Death's Embrace with Nobility [Luka]

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka was at the mall yet again to pick up a few games that had she had ordered a few days ago. She wasn't planning on being here too long as she was looking forward to playing these games as soon as she got home. Nonetheless, the girl was wearing a thin white hoodie with a scarf over it and some jeans. It was something simple compared to her usual clothes, but she didn't really plan on being out that long. Following her stop at the game store, she began to make her way to the exit. That was, until something caught her eye.

A girl was sitting on a bench nearby. Now, that on its own wasn't particularly noteworthy, but something struck Luka as off. The girl was wearing what appeared to be a crown of sorts. Was she supposed to be in costume? Unlikely. She seemed to be wearing her school uniform rather than a complete royal ensemble, specifically Luka's school's uniform. This girl went to the same school as her. But this still raised the question of why the girl was wearing such a thing. Luka certainly wasn't someone who could judge things like what was deemed "normal" attire.

Nonetheless, the girl was still somewhat intrigued. And as she had come to learn, she wouldn't get anywhere socially if she didn't try to talk to people. So rather than heading straight home, the girl decided to approach the girl. Umm. . . Hello. She began by greeting the girl. Simple and easy enough. I was just wondering why you were wearing that crown. Hopefully her question wasn't a weird one.

[Luka Kurokawa]

A-Ah. . . strange questions. It would seem her question was strange; out of the ordinary. She wasn't going to question it, knowing that she lacked a good portion of common sense. Though, she still didn't get an answer regarding the crown. Then the girl introduced herself as Isolde Imperatrice of the "Imperial Family." Of what family she was talking about, Luka hadn't the slightest clue. My name is Rukako Kurokawa. But just Luka is fine. Certainly, Luka's name was a mouthful.

And when you say imperial family, which one would you happen to be referring to? There were several royal families of note. But this girl happened to be one? Luka didn't doubt that royalty might decide to attend school here, given the prestige of the school, but something seemed off. This girl looked like she was "Western" in terms of race. The royalty that came to mind would have been the British royal family. But if she was royalty, why was she wearing the crown in public like that?. Though, if you're royalty, I don't understand why you're wearing your country's crown jewels. I believe the regalia of royal families and vestments are only worn by the sovereigns of the kingdom during coronation ceremonies and at other state functions. Unless she was missing something here, or that crown wasn't real, OR if Luka was unaware of another western monarchy somewhere, something didn't add up.

[Luka Kurokawa]

R-Royal family of Europe? Now Luka was just plain confused. Europe is a continent though. The countries of Europe each have their own government. Are you sure you aren't part of a specific royal family? Maybe this girl just didn't know what country her family ruled over? . . . maybe?

But then the reason for her wearing the crown in public seemed even more off. You wear the crown in public. . . so that people recognize you? But at the same time, you run the risk. . . of people recognizing you? Luka wasn't sure if she was following the girl correctly or not. Then again, that -had- been what she said. I'm afraid I am not quite sure if I understand. Her idea seemed to be contradictory of itself.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Ah, Britain. That makes more sense I guess. Luka wasn't particularly familiar with the royal family itself, only knowing that Britain did in fact have one. But finally she got another answer regarding the crown. Ah, so you aren't royalty anymore but like wearing the crown then? So this girl was part of the royal British family? And she had been exiled? Luka hadn't heard about anyone in the royal family being exiled in the news. Surely, that would have been a major event. Then again, she didn't pay attention to most media. But certainly, this girl must have missed her country a lot. Wearing it must have made her feel better. Luka felt a bit sorry for her, really. I suppose it looks nice though.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Ah, I see. An exiled princess. Luka felt she was in a somewhat unique situation; unique enough that she should be surprised. And yet, she didn't really feel like it was that big of a deal. After gaining a super-human ability, fighting off shadows to protect the city, going through a life realization, and undergoing another one, one might be a little desensitized to such rare occurrences. So this girl was the exiled princess of Britain. Cool.

Your grandfather exiled you? Why did he do that? This girl didn't seem all that adverse to talking about her exile, so asking for the reason wouldn't have been too odd of a question. But really, wasn't "exiling" people done way back in the day? actually now that she thought about it, there was something else odd. Actually, now that I think about it, I read that democracies don't exile people under any circumstances. Political studies had taught her quite a lot it seemed. And she was finally getting the opportunity to exercise that knowledge.

[Deleted]

"He exiled me because of a political dispute." she responded when Luka asked her about the reason for her exile. The question itself wasn't strange at all. At least, this girl learned about Isolde being an exiled princess from Britain. Political disputes were quite rare to be happening in this part of the world, but if they do, expect some petty argument about too many acres or a takeover of another country. And then, the girl displayed her knowledge of politics which the young princess believed that she studied the most. She responded, "Come to think of it, my country is actually a constitutional monarchy, Luka."

