"Are you going to borrow the Elvon name?"
Kukyo was stunned at the question. " But isn't that too much, after all you've given me so much?"
"No, no, it's fine, it's the least I could do since we can't do much to find your parents, and my grandfather is a former knight, so they don't make enough to send us both to school, plus going to the library could make up for you lacking memories," said Grace with a smile
"Bu–" Kukyo's words cut short as he looked at Grace and then started to shed tears.
"Hey, didn't Grandfather say to stop with the tears, enough already, plus it'll take a lot to convince Grandfather and Grandmother anyway."
As Kukyo wiped away his tears, looking at Grace for a moment, thinking to himself, I'm lucky to have met her.
After finishing her dessert and washing the dessert dish, Grace yawned and thought to herself, I guess I am a little tired, a lot did happen today, huh? After she finished washing the dessert dish, she stretched and looked at Kukyo, who was still sitting at the dinner table, admiring the interior of the house.
"Well, what do you think?" asked Grace
"Huh? What do I think about what?" Kukyo quickly turned to reply to Grace with a confused expression.
"Of the house, you've been looking around, up and down, every time you look at a different part, you look as if you discovered fire," said Grace, tilting her head a little to the side while looking at Kukyo.
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just I haven't seen a place like this before, and it looks amazing," Kukyo replied while looking around for a brief moment, then turning back to meet Grace's gaze.
"Oh, right, I should've-" Grace cuts her sentence short while looking straight at Kukyo, then looks down, feeling dejected. Kukyo was confused about why she looked sad but did not question her, as he thought his answers were the problem.
"I'm sorry, I know that you might feel lost, but trust me, I'll help you as best I can," said Grace with empathetic expression.
Kukyo was stunned by Grace's response for a moment, returning a gentle smile.
"Plus, this is where you're going to stay for now, so no need to look surprised or confused, okay?" said Grace
Kukyo nodded in agreement. Grace then chuckled and said, "Well, it is late, and I still have school tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed. I'll negotiate with my grandfather in the morning about your permit," Grace chuckled, heading to the stairs
"Okay, good night," said Kukyo
"Good night," the two exchanged. Grace then stopped at the middle stair and said, " Oh, right, I forgot you can use any one of the guest rooms and turn off the light when you're heading to bed." Kukyo was stunned for a moment, but then replied, "Sure, and thank you."
After going to her room, she sat on her bed with a gentle but also sad smile, saying, "Mom, Dad, I helped someone today, though he seems a little strange. I helped, and I'm sure he feels lost, so I'll continue to do my best to help him find his way, and I truly hope he finds his parents." After those words, Grace then lay on her bed looking at the ceiling, then after a few minutes, fell asleep.
Kukyo, who was still sitting at the dinner table, decided to head to bed as well, as he was the only one up; the elderly couple had gone to bed a little before Grace. He got up from the chair, pushing it back neatly under the table, then went over to a switch in the living room and thought to himself, I hope these are the right switches. Kukyo had a nervous anticipation of whether the switches would turn off the lights in the living room and kitchen.
"Phew," after flipping the switches and then getting his desired results, Kukyo went upstairs using the moon as his source of light. He then walked down the hallway, making a stop to turn to look at the guest bedroom. Opening the door, he saw a medium-sized bed in the far left corner of the room, on the opposite side of the door, a closet opposite the bed, and a small dresser opposite the door.
It really is just a guest bedroom, huh? Kukyo thought to himself as he felt even more melancholy, he proceeded into the room. Lying on the bed, he looked at the ceiling, trying his best to concentrate on one single thought and purpose: I will return home. That thought echoed through Kukyo's mind as if it were the only light he could see in a void.
For now, I should get my rest. After that thought, Kukyo fell asleep, and the Elvon house went silent, and so did almost all of the town.
After seven hours, a light shone through the small space in between the two curtains in the guest bedroom where Kukyo was staying, leaving a line of sunlight on the opposing wall, also illuminating a small portion of the room lightly. With that scene, Kukyo woke up as he had been edging in his mind and body, waking up early.
I knew it wasn't a dream or nightmare, but I was still hoping, Kukyo thought to himself, looking drowsy. After rubbing his eyes a few times, he went and drew the curtains, letting the sunlight fully engulf the room. Kukyo then walked out of the room, walking towards the bathroom, which was close to his room, with the other guest room standing in between them.
