Chapter 40 – Dressing Up

"A restaurant?"

"Yeah, Dad got some free tickets from one of his clients, but he can't make it that day due to some other business venture he has to tend to."

The tickets for the fine dining restaurant were supposed to be used by Takei's parents, but some complications arose so they ended up being given to Takei.

Flora, specifically, wanted Takei to take Akari out for a nice dinner that night.

"When are the tickets supposed to be used?" Akari asked.

Takei took out the tickets and looked at the expiration date. "Tomorrow."

"Then, it's decided! We're definitely going!" Akari cheerfully proposed.

He looked at her with a deadpan expression. "I was going to ask you anyways, but I guess it's decided now."

"Oops, my bad," Akari mischievously laughed.

Even though Takei said that, he was going to invite Akari either way. She most likely knew this was the case, so Akari beat him to the punch.

"Well, my dad can chauffeur us tomorrow since he has just enough time before his meeting. So please show up at my house a little bit before the designated time," Takei remarked.

"Got it, I'll go home right now and pick out my dress for tomorrow. I'll make sure it's beautiful enough to knock your socks off!" Akari declared.

Takei chuckled at her strange declaration. "I hope I'll see something dazzling then."

At such a flirtatious wish, Akari immediately flushed after hearing Takei's wish. The tomato colored red was quickly spreading all over her face, even reaching her ears.

Besides the embarrassing part, she truly wanted to make him be in awe of her, so Akari decided to go all out this time.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" Akari quickly said, before she ran out the door and to her home.

This is going to be okay, right?

***

It was a couple minutes before the designated rendezvous time. Takei was currently double checking if everything was perfectly in place.

For this special dinner, Takei decided to go with a classic black and white tuxedo. The red bowtie was also there, of course.

A different hairstyle than usual also adorned his head. Flora had instructed him beforehand to make sure to gel his hair correctly. Besides gelling, Takei had also parted his hair in a way so that the gel also complimented the parted hair.

He was all dressed up and ready to go on a fancy dinner date. Adding the finishing touches, Takei put on the sleek black watch that Akari had given to him. It truly had completed the full outfit, giving him an adult vibe.

All there was left to do now was to wait for Akari to make her entrance. Takei inwardly hoped that it wouldn't take too much longer, since the reservation time was steadily approaching.

Almost as if she had waited for him to finish, the door to his house slowly opened.

Takei gulped in anticipation as he waited for Akari to reveal herself.

"I'm here!" Akari loudly announced.

Slowly but surely, the figure of the goddess was slowly entering his vision as she entered the house.

A simple velvet red dress with black high heels were the first things that made an impression on him. The outfit was very simple, yet it looked great on her since she had a great body type to fit on. Shiny earrings that were complemented by her obviously flawless makeup helped tie everything together. Along with a confident aura, Akari looked like a celebrity going out to have fun.

Yet the thing that stood out the most was the necklace she was wearing. It was the same blue heart necklace that Takei had given to her a while back. He was really happy to see her put it to good use.

It seemed that Akari also thought the same way once she saw Takei's watch, because the edges of her mouth were slowly upturned.

After a few moments of analyzing each other, Akari couldn't handle it anymore. "So, what do you think? Did I knock your socks off?"

Takei had to practically wipe off the drool that was coming out of his mouth. "Amazing..."

"Uh, hello?" Akari waved her hand in front of his face.

Apparently, Akari's beauty had completely shut down Takei's brain. He didn't even react to the hand that was being waved right in front of him.

"Haha, I think you broke him."

Yuuto came from the living room and laughed at the scene that was happening in front of him. His son had basically been bewitched by his daughter-in-law and that was a terribly joyous occasion for a parent that had been wanting grandchildren.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen..." Akari shyly apologized.

In contrast to her expectations though, Yuuto just gave her a wry grin. "That just means you did a good job of seducing him, no?"

In response to Yuuto's tease, Akari's expression immediately brightened up. Although, there was a tinge of embarrassment as well in that expression.

"How much longer do you think until he fully breaks?" Akari curiously asked.

Yuuto began to rub his chin to think about how much longer his son could hold out until the goddess won her war of attrition. "I give him a couple weeks."

Nodding in acknowledgement, Akari decided to address a different topic. "So, why are you dressed like that?"

It was an oddly timed question since Akari had been talking to him for a decent amount of time, but it was only delayed due to the content of their earlier discussion.

The thing that Akari asked about was Yuuto's attire that resembled a butler. He had worn an outfit that essentially told everyone in the nearby vicinity that he was a butler. Yuuto even had a monocle on, which only enhanced his butler-esque look.

"Ah, I wanted to rile Takei up for a reaction," Yuuto said, as he inspected himself.

Akari turned and looked at Takei quizzically in response to Yuuto's answer. "How can we even wake him up?"

"I don't know, try whispering his name seductively in his ear," Yuuto shrugged.

Akari nodded and decided to do what Yuuto suggested.

"Hey, Takei~" Akari seductively whispered into his ear.

As expected, Takei immediately came back to reality and started to freak out when he noticed the different events that were happening around him.

"Huh? Akari? What are you doing?! Dad... What are you wearing?!"

It appeared Akari's whispering seemed to have worked a little bit too well this time.

---

Akari's True Affection Meter: 40 -> 45%

Akari has unlocked a new ability: Freeze

Ability is able to freeze the victim's physical actions and mental thoughts (Ability is only applicable to Takei).