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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.