Chapter 8: Dinner Invitation

After we got tricked by Kisaragi-senpai, we decided to continue our biology assignment at Emi’s house.

On the way to Emi’s house

“So, Emi, is your house nearby?”
“Yeah, it’s not that far. Why? Is it because you can’t stop thinking about what you want to do with me?” Emi replied.
“Yeah, I’m totally going to do something with you.”
“Really? Pervert.”
“Huh? We’re going to do our biology assignment, right? How can that be perverted?”
“Oh… eh, yeah, right.”

In my mind, I answered plainly just to mess with her a little.

A few minutes later, we arrived at a two-story house. It was big, with a yard surrounding it and wide windows.
“Wow, Emi, is your family rich?”
“Not really. We actually got this house for a bargain.”
“How so?”
“Well, the realtor said this house was haunted because it had been abandoned for a long time.”
“Wait… is it actually haunted?”
“No, not at all. Honestly, I’ve stayed up late plenty of times and haven’t seen anything paranormal.”
“Oh, well, that’s good to know.”

Then Emi smirked a little.
“Why? Are you scared of ghosts, Mamoru?”
“No, totally not. I’m not afraid of ghosts… or yokai… or chupacabra.”
“Well then, let’s go inside.”

We stepped into the house. As Emi opened the door, we were greeted by her little sister, Ame.
“Huh? Onee-san, you’re home earlier than I thought.”
“Well, long story short, we got fooled by Kisaragi-senpai.”

Then Ame noticed me.
“Really? Are you sure, onee-san? Because it seems to me like you just wanted to spend more time with Mamoru.”
“Hehe… well, you’re not entirely wrong, Amelie. We’re going to work on a biology assignment, so don’t bother us, okay? Or you might see something you don’t want to see, hehe.”
“Ew, gross. I’ll go to my own room then.”

Before she left, Ame greeted me.
“Welcome to our house, Mamoru… or onee-san’s boyfriend.”

Then she disappeared into her room.

“So, where are we going to work on our assignment, Emi?”
“How about my room? Aren’t you curious about my room, Mamoru?”
“Not really. I think I prefer your dining room.”
“Wow, such a gentleman. Okay, then — dining room it is.”
“Lead the way.”

As we walked in deeper, I noticed her house was decorated with paintings and marble statues. It gave off a fancy vibe. The floor was made of high-quality wood — nothing like any house I’d been in before.

A few moments later, we reached the dining room. It had a long table, probably used when her father hosted dinner events or other rich-people gatherings I couldn’t imagine.
“Okay, should I get you some tea or coffee, Mamoru?”
“Eh, coffee please. I haven’t had real caffeine since Saturday.”
“Hehe… I better add no sugar then.”

Emi left to prepare the drinks while I pulled out my notebook to check where we had left off.
“Okay… we’ve completed the first part, which is about appearance. Next is DNA — or basically, the backstory of where our ancestors came from.”

A few minutes later, Emi returned with a coffee and a tea.
“Here’s your coffee.”
“Ah, thanks, Emi.” I took the cup from her hand.
“So, what’s next, Mamoru?”
“Oh, we need to discuss DNA and where we could come from.”
“Ah… the boring stuff.”
“Yeah, more or less.”
“Okay then, let’s start with the less boring part — where I come from.”
“I already know you’re from France, so… Europe.”
“Exacto mundo, I’m from France, cabrón, hehe.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s Spanish. Are you secretly from Spain, Emi?”
“No, you silly. French is similar to other European languages, so I actually know more than one language since learning French.”
“Really? That’s amazing. So you can understand English too?”
“Well… English is quite different from French, so I don’t really master it.”
“Huh, interesting.”

“Anyway, how about you, Mamoru?”
“Well, I’m Japanese. My family used to live in Tokyo before we decided to move here.”
“Ah, interesting. So what’s Tokyo like?”
“Honestly, it’s kind of overrated. If you love tall buildings and neon lights at night, you’d probably enjoy Tokyo.”
“So you moved here because you prefer a less crowded place?”
“Nah, not really. It’s because the cost of living here is way cheaper than in Tokyo.”
“Oh, okay. Makes sense. No wonder this house was cheap too.”

“Emi, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, Mamoru. What is it?”
“I noticed your hair color and Ame’s are slightly different. Is Ame from a different family?”
“Hehe… you mean, is Ame adopted?”
“Yeah… is that true?”
“No. My father is French, but I’m also half Irish since my mom is from Dublin.”
“Oh, so people from Ireland have different hair colors too?”
“Yeah. Some people from Ireland have black hair, ginger hair, and some are blonde.”
“Oh, interesting.”
“Well, let’s write that down in our notes.”
“Oh, right. Sorry — looks like we got distracted.”
“Yeah, but I can’t blame you. It’s interesting learning where people come from.”
“Totally.”

We continued working on the more boring parts of our assignment.

A few hours later, we had completed about 90% of it.
“Looks like we’re almost done.”
“Yeah,” Emi replied with a yawn, stretching her arms.
“What time is it?”
I checked my phone. “It’s 5:30 PM.”
“Ah, I better go home.”
“Really? You don’t want to stay for dinner?”
“Eh, I want to… are you sure I won’t be a bother?”
“No, you won’t. And it’ll be French cuisine — not frogs like when you visited Jean.”
“Okay, sure, I’ll stay for dinner. But let me tell my mom first.”
“Alright, I’ll tell my mom and dad you’re joining us.”

Emi left me alone in the dining room. I started wondering what her father would think of me. Would he see me as Emi’s boyfriend? Would he act cold?

Before I could think further, Ame came in.
“Oh, Mamoru, you’re joining us for dinner?”
“Yeah… Emi forc— I mean, persuaded me.”
“Really? Well, the more the merrier.”

She sat at the edge of the table.
“So, Ame, will your father be at dinner today?”
“No. Father’s busy today, so you can relax.”
“Really? Okay, thanks, Ame.”
“Hehe… don’t relax yet — you haven’t met our mother.”

Suddenly, a loud, commanding voice echoed:
“Emi, prepare the table for dinner!”

Then a blonde-haired woman came from the kitchen.
“Huh? Who are you, boy?”
“Oh, eh… I’m Mamoru, Emi’s friend from school.”
“Really? I don’t recall Emi ever inviting a boy to dinner.”

Oh no… am I in trouble?