Shiryu lays in the medical bed, unconscious. It’s here that we get to see inside his head. Everything is black, and he is just floating in this infinite space. A shadowy figure appears out of nowhere. It looks like Shiryu, but void of all color and filled with malice. “Tell me, Shiryu. Why do you fight?”

  He states at his shadowy counterpart, not with confusion or fear, but with familiarity. “Why? So that I can protect the ones that I love. It’s always been that way since I achieved this strength.”

  Another figure appears before Shiryu. This time, it’s that of an actual demon. None other than Asura himself! Upon hearing this, the demon can do nothing but laugh hysterically. “Don’t make me laugh! You just want power, that’s why you sought me out in the first place, isn’t it? To lend you power?”

  Dumbfounded, Shiryu looks at his companion. “No! That’s not what happens! You don’t just lend me power. You take over if I use too much. What’s the point in protecting people if I have to give myself to a demon.” Asura smiles sinisterly. “Oh? Is your name not the Cloaked Demon? Do you not strike fear into your opponents by presence alone? Face it. You need me in order to keep your name.”

  “Tch. You're just lucky that I picked you up. The fact is, you need me to stay alive. Don’t you, demon?” The devilish figure hesitates for a brief moment. “Alright, alright. How about this, I’ll let you use up to 30% of my power for now. There shouldn’t be any risks if I actually input the right amount of power this time around.”

  Shiryu was confused, and rightfully so. This entire time, he thought that he was in control of his power. “30%? You mean to tell me that you’ve been overloading me with your power the whole time? What if I had died?” The demon seems to find this revelation amusing. “Well, I would’ve eventually found a new host. But the fact remains that you’re still alive. This means that you might have the potential to fully utilize my power.”

  The shadowy figure turns his attention back to Shiryu. “Having said that, what will you do?” With the confidence coming back to Shiryu’s face, he smiles and points at Asura. “One day, I’m gonna overcome your power and make it mine!” Both Asura and the figure look at each other, and then back at Shiryu. “Good. Then fight.”

  Asura and the figure begin to fade as Shiryu regains his consciousness. He finds himself within Hilda’s clinical room. Hilda herself was half-dosed until she noticed that her patient had awoken. She opens up the door behind her to call out to everyone. “He’s awake! Lord Cloak is awake!” Todo and Sumiko rushed into the room at the sound of the good news. “You’re finally awake, it’s been three hours. I was beginning to think that you were dead!”

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  Shiryu sits up and climbs out of his bed to stretch. “Dead? You should know better than to think that I would die. Todo.” But there’s one thing that the young emperor can’t seem to understand. And that is why Sumiko is there with Todo. “You’re probably wondering why Ms. Sumika is here. Well, she insisted on coming here after you passed out. I thought to myself “Why not?”, and let her come with us.” Hilda decides to add herself to the conversation, like if she wanted them to acknowledge her presence in the room. “To be honest, I was hesitant to let her come with us. But she displayed impressive skill in helping me treat your wounds.”

  He stares at Sumiko in fascination, while she blushes from embarrassment. “Is that true? You have my gratitude then. If there is anything that you want, then I shall grant it, as emperor of this school. Dazzled by the acknowledgement, Sumiko finds herself stumbling again. “W-Well, M-Mr. Cloak, I would like to be by your side as a princess.” However, due to her embarrassment, as she went on, her words got lower and lower with each passing second. “Come again?” Shiryu might be a master of combat and any other skill imaginable. But he fails to recognize a girl’s heart. “I wish to become one of your princesses!" This time, her words were as clear as her face was red. Having heard her request, Shiryu has no choice but to fulfill a wish packed with such sincerity. “Very well. Then from today forward, I hereby declare that Sumiko Sumika, is the first princess of me, Shiryu Masamune!”

  Two weeks have passed since the tournament. During this time, Sumiko has undergone training from Hilda in order to learn how to be a proper princess. But what is a princess? To put it simply, it’s a group of girls who are employed by an emperor. There are three types of princesses. The first one is the combat type. Like the name suggests, they are fighters. They’re tasked with things like fighting on the behalf of their lord when challenged. The second type is the medic. As you might’ve guessed, Hilda falls under this category. They specialize in patching up the emperors’ wounds, along with the other princess’ wounds. Finally, there’s the secretary, which is where Sumiko is being placed. The three emperors have the privilege to skip class whenever they feel like it, or to handle other business. In this case, the secretary’s role is to basically attend their class. On the upside, all princesses, regardless of role will be able to automatically graduate as long as they are employed.

  Sumiko is sitting beside Shiryu in the classroom. She’s diligently doing her job as a secretary, despite the fact that he was right there, paying attention to the lecture. “Alright class, a few weeks ago we covered the lesson about that cult. So now, let’s talk about their idol. He was a famous demon who became a local legend around the time that the cult began spreading their word.”

  *Beep Beep* Sumiko’s sister has the worst timing ever. This is the second time that she’s done this. She tries to ignore her sister’s messages until her phone starts to ring. She annoyedly whispered to Shiryu to ask to take the call. “I’m sorry my lord. May I take this call?” He lets her take the call, but reminds her that she doesn’t need to ask for his permission to do things. So she leaves the classroom to take the call. “It’s about time you responded. What took you so long?”

  She resisted the urge to hang up on her sister. “I’m busy. What happened?” It appears her sister had some news this time. “Listen, my transfer is finally finished. So that means that I’ll be joining you very soon. But that's not all. After looking into these emperors, I found something quite interesting. Apparently, someone named Sumiko Sumika, has officially become a princess. Care to explain what happened in the few weeks that we’ve been separated?”

  Sumiko was shocked. She didn’t know that it became public knowledge. But before she can give a proper excuse, her sister laughs. “I’m just kidding! You don’t have to explain anything to me. Anyway, bye!” She hung up. Despite the fact that her sister teases her, Sumiko still cares for her. “She’s so nosy.” Saying to herself. But overheard by Shiryu, who was approaching her. “Who?” She didn’t realize that there was someone behind her. “My younger sister. She’s transferred to this school and is on her way, apparently.” Shiryu begins to leave for the gate. “Then I shall welcome her with open arms. Afterall, I also know how it feels to have a younger sibling.”