Two days earlier, the Nagumo family living room was filled with an air of tension and anticipation. Sumire and Shu were wearing party hats and holding party poppers but looked more nervous than one would expect for someone getting ready for a party.
“You don’t need to be so nervous, mother,” Yue said softly.
“Lily-oneechan’s very nice, grandpa,” Myu added.
“Don’t worry. We’re fine,” Sumire and Shu said in unison, still as tense as ever. Their nervousness was understandable, since they were about to meet a princess for the first time in their life and they were just middle-class parents. Plus, what made things even scarier was that even though she was in love with their son, she’d been willing to stay behind even if it meant never seeing Hajime again because she was determined to fulfill her duty as royalty.
Indeed, even now, she was only going to be able to visit for a short while. After the new year rolled around, she’d need to return to take care of official matters. In other words, she wasn’t just a princess in name, she was the real deal.
With Yue, everything had happened so fast that Shu and Sumire hadn’t really paid that much attention to the fact that she was also royalty, but this time things were different.
“Maybe we’re taking this welcoming party too seriously?” Sumire asked her husband softly.
“But if we’re too stiff, then she’ll think we’re not willing to open up to her, Sumire,” Shu replied.
“You’re right, we’re her family now. In which case, the party hats and funny glasses are a must.”
“Yes, absolutely.”
I’m not so sure about that... Yue and the others thought, but they just smiled softly knowing that Sumire and Shu were doing this out of concern for Liliana.
“By the way, is it just me or is Hajime-san running late? The food’s going to get cold at this rate,” Shea said as she looked down at the dining table. She and Remia had worked hard to cook up a feast.
“Fu fu, they’re finally reuniting for the first time in a month, give them some time alone,” Remia said with a smile.
“Indeed. Despite how pure she looks, Lily is quite the passionate woman,” Tio added. She then cast a wave of heat over the table to ensure the food stayed warm. She did not doubt that Liliana was showering Hajime with kisses right about now. They hadn’t met since Hajime had returned to Earth, after all.
Opening portals between worlds took an enormous amount of mana, especially ones large enough to let people through. Hajime had kept a tiny one open as part of an experiment to optimize the process, so he had been sending letters back and forth at least. As a result, Liliana had known ahead of time that he’d be coming to get her today.
Of course, while they had exchanged letters almost daily, that couldn’t even remotely compare to seeing someone in person, which was why Yue and the others were willing to let Hajime have some time alone with her.
“Oh, they’re finally here,” Shea said as the space in the middle of the living room began to warp. There was a glowing spiral that slowly started expanding into a portal.
“Dear, be ready to welcome her!”
“Of course! She’s going to be our daughter-in-law too! We have to be sure to leave a good first impression!”
You probably shouldn’t blow those party poppers when she comes, then... Yue thought, but again she didn’t say anything.
Finally, the portal opened fully and Liliana stepped through, wearing a peach-colored dress and a glittering tiara.
“Welcome to the Nagumo family home!” Sumire and Shu shouted in unison, pulling the strings on the party poppers.
“Hallowed Ground!”
Liliana thought she was under attack and reflexively summoned a barrier. The streams of paper limply fell onto the glowing yellow barrier and slid down it.
After a moment of silence, Sumire and Shu exchanged looks of despair. A second later, Liliana also realized she’d misunderstood what was going on and looked down sadly.
“Huh, what’s wrong?” Hajime asked, stepping through the portal after Liliana.
Seeing that no one else was going to try to change the depressing mood, Yue forced a smile and said, “Th-That was an amazingly quick reaction! What a wonderful barrier!”
Unfortunately, that didn’t lighten the mood in the slightest.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
“And that’s what happened,” Liliana said in a despondent voice, sitting inside a Western-style restaurant. The place’s name was Wisteria, and it was the restaurant the Sonobe family ran. The families of the missing children had often come here to hold meetings, and even after everyone had returned, they still gathered here from time to time.
Today, though, the place was reserved for the kids’ end-of-semester party, which also doubled as Liliana’s welcoming party.
Hajime and the others were all sitting around Liliana. Naturally, Tio, Remia, and Myu had shown up as well, even though they weren’t going to school.
“Waaah, I practiced so hard to make sure I’d give off a good first impression, but then I went and cast a barrier the moment I saw them! It’s like I was rejecting their hospitality!” Liliana bawled, burying her face in her hands, and Kouki and Ryutarou smiled sadly at her.
Meanwhile, Kaori and Shizuku tried their best to cheer her up.
“I-It’s not your fault, Lily! You were just on edge because you’ve been so busy rebuilding your country!”
“Yeah, there are still leftover monsters from the Sanctuary roaming around Tortus, so it’s only natural that you’d always be on your guard!”
“Th-That just goes to show how much you’ve grown as the supreme commander of the joint mortal armies, isn’t that right, Kouki?!” Ryutarou said, also trying to help out.
“E-Exactly! You don’t need to feel bad! I bet Nagumo’s parents were also impressed by—”
“No, they were completely terrified,” Liliana said flatly.
Indeed, after Liliana had cast her barrier, Sumire and Shu had gotten on their knees and apologized, thinking they’d done something rude. Kouki and the others looked away awkwardly, unsure of how to follow up on that.
“Well, they’re talking to you normally now, so what’s the big deal?” Hajime said, taking a sip of his café au lait.
“First impressions are important! I wanted to make a good one!”
“I know how you feel...” Yue said, nodding in understanding.
“Same!” Shea added in. All of the other girls nodded in agreement as well.
Well, you one-percenters have already succeeded, so stop complaining! Liliana thought, glaring at Yue and Shea.
“Don’t worry about it, Lily-san! When I first met his parents, I dropped to my knees and apologized!” Aiko said.
