Kai Kagehashi's POV:
About two and a half weeks have passed since my talk with Grayfiya.
Currently I'm staying up way past my bedtime to study up on a new book I found in my dads closet.
Sitting down in the middle of my room criss-cross applesauce.
Placing the book on the floor I read the title of the encyclopedia.
"How Not To Die While Holding a Sword."
It's a very thick encyclopedia and it has illustrations about basic sword techniques accompanied with detailed descriptions to make it easier to understand.
Flipping through a couple of the pages and looking at the illustration I couldn't help but let out a "Woah."
This book is way too highly detailed for a book that is the definition of how to fight with a sword for dummies.
Flipping through a few more pages I stopped on something that caught my eye.
"In this world, there are 3 mainstream sword styles."
"This first style is relatively new but it's the most popular style in the world right now and its name is the Royal ashura style.
"This sword style is a highly aggressive offensive style that heavily relies on short bursts of speed to close the distance between you and your opponent."
"The trade off is the lack of defense this style gives you."
If I had to compare it to a sword style from my world, it would be Itto-ryu.
"Flip"
"The second style is the Kuroshio style."
"This style is the complete opposite of the Royal ashura style."
"As this style focuses primarily on defense and evasion for quick and decisive counterattacks."
"A master practitioner is able to read the flow of your attack and use their senses to block and counter any attack, including magic and projectiles."
"It's the perfect defensive style for protecting clients and it's mostly used by royal guards."
It reminds me of a guy I watched from a movie called Galaxy Wars.
"Flip"
"The third style is the traditional ashura style."
This style is the building blocks of every known style it's taught to kids who want to become dark knights. It is a formal, highly structured sword style focused on precise footwork, efficient mana/magic control, and standard forms.
"Its superfluous movement captivates young up and coming dark knights in training."
If I could combine the best aspects from each style with the best aspects from the sword styles in my past life there's no telling how high I could go.
Skimming through the rest of the book I was rudely interrupted by a faint groaning sound coming from the hallway, more specifically my parents room.
"Again!?" I thought, rubbing my temple's muffled groans filtered through the thin oak door of my parents room.
I exhaled slowly, trying to focus on my book, but the constant yelping drained any motivation I had to read.
I was planning to memorize the entire book by tomorrow but with those noises, there's no way I'll be able to focus properly.
I need to pee. I've been holding it in for a while now, so might as well call it a day.
Closing the book, I made my way to the washroom walking past my parents room. I suppressed a groan, pressing my back against the opposite wall of the corridor. I moved with the stealth of an assassin, placing my weight carefully on the outer edges of my feet to avoid the squeaky floorboards. Every muffled groan from behind their door felt like a physical blow to my dignity.
Reaching the bathroom, I closed the door with agonizing slowness, ensuring the latch clicked into place without a sound. I let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. The relief of relieving my bladder was vastly overshadowed by the looming threat of the journey back.
Once finished, I washed my hands in the water basin beside the toilet.
Just look at the floor, get back to your room and delete this memory from your brain, I told myself.
Steeling my nerves, I cracked the bathroom door open and I quietly stepped into the hallway, shaking the last drops of water from my small hands. I was about to head back to my room but a faint amber glow from downstairs caught my attention.
That's Grayfiya's room. I wonder why she's still awake at this hour.
My answer came in the form of a loud yelp from my mother.
"Oh, Reg you're such a beast!"
I let out a sigh , giving my parents room door a are you serious look.
Then again, who wouldn't be awake when they're that loud. I exhaled slightly. I'm glad my siblings are deep sleepers because it doesn't sound like they'll be done anytime soon.
Rubbing the back of my neck I thought it through.
Yeah, there's no way I'm getting any sleep like this. I could get them to stop by pretending to be too scared to sleep alone.
I glanced back towards Grayfiya's room.
On the other hand, now that I know that Grayfiya's awake, maybe I could talk to her until things quiet down.
Weighing the Pros & Cons of each option, I decided that option two was the best option I could take.
Making my decision, I made my way down the stairs. Reaching the bottom, I turned toward Grayfiya's room door. It was slightly cracked open, the soft amber glow of her candle illuminated the dark hallway.
