บท 50: Gray's Story

The breakfast session ended peacefully. Now, they were just lazing on the couch together. Gray read his newspaper, while Sato decided to revise through his computer science lecture notes. They resembled a wedded couple that enjoyed each other's company.

The peace and quiet lasted for an hour before Gray broke it. "Sato?"

"Yeah?" Sato said, stopping his work.

"You can always talk to me about anything. There is no need for you to treat me like I am your boss." Gray proposed.

"Uhh okay. Sure Gray." Sato smiled at the proposal that Gray gave to him. From the beginning, Sato had never felt binded by the proposal that Gray created for him. In fact, there was never a physical contract for this proposal. He had treated this as a stayover session with his friend.

"I have actually been curious about something." Sato said to Gray.

"What is it?"

"Mmm, how did you get to where you are today? Afterall, it is a known fact that you are the youngest Major General in the history of our country." Sato had heard of Gray's name on the news when he was in his first year of university. There was no written explanation how Gray had reached this rank.

"Ah well that is due to a culmination of reasons, " Gray didn't hesitate to tell Sato everything. He would never hide anything from him. "Like all army promotions, a soldier needs to first accumulate enough events and achievements before being eligible for promotuon. I went to Z Military Academy when I was 18, where I did my Bachelors and underwent Officer Cadet Training . When I turned 20, I had already completed my Bachelor in science and was promoted to Captain."

"You completed your Bachelor's in 2 years? Are you serious?" Sato was shocked at Gray's speed.

"It didn't take long because I had already completed my highschool when I was 16, giving me an additional 2 year headstart." Gray continued on his explanation. "So right after that, I was posted to a Secret Operations Unit which was where I spent 6 years completing classified missions and raising my rank."

"It was very dangerous, right? Did you get hurt?"

"Well, I was never severely injured before, but it was during the last mission, on my sixth year, that I retired from active duty due to an injury on my right ankle."

"Oh." Sato involuntarily looked at Gray's right ankle as he told his story. Sato looked rather down now.

"Anyways, things did get better from then on." Gray immediately switched on the happier story when he noticed Sato's expression. "I went to Belaviar Institute Of Science and Tech (BIST) to do a direct program that skipped Masters and allowed me to get a PhD in Mathematical Analytics. This took three years to complete."

"That's amazing, Gray! " Sato was in awe as BIST was the number one university in the world. The route that Gray took was even harder to be accepted into. Only 5 people every year is allowed to do this program.

"Thank you." Gray smiled at Sato warmly. "You could do it too if you wanted, you know."

"Well... Maybe so?" Sato was optimistic.

"Oh, sorry for cutting you off again. You can continue with your story."

"Hahaha. Well, there isn't too much after this part." Gray laughed a little when he saw how polite Sato was. "After graduating, I came back to Country Z to report to Army Headquarters. They were planning to post me as the Head of an army Formation, but my father had other plans. The main reason why I was able to get this Major General position was due to my father's financial injection into Z's Army. He had donated 10 percent of the military budget in exchange for me to hold this position. The army was tempted by this opportunity and so, they promoted me from my previous Colonel rank up to Major General and gave me this job. Of course I required the pre-requisite military knowledge and a PhD which I already had."

"Mmm. Well, that is still very impressive at the end of the day." Sato could tell that Gray wasn't particularly happy that his father had interjected in on his career path.

"I guess so." Gray didn't take it to heart. He smiled at Sato again as he rubbed Sato's head. "Just like my father, I will do the same for you. I will get you up to the position you deserve in this life."

"You don't have to do that for me."

"Yeah. I don't have to. I want to." The comments that Gray always say to Sato, let him feel Gray's cordiality for him.

After the storytelling, the pair slowly proceeded to the back porch that overlooked the city landscape. The backporch had foldable glass sliding doors that allowed this space to have both indoor and outdoor elements. As it was autumn now, the weather is chilly and so the porch was made to be indoors. The floor heating on the grounds warmed up the space for Gray and Sato.

Sato started to work on his report. He was determined to finish it before the ROL event tonight.

Gray left to prepare lunch quietly. Sato was too focused on his report that he did not even notice the time. In the kitchen, the housemaids were pleading Gray to allow them to cook for the both of them.

"Young Master Gray, Madam specifically instructed us to cook you the food." The head housemaid, Ms. Paula spoke up for the rest. "It is not right that we disobey at orders."

Hearing what Paula said, Gray decided to alleviate the maid's worries. He called his mother.

"Hello mother?" Gray stared out the window as he spoke to Melanie over the phone.

"Yes, my dear? It has been a long time since you last called me." Melanie spoke with an excited tone.

"Sorry, I have been really busy with work. Also, two weeks ago, I found Sato." When Gray spoke of Sato, his tone became happier.

"You found him? Really? Thats good, that's good." Melanie knew that his son had been feeling downhearted the past 3 years.

At first, even though it was also out of care, she had wanted to get rid of Sato from his son's life as she had thought that Gray was only having a love fling. However, it became apparent when Gray shut himself off from everything and through himself into his studies.

Melanie was going to help her son find Sato, yet fate was once again played into her son's hands. Gray had found the boy by himself.

"Yeah. It's great." Gray could tell his mother was actually glad for him. Inwardly, he was grateful for having such an understanding mother. "I actually called to tell you that I asked the house maids to not cook for us everyday. They did not want to go against your instructions."

"Oh that's okay. Tell Paula that theres no need to worry about what I tell her. She could just listen to you instead."

"Alright. thank you, mother."

"Enjoy your day son!" Melanie knew her son was going to end the call already. She quickly spoke out. "I'll come visit you soon!"