A long silence ensued after that declaration from me. My dad, my mom and all the girls watching from the dining room held their breath. They believed that Im not done yet, after all.

And thats the correct assumption.

After organizing my thoughts, I once again opened my mouth with the same determination as before.

Theres no reason for me to falter. I had already decided all of this long before they arrived. This was just my way to show my girls how devoted I am to them as well as to inform my parents that I am serious about this.

I am aware that I look like a fool in your eyes even after the advice you and uncle have given me whenever I will get a chance to talk to you but I dont care. I want to let you know that my life from now on will only revolve around them, around the girls I came to love. It will be hard and full of difficulties but thats something well solve by ourselves.

Given that I am still living under your roof, all of this will surely look like an ignorant babble from someone who hasnt seen the outside world yet. However, thats not enough to discourage me. Dad, mom, its presumptuous of me but let me introduce them all to you.

I paused right after this to look back as my eyes rested on Akane. Even though shes someone they also watched grow alongside me, I still had to nail in the fact that shes now someone I planned on living my life with.

Akane understood it and stood up from her seat and went over to my side. Following my example, she sat in seiza as I reintroduced her as not just my childhood friend but my wife. Just like how we started calling each other ever since she started living with me.

My dad still didnt say anything but at least, he smiled slightly and nodded at Akane.

Furthermore, my mom eventually sat down next to him after giving Minoru to Miwa-nee who finished serving the tea she brewed for everyone.

Mother, father, I am of the same mind with Ruki on what he wanted to accomplish in the future I admit its hard to accept that Im not his only one but this past month where my dream of being with him again has been fulfilled as well as the way he strives on making it up to the years that he, as he said, neglected me, Im more than happy to accompany him with this path he chose. Akane grabbed my hand as she raised her head to confidently face my parents gaze.

For you to accept my sons whimsical decision, youre sacrificing a lot, Akane.

For the first time, my dad opened his mouth, commenting on Akanes words.

No matter how one would look at him, he looked like an adult version of me with only a slight difference that I inherited from my mom. Hes carrying himself with more gait than me. Furthermore, with the glasses adorning his face coupled with his buttoned shirt, he looked like a respectable man on all fronts.

Nonetheless, compared to how they acted during the video call earlier, both of my parents were now shrouded in an aura of seriousness, especially my dad.

Its not whimsical, father. Ruki thought a lot about his decision. Its just out of the norm. To fall in love seriously with different women is not unheard of. I may be sacrificing a lot but hes the same.

This girl To say that Im the same is not fair Its entirely different from the sacrifice that shes making, the sacrifice that theyre making

I thought of rebutting her but even before I could say anything, Akane tightened her grip on my hand before shaking her head. That gesture was easily understandable so I swallowed my words and nodded at her.

Is that so? Alright then

Like me, my dad obviously cut off himself to say anything more. Hes most likely thinking of holding it until I finished introducing everyone to them.

As for my mom, she chose to not say anything and just watch at my dads side.

A few seconds later, Akane stood up and returned to her previous seat.

And like earlier, my gaze rested on someone who then stood up to sit next to me, introducing herself.

Mother, father. Im Fujima Yaeko. A year older than Ruki I believe youre already aware of who I am so Ill cut my introduction short. I love Ruki and like Akane, I will stay by his side.

Yae completed her introduction in one breath. I could see her shoulders moving up and down as she suppressed her nervousness. Due to that, I also reached for her hand and pressed on it to calm her down.

After sizing up Yae, my dad smiled and nodded at her without repeating the question he asked Akane earlier. For sure, from how Yae introduced herself, he already predicted that the girl would just answer the same.

So instead of that, he said words of acknowledgement, Yes, I am aware of your relationship with him. Youre with him for most of his days in middle school after the first girl, whos always with him during his first year, graduated.

As expected, theyre also aware of Nao But they probably stopped taking note of her because I cut her off soon after she graduated

With this, I could guess that theyre only keeping tabs on who I was meeting in middle school. Once they graduated or drifted away from me, their eyes would stop looking at the girl

After Yae, Yua and Aoi finished their introductions while maintaining the same straightforward approach. And just like with Yae and Akane, my dad would say something about them.

For Yua, its how I helped resolve that incident with the photographer and how that became the major point in her budding feelings for me.

For Aoi, its how the unruly girl changed over time. Her unruliness was at first her way to rebel at me but as days passed, it became her way to subtly convey her growing feelings for me.

Following Aoi, Ria stood up even before I could call for her. The observant girl walked unfalteringly, her face was brimming with confidence along with a polite smile.

As soon as she settled down next to me, the girl opened up with a different line than the first four. Mother, father, before you say I am still young to decide that I will spend the rest of my life with Dumb-senpai, Ill respectfully ask you to stop it Im young, yes. However, Im aware of what Im getting into by walking back into his arms. Dumb-senpai will always be Dumb-senpai but Im confident that no one else can replace him for me. No one can be that dumb and lovely at the same time.

Ria then turned her polite smile to a proud one. Shes flaunting how proud she is of me

And although slightly disrespectful, her words managed to stifle a laugh not just from me but for everyone who heard it.

Ria, do you really have to emphasize how dumb I am? I sent a bitter smile towards her. And the answer I received was a pinch on my cheeks and a simple affirmation. Yes, Dumb-senpai!