Having been fed breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a whole week by Shea and Remia, Shu and Sumire were completely smitten with both of them.
Meanwhile, Shea and Remia blushed happily as Hajime’s parents showered them with praise.
“Grandma, grandpa, what about Myu? Will Myu be a good wife someday?”
“Hmm, I must say I’m curious about your evaluation of me as well. I cannot cook like Shea or Remia, nor am I contributing to the family finances in any way. You could even say I’m a good-for-nothing freeloader.”
Myu leaned excitedly out over the table, while Tio cocked her head to one side and considered her position in the household.
Over the past two weeks, Yue and the others had avoided going outside as much as possible. Journalists were crawling all over the place, hoping to ambush any one of them for an interview. Of course, they could have just used magic to mask their presence, made themselves invisible if they were spotted, or even have just teleported away. But Yue and the others weren’t that interested in going outside in the first place, so they decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. Or rather, they didn’t want to go off and have fun while Hajime was pushing himself so hard, especially because they wanted Hajime himself to guide them around his hometown.
As a result, Tio was, as she had just said, a good-for-nothing freeloader.
“That’s not true at all!” Sumire and Shu shouted in perfect sync. Seeing how often the two of them agreed with each other, Tio and the others had begun to realize that Hajime’s parents were quite alike. On top of that, they clearly loved each other, so they made for a wonderful couple.
“You’re a great wife too, Tio-chan! A comic relief character like you is the perfect—I mean, you’re a kind and beautiful daughter-in-law! I’m so glad you joined the family!” Sumire exclaimed.
“Did you just say I’m comedic relief, mother?! I—”
“That’s right, Tio-san! Don’t put yourself down like that! A walking joke like—I mean, a wonderful wife like you is wasted on our son!” Shu added.
“You too, father?!”
It seemed Sumire and Shu both loved Tio, but as a comedian rather than as wife material for their son. In a way, that was a fitting evaluation for a useless dragon like Tio.
“......”
Just then, Sumire looked over and saw Yue shooting surreptitious glances her way. She was trying to hide her expression by sipping on her tea, but Sumire could easily tell what she was thinking. She smiled warmly at Yue and their eyes met.
Yue gave a small nod and Sumire said, “Heh heh, of course you’re the perfect wife as well, Yue-chan.”
“Oh, umm...thank you, mother...”
Yue blushed and looked away, embarrassed. It was rare to see her acting so meek. Normally, she was surrounded by an aura of confidence.
“Does my mom still make you nervous, Yue?” Hajime asked.
“I-I’m not nervous,” Yue protested.
“Everyone else has gotten pretty comfortable with your parents, Hajime-san, but...” Shea said, trailing off.
“It seems to me that you’re thinking too hard about how you should be acting as a wife and a daughter-in-law. But I promise you, it’s nothing you need to worry about,” Sumire said gently.
“A-Ah...I-I’m sorry.”
Yue covered her face with her hands. It was rare to see her this flustered, so Shea and the others smiled gently at her—though, in Shea’s case, she looked a little turned on as well.
Normally, Yue proudly declared that she was Hajime’s first wife, but it was precisely because she was so attached to that position that she was extra nervous around Hajime’s parents. She absolutely didn’t want them to hate her, and she wanted them to truly think from the bottom of their hearts that she was the best life partner their son could ever hope for. As a result, she often got too worked up around them.
“It’s okay. You can relax. No matter what anyone says, you’re the perfect wife, Yue-chan. We’re both very glad to have you, isn’t that right, dear?”
“That’s right. The more we hear about what happened in that other world, the happier we are that Hajime met someone like you. Thank you so much for staying by his side through everything.”
Both of them were deeply grateful to Yue. There was no telling what might have happened to Hajime if not for her. Even if he might have survived either way, his soul could very well have withered and died down there in the labyrinth without Yue.
Unfortunately, their heartfelt gratitude just made Yue feel even more flustered.
“I-I just...did what I wanted, so it’s not like I deserve to be thanked for it...”
Hajime grinned as he watched Yue try to downplay her accomplishments. Meanwhile, Shea looked like she might push Yue down right then and there.
“Besides, it seems like our son can’t live without you anymore,” Shu said with a grin.
“So please take care of Hajime for us, okay, Yue-chan?” Sumire added.
“Oh, yes, of course!” Yue nodded emphatically, her exaggerated actions making her look unbelievably cute. They also made her look younger than she usually did.
“Hey, Yue, is it just me or have you been acting more like a kid since coming here?”
“Oh, I was thinking that too! Whenever mom’s around, Yue-san starts acting childish, doesn’t she?! It’s sooo cute!” Shea exclaimed, glad to have found a fellow moe Yue appreciator in Hajime.
Everyone turned to Yue, who blushed even harder and said, “Th-That’s because mother and father are both so kind. They treat me like their real daughter and...while Uncle Dien taught me what having a father is like, I never really knew what it felt like to have a mother...”
Yue had been a blessed child since birth, so her parents had treated her more as an object of worship than their daughter. Her uncle had been a surrogate father to her, but Yue had grown up without really knowing a mother’s love. Thus, though Yue had only spent a short time with Sumire, her kindness had truly touched Yue’s heart.
Another big reason Yue was so nervous around Sumire and Shu was because she wasn’t sure how to express how happy she felt that they treated her like their real daughter.
“Aaaaaah, you’re just so cute!”
“Mmm?! Mother?!”
Unable to hold back any longer, Sumire leaped out of her chair and went over to hug Yue. Yue was just too dang cute.
“M-Mother, that’s a little too tight. Plus, everyone’s watching...”
“It’s fine, it’s fine, no one minds!”
“Whoa?!”
Sumire suddenly lifted Yue into a princess carry and took her over to the living room sofa. Though Yue was surprised, it was clear from the look on her face that she was happy as well.
“They grow up so fast,” Shu said, wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.
“Are you seriously crying, dad?”
“She’s just so damn cute, okay?!”
Frankly, Hajime agreed with his dad; he just wanted to tease him.
Shea chuckled as well, both at Yue and at Hajime and his parents’ overzealous reactions.
“Truthfully, I was pretty surprised when you first brought Yue-chan and the others home,” Shu said, looking off into the distance. “Who would have thought you were summoned to another world just like in one of the games I’ve made? And there, you obtained a real harem for yourself. Or Rarem for short.”
“Stop trying to make Rarem happen. It’s not going to happen. But yeah, I was worried about how you and mom were going to react, but in the end, it went just as I expected.”
Hajime also thought back to that fateful day a few weeks ago...
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