As for the home Ren Kuroda had been worrying about the entire time… it was lively to an almost absurd degree.
The arrival of Yamato Miku instantly elevated the so-called "tea party" by several tiers. The moment the socialites present realized who she was, their expressions changed at once—one by one, they transformed into starstruck fangirls, crowding around her with eager concern and polite chatter.
Some of them, already aware that forming a deeper connection would be difficult, simply took out their phones and asked for photos instead.
Setting everything else aside, just having a picture with the current matriarch of the Yamato family was more than enough to make others look at them differently when they showed it off later.
"Yami, I really didn't expect you to know the current matriarch of the Yamato family," Jingū Saori said with a faint smile."Looks like when you said you didn't have many friends, you were being far too modest."
Compared to the other noble ladies who were visibly excited by Yamato Miku's presence, Saori appeared remarkably calm.
Although she was quite a bit younger than Yami Kuroda, she was different from the others present—she genuinely regarded Yami as a friend.
Because of her broken engagement, Saori had been in a foul mood and had come to seek comfort from a friend. Who would have thought that those so-called "friends" would keep showing up one after another, leaving her with no chance to talk to Yami privately at all?
"Actually, I don't really know Ms. Miku either," Yami replied honestly."She said she had something important to discuss with me today. Her daughter is both a good friend and a colleague of Ren's, and this time she said she came specifically because of Kyoka and Ren.So… is the Yamato family really that influential?"
Seeing her friend's completely clueless expression, Saori could only cover her face and shake her head with a wry smile.
But perhaps it was precisely this kind of innocent, unworldly personality that made Saori willing to open her heart to Yami and treat her as a close friend.
"Let me put it this way," Saori explained."There are many so-called exorcist families nowadays, but most of them are second-rate at best. Their ancestors happened to produce an exorcist once, and they shamelessly call themselves 'noble houses.'The Yamato family, on the other hand, isn't included among the Thirteen Demon-Slaying Houses because they don't specialize in combat—but their status is no lower than those families. They're one of the top exorcist families in existence today."
Normally, someone like Yami—who came from an exorcist family herself—wouldn't need this kind of explanation.
But the Kuroda family fell squarely into the "second-rate" category Saori had mentioned, and Yami herself had never been taken seriously within it. As a result, her understanding of these matters was only surface-level.
As for why Saori knew so much—it was because she held a relatively high position in her own family, and because her engagement had been broken because of these so-called exorcist families, prompting her to research them thoroughly.
"The matriarch of the Yamato family came in person… and she even said she came specifically because of Kyoka and Ren?" Saori's eyes narrowed slightly."How close are Kyoka Yamato and Ren, exactly?Don't tell me… she's here because of their marriage?"
Saori was no naïve sweetheart like Yami. Born into a major family, she was intimately familiar with political marriages and alliances.
The moment Yami relayed what Yamato Miku had said earlier, Saori had already guessed the purpose of the visit.
"…For Ren's marriage?!"
The instant those words sank in, Yami's eyes lit up brilliantly.
In some ways, Yami Kuroda and Yamato Miku were actually quite similar.
The difference was that Yamato Miku was thinking about family succession and Kyoka's age—
—while Yami was worried that Ren's withdrawn personality would doom him to being single for the rest of his life.
Having raised Ren for so many years, Yami had never once seen him bring friends home—let alone female friends.
She had always believed Ren was overly conscious of his identity and therefore avoided getting close to others.
That was why, when Kujō Hinano first visited their home, Yami had been so excited—she thought her son had finally "awakened."
Unfortunately, after secretly observing Ren for quite some time afterward, she realized their relationship hadn't progressed at all, leaving her disappointed for ages.
Aside from Hinano, Yamato Kyoka was only the second girl to ever visit the house.
After that, a few of Ren's female classmates came by—but to be honest, compared to Hinano and Kyoka, they fell short in both looks and figure.
If Yamato Miku truly came here for Kyoka and Ren's marriage, then it could only mean one thing—
Ren and Kyoka must have already made tangible progress.
Otherwise, why would the matriarch of such a powerful family personally pay a visit, and even state outright that she came because of the two of them?
