Chapter 45: Pachinko is for Fun. Be Careful Not to Get Too Carried Away.
The day after the school festival ended, it was a compensatory holiday, so Kazuma had been summoned by Honoka and had come to the Ivy Children’s Home.
“Here, this.”
“What’s this?”
“Can’t you tell by looking, you foolish son?”
“No, I can tell it’s a map, but…”
It was so overly simplified that he couldn’t tell the destination. Being handed this was just plain troublesome.
“If you understand, then don’t ask.”
“No, I really can’t tell from this. You could have just told me using a map app or something.”
“You’re just complaining! I don’t remember raising you to be such a child!”
“Okaasama… Please, be serious.”
“How boring. You need to have more humor.”
“Ugh! It’s because I’m Okaasama’s son!”
“Call me Okaasama!”
And so, after finishing their usual comedic routine, Honoka sent a URL to Kazuma’s phone. Kazuma opened the URL and confirmed the map’s location. Realizing it was some coffee shop, Kazuma asked Honoka a question.
“Is my biological mother, the ‘sugar baby mama,’ coming here?”
“That’s right. She’s a monster mama who can evolve by claiming she’s been sexually exploited.”
“She has an unbelievable nature…”
“Yes, she’s troublesome. She won’t go down easily. Moreover, they’re cunning creatures who always record audio and video as insurance. Be careful.”
What a terrible way to put it. Well, from Honoka’s perspective, she was scum who had abandoned her own child, so it couldn’t be helped, but Kazuma was just completely jumping on the bandwagon. Considering he was about to go meet her, these were somewhat problematic statements.
“Okaasama, aren’t you coming with me?”
“Oh? Could it be that you’re lonely without me~?”
“No, for things like this, a guardian usually accompanies you, right?”
“Tch. Don’t give such a boring, model answer!”
“That’s a harsh thing to say…”
“Well, if it were true, as you say, Kazuma, I could accompany you, but if she says anything strange, I feel like I’d send her flying, so I’ll refrain.”
“Ugh! I can easily imagine that, so it’s hilarious! Gahahahahaha!”
“Hmph!”
Baki! Honoka’s iron fist slammed into Kazuma’s cheek.
“Guhaah!”
Kazuma was sent flying and hit his head against the wall.
“Ouch!”
“Honestly, what a bad boy, laughing at such a beautiful and ladylike mother.”
“Thaaat’s riiight.”
Seeing Honoka with a hand on her cheek, feigning a sorrowful expression, Kazuma thought he’d lose if he retorted, so he just vaguely agreed.
◇◇◇◇
Kazuma arrived at the coffee shop Honoka had told him about. As soon as he entered, he saw a muscular master, wearing a skin-tight apron that didn’t fit him at all, polishing a glass behind the counter.
“…Excuse me—”
Judging his life to be in danger, Kazuma immediately turned back. However, the moment he opened the door to go outside, he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and couldn’t escape.
“Hey, hey, wait a minute.”
“I’m sorry. Please spare me. I’ll give you money, just spare my life.”
“You really are Honoka’s son, aren’t you?”
“You know Okaasama?”
“She really makes you call her Okaasama, huh… Yes, that’s right. I’m Yanagi Ryuko. Your mother Honoka’s friend.”
“That just fills me with a vague sense of unease…”
“Well, we actually met a few times when you were a child, Kazuma-kun.”
And so, listening to Ryuko, who still hadn’t let go of the scruff of his neck, Kazuma sat down at a counter seat.
“Um, let me reintroduce myself. I’m Satsuki Kazuma. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. As I said earlier, I’m Yanagi Ryuko. And this tough-looking guy here is my husband, Genzou. Contrary to his appearance, he’s quite sensitive, so try not to be too scared of him, okay?”
“Nice to meet you…”
Genzou had a very deep, cool voice. Honestly, rather than being scared of him, Kazuma found that he reminded him of his companions from the other world, so he felt a strange sense of affinity. Though their personalities were completely different.
“Ah, sorry about earlier. It was just a reflex.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“Is that so… By the way, are you sure?”
“…I’m wondering if kids really do dislike someone who looks like me.”
“The sense of pressure and intimidation is incredible. Anyone would be scared if they saw a super muscular macho man wearing an apron that doesn’t fit.”
“I see…”
Kazuma answered honestly. It seemed Genzou really was sensitive. Hearing Kazuma’s words, Genzou looked visibly dejected.
“Hey! Don’t bully my husband so much.”
“But I just told the truth.”
“Even if it’s true, a smart adult wouldn’t say it, right?”
“I’m just a kid!”
“Kuh! You really talk just like Honoka.”
“But, well, I don’t dislike Genzou-san! I actually feel a sense of affinity with him.”
