“Good morning,” Narias greeted Estella when she opened her eyes.

“Huh? Is it... morning already?” Estella rubbed her eyes, but then became a little sad. The two of them were lying in bed, Estella gently pressing herself at Narias’s chest. “Can we stay like this for a while longer?”

“Of course,” said Narias, hugging her tighter. “You know, I want to thank you, Estella.”

“Huh? Thank me? For what?” Estella asked, her ears flickering a few times.

“For inviting me to your home,” said Narias.

“That was one... long lunch. Hmph,” Estella smirked.

“Yeah, hah,” Narias laughed as well. “But I am really grateful I got the chance to meet your grandparents and I am not saying it because your granddad is helping me learn how to use my new magic. I think your grandparents are amazing people and I am really happy for you, Estella.”

“Thank you. And I must agree, they are two amazing people,” Estella added. “Will you... will you come visit me again sometime?”

“Of course. I’ll need more practise to become good at doing massage,” Narias decided to be a little cheeky.

“Huh? You... you really know how to agonize a woman, don’t you?” Estella said, shrinking into Narias’s chest.

“Sorry, must be your grandfather’s influence,” Narias laughed.

“I’d say you had a way with words even before you met my grandfather,” it’s not that Estella was defending her grandfather, but she didn’t want to let Narias off the hook either.

“Sometimes... yeah...” Narias had to admit it, because it was very rare when he had to look for words in his pockets.

“Your irresistible charms aside, how do you feel?” Estella asked, pushing herself slightly up.

“I... feel fine... definitely... fine...” Narias spoke very slowly, staring at Estella’s bare chest.

“Hmph, I can tell you are not lying,” this time, Estella had the cheeky smirk on her face. “Are you in a rush to leave with my grandfather or... would you like to... catch up on sleep for the time you had lost last night?”

“Ah-woah...” Narias exclaimed, feeling Estella’s tail slide up his thigh under the blanket. “Yeah, I think... ooh... another hour in bed... wouldn’t hurt.”

“Well then, why don’t you lay down more comfortably and close your eyes? We are going to sleep for a while longer, after all,” Estella licked her lips before curling on top of Narias who already had his eyes closed and was almost pretending he was asleep.

As so it happened, Narias and Estella overslept and were late for breakfast, but Estella’s grandparents didn’t mind it at all. The surprising part was, Grandpa Yojee didn’t say a single cheeky comment to make Estella or Narias feel uncomfortable. Quite the contrary, Estella’s grandfather was serious and didn’t waste time for idle chatter. Him and Narias were to leave for a special training that only Grandpa Yojee knew anything about and he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

That’s not to say everyone’s breakfast wasn’t enjoyable. Estella was especially in a very good mood. She was almost glowing and it was showing on her face too. But as soon as they were finished with their breakfast, Grandpa Yojee and Narias had to leave. Obviously, Estella was worried about Narias getting hurt during the training and warned her grandfather to not push him too much, but Grandpa Yojee simply waved her concerns away. Grandma Fuuji had to step in to help Estella relax, reminding her that her grandfather wouldn’t do anything to actually hurt his grandson to which Estella had to reluctantly agree. After that, Grandpa Yojee and Narias left.

{sometime during the week at Reina’s Magic Academy}

“Excuse me, Miss Sweetbell,” Nelly, her assistant, bowed her head after entering her office.

“Yes, Nelly?” Jean spoke to her.

“There is someone here to see you. They say it is urgent,” Nelly informed.

“If it is one of the students, please tell them to come after the classes are over. I’m a little busy right now,” Jean told her.

“It is... Mister Rickward Frizz, ma’am,” Nelly explained.

“Rickward... Frizz?” Jean lowered her head to look at Nelly from the top of her glasses.

“Yes... ma’am,” Nelly said, a mild chill running down her spine.

“I’m so sorry, Nelly. Please, invite him right away,” Jean told her the next second.

“Yes, ma’am,” Nelly rushed out the door and in a few short minutes came back to Jean’s office, allowing the unexpected guest walk into the office before her.

