“You... two... are the worst!” Estella exclaimed, throwing her hands down while leaning forward with her upper body, looking like she’s about to do something unexpected. Her face was bright red, but fortunately, Narias hasn’t noticed it yet. He was admiring Estella’s overall looks instead.

Estella wasn’t exactly wearing kimono type clothes like her grandparents were, but they still looked to be something of a similar fashion. She was wearing turquoise blue in color blouse with the long sleeves that looked rather loose, especially at the edges. The top part of her blouse had a white, frilly, about four inches in width, finish to it which also helped keep it in place. The blouse didn’t offer any decollete per se, but had open on the top to show Estella’s shoulders instead. Going down, Narias thought Miss Alifur was wearing a skirt at first because of how loose it looked, but those were skirt-pants. They had an additional, asymmetrical layer of fabric sewn on top and around it which extended just below her calves in length and was very light turquoise in color, adding some brightness to her garment. Lastly, Estella wore white color shoes that looked to be made out of cloth by wrapping it around your feet, the type ballet dancers would wear. It was clear Estella preferred comfort and freedom of movement over fashion, but she looked very feminine and attractive in her current attire.

“What are you saying, dear? We couldn’t just leave our grandson-in-law standing outside. He might’ve thought nobody’s home and left. That would’ve been such a shame, wouldn’t it?” Grandma Fuuji didn’t sound offended by Estella’s words at all.

“Indeed. You should be grateful to us for making to the door in time while you were busy doing something,” Grandpa Yojee added, making a step forward and sounding like he had nothing to do with it.

“Busy doing something? You were the one-“

“Oh, stop being so grumpy about it.“ Grandpa Yojee interrupted Estella with an additional wave of his hand.

“I’ll give you something to be grumpy about, grandpa! Humph!” Estella leaped from her spot so fast, it almost looked like she vanished.

Wow, so fast! Narias’s eyes couldn’t track Estella’s movements at all.

Unfortunately for Estella, her grandfather sidestepped his granddaughter’s would be attack with ease, ducking down and sliding to his left like it was nothing, but his dodge didn’t end there. Grandpa Yojee slapped Estella on the lower back with his tail from the side, making her lose her balance and stumble forward right into Narias.

“Whoa... Ah, eh?” Narias thought Estella would bump into her grandmother, but to his biggest astonishment Grandma Fuuji disappeared from his side right before Estella was about to bump into her. Narias, who was holding flowers in one hand and a bag with sweets in another, couldn’t do anything else but try to save his gifts by extending his arms to the sides.

“Wha... huh? You... Aah! Wuah...” While stumbling forward, Estella thought she’d jump on her grandmother instead, but Grandma Fuuji was quick to get out of her granddaughter’s way, opening a path for Estella to fall on Narias instead. The two of them didn’t fall on the ground after she bumped into him, fortunately. However, because Narias had his arms extended to the sides to save his gifts, Estella literally fell into his arms, and since she didn’t have anything to hold on to either, she basically hugged Narias with her own arms, the force of her tumble making Narias hug her too, so they wouldn’t fall down.

Huuuh?! This is... Narias’s became flustered to no end when Estella and Narias locked one another in a hug, with Narias still holding his gifts with both hands

“Whoops... Tss... huh?” Estella was about to push herself back to have a go at one of her grandparents again when she felt someone was hugging her. To her biggest astonishment, she saw Narias looking into her eyes from only three inches away as if only now noticing they were holding each other with a hug. “Ah, I... Ss... sorry...” Estella stuttered, her face becoming steaming red.

“It’s... ok. You’re... not hurt, are you, Miss Alifur?” As flustered about the situation as Narias was, he tried to act like it was no big deal.

“Ah, no. I’m... fine,” she said, blushing adorably. The interesting fact was, neither of them had let go of each other yet.

“Aah... you just look at that. Don’t they look sweet, dear?” Grandma Fuuji spoke with a sweet after tone in her voice.

“Yes, yes. It’s such a gift for my sore eyes to see my granddaughter being so bold for a change,” Grandpa Yojee added, rubbing his short scrawny beard with one hand.

