“Well, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee pushed for an answer again when Narias stayed silent.

“Ah, it might sound silly, but... I like her cat-like ears,” Narias admitted with an embarrassed look on his face.

“Her ears?!” Grandpa Yojee exclaimed almost in a shock, his own cat ears shooting up.

“Yes. I think her ears make Miss Alifur look very cute,” Narias said, looking down at his plate, his face burning red.

“C... cute? Ah...” Estella exclaimed herself, but not as loud as her grandfather. Her reaction and her flushed face showed she was remembering something.

“Yes, of course. I agree that my granddaughter’s ears look nice, but what about her bo- ouch!” Grandpa Yojee’s words were interrupted by his wife’s jab at his side. “Hey, that hurt.” Grandpa Yojee complained.

“That was intended, you old, perverted coot. Humph,” Grandma Fuuji scoffed, averting her face away, so her husband wouldn’t see it.

“What? I was simply gonna ask about, ahh... about my granddaughter’s body. Yes, her body. She’s very fit and has a nice bu- ghah! Ouch! Belly! I wanted to say a nice, flat belly, because of how slim she is.” Grandpa Yojee corrected himself after receiving another unexpected jab from his wife.

“Yes, I agree with you, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias spoke again, forcing everyone to turn to face him.

“Hear that? My grandson agrees with... oops,” Grandpa Yojee was about to point something out, but became guarded when his wife raised her hand up.

“Shush,” but Grandma Fuuji simply put a finger to her mouth to shush her husband for him to be quiet.

“I mean, I agree that Miss Alifur is an attractive, good-looking woman, but... her cat ears and her cat tail adds that unique and exceptional charm to her that no other woman has. They are so captivating that I can’t help but... Ah, that is... I think... Miss Alifur is very beautiful,” Narias spoke his mind out, but then became overly flustered when it hit him everyone was staring at him extremely intently, especially Miss Alifur.

“That is such a lovely thing to say, wouldn’t you agree, Estella?” Grandma Fuuji smiled at her granddaughter.

“Huh? Ah, yes,” Estella spoke, keeping her face in front of her with her eyes closed. “Thank you... for the compliment... Narias.” She added, trying to suppress her smile.

“Hah, my grandson said it well. Of course, my granddaughter is well above all the other women. I’m happy to hear you think that way, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee stated with an added glee in his voice.

“Sorry, I... didn’t want to sound rude,” Narias apologized, thinking he overstepped the line when he noticed Miss Alifur being overly quiet.

“Oh? No, you weren’t rude, Narias. I appreciate you said... that,” Estella turned to face him, but then averted her face away in addition to brushing her black hair to pretend it was getting in the way. Her cat-like ears flickered joyfully and her cat tail couldn’t stay still in one place, curling and jumping to the sides, which did not go unnoticed by Narias.

“Oh, sorry. I... didn’t mean to stare,” Narias had to apologize again when Estella noticed him staring.

“That’s ok, I... don’t mind,” Estella told him, averting her face to look in front of her again. “Huh?” Only after another silent moment she realized that her grandparents were being suspiciously quiet for how they usually behaved. When she looked up, she saw both of them eagerly eating their food without looking back at her. Estella already knew what was going on, but decided not to make a scene out of it this time.

“Say, grandson, how about a bit of a stretch to help the food settle in your belly easier?” Grandpa Yojee suggested suddenly.

“A stretch?” Narias was a little confused about his proposition.

“Hey, you can’t. We’ve just started eating,” Estella objected, knowing what her grandfather had in mind. “Narias is my guest, I forbid you to test him.”

“Test me?” Narias found Estella’s words puzzling.

“And then we could go pamper ourselves at our hot springs bath.” Grandpa Yojee made another suggestion, ignoring Estella’s words.

“Hot springs bath?” That definitely got Narias’s attention. “You have a hot springs bath in your house?”

“But of course. We have a steam room and a very nice therapy room to relax too,” the way Grandpa Yojee pronounced the word therapy could’ve made you think he was implying something, but Narias wasn’t able to catch it.

“Wow, that’s just so awesome,” it was evident Narias was very excited to learn they had a hot springs bath at their estate.

