An annoying metaphorical fly

Kai woke up feeling... surprisingly refreshed.

In all honesty, he thought that the bed would just be for show, but it's comfort was unparalleled. Even though he would still pick his own bed when given the option, he couldn't deny that the bed he slept in last night wasn't far behind.

After waking up, Kai took off the pyjamas he had slept in and neatly folded them on the edge of his bed. He then made his bed and equipped his tunic once more.

He wasn't sure if there would actually be a maid who had to clean his room, but there was no harm in being tidy and making his bed. It also helped to make their job easier, if there was a maid.

... Especially since they might have to clean up the mess Umbra made in the bathroom.

After getting dressed for the day, Kai let out a yawn and made his way to his bedroom door.

To be honest, he was feeling really relaxed. Even though there had been some days during the tutorial in which he had gotten a decent night's sleep, they just couldn't come close to how much rest he felt that he just got.

Maybe there's some sort of enchantment on the bed or something...

Closing his mouth after yawning, Kai opened bedroom door and-

Was shocked to see Queen Anastasia standing on the other side, her own hand rising up, about to knock on the door.

Her clothes had changed from what she was wearing last night, the current dress a little more humble than that flowy red one.

This one was a deep shade of purple, although it was a slim fit, which Anastasia didn't seem to mind. However, there was one similarity between this dress and the last, and that was that it covered every inch of her body besides her hands, neck and head.

She also had an expensive set of earrings in her ears, a shade of purple matching her dress. Kai inwardly wondered to himself how much those would cost in the outside worlds.

"Ah, you're awake. That's good. I hope you slept well?"

Kai then noticed her eyes trail away from him and into his bedroom. A slight smile started to make its way onto her face after taking in how neat and tidy it was, but then it disappeared after Kai noticed his mistake. He had left the door to his bathroom slightly ajar, revealing the remnants of what had happened last night after cleaning Umbra.

"Seems you had a bit of fun last night?"

Kai felt his face heating up slightly, but he quickly composed himself and smiled.

"Sorry about that, there was a fly. And yes, thank you, I slept incredibly well."

Anastasia's smile twitched slightly, but she just laughed softly and said:

"I see, well, I'll organise one of the maids to clean your room. But I would like you to join me as breakfast is ready in the main hall."

And with that, Anastasia patted Kai's head, which was a presumably easy task considering that she was a bit taller than him, and turned around and started walking, not waiting for Kai to follow.

Meanwhile, Kai just stood completetly still, frozen in shock. Had she... really just patted his head?

At this point, Kai couldn't tell if he was going crazy or if he just didn't know how to react to that. Was he supposed to be angry at that?

It's not like the action meant anything... probably.

Sighing, Kai shook his head and started following behind Anastasia. He still had no idea how big this castle actually was, considering that all he had been shown was that hall he had been summoned in, then the way to his bedroom, which he wouldn't forget where it was because of his tunic. A handy feature as he most definitely would have forgotten otherwise.

To be honest, Kai just expected them to walk in silence, much like they had last night, but to his surpise, Anastasia started making small talk.

"Tell me, Kai, what do you know about life after the tutorial?"

Kai remained silent in thought for a few moments. It's not like there's any reason to not answer honestly, everything would soon be common knowledge anyway.

"I know that there's five Main Dimensions, that aren't really Main Dimensions, just various of Subdimensions that teamed up together. I heard that there was some sort of split, but I don't really know how they're split. I also know bits and pieces about the Tournament of Time, but not much to be honest."

Anastasia listend in silence, a small smile on her honestly attractive face. She held her hands in front of her stomach, only making her figure more elegant and regal as she walked.

"Well, that's a bit more than what I expected, but it does make sense considering that you ended up in first place, an achievement worth praising."

Kai smiled softly in response to that. Even if he was someone who had gotten first place in a situation like that, he was still a teenager at heart, and who didn't like getting praised?

"Thank you, Queen Anastasia?"