Should I say that I had a nightmare and when I woke up there were scary noises coming from mommy and daddy's roo-
My train of thought was interrupted as weird noises came from Grayfiya's room.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I leaned in closer, peaking into Grayfiya's room through the gap in her door I froze.
Laying on her bed was Grayfiya, her forest green hair lay disheveled on her pillow, her face flushed a bright red, and she and she were trying to hold back rough panting.
One of her hands reached beneath her black nightgown, doing some rather suggestive movements.
Grayfiya is… and to my pare- I shook my head stopping myself from finishing that sentence. No Kai! You shouldn't judge! S-She has to hear them going at it then in the morning she has to clean their room, it's only natural that Grayfiya would need some kind of release.
I tried to look away, but my eyes wouldn't obey me. Every time I forced my head towards the floor or the wall it drifted right back to the gap in the door.
Damn it! Stupid hormonal spikes! It has to be! There's no other way to explain why I can't control my own damn body!
I continued to make excuses even though a part of me knew I wasn't telling the whole truth because no matter how much I blame the hormonal spikes I couldn't deny the pull I felt towards her.
Regardless of the reason, this is not something I should be watching.
Finally gaining control over my body I moved away from the door but in my rush to leave I accidentally bumped against the door, a faint creaking sound reverberated through the hallway the sounds coming from Grayfiya's room stopped.
"W-Who's there!?" Grayfiya's voice echoed throughout the hallway.
I froze in place, my entire body locking up on me and I started to panic.
Think, Kai! Think! What kind of explanation could you possibly-
Before I could think of a strategy, Grayfiya opened the door and her disheveled first green hair was more presentable. She peeked her head and when she spotted me her face shifted from alarm to confusion.
"Young Master Kai…?"
Forcing out an awkward smile I replied to her.
"Hey Grayfiya."
She observed me for a few moments before the tension in her shoulders visibly lessened. She placed a hand over her chest before speaking.
"Y-You frightened me. I thought someone broke into the mansion."
Forcing my eyes up to meet her gaze I had to mentally berate myself.
Look at her face. Look only at her face.
"S-Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."
Her expression softened as she crouched down to my height.
"It's fine, Young Master Kai. But why up at this hour shouldn't you be sleeping with young mistress Claire and young master Silas."
"I couldn't sleep because I heard scary noises coming from mommy and daddy's room. I was gonna ask them what was going on but I noticed your light was still on, so I thought I could ask if I could talk to you or if I could sleep with you."
I braced myself for an awkward response. Instead Grayfiya gave me a genuine smile of understanding before ruffling my hair as she stood up and stepped aside, opening her door wider.
"Come on, then. You can hang out here for a little bit."
"Really? Are you sure?" I asked again to make sure if it was okay.
She nodded.
"Of course. I wouldn't want you to be tired and lose sleep over something like that."
"I exhaled a sigh of relief."
Stepping into her room she closed the door behind us, the tension I felt earlier disappeared. Grayfiya walked over to her bed and sat on the edge, she patted the spot next to her inviting me to join her.
"You can sit right here next to me."
"U-Uhm, okay."
Hesitantly walking over to the edge of her bed I carefully climbed up the bed and sat beside her leaving a respectable distance between us.
Grayfiya brought her hand up to her mouth and cleared her throat.
"So what do you wish to talk about, Young Master Kai?"
I furrowed my brows, staring at the floor while considering her question.
"Well, for starters my father mentioned once that the two of you knew each other when you were younger. But he never went into detail. So I was wondering if you'd be willing to share how you two met.
She looked down at me, her eyes softening as a bittersweet smile crept across her delicate features.
She exhaled slowly before she started to speak.
"Alright. I'll start from the beginning. I was born in a small town called Oros."
Oros, huh I guess that means Grayfiya is from the south.
My family's territory is located in the northeastern part of Everhart. Traveling from here to the South would take nearly a month and requires her to switch between multiple carriages. Why did she come all the way out here to the countryside for work?