“Huh? Wha... s... sorry, Narias, I... didn’t mean to.” After hearing her grandparents speak, Estella finally pulled away, as awkward as she felt about the situation.

“That’s... alright,” all Narias could do was smile. “Ah, this is for you, Miss Alifur.”

“Oh? What?” Estella was about to turn to her grandparents again, but stopped, turning back to face Narias again. “Wow, flowers? I... thank you... Narias.”

“I apologize, but I... didn’t know what kind of flowers you liked, Miss Alifur,” Narias rubbed the back of his head. The flowers he had brought were white in color and he didn’t know what they were called either, but they resembled Amaryllis flowers from Anthony’s world.

“That’s ok. I like... Sillrama flowers too,” Estella said, her tail dancing behind her back uncontrollably.

“Psst, psst,” Grandma Fuuji whispered something to Grandpa Yojee to which he simply nodded.

“This is for you too. I didn’t know if you liked sweets, so you don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to,” Narias extended the bag he held in his other hand.

“Sweets? Thanks. I... don’t exactly like sweets if I’m honest with you, but Grandpa Yojee has a sweet tooth, so... Huh?” Estella said and instantly remembered about her grandparents, but when she turned around to see, they weren’t there anymore. “Sigh... I apologize for my grandparents, Narias. They are too insistent on...” Estella blushed instead of finishing her sentence.

“It’s ok. I think they are very fun,” Narias said with a smile.

“Fun, humph? Yeah, you can say it again,” that just made Estella drop her head, but then smiled after rising it to look at Narias. “Ah, I’m sorry. Please, come in.” She remembered they were still standing next to the entrance.

“Thank you,” Narias said, adding a smile.

“Hope you are hungry, because Grandma Fuuji prepared a lot of food,” Estella added with a sigh.

“Yes, I am a little actually,” he told her.

“Ok, great. I’ll just... put these flowers away if you don’t mind?” Estella asked, a flush jumping on her face again.

“Not at all,” Narias didn’t mind.

“Welcome, grandson. Please, come sit in front of me,” Grandpa Yojee invited Narias after Estella brought him to the room where her grandparents were waiting for them.

The room was very spacious, but it didn’t have much furniture in it. The room had a big carpet on the floor which was mainly green and blue in color, and extended almost to each corner of the room. The walls of the room were decorated with various paintings, mainly about nature and had multiple lamps attached on them too. The ceilings had drawings of the sky and birds, and looked rather realistic too which added a beautiful, relaxing vibe to an overall atmosphere. One peculiar thing about the furniture in the room was that the main table with the food on it was very low to the ground and they had thin cushions to sit on instead of chairs. Grandpa Yojee and Grandma Fuuji were already sitting, or kneeling, on the cushions in front of the table, waiting for Narias and Estella sit down too.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“His name is Narias Talrone, grandpa,” Estella told him with a scolding look in her eyes.

“Oh, don’t sweat the small stuff, granddaughter. Besides, he never objected me calling him that. Isn’t that right, grandson?” Grandpa Yojee turned to Narias.

“Ah, if that makes it easier for you, Mr. Yojee,” Narias said, not wanting to inconvenience Estella’s grandfather. For all he knew, Grandpa Yojee might’ve had a hard time remembering names.

“Call me grandpa, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee insisted.

“Well... ok, Grandpa... Yojee,” Narias felt uncomfortable calling him that, but still gave in.

“That has a nice ring to it, don’t you think, dear?” Grandpa Yojee turned to his wife.

“I couldn’t agree more, darling,” Grandma Fuuji agreed, both of them looking like they were having a good time.

“Sigh... you two...” Estella shook her head, before covering her face with one hand.

“You must be hungry, grandson. Please, eat as much as you want,” Grandpa Yojee encouraged him.

“You should eat too, Estella. You hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday,” Grandma spoke to her.

“H... hey, you didn’t have to tell him that,” Estella exclaimed.

“You hadn’t eating anything since yesterday, Miss Alifur?” Narias was surprised to hear that.

