Chapter 98: Notification
After receiving Eriri's message earlier, Kaede went downstairs to grab some snacks and juice, planning to play games with Eriri that night.
The sixth volume of his novel had already been submitted, and since the scheduled release date was still about two months away, Kaede wasn't in a hurry to write. For him, having already prepared the outline, drafting a single volume was just a matter of time.
He sat in front of his computer browsing the web for a while, but instead of waiting for Eriri's online status notification, he received a phone call from her.
"What's wrong? Aren't we playing games?"
"Hold on a moment." Eriri's slightly hesitant voice came through, "Kaede-kun, are you busy tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? No, I'm free." Kaede asked with a smile, "Do you want to go out on a date? We can."
"Ugh... Actually, I... I don't really want to go on a date. No, it's not that I don't want to go on a date, but I just have something I want to talk to you about, and it's hard to discuss in a crowded place like a date."
"Slow down, slow down." Kaede heard the nervousness in Eriri's voice and comforted her, "Whatever it is, just take your time and tell me."
At the same time, Kaede moved his mouse to check the weather forecast for the Tokyo area for the next day.
"Mhm... It's just something I've wanted to tell you for a long time, but I didn't know how to say it."
Although he didn't know what Eriri wanted to say, Kaede still nodded and said, "I understand. Let's find a place then. I doubt what you have to say will take too long, and we can continue our date afterward. Emm... Say, Eriri? I have a suggestion."
"What?"
"How about coming over to my place tomorrow?"
"...Eh, eh?!!"
Eriri's tone instantly shot up, and she was left wide-mouthed and flustered.
Kaede then continued, "Going out is fine too, but I checked the weather, and the temperature has been gradually rising these past few days, and the sun is quite strong. So I was thinking, why don't we stay indoors? You haven't been to my place before, either. Well... this suggestion might be a bit impulsive, though."
On the other end of the phone, Eriri began an intense internal struggle.
Did she want to go? Of course she did, but if she went, would she have to meet Kaede's parents? What would she do then?
Eriri asked herself honestly—this was too difficult for her, even harder than asking her to immediately brainstorm a doujinshi.
In the end, however, looking at the several love letters in her hand, Eriri made a decision.
"Then... then I'll come over tomorrow."
She actually agreed?
Kaede didn't know what kind of deliberation Eriri had gone through to agree so unexpectedly.
But since she agreed, he couldn't let Eriri back out now: "Then it's settled. Eriri, come over tomorrow morning."
"Morning... Then, will your aunt and uncle be there?"
"Of course they will be." Kaede, knowing what was making Eriri nervous, said with a smile, "Don't worry, my parents will definitely love you. Don't worry about a thing, okay?"
"Mhm, I understand."
Recalling the time she met Kaede's mother during the school festival, Eriri wasn't that worried anymore; at most, this would just be her first time meeting Kaede's father.
"Let's leave it at that for now. Wait a bit on the game; I'm going to tell my parents about this. Also, it's about time I told them about us dating."
"About that..." Eriri fidgeted in her chair and said sheepishly, "Hehe, my mom already saw through me and called me out just now."
"Hmm... Auntie Sayuri is indeed very sharp. Then wait for me; I'll call you on voice chat in a bit."
After hanging up the phone, Eriri planned to go talk to her parents. Since she was coming over tomorrow, she would naturally be hosted for lunch at their home.
Just as he left his room, his parents' bedroom door across the hall happened to open, and his mother, Asakura Reiko, stepped out.
"Mom, I happen to have something to tell you."
"Oh?" Asakura Reiko looked at her son with surprise, her tone slightly serious. "I have something to tell you as well."
As she spoke, she walked over and tapped her son's head. "You really kept it hidden well, didn't you? You've already started dating Eriri, and yet you didn't tell your father or me?"
"Uh... so you know?"
"I was on the phone with Sayuri just now, and she told me."
While his mom was speaking, his dad poked his head out from the bedroom, quietly gave him a thumbs up, and then ducked back inside.
Well... even though he hadn't said anything yet, both his parents already knew. Looking at the situation with the elders from both families, it seemed they were getting along quite well?
"Alright, I've finished what I had to say. Kaede, do you have anything else?"
Nodding, Kaede said, "I just got off the phone with Eriri. I invited her to come over tomorrow to hang out."
"...Hm? You mean tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Eriri is coming over?"
"That's right. She's coming over tomorrow morning, so I wanted to ask you, Mom, to prepare lunch to host her."
Asakura Reiko was immediately filled with energy. She clenched her fist and said confidently, "You did well on this, Kaede. Leave it to your mother! I'm going back to plan the menu right now, and I'll get up early tomorrow to buy the ingredients!"
With that, she rushed back into her room. As the door closed, the sound of her talking to his dad could be heard.
"Honey, give me the tablet! I need to look up recipes!!"
Scratching his head, Kaede remarked with emotion, "When I got into Toyosaki and when my novel was published, I didn't see Mom this excited."
However, one could also see from this how much his mother liked Eriri.
He hoped that when Eriri arrived tomorrow, his mother wouldn't act too enthusiastically and scare her off.
Back in his room, after reconnecting with Eriri on voice chat, Kaede turned on his PS4 and said, "I told my mom. She's already excitedly planning tomorrow's menu."
Hearing this, Eriri seemed quite flustered. "Ah? There's no need for that, is there?"
"Of course there is. You didn't see how happy she was after I told her." Kaede chuckled. "So when you come tomorrow, remember to dress up nicely! Even though we're not going out on a date, I still hope to see the same Eriri as always."
"That's a given, don't you worry!"
As she spoke, Eriri glanced at the loose, unkempt tracksuit she was wearing and blushed.
It seemed she would have to pay more attention to what she wore at home from now on; she needed to change her habits.