Even if Koko hadn’t been thinking very straight with her arm around Emilia’s slim waist, the freckled girl still had enough survival instinct to realize that being taken to the kitchen by her mother couldn’t possibly bode well.
After all, Koko had already been forbidden from entering the kitchen for years, and the only ‘exceptions’ her mother made were the type that ended in an ass-beating.
”I’m sorry, mom, but I promised to accompany Emilia personally after our date, so I can’t help you in the kitchen.”
Looking at the ‘helpless’ look on the freckled girl’s face as she emphasized the words ‘our date’, the middle-aged woman barely resisted rolling her eyes as she continued to smile. “It will only take a few moments, dear. I’m sure Emilia won’t mind, right?”
Naturally, unless she was going for a recipe that required her cooking pots to explode, Koko’s mother wouldn’t be stupid enough to actually ask her ‘kitchen disaster’ of a daughter for help.
As a guest, Emilia naturally wouldn’t object to the host’s wishes too much. But although she nodded obediently, the way her fingertips lingered on Koko’s palm made the crimson-haired girl’s ‘real thoughts’ more than clear.
Of course, there was no way Koko could possibly resist being hooked by Emilia’s reluctant gaze, and she instinctively grasped the little beauty’s soft hand tightly, instantly forgetting about her mother.
”Koko!”
”Y-Yesh!”
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After Koko was dragged away by her mother, Emilia found herself a comfortable position on the sofa before leaning back with a sigh.
Cynthia couldn’t help but tilt her head curiously. “Weren’t you in a good mood just now?”
Emilia sighed again as she took out her phone to start typing out the message. ‘Yeah, but now I have to send Jake some fuel… uh, I mean, a message.’
She couldn’t help but pout. ‘Whenever I think about these idiots, it never fails to annoy me.’
The raven-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. “Didn’t you say things were set till the end of the school events, though?”
Emilia hummed as she looked over what she wrote again before hitting send, then smiled. ‘Well, it’s true, but to have more fun later, sometimes it’s okay to tire yourself out.’
Cynthia blinked. “I don’t really get it… but thank you for your hard work?”
Emilia smiled. ‘You’re welcome, darling.’
Cynthia felt her lips twitch, but decided to ignore her partner’s cheeky statement.
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Meanwhile, in the kitchen, staring at her proud little daughter, Koko’s mother felt her lips twitch in both anger and exasperation. “Why don’t you explain to me clearly what’s going on? You have ten seconds.”
Naturally, it was impossible for the woman to believe that her idiot of a daughter could ever score a real date with that little princess, let alone turn the girl into a clingy little girlfriend.
But how could Koko, who had already received a promise from Emilia, possibly be scared of her mother’s ‘impotent threats’?
”I didn’t threaten her! This is my reward, reward!”
The older woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Reward for what?”
Koko grinned. “Ehehe… that’s between Emilia and me. A secret!”
Koko’s mom could only sigh helplessly. “Since when do you keep secrets from your mother?”
Koko rubbed her nose proudly. “T-There are some things that a-adults should keep to themselves, y-you know!”
Her mother almost had a stroke from anger. ‘T-This annoying little tyke!’
But no matter how she thought about it… she really couldn’t find any reason to scold Koko on this matter. If Emilia and the girl really had some ‘adult relationship’ and this idiot actually managed to ‘win’ to the point of having the girl follow her somehow, maybe it really was okay…?
The older woman shook her head quickly in denial. ‘What the fuck am I thinking?!’
While Koko had still been a little ashamed to act too proudly before, but now that it was only her mother and herself here, the freckled girl puffed out her chest even more. “You don’t know, mom, that adorable little thing is so clingy, ah, it’s like she can’t live without me at all!”
The girl’s mother had already been ashamed from her previous thoughts, and she couldn’t help but squeeze her daughter’s cheek in misplaced anger. “Idiot! What ‘little thing’?! She’s taller than you!”
Koko looked up at her, aggrieved, but when she wanted to refute, the words got stuck in her throat. With her abysmally low four foot nine stature, she could only pout and look away in denial. “I-I’ll grow!”
The older woman sneered. “Grow your mother! Hasn’t it already been six, no, seven years since you last grew?!”
