Not long after talking to everyone and cleaning himself up, Agami wished everyone a good night and returned to his room, exhausted from the day. He sits on his bed, recounting the close calls and events.

  Things are ramping up, and I'm still nowhere near prepared for them. He lies on his back, staring at the ceiling, looking at his right arm. This doesn't feel like it will be enough to cut it. Gearfried is dangerous all around…Imino is fast…Danzo and Olya can handle themselves in a situation…I can’t even imagine how strong Sora is if he used to be the commander. His mind drifts to their encounter with Ken. He remembers when they were surrounded and what Tenmei was suggesting.

  What was that about?

  He sits up and calls for his grandfather, “Tenmei? Tenmei, are you there?”

  “Yes, I am here. Is something wrong?” Tenmei’s voice rings as a flame appears from his arm.

  “You mentioned something about a trick up your sleeve earlier. What was it?” he asks.

  “Hm? Trick up my sleeve? Trick…trick…Oh, that. Are you referring to when we were escaping from the Ascenders with Ken earlier?” Tenmei asks. Agami nods his head in response. “Yes, I do have some tricks and plans in case we are in trouble, but those are more for emergencies. Why do you ask?”

  Agami lifts up his right arm and answers, “I was hoping you would have some way of getting stronger quickly, or maybe the armament has some secrets that could give me the edge over our enemies.”

  “Are you still beating yourself up over what happened earlier. As I told you, you did fine. You are growing slowly, and in that way, you will become stronger eventually,” Tenmei responds.

  “Yeah, but-”, Agami tries to respond, but Tenmei interrupts.

  “Agami, as someone who has seen more than you will know. Shortcuts to power come at a cost, sometimes taking more than you could account for. I understand that being next to Gearfried, Sora, and Imino may make you feel that you are holding everyone back, but strength from discipline, patience, and determination is greater. Many are not prepared for sudden power, especially when handed to them outright,” Tenmei lectures to Agami.

  After a brief moment of silence, Agami only nods his head. After which, Tenmei finishes, “Now put it to rest, I am sure the others have plans for you, so we need to recover as much as we can for tomorrow.”

  Tenmei disappears back into the man's arm, not speaking for the rest of the night. Agami rests his head on the pillow, unsure of the days to come, as he slowly falls to sleep and his mind drifts to simpler days.

  About eleven years ago.

  The sun gently warms the room, and the birds chirp peacefully outside. Marik and Erina are busy preparing outside for their duties. The door suddenly swings open as Erina walks in. This doesn’t bother the slumbering boy as he carelessly scratches his stomach while drool escapes from his mouth. Without warning, she flips over the mattress, and Agami falls to the floor. He raises his head in confused alarm, “I’m up! I’m up! Where’s the president of Ner Tolier?” He looks around the room before stopping at a fuming Erina.

  Crap!

  He quickly stands up, washes himself, and puts on his suit and gloves before walking out of the room to join a line of butlers and maids. Marik is waiting for the two to join the rest. After joining the line, he takes a deep breath and begins, “Today, Lord and Lady Stilmur are hosting a thirteenth birthday party for Master Erik. Guests will be arriving before noon. It is our duty not to dishonor the Stilmurs by failing to prepare the main garden and hall. In addition, please be especially kind and caring to our young master and give him your sincerest wishes. Your assignments are listed on the sheet Erina posted on the board. If there is any confusion, please come speak to me or Erina. That is all.”

  The other maids and butlers give a slight bow in agreement and disappear, while Erina and Marik stay behind with Agami.

  Erina was a young woman with neat, short red hair. She was rarely seen without her maid's uniform and was an exemplary maid—always courteous and following the rules. It seemed unlikely for her not to be the head maid of the household. Outside her duties, she behaved in a tomboyish manner, often described as loud and mischievous, but most people describe her as energetic. Since Agami was young, she gradually began caring for him, making sure he was getting enough nutrients, wasn’t getting into trouble, and had sufficient discipline and training to handle his duties as an aspiring butler.

