“What time is it? I’ve got a family to feed and some work to do.”

“We’ve been standing here since dawn!”

“When will it start?”

Various remarks were said from many people in an enormous group of over six hundred people in their finest clothes as they waited from inside the Royal Courtyard.  Many were sitting down, and some were standing up to stretch or to walk around.  They were waiting under the glowing sun, and thankfully, there were cool winds to fight against the heat.

Today was the day the scholars would be notified if they had passed the exam to be eligible to work in the Royal Palace.  As they waited, Royal Guards in leathered armor stood outside the area at every corner, on watch.

Near the center of the crowd, but more toward the back, stood three best friends, who had had enough of waiting and were dying of boredom.

The second tallest of the trio, Maki, sneered at her friends, Mirai and Kazuya.  “The one with the lowest score pays for the grand dinner!”

Kazuya, the oldest of the group and the tallest, hushed her.  “We know.  Stop thinking about food.”  His voice was louder, making the surrounding people turn around and stare at them, especially since he had mentioned the one word that had unanimously become tabooed—food—because everyone hadn’t eaten since early morning.

“Look away,” demanded Mirai with glaring eyes to their unwanted onlookers.  Despite her short stature and gentle features, her firm tone and ice-cold eyes emphasized she was not one to be messed with.  The fact that she even disregarded the rule to not have a weapon on her upon entering or being near the Royal Palace also showed them she had no intention of playing safe either.

Kazuya and Maki high-five’d each other for the chic response their friend had backed them up with.

Soon, the sound of a trumpet was heard from upfront, and everyone immediately hushed and behaved themselves.  The people sitting hastily stood up, some hid their trash, and a few just woke up from a morning nap.  Everyone had to be on their best behavior in the presence of His entrance.

The reputable man everyone had been waiting for was the King, Jin Akanishi.  Compared to his late father’s reign, Jin Akanishi had little praise or little dislike from his people.  He was very much a simple man who did just about enough to satisfy anyone.  Thus, his people could neither call him out as an incapable King nor regard him as an admirable leader.

His late father, however, was more of a doer and an active man.  He was politically involved, socially invested, mentally aware, emotionally tuned, and physically fit to prepare for the battles that were ongoing during his days.  He had made sure that when his son took over, the following generations would have peace in the humans’ territory.  Fortunately, he had completed it before his assassination.  The late King was slain by the humans’ most dangerous, filthiest, and gruesome enemy in which all humans had labeled them all together as monsters.  These monsters had evolved since the beginning of time to look, act, speak, and be like humans.  They invaded the human land, picked their target, and consumed them—flesh and all.  It was a game to them, but a mockery to the humans.  They were the sole reason the human species was thinning out because a human without proper armor, intense training, and necessary skills could never kill a monster, let alone touch it.

For a human to be eligible to go up against a monster was only if they were a part of the Royal Demon Slayers Military unit, a separate armed group focused intently on slaying monsters that had been reported or seen on the spot.  The unit was created by the eighty-eighth human king during the most turbulent wartime between the humans and the monsters.  Out of the four-hundred-and-twenty-seven gathered men, only four men had survived when the monsters finally retreated.  The four survivors had since stood beside the King, and their names were written in history, and their lineage continued down with the Royal family for protection.

Presently, the faces of the Royal Demon Slayers were Generals Yamada, Nakajima, and Chinen, the direct descendants of the survivors.  They were embellished in heavy iron armor and were equipped with the finest weapons made by the greatest forgers.  At the beginning of the Royal Demon Slayer creation, the Generals were strictly to follow the King and send out His orders, but as time went on and the humans had seen some peace within their land, the Generals had become responsible for ensuring the prosperity of other human villages and towns.  They would only take on monsters and demons that proved to be too powerful for other slayers.  Due to this change, it had become customary for the Generals to be a separate group to deal with their own affairs related more to the King’s or the Kingdom’s wellbeing.

Below them in rank were the Generals’ pupils and next-in-line for the General position, Captains Umika, Ryosuke, Yuri, and Yuto.  The Captains were dressed similarly as the Generals but with less weight of the heavy armor.  Unlike the Generals, each captain had authority over three to four groups of hundreds of men.  When a captain was given a mission to slay a monster, a captain could take one or all the groups along.  The Captains’ primary responsibility was to, first and foremost, respond to any demonic attacks within their village.  Outside village and town attacks or attacks that happened in other villages and towns, would be settled case-by-case, and the King had full authority to decide if a captain was needed, or if a dispatched group would suffice.

