Yozak Background Information
Name: Yozak Grie (alternately transliterated "Gurrier")
Age: looks to be in his late 20's/early 30's...Mazoku age is actually more like 150+
Appearance: tall, brawny, massively built with a thick chest. He has long, shaggy ginger hair and very bright blue eyes. He usually sports a huge grin in his long, square-jawed face. He wears a plain sleeveless tunic over a black tank, black leggings, and leather bracers. At least, when not in disguise to be undercover on a job - in which case he may be crossdressing.
Personality: fun, friendly, very likeable, very loud. He has a great sense of humor and a dry wit, and loves teasing people. Concerning his friends, he is loyal to the death, but occasionally needs someone to prove their worth to him before he gives them his alliegance. He is actually very warm and sensitive, even if among men he can be silly and crass. He is determined and fierce in battle, doesn't know the meaning of surrender. He is shrewd and clever, and often rather unorthodox. He can be flippant with authority figures. For some reason he seems to believe that he's good at passing for a woman despite his brawny build, so he will crossdress for undercover purposes without hesitation - but he never does it outside of work.
Skills: intelligence gathering, undercover agent, spy, a skilled sword fighter (broadsword and bastard sword), a decent rider, can tame and train animals, not too bad on a boat.
Strengths: courageous, loyal, friendly. His upper-body strength is considerable, and he strikes fast with his sword. Clever, quick to act, but not always rash. Has no ambitions for power, nor greed for money.
Weaknesses: a tendency to distrust, very suspicious, has no problem defying authority. Is not the world's best swordsman - there are several who can beat him (Conrad, Gunter, and Gwendel specifically). Thinks he passes for a woman but can't - and once a person is onto him, he will never fool them again. Betrayal will break his heart and cause him to lose his way - he can be sensitive about some topics.
Background: Yozak is a half-human, half-mazoku who was born a peasant. He was orphaned when his mother died of illness, at which point he was taken in by Lord Dan-hiri Weller, partly out of Weller's compassion, partly because he wanted his son Conrad to have a friend his age. Weller was a fullblood human noble of a family tied loosely to the Shimaron nation (dwelling in Rutenberg, according to the manga), though Conrad was the result of his marriage to Maou Cecille, a mazoku, making him also a halfblood like Yozak. The two grew up together, but Conrad inherited his father's title and connection to the royal family, while Yozak remained a lower-class soldier. He was assigned to Conrad's unit in the war against Shimaron, a "doomed" unit of half-breed soldiers treated as the lowest of the lower-class and used often by the nobility to go on suicide missions and do the dirty work. This unit, under Conrad's command, was sent to die in the battle at Rutenberg Pass. Of the entire unit, Yozak and Conrad alone survived the battle, and Yozak carried his half-dead best friend to safety and saved his life.
Though he never wears a uniform, Yozak is still technically enlisted, but he is now the royal family's private mercenary soldier. He is usually used as a spy to go into enemy territory to gather information and provide support, be that through stealth or through sword. He also often bodyguards not only the Maou but the others of his court (Weller, Yuuri's fiance Wolfram, and Lord Gwendal von Voltaire usually). Since Maou Yuuri came to Shin Makoku, Yozak has been one of his most loyal supporters, despite distrusting him at first. He needed Yuuri to essentially prove to him that an off-worlder, underage, half-human boy had what it takes to become their king and lead the nation, so even though he carried out his orders from Gwendal faithfully and didn't hamper Yuuri's efforts, he was a bit resistant at first. Yuuri not only proved himself, he pretty much charmed Yozak and made him one of his staunchest allies. Part of that may be due to Conrad's connection to Yuuri - and Yozak rarely goes against Conrad, even if they disagree on some things. He was hurt deeply when Conrad appeared to betray the Maou and his country and side with Big Shimaron instead, and even clashed swords with him. Yet, just like Yuuri, when Conrad returned to them and explained his reasons for doing what he did, Yozak forgave him and seemed to let bygones be bygones. His trust was tested in a mysterious storm atop a sacred mountain, where Yozak's innate trust of Conrad and of Yuuri led him to rescue his best friend rather than shove him off a cliff.
Generally speaking, since his introduction early in the series, Yozak has been support for Yuuri in just about every situation - providing backup, going in ahead of time to gather intelligence, randomly showing up to save the day, driving getaway carriages, killing the hell out of henchmen, using his connections to help Yuuri escape, and generally fighting a lot of small battles in service of the royal family. He trained a sheep to pull a sled so Yuuri would win a race, for crying out loud! And yet, he still was the spy who wore a high-slit dress and falsies onboard a cruise ship so he could secretly accompany the Maou on a quest for his demon-sword Morgif.
Sources: KKM seasons 1, 2, and 3 up through episode 88; KKM manga vol 1-3 so far which follow the anime to a point; KKM series 1 artbook.
Specific story arcs/incidents: the quest for Morgif and the trip to Vandavia Island, in which there is epic crossdressing (and his introduction naked in a bath full of Maou fanboys); the rescue of the Maou from Stoffel's estate, in which there is maid-crossdressing; a protracted conflict in Caloria in which Yozak was undercover as an old man, trained a sheep, and became part of Yuuri's team in the World's Best Fighter Tournament. He was captured with Yuuri and involved in the opening of the First Box in Caloria, then the sled race and tournament in Big Shimaron, in which they discovered Conrad's involvement. After that, he accompanied Yuuri to Francsia to protect him, fought Conrad, and was there for the resolution of that conflict with the box and Shimaron; then, the errand to Minadia mountain to retrieve an herbal remedy, in which a miasma confused the party and caused Yozak and Conrad to turn on each other - in the end, they chose to trust each other; season two finale featuring the showdown with Shinou in which Yozak was mainly background support. Also, numerous filler episodes of sheer crack and goofiness, in which Yozak is usually in the background making faces and teasing people.