Recalling her pride when she just hit puberty and was taller than all her peers, Koko could only sulk more. ‘Why is mom so tall, but I’m so short?!’
But thinking that there still existed Penny, who was tiny even compared to herself, Koko soon regained her self-confidence. “Mom, you don’t know, it’s not how high your eyes are, it’s how far up your worldview is that makes you tall!”
Koko’s mom was so stunned that she even let go of the girl’s cheek. “D-Did you make that up?”
Only she knew the shock in her heart. ‘Could it be that although her height remains the same, but deep down inside, her peanut-sized brain is actually growing?!’
After considering lying about it for half a nanosecond, Koko still bowed her head meekly. “I-I heard it from Emilia…”
”Figures…” Her mother sighed. ‘It’s impossible, after all.’
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In the end, since Koko’s mother failed to make her daughter spit out how she managed to ‘blackmail’ Emilia into faking a date with her, she could only return while carrying three glasses of orange juice with a defeated sigh.
”I’m sorry it took so long, dear. My hands aren’t as good as they used to be, you know?” She motioned Koko to place the tray on the table with a smile. “Here, it’s freshly squeezed.”
Cynthia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I didn’t know people’s hands made motor noises these days.”
Fortunately, only her partner could hear her sarcastic statement, and sent her a giggle in response.
On the outside, though, Emilia naturally didn’t mind so much, and just smiled. “Thank you, aunty.”
Koko’s mood also improved significantly after she was able to cling to the crimson-haired girl again, and she completely forgot about her grievances from before. ‘If only I could be invisible in Dixie’s eyes, every day would be a good day.’
Of course, unlike her absentminded daughter, there was no way Koko’s mother could ignore the crimson-haired girl’s hesitant and shy look as she sipped the juice. “What is it, dear? Is there something you would like to tell me? Don’t be shy!”
She swore in her heart. ‘If Koko really bullied her, I don’t mind beating her ass till it’s red like a monkey’s butt!’
Of course, aside from punishing her daughter, she would also have to apologize to Emilia sincerely and hope she was willing to forgive them.
After all, although they had some semblance of cooperation now, Koko’s mother knew that she really was nothing but an ant in front of giants like the White Deer and Black Tiger. As long as they wanted to, crushing her would only take a single thought.
Although Emilia looked like a meek and shy girl, Koko’s mom still remained vigilant. ‘The softer she is, the tougher her guardians must be to protect her properly! If my little idiot makes her cry, we might not be able to afford the price of those tears!’
But the younger girl’s next words completely dispersed her fears.
Emilia blushed, as if ashamed of having her thoughts ‘discovered’. “A-Aunty… um, a-actually, I came here to invite you to see our event… I-I know you’re probably very busy with our work, but…!”
She turned her head ‘discretely’ to the side, startling Koko, but then looked away ‘in embarrassment’. “W-We’ve worked really hard on it, and would love it if you could come take a look.”
Emilia was well aware of the woman’s attitude towards her daughter, and knew that she was unlikely to pay it much attention if it was only Koko who invited her.
From her perspective, instead of spending time happily with her daughter and only being able to send her to a normal school, she had done much better by doing everything she could to get the girl into class S of the Imperial Academy.
Of course, since she believed the girl to be hopeless, she had to spend every minute and second to ‘secure her future’ even now.
While Emilia could appreciate the woman’s dedication to her daughter, she believed that Koko would be happier if the woman just relaxed and looked at her without worry.
Perhaps if she looked carefully, she would realize that Koko was no longer so hopeless, and even had people she could depend on. This event was a chance for her to do just that, so Emilia naturally wouldn’t allow the woman to skip it.
Looking at the crimson-haired beauty’s shy, pleading smile, Koko’s mom felt an arrow shoot through her heart. Before she even realized it, she ended up nodding dumbly, all her previous doubts vaporizing into smoke.
Emilia smiled, looking both relieved and ecstatic. “Thank you, aunty!”
Meanwhile, Koko sat there dumbfounded for almost a full minute before she recovered. “E-Eh? Mom is really gonna come? Awesome! I can finally prove to her once and for all how awesome I am!”
It was only after the two girls celebrated ‘secretly’ right in front of her did Koko’s mother realize what had happened, but at that point… it was already too late.
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