  Next to her stands Marik, the household's head butler. He had short, neat dark hair that complemented his clean-cut beard. Unlike Erina, he maintained a calm and graceful demeanor both during and outside of his duties, living by the rule that ‘to be graceful, one must maintain it throughout their life.’ He has earned the respect of many, including both servants and nobles, often seen as a guiding figure. He also took on the role of caring for Agami from a young age. Though it was initially just a duty, he gradually started to treat him like family. With Erina, he helps raise him and ensures he doesn’t stray too far. Surprisingly, he and Erina are quite close, with the other maids and servants still figuring out their relationship.

  “Honestly, you need to stop staying up so late,” Erina says as she kneels and fixes Agami’s clothes, “And how many times do I need to tell you to take pride in your clothes?”

  “I’m sorry, it wasn’t my fault,” The young Agami says as he yawns.

  “Then whose fault is it?” Marik asks as Erina throws away a candy wrapper she finds in Agami’s pocket.

  Agami looks away and murmurs, “Eriks.”

  “Master Erik.” Erina corrects as she pulls out a pack of cards from his breast pocket.

  “Master Erik,” Agami complainingly responds.

  Marik gives a slight chuckle before continuing, “I see. You two love your games.”

  “I would have won if he hadn’t scared me.”

  “How much stuff do you have in your pockets, you little hoarder?” Erina complains as she pulls a small game device from his inner pocket.

  “It’s good to see you get along so well,” Marik smiles as he crouches to reach Agami’s height. But please be sure to be responsible when you have fun.”

  “I will,” Agami pouts.

  “You know, the young master will probably want company for the day. So you can forget your chores today,” Erina smiles as she wipes her hand with a cloth.

  “Really?!” Agami says in excitement with a sudden burst of energy.

  “Yes,” Marik warmly says.

  Agami excitedly runs to the door but turns around as he reaches it. He runs back to Marik and Erina, hugs them, and smilingly says, “Thank you!” running to meet Erik after.

  As he made his way from the servants' living quarters to the main mansion, Agami ensured his gloves were covering his hands, especially the one on his right arm. According to his parents, “It’s a bad omen to let anyone witness such a hideous thing.” Remembering their words, he feels a slight pang of resentment towards his arm. If only it weren’t there, maybe his parents would love him. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he reaches the stairs and opens the door to the kitchen. He passes through the chef’s, greeting each of them before arriving in the main hallway.

  The main hallway is a large open space with a second-floor balcony. The floor is covered with shining marble, its clear reflection thanks to the hard work of the maids. A large velvet rug extends from the main door and crawls its way through the second floor, inviting those honored enough to explore the mansion to be in awe of its beauty. In the hall, grand portraits of previous generation Stilmurs decorated it, their faces visible due to the light from the large crystal chandelier hanging between the floors. The house servants are running around preparing the house for the grand event. Not paying too much attention to Agami.

  “GAMI!” A voice shouts from the second floor.

  He looks up to find Erik waving at him. Without a moment to spare, Agami runs up to meet his brother while Erik himself runs down to reach him. After a rather weird twist, Agami is on the second floor and Erik is on the first. They look at each other, confused. Without hesitation, the boys try to run again to each other, but are back where they started. After repeating this a couple of times, Erik frustratingly shouts, “Just wait there, I will meet you upstairs, don’t move!”

  Agami nods his head and waits patiently for his brother. After a moment, Erik finally reaches him.

  “We have really got to stop doing that,” Erik says as he catches his breath. Erik is Agami’s older brother. Unlike Agami, his hazel hair was neatly kept, and he always wore formal and sharp clothing. Today, he wore his favourite dark suit with a deep crimson shirt. Although his parent never talked to Agami, Erik always played and spoke with him, often leading to both of them getting up to mischief, the mastermind always shifting.

