In-laws? After Naji was healed, Torina went back to her room, only to be met with a challenge that was unexpected, but also made perfect sense.
“…Decorate the room?”
“That’s right.”
Patty placed a pretty little potted plant on the nightstand by her bed, instantly giving the room a touch of nature.
“Think about it, since we’re pretending to be a couple, my family will definitely assume we’re sharing a room, so we need to set things up in advance.”
“We don’t have to actually share a room, do we? I think you can just… uh… come find me when you need to do anything related to getting pregnant, and the rest of the time we can stay separate.”
“Even so, we still need to be prepared.”
“Fine…” Torina turned her head slightly, glancing at the doorway out of the corner of her eye—
“…(stare——)”
Milora was peeking her head in, spying on the room.
“Captain, where do you think this little succulent should go~?”
“I don’t like succulents…”
“Then how about some spider plants?”
“…”
After a round of fussing, Torina’s room was now full of greenery, and there was an extra pillow on the bed, with a cartoon elf face on it.
“All done!”
“Yeah, finally finished…”
“So, tonight… should we sleep together?” Patty shyly tugged at her sleeve as she asked, her eyes full of that irresistible, half-inviting look.
“…(resentment resentment resentment resentment)”
The negative energy radiating from Milora at the door was so thick it was almost visible.
“Let’s… skip tonight, okay? We’ll talk after we meet your parents?”
“Hmm, let’s do that, we’ll talk next time~” Patty stood on tiptoe and nuzzled Torina’s face, then walked out of the room with a cute little bounce, running right into the spying Milora.
“Hey, Milora, when did you get here? Oh, and I love you too.”
“…Tch.”
Patty’s words, which could be taken as friendly or teasing, didn’t get much of a response from Milora.
She just turned and walked away quickly, with Patty following behind.
Torina gently closed the door.
Once she was sure she was alone, she took out the two bird eggs from her compressed space backpack.
Ever since she bought them in Valhalla City, she hadn’t told anyone about them, nor let anyone see them directly.
After all, it’s best to keep divine beasts hidden—no need to attract unwanted attention.
“Hmm, they look the same on the outside…”
Still the size of chicken eggs, still that dull gray shell, but she could vaguely sense a subtle change inside both eggs.
Maybe it was because she’d witnessed Nikos summon Gungnir up close? Ravens are part of Odin too, so the appearance of Gungnir might have resonated with them, maybe even helping them hatch.
Torina cut her hand and fed them some more blood, infusing them with rune power to nurture them.
And so the night passed.
———————— ————————
The next day, Patty’s family really did arrive in Zhieweidun City.
To show her hospitality, Torina booked a spacious private room at the fanciest restaurant in town.
Including herself, six members of the party were there (Anna-veil, Ji Xue, and Naji were absent), and it was everyone’s first time meeting Patty’s family.
Besides Patty, there were seven of them, all wood elves.
One man and six women, all with long golden hair, delicate features, pointed ears adorned with jewelry, and wearing close-fitting clothes in green and white—exactly what you’d picture elves to look like.
Leading the group were a man and a woman who were clearly older than the rest: an elf man with a stern face and slicked-back hair, and a cool, imposing elf woman.
“Dad, Mom, it’s been a while.”
Patty gave them a sweet hug, but they didn’t react much.
“These are my most beloved parents, who love me the most too—Owen Sindarin and Eileen Sindarin!” Patty introduced the pair, and Owen and Eileen nodded slightly.
“These are my relatives from the same clan, my peers, and they came to see me too!” She quickly introduced the other girls (all beautiful elf maidens).
One smiled, one was expressionless, one seemed very curious about Torina, and the last two looked a bit nervous, like they weren’t used to dealing with humans.
“These are my family, I love everyone so much~ And—Dad, Mom, these are my companions from the adventurer party, and this is Torina, my captain, and also my lover!” When Patty said “lover,” Milora visibly flinched, but managed to hold back and didn’t say anything.
“…”
“…”
Her parents—Owen and Eileen—didn’t speak right away, just stared straight at Torina, as if sizing her up.
“Mom? Dad? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing… So, this is the one you’re in love with?”
“Yep! Do you have any questions?”
“She looks pretty impressive.”
“She’s a girl, huh.
Girls are fine too.”
Her parents’ attitude was surprisingly accepting, their tone gentle, and they even shook hands politely with Torina—nothing like the overbearing parents you’d expect in a fake couple scenario.
“Ahem, I hope you two get along well.
Our Sindarin line is short on talent these days, so we’re glad Patty is willing to take on the responsibility of carrying on the family.” Owen said.
“But, Patty never cared much about this before.
Her attitude changed so suddenly—are you just humoring us?” Eileen said, finally saying something you’d expect from the girl’s parents in this kind of situation.
“No way, no way, Torina and I are really close! If you don’t believe it, you can watch us for the next few days!” Patty answered right away.
“Alright, if you say so, we’ll do that.”
Owen nodded, and Eileen agreed as well.
Then, silence fell again.
The atmosphere was awkward in a way that was hard to describe.
At that moment, one of Patty’s peers—the elf girl who was always smiling—suddenly spoke up.
“I’m Patty’s little sister, Aiko Sindarin.
Just call me Aiko!”
“Oh, nice to meet you.” Torina said.
“I’ve been wondering since just now… Miss Torina, why aren’t you wearing shoes? Stockings with bare feet is so lewd~”
“On a macro level, it’s my character’s selling point.
On a micro level, it’s my kink.” Torina answered with a straight face.
“That’s good culture.” Laxis suddenly chimed in—who asked her?
“Haha, Miss Torina, you’re so funny.
Please get along with Patty, okay? She’s not easy to handle~”
“Come on, Aiko, don’t say that~” Patty blushed and playfully punched Aiko’s chest.
The two (super flat-chested) beauties messing around was quite a sight.
“So, for today…” Owen seemed to remember something.
“Since it’s our first day meeting, let’s observe whether you two are really in love.”