“Why?”
Ryuko tilted her head at Kazuma’s statement about feeling an affinity.
“Oh, ooh…”
Genzou, who was often feared by children, felt a liking for Kazuma, who was giving him an unreserved smile.
Then, he extended his hand to Kazuma, asking for a handshake. Kazuma also took the offered hand, and a friendship blossomed.
“What is this?”
Ryuko could only be bewildered by this incomprehensible scene.
“It’s almost time.”
As friendship blossomed between Kazuma and Genzou and they were chatting amicably, Ryuko muttered while looking at the clock. Hearing her mutter, Kazuma asked Ryuko:
“Time for what?”
“Time for your biological mother to arrive.”
“Ah! Come to think of it, I completely forgot.”
“Don’t forget the main event… Are you prepared?”
“I don’t need any preparation or anything. Even if she’s my biological mother, it’s a relationship where she abandoned me, and I was abandoned.”
“You’re strong~”
“By the way, I want to ask one thing. Did Okaasama designate this place perhaps for my sake?”
“Well, you figured it out, huh? That’s right. Honoka designated this place. If anything happens, we can intervene, and we can also report what was discussed.”
“She leaves nothing to chance… As expected of Okaasama.”
“There’s also the fact that she doesn’t know what she’d do if she were here herself.”
“Ah, we talked about that this morning. When I laughed about it, I got punched, though.”
“Ahahahaha. She hasn’t changed a bit~”
As they were getting lively with trivial talk, the time came. Kazuma was guided to a table in the back and waited for his mother while drinking cocoa. Then, a little while later, the long-awaited person visited the coffee shop.
“Ah, um, excuse me. I, I heard that my s-son is here…?”
Whether she was extremely nervous, or frightened by Genzou, or perhaps both, Kazuma’s biological mother, Kanou Kumiko, stood there trembling.
“I’ve heard about it. This way, follow me.”
“Y-yes!”
Ryuko guided the trembling Kumiko to Kazuma. Ryuko and Kumiko, who was clutching her bag tightly and frozen stiff, approached Kazuma, who was relaxing at the back table.
“From here on, you two involved should talk amongst yourselves.”
“Yes. Thank you very much!”
After bowing her head repeatedly, Kumiko sat down in front of Kazuma. With Kazuma maintaining his silence, Kumiko’s mind went blank from nervousness, and she couldn’t say anything.
“Sugar baby mama, aren’t you going to say anything?”
Kazuma finished his cocoa, put down the cup, and glanced at Kumiko. Ryuko and Genzou, who had overheard the conversation, almost burst out laughing at Kazuma’s outrageous remark but managed to hold it back at the last second.
Kumiko’s eyes widened at Kazuma’s shocking first words, but since it was the truth, she couldn’t say anything and looked down.
“Hmm… Hey, sugar baby mama.”
“Ah, um, if possible, could you call me Mama or Okaasan normally?”
“Huh? Don’t say such convenient things. Now and forever, my only mother is Honoka-kaasan. You’re just a stranger who happened to give birth to me.”
“Ugh… I’m sorry.”
“Honestly, I don’t resent being abandoned, nor am I angry. I don’t have a father, but I have Kaasan, and many older brothers, older sisters, younger brothers, and younger sisters. I’m perfectly happy.”
“Kazuma…”
“But, yeah. There are words I want to tell you.”
“Eh…? To me?”
“Yeah. Thank you for giving birth to me. That’s all.”
“Ah, ah…”
“And, well, there’s something I want to ask. Why didn’t you kill me?”
The only thing that bothered him was the question of why she hadn’t aborted him when she was pregnant.
If she was involved in compensated dating, he would have only been a hindrance. Kazuma, unable to understand why she decided to give birth to him, pressed Kumiko for an answer.
“Th-that is…”
“That is? It’s not that you can’t say, right?”
“…”
After a short silence, Kumiko opened her heavy lips.
“At first, I intended to abort. But I didn’t have the money, so I had no choice but to give birth. When I saw you after you were born, at first, I hated you. You were nothing but a hindrance, and I thought many times, ‘if only you weren’t here.’ But… when I held you in my arms, you grabbed my finger and smiled at me, and that made me happy. For the first time, I thought, ‘my cute baby.’ But I didn’t have the confidence to raise you. So…”
“You abandoned me.”
Kumiko nodded. Kazuma crossed his arms and closed his eyes. What he should say here was probably words of resentment and bitterness, but he had already told her he was happy. In that case, there was probably only one thing to say.
“Well, what can I say. What you did was probably a bad thing, but I, the victim of it, am now living a happy life. So, in the end, what I have to say to you is thank you. Thank you for giving birth to me, Mom.”
“Th-th-this…! You’d call someone like me, like this, your mother?”