  After a brief moment to allow Erik to catch his breath, they finally speak to one another, “Oh, right. Happy birthday, Erik!” Agami says happily.

  “Thank you! Today is going to be really fun. Mother and father told me lots of people are going to come through to celebrate!” Erik says with a wide smile.

  “Really?!” Agami’s face slightly turns red, and he tries to hide his shyness, “ Is-...Is Rosa coming too?”

  A mischievous grin appears across Erik's face, “Ohhh, worried about Rosa coming?” He notices Agami doing a poor impression of disinterest and not making eye contact. “Sorry to say, but she saw you staring at her the other day-”

  “Eh, she saw that,” Agami unexpectedly answers.

  “Wait, you actually stared at her?” Erik responds in confusion, the tables suddenly turning on him.

  Agami looks away again and scratches his head, but this time a little embarrassed, “Well, Erina publicly scolded me for being a bit too obvious about it. Heh heh.”

  Erik looks at him disappointingly and says, “Come on, she finally started talking to us, and you are already blowing it.”

  “Sorry about that, I’ll be a bit more careful,” Agami despondingly responds.

  Erik takes a slight breath and puts his arm around Agami, “Don’t worry about it? Let your bigger brother teach you the ways of the world.”

  Agami looks over to his brother with disgust and says, “Bigger brother, you're only an hour older than me. And besides, I don’t want advice from the guy who peed himself in front of the maids.”

  Erik's face suddenly becomes red, and he jumps back in embarrassment, “Tha-Tha-That was only because you would stop making stupid faces when I told you to stop! And besides, you have way worse luck than me, Mr Peepers!”

  Agami suddenly feels a wave of embarrassment come over him as the memory of him accidentally walking into the women's showers plays across his mind. His face also becomes red as he says, “I was sick that day, how was that my fault?!”

  “Being sick makes you weak, not stupid! I’m telling Rosa about it as soon as she gets here!”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “You Bastard!”

  The two boys argued back and forth until Marik stopped and scolded them for being noisy, forcing them to make up and go outside. While playing outside, Agami watches the main gate as cars arrive. The cars are unlike anything he has seen before. While large crowds for events at the household were common, the prestige of the cars driving in seems to have changed. Erik also notices this and watches with Agami.

  Agami’s eyes fixed on the entrance, he says, “I have never seen those cars before.”

  “Me neither. Did mother and father invite someone special?” Erik asks.

  “How would I know? Mom and Dad never speak to me.”

  The two stop playing and continue to watch from a distance. One of the guests notices Erik and walks over to wish him a happy birthday. After a lengthy introduction, the boys opted to watch from further away to avoid the grown-ups.

  After an hour of people watching, Rosa arrives in a new car. As it was for the nobles, just like clothes, you never use the same car twice. At least that's what Erina jokingly said to Marik. They quickly hop off the garden bench and run to her. Upon noticing them, she smiles as they reach her.

  “Good afternoon, Agami. It’s nice to see you as lively as ever,” Rosa kindly greeted. Rosa Hoffwell is a close friend of Erik and Agami. She tends to wear more casual clothes to the dismay of the other nobles, but maintains proper manners, finding a compromise between the uptight noble decorum and relaxing nature. Her parents are fortunately rich and powerful enough to be able to go against the curve, as they were similar in nature to her. Today she wears an elegant dress that is appropriate for her age. Her navy colour hair complements her deep crimson eyes. Agami remembers when they first met her and how nervous she was, but after a while, she seemed to have gotten used to them.

  Returning to his senses, Agami immediately blushes, bowing and gesturing to his side, “Ah, please pay no mind to me. Today is Master Stilmur's birthday. Please greet him before I.”

  “Erik?” Rosa asks confusedly.

  “Yes, Master-” Agami raises his head and realises that Erik isn’t next to him. “That idiot must have given me the slip!” He curses under his breath as he realises his brother forced him to be alone with Rosa.

