"Yes, and thank you for having me."
Kukyo, after those words, walked into the kitchen and sat at the dinner table, sitting next to Arthur, who was back to reading his newspaper. Grace and Iris then brought the plates with food. Grace brought two plates for herself and Kukyo, and Iris for herself and Arthur, then both Grace and her grandmother sat down, Iris opposite to Arthur, and the same with Grace and Kukyo.
"Enjoy everyone," said Iris
Everyone then started to eat dinner, which consisted of Chicken, rice, and green beans. After taking the first bite, Kukyo felt like he was back home eating his mother's lovely cooking and shed a tear. After seeing this, Grace chuckled a little, "It's good, isn't it?" tilting her head to the side just a bit. Kukyo then nodded in agreement and continued to eat.
"So, where are you from, Kukyo?" Arthur asked, taking a break from eating to ask. Kukyo, after hearing the question, looked down with a faint smile, saying, "I don't know, I don't remember."
"You don't remember?" Arthur asked this time with an even more curious expression
"Kukyo has amnesia, and it's really bad; he doesn't remember where he's from or who or where his parents are," Grace said with a sad expression. "I bumped into him this morning, lost in thought, on my way to school, and then sitting at the entrance of an alley, so I offered to take him here."
"What?!" Arthur and Iris' expressions changed from curious to shocked and concerned.
"What do you mean? I thought you said he was a friend," Arthur said, looking at Grace, then turned and looked at Kukyo for a moment as if to check if he sensed any dangers from Kukyo like a mother dog protecting her children, then looked back at Grace, expecting to hear her answer.
"Well, he is a friend, even if our relationship hasn't started that long ago, plus he needed help," Grace replied, looking at Arthur with a firm look as if her will to live was being tested. Arthur then stared at her for a moment, after seeing that Grace was determined and nothing could change her mind, Arthur looked down for a second, letting out a sigh, then lifted his head with a disappointed look. " I understand wanting to help someone, but don't you think this was a bit reckless and especially with his foreign clothing, he could be a-
"I know!" Grace said while cutting off her grandfather.
Grace had a faint smile, looking at the table as she said, "Yeah, I know, but mom always said, 'Always help others, no matter what.' Arthur and Iris were stunned this time with a sad and shocked expression, as if they were holding back tears, as they heard that a family had been in an accident.
"Very well, it can't be helped, I suppose, but we should at least alert the knights about this matter," Arthur suggested with anticipation of Grace's answer.
"No, they might arrest him, seeing his clothing and suspicious situation," Grace replied with a firm look again.
Arrest me?, I guess I'm in a worse situation than I originally thought, and it seems my clothing also brings a lot more than just unwanted attention, Kukyo thought to himself in anticipation of Arthur's response to Grace
"Ok, but we can't just-"
"Arthur," Iris cut off Arthur mid-sentence, looking at him with a smile as if she was telling him that it was ok and to trust Grace. Arthur looks back at her with a concerned expression, trying to convince her, but looking at her felt like a temptation in that he couldn't fight or resist.
"Ok, ok, he can stay here for the time being," Arthur said with a look of disappointment in himself. Grace faced lit up with joy as she received a gift on Christmas. "Thank you, Grandfather." Arthur looked at Grace, then looked at Iris, then at his food, saying, "Yeah, yeah."
Kukyo turned while sitting in his chair, facing Arthur. " Thank you, sir," then turned to Iris, and said, "Thank you, Ma'am."Iris kept her smile while Arthur looked at his food and said, " No problem, I just hope that you're not trouble for all of our sakes." Kukyo then lifted his face, showing his face with tears running down his cheeks.
"Wow, kid, no crying, you're making me feel bad for even disagreeing with Grace, just eat your food," Arthur said as he went back to eating his food before Kukyo got more emotional. Grace looked at Kukyo with a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Crybaby, I told you that I would give you a place to stay… no need for tears."
Kukyo wiped away the tears from his face. "Yeah, you did, thank you." Grace chuckled in reply. After the heart-warming moment, everyone went back to eating dinner with a slight bit of tension in the air.
After dinner, all the dishes were washed and put away. I have a place to stay for now, but what about getting back home? And I still have to at least know where I am. Kukyo thought to himself, after he thought of something, I don't think it would be right to ask for the lovely Elvon to send me to school, plus that kinda sounds like a hassle to me as well if I wanted to return as sound as possible… That's it, the library.
"I have a question," said Kukyo as he looked at Grace, who was across from him at the table, eating a slice of cake as dessert. She paused for a second, then asked, "What is it?" with a curious look.
"Well, I went to use the library today, but I got kicked out because I didn't have a permit. What is that?" Kukyo asked with a curious expression.
"Oh, a permit, yeah, you would need one of those for the library, huh?" Grace replied, looking at the cake, then continued, "Well, due to the war that occurred 5 years ago, many different people have resorted to espionage to try and gain an advantage in case there's another war, they would come out on top, and due to that, many places are either restricted to civilians or require a permit."
War, huh? This thought concerned Kukyo, but only slightly, since everyone seemed to be at ease in the city, but he knew that he needed to be cautious. "Espionage, so that's why you didn't want to report my situation to the knights?"
"Well, yeah, and especially with your strange attire, you'd definitely be arrested and questioned or maybe worst, tortured," Grace replied
Tortured? I guess I have a lot to thank Grace for, huh? Kukyo looked down, ashamed of himself for his dependency on someone he had just met, with the thought that he might be trouble for her after all, but still had his goal of returning home on his mind, and could bother to bear such thoughts at the moment. I guess I'll just have to keep out of trouble and make sure not to draw too much attention to myself.
"Can I ask how to get a permit?" Kukyo asked
"How to get one? Well, in order to get into the library, you would need to be blood-related to a known citizen who's lived here over 25 years and has taken the test, be part of a highly known and recognized knight, noble, governor, or, of course, the Royal Family." Grace replied, pointing her fork towards and from Kukyo repeatedly as she explained.
"Oh," Kukyo looked down with a sad expression and continued, "I guess there's no way I could get one, huh?"
"Huh, well, there is a way," said Grace with a puzzled expression.
"Really, how?" Kukyo asked in shock and excitement
"Well, my grandfather, father, and mother were highly known knights; all you would have to do is become a member of our family, or at least borrow the family name."
Wow, but isn't this too much to ask of Grace and her Grandparents after all they have been so kind to me? This feels like I'm taking advantage of them, Kukyo thought to himself, holding his head down again. "So what do you say, Kukyo?" Grace asks, cutting through his thoughts.
"Huh?" Kukyo asked with a confused expression.
"Are you going to borrow the Elvon name?"