Following the Royal Demon Slayer Military unit would be the Royal Knights.  The Royal Knights unit was one rank higher than the Knights unit, for a Royal Knight was a Knight who worked for and followed orders from their Royal Demon Slayer Captain.  A regular-ranked Knight was a Knight that worked for the King and dealt with the daily lives of the humans and would rarely come in contact with a monster or a demon.  A promotion from a Knight to a Royal Knight was more common than a citizen becoming a Royal Knight because the Captains had to choose who to be in his or her group based on skills.

The trumpeter did three big blows and then moved to the side, showing Jin-sama walking from the backroom to sit on his throne.  Following immediately behind the King was the King’s right-hand man, Advisor Tetsuya Ueda, or commonly referred to as Ueda-san.  Ueda-san was a scholar, having entered the palace at the age of nine due to his exceptional grades despite his poor status.  He had worked his way up with his vast knowledge of countless subjects.

From the sides of the Throne Hall entered the Royal Generals.  They situated themselves once the King had been settled.

Ueda-san waited for a signal from the King.

Jin-sama subtly nodded his head.

Ueda-san finally put a hand up, telling the Royal Speaker from the front of the Throne Hall to begin the announcement.

The Royal Speaker cleared his throat, preparing to enunciate loud and clear to the citizens waiting out in the sun.  “Only two-hundred-and-forty-two participants passed.”

Gasps were the responses.

Maki scoffed.  “We are so totally one of them.”

“When your name is called, rise and make your way over calmly and professionally.  If any suspicious movement is made, you will be exempted.  As all of you are aware, we’ve received notice that today’s event may be hindered, so please allow us to take extreme caution.”

Mirai arched the end of her brow.  “So, they do know.”

“I suspect they have doubled the security,” added Kazuya, leaning closer to his friend.

“They should triple it,” said Maki, scoffing without a care that the people around them could sense her annoyance.  “Security here’s always so lax, ya know.”

Mirai agreed.  Despite the tight security, none of the guards had noticed that she had snuck in a weapon.  She had no need for it, but it was a part of her.  Everywhere she went, it was with her.

The first name got called, and the trio went back to pretending to be attentive.

Mirai gripped her hidden, sheathed sword.  She needed to pass the exam and couldn’t afford any interruptions.  She had waited long enough for this.

*

An hour and a half had passed, and only a handful of the people had been called and had said the oath.  Everyone was becoming more tired, but they were also excited.

The trio, however, was almost at their limits with waiting.

Especially Maki.  “I’m hungry!”  she whined, covering her stomach with her hands.

Mirai giggled.  “You had two plates, and you finished mine.”

Kazuya shook his head.  “She eats more than an average girl.”  He turned to Maki.  “Wait, are you even considered a girl?”

Maki punched Kazuya on the arm.

Another name got called, and Mirai sighed.

Kazuya saw it and said, “Don’t worry, Mi-chan.  You and I will make it.”  He glanced at Maki.  “Don’t know about her though.”

Maki scoffed.  “That’s rude.  I think I—”

“Maki.  First and only name, Maki,” said the Speaker.  “Age seventeen.”

The trio perked up in response.  Was it the Maki they knew?

“Participant six-six-four,” the speaker called out her badge number.

“What?”  inhaled Kazuya, pointing to the badge number of his friend.  “It’s-it’s you?”

Maki curled a smile at Kazuya and then send a peace sign to Mirai as she proudly walked away to receive her proof of acceptance.

“She has a brain?”  Kazuya playfully asked, making Mirai laugh.

In the Throne Hall, the King snapped out of his daydream.  “Seventeen? That’s quite young.”

Ueda-san explained that there were one-hundred-and-eighty-four young adults under the age of twenty who had taken part in the event, but only seventy-seven of them had passed.

“Really?”  He didn’t know if he should frown or smile.  Did the statistic mean that his people were doing academically well, or were they falling behind?

The Royal Captains overheard the conversation, and one of them was very excited.  Sitting closest to the King was Captain Umika, the only female Captain of the Royal Demon Slayers.  Down the line to her right were her colleagues, Captain Yuri, Captain Ryosuke, and Captain Yuto.  Captain Yuto was one year older than the other three, but he was the most childish and hyperactive of them all.

Yuto elbowed Ryosuke and whispered, “So, it’s true about what we heard.”

“What?”  Ryosuke monotonously answered.  His eyes had moved from the previous participant to the upcoming participant who was about to say the oath, Maki.  As a Captain of the honorable and reputable Royal Demon Slayers, he would make sure that today’s event would fly by smoothly.

“When we were gone, I heard that there were some teens who took the exam and passed.”

“And?”

Yuto dropped his enthusiastic shoulders in disappointment.  “It’s been years since we passed the exam and became the first—”

“Kazuya.  First name and only name, Kazuya,” continued the Speaker.  “Age eighteen.  Participant six-six-five.”