“Mister Frizz, what an unexpected, pleasant surprise. Please, come in,” the headmistress greeted the man. She was now standing in the middle of the room instead of sitting at her desk.

Rickward Frizz was a tall, well-built man and he was almost a head taller than Jean. He looked to be about fifty years of age, was about six feet and four inches tall, had wide, square shoulders and big hands. Rickward Frizz was wearing a dark, almost black suit in a steampunk style which had long, rolled up sleeves, same style waistcoat, black shirt and a black, with the dark-red roses’ pattern on it tie. The same, almost identical dark-red roses’ pattern could be seen on half, left side, of his waistcoat, as well as, on the rolled-up sleeves of his jacket. The whole ensemble gave incredible gothic vibes. Despite his sharp, assertive dress code, Rickward Frizz had a pleasant facial expression, with his deep, dark-brown eyes adding softness to his assertive demeanor. He had short, black hair, decorated with some grey here and there and wore a small, square beard that was extremely neatly trimmed.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Miss Sweetbell, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me without any prior notice on my part of which I sincerely apologize,” the man spoke, coming closer to shake Miss Sweetbell’s hand.

“Not at all. I will always find the time for such esteemed guest such as yourself, Mister Frizz,” Jean said, shaking his hand to greet him. “Please, have a seat, Mister Frizz. Nelly, dear, would you mind preparing some tea for us?”

“Right away, Miss Sweetbell,” Nelly said, bowing her head.

“I wouldn’t want to trouble you, Miss Sweetbell,” Mister Frizz said, raising his hand.

“No trouble at all and it will take only a minute, Mister Frizz,” Jean insisted, adding a smile.

“In that case, thank you for your hospitality, Miss Sweetbell,” Mister Frizz accepted politely.

“Now then, Mister Frizz, I would be lying if I said I am not curious to learn the purpose of your visit to our academy. So, if I may ask, Mister Frizz, what brings you here today?” Jean asked, being very curious to know.

“Allow me to be straightforward with you, Miss Sweetbell. It is regarding my daughter, Emilia Frizz. I would like to pull her out of your academy,” Rickward Frizz stated point blank, sounding assertive yet polite.

“Oh my, I would’ve never thought our academy didn’t live up to standards high enough to provide the best possible education for our students,” Jean wasn’t exactly surprised, but she was.

“Not at all. I’ve heard many great things about Reina’s Magic Academy and I have friends who have their children attend it as well. The issue lies elsewhere you see, Miss Sweetbell,” Mister Frizz told her, motioning with his hand.

“If you be so kind to share some details regarding the matter, so I could take the necessary steps to help resolve any of those issues, Mister Frizz,” Jean offered, her polite smile hiding her concern it probably wouldn’t be that easy this time.

“I don’t mind sharing my reason with you, Miss Sweetbell, but I’m afraid it would be impossible to change my decision regarding the matter,” Rickward Frizz told her.

“I understand. If however... Oh, Nelly, please come in,” Jean invited her assistant to come in instead of saying something else, when the doors to her office suddenly opened.

“Please, excuse me,” Nelly brought the tea with her. Both Rickward Frizz and the headmistress waited patiently for Nelly to serve it, not saying a single word. After she was done, Nelly bowed her head and left the office, leaving them alone again.

“Please, Mister Frizz,” Jean waved her hand, inviting her guest to have a taste while encouraging Rickward Frizz to tell her more about why he wants to pull his daughter out of the academy at the same time. The headmistress had a hunch why Emilia’s father wanted to so, but wanted to hear it from him personally, probably hoping to learn something new about a certain incident that happened not that long ago.

{back at Estella’s estate when Grandpa Yojee and Narias finally came back from their training}

“Welcome back, my dearest,” Grandma Fuuji greeted her husband.

“Nothing feels like home, especially when I can finally see you again, my curly ball of fur,” Grandpa Yojee greeted his wife, stroking his whiskers with one hand.

“Oh, just listen to you. You’ve been away for a few days and you’re purring the moment you see me, you, old pervert,” Grandma Fuuji made it sound like she was upset, but her words only made her husband grin wider.