"As expected of my son," Yami muttered with a strange, delighted grin."Just like his father—exceptional! What, did he plan to get on the train first and buy the ticket later?!"
Watching Yami fall into this bizarre mental state, Saori was completely stunned.
The gentle, airheaded Yami she knew seemed to have had some kind of very strange switch flipped.
"Um… Yami," Saori said carefully."I was just talking about a possibility. There's no guarantee she came because of Ren's marriage…"
Looking at Yami's increasingly odd expression, Saori began to panic slightly.
She truly didn't understand why Yami was so desperate for Ren to find a partner.
She had met Ren Kuroda before—during that incident when they were surrounded by yokai and barely escaped.
As far as Saori was concerned, Yami's son was outstanding.
His appearance, his strength, his talent—even his personality and character were nearly flawless.
To put it bluntly, Saori had seen all kinds of people growing up in a major family.
Yet among everyone she had ever met, she could confidently say Ren stood at the very top.
Impeccable looks.Extraordinary strength and talent—ranked among the highest of the younger generation on the exorcist lists.As for fame, power, and status—those would come easily with his current abilities.
A man like that would be a premium catch anywhere—practically a dream man in the eyes of most women.
Honestly, if not for her friendship with Yami—and the fact that she was quite a bit older than Ren—she might have found herself tempted as well.
And yet…
Why was Yami, who had such an exceptional son, acting like she was worried he'd never find a partner?
Unless—
Could it be that Ren had some… unspeakable issue that others didn't know about?
"Everyone, I'm terribly sorry," Yami suddenly announced, standing up."But today's tea party will have to end here. I have some important matters to discuss with Ms. Miku.Please forgive the lack of hospitality—next time, I'll be sure to visit and apologize properly."
Now that she believed Yamato Miku might have come because of Ren's marriage, Yami took the matter extremely seriously and immediately began ushering guests out.
Compared to such a monumental issue, her usual soft-heartedness was instantly cast aside.
Ren's marriage took priority over everything else.
Naturally, many of the noble ladies present were unwilling to leave and even tried to linger shamelessly.
After all, someone like Yamato Miku wasn't a person you could meet casually. They hadn't shown their faces enough yet—at the very least, they wanted to leave a strong impression.
"Spider Princess," Yami said calmly,"please escort the extra guests out. And remember—don't be too rough."
This time, Yami showed no intention of indulging their persistence and directly ordered Spider Princess to act.
When the voluptuous, beautiful "maid" turned her gaze toward them, she didn't even need to lift a finger.
Most of the noble ladies immediately and obediently filed out of the room.
They might dare to act shamelessly around the gentle Yami—
—but Spider Princess, who was clearly not just a maid?
That was another matter entirely.
Not long ago, they had personally witnessed people who offended Yami being "accidentally" delivered straight into the mouths of yokai by this very maid.
"If I'd known they were this afraid of Ms. Spider Princess," Yamato Miku said, snapping her folding fan shut with a sigh of relief,"I would've asked for help much sooner.A bunch of people obsessed with status and benefits—I haven't been this exhausted dealing with guests in a long time."
To be honest, if it weren't for Yami's sake, Yamato Miku wouldn't have even bothered interacting with those women at all.
"Ms. Yami," she continued,"although we've only just met today, I feel I should still give you some advice.Those so-called friends of yours aren't worth getting close to. And with Ren's strength and talent—forget reviving the Kuroda family—just by being his mother, you'll soon be an honored guest among the great families.You're on an entirely different level from them."
"I occasionally host tea parties of my own," Yamato Miku added with a smile."Next time, I'll introduce you to some friends from the exorcist circle."
From Yami's attitude toward those women earlier, Yamato Miku could tell their relationship wasn't particularly close. Wanting to build rapport with Yami, she took the opportunity to offer a reminder.
In such a short time, Yamato Miku had already grasped Yami's personality quite well—kind-hearted, gentle, and far too easy to soften.
She had decided to change tactics: become friends with Yami first, then bring up the matter of their children's marriage.
What Yamato Miku never expected—
—was that before she could even begin easing into the topic, she'd be completely stunned by Yami's very next question.
"Ms. Miku," Yami asked eagerly,"are you here today because of Ren and Kyoka's marriage?"