  Confused, she worryingly asks, “Did you hit your head again, Agami?”

  “No-no, I haven't been playing in the store room since the last time I had my accident. Erik-... I guess I’m so used to having him by my side, it's become muscle memory,” Agami nervously chuckles.

  “I see…” She quickly grabs his right hand and begins leading him to the main hall, smilingly saying, “Come on, we don’t want to be late for the party!” As he tries to hide his fluster, he turns around to see Erik peeking from the corner. He has a mischievous smile and gives him a thumbs up as Agami is led to the party.

  Arriving in the main hallway, it seemed that the maids and butlers had prepared the venue in time, as the hallway was unrecognizable. There were many elegant decorations and ribbons placed around. Looking toward some of the doors, there are tables set up with appetizers and people walking around serving refreshments. Rosa stayed close to Agami, as she is still uncomfortable with large crowds.

  They grabbed some starters and walked around, looking at what entertainment was available. Looking to his right, he sees Erina violently shaking Marik by his collar as she excitedly points toward him and Rosa.

  “What’s wrong with Erina?” Rosa asks while eating a finger sandwich.

  Avoiding embarrassment, Agami turns around and begins walking away, telling her, “She must have seen her favourite celebrity.”

  Rosa immediately picks up her head to look around. “Really?! Where?” she says. She quickly notices Agami walking away and catches up.

  The two spend the next couple of minutes wandering before they are called to the main hallway for the reception. Arriving, they find a large crowd has gathered, with Marik and Erina standing atop the main stairs. The crowd quiets down as the lights, except for those focused on the stairs, dim.

  “ANNOUNCING THE HOSTS OF THE EVENING! SIR AND LADY STILMUR, ALONGSIDE OUR CELEBRATED MASTER ERIK STILMUR!” Marik announces as the lights dim, his voice carrying throughout the hall. Both Marik and Erina step aside, and a quartet plays music to signal their arrival.

  Erik appears, accompanied by Johnathan and Cecilia Stilmur, slightly lagging behind him. Agami couldn’t help but notice how much Erik's demeanor changes. Whenever they play together, he is always smiling with a mischievous grin, but in these processions, he seems like a completely different person—calm and elegant, words he would never use to describe Erik.

  Arriving atop the stairs, the crowd stops clapping and listens intently. Erik clears his throat and looks around nervously for someone; all eyes are on him. “Good evening, everyone. I graciously thank you for attending this momentous and humble occasion. I assure you that the Stilmurs have spared no expense to ensure you have a grand time while you are here today. As a thank you, we invite you to enjoy the various types of entertainment made available for you around the estate and to join us in the banquet hall once the sun sets. That is-” He is interrupted by Johnathan as he quickly whispers something in Erik's ear. Erik's eyes widen as his father speaks, and he becomes nervous all of a sudden.

  After Johnathan steps back, Erik continues,” Uhm, so-” He clears his throat, “My sincerest apologies, everyone. I have just received word that later tonight, Sir Arlius will be gracing us with his presence.” The crowd suddenly breaks into excited whispering. Agami looks to Rosa, who suddenly looks surprised. Turning his attention back to the stairs, Erina and Marik's stance had changed slightly. They walk down the stairs, signalling the other butlers and maids to follow them.

  Who’s Arlius?

  Erik clears his throat again, managing to silence the crowd's chatter, “Before finishing, the Stilmurs would like to extend their thanks to our esteemed maids and butlers for their continued integrity and work, and additionally, we thank the Hoffwells for their continued support. Thank you all, and enjoy the party.”

  “Arlius?” Agami says to himself as the crowd disperses excitedly. Now that the party has started, Agami and Rosa explore what else it has to offer. Ironically, even though it was a child's birthday party, there wasn’t much entertainment for the children.

