70 Like Hitting My Head Against A Brick Wall.

" So Yuki what is it going to be?" Reo said as he took a sip of his tea.

Reo's hands were rather large next to the cup and with his pink jutting from the side of his cup he looked a little like a bear. I literally had to stare up at him. I think I could finally see why some people felt he was imposing.

His bird nest hair sort of removed some of the tension that was filling the room.

I looked at both Ren and Ki who pretended they didn't see me. They had suddenly found their teacups to be the most exciting thing that could have ever happened to them.

I sighed and closed my eyes.

[ What do you think Kibbles? ]

" Oh about what the old man said? As long as you don't tell him about Cupid and Rinura I think it will be okay. Oh probably don't mention Meowster Cupids gift either." Kibbles said after a moment.

I looked over to see his face covered in milk.

It seemed that Kibbles was really easy to win over.

" Grandfather. I am going to tell you a whole bunch of half truths. " I said after a moment.

" Oh?" Reo replied.

Ren and Ki both seemed to look up at me in unison their eyes sharp.

They too were curious.

" For your safety and for the safety of everyone I care about in Tama I must keep some secrets." I said quietly.

" For the good of Tama you say?" Reo said skeptically.

I nodded my head in response.

" I ask that you do not try and guess too much. Please trust me like I am trusting you right now." I replied and looked up at my grandfather.

He seemed to be in doubt but he nodded once in response.

" The first thing I want to say.. Is I can't marry Princess Rosli" I said after I took a big breath.

[ This was really the least of my problems. If he couldn't handle this much then the rest I would lie about ]

" You what?!" Reo said shocked.

Ren and Ki looked at me like I had just pulled down my pants and flashed them.

Their shock was almost as bad as Reo's who sat in a daze for a moment.

" And why is that?" Reo said after a trying his best to poker face.

" I don't…* cough* I don't like women." I said bluntly.

" Oh? Is that all you are still young! Of course you don't like women yet!" Reo said and belly laughed as he slapped his hand on the table.

[ I don't think he gets it. ]

I took in another deep breath.

" Grandfather. I would marry a prince before I married a princess" I said even more bluntly.

" Yes, Yes when I was your age I thought girls were icky too! You will grow out of it!" Reo said as a reflex.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in quite frustration.

[ STUPID OLD MAN! ]

If he wanted to be in denial it was better than me being thrown out of the family. So it was at least a start.

This was all going to be harder than I thought.

It was a family matter after all.

" Mr Reo seems to have been in too many battles Yuki, best you just ignore him." Kibbles said with an eye roll.

I decided my best approach was to leave this subject for now and try on focus on the more immediate dangers.

" Grandfather do you know about when I was training in Tama forest?" I said to clear the room of strange vibes.

" I do, your father was very proud of you for saving your comrades." Reo replied seemly happy I swapped conversations.

" Well after I passed out I awoke to find…" I spoke out loud changing some things calling Rinura a great life mage who had helped me soul bond with Kibbles to save both of our lives. I then went on to talk about Sora and how he appeared leaving almost nothing out.

I really didn't think he needed to know we slept in each others arms the night before he tried to murder me. I also missed the part where I teased Sora by falling into his arms like a maiden.

Reo had his hands clenched the moment I mentioned that Sora was from Vance I asked him if he really did attack Sora's family.

He became enraged.

" Of course not!" Reo said as spit flew on the table.

" Those Vance scum! I am the general of some of the bravest men and women in all of Tama. I would not attack a mere family and torture their son!" Reo said as he stood and banged his fists on the table.

" HOW DARE THEY SEND CHILDREN TO ATTACK MY GRANDSON!" Reo's shout made everyone else in the room jump.

For a moment I swear I could feel killing intent.

" Umm grandfather you are scaring me" I said quietly.

[ Please don't break the table! ]

It took me a few minutes to coax grandfather to calm down. Even Ki and Ren had to join in and we finally got him to sit back down.

He ranted on and on about Vance and how they were scum. He mentioned he would never had hurt Sora and that this was all rubbish.

I wondered if he was telling me the truth or not. Maybe the war had muddled him somewhat but what if he really didn't do as he said and Sora was lied to.

My heart wept for him.

I remembered the scars on his back and knew that something terrible must have happened. Maybe one day I can meet him again.

I took the rest of the day to catch Reo up on everything that I felt he needed to know before I was dismissed.

Apparently the royal family had caught wind of my return and had sent a letter that they were going to visit.

They had a really scary information gathering system.

Too much had happened and I wanted a spot to deconstruct my thoughts so I asked grandfather if I could have a plot of land in the back of the estate and he agreed. I was waved off with a smile and met with the head butler.

Ki and Ren helped me gather the supplies I had asked for and headed to the back of the estate.

It was basically an open field with flowers lining the sides of the estate and a training dojo. I pointed to a spot on the opposite end of the dojo and told the maids who had followed me with the supplies.

" Right it will be all ready for you tomorrow Young Master." One of the maids said.

She had sweat running from her forehead from jogging around the estate.

I said my goodbyes to Ki and Ren and told them to get some rest as I headed back inside with Kibbles.

These next few months are going to be a little crazy.

It won't be long until school starts…

[ Father, mother… what do I do? ]

I couldn't get through to grandfather, princess Rosali was angry at me. Sora wants to kill me and Rinura is toying with me like a mouse. Next year I will have even more issues. If I am going to survive in this world I am going to have to get much.. Much stronger.

The real Yuki didn't have the same problems as me but he still ended up dead. How would I someone who was not even born into this world survive.

I couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get much worse as anxiety piled into the pit of my stomach and wanted to explode through my chest.

I exhaled a sharp breath.

[ I can get through this.. Probably…]

My hands started to sweat. Kibbles jumped on to my chest and licked my face. It was nice knowing he was near me at all times.

Even if there was nothing else he at least comforted me when times became too tough for me to handle. I still wasn't used to being cared about so I wanted to try my best to cherish moments like these.

[ Thank you Kibbles ]

" Pat me!" Kibbles said into my brain.

With one hand I petted Kibbles as I looked up at the ceiling and counted the bricks that it was made out of. The adventuring and conversation with grandfather had made my body feel weak. I rested my eyes for a moment.

Before I knew it I had fallen into a deep dreamless sleep.

Tomorrow was another day…