Aren’t You Too Sweet Salt-God Sato-San? - Chapter 5.1
TL : Listless
ED : KhanMc
It was Saturday, when the thin clouds were bathed in a crimson color. I waited patiently for him at “cafe tutuji”, where the sunset warmly enveloped me.
Then, exactly ten minutes before the appointed time – a long, white, unadorned car appeared from the other corner.
[…Here he comes.]
I muttered, took a deep breath, and drank my tea in one gulp.
It was finally time for the decisive battle.
The car was parked in a simple parking space on the gravel, separated by a string, and the driver’s door opened quietly to reveal him.
It’s a pathetic story but after all the enthusiasm, the moment I saw his figure, I was more than a little overwhelmed.
The reason was that he looked too much like an office worker.
He had a shaved hairline, a wrinkle-free shirt, a blue tie, and sharp eyes like a hawk, peeking out from his sharp glasses.
He, Sato Kazuharu, stepped down the gravel road in his polished black business shoes with a paper bag in his hand and said,
[Just as I had promised, precisely at 7 o’clock. Now make it quick.]
He walked over to the terrace seat, looked down at me, and said in an extremely cold manner. It was much more intimidating than over the phone..
That alone made me feel as if my breath would stop, but I held my ground and pointed to one of the terrace seats.
[I will serve tea now, so please sit down here.]
[Before that, I have a question for you. How are you related to this store?]
[I’m an employee here, though currently off duty.]
[Then…]
After saying that, Kazuharu-san glanced at the terrace seats over there.
A few men and women were chatting at a table with a parasol attached.
[…It seems there are other customers.]
[Yes, are you unhappy?]
[No.]
He sat down on a chair and crossed his leg.
[I’m not going to tell you anything you don’t want to hear. I’m just going to tell you the obvious and be done with it.]
[…I will brew the tea.]
Leaving behind those words, I withdrew to the back of the store.
…Stay strong, Oshio Sota.
[Did you brew this?]
After rolling a little bit of tea in his mouth, Kazuharu-san asked me such a question.
I was bewildered by the abruptness of it but I calmly answered.
[Earl grey, the one I always drink. Sa… I mean I also had Koharu-san try this.]
[…I see.]
Kazuharu-san said so and once again put the tea cup to his mouth. Just drinking a cup of tea can be frighteningly “stylish”.
He quietly put the cup down on the saucer without making a sound, and quickly got down to business.
[First, let’s clarify the purpose of this discussion. Oshio Sota, what exactly do you want me to do?]
[I want you to return the smartphone back to Koharu-san and then I want you to correct the part about Minsta being worthless which Koharu-san was so serious about. I wish you wouldn’t restrain her life so much.]
[Restrain, huh.]
Kazuharu-san snorted.
[I see, I understand your purpose. In short, you want me to return this to Koharu.]
Saying that, he took out the smartphone from his chest pocket and put it on the table.
The cover was simple, like something you’d find at a 100 yen store, without any kind of decoration.
Unmistakably, it was Sato-san’s smartphone.
[And you want me to correct my statement, is that right?]
[That’s right.]
His piercing gaze met mine.
A lukewarm breeze blew through the air between us. The sun is going to set soon.
[…First of all, you said my education policy means restraining her, but that’s not how I perceive it.]
Kazuharu-san said it plainly.
[My daughter, Sato Koharu, is embarrassingly poor in communication skills. She is not very good at expressing her emotions, and she is not very good at assessing other people’s feelings. On the other hand, she is sensitive to the subtleties of other people’s emotions and tends to be passive, you know that?]
[That’s…]
It’s hard to acknowledge I understand even in front of her parents.
[Well, anyway, from my point of view as a parent without favoritism, yes.]
[…Are you trying to say that it’s not restraining but protecting?]
[That’s correct.]
[That-!]
Just as blood started to rush in my head, I returned to my senses.
Kazuharu-san was still looking at me with cold eyes.
I’ve only known him for a short time, but I know him intuitively. If I were to speak out of my emotions, he would leave the place right then and there.
[What’s wrong, Oshio Sota?]
I’m dazzled by the strong western sun. It’s no longer as hot as it was during the day, but I can’t stop sweating.
…I have to be more firm.
[If I have to say, taking away the phone from your daughter at her age, and then criticizing her for what she does… I wouldn’t look at it as “protecting” in a favorable light. At all.]
[It’s a fool’s errand to argue about word choice. I don’t care if you call it “control” or “restrain” or whatever. I’m talking about the essence of this conversation.]
[Either way, you’re wrong.]
[You have objections about my teaching, very well, then tell me where I am wrong.]
[That…]
I was at a loss for words. It was only then that I realized that I had made a mistake by jumping into the sensitive area of education policy without prior preparation.
[…is not normal, no normal parent would do such a thing.]
That’s why the answer that came out of my mouth was so dull. Receiving that answer, Kazuharu-san gave me a look of contempt with unconcealed disappointment.
[If there were only normal people in the world, there would be no need for educational theory in the first place, rather, educational theory would be needed for children who aren’t ordinary. Do you understand Oshio Sota?]
His voice was low and quiet but filled with certain anger.
[These days, there are too many “Fake adults” who complain about freedom, unboundedness, and nurturing children to the point of selfishness. Adults who say that children should be left to their own devices. No, they’re just letting them go.]
[TN – for fake adults here, instead of the direct meaning of fake, the word there means -like, pseudo etc. Given the flow I just use the word fake adult instead of half or pseudo adult or adult like]
[…What does it mean?]
[They are fake adults. They’re children pretending to be adults, abandoning their parental responsibilities and not raising or protecting their children. And when things get out of hand, they just feign ignorance. What else could be so disappointing?]
[So you’re saying you’re fulfilling your role as a parent?]
[