“But you can’t just go to a hot springs bath without breaking at least a little sweat. What a shame. And it’s such a gorgeous day outside too. I’d just looove to soak at the steaming-hot-springs pool while enjoying the scenery outside,” Grandpa Yojee threw more coals to the fire.

“Oh, yes, the warm water and the breeze outside is just the perfect combination to enjoy the luxurious benefits of the hot springs. It’s very good for my fur, I meant, it’s good for people’s skin too,” Grandma Fuuji added, letting out a melting sigh as if she was enjoying the hot springs bath right now.

“Not you too, grandma,” Estella rolled her eyes, catching up to what her grandparents were planning again.

“I appreciate the offer, but these are the only clothes that I have and it’d be difficult for me to do any strenuous physical activity wearing them. And regarding the hot springs bath, maybe... next time?“ It was evident Narias was captivated by the idea, but he knew he wasn’t prepared for it, as appealing as it sounded.

“That’s not a problem, grandson. I can provide you a change of clothes no problem,” Grandpa Yojee came out with a solution on the spot.

“Huh? Really?” Narias got his hopes up again.

“Grandpa!” And Estella exclaimed in protest again.

“But of course. Why don’t you come with me, grandson? I’m sure I can find something that would suit you well,” and again, Grandpa Yojee ignored his granddaughter’s complaint. “Come, this way, please.”

“No. Graaandpaaa...” Estella was almost shaking from frustration, clenching her fists that she held on her knees.

“Now, now. Let the boys have some fun, dear,” Grandma Fuuji joined in, trying to calm her granddaughter down.

“But grandmaaa...” Estella’s eyes were basically begging her.

“You know your grandpa, dear. He wouldn’t hurt his future grandson,” Grandma Fuuji smiled, her whiskers jumping up joyfully.

“He better not, and stop implying Narias is your grandson. There’s... nothing going on between the two of us,” Estella felt heat jump on her cheeks when she said the last part.

“Of course not, dear,” Grandma Fuuji agreed with her granddaughter, but her jubilant eyes were saying something else.

“It looks really good on you if I may say so, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee made a step back to take a look at Narias after he changed into the new clothes.

“Thank you. They feel really comfortable,” Narias shifted his body left and right to check how it felt. He was wearing mainly sky-blue in color kimono-style clothes, similar to what Estella’s grandfather wore, only not as fancy looking.

“Come right this way, grandson,” Grandpa Yojee invited him.

{at the outside training grounds behind Estella’s grandparents estate}

“Here they are. Hmm, the young man looks good in our family’s clothes, don’t you think, dear?” Grandma Fuuji spoke to her granddaughter when her husband and Narias have finally showed up.

“He really does. Huh? I meant... it looks good on him... I guess,” Estella became flustered, realizing she spoke her mind without thinking.

“I’m really curious to see what he can do,” Grandma Fuuji added, making herself more comfortable in her seat.

“Grandpa Yojee is taking it too far,” Estella added, letting out a deep sigh.

“We’ll do something really simple, grandson. All you have to do is snatch these bells from me,” Grandpa Yojee pointed at the two bells he had hanging on the left side of his chest. They were tied with a string which was about four inches in length and looked to be very thin and weak.

Huh? When did he tie the bells up? He didn’t have them on his chest when we left the changing room. Narias mind was struck by that seemingly minor detail.

“Snatch the bells?” Narias asked, looking around.

He was trying to assess how big the training arena was. Narias was expecting to see an arena similar to the one at the academy where they would train during the classes. But the one here was very different. The sheer size of it made an impression. It could’ve easily surpassed an official Olympic stadium. In addition, it wasn’t just an open field either. It almost looked like the training grounds were separated in different sections. They had trees and bushes on one side, small cliffs and boulders on the other, sand and mud on yet another side and just plain hard ground with fewer obstacles on the last side. That’s where Grandpa Yojee and Narias were, on the normal, mostly empty part.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Wow, that’s a really impressive training arena. I wish we had one of those available at Reina’s Magic Academy. Narias thought to himself.