  They looked around to find the other children surrounding Erik. Agami sighs and looks to Rosa. She will probably have more fun with them. Agami quickly turns to her and blurts, “Oh, I forgot I have some stuff to do for Marik! Sorry, Rosa! ” He quickly walks away and passes through the crowd, entering the cordoned area where only estate staff are allowed to enter. He takes a sigh as he walks down the empty hallway. “It’s not selfish; she will make more friends, and I won’t be holding her back.” He finds a crate at the end of the hallway and sits on it, “But I still wanted to hang out,” He groans as he looks up.

  “Then why don’t you?” a voice says aloud. Agami quickly stands up and looks around. The hallway is still empty, and the chatter from the hallway still echoes in the main hall. Slightly disturbed, he walks out of the hallway but bumps into Marik, who is busy on the phone.

  “Yes…Yes, that is correct. No, I said twelve more crates.” Marik answers. He notices Agami and places his hand on the boy's shoulder, signalling him to wait. “I’m going to hand you over to one of my colleagues. Please finish the order with them. I have other matters to attend to. Thank you.” He quickly signals to one of the maids passing by to take over. After handing her the phone, he gives her a list and points to where he was last. Once finished, he turns his attention toward Agami, “Is something the matter, Agami. I thought you were having fun.”

  Realising he had a frown on his face, Agami quickly breaks out a fake smile and says, “Who? Me? I am fine, sir!”

  Marik gives the boy a disappointed look and says, “Agami, what have we said about lying?”

  Agami gives up and slumps his shoulders, not bothering to maintain the facade. “Unnecessary lies just create unnecessary problems.”

  “Exactly, now what's the problem?” Marik continues as he leads Agami to a more secluded area.

  “I had to leave Rosa so she could hang out with other people.”

  “Oh my, I didn’t expect young Miss Hoffwell to be so materialistic!” Marik says in surprise.

  “Oh, no, no! It wasn’t her, it was me. I chose to leave her alone,” Agami takes a deep breath before continuing, “It's just that other kids were hanging around Erik, and last time I spoke to them, they ignored me or just pushed me away. I don’t want Rosa to see that, and besides, she and Erik fit in better there. I would just cause problems.”

  After finishing, Marik looks toward the wall in front of them and scratches his beard, thinking of what to say. After a moment, he asks, “Hmmmm, did Rosa say she was hindered by your presence?”

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “I see, I see. Was she bored with you or unhappy?”

  “No, she was smiling most of the time.”

  Marik slightly chuckles before continuing, “You know, when I first started as a Butler, I used to have plenty of people look down on me, especially the snobs out there. I was actually in this exact position where it got to me. Do you remember Mr. Clark?”

  Agami looks up, confused, “Wasn’t Grandpa Clark your old boss?”

  “The previous head butler, and yes, he was. He sat me down and told me this: The people out there can’t manage their lives without us. They don’t dress themselves, cook for themselves, and sometimes can’t even open the doors for themselves. Luckily, we only serve one of them. When we go out there, we wear our pride on our sleeves as we help our masters. Their attitudes should not affect our work nor our lives. Now go out there and be unapologetic but not monstrous. For you are you, and they are whatever they are. Only you and those you care about matter.”

  “Hm, I didn’t think of it like that,” Agami responds as he ponders Marik’s words.

  “Few rarely do,” he chuckles before continuing, “Mr. Clark was a slave-driver, but when you sat down with him, he was an entertaining guy.”

  “Yeah. Grandpa Clark always gave me candy, and I always beat him in checkers,” Agami smilingly says, kindly remembering his words.

  “Wish he was with us now.”

  “Hm? Hey, stop pretending I already passed away, you bastards!” Clark says as he angrily walks toward them.

  Marik suddenly breaks out a nervous smile and chuckles nervously, “Oh, you could hear us?”

  “Correct. Just because I became the house steward doesn’t mean I died!” He angrily says to Marik. He suddenly looks toward Agami, “Kid, your girlfriend is busy looking for you in the kitchen.”

  “Rosa? Really?” Agami says, surprised.

