In Kozuki Hiyori's worldview, the Kozuki Family was always right. The Nine Red Scabbards would surely return, Momonosuke would surely restore the country, and the prophecy would surely come true.
When she stood before Sephiroth with a resolute expression, as though determined to "defend the territory of Great Wu," and declared, "I am Kozuki Hiyori"...
...Sephiroth genuinely lost his composure for a moment.
The Jiangdong Jerrys hardly deserved such a comparison, but unfortunately, he really couldn't think of a suitable description just then. Anything else would have been even less appropriate...
Mostly because, after that round of Willow Sways, Grasping Willow Branches, Hiyori's hair was now disheveled, her cicada hairpin slipping low.
Paired with that "resolute and courageous" expression, it was simply a little too... well.
-Couldn't you choose a different occasion?
"So, Miss Courtesan, what do you do for a living?"
Sephiroth asked with a perfectly straight face.
The question left Hiyori momentarily bewildered.
She had assumed that revealing the name "Kozuki" on the spot would at least tell this foreigner that she was this country's "princess," even if he understood nothing else.
"Lord Papiyas, I am the daughter of Kozuki Oden. In the terms used overseas, I am this country's 'princess.'"
Drawing slightly away from Sephiroth's chest, Hiyori put a little distance between them. With her long, pale fingers, she straightened her damp, jade-green hair.
"I see. So there's more to your circumstances."
Sephiroth looked at this fanciful princess before him and decided to follow the "script" for now.
They were still in physical contact, so Mind Reading worked normally.
In short, she believed that the Great Angel had already helped princesses three times.
He had resolved Princess Vivi's crisis when someone tried to steal her country.
He had restored Princess Rebecca's deposed royal family.
He had rebuilt