Chapter 396: Arriving at the Shiramine House, Risa in the Bath.
....
Shiramine Risa's house was quite similar to Honjou Kaede's. Both of them came from ordinary, working-class backgrounds, though their financial situation was far from bad, comfortably putting them in the small-property category.
After walking for a while, Seito and Kaede finally arrived at the front door of the Shiramine residence.
"Is this Risa's place?" Seito murmured, looking at the house before him while instinctively using his divine senses to see what was happening inside.
In the very next second, his face flushed slightly. He had completely miscalculated the timing; currently, Risa was actively taking a bath, and his senses had just caught her entire uncovered figure.
"Yep," Kaede nodded, extending her hand to press the doorbell.
Ding-dong~~
The two waited quietly. Within less than three minutes, the front door clicked and swung open.
Click~
A middle-aged woman stepped out into the entryway. Time had left its subtle marks on her features, allowing Seito to instantly guess that this was Shiramine Risa's mother. Unlike Mrs. Yukinoshita or Mrs. Yuigahama, Risa's mother appeared slightly older.
"Are you... Kaede?" Risa's mother blinked in surprise upon seeing them, her eyes instantly shifting to the young man standing right beside Kaede.
"Hello, Auntie! This is our classmate from Sobu High, Seito. We came over to hang out with Risa today," Kaede explained smoothly, breaking the ice.
"Hello, Auntie," Seito greeted her politely.
"Oh, welcome! Please, come right in," Risa's mother's eyes lit up with a brilliant light as she warmly gestured for them to step inside. She couldn't help but steal a few quiet glances at Seito, his striking combination of white hair and blue eyes immediately scoring high marks in her mind.
Furthermore, remembering that the legendary Space God-King of Earth also went by the name Seito, a very solid guess formed in her mind.
Although Risa usually possessed a very loud, outgoing personality and could get along smoothly with just about anyone, her mother knew very well that the girl had absolutely zero close male friends. It was as if she lacked any interest in boys altogether. Instead, she spent every single day trapped inside her room grinding video games—a habit she had maintained since her elementary school days.
Seito's sudden arrival immediately triggered a new set of plans within her mother's mind.
"Excuse the intrusion," Seito and Kaede exchanged a quick look before stepping through the threshold.
Following Risa's mother into the living room, they began looking around. The interior layout was practically identical to the Honjou residence—a classic, single-story ordinary home. However, the internal decorations were exceptionally well done; if one didn't know the truth, they might easily mistake the interior for a luxury villa.
The room housed standard, comfortable everyday items: a clean sofa set, a coffee table, storage cabinets, and a flat-screen television, with the kitchen zone sitting right next to the main living area.
"You two go ahead and take a seat first. I'll head over to call Risa down," her mother said, pointing toward the couch before turning around.
"Thank you, Auntie," Kaede smiled politely, guiding Seito over to the sofa to sit down.
Right at that exact moment, a voice floated out clearly from the bathroom hallway.
"Mom, I'm heading upstairs first~"
Click~
The bathroom door pushed open, and Risa stepped out into the hallway, instantly drawing the gaze of all three individuals sitting in the living room. The moment their eyes locked onto her, the entire room froze in absolute shock.
Risa had walked out wearing nothing but her underwear. The unexpected sight left the trio completely dumbfounded.
She really is incredibly fair-skinned~ Seito couldn't help but think to himself.
"No looking!" Kaede snapped out of her daze first, her small face turning a brilliant shade of crimson. She quickly reached over with both hands, tightly covering Seito's eyes.
And right then... Risa finally realized what was happening. Her eyes scanned the three people sitting in her living room, her gaze ultimately locking right onto Seito's face.
Immediately following...
"KYAAAAAAH!!!"
An ear-splitting shriek echoed through the house. Risa spun around on her heel like a whirlwind, dove back into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut, locking it instantly from the inside.
Seeing her retreat, Kaede finally dropped her hands, while Risa's mother turned to look at Seito with a highly awkward, embarrassed smile.
"I'm so sorry, I completely forgot that Risa was still wrapping up her bath."
"No, please, don't worry about it," Seito shook his head quickly. "It is I who should apologize."
He had just completely seen the girl's body; standing before her mother, he naturally wasn't going to act like a shameless rogue.
Hearing his polite response, her mother didn't say anything more. In truth, she didn't mind the accident at all. If anything, her inner desire to actively set her daughter up with the Space God-King had just shot up. A trace of a clever, mischievous plan swirled within her eyes.
"Auntie, Seito-kun and I will head upstairs to wait in Risa's room first..." Kaede suggested after a brief thought. Currently, Risa's mind was definitely fried, so hanging out in the living room would only prolong the awkwardness. They needed to give her some private time to calm down.
"Alright, go ahead," her mother nodded in agreement.
Kaede and Seito rose from the couch and made their way up the stairs to the second floor, leaving her mother to sit back down in the living room.
A short while later, once their footsteps completely faded from the hallway, Risa pushed the bathroom door open, dressed in a set of casual home clothes, her face still flushed a brilliant crimson.
"Mom~" Staring at her mother lounging on the couch, Risa walked over with embarrassed strides and sat down right next to her.
"Risa," her mother turned her head, a deeply knowing, playful smile on her face as she questioned, "Is that young man upstairs truly the Space God-King of our Earth?"
"Yes," Risa answered softly, dropping her head.
Receiving her confirmation made her mother's thoughts turn incredibly active. She locked her eyes directly onto Risa's face, causing a trace of pure panic to flicker within the young girl's beautiful, wide eyes.
"Risa, listen to me," her mother said before she could change the subject. "I strongly feel that the Space God-King is an exceptionally perfect match for you."
Risa: "???"
A perfect match? A match for what?!
The direct statement left Risa completely dazed. She never could have anticipated her own mother would say such a blunt thing. For a moment, she had absolutely zero words to say.
Her mother continued to smile warmly, adding, "Playing games inside your room all day long isn't a good way to live, you know. Aside from Kaede, I have literally never seen you bring a single boy home to hang out."
"Mother, I am only sixteen years old," Risa couldn't help but point out.
"That's not small at all. Besides, you are officially a registered deity now," her mother countered smoothly without missing a beat.
"..."
Faced with her mother's unshakeable logic, Risa felt entirely helpless. Was there really a need to rush things this early? She was barely sixteen!
"I'm heading upstairs to entertain my guests now," Risa jumped up from the couch, executing a swift retreat. She had zero desire to continue this discussion.
Watching her daughter sprint up the stairs, her mother merely narrowed her eyes into a satisfied, knowing smile.
.....
Thank you for reading.