouldn't beat around the bush with you, Kloe. What you heard just now is indeed the truth. I have an interest in creating a harem. I know Grandmother recently betrothed you to me, but that is more of a formality so others can't take you for granted.", I said, explaining the truth to Kloe.
"Hmph. At least you have the guts to say it. I guess that is one redeeming feature about you.", Celine also said with a scoff. Hearing this, Kloe giggled while I shrugged my shoulders.
"Hey, I like being honest. Both Father and I are many things. But being a liar is not one of them.", I retorted back at Celine.
"Hehe, you two are quite close. It almost makes me jealous. It truly was a shame I couldn't go to that village where you came from. This cute fox also came from that village, right?", Kloe asked as she saw the two of us bicker like this. She then reached her hand out, and petted the fox's head, just like I did. Tamamo's three tails started to spin around happily.
"Kyuu~", Tamamo happily said, accepting Kloe's pat. Tamamo could feel the warmth she received was very similar to me.
"That's right. Both Celine and Tama came from that village. I too studied there for a period of time.", I said, nodding my head at Kloe. After I said that, I loosened the covers, and proceeded to get out of the bed. The vibrations from this was enough to stir the plum-haired girl beside Kloe to stir awake.
"Is it morning already?", Emma asked, and yawned. She leaned toward a nearby drawer. She had begun to wear glasses recently. She didn't actually have bad eyesight. Roselia had taught Emma some incantations related to one's eyes that could easily bewitch others. Hiding behind glasses like these act as a good disguise. Still, I let her do her own thing. This way, Emma looked more like how she looks in Cold Steel.
"You woke up at a good time, Emma.", I said as I approached my desk. Seeing me approach it, Emma's interest grew.
"What are you doing, Naoto?", Emma decided to ask.
The surface of this desk was pretty bare. A few papers. My diary. A couple framed photos, and some pens. But there was something new. A vermillion-colored laptop with a white falcon and a soaring phoenix printed on its back! I decided to mix it up a little bit to include both Liberl's crest, and the crest of my own lineage. From mother's side. I could have included the golden stallion that is Erebonia's crest, but I think that'd be too dangerous. The laptop was currently connected to an orbal power source nearby. It does have its own charge allowing me to take it to places, but it doesn't last long. But that's the beauty, isn't it?
Thanks to the passage of time, the world of Zemuria continues to revolve on its own, regardless of me being here or not. Many facets of life proceed onward. That includes new developments of technology. Because of that, I could acquire this laptop. More and more have begun to appear on the market. Orbal tech sure is a wonder, isn't it? I even had it customized to my liking. I no longer need Roselia to manually take note of what has happened these last few years. That's why you saw those pieces of paper on my desk. Add that with my diary, I spent this last year converting all of what I had written into a word-like app on my laptop. Thankfully, I had some help with the coding. All thanks to a certain boy genius. Every so often, Ennea would take Quatre down to Liberl to hang out here. Renne, on the other hand, is still busy becoming an Enforcer.
Nonetheless, the laptop still costed a hefty amount of Mira. It was almost like buying a whole house. My late mother did leave me with quite the inheritance, and a whole villa at Valleria Lakeshore. I haven't even explored the latter yet, so I'm very interested to see how that place looks like. Despite that, I still have tens of millions of Mira. I do need to create some lines to generate some cash flow with future expenses, but it's been enough to live on for now. Not having to worry about money is truly a blessing.
As far as the orbal laptop goes, its model is just about what you'd expect from my previous life. It has been seven years since the Orbal Network was first announced as a joint operation between the Epstein Foundation and the Zeiss Central Factory, or ZCF for short. It may still be in its infancy with scattered tethered connections with its epicenter being Crossbell State, but it won't become more widespread until a couple years later. I'm sure Tio is working hard on that right now, haha!
Presently, full-blown Wi-Fi was out of the question. It didn't mean we couldn't develop apps, however. Quatre might still be really young, but his genius is already showing through. It won't be long until he shows an interest in learning even more, so when that happens, I will probably take him to the place where he goes to in Daybreak. The Basel Institute of Technology situated in Calvard. He even started showing an interest in Combat Orbments. We might still be on the Generation III models, but it won't be long until we start seeing Generation IV that you'd see in Sky, and future models like the Enigma and Arcus units you'd come across in Zero/Azure and Cold Steel respectively. Mine is custom, so as technology advances, I plan to keep all nine lines, regardless of the unit it changes to. I do hope I start getting some Master Quartz from Quests soon!
Right now, I am using this laptop to store data about my Gamer System, and events that have transpired. Both of what happened originally in the games, and divergent events that didn't happen. Now is such case. Kloe and Emma shouldn't even be interacting with each other right now, but here they are. I didn't reach for my laptop. I reached for my sealed diary. It was leather-bound, violet and black in color. It even had a strap on it. Picking it up, Emma glanced her eyes at it.
"Is that your diary?", Emma asked, gaining interest.
"It is. I was about to show Kloe one of its pages. But as I said, you woke up at a good time. I do not mind showing it to you either, Emma.", I said, and opened my diary. Flipping over a few pages, I soon landed on one particular page. Seeing me do this, Kloe, still dressed in her nightgown, also stepped out of the bed. She approached me. Once she saw what was written on the text, a lot of it was garbled gibberish of the Gamer System, which confused her even more. More and more dated entries appeared before I continued about halfway down the diary.
"Here we are.", I said, and held up a certain page. Holding onto it, I passed it into Kloe's hands. As she grabbed a hold of the diary, she looked back up my way. I saw a serious look in her eyes. Something I didn't expect to see.
"To be honest, I am not against you creating a harem, Naoto. But you must be aware that concept alone implies heavy implications.", Kloe said as she shifted her eyes toward the page the diary was currently open on. Seeing her seriousness, I nodded my head.
