Erina Nakiri uttered those words, clearly expecting to see a shocked expression on Renz's face. From their two days of acquaintance, it was obvious Renz wasn't from the culinary world. If he had any familiarity with it, he couldn't possibly be unaware of the Nakiri family's prominence—or the infamous "God's Tongue."
But it seemed none of it mattered to Renz. He was completely unaffected.
A wave of frustration rose within Erina, silently gnawing at her confidence. The God's Tongue was a powerful gift. The Nakiri family held immense influence. Yet to Renz—who knew nothing of either—these titles held no weight. To him, they simply softened into a sponge-like impact.
"Oh, right. These are a few popular Japanese romance light novels I found online," Renz said, copying and pasting a few titles from his phone. "You can check them out when you have time. Though, Japanese online books seem expensive, so it might be better to just buy the physical copies."
"Mhm. I understand," Erina Nakiri nodded.
"And I'll pick Rina up from school today," Renz added with a shrug. "Rina doesn't seem to like you much."
Ouch. That hit a nerve.
Yes, the most infuriating thing for Erina was that her daughter, Rina Nakiri, didn't seem to like her as a mother. Or rather, it wasn't quite dislike—it was more that Rina was clearly closer to Renz than to her. Even the seemingly clueless Haruki paid her no mind.
Just how high was Renz's image in the hearts of the children?
"I'll go pick them up," Erina replied firmly, her tone leaving no room for discussion.
"I'm afraid you and Rina will argue again," Renz said. He wasn't trying to stop her on purpose. They had argued yesterday too, when he picked up Rina. Although the reconciliation wasn't hard, Renz couldn't keep playing mediator every single day. He wanted to save himself the trouble and just let Erina go.
"No. I'm going," Erina insisted, locking eyes with Renz, her beautiful gaze unwavering.
"Can you promise not to argue with the child?" he asked.
"I promise," she nodded with conviction.
Though she tried to act mature in front of her daughter, Erina's true nature showed when Rina wasn't around—she was a full-blown doting mother.
"Swear?" Renz found her amusing and couldn't resist teasing.
"I swear!" Erina raised her hand in a solemn gesture.
"But I don't trust you," Renz chuckled.
That sudden twist broke Erina's composure. The proud tsundere pouted and snapped, "Hey! What do you mean by that? Watch it, or I'll hit you!"
"Alright, alright," Renz relented with a grin. "How about we go pick Rina up together?"
He thought for a moment before suggesting it. "We haven't gone out together yet, have we?"
"Although we're nominally married, the actual situation…" Renz trailed off. But Erina already understood his implication.
"If we want to avoid being exposed in front of others, we need to get used to at least some basic things," Renz added with a serious look.
Going out together?
Erina nodded thoughtfully. If Renz hadn't brought it up, she probably wouldn't have considered all these details.
And when the opening ceremony for the competition rolled around, they might even have to attend together. If anything went wrong then, it'd be hard to fix.
"Okay. We'll pick Rina up together after school today," she agreed. "What are you planning to wear?"
"I'll just wear this," Renz replied, motioning to his casual outfit.
"I refuse," Erina immediately made an X with her hands. "At the very least, wear a suit, will you?"
"Huh? Wearing a suit to pick up my daughter?" Renz scratched his head.
"You must dress presentably when you go out," Erina said sternly, pointing to herself. "Even I'll put on makeup."
"It's about respecting others!"
Renz sighed. He probably understood what she meant. Maybe it was a Japanese custom. On his first day here, he'd noticed people—regardless of profession—wearing suits just to go to work.
"Alright," he agreed reluctantly. "But I don't need to wear makeup, right?"
"That's not necessary," Erina shook her head. "But if you want, I can do your makeup too."
"No thanks, I appreciate it," Renz replied quickly.
---
Meanwhile, at a bustling airport—
"Back in Japan again, huh?" Alice Nakiri stretched her arms, checking her phone.
This trip was both for business—handling affairs at her restaurants—and for her role as an examiner for the second stage of the Food Soul Grand Prix.
Since she wasn't a permanent resident of Japan, she didn't have a fixed place to stay. Normally, she'd crash at Erina's house.
Alice stared at her phone. Should she send Erina a message… or just surprise her?
It had been a while since she'd last seen Rina.
First things first—she'd grab a taxi and head to Erina's house.
---
"Time to head out," Renz said after putting on the suit Erina had found in the closet. His entire outfit had been hand-picked by her.
Standing at the villa's entrance, both took a deep breath at the same time. A little nervous.
Erina was the first to move. She extended her hand, pushed open the large door, and they stepped out of the villa one after the other.
As they walked outside, both quickly calmed down.
What the heck?
Going out together didn't feel so stressful after all.
Renz's method was simple: just pretend Erina Nakiri wasn't there. She was an NPC. Just an NPC.
In the end, the pressure of going out vanished.
Erina's approach? Equally simple: pretend Renz wasn't there either. Just a normal pedestrian walking beside her. Coincidentally heading in the same direction.
In this way, her pressure disappeared as well.
Unfortunately, both of their coping strategies didn't prevent the high rate of turned heads they drew as a pair walking together.
Erina Nakiri was born with natural beauty, and even without makeup, she looked stunning. But today, with her carefully selected outfit and light makeup, her charm was on another level.
The Erina Nakiri of ten years later had fully blossomed in both figure and grace. Despite coming from the culinary world, she outshined even movie stars.
The occasional glances they received along the way made Erina feel like her feet were sinking into cement.
Renz, too, felt a little awkward under all the stares, but didn't think much of it. When he turned to look at Erina, he noticed her expression had gone completely stiff.
"Erina, why don't you head back home? I can go pick them up myself."
Was the psychological burden too much for her?
---
Will Alice Nakiri's unannounced visit complicate things for Renz and Erina's carefully constructed 'loving couple' facade? And how will Erina overcome her discomfort with public attention to maintain their cover?
---Support with power stones