Anastasia laughed softly.

"Oh please, call me Ana."

Kai's smile faltered for a moment before he let out a dry cough.

"I, uh... I don't think His Highness would be happy with that."

Anastasia sighed softly, bringing a hand up to her exposed forehead.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, but if you're so worried then we can do it when we're in private."

Kai still wasn't sure about it. It seemed that Ezekial was more loyal to the King than to the Queen, meaning that the King had more hold of the power, even though Castillian made sure that Kai respected Anastasia even more than he did him.

"I'm still not sure about-"

Anastasia cut Kai off with a glance backwards.

"Didn't my husband also tell you to listen to me?"

Kai fell silent as he gave in, his ears turning a slight tint of red.

"Alright... Ana."

Anastasia smiled softly, making Kai's heart flutter.

"There you go, good boy."

There it was again, the good boy. Kai should feel weirded out hearing it, but he really didn't mind. In fact, he almost felt that he liked it...

"But while you do know some things, I think it would be better if I taught you some more. I'll make sure to arrange some lessons with a tutor for you, that should help your education come along nicely.

Kai remained silent. To be honest, he wouldn't mind learning a bit about the outside worlds, it was something that he was curious about. A tutor didn't sound like a bad idea...

It wasn't long after that when Kai and Anastasia arrived at another giant door, this one slightly different to the one Kai had emerged from last night.

After waiting for a moment, Anastasia pushed it open as Kai's eyes widened in shock.

It looked like a scene straight out of a Disney movie. There were dozens of maids and butlers prancing around the main hall around a ginormous table. Each of them dropped off a platter of a different type of food. Each of them dropped it on the table and quickly exited as quickly as Kai had seen them, making him imagine if he had hallucinated the whole thing.

"Oh, they really are such good workers." Anastasia clapped as she made her way to the top of the table.

Kai was a little surprised to see Castillian and Ezekial up at the top of the table, each of them doing their own respective thing.

Ezekial stood behind Castillian's throne, a calm expression on his face. He himself wasn't eating anything, making Kai feel a little bad.

Castillian though, had a large amount of food on the table in front of him, yet he was paying it no heed. No, he was much more interested in something else.

"Come on sweetie, say ahh."

Kai then noticed Petunia, who was sat in a chair right beside Castillian. He was also surprised to see what he was wearing.

While Kai had just put his tunic back on, after it had dried in his soul after the incident last night, Petunia had been dressed in a mini version of the dress Anastasia was wearing.

However, while Anastasia's dress was slim and eye catching, Petunia's dress was cute and frilly, much more fitting for a child.

She also had her hair done up with too many curls for Kai to count, her blonde hair looking as she were an actual royal.

... Or a doll.

Kai wasn't sure if John would be pleased or upset with the way she currently looked, but he would at least be able to say that she looked adorable.

Petunia turned her head to look at the source of the commotion, which was Anastasia and Kai making their way towards her. She had a slightly nervous expression on her face before turning around and taking the strange porridge like food that was on the spoon in Castillian's hand into her mouth.

After Castillian pulled out the spoon, Petunia chewed on in a couple of times before her eyes beamed and a smile grew on her slightly chubby face.

Meanwhile, Castillian's expression was that of genuine happiness.

"See, I told you that it would be good."

He then noticed Kai and Anastasia approaching, making his smile dim ever so slightly, but it quickly reached its peak once more when Anastasia leaned down and kissed his cheek.

"Good morning darling, I see that you're taking good care of her."

Castillian's smile grew once more.

"She really is the most precious girl, I'm so pleased that we found her."

Meanwhile, Kai couldn't help but grimace. None of this was going to last, especially when these 6 months were up.

Then again, John had been saved before the whole bidding process, so maybe it wouldn't even take 6 months to find his daughter.

After having that brief conversation with his first wife, Castillian's smiled dimmed as he turned to look at Kai.

"And you, I'm hearing that there was a... fly in your bathroom?"