“Just this once, you idiot! From now on, I’m only calling you ‘shitty old hag’ or ‘sugar baby mama’!”
Kumiko was dumbfounded by Kazuma’s uproarious laughter, but she shed tears, touched by her son’s unique way of showing kindness. However, she really wished he would stop calling her “sugar baby mama.”
“Alright, shitty old hag. I’m heading home now. You’ve got money earned from your sugar daddying, right? Treat your cute son.”
“I-I’m not doing that sugar baby stuff anymore! I was planning to pay the bill here from the start.”
“Oh, really! And here I thought you’d shamelessly snagged your current husband through sugar daddying!”
“That’s not true! I met my current husband when I was working as a cashier at a supermarket!”
“Oh! Now that sounds like an interesting story! Tell me the details, shitty old hag!”
“Hey, could you please stop calling me ‘shitty old hag’? Could you at least call me ‘auntie’ or something?”
“Save your sleep talk for when you’re actually asleep! Ask your own heart what you’ve done!”
“Ugh… A perfectly sound argument that leaves me speechless.”
“Hahahaha! Serves you right, shitty old hag!”
Takako, who had been watching the two of them, decided there was no need to worry and sent Honoka a message telling her not to be concerned.
After that, having talked for about an hour, the two decided to part ways. Kumiko suggested that Kazuma meet her current family, but he declined, saying it would be for another time.
“Well then, I’m heading off. See ya, shitty old hag. Just don’t do anything that’ll get your current husband to dump you. Even I won’t take you in, you know.”
“How rude! I won’t do anything strange anymore! More importantly, when can we meet next?”
“I gave you my ID earlier, didn’t I? I’m basically free on weekends, so whenever it’s convenient for you is fine. Otherwise, weekday evenings or later.”
“Understood. Well then, see you again, Kazuma.”
“Yeah. Say hi to my little sister and brother for me.”
With those words, Kazuma started to leave the coffee shop first. However, before that, there was one more pair he had to greet.
“Sorry for all the trouble today.”
“Not at all, it’s fine. We got to see something interesting. Right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You’re strong, kid.”
“Well, I’m the strongest, you know!”
“Truly Honoka’s son, aren’t you~”
“Well then, I’ll come by for lunch again sometime.”
“Yes. We’ll be waiting.”
“I’ll prepare the best lunch for you.”
Hearing those words, Kazuma smiled with satisfaction and left the coffee shop. Kumiko, who remained, went to pay the bill, exchanged a few words with Takako, and then she too left the coffee shop.
On his way back, Kazuma was walking a different route than usual. It wasn’t because he was feeling particularly special or anything like that. It was just a whim. But that whim led to an interesting, fateful encounter.
A scruffy-looking old man, emerging from a pachinko parlor he happened to be passing, slammed his wallet onto the ground in front of Kazuma, got on all fours, and roared.
That sight felt strangely nostalgic, and Kazuma found himself calling out to the man.
“Yo, old man. Big loss?”
“What is it, you damn brat! You lookin’ for a fight?!”
“Now, now, don’t roar like that. More importantly, this must be some kind of fate. Tell me your name, old man.”
“Aargh! Shut up, you damn brat! You wanna get yourself killed?!”
“I’ll give you ten thousand yen if you tell me your name, okay?”
“R-Really?! You’re not lying, are you?”
“I’m not lying. So, your name?”
“Kento! Sunozaki Kento! Look, here’s my driver’s license!”
“…Kukuku, haaahahaha! Man, no way. To think such a coincidence could happen in a place like this! Here, the promised ten thousand yen.”
Just when he thought he’d reunited with his biological mother, Kazuma never imagined he’d meet his biological father on the same day, and he burst out laughing at the ironic twist of fate.
“O-Oh! Are you a god?!”
“Not a god… but your dear son.”
“Oh! Huh? Son? Hmmm?”
Kento seemed like he was on the verge of remembering something important but couldn’t quite grasp it, so Kazuma urged him to go to the pachinko parlor.
“Here, if you don’t hurry, someone will take your machine.”
“That’s right! Sorry, my son! I’m off to the battle!”
“Kuku… Don’t chase your losses too much. Going bankrupt from gambling really stings.”
“It’ll be fine! I’ll win with this ten thousand yen! If I win, I’ll treat you to some ramen, my son!”
“Hahahaha! I’m looking forward to that. See ya, shitty old man.”
“Yeah!”
Kento, having acquired some cash (genkin, written with kanji meaning ‘energy’), headed back to the pachinko parlor. Watching his retreating figure, Kazuma felt the connection of blood. After all, he himself had once lost his entire fortune at a casino in the other world, so he couldn’t deny that blood will tell, Kazuma thought with self-deprecation.