Freezing Dystopia

Roko burst into the headmaster room very loudly, "YOU KNEW DIDN'T YOU?!"

"Me?!" Zadkiel jolted at Roko's sudden and aggressive intrusion, "Know what?!"

"The tree!" Roko growled, "You knew that tree was going to arrive in Momokami so you allowed me to go there in order to make me deal with it!"

"Oh, no! No I didn't know at all!" Zadkiel cried, "I had no idea!"

"Are you serious?" Roko scowled.

"I'm serious! Honest! I had no idea that an eldritch tree would show up at Momokami!"

"..."

"Do you believe me?"

"As far as I can throw you."

"Well that should be pretty far after all your training!"

"You want to give it a shot? Let's see how far I can throw you out that window."

"Ooo, I haven't had a good flight using my wind magic in a while." Zadkiel smiled. "So you're saying I can fly and earn your trust at the same time?"

"Maybe you can fly somewhere I can't see you and stay there." Roko growled.

"I could use a vacation."

"So could I." Roko sighed as he turned around and walked away.

As Roko left the headmaster's office and made his way back to his room, he saw Kaguya and Mikado walking across the courtyard, dressed drastically warmly for the weather and a carrying suitcases. Feeling immediately concerned, Roko called out to them as he ran over to them.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, Roko." Kaguya said, "It's been a while. I hear you've been visiting a variety of lands week after week. That sounds terribly exhausting."

"You have no idea." Roko growled.

"You sound exhausted too." Kaguya giggled, "Why don't you take a break once in a while?"

"Yeah sure. As soon as I hear where you're going."

Kaguya sighed, "We're heading back to our homeland for a moment."

"Something going on there?"

"Yes well..." Kaguya hesitated for a bit, "There has been rumors of a rebellion stirring at home so I'm taking some time off to address it."

"In the middle of school?"

"Yes. The school makes exceptions if matters at home suddenly change." Kaguya explained, "This is quite normal."

"A rebellion doesn't sound normal."

"Hahaha. You've certainly never been to Hatsuyuki then."

"That's the name of your home?"

"Yes. Hatsuyuki, my home country. In the past few years...or rather, for as long as I remember, the political space of my country has been in turmoil. Betrayal and blood runs deep in our family history. This is not the first time that the public has grown tired of the power struggle and risen to usurp power."

"That...sounds incredibly dangerous." Roko frowned, "Are you sure you should be attending this school at all?"

"That's a tad rude." Kaguya sighed, "But a fair question. My situation is the result of a deal between me and the current ruler."

"Current ruler? Not your father?"

"No. My family was killed years ago."

"Your family?" Roko said as his blood ran cold, "Dead?"

"Yes." Kaguya nodded, no hints of any emotion or trauma breaking through her surface, "The current ruler is a temporary headpiece. He has agreed to rule in my place while I finish my education here."

"..."

"As you can see, the situation at home is very complex." Kaguya fixed her fur coat, "I wouldn't dare ask you to brave it."

"And you think you can do it with just Mikado?"

"Mikado's been my knight since I was a child." Kaguya turned to her loyal knight with a gentle smile, "He's the only family I have left."

"And the two of you can quell a rebellion?"

"It's only a rumor of rebellion. There is still time and room to negotiate with the people."

"And they need you just to handle a few rumors? Either you need to hire a better ruler or something else is going on."

"...There is not a single bit of that statement that I can deny." Kaguya said. "...Roko. Would you like to come with me?"

"I'll grab my things." Roko sighed, "Guess I'll have to grab some warmer clothes though."

The trip this time was immediate. Given the nature of her return, Kaguya was given a gate scroll much like the ones Roko used when he was returning from Cordis. Dressed in a warm coat and scarf, Roko stepped through the gate and was immediately plunged boot deep into snow. Kaguya and Mikado stepped through the portal as well, landing in the snow with soft thuds. Looking around at the surroundings, Roko could see a stone walled village only a few close meters away. The only other things around them was a thin forest of leafless trees and untouched snow all around them.

"It must have snowed the night before we came here." Kaguya remarked as she pulled her suitcase up into her arms, "We'll have a bit more trouble getting to Fuyuki."

"You were born here?" Roko asked as he shifted the backpack on his back to a more comfortable position and began making big steps through the snow towards the village.

"Yes, though it's been a while since I came back." Kaguya replied with a smile on her face, "I don't usually come home during breaks so I admit to being a tad excited."

"And you?" Roko asked, turning to Mikado.

"Quite excited." Mikado replied shortly as he followed them, his usual steel armor now replaced with a thick leather armor that was no less bulky than his steel armor.

Upon entering the village of Fuyuki, Roko could tell it was the least advanced capital that he had been to. Out of all the capitals, Aporia seemed the most cutting edge with Momokami not far behind. Cordis was the most normal and this city, Fuyuki, was no different from a rustic, rural village near the borders of a country. The houses were simple stone homes, none of them seemed to be distinct enough to indicate a higher class noble was living there. No artistic statues or monuments anywhere. Simple unpaved dirt roads marked the most worn paths, some of them still hidden under recent snow and being shoveled away. People trudged around in simple gray fur coats and leather pants and boots with shockingly little distinctions between individual people. A grim atmosphere seemed to hang over the entire village, barely any of the citizens seemed to be smiling or happy. It was the most miserable village Roko had seen.

