"What is this?"
Inui asked curiously. Is this something drinkable?
"It's liquor infused with medicinal herbs like Cistanche, Cynomorium, Epimedium, and deer antler velvet," Shiro explained as he opened the lid.
Immediately, a strong scent of alcohol rushed out. Just smelling it made Inui feel a little dizzy.
{{(°△°; "}}!
Inui took two steps back cautiously. Isn't this alcohol a bit too strong…?
"Don't tell me this is a gift for your dad?"
A trace of fear flashed in her eyes. Is this how fathers and sons communicate?!
High-proof alcohol communication?!
"Ah, you guessed it. This is the gift I brought for that bastard old man of mine."
Looking at the jar of liquor in front of him, Shiro had a fleeting look of pity in his eyes. This was all good stuff… What a waste...
"Can your uncle really drink that much?"
Inui, now a little calmer, asked. Maybe she misunderstood — perhaps Uncle Kenjiro really likes this kind of high-proof liquor.
"Him?"
A trace of disdain flickered in Shiro's eyes. "He's a total lightweight~"
Inui: "..."
Such a strong sense of filial… rebellion.
Not knowing what exactly had happened between the father and son, Inui chose to remain silent.
She glanced again at the jar of liquor. Was it her imagination, or had the amount of liquid gone down a bit?
What exactly is this liquor?! It must be evaporating, right?
Inui wanted to remind Shiro, but she suddenly noticed him grinning wickedly as he took out a packet of white powder.
Then, he poured it directly into the liquor.
{{(°△°; "}}!
"W-What is that?"
This looked like a poisoning scene!
"Ah, this? Just a little surprise. Don't worry, it's not poison."
After finishing his little trick, Shiro considerately closed the lid and shook it. Then he handed the packaging over to Inui.
So the cute girl wouldn't think he was really up to something criminal.
Inui took the white powder package. On the transparent bag, a few big words were printed:
"Powerful Laxative!"
"..."
At that moment,
Inui began to understand the relationship between father and son here.
They must be enemies, right? Who could come up with such a vicious idea?!
Slap!
Just as Inui was wondering whether to tell Uncle Kamishiro about this, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
The hairs on her body stood on end.
Shiro's voice whispered in her ear, "If you don't keep this secret, magical girls can become doujinshi girls~"
KYAAAH!!!!
"Ala~ Be careful, there are other people around, you know~"
Just as Shiro was about to introduce Inui to the concept of doujinshi magical girls, Keiko walked over carrying fruit and snacks.
She even had a knowing smile on her face.
!!!
(.-＿-.)
Seeing her crush's mom arriving, Inui instantly pulled away from Shiro. Her face flushed red, and she flailed her arms in the air trying to explain, "Auntie Keiko, it's not what you think…"
"Hi hi~ I know, I know, our Inui chan is the cutest~"
Looking at the shy girl in front of her, Keiko's eyes were full of amusement. She patted Inui's smooth pink hair.
"Uuuu…"
Inui, like a bullied little kitten, nuzzled into Keiko's palm.
But Keiko's next words made her blush even harder.
"So if you can't help yourselves, feel free to go upstairs to Shiro's room~"
As she said this, she seemed to remember something. She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a bunch of small box, handing them to Inui.
"Don't forget protection~"
Inui stared blankly at the little box in her hand, then looked at the gentle Miss Keiko in front of her.
Suddenly, she felt Shiro was right — she had walked into a wolf's den!
Even though they had done it before, doing it in the guy's house — while his whole family was home — was a definite no!
The shock was too much. Inui's eyes started spiraling like mosquito coils.
Why?! Auntie Keiko used to be so normal, like a cool big sister! Why did she change the moment Shiro came home?!
Luckily, Shiro caught the dazed Inui and helplessly took the little box from her hands.
Even he was shaken — his own mom preparing box was truly explosive.
But he was even more curious…
"Mom, why do we have so many of these in the house… and they're the delayed ones?"
Whoosh!
As soon as Shiro finished speaking, the item vanished from his hand. All that remained was Kenjirou's broad back.
"…"
Case closed.
But seriously…
Mom, this is a bit outrageous!
He looked down at the dazed Inui in his arms.
Perfect — her eyes were hollow. She clearly had no idea what just happened.
Meanwhile, Keiko watched them with her chin resting in her hands, a smile blooming on her face.
How adorable~
...
Inui recovered not long after, but the aftershock still lingered. She didn't dare look Keiko in the eyes.
Instead, she blushed deeply as she fed Rize chan some snacks.
"Yaa~ Nom nom~"
Rize chan snuggled happily in Inui's arms. Ever since Inui arrived, her happiness had been off the charts.
After all, Miss Keiko wasn't exactly a nurturing type. When Shiro was a kid, he was basically left to fend for himself.
Thinking about it now, the fact that Shiro grew up okay was really impressive.
"Alright Mom, stop teasing Inui chan already. What's going on? Why is she even here?"