“I... wasn’t that hungry,” Estella admitted, burning from embarrassment.

“My granddaughter was so looking forward to your visit, she forgot how to eat. And she barely slept last night at all. I hadn’t seen her being so excited in ages,” Grandpa Yojee added before starting to place some food on his plate.

“Grandpa!” Estella exclaimed, clenching her fists she kept on her knees and becoming even more flustered

“Now, don’t be shy, grandson, eat whatever you like,” Grandpa Yojee invited Narias again, ignoring Estella’s reaction.

The table had various dishes available to choose from, majority of which were fish dishes, which wasn’t a big surprise to Narias. They also had some poultry and other meat dishes available too and several plates filled with all kinds of salads. However, the foods weren’t mixed with one another. Each food was inside a separate plate or a bowl of its own which allowed the person to pick and choose what they wanted to eat. Grandpa Yojee and Grandma Fuuji were already going through the dishes, placing whatever they wanted onto their own plates.

Wow, it looks like an open buffet. Huh? They are using chopsticks too? Narias exclaimed in his head, noticing it when Estella’s grandparents started picking the foods from the table for themselves. One difference from how they went about it was that they were using three chopsticks instead of two. It was unusual to see how they held three chopsticks in between their fingers, but at the same time, it looked they were very comfortable with it. Narias quickly followed their example and picked up his own plate, looking around the table what he’d like to try first.

“Hey, where did Narias’s utensils go? I told you to place a fork and a knife for him,” Estella scolded her grandparents, clearly knowing it was their doing.

“You know eating food with metal utensils is bad for you, Estella,” Grandma Fuuji scolded her back instead.

“It’s ok. I can use chopsticks too,” Narias reassured her.

“You can?” Estella asked in surprise after turning to face him.

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” he smiled, picking up two chopsticks instead of three. Ok, let’s see if I still remember how to hold them. It was a while since the last time he ate food using chopsticks, however.

“It’s a good idea to practise with two chopsticks instead of three at first, but if it’s too much for you, Estella could help you with the food,” Grandpa Yojee commented right before Narias leaned to reach for some food to place on his plate.

“Grandpa!” Estella exclaimed.

“What? Your grandma feeds me too sometimes, you know. The age does its thing and my paws aren’t as trustworthy as they used to be,” Grandpa Yojee said with a sigh, putting an act he couldn’t pick up some food to place on his already half full plate.

“Here you go, dear. Let me know if you need help eating, so I can feed you too,” Grandma Fuuji was very helpful with the food.

“Ah, thank you so much, dear. What would I do without you?” Grandpa Yojee looked like he was about to collapse from how frail he tried to portray he was.

“Will you two cut it out? I know you can eat very well on your own, grandpa,” Estella wasn’t about to believe their charade.

“You break my heart with how unsupportive you are, sweetheart. You should help my grandson with the... huh?” Grandpa Yojee was expecting to see Narias struggle but Narias was already choosing and placing small bites of different foods on his own plate. “Now that warms my heart. It looks like you have some skills with your fingers, grandson.”

“Ah, thank you. I was... trying to follow your example, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias explained himself in a way, so they wouldn’t become too suspicious about where he learned to use chopsticks. Unfortunately, Narias wasn’t very comfortable with the chopsticks right now, not because he didn’t know how to use them, but because of the overextended training yesterday. His girlfriends used him being away on Sunday as an excuse to train longer. All his muscles were sore and his hands didn’t want to be too cooperative with him.

“Very impressive, if I may say so. And you’re using only two chopsticks instead of three too,” Estella’s grandfather commented before placing a piece of his own food into his mouth.

“Didn’t you say you had a hard time eating by yourself, grandpa,” Estella couldn’t miss the chance to remind him of that.

“Of course, I do. See?” Grandpa Yojee tried to pick up another piece of food but it slipped out of his chopsticks and fell back on the plate, making Estella roll her eyes.

“Let me help you with that, dear,” Grandma Fuuji offered her assistance the next second, picking up the same piece of meat with her own chopsticks and bringing it to her husband’s mouth.