"Hah." Kaguya inhaled the crisp air and sighed contently, "Nothing has changed at all."

"Seriously?" Roko said, turning to the princess, "This is normal?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure what you expected but this has been what Fuyuki was like ever since I was little."

"Everybody looks miserable."

"I wish I could tell you there was a time where Fuyuki was thriving and everybody was happy but conflict was all this place has known ever since I was born. This land is harsh and travelers rarely come this far north. But we all work together to survive. The woods have plenty of animals to hunt and there is even a river not too far from here. The infrastructure may not be extravagant but you could make a living here."

"That so?" Roko looked around, "And is your replacement ruler in one of these houses as well?"

"Oh no, Shizuka Castle is located outside the borders of Fuyuki. We'll have to leave the village but since it snowed recently, the path is probably still blocked by snow. For now, we should find a good meal before we assess our way forward."

"Lunch sounds good." Roko nodded as he followed Kaguya and Mikado down the dreary roads.

"I wonder if Mani's doing well." Kaguya smiled.

Roko watched Kaguya as she lead them through the village. As far as Roko had seen, Kaguya was a prim and proper princess, more so than any of the other princesses Roko has met. Dressed in elegance and always upholding an air of dignity and mystery. In all situations she was like a distant observer that was always disconnected from everything else. But now, Kaguya seemed like any other girl excited to be back home. If Roko didn't know any better he wouldn't even suspect that she was a princess.

Kaguya lead them to a small restaurant off to the side of the village. They sat down in front of a small table as a lady at the front desk gathered some menus for them. Looking around, there was a few people sitting across the various tables, chatting but barely any of them were eating or even had any food left in front of them. From what Roko could tell, these patrons have been sitting there talking with their companions for a while.

"Your menus." The lady from the front desk set out three menus onto their table.

"Hello Mani." Kaguya smiled as she removed her hood, "It's been a while."

"Princess!" Mani gasped but kept her voice low as she glanced around nervously, "You're back?"

"Yes. There seems to be some matters that I must attend to. But the snow seems to be blocking our way to the castle. Do you know when it will be cleared?"

"Oh, there is nobody left who will bother clearing the snow on the Fuyuki side." Mani looked worried, "I'm afraid it will depend entirely on when the staff at the castle will clear the snow themselves."

"I see. Thank you, Mani. I'll have some warm miso soup."

"And you, sir Mikado?"

"Some marinated salmon, please." Mikado nodded.

"And you...good sir?"

Mani turned to look at Roko who realized he hadn't even looked at the menu and scrambled to pick one up.

"Give my friend some time." Kaguya smiled, "He's new here."

"Of course." Mani bowed politely and went off to bring their orders to the kitchen.

"Do you want help ordering?" Kaguya turned to Roko, "I know a few items that aren't on the menu."

"You're very friendly with your citizens." Roko noted, "I don't think any of the of princesses of the lands I've been to would have known about any secret menu items in a small tavern like this."

"Well, I personally taught Mani these secret items." Kaguya replied, "I do hope she hasn't forgotten how to make them though."

"...Are you actually a princess?" Roko asked, skeptically.

"Hmmm, that's a long story." Kaguya smiled slyly, "Perhaps when we have time later. Suffice it to say that I am the one who will eventually lead this country."

With the road to the castle still blocked by snow, Roko and company had no choice but to simply retreat to an inn for the night, though Kaguya promised that she'd have something prepared to cross the snow the next morning. Kaguya woke Roko up the following morning and lead them outside, towards the back of Fuyuki. A small gate was set in the walls around the village and lead out to a path through the forest that was covered in a foot or two of snow.

"So how are we getting to the castle?" Roko yawned.

Kaguya just smiled as she called out loud, "Hey!"

"Princess!"

A man scurried out from around a stable, dragging a large sled behind him with half a dozen huskies bouncing excitedly around him.

"I have everything prepared!" The man smiled nervously as he stopped in front of Kaguya, "I've prepared our best dogs and I'll be escorting you personally."

"Thanks, Okage." Kaguya flashed a charming smile, "We'll be relying on your expert sledding skills."

The huskies surrounded the group, barking and sniffing curiously at the new people.

"Hello Miyu." Kaguya knelt down to pet one of the huskies, "You've sure grown big, haven't you?"

"You can still recognize her, ma'am?" Okage chuckled, "That's mighty impressive. It must have been at least five years since you last saw each other."

"I could never forget a dog this cute." Kaguya giggled as Miyu licked her face.

Roko watched Kaguya closely, still not used to the normal looking girl in front of him.

