5 Chapter 5 - Promise

Typically, a boy's room was a sacred place to relax for the average adolescent male. However, it seemed Takei was an outlier since he had a divine being inside of his room at the moment.

Long, golden locks of hair dropped down from an ideal hourglass body shape. Slim legs that were hidden by stockings and an elegant posture were also things the goddess possessed. There was an aura surrounding the goddess that was a mix of innocence and maturity that captivated the hearts of many men. This was the divine goddess that was known as Akari Akazawa.

"Wow! He asked her out this early?! What a dreamy scenario~"

At least, this was supposed to be the divine goddess. Unbelievable, was the one word that was circling around Takei's head. The girl in front of him was not the goddess, but instead a first year high school girl who was getting excited over shoujo manga.

The refined air and aura around her was nowhere to be found. She was lazing around on his bed reading a manga series that she grabbed off his shelf. Takei was in utter disbelief as he saw the events unfold after they arrived home from school. After working up his courage, Takei questioned Akari's intentions.

"Why did you ask to come over?"

"No reason, I was just bored."

"Hey..."

"Y'know... it gets really tiring having to be the goddess all the time."

"You mean you don't like that nickname?"

"Of course not!"

Akari scoffed as if he had just said something extremely outlandish. Takei was thoroughly surprised to find out that Akari didn't like the title of goddess.

"I'm always expected to fit people's expectations as the goddess. Honestly, it's tiring and I don't want to do it anymore. Sadly, it's too late for me to change since I dug this hole for myself."

When Akari said it was too late for her to change, something snapped inside of Takei. There was a burning passion inside of him that wanted to refute that statement. After struggling to hold in his true thoughts, Takei resolutely stated his beliefs.

"It's never too late to change..."

"..."

Akari was in shock at how serious Takei was getting. Never did she expect that such a mild boy would be this passionate about someone else.

"Everyone has it hard in life, that's a given. The difference between the people who are happy and the people who are not are their abilities to adapt and change. If you don't make the effort to change, your shitty situation won't get any better. In the end, the choice is yours to make. Either change and keep moving forward or do nothing and be crushed by your problems."

The air in the room turned serious as Takei went on his rant. Akari listened carefully and understood the meaning of his long speech. She took it to heart and slowly went over the words in her head. After several minutes, Akari finally reached a conclusion.

"I understand..."

"That's good."

"Will you take responsibility?"

"Huh?"

"Will you take responsibility for changing me?"

"Uhh..."

Takei was severely conflicted now. The goddess herself was asking for his help with changing herself. He didn't know if he had the qualifications to help an extraordinary person like her.

"Maybe you should find someone else to rely on. I'm not that useful."

"But you're the only one I can count on!"

Akari looked up towards Takei with pleading eyes that seemed to say "please help me!" He soon realized that no mortal man could resist the allure of the goddess when she was in full divine mode.

"Yeah yeah, fine. What do I need to do?"

"I'm glad you asked. I was hoping for you to stay near me at school so I can turn off my goddess mode whenever the chance comes up. Staying dignified and alert all the time is very tiring."

"Got it. Basically, you just want me to be your watchdog while you rest?"

"Yeah, that's essentially the first part of the job..."

"What's the second part?"

"..."

Akari looked shy and embarrassed as she tried to say what was on her mind. Several moments later, Takei got fed up with waiting and asked bluntly.

"Just tell me what it is that you want..."

After reinforcing her resolve, Akari asked Takei a question that would leave him befuddled.

"Can I come over after school everyday?"

"Umm..."

Takei was at a loss for words. If anyone found out that the goddess was coming over to his house everyday, he would have to take on the endless amount of jealous and envious stares.

"Pretty please? Both of my parents are always working and I always get really bored at home!"

The goddess started to beg with her puppy eyes turned towards Takei. There was obviously no way that Takei would survive a combo that did 999 damage to him.

"I'm not sure... I'll be fine with it personally, but you'll have to ask my mom."

"Alright, let's go ask!"

"I'm not sure if she'll be okay with this..."

***

"Sure, I'm okay with this~"

Flora readily agreed to Takei's surprise. At least, he would've been surprised if he hadn't remembered that his mom was a whimsical person.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, I'll return this favor somehow."

"No need! I've always wanted another daughter!"

Flora wanted another daughter to dote on since her actual daughter was growing up and her son was too aloof to dote on.

"Thank you, Mother."

At the sound of Akari calling her mother, Flora's eyes started to sparkle.

"Fufufu, it is no problem my darling daughter~"

Akari didn't seem bothered by being called Flora's daughter, in contrast she seemed rather elated to be a part of the family. Takei could only stare in disbelief at the stark difference of how reality played out compared to the scenario in his head.

While this heartwarming scene was happening, the front door to the house opened.

"I'm home! What are we having for din-"

Takei's sister, Airi, struggled to finish her sentence as she saw the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.

"Y-y-you're the goddess! What are you doing here?!"

Airi was at a loss for words when she saw the greatest divine being at her house. "Frozen in place" was one of the phrases that could've been used to describe how Airi looked.

Just to be clear, Airi is the same age as Takei and they both go to the same school, so that would make Akari her fellow classmate at school if it weren't for the separation of classes.

Seeing her popular classmate at their home all of a sudden had robbed her of her voice.

Akari grimaced at the mention of her nickname, "You can call me Akari?"

"Yes! My name is Airi Tanaka, nice to meet you Akari!"

Although she was clearly nervous, Airi managed to eek out a response. Akari saw this attempt and smiled at how cute Airi was.

"Fufufu, although you already know. Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Akari Akazawa. Nice to meet you!"

"Let's get along... oh, wait why are you here in the first place?"

"Oh... um..."

Akari looked towards Takei for help with an excuse. Unluckily for her, Takei had no way of fabricating an excuse that sounded true so he just shrugged while glancing back at her. Airi took notice of this exchange and formulated a theory inside of her head.

"I get it now... you're my brother's girlfriend aren't you?"

"..."

Akari turned around at the speed of light. Unluckily for her, it wasn't fast enough for the rest of the family to catch her bright red cheeks and rosy ear tips.

"That's not true, stop teasing her."

Takei vehemently denied the claim since he knew Airi was just poking fun at them.

"My bad, I should've known that my lone wolf brother wouldn't have a girlfriend."

"Hey..."

Takei wanted to deny her claims, but stopped before realizing they were mostly true. Girls didn't approach him due to his blunt and aloof personality, but for some odd reason one girl did approach him.

Airi observed Akari for several moments before turning to her mother to ask a question regarding Takei and Akari's relationship.

"I wasn't too off the mark right?"

"Fufufu, maybe not for long~"

Takei heard the two whispering and briskly ignored them. After a couple seconds, Akari regained her composure and thanked the family for their hospitality.

"I have to get home, it's getting late. Thank you for having me, I hope to see you again tomorrow!"

"Come back soon my darling daughter!"

"Catch you later, I'm going to miss you!"

"Goodbye."

Although Takei's farewell was curt, Akari understood the feelings behind his goodbye and gave him a slight nod as she returned to her home with a happy aura surrounding her.

---

Akari's Affection Meter: 13 -> 20%

Being introduced to his sister is a big step in their relationship. It shows the trust that is slowly building between them. A sister's blessing is quite good for a harmonious relationship as well. Takei's promise also plays a big factor in the meter change since he essentially decided to follow along with Akari's selfish wishes. She believes that he is a close friend now.