“That’s right. The bells would make noise when I move.” – ‘Ding.’ – The bells made a short sound, getting Narias attention when Grandpa Yojee stepped to the side. “It will help you know where I am at all times.”

“Ok. So, it’s like a game of tag only I have to get the bells from you, Grandpa Yojee?” Narias wanted to confirm.

“Yes, you could say that. You’re free to use magic, of course. And don’t worry, I won’t fight back. I’ll just try to get away. I wouldn’t want to hurt my future grandson,” Grandpa Yojee was slightly more serious with his words than he was up to this point.

“Well, ahm... I appreciate the sentiment, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias felt a little uncomfortable about his last comment.

“How about a ten minutes timer? That should be more than enough to break a small sweat,” Grandpa Yojee suggested.

“Ok,” Narias agreed.

“The ladies over there will keep the time to let us know when it’s up. Now then, come at me whenever you’re ready. No holding back,” Grandpa Yojee smiled, placing his hands behind his back. He looked calm and composed, but his cat ears were tense and his tail was trailing back and forth to the sides, almost like it was looking forward to have some action.

Right. I better get serious from the very beginning. Narias took a stance, holding his hands in front of him with the palms up while focusing his mana flow. From how Miss Alifur’s grandparents moved when she jumped at them after he entered their house, it was clear to him they were no pushovers and the way Grandpa Yojee held himself showed he wasn’t just some weak old man. And Narias couldn’t miss the fact that Estella’s grandparents were full beast-humans which also meant they were much stronger physically.

“Alright. Here I go. Twin Fire Walls!” Narias bashed both of his hands at the ground, erecting two flaming walls of fire that shot towards Grandpa Yojee.

“Eh? I definitely didn’t expect to see that,” Grandpa Yojee exclaimed but didn’t move from his spot.

From the looks of it, he couldn’t, because the two fierce, almost ten feet tall fires dashed not directly at Estella’s grandfather but right past him on both sides in order to block his escape. It became extremely hot in the training arena in an instant.

“Wind Burst,” Narias shot forward directly at Grandpa Yojee in an attempt to get to him before he could escape.

“Oops.” – ‘Ding.’ – The bells rang. Grandpa Yojee had little space to move around, the two walls of fire were burning only about ten feet away from him on both sides, but all he did was make one step and shift his body to the side to have Narias bypass him without touching him. “Nice try, grandson.”

“Wind Burst. Humph,” Narias used his spell to propel him backwards to try and grab onto Grandpa Yojee again, but his opponent backstepped just enough for Narias’s hand end up an inch short from reaching him. “Wind Burst. Huff. Hah. Woah.”

- ‘Ding. Jingle. Ping.’ – The bells were ringing with each Grandpa Yojee’s step while Narias tried to get to him. Unfortunately, all Narias’s attempts failed seemingly just by a hair. Narias’s tactic to restrain Grandpa Yojee’s movements by casting two Fire Walls on the sides didn’t prove that useful, because Grandpa Yojee wasn’t moving around too much to avoid being caught by Narias anyway. After a few more attempts the fires subsided, opening more space for both of them to move around.

“What’s wrong, grandson? Are you getting tired already? It’s been only two minutes or so,” Grandpa Yojee taunted Narias in a cheerful manner.

“You’re much faster than you try to act, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias commented, a gleeful smile entering his lips.

“Ahh... you’re giving me too much credit, grandson. I’m just a scrawny, old man,” Grandpa Yojee said, rubbing the back of his head, but he looked rather happy after hearing Narias’s compliment.

“I don’t think so,” Narias said before resuming his attack. “Wind Blade. Wind Burst.”

“You’re just flatte- Woah! Oops!” – ‘Jingle, Ding.’ - Grandpa Yojee had no time to talk, because Narias was in action mode again.

“Fire Blast. Wind Burst,” Narias started firing spells to disorient Grandpa Yojee while trying to grab the bells from his chest.

- ‘Ding, Bing, Bing!’ – The bells were ringing much louder, because it wasn’t enough for Grandpa Yojee to simply sidestep anymore if he wanted to prevent Narias from snatching the bells from him.

“Wow, he improved so much,” Estella commented, watching them from her seat.