[Luka Kurokawa]

A political dispute you say? That didn't really make sense. The monarchy of Britain is Royalty in name alone. They don't actually hold much political power at all. Actually, a constitutional monarchy is a form of democratic government in which a nonpolitical monarch acts as head of state.^[1]

That aside, the royal family isn't supposed to take an active role in politics. If I read correctly, they were to remain strictly neutral on all political matters.^[2] Their most political power is to appoint a prime minister who along with the active cabinet, takes care of most political matters. The actual political power of the monarchy is purely formal in nature. Politics wasn't even Luka's thing, but even she knew this much about Britain despite being native to Japan.

[Deleted]

"Oh, my mistake. I suppose I should start learning about government in itself." she responded to Luka's lecture of how a constitutional monarchy should be in Britain. Well, the girl had stated that the prime minister took care of political matters rather than the reigning monarch himself. She was right about that. And yet, Isolde mentally slapped herself for her grave mistake. The fact that democracies do not usually exile people also made sense, but then, the imperial family probably followed a different set of rules than the ones from a constitutional monarchy. She figured that Luka must've known more about her country rather than her native home. She spoke, "Since my grandfather is ruler, he doesn't take an active role in politics. You're right about that, Luka."

[Luka Kurokawa]

Well, this girl didn't exactly know much about her own country. Was she really royalty? Luka was doubtful, but she wouldn't really delve deeper into the topic. It wasn't going to get her anywhere. She decided to change the subject.

So, are you waiting for someone? Isolde seemed to just be sitting here. There was a number of reasons for that of course. She decided pushing the conversation along would be just fine as well. And if not, she could always just go home. She had her games now, after all. It was the whole reason she came to the mall in the first place.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Ah, my family? Well, the conversation had been hovering around Isolde's family, so the question was a reasonable one. The only issue was the answers that Luka had to give. I'm an orphan actually. I've been living on my own for about four years now. She tried to keep the tone as nonchalant as possible, having been asked the question multiple times. Personally, the question didn't phase her in the slightest anymore. She simply wanted to avoid people throwing words of apology at her, finding it quite embarrassing. Though they were inevitable, she would like to keep them brief, lest the conversation be killed by the information.

[Deleted]

"You must have a hard time being an orphan. Don't worry, though. I was nearly orphaned myself when my parents died in a car accident and my older brother took care of me until I came to live with my grandfather." she responded with a sad smile. Although, she had never been given a definite answer other than the fact that the girl was an orphan. It was tragic, really. Two young women who were somewhat orphaned and had to cope with it somehow. She felt mentally sorry for the girl as she was orphaned as well. Looks like she'll have something in common with this girl. But, now was not the time to grieve yet. She asked, "Do you have any hobbies you like to do, Luka?"

[Luka Kurokawa]

Umm. . . I believe that would make you an orphan actually. She didn't really want to correct her over something like that, but it was probably for the better. Other than that, it seemed that they were both orphans. At the very least, Luka could relate to this girl in some manner.

And then the question of the girl's hobbies came. Ah. . . I have a few, actually. I read manga a lot, I like video games, singing and dancing. The girl had quite a voice and some rather impressive moves to go with them. While she could come off as awkward in a conversation, she seemed like a whole new person while singing or dancing. Of course, the majority of her singing and dancing practice came from video games. And do you have any hobbies? Luka figured that this would be the appropriate question to ask having been asked the question as well.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Fencing? Uwah~ Luka was actually quite impressed by the idea of fencing. I'm actually pretty clumsy with a weapon. But, fencing seems like something that requires a lot of precise movement. As someone who couldn't hit something with her naginata for the life of her, fencing at its finest seemed like something far out of her grasp.

Isolde also seemed curious about Luka's taste in manga. She wasn't particularly against telling her, but the girl had quite a history of receiving bad responses for her taste. Specifically, online. People would often say that she "had shit taste" and call her names like "casual." This of course, was likely the one and only moment that Luka was glad the internet couldn't talk back anymore. I like mainly action/adventure stuff, but I've read stuff a bit beyond that. She chose to only share her favorite genre; likely because of that small insecurity. Are you perhaps interested in manga as well? It was a shot in the dark, but maybe this girl was a little curious.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Is that so? Isolde seemed rather interested in her preference of manga. She supposed that this was a good thing. If that's the case, would you perhaps be interested in hearing about some of my favorites then? I mean. . . if you want. . . I could even lend you some to read. Something like this was rather brave for Luka. She wasn't one to go out of her way to make social situations. And now, here she was making an opportunity to recommend some manga to a girl she met. This was good progress, right? She mentally nodded to herself at this development. She was definitely growing.

Of course, Isolde seemed like a nice enough girl, minus the inconsistencies in her royal knowledge. She was friendly, and rather polite to boot. This probably made it a lot easier for Luka to get into such a position.

[Deleted]

"Do tell. I want to know about your favorite manga and I would absolutely love to lend some of yours as well." she responded to the girl's question. This girl seemed nice and friendly to her despite correcting her a few times during their conversation. She had dismissed the thought that the girl had something strange about her as it would be impolite to hurt her feelings. After all, she sensed that Luka must be a Persona user as well and that meant that the girl might be fighting Shadows for the same cause of destroying them. The girl seemed comfortable talking to her now and that was in good development. It was interesting to learn about the comics of today.