The Fourth Beast

14

The God of Destruction

II

The Avalon Kingdom

Kuroka was nervous. Usually, it was easy for her to keep her emotions in check but not this time. She knew that many could tell her state of emotion by how her tails and ears were twitching.

Now how did it come to this?

She loved her adorable little sister, she truly did. But, Kuroka was going to blame her for this. It was her fault.

Most of the time, Kuroka would not be late to pick up Shirone from school. Of course, there were exceptions. Sometimes there were urgent matters that she needed to deal with. In those cases, she would tell her sister and the school beforehand about her situation. If she was unable to, then Jiraiya would act as the messenger. During those times, a female teacher would accompany Shirone all the way to their apartment.

With what Kuroka and her sister went through, both of them would be reluctant to be away from each other. Even for a short moment. But the city 'Amaterasu' had this warmth. A special power, she would like to believe. It made them feel welcomed, and safe. It made them feel like they were being properly taken care of. And after seeing how all the citizens behaved and interacted with each other, Kuroka and Shirone were able to get over their trauma fast. Of course, shadows of that horrible event still lingered in their hearts but it did not stop them from moving forward.

This was also why Kuroka did not mind someone from the school taking care of her sister. After all, all the teachers and faculty members were selected directly by August himself.

Today was one of those days. But she received a message a moment earlier informing her that instead of a teacher, Yasaka Ōtsutsuki, their queen, picked up Shirone. Supposedly, Kunou Ōtsutsuki, their princess, decided to have a sleepover at her place and all her close friends were invited. Kuroka did not know that her sister was a close friend to their one and only precious princess.

She flinched when the guard stopped and turned around. He, she was not sure if the guard was a living being or not with all the armor he was wearing, then gestured toward the large metal door. With a forced smile, Kuroka slowly walked forward. A gentle touch to the door was enough to tell her how much raw power these metals held. The moment she gave a small push, she felt her surroundings distorting.

She was being teleported.

Kuroka did not panic because she was told about this beforehand. Nevertheless, she was really surprised at the sight that greeted her.

She had seen her fair share of extravagant houses. Especially the devils; they would never shy away from showing off their fame and fortune. And they would go all out on their houses... no, castles would be a more appropriate term. In Amaterasu, most youkai were cautious about spending their money and resources. But even then, the wealthy and the famed youkai would spend generous amounts for their living quarters. So, when she was teleported to the place where the one and only King of Avalon and his family resided, she thought she would be seeing a large luxurious mansion. Instead, she was at the main entrance of what looked like a three-story Japanese-style house. Although it was quite large and it had a modern touch to it, this was not what she expected their king to stay in.

The door opened, and Kuroka visibly flinched.

"Ahh, Kuroka, I was waiting for you. Come in." Yasaka, the queen of the Avalon Kingdom, was wearing a simple-looking yukata. Other than the earrings and the single ring on her left hand, she was not wearing anything remotely expensive. Even her queenly aura was missing. But it did not diminish her elegance at all. Far from it.