"Welcome to my humble home, Derek-san," Erioh greeted him with a stern expression.
"Nice place," Derek replied with a smile as he looked around. "It's pleasant, Mr. Erioh."
"I was wondering when the welcome banquet will begin," Derek added in the same serious tone.
"A welcome banquet?" Erioh frowned slightly and clenched his fists, restraining himself for a moment before composing himself. "Of course. We must celebrate our first meeting. Please, come with me."
Under Erioh's guidance, the group quickly entered the mansion. Then the old man ordered the maids to take Derek to wash up first.
"Wash up?" Derek asked as he sat down without even looking at him. "Is it customary for the Kure family to wash before a party?"
"Huh?" Erioh noticed, once again, Derek's provocative attitude, as if he were deliberately trying to irritate him.
Finally, Erioh spoke: "Boy, it seems you have misunderstood the situation."
Derek lifted his head, straightened his back, and replied brazenly, "I don't think I've misunderstood anything."
"Don't worry, Grandpa Erioh. As long as the members of your clan don't challenge me or look for trouble with me, I won't cause any disturbances at the table," Derek said with an innocent expression, as if he were genuinely willing to socialize.
Before Erioh could respond, two figures in school uniforms descended from above. Behind them, a third girl landed lightly.
Both Derek and Erioh immediately recognized Karura and Hitomi.
Both girls lunged toward Derek at the same time.
Erioh reacted quickly and grabbed Karura by the arm, preventing her from hugging him.
"Karura, what's wrong with you? Why such a hurry? Has someone intimidated you?" His expression turned serious when he noticed how agitated she was.
Seeing his favorite granddaughter like that, Erioh's heart tightened.
"Grandpa, you can't intimidate him," Karura protested, forcefully shaking Erioh's arm.
"Huh? Who has Grandpa intimidated?" he asked, pointing at himself in disbelief.
This was all because, hours earlier, Karura had received a message from Derek saying that he had already arrived. Hitomi had warned her that her family might make things difficult for him.
Worried, Karura ran over immediately, fearing that her grandfather, with his strong character, would intimidate her beloved boyfriend.
"Grandpa! Derek is my boyfriend, and as soon as he arrived they started hitting him and intimidating him," Karura accused, not noticing Derek's awkward expression in a corner.
Hearing this, Erioh seemed to understand something. Suddenly he smiled, turned around, and took Derek by the shoulder, bringing him in front of Karura.
"Karura, what kind of person do you think your grandfather is? Your beloved is perfectly fine."
Upon hearing the word "beloved," Karura's face turned red. She stomped hard on Erioh's foot and shouted, "Grandpa! I hope you don't intimidate him next time!"
Erioh ignored his granddaughter's blush, winked at Derek, and said with feigned solemnity, "Karura, Derek and I get along very well."
"That's true," Derek added firmly. "Your grandfather is very kind. He even offered a banquet."
Karura looked at Erioh with suspicion, but he nodded in confirmation.
'Even though there's nothing wrong with what Derek said, something doesn't quite add up,' Karura thought.
"Then… Grandpa approves of you? And you even talked about us… about having a baby?" Karura covered her face with her hands, embarrassed and happy at the same time.
"Grandpa! It's not that I'm against those things! But you should have told me! So… am I getting married already?" she protested, though her smile gave her away.
To be honest, at first Karura had only wanted a child with Derek because of his strength and her family's customs. She never imagined things would move so fast.
"Grandpa… did Derek tell you what we did?" she suddenly asked, trembling slightly as she covered her face.
"What are you talking about?" Erioh replied, tilting his head in genuine confusion.