“Did he now?” Her grandmother purred a question, her eyes not leaving the arena.

“Ah, yes... a little,” Estella mellowed down, catching herself becoming excited.

“It looks like my future grandson is giving my husband a run for his money. He might actually be able to take the bells from your grandfather after all,” Grandma Fuuji said, touching her furry cheek with one hand.

“I’ve already told you there’s nothing of the like going on between me and Narias,” Estella started becoming annoyed again. “And grandpa is holding back anyway. There’s no way Narias would be able to get the bells if he was to become serious.”

“You really think so? Why don’t you take a better look, dear?” Grandma Fuuji pointed out, enjoying the show.

“Tss, it’s obvious that... Huh? What? Grandpa removed his hands from behind his back?” Estella couldn’t believe her grandfather was forced to do that. Grandpa Yojee wasn’t fighting back, but apparently forcing him to remove his hands from behind his back was an achievement in itself.

- ‘Ding, Ting-a-ling!’ – The bells kept ringing with Grandpa Yojee moving around. He wasn’t moving too much, but he was still moving around more compared to before. He was using his hands to balance out his movements to help him shift and twist his body to avoid getting hit by Narias spells or to prevent him from getting the bells from his chest.

“Very nice, grandson. It seems like you have some nice moves.” – ‘Jing, Ding, Ding!’ - Grandpa Yojee commented after yet another duck and slide to avoid being caught by Narias. “You’re doing quite well, but I’m afraid the time is about to run out.” – ‘Ding, Ding, Bing!’ – Grandpa Yojee made some distance between themselves, placing his hands behind his back again.

“You give me too much credit, Grandpa Yojee. I’m just an inexperienced youngster stumbling over my own feet,” Narias spoke, making it sound he actually thought that way of himself.

“No, now. No need to be so humble, grandson. You did better than I thought you...” Grandpa Yojee said, waving with his paw.

“Wind Burst,” Narias used an opportunity to close the gap between them while Grandpa Yojee was speaking.

“Oh, that same trick won’t work on me again. You should know that by now, grandson.” – ‘Bing, Ding!’ – The bells rang when Grandpa Yojee backstepped to not let Narias get close to him.

“Boost,” but Narias used a spell he hadn’t used yet to give him a speed boost, catching Granpa Yojee of guard.

“Woamew!” Grandpa Yojee had no choice but react accordingly if he wanted to prevent Narias from grabbing the bells. Narias gasped as Grandpa Yojee sped up himself to leap backwards and away from him.

“Wind Shield!” Narias cast another spell.

“Eh? Wha- Ouch!” – ‘Ting-a-ling!’ – The bells rang when Grandpa Yojee hit the back of his head at something hard. It was the Wind Shield Narias cast to stop Grandpa Yojee from jumping even further away from him.

“Flamethrower!” Narias channelled a spell with his left hand to prevent Grandpa Yojee from escaping to that side.

“Wow, that’s hot.” – ‘Bing, Ding!’ – Grandpa Yojee exclaimed sidestepping to the other side.

“Wind Pressure... Blast!” Narias used his right hand to cast the next spell, the force of the Wind Pressure Blast throwing him forward and making his body spin too.

“Eeh! Shadow Paws.” – ‘Ding!’ – The bells rang only once before Grandpa Yojee’s visage completely disappeared from Narias sight.

“Wha... woaaah!” Narias spun around several times, losing his balance and falling on the ground on his back. He tumbled and rolled a short distance, staying on the ground.

“Grandpa!” Estella shouted, jumping from her seat.

“Oh, dear. Now he’s done it,” Grandma Fuuji commented, making a sour facial expression.

“Oof...” Narias rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his dazed head, still lying on the ground.

“That was brilliant, grandson. You almost had me.” – ‘Ding.’ – A bell’s ring accompanied Grandpa Yojee’s words.

“I... Huh?” Narias wanted to say something, but stopped for some reason.

“How could you, grandpa?!” Narias heard Miss Alifur’s voice suddenly.

“What?! I didn’t even touch him,” Grandpa Yojee raised his paws in front of him defensively.