“Is that supposed to be comforting to hear?” Liliana asked, confused. The other students stared at Aiko in amazement.
“Oh, that reminds me, even Lana-san was nervous when she first met my parents. She even dropped the chuuni act and spoke to them normally.”
Wait, you were here, Kousuke?! all of the students thought in unison, and tears welled up in his eyes as he saw their shocked expressions.
Incidentally, Liliana wasn’t the only person who’d come from Tortus during this visit. Lana Haulia had come as well to visit Kousuke. Hajime had wanted to reunite them as soon as possible, so he’d invited her to Earth as well.
Not only was Kousuke his friend, but if he was going to marry Lana that would make him sort of like family, and Hajime never abandoned family. She’d waited until Liliana’s introductions had finished before stepping through the portal, and after a perfunctory introduction to Hajime’s parents, she’d run off to Kousuke’s house.
Apparently, everyone in the Endou family had been informed of Lana’s arrival beforehand, so they’d all been nervously waiting for her along with Kousuke. For his part, Kousuke had been worried that his parents wouldn’t approve of a bloodthirsty chuuni girl like Lana. Fortunately, his fears had been unfounded.
Though Lana had greeted Shu and Sumire with the attitude of a yakuza underling meeting her boss’s parents for the first time, she’d desperately been studying how to act normal as well so that she could leave a good first impression on Kousuke’s parents. As a result, she’d given a perfectly normal greeting to the Endou family. Not only that, but she’d eventually slipped back into her old habits halfway through the night. However, Kousuke’s parents had found that endearing as well and hadn’t made fun of her at all.
“I see... So you’re part of the one percent too, Lana-san...” Liliana muttered, feeling betrayed. The fact that Lana seemed to also be getting along with Kousuke’s parents made her feel like she was the only one who’d failed.
“Now, now, your mother-in-law and father-in-law are very accepting people,” Tio said in a soothing voice. “I guarantee you they don’t mind in the slightest that your initial meeting didn’t go as planned, so stop worrying about that and enjoy the party. I mean, just look at how cute your outfit is.”
“Yes, it really is,” Remia added, gently patting Liliana on the shoulder. The princess’s expression finally brightened in response, and she looked down at the long-sleeve dress she was wearing that Sumire had gifted her.
Hajime had worked with Kaori and Shizuku to create some outfits for Liliana, but she’d chosen to wear the one Sumire had given her, probably because she felt bad about how much she’d shocked Hajime’s parents during their first meeting. Her feelings had gotten through to Hajime’s parents, and they were truly grateful to have such a considerate daughter-in-law.
“Yeah, it really is super cute! He he he,” Liliana said, fiddling with the ribbon on her dress. She wasn’t putting on airs like she often had to when she was acting in her official capacity as a princess. Right now, she was just an ordinary girl.
Everyone smiled gently at her, which caused her to blush and awkwardly clear her throat.
“By the way, everyone, thank you for holding such a wonderful welcoming party for me,” she said as she got to her feet and curtsied regally to everyone.
“It’s a relief to know you were all able to reunite with your families. As a representative of the world you saved, thank you so much for all of your help. And—”
Liliana had already thanked everyone for saving Tortus before, but in her mind even thanking them a hundred times wouldn’t be enough. Plus, she was even happier that everyone had wanted to invite her here to Earth.
“I’m truly happy that you invited me here to your homeland!”
Everyone burst out into applause, and a few people cheered her. Pretty much all of the students were friends with Liliana, and some of them had been helped a great deal by her.
“Eloquent as ever. You’re really good at getting people fired up,” Hajime said.
“And who do you think taught me how to do this?” Liliana asked pointedly, poking his cheek. She was touching him a lot more frequently than usual, probably to make up for all the time she’d had to spend away from him.
Some of the kids teased Liliana for being so bold, while a few of the others sighed in disappointment and jealousy.
“Hey, kids, food’s finally ready!”
“Does anyone need refills on their drinks?”
Yuka’s dad, Hiroyuki Sonobe, and Yuka’s mom, Yuri Sonobe walked into the dining area, both hands carrying trays piled high with food. Hiroyuki was a gentle-looking man in glasses, while Yuri was an equally gentle-looking woman with long hair tied back by a hair clip. They were both wearing matching aprons that had the store’s logo on them as they smiled at everyone and started placing down plates of food.
Everyone thanked them profusely, and Aiko also thanked them for letting them reserve the whole restaurant for the day. A few seconds later, Yuka also walked out of the kitchen and slammed a giant plate of food down in front of Hajime.
“Hey, Sonobe, why’re you being so rough with the food?” Hajime asked.
“I-It was a heavy plate, okay?!”
Indeed, there was enough food on the plate to feed a family. But after putting the plate down, Yuka didn’t go back to get more plates. Instead, she just looked away awkwardly.
“Ha ha ha, forgive her, Hajime-kun. She’s probably just nervous because this is the first time she’s wearing the restaurant’s uniform in front of you.”
“What do you think, Hajime-kun? She looks pretty good in it, right?”
“Dad! Mom! Stop!”
Incidentally, the Wisteria restaurant uniform was a white blouse with a wine-red apron and a similarly wine-red chef’s hat. Yuka often helped out at the shop on weekends or when the store was extra busy, so her friends Nana and Taeko were used to seeing her in this uniform. However, this was the first time Hajime was seeing it.
“Wow, you look super cute, Yuka-san!” Shea exclaimed.
“Yeah, super cute! I wanna wear it too!” Myu added.
“R-Really?” Yuka asked, blushing slightly at the praise as she started twirling her hair around her finger. She then glanced over at Hajime.
“I’d like some jasmine tea, please,” Hajime said, holding up his empty cup.
“C-Coming right up. Of course, everything’s free today!” Yuka said, running back into the kitchen.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login