Chapter 441 Mother-in-Law Sheila and Asia's True Feelings

“Um… is this Takumi’s house?”

While Takumi and the others were sitting in the living room discussing everything that had happened today, Irina’s clear voice came from outside the door.

In an instant, all the women present—including Maria’s mother, Sheila—turned their gazes toward Takumi.

“Ara ara~ As expected of my son-in-law. You certainly have plenty of stamina~ But if a few more girls move in, I don’t think there’ll be enough room left in the house.”

Sheila clung to Takumi’s arm and blinked her large, watery eyes at him, her young yet seductive voice dripping with mischief.

“So I suppose I’ll just have to make a little sacrifice and share a room with you. How does that sound~?”

A hint of allure shimmered in her purple eyes, enough to make anyone who saw them suck in a breath.

“Mom!!!”

Maria desperately tried to pull her mother away, but unfortunately, she couldn’t budge her at all.

She was beyond embarrassed, and at the same time, an intense sense of danger welled up inside her.

The overwhelming impression that her own home base was about to be invaded was enough to terrify even a succubus like her.

Faced with Sheila acting so spoiled, Takumi felt utterly helpless.

If he tried being forceful with her, she would probably enjoy it even more.

But if he treated her gently… she would probably enjoy that too.

For the first time, Takumi felt his scalp go numb at the realization that he had encountered a woman he genuinely had no idea how to deal with.

In the end, all he could do was reach under Sheila’s arms, lift her up, and set her down beside Maria.

“Hya!” ×3

Tohru, Mio, and Maria immediately pounced at once and restrained the restless Sheila.

“I know you’re Maria’s mother, but you’re not allowed to make a move on Onii-chan!”

“On this matter, I completely agree with Mio-san!”

“Mio-sama is right!!”

For once, the three of them displayed a truly astonishing degree of unity.

It made Takumi realize that the best way to unite his own side really was to give them an outside “enemy.”

Even while being held down, Sheila continued putting on an exaggerated struggle.

“Uuuh~~ The three of you are bullying a poor single mother! Even my own daughter has joined in! Where’s the justice in this world~~?”

“…”

Watching Sheila clown around like this, the Nonaka sisters could barely keep their expressions under control.

After spending so many years as descendants of the Hero Clan, this was genuinely the first time they had ever encountered a demon like her.

Their horizons had certainly been broadened today!

What neither of them noticed, however, was that while Sheila fooled around, her gaze occasionally drifted toward Tohru.

Feeling the heavy “pressure” radiating from the dragon maid, Sheila was secretly astonished.

The aura Tohru gave off was already comparable to Sheila herself before her power had been diminished.

My son-in-law really is anything but ordinary… and he…

When Sheila’s gaze casually shifted toward Takumi, a trace of unfathomable depth and confusion flashed through her eyes.

It vanished just as quickly, concealed beneath her playful antics.

Takumi naturally noticed that unusual look, but when he saw the [Affection: 95] floating above Sheila’s head, he really couldn’t imagine her intending to harm him.

Her affection was already nearly maxed out when they had only just met.

Is she seriously trying to force me into raiding the home base too?

Takumi muttered inwardly, but ultimately suppressed the strange thought and went to open the front door.

Irina stood there alone.

“Um~~ I came to stay here for a while.”

Standing at Takumi’s doorstep like this made Irina feel incredibly shy.

Just thinking about living under the same roof as him filled her heart with irrepressible excitement.

Takumi simply beckoned her inside.

Irina had been eagerly imagining the two of them living alone together, so the moment she saw the living room packed full of people, her expression immediately collapsed.

“Who are all these women!? Why are there so many of them!?”

For the first time in her life, Irina felt that “completely overcrowded” was the perfect way to describe a living room.

The Nonaka sisters were equally surprised when they saw her.

“Irina! You’re in Kuoh Town too!”

Kurumi exclaimed happily and immediately got up to greet her.

“Kurumi!?”

Irina was just as excited to see Kurumi and rushed over to hug her.

When Irina was younger, she had spent some time training in the Village, laying the groundwork for becoming a Holy Sword wielder in the future.

It was during that period that she had met Takumi and the Nonaka sisters.

Yuki wasn’t as outwardly excited as her younger sister, but the affection in her eyes was impossible to hide.

“It’s been a long time, Irina. I never expected to run into you here.”

“Same here, Yuki! Aren’t you two warriors from the Village? Did you come here for some kind of mission?”

That one question nearly killed the conversation on the spot.

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward, and both Nonaka sisters silently looked toward Takumi.

Takumi had already settled onto the sofa and was enjoying a massage from Asia when he answered bluntly.

“Their missions weren’t that different from yours. Yuki originally came here to monitor me, while Kurumi was originally sent to eliminate me.”

“There are just too many old fossils running the Hero Village. They decided I was a threat, so they came looking for trouble.”

With only a couple of sentences, Takumi explained the entire situation.

Then he pointed toward Irina and told the Nonaka sisters about her own mission and her current predicament.

“Recovering the Holy Swords… and God is gone.”

After extracting those two key points, Yuki and Kurumi both looked at Irina with concern.

Neither of them believed in God themselves, but they could still understand what Irina was going through.

Asia also looked surprised and faintly saddened when she heard the news.

However, her reaction was nowhere near as intense as Irina’s and the others had been when they first learned that God was no longer there.

Sheila, who had already been tied up thoroughly in a corner of the room, keenly noticed this.

Unable to resist stirring up trouble, she asked, “Little nun, you don’t seem quite as sad as I expected.”

“Hmph~ She’s a witch. Of course she wouldn’t be sad.”

Irina instinctively chimed in.

Takumi’s hand immediately chopped down onto the top of her head.

Bonk!

The next moment, Irina clutched her head with tears in her eyes and hid herself between the Nonaka sisters.

“Don’t be prejudiced against Asia like that. You’re in exactly the same position as she is now.”

Takumi’s words instantly silenced Irina.

As far as the Protestant Church was concerned, she was now a heretic as well.

It was a painful truth, but one she had no way to argue against.

Asia, however, merely gave Irina the same gentle smile as always.

“No, Irina-san. I really am very sad.”

“If I were the person I used to be, I think learning this might have completely broken me.”

“But things are different now.”

“Takumi-san is here.”

“I believe that even though God is no longer with us, He still guided me and protected me. Otherwise, I never would have come here, met Takumi-san, and finally found the place where I belong.”

“I still believe in Him. I still pray to Him every day, and I’m grateful to Him for allowing me to live the life I have now.”

The devout light on Asia’s face and the sincerity in her voice made Irina’s lips part slightly.

For the first time when it came to matters of faith, Irina felt that she had lost to Asia.