Shiro waved to break his mother's gaze. If she kept staring, Inui would probably bury her head under the table.
You have to know, Inui was very shy about this kind of thing — even for their first time, she insisted the lights be off.
"Oh~ So protective of your wife now~"
Keiko, her view blocked, teased Shiro while looking at her increasingly handsome son. She couldn't help but move next to him and rub his head like crazy.
Kenjirou, now suddenly sitting alone, twitched at the corner of his mouth. He felt like he was being excluded, and he had evidence to prove it.
Shiro didn't resist as he was pulled into his mom's lap. After all, he'd been through this plenty.
From her style… it wasn't a stretch to call his mom a distant relative of Azusa.
The same tactics, similar hair color, similar personality and figure…
Wait a second — the more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Could he have stumbled upon some terrifying truth?!
Shiro shook his head. No, don't go there!
Sensing Shiro's reaction, Keiko stopped and looked at him with concern, "Did I hurt you?"
Her eyes were filled with tenderness and longing.
Seeing that expression, Shiro was momentarily stunned. He suddenly felt a bit guilty for not coming home in years.
"No… I just suddenly remembered something."
He smiled faintly, silently resolving to come home more often.
"Then sit up! You're a grown man — stop acting like a baby in your mom's arms!"
Kenjirou's jealous voice chimed in from the side. It was obvious — this was true love. He was even jealous of his own son.
"…"
The familial warmth in Shiro's heart vanished in an instant.
Maybe Mom should just go to Izu for a trip...
Keiko also rolled her eyes at Kenjirou but still let go of Shiro. She returned to her more aloof and whimsical demeanor, as if the earlier maternal love had been an illusion.
"What was your question again? Why Inui chan is here?"
Still dazed from being pushed aside, Shiro nodded. So… the family bonding session was over?
"Well, that brings us to our trip to China!"
As she said this, Keiko smacked her lips as if reminiscing about the taste of something delicious. Judging from her expression, she clearly loved that trip.
But Shiro didn't look pleased at all — his whole face darkened.
After all…
He was the one who got left behind.
A trip to China?
So Mom and Inui met back in China?
Shiro looked over at Inui. The girl nodded and explained, "We went to Chengdu for a trip, and happened to run into an anime convention…"
"An anime con…"
Shiro's mouth twitched. A trip to Chengdu for an anime con — now that he hadn't expected.
And at that time, wasn't she still in school?!
She was in her senior year of high school!
Now he was seriously worried about whether Inui's grades were good enough for university...
Keiko didn't think too much. The moment she heard "comic convention," her eyes lit up and she immediately hugged Inui from behind.
"Your magical girl cosplay was so cute, Inui chan!"
Inui, being praised, had a rather unnatural expression—part pride, part self-assurance, and about 96% pure embarrassment.
Keiko Auntie's… assets… were overwhelming!
Looking at Keiko hugging Inui, and Inui hugging Rize chan, Shiro suddenly got the urge to play Russian nesting dolls…
Finally, thanks to his mom's explanation, Shiro figured out what was going on.
In short, it was one of those "meeting someone from your hometown abroad, eyes lighting up" stories.
After meeting Shiro at a certain high school, Inui began to change. She no longer went to cosplay events alone and occasionally started attending conventions.
Though she still wouldn't accept invitations and such—being a bit socially anxious—she usually snuck in and out quietly.
Coincidentally, Keiko happened to be wandering around at a Chengdu comic con and bumped into the Inui sisters chatting in Japanese.
As a fellow social-phobic, Keiko struck immediately!
Under Keiko's aggressive friendliness, Inui quickly caved and ended up confessing everything.
After learning that this cute pink-haired girl studied at a certain high school, Keiko got even more excited and asked if she knew her son.
And then—
And then it basically turned into a scene of a mother-in-law meeting her daughter-in-law…
The key point being: this mother-in-law really liked the daughter-in-law. Mostly because she was cute. Keiko had a soft spot for pretty girls—and didn't care about quantity.
Soon after, Keiko invited the two girls to stay at her place for a while.
Yup.
Like some eccentric auntie from a horror story…
Ordinarily, no sane person would just follow a stranger home. But this was Shiro's mother we're talking about.
And she came with solid proof.
Don't be fooled by Inui's bashful appearance—when she got serious, she was no less formidable than Kiyoko or the others.
As a student of that same high school and a very close person to Shiro, Inui obviously knew just how many rivals she was up against.
So she made a decision—to attack from a completely different angle!
While everyone else was still trying to win over Shiro, she decided to win over his family!
And so, after coaxing her sister to go home, Inui bravely stepped into the "den of wolves" alone.
As it turns out, her gamble paid off.
After just two days, she had successfully blended into the Kamishiro family.
And more importantly, she hadn't revealed anything about Shiro's "romantic escapades" back in high school.
That made Keiko believe she was the one and only daughter-in-law!
(づ￣ ³￣)づ
Thinking of this, Inui's expression grew even more smug.