"I am very well aware of that. This desire of mine is both open and welcoming. For now, why don't you read it, Kloe?", I suggested after explaining a little.
Kloe nodded her head, and began reading my diary. She went through a mixture of emotions. It started off with confusion, only to see a list of certain individuals I was presently interested in. Her confusion soon turned into wonder. But once she started reading the bottom of the page, her eyes turned wide in shock.
"W-Western Zemuria Unification Plan!?", Kloe exclaimed, and shouted loud enough for the others to hear. Celine suddenly froze in place on the bed.
"Meow!? This isn't what you told me earlier, Naoto! What is this unification nonsense?", Celine retorted, angry this time.
"Kyuu.", Tamamo tried to say, acting like she already understood me. Celine just looked at Tamamo with a mix of shock and anger.
"What would you know about, you stupid fox. This isn't the same as simply creating this so-called 'harem'. We're talking about ACTUAL countries here!", Celine yelled out, still angry. And yet, that brought a grin to my face.
Turning around, I slowly walked over to our veranda, which had its sliding windows still closed. Placing my hand on one of its glass panels, I continued to speak. A resolute look appeared in my eyes.
"This may or may not come as a surprise to you all, but this land is soon to be plunged into chaos. What I hope to achieve is but a pipe dream right now. But with the actions I am willing to take, I hope it can bear some fruit, even if it is just a couple. As long as I have the will to back up these actions.", I began to say. What I am hinting at here is the Orbal Shutdown that is soon to take place. This event happens during Trails in the Sky SC, and is the culmination of Ouroboros's Gospel Plan that is now in its beginning stages. More than likely, they are trying to find out the location of the "Locks" that are needed to be removed. To access the Aureole, one of the seven treasures of the Goddess Aidios herself. The Sept-Terrion of Space.
By the time this even takes places, Kloe and I will be well in our studies at Jenis Royal Academy. I plan to spend my first year of studies there, and by doing so, it should align in such a way where I can witness the Orbal Shutdown while still being in Liberl. Afterward, I plan to transfer abroad at Calvard, and enroll at Aramis High School in Edith for my second year. My third and final year of studies will be at Thors Military Academy, and join Crow's class. That's the plan anyway. Doing all of this should let me experience different events that happen throughout the games.
It is only five more years until the events of Sky begin where Estelle and Joshua become Junior Bracers. It is only a matter of time. It will be here before I realize it. I hope to achieve many things by the time that happens! And forming a harem is one of them!
"I know you aren't one to spout nonsense like that randomly...Just how much do you actually know, Naoto?", Celine couldn't help but ask.
"A lot more than you may think, Celine. If you really want the details, you can ask Rose herself. She knows everything.", I said. After all, Roselia peered into all of my memories. It was a lot for her to take in. If Celine really wants to learn that, it would be best to approach Roselia. Not me.
"Now I know why Rose took you in as her own disciple...", Celine uttered. "It always leads back to her, doesn't it?"
As Celine said that, Emma took a moment to approach the edge of the bed, and placed her legs over it. She looked at Kloe and I. We saw her eyes firm. She didn't back down.
"Whatever it is you plan to do, Naoto, I am here to act as your support. This isn't just related to Grandmother's request anymore. This is something I want to do myself. I've already learned a lot in this year alone.", Emma said with a smile.
"I'm with Emma, Naoto. We shall follow your lead. I didn't think you'd have an interest in Estelle like that for that matter. I know she's our friend, but she's dealing with her new circumstances now. She's no longer alone, hehe.", Kloe said, giggling.
"Haha! You must mean Joshua, right? The Bright House has grown in size. We need to get acquainted sometime soon. You sent out that invitation, right?", I asked Kloe.
"Oh I made sure the letter got delivered. Julia personally confirmed it.", Kloe nodded with a smile.
"Thank you, you two. Just hearing you say that made it worth to talk about. The harem doesn't have an official name yet, and I am very well of the implications it will cause, like I have said. If both parties aren't accepting, I will not force anyone. That will be the key here.", I replied, nodding.
"That is how it should be.", Kloe said, also nodding her head in agreement, and proceeded to close my diary before handing it over to me. "With that being said, it is now morning. We should get a head start. Today's a special day, after all. We're celebrating our tenth year, even if it is a year late. We aligned it with Grandmother's birthday. Her birthday already happened like ours did, but it's never too late. You're hosting a Tea Party, right? Afterward will begin our yearly Royal Assembly with the city's mayors and nobles.", Kloe said, wanting to confirm how today will proceed. I nodded my head at her words.
"That's the plan. I even sent out some invitations. I wonder when our first guests will arrive?", I asked, wondering myself.
"You invited people this time?", Kloe also asked, wondering who they were too. And yet, as if on cue, we heard an elegant yet playful voice reach our ears with a laugh.
"Haha, it looks like I am the first on that list of yours to arrive, my dear prince. Oh how it pains me we've been apart for this long. Come now. Come enter your older brother's embrace~", A playful voice said, calling out to us. We turned toward the door and saw a golden blonde-haired man reach their arms out wide with a hugging gesture. Literal sparkles appeared in their eyes the moment his gaze landed on me.
"...I already want to punch this guy in the face.", Celine uttered. She said that loud enough for me to hear. I laughed at her remark.
"He's always like this. Don't mind him.", I whispered back. And yet to my surprise, we saw a second figure arrive next to the man. It was a girl. Her head popped out, wearing a black-colored beret on her head. She had the same colored hair as the man did, hinting the two were siblings.
"Umm...I hope we aren't intruding...", The girl softly spoke, still remaining shy. My eyes shot upward. I didn't think this man would actually bring her.
Who else could these two be but Crown Prince Olivert and Princess Alfin?