[The silence freaks him out. Did he make a mistake? Maybe he shouldn't have asked after all, maybe it's way too soon to try to build those bridges. Or did he sound too desperate? Did it slip in his tone just how much those two things meant for him? He had tried to word them casually so it wouldn't be noticed but...

He's fishing for a way to do damage control when the reply finally comes. I'd love to, of course... It's Hughes after all, the same man who loves his family more than anything in the world, who can talk about his daughter and shower you with pictures of her for weeks before he gets tired of it. A good man who doesn't hesitate to help when he can do so and knows when to be funny and when to get serious. Memories or not, those things are the same, so of course he would accept, no matter if he found it weird or anything, it's not as if Keiichi had given him reasons to be wary of him. He sighs in relief and takes a few moments before he dares to answer, once he's sure he won't sound like a little kid.]

Awesome! Thank you very much, Hughes-san. I'll do my best to not give you trouble with training!

A-And... Well, hopefully when we have that dinner she will be more than just my special lady. When would be a good time for you? In general, we can concrete later on.