After knocking a few times on the bathroom door, realising no one was occupying it, he went inside, closing the door behind him, and washed his face, looking in the mirror, seeing a young boy with black hair and eyes.
After using the bathroom, he went downstairs, smelling the aroma of food. After reaching into the living room, he saw Grace, who was dressed in her school uniform, and her Grandfather, Arthur, looking displeased at each other as they faced away from each other, with Grace sitting on the couch while Arthur sat in a single sofa chair, reading today's newest newspaper.
Should I ask what happened? No, it's best to stay out of family conflicts, Kukyo thought as he knew how it felt to have an outsider trying to under a matter between family, as he had a younger sister. Kukyo sat on the same couch as Grace, saying nothing, staying quiet for a few minutes, then saying, "Good Morning," to both of them. After a few minutes, Grace replied, "Good morning to you, too, Kukyo," with a smile, then, turning back, fell into silence.
"Oh, Good morning, Kukyo, don't mind them, they're just grumpy after arguing or their form of negotiation," Iris said after walking out of the kitchen after setting breakfast on the table.
"Good morning, Mrs Elvon, Negotiation?" Kukyo asked in confusion while looking at them, thinking that it was more like a war.
"Well, Grace asked Arthur if he could use the Elvon name to get you a permit to the library, and after a lot of exchanging of words, they came to an agreement with Grace winning, but those two never like losing or winning to one another, so now they're sulking," replied Iris
"Oh," Kukyo said while looking down, realizing that he was the cause of their disagreement.
"No need to feel responsible, dear, they're always like this," Iris said, then right after looking at both Grace and Arthur, saying, " Alright, you two, breakfast is ready, so stop your tantrums or would you rather skip breakfast?" After hearing that, both of them turned in shock, facing Iris, then facing each other, and said in a low tone, "No."
Everyone went to the kitchen and sat around the table, eating. Arthur then paused while eating and turned to Kukyo and said, "As per my agreement with Grace, you'll follow me to temporarily change your name and then sign up for the library permit." After hearing Arthur, Kukyo had three questions, but only asked two. " Won't it take a few days to fully have the papers to have my name changed?" Kukyo thought of this question, remembering his world's official processes.
Well, yes, normally, but since I'm a former knight, it'll only take a few hours at most," Arthur replied
Wow, being a knight surely has its pros, Kukyo thought before asking his next question, "I also wanted to know if it would be a problem since I don't have any official document proving my birth or existence on me," Kukyo asked, his tone lowering as he did.
Arthur went silent for a few seconds, then released a sigh, saying, "I'll take care of that too." Hearing this, Grace let out a little chuckle.
After hearing Arthur answer both of his questions with a content answer, he then asked the final question in his mind, Mr. Elvon was specific when he talked about the library permit instead of just saying permit and adding on to what Grace told me a lot of things require a permit, so I guess there isn't a standard permit for everything, but some things have their own permits.
Finishing her food, Grace got up and placed her plates in the sink, then said, "Well, I'll be having my first class soon and I don't wanna miss mag-sci, so I'll see you later, Kukyo." with a gentle smile, taking up her bag in which she left on the couch, and going to the door shouted, "Bye Grandmother, Grandfather."
"Mag-sci?" Kukyo asked in confusion.
Oh, right, you must've forgotten due to your amnesia, mag-sci stands for Magic and Science, it focuses on the fundamentals of magic and incorporates science. For example, the pipes you see connected to each house are called power pipes, which run from the power stations, which harness Alfer to turn it into power used to power technology," answered Arthur
Alfer? Kukyo wanted to ask more, but decided that he would wait until he had access to the books in the library.
Once everyone else had finished eating, they each washed out their dishes with Kukyo going first and washing both his and Grace's dishes. Afterwards, Arthur went to get formally dressed to go to the Licenses and Documents office.
"Do I also have to wear something formal?" Kukyo asked
"Well, no, since you don't have any, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little more clothing for you on our way back," Arthur replied, dressed in a white shirt, black pants, a black tie, and a suit jacket.
"I'm heading out now, bye, Iris," said Arthur, with Kukyo following, saying, "Bye, Mrs. Elvon." As they head out the door.