Okage and his team of huskies pulled Roko and company through the snowed out path, over the fresh snow at amazing speed. Not too long into their trip, Roko could see the tips of the castle they were heading to poke over the hill. But this castle was unquestionably the shabbiest castle Roko has ever seen. Even from the closing distance, Roko could see small holes dotting the walls of the castle. The parapets on the roof was broken apart and in shambles. The only decorations were simple torches hanging off the sides of the castle and banners draping under some of the higher windows. Many of those banners were ripped or had tears in them. The stone of the castle was not bricked, large stones of varying shapes held together with thick cement in a very inelegant, almost ancient manner. The entire castle looked like it had gone through a large scale battle, perhaps many large scale battles and the most unimportant parts were left unrepaired. Though it gave off an impressive aura of historical importance, nothing about it screamed that it was the dwelling of a ruling king.

Okage stopped the sled in front of the castle gates as the guards came up to question them. Once Kaguya revealed herself however, the guards quickly allowed them through, inviting them in with an excited haste. The inside of the castle wasn't much better with sparse decorations and faded rugs and tapestries. There were even some holes left in the inside walls, some of them quite sizable and only covered by furniture. The layout of the castle was simple, refreshingly recognizable compared to the complexity that was Omomo castle. Roko and company was led straight down the hallway from the entrance and into a fancy throne room. Sitting on top of an aged throne was a surprisingly young man with an aged crown on his head.

"Kaguya." The man stood up and bowed, "I'm glad to see you made it here safely."

"I'm disappointed, Azayaka." Kaguya said, her tone and demeanor shifting back to the cold, distant one Roko was familiar with seeing at Memoria Auspice but now it had a harsher and piercing edge to it, "Was it really too much to have someone shovel the snow out of the way?"

"The snow happened only a night ago, Kaguya." Azayaka sighed, "And we're expecting more snow in the coming days. Time wasted on shoveling is time that could have been spent elsewhere."

"Indeed." Kaguya said, unconvinced, "I'm sure keeping the only path between you and your people blocked is a good sign of what kind of ruler you are."

Azayaka gritted his teeth as he looked away, unable to refute Kaguya's cold statement.

"And?" Kaguya sighed, "We're here to talk business aren't we?"

"Yes." Azayaka cleared his throat as he turned back to Kaguya, "But before we begin, I was barely told in time about this...additional companion of yours."

The young king's eyes turned to look at Roko with suspicion, "Can he be trusted?"

"Now that Roko is here, there is no better adviser one could hope for in the land." Kaguya smiled, "He is trustworthy. He'll prove it to you."

"I see." Azayaka nodded, "It's rare for someone, anyone to receive such a glowing recommendation from you, Kaguya. I'm sure he must be a very impressive man."

Roko felt uncomfortable with the immense expectations that he was suddenly burdened with.

"Now, as I understand it." Kaguya continued, "We're dealing with a delinquent gang threatening to become a rebellion, correct?"

"That's the gist of it." Azayaka nodded, "This is normally something that I would handle myself but strange circumstances have been cropping up that seem to connect back to this Moon Tide group."

"I see." Kaguya nodded, "And what are these strange circumstances?"

"I've told you before." Azayaka said, glancing towards Roko, "The dead have begun rising from the ground."

"I'm sorry, what?" Roko said, perplexed, "The dead's coming back to life?"

"Indeed, stranger." Azayaka sighed, "It's been happening once or twice a week for almost a month now. The citizenry is in a panic."

"Wait so..." Roko frowned, "Are you saying there's a necromancer among the rebels?"

"Roko, there's no such thing as a necromancer." Kaguya said, "Necromancy doesn't exist. It's a forbidden magic."

"I'm sure it's forbidden but I don't think it'll stop the depraved from studying it anyway." Roko said, "How can you be sure that necromancers don't exist?"

"Because there are no studies relating to the practice of necromancy." Kaguya replied, "Not a single idea exists in how one could conceivably bring the dead back to life, even with magic. Necromancy is very much a fiction in this world."

"A fiction?" Roko mused, "But you say it's been happening here?"

"Yes and nobody knows why or how." Azayaka rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I've seen them with my own eyes. I don't know what's happening and I don't know what to tell the people."

"...So we have something happening that shouldn't be possible." Roko nodded as the pieces started to come together in his head.

"Are you starting to understand why I asked you to come now, Roko?" Kaguya smiled.

"...Yeah. This definitely sounds like their work." Roko growled.

"'Their'?" Azayaka looked up, surprised, "Are you saying you know who's behind this?"

"Kind of." Roko sighed, "Though it's not like I know them personally or know anything about them really. Honestly, I need to grill Zadkiel for some actual information one of these days."

"Umm..." Azayaka spoke up, unsure about what they were talking about.

"Roko is an expert in this." Kaguya smiled, "Please leave it to him."

"I wouldn't say I'm an expert." Roko frowned.

The door to the throne room suddenly burst open as a panicked soldier rushed in.

"What's going on?" Azayaka asked.

"I-It's happening again!" The soldier cried, "The dead have come back to life in Fuyuki!"