“Welcome back, Narias. Are you... ok?” Estella asked with a worried expression on her face.

“Yeah, I feel great,” Narias said that, but he looked to be really beat up.

Grandpa Yojee took Narias to a special, private training place where the two of them trained, or rather, Grandpa Yojee provided some sort of distinctive, personal training to help Narias learn how to control his new magic ability. From how Narias looked right now, you could easily tell the training that Narias had done wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. However, even if Narias was just barely able to stand on his feet without any help, his face was beaming.

“Well, don’t keep us in suspense, you, old coot. How did it go?” Grandma Fuuji wanted to know.

“Our grandson truly had outdone himself this time. I’d say he has huge potential to become really strong,” was all Grandpa Yojee said.

“What does that mean?” Estella wanted more detail.

“Mhmm... Something smells really nice. I was definitely missing home cooked food all this time. Come, grandson. Let’s go wash before we have dinner,” but Grandpa Yojee wasn’t willing to spill the beans just yet.

“That’s just so you, humph,” Grandma Fuuji pursed her lips, but then turned to face her granddaughter. “Come, dear. We need to serve the table.”

“But... Sigh... Ok, grandma,” Estella said, about to go with her, but suddenly turned around. “Welcome back, Narias.” She came closer to give him a kiss. Narias couldn’t see it, but her tail was dancing with excitement when she was hugging and kissing him. After that, Grandpa Yojee and Narias went to wash themselves while the women rushed to serve the table.

“Nothing beats hot springs bath after five days of intense training,” Grandpa Yojee let out a satisfied sigh after sitting down at the dinner table. He looked like he was about to melt right where he sat.

“Are you feeling ok, Narias? Do you hurt anywhere?” Estella asked, seeing Narias sit down very carefully.

“I’m ok. My muscles hurt a little, but all is fine,” Narias said, still having the same bright smile on his face from before.

“What a delightful sight to see you so happy, grandson. I take it the training with my husband went well?” Grandma Fuuji asked, showing a very kind smile.

“Yes. It was a lot of fun,” Narias said.

“Fun?” Estella gasped in surprise. “What did you do to him, grandpa?” She looked at her grandfather, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Calm down, Estella. He is perfectly fine. Although, I would suggest you refraining from any even mildly intense physical activity for a few days, grandson, but you already know that,” Grandpa Yojee spoke to her before turning to Narias.

“So, he is hurt after all,” Estella sounded upset.

“No, no. Don’t worry, Estella. My body is simply tired from the training, that’s all,” Narias wanted to reassure her.

“Our grandson made a considerable progress. Although, you are still far from being able to use your new ability to the fullest. But now that you know how it works, all it would take you to master it would be practise... and some patience too,” Grandpa Yojee added, pouring another drink for himself into his small, now empty cup.

“Yes, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias agreed.

“So, you don’t want to tell us, after all,” Estella stated, letting out a sigh.

“But I already did, my dear granddaughter. My grandson’s body is simply too tired right now, so he wouldn’t be able to show you the result of his training,” Grandpa Yojee explained before turning to Narias. “This was a nice change of pace for the last couple of days. You should come visit us again sometime, grandson.”

“Yes, I will, Grandpa Yojee,” Narias said with a smile.

“Wait, you’re leaving? Today?” Estella exclaimed, lifting herself up to stand on her knees.

“It’s... rather late now, so I was hoping I could spend one more night here before I leave?” Narias wondered.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Estella answered his question like a bullet would be shot out of the gun.

“Don’t worry, my dear granddaughter. You’ll still have a whole night to spend with your future husband,” Grandpa Yojee said it in an unusually casual tone of his voice.

“Gra... grandpa!” Estella exclaimed, her face, including her ears, becoming cherry red.

“Also, I’m sure you could work something out too, Estella, so you wouldn’t waste the whole night sleeping even if my grandson can’t put too much strain on his body right now,” Grandpa Yojee added, having another drink from his cup.

“GRANDPA!” Estella felt so embarrassed, she sank her face into her palms to hide it.

“Aah...” Narias rubbed the back of his head, his face looking as red as Estella’s.