“Aaah... ahm... mhmm... thank you, love. You’re the best,” Grandpa Yojee said after chewing and swallowing his food.

“See? It wasn’t that hard. You can do it too, Estella,” Grandma Fuuji spoke to her.

“What? You two...” Estella lowered her gaze in embarrassment again.

“Mhm... so good. I hadn’t eaten fish prepared in such a way. This is very delicious,” in the meantime, Narias was enjoying his food.

“Huh? Really?” Estella turned to face him.

“Yes,” Narias told her with a smile.

“Th... thank you,” Estella blushed.

“Aah, that’s just wonderful. See? And here you were worried he wouldn’t like your cooking,” Grandma pointed her chopsticks at Estella while she spoke.

“Hey, you didn’t have to tell him that,” Estella exclaimed, squirming in her seat.

“Why not? My grandson has to know how good of a cook you are, my dear granddaughter,” Estella’s grandmother insisted.

“Was it you who prepared all the food, Miss Alifur?” Narias asked.

“No, not... all the food. Only the fish,” Estella said, her ears flickering.

“It has very rich and savory taste. I really like it,” Narias told her.

“Really? I’m glad to hear that,” Narias words put a smile on Estella’s lips.

“It makes me feel so happy hearing you praise my granddaughter’s cooking, grandson. Now, don’t be shy, eat some more,” Grandpa Yojee insisted.

“Thank you. I will. Ah, oops,” Narias said before trying to pick up another piece of fish, but this time it slipped out of his chopsticks.

“Is looks like you’re having trouble using chopsticks after all,” Grandpa Yojee commented.

“Ah, it’s... because I’ve overdone with the training yesterday and my hand feels a little stiff,” Narias admitted. He tried to pick up some meat again, but since he was self-conscious about it now, he couldn’t do it.

“Here you go, my sweetest treasure,” in the meantime, Grandma Fuuji picked up a piece of food from her husband’s plate and offered to feed him.

“Thank you so much, dear. Mhmm...” Grandpa Yojee enjoyed being pampered by his wife.

“Hmph... Ahem... M... may I?” Estella turned to Narias, offering to help him with his food.

“Ah, I...” Narias was about to refuse, but then heard Estella’s grandfather’s loud ‘Aaaah...’, noticing Grandma Fuuji placing another bite into her husband’s mouth when he turned to look at him. “Well... aah... if it’s not too much trouble...” He finally decided to give in.

“Here... please...” Estella picked up some food from Narias’s plate and brought it up to his mouth.

“Ahm... mhm... thank you,” Narias mumbled after taking it.

“You’re... welcome,” Estella said. Both of them were looking at each other and both of their faces were burning red.

“Ahhh...” Estella’s grandparents were enjoying the view.

“Huh? Ahem... ghm...” Estella quickly turned away, picking up her own plate and placing the first food from the table that she could reach.

“Say, grandson. I’d like to ask you something,” Grandpa Yojee spoke to Narias suddenly.

“Ah, yes, what is it, Grandpa Yojee?” Narias turned to face him.

“Tell me, what do you love about my granddaughter?” He asked bluntly.

“Gha... cough, cough...” Estella almost spit out whatever food she had in her mouth. “Grandpa!”

“Oh, don’t be so melodramatic, granddaughter. I’m simply curious,” Grandpa Yojee waved her protest away.

“Yes, I’d be curious to know too. We love our granddaughter dearly, you see, and would love to know what you think of her,” Grandma Fuuji joined her husband. The two of them stared at Narias with their big, gleaming cat eyes.

“I think... Miss Alifur is a wonderful teacher. She’s very strict, but also very focused to help her students train to become stronger, and she’s very strong herself too,” Narias fell back to complimenting Estella as a teacher.

“Yes, yes, we know that. I meant what do you think of her as a woman?” Grandpa Yojee wasn’t about to let Narias of the hook, also making his granddaughter squirm in her seat.

“As... a woman? Well...” Narias said, averting his eyes away while rubbing his cheek with one finger.