That question lingered in the back of my mind, but I pushed it aside as Grayfiya continued to speak.
"My parents, Maxim and Elena, owned a dojo dedicated to the defensive style of swordsmanship called the Kuroshio style. Which meant my entire childhood revolved around me awakening as an Elementalist and becoming a swordswoman."
"But no matter how much I practiced, my swordsmanship was only average. I only truly realized this after a lazy, featherheaded son of a noble turned up at my Father's dojo."
"Apparently, he ran away from home after a quarrel with father over him being an adventurer. And with nowhere else to go, he came to our dojo to learn the Kuroshio style before he became an adventurer."
"Let me guess, it was my Father."
Grayfiya snorted as small giggles escaped her quivering lips.
"Indeed it was, though I wasn't particularly amused with his laidback personality at first but after a while I figured out why my dad allowed him to stay."
"Lord Reginald was brimming with talent, even though he was taught a different style of swordsmanship from my own, his abilities quickly surpassed mine."
"That particular revelation didn't exactly have me jumping for joy. But seeing Lord Reginald's improvement made me realize something. I simply lack talent with the sword, so I gave up being a swordswoman." Grayfiya said, her voice hitching as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"I can tell how hard that was for her, giving up on something you dedicated your whole childhood to must be difficult."
"Despite his laidback attitude he absorbed all of my father's teachings like water to a sponge, eventually he surpassed even my father."
"It was then my father revealed the real reason why he took Lord Reginald in; he wanted me to marry him so that he could take over the dojo."
"W-Wait what?"
"That was my reaction as well. She said letting out a soft breath. My father said to us that since he didn't have a son he planned to have his successor be whoever married me."
"And because I grew up with all the male students and viewed them as my little brothers, it couldn't be any of them so when Lord Reginald arrived, my father saw the perfect man to marry me off to."
"I see… Though knowing how stubborn my father is, I imagine that he didn't take too kindly to your father's plan."
Grayfiya let out a hollow chuckle, her lips curving into a dry smile.
"You're correct. Lord Reginald politely refused and afterwards he left the dojo with one final declaration to my father. "I'm going off to Alandal to become an adventurer."
That checks out with what my father told me but there's something I want to ask her.
"Grayfiya, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes Young Master Kai what is it?"
"If you were a swordswomen how did you become a maid going from a swordswoman to a maid is a drastic job change."
My question must've struck a nerve. An eerie silence stretched between us as Grayfiya looked down, her face a blank canvas I couldn't read."
"I-If that's something you'd rather not talk about, then you don't have-
"It is quite alright, Young Master Kai," Grayfiya interrupted softly, offering a small, reassuring smile. "You do not need to walk on eggshells around me. If it pleases you, I am more than willing to share."
Grayfiya exhaled a slow breath before she continued on.
"Around the time Lord Reginald left, the dojo started to decline. Eventually my father decided that he wanted me to make a name for myself. So,he used his connections to secure me a spot as a Valkyrie and a maid/tutor to the First Princess of Everhart."
My eyes widened in disbelief.
"You were one of the Valkyries in the Valkyrion Empire!"
Grayfiya nodded. "I was. Though that life feels like a distant memory now."
"When the City-State Alliance was still aligned with the Everhart Kingdom they sent some of their Valkyries to act as made maids for the princess."
"I was one of the lucky few to get chosen to be the first princess's personal maid."
"Why did the City-State Alliance stop their alliance with the Everhart Kingdom?"
Grayfiya lowered her head, gripping the edges of her nightgown. "Young Master Kai... the official records blame it on a trade dispute. But the truth stays buried deep in the royal courts library."
"When I still served as a maid there... An assassin snuck in the middle of the night and ambushed me and struck me with a dagger coated in a poison made specifically for the first princess, a troublesome cell destroying poison resistant to normal antidotes."
A poison resistant to antidotes, huh? I guess medicine in this world has its limits.
"I was able to survive thanks to the wounds being tended to by a few Channelers. They neutralized the poison but there were side effects that lingered. The tendons and muscles in my left leg were so severe that it left me unable to do any long term fighting."