  Both Marik and Clark break out in a grin, “Oh, you didn’t deny it,” Marik cheekily grins.

  Agami’s face suddenly turns red, and he runs to the kitchens. “You guys suck!” He shouts in embarrassment, Marik and Clark's laughter disappearing behind him.

  Arriving in the kitchen, he finds Rosa and Erina happily chatting. Walking towards them, Rosa notices Agami. She immediately pouts and looks away from him. Realising what was going on, Erina breaks out a wide smile and says, “Oh, looks like their calling for me. Have fun, you two!” She leaves with a bit of an awkward walk as she heads outside the kitchen.

  “Uhh, hi, Rosa,” Agami awkwardly asks. Unfortunately, she doesn’t respond. “Sorry for running off earlier, I, um…well I-... Marik-”

  Before he could continue, she interrupts him, “You don’t have to lie to me, Agami.” She looks at him, and from her expression, she seems to be on the verge of tears. “If you didn’t like hanging out with me, you could have just told me!” She says coldly.

  “I-it isn’t like that, Rosa?” He nervously responds.

  “Then what is it?” She sniffles in between, barely able to hold herself together. “I thought you really liked me, and here I am feeling like an idiot!”

  “No, I do. But-” Before he could finish, Marik's words flashed through his mind. Be unapologetic but not monstrous, huh? Agami fixes his stance and stands upright, a new sense of energy burning through his chest. Wear my pride on my sleeve, right? He looks directly at her and opens his mouth, unsure what was going to escape from it. You are you, and unnecessary lies only lead to unnecessary problems. “The truth is, I like you more than a friend. I have been in love with you since the first time I saw you. I-…I don't ever want to stop hanging out with you, but I thought that if I were to be around you, you- I would only be holding you back from everything.” Out of all the things I could say, why that?

  Agami slowly looks up in fear to see Rosa in shock. Her eyes are wide, and her hands are covering her mouth. Is this a good thing? Am I-...I see…I didn’t expect it to work…

  “Agami, I never thought you would feel the same way, too,” Rosa says in glee.

  At least I got it out of the way. Are we still going to be friends aft-...wait, what?

  Agami’s focus returns as Rosa runs up to him and holds his hand, a bright smile on her face. His face turns red, and he looks around, embarrassed. He sees that all of the maids and butlers witnessed their interaction. Looking toward the door, he sees that Marik, Clark, and Erina were eavesdropping. Marik covered Erina’s mouth while she gave a thumbs-up with a shining expression. Surprisingly, Clark had tears streaming down his face as he was moved by the moment, barely able to wipe them in time. Suddenly feeling a powerful sense of embarrassment, he runs out of the kitchen, shouting, “NOOOOOOO!”.

  “AGAMI, WAIT UP!” Rosa shouts from behind him. As he looks back, he sees Erina and Clark running behind Rosa. Too embarrassed to stop, he continues running. Not paying attention, he suddenly trips and flies toward the window. Looking back, the corridor was twisting and turning weirdly, his speed toward the window increasing. A loud knocking could be heard echoing throughout the halls, getting louder. He looks toward the window, and before he could hit it, his eyes open.

  He is back in his room at the Cloudy River.

  The knocking was coming from Sora, who was trying to wake the young man up, “Oi, Agami! Are you up! We’re going to be late!”

  “Uhh, yeah. I’m up, will be ready in a few minutes,” he answers quickly.

  “Alright then, make sure to get ready to leave. Once you’re done with breakfast, we are hitting the road.” After finishing, his footsteps could be heard making their way to the living room.

  Agami looks around the room and takes a deep breath. He hops out and puts on his clothes, straightening his jacket and pulling on his gloves. Something felt different about him this morning. As he puts his hand around the door handle, he says to himself, “Don’t worry, Rosa. I will find you soon. But for now, it’s time for the world to meet Agami Yamamoto!” He confidently swings the door open, feeling more complete as he looks forward to the future.