Yuto momentarily looked at the front.  He saw Maki, the previous participant, walk to stand at the back of the Throne Hall with the other passing participants.  He then moved his eyes to search for Kazuya.  “Ah, he’s a young fellow too.”

Yuri clicked his tongue.  “Yuto, quiet.”

“Ah, Yuri-kun.”  Yuto ignored the younger male’s cautionary words and proceeded to talk casually.  “What do you think?”

“We don’t need to bother ourselves with them.”

Umika smiled and whispered to Yuto, “Why are you so into them? You’ve been talking nonstop about them ever since you heard about it.”

“They’re like us!”  shrieked a proud Yuto.  “Passing the exam at such a young age!”

The Speaker, once again, called out another person.  “Mirai.  First and only name, Mirai.  Age fifteen.  Participant six-six-six.”  Unlike his previous calm and dull tone, he had slightly raised his voice when he said the age, unintentionally expressing his astonishment about the young participant’s passing.

“F-fifteen?”  exclaimed the King.  He was so surprised that his chin resting on his hand had slid off his palm.

Umika glanced at her colleagues.  “She’s younger than all of us when we took the exam.”

“I want to know her score,” said an impatient Yuto.  He knew it would be a crime, but he was very much interested because the exams and tests given to citizens for open entry into the Royal Palace were difficult.

“Wait,” said Ryosuke.  As usual, his eyes moved away from the previous participant to the current one, Mirai.  He saw something his eyes would never dare lie to him.  He stood up and looked at Jin-sama.  “Your Majesty, Miss Mirai has a weapon on her.”  He had purposely said it loud and clear, making everyone be on alert.

The Captains stood up and circled in front of the King and Ueda-san, and the Generals moved forward to stand in the middle of the Throne Hall.  Meanwhile, the Royal Knights dispersed themselves to protect the participants and the citizens, and the five closest Royal Knights swiftly ran over to be on guard in front of Mirai.

“Miss,” said one of the Royal Knights, “we can’t have you enter any further.”

Maki walked away from her position.  “It’s sheathed, so—”

Kazuya ran to pull Maki away.  He knew Mirai could handle the situation herself, and if Maki were to be involved any further, things could escalate and go wrong.

“They know each other,” whispered Ryosuke, sensing something fishy about the trio, and he didn’t like it one bit.

The Royal Knight who had spoken to Mirai motioned for another Royal Knight to retrieve her sword.

As the man’s hand approached her possession, she grabbed onto the sword’s handle tightly and pressed it against her.  “No one will touch this.”

Ryosuke couldn’t afford to patiently wait and watch.  He unsheathed the tip of his sword but was stopped by the King.

“It is sheathed after all,” said Jin-sama to Ryosuke and the Royal Knights.

“Your Majesty!”  shouted Umika.  She attempted to explain that they needed to take extreme caution.

Jin-sama nodded, considering the warning.  “Miss Mirai, for the time being, you will be followed by one of my men.”

The Royal Knight who had spoken earlier bowed to the King and offered to take the task.

“Continue with the names.”

*

“Ehh… Someone has something they’re not supposed to…” said someone in a sing-song voice.  It was a lady busily embracing an armored man.  “Make sure she doesn’t get in our way.”  She pulled down his neck and kissed it.

*

The assembly had continued after the incident with Mirai’s sword.

Since Mirai had a weapon on her, she was escorted to stand separately and alone at the opposite side of the participants who had passed.  This didn’t stop her from signaling her friends.

“Did you see?”  signaled Kazuya to Mirai.

Mirai shook her head.  To confirm her suspicions, she gave the room another good look, and her eyes locked with someone during the visual tour.

Ryosuke.

She would have moved on, but his eyes didn’t.  She wouldn’t have cared, but his eyes challenged her.  She looked away, not wanting to bother herself with incompetent killers.

Ryosuke carefully said, just loud enough for his colleagues to hear, “They’re plotting something.”

Yuto glanced at him.  “Who?”

“The brat with the sword, and her two friends.  They’re signaling each other.”

“We shouldn’t suspect them,” said Yuri, “but we should keep caution.”

*

In less than an hour later, the last and final person was called.  It was a man who seemed to be in his late thirties.  He walked up the short steps to say the oath with the Royal Speaker.  Before he could complete his sworn oath, a dagger flew at full speed from behind the walls of the Royal Court.

The first to notice was Mirai.  She had sensed the subtle change in the air when the dagger flew from the east.  Thankfully, she sent the signal on time to her friends before the room went into a panic.  She kicked the Royal Knight that was standing behind her, pinned him to the wall, and snapped his neck.

“We’re attacked!”  Yuri shouted.  He timed the dagger’s aim with his attack, ricocheting the dagger in a different direction with the hilt of his sword.

Kazuya and Maki, unlike the unsk