“Yes, but you used the Shadow Movement technique. Didn’t you say you’ll go easy on him?” Estella stated in an accusing manner before rushing to check on Narias. “Narias! Are you ok, Narias?” Estella helped him sit up.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you, Miss Alifur,” Narias said, smiling at her.

“Phew,” Estella let out a sigh of relief.

“See? I told you I hadn’t touched him,” Grandpa Yojee added again defensively.

“I can’t believe you would steep so low as to use your special technique against our grandson, you old coot. No fur brushing for you tonight,” Grandma Fuuji declared angrily.

“Ah, what? But I would’ve gotten my precious fur burned if I hadn’t used it and I know how much you love my fur,” Grandpa Yojee tried to sound as sweet as a candy.

“You’ll be sleeping alone tonight too. Humph,” but that just made Grandma Fuuji more upset.

“Ah, no, no, no. You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Please, don’t be mad, my love. I’ll brush your fur twice, no three times tonight and I’ll deep-pawknead your body on top of it too. Will you forgive me, pleeease?” Grandpa Yojee became sweeter than a melting ice cream.

“I’ll... think about it,” Grandma Fuuji sneered, averting her face away.

“Can you stand, Narias?” Estella asked worryingly.

“Yes. It’s ok. I’m totally fine,” Narias said after standing up.

“Ah, I’m sorry, grandson. I went a little hard on you in the end. Please, forgive me,” Grandpa Yojee was very sincere with his words.

“No, no. You don’t need to apologize, Grandpa Yojee. I shouldn’t have used my Flamethrower spell against you, but I really wanted to get the bells from you,” Narias told him apologetically.

“Ah, yes, yes. The bells. You did well despite the fact you couldn’t get them,” Grandpa Yojee said, nodding his head.

“I suppose I still have a long way to go, but I’ll train hard and will snatch both bells from you next time, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias said, sounding like he was declaring a challenge.

“Of course. I’ll look forward to- Wait, what did you just say?” Grandpa Yojee was happy to hear him say that but then became confused about what Narias has said.

“Here you go,” Narias extended his hand forward.

“Huh? Huuuh? When did you...” Grandpa Yojee was staring at Narias’s palm with one of the two bells lying on it.

“But... how?” Estella couldn’t believe it. “Wait, was it when you spun?”

“Ah, yes. I forced myself to spin on purpose with a spell to try and grab the bells, because Grandpa Yojee was too fast for me. I thought I’d manage to get both of them, but Grandpa Yojee literally disappeared from his spot, my fingers just barely touching one of the bells and somehow making it fall off.” Narias explained what happened.

“Well done, grandson, well done. See how amazing our grandson is, my dearest?” Grandpa Yojee turned to his wife.

“I suppose you weren’t that bad after all, but you’ll still have to do what you promised you would,” Grandma Fuuji crinkled her nose, the sight making her husband purr in delight.

“Of course, of course. It’ll be my pleasure, my sweetest. Now then, shall we go enjoy the hot springs bath? We need to wash off all that sweat, don’t we, grandson?” Grandpa Yojee sounded like he was really looking forward to it.

“Yes, that’d be nice,” Narias admitted.

“Ok, boys, we’ll meet you two at the hot springs pool,” Grandma Fuuji added, turning to her granddaughter the next moment.

“Eh? What?” Estella exclaimed, her face becoming overly red when she saw her grandmother’s overzealous smile. “Ooh... no. Just... no.” She added, averting her face away and crossing her arms in front of her.

“Listen grandson, after we wash ourselves and get to the hot springs pool, I’ll tell you so many stories about our granddaughter. She’s really a handful, you know,” Grandpa Yojee started talking to Narias as they were walking away, but he was really loud about it. “Oh, I just remembered this one time when we went to-“

“Aargh! Ok, fine! I’ll come too!” Estella stated loudly, interrupting whatever her grandpa was about to say.

“I’ll see you two in a short while,” Grandpa Yojee added, waving his hand without turning around.

“Shall we get going too, my dear?” Grandma Fuuji asked, turning to go.

“Tss,” Estella pressed her lips tight against one another before dropping her head down with a sigh. “I can’t believe you two...”