Chapter 308

Chapter Thirty-Nine

It’s Too Early to Meet the Parents Now

Lei, wearing the black and white uniform, approached the counter with a bashful girl-like demeanor. In front of her, Ash was idly flipping through the fashion magazine brought by Erika. To him, reading this stuff was less enjoyable than buying a “Shonen JUMP” on the street. But Ash wanted to renew the old-fashioned uniforms in the store.

The maid outfits looked quite nice, he thought, recalling where he had seen them before and wanting to look again. Why did you all have to collude and resist? It’s just that the skirts were slightly shorter…

“What if we changed everything to gold…? I think that would work!”

“Um… D-manager…”

With a dismissive tone.

“Whoosh—”

With one hand, Ash absentmindedly petting the fairy borrowed from the girl, the rustling of pages perfectly covered Leis’s tiny voice. The failed attempt left a dejected expression on the girl’s face.

No, Lei, you can’t give up!

While encouraging herself inwardly, Lei recalled her goal this time.

In her grandmother’s botanical garden, there was a very rare flower: Maiden Lily. Lei was almost obsessed, as a little flower enthusiast, she wanted to see the beauty of the flower for herself.

She had told her grandmother about supporting manager. Despite being surprised, her grandmother also said she wanted to meet this great person.

Seeing these two coincidences, Lei combined them and thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to introduce Ash to her grandmother and invite the manager to see the flowers together! This would be an adult date; yes, Erika wouldn’t lie to me about something like this!

“So… Courage! Perseverance! Keep it up, Lei!”

“Manager, do you have any plans for the weekend—”

“Manager, do you have time this weekend?”

The approaching figure of Tsukikage Lily just blocked the gradually petrified Hanazaki Lei.

“Yes, what is it Lily?”

Releasing Caffrey, who had an O-shaped face due to his petting method, Ash put down the book and the fairy.

“Can you go somewhere with me?”

“Sure.”

No, not fair, I was beat to it?

“Lei…Lei?”

“Lei, are you saying your head hurts because you’re hugging it like that?”

Seeing Lei’s helpless expression with tears mixed in, her blue-haired friend and the fairy gave her concerned looks.

What bad luck!

“Erika, can you go to the botanical garden with me this week…”

“Of course… Wait, what?”

Erika felt something was off. Just now, Lei seemed to have intended to invite the manager at first.

Does that mean I am the backup plan?

Time flew by unnoticed. When Erika pulled Lei to the botanical garden over the weekend, they saw an unexpected sight.

“Lei’s grandma, we’ve arrived… Wait, huh?”

Looking at the already seated couple on the other side, Lei blinked in confusion.

“Why are Lily-san and the manager here too?”

“They all just happened to show up, it’s so coincidental.”

In the famous botanical garden of the flower market, the kind-eyed old lady Hanazaki Kuriko smiled warmly at the five young people sitting around her, especially at Lei, who sometimes glanced uneasily at Lily and that man, her smile becoming even more evident.

As someone who had experienced many things, how could she not guess what her granddaughter was thinking?

But, the road young people need to take is always long.

“Oh, it’s grandma desu!”

Without any surprise, this elderly woman, as if greeting an old friend, touched their heads and served them their favorite flower nectar drink.

“How… Is that so…”

Occasionally casting glances at Lily and Ash next to her, and at Erika who seemed to have something to hide, Lei felt embarrassed and hurt, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Why did Lily and the manager choose the same place as us!

Wait, no, when I think carefully, being senior Pretty Cure like Lily knew about grandma’s place isn’t surprising.

“Are you the young man that Lily and Lei talk about? Ash?” Before him was the kind elder who owned the botanical garden and was also Lei’s grandmother. She had learned many things about this young man from her grandchildren. “I want to thank you for supporting them. You’re truly impressive.”

Like Xuanzi, who was observing him, Ash also took a moment to observe the botanical garden. He was surprised by how well everything was managed, with no signs of any sick plants, and numerous plants he had never seen before. Distracted by the scenery, he only came back to himself when they mentioned him.

If Sengoku and Daichi were here, they’d probably jump for joy—ah, no! Don’t get sidetracked!

“No, my actions cannot compare to the contributions of Pretty Cure to the world,” although they were not enemies, Ash felt a rare pressure.

“But the significance of the things you do for them is equally important,” Xuanzi said with a gentle smile towards Lily. “Especially to Little Lily.”

She knew that Little Lily often spoke of the person who rescued her from困境, who was now incredibly important to her.

Xuanzi was happy, but Ash felt annoyed by the vague feeling. He just wanted to vent about this type of wise and scheming elder character—it was really troublesome!

But by looking at her, Ash guessed that she must know about the Pretty Cure.

Then, another supporter knew about Pretty Cure too? Wow, intriguing. The masked rider is an elder, and Pretty Cure is an old lady? That is pretty corresponding.

Ash didn’t plan on talking too much, as he felt like he was being seen through.

“Are you here to admire the flowers?” Holding her warm tea lightly, Xuanzi was used to the awkward atmosphere. “After all, the Maiden Lily is a rarity.”

“More or less.” Both Lei and Erika originally came here purely to admire the flowers, but they became embarrassed seeing the two people who misunderstood it as a date.

“Right,” Lily replied frankly. “Grandma Xuanzi, you mentioned wanting to meet Ash several times before, so I invited him here.”

However, admiring the rare Maiden Lily with the manager would still be a pleasant experience.

Unbeknownst to her, Lei’s slightly down mood instantly brightened at these words.

Oh, it’s not a date then?!

Opportunity! There is still a chance!

“Your name is Ash, right?” With a caring smile, Xuanzi reminisced just like other elderly women. “Did you know? When Little Lily and Lei were troubled, they would come to the botanical garden to relax. Recently, they don’t come here much anymore, and I, this grandmother, feel lonely now.”

“Na-na-nana… Grandmother!”

“Oh no,” grandmother, seemingly unaware of her granddaughter’s discomfort, continued as if oblivious. “We have finished the tea snacks.”

“I’ll buy more!”

“Ahh, Lily-senpai, I will too!”

“Then I—” Preparing to join the others, Ash felt the resistance to his arm that stopped him.

“Little Ashi, spend a few minutes chatting with this old lady,” grandmother gently held Ash’s sleeve like she didn’t want her grandson to leave. “Let’s talk, those of us who support Pretty Cure.”