Kaiser of the New World

The journey back to the castle was actually quite relaxing, it was a nice sight to see those kids playing and laughing in the streets, it reminded him of those Christmas adds you would see on TV.

There was also the fact that he was able to drink a hot chocolate for the first time in forever, which was obviously something that would lift his spirits.

And it's not like the company was bad either, Yelena was quite the talker when she wasn't on the verge of tears.

But Kai was still surprised with how entertaining she could be. At one point during their drinking session, one of the servers came up to their table not for Kai, but for the green haired maid.

It was a cute black haired girl, looking to be only a little older than Kai, but there was no way for him to actually tell considering that Anastasia looked forty but was actually a couple millenia old.

The server started chatting with Yelena, hinting at what she wanted, but that's not what surprised Kai. No, he got surprised by the fact that she actually played along.

In all honesty, it didn't really seem like something a royal maid should be doing, they probably had a reputation to uphold in the eye of the people.

Then again, Kai was also in the brothel, so it's not like he could talk. And it's not like he knew how royal maids were supposed to act in the first place.

Still, it's not like Yelena actually went and did anything, even she knew her limits.

But after they finished their drinks, Kai saw Yelena hand the server a tip as they were leaving.

"That hot chocolate really was something."

By now, the two of them had made it out of the city and were on the small uphill journey back to the castle.

Yelena seemed to be pleased with herself, considering that she had gotten all the items on her list and maybe even procured herself something to do when her shift was over.

"The Molten Cocoa? It's that taverns specialty, other than the women of course."

Kai politely refrained from commenting on that second part, instead choosing to stick to the first.

"Still, it's been a long time since I've had something like that, so I definitely have to thank you."

Yelena laughed softly as she shook her head, her glasses slipping down her nose ever so slightly.

"You're too polite, Sir Kai, and much to kind. While I think those are good aspects, you must watch yourself, not everyone in this kingdom is as nice."

Kai's smile faded ever so slightly. The people here didn't seem so bad, so he just assumed that she was on about those in other Subdimensions.

And to that, Kai couldn't agree more. He had nearly been killed as a byproduct of a God's lust after all.

"Thanks for the warning."

The two of them then made their way up to the main gates of the castle. There was still no guards stationed there, leaving Kai even more confused. Did they really believe that there was not a single threat to them here?

Still, as he walked up the stairs to the castle, Kai couldn't help but glance down at the wall of ice that the castle was built on.

He would turn to ice if he touched it? It didn't sound realistic, but who knew what a seemingly basic item like ice was capable of in a situation like this.

Sighing, Kai turned his eyes back towards the stairs as he registered that Yelena was humming again.

It was the same melody that she was always humming, making Kai wonder if there was some sentimental value or if she just liked the song in general.

Still, Kai could just aske her to find out.

"What's up with that song you're humming? Basically whenever you're with me you're humming it."

Yelena smiled softly as she turned her head slightly to look back at Kai over her shoulder, she was a couple of steps ahead of him, so she had to.

"It's a magic song, it helps me. If I ever feel like I've forgotten something, I'll hum it and it will help me remember."

Kai snorted softly in response.

"Sure, so why were you humming it all day then, what were you trying to remember."

A small laugh escaped from Yelena's lips.

"My shopping list, of course."

Kai raised an eyebrow, slightly more intrigued.

"And did it work?"

Yelena stopped walking as she reached the top of the steps.

"Oh, massively, that hat you were wearing, I definitely would have forgotten it if not for the song."

Kai rolled his eyes before giving up. Maybe the song was magical, he had no way to confirm it. He had heard stranger things after all.

He then pushed open the door, holding it open for Yelena as a show of good faith, another way of thanking her for that incredible hot chocolate.

He was never going to get over the taste of it, maybe he could set some of his pride aside and ask Anastasia for an allowance or something...

They took a few corners on the way back to the stairs, but just as Kai turned one and was about to say something to Yelena, he spotted someone.

"Oh, hey Ezekial, what's up?"

Ezekial looked rather confused, considering that this wasn't the floor that Kai was normally on.

"Honoured guest? How did you get down here?"

Kai shrugged and pointed around the corner.

"She showe-"

It was only after he turned his head did he realise that Yelena was gone, successfully slipping away in the few short moments that Kai was talking to Ezekial.

"Oh, she's gone. Oh well, one of the maids showed me, I asked her how to get outside because I wanted to explore the city."

Ezekial's expression relaxed ever so slightly.

"I see, that's fine then."

Kai smiled as he started walking again, aiming for the painting of Anastasia that was just down the hall to the right.

"Alright man, I'll see you soon. Are we still training today?"

Ezekial's eyes widened slightly, having remembered something.

"Yes, we will be. Also, I asked His Majesty about possible Sword Styles and he said he would be willing to let you glance through a section of the library.

Of course, it wasn't actually I that convinced him, Her Majesty had to step in to do the convincing, so I advise that you thank her the next time you see her.

Kai felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought of having to reunite with Anastasia so soon. This whole adventure for the day had been good for distracting him from the events of last night, considering that he still had absolute no idea what to think about what happened.

Like, Anastasia had basically come onto him, right? But then she suddenly stopped and acted all different when she came back, what did any of that mean?

And because of how awkward yesterday ended up being, he had no idea how to act around her now, and even worse, he had no idea how she would act around him.

Sadly, all Kai could do was sigh, accepting his fate.

"Alright, I'll do that next time I see her. I don't know when that will be though, I'm going to go have a bath and daydream about hot chocolate."

Ezekial tilted his head curiously, making Kai sigh again.

"Molten Cocoa, it's a drink."

Ezekial still wasn't sure what Kai was on about.

It was then that Kai remembered that Molten Cocoa was one of the bestsellers of a brothel, probably not a place he should be hinting that he went on his first journey into the city.

"You know what, nevermind. All you have to know is that it's a very nice drink and that I won't be out of the bath for at least an hour."

And with that said, Kai quickly scurried away from Ezekial and hopped through the painting of Anastasia before making his way up the horrid and wet stairs that were specifically for maids, a horrible case of injustice.

Once he had returned the floor which his bedroom was on, which was a little harder than he expected considering that he accidently stopped one flight too early and ended up walking into a wall, Kai emerged from the painting of Castillian, only to see the the blonde King himself waking through the hallway.

Kai froze for a moment before simply bowing his head ever so slightly and saying:

"Your Majesty."

Castillian only let out a grunt in response, not even bothering to ask how Kai knew where the stairs were.

Kai sighed, the King really didn't like him for some reason, what did he ever to do to him?

... Other than nearly kiss his wife.

But surely he had no idea that occurred last night, unless Anastasia herself told him, but that didn't seem likely.

Once back in his room, Kai ran the bath, letting it fill up to a suitable height before getting undressed and getting in.

He sighed contently as he felt the warm water envelop him, keeping him warm, a stark contrast to the cold that he was in earlier.

Kai felt his brain slowly switch off as he relaxed in the hot water, not wanting to leave.

However, even with all that relaxation, there was still one thought in his mind.

What sort of Sword Styles would be present in the library?

*Small Note*

Couple more days, then chapters will slowly pick up a little.