My eyes drifted down to Grayfiya's left leg. The mystery I've been pondering on for the past two and a half weeks has finally been answered. Yet I didn't feel any joy, all I felt was sympathy."
Lifting my eyes up I opened my mouth to speak but Grayfiya beat me to the punch.
"After that the City-State Alliance broke off their alliance with the Everhart Kingdom and I was honorably discharged from my position."
"So the reason they broke the alliance was because you got injured?"
"In a way, yes. But don't mistake it for chivalry, Young Master Kai. Alliances are business if one side feels like the other is using them they'll cut off that connection. My injury was simply the perfect excuse for both sides to pull their daggers out from behind their backs and draw the line in the sand. And it also gave me an excuse to get as far away from the Capital as I possibly could."
"Ahh, so that's why you came all the way out here to the countryside."
"Yes I believed that, with this region being so far away from the Capital, it was the safest place for me to find work. So, after discreetly switching between a series of carriages. Unfortunately, my injured leg meant a career as a fighter was off the table. So going over the options in my head I decided that being a maid was my best option."
"That's a surprisingly practical way of thinking."
"One must think realistically. Her smile faltered. That's said… I specifically looked for work under low ranking nobles, since high ranking nobles have ties to the King. And after everything that happened, I wanted no part in royal affairs ever again.
"I can't blame you for that. Given everything you've been through, wanting a peaceful life away from all that seems perfectly reasonable to me."
Grayfiya looked at me in bewilderment, as if she didn't expect that type of response from someone my age.
"Thank you, Young Master Kai, you're very kind."
"I disagree, I don't think it's kindness, just common courtesy.
"Well, I'm not so sure about that. But I don't regret my decision, finding a baron that still paid decently was . It took me months of searching the job board in the city before I finally found a Lord Reginald's job posting for a personal maid for Lady Cecilia."
Grayfiya said a small smile crept upon her features that carried much emotion, it mesmerized me.
"Looking back, finding this job was a dream come true." Grayfiya said, her eyes softening. "Despite it being eight years since we last met, Lord Reginald welcomed me with open arms and offered me far better wages than I expected to get. Lady Cecilia is kind, Young Mistress Claire and Young Master Silas are polite. And Kai, you've always-
I raised my hand, cutting her off.
"Oh? And since when did you start calling me just 'Kai', Grayfia? I thought I was your 'young master'." I said, as a teasing smirk crept upon my features.
Grayfiya simply stared at me in confusion before her eyes widened in realization, her hands flew to her face, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson as she hid behind her palms.
"Forgive me," Grayfiya mumbled, her voice muffled but distinctly embarrassed. "It appears I became so caught up in reminiscing that I quite forgot myself."
Well I'd call that progress. I said, chuckling softly as I looked at Grayfia.
"Please don't tease me too much, Kai."
The moment the last few words left her lips, Grayfiya stiffened her face turning a deeper shade of crimson.
"I seem to be making a habit of this tonight."
"I don't mind in the slightest after all I did ask you to call me Kai.
"I do remember you saying that, but I certainly wasn't expecting to say it by accident."
"Well, I believe that accidents are at times more honest than intentions."
Grayfiya blinked, clearly caught off guard by my remark. Then, without her meaning to, a quiet laugh escaped her lips.
"You really do say the strangest things for someone your age."
I gave her an innocent shrug of my shoulders.
"I've been that once or twice."
I was about to say something else when a subtle silence drifted into the room. The noises from my parents room finally died down.
"Looks like my parents finally settled down." I said as I hesitantly looked up at Grayfiya. "I suppose there's not much of a reason for me to keep you up any longer."
The moment the words left my mouth, Grayfiya looked as if she was debating whether she wanted to say something. And for some reason, that sight made me pause.
"I-If you aren't too tired yet, would you like to continue talking for a bit longer?"
I stared at her for a few seconds. And before I realized it, a genuine smile spread across my features. Not the usual fake smile I learned to wear in my past. Just a simple honest smile.
"I'd love to."
Grayfiya's eyes softened, a genuine warmth washed over her features and the smile she gave me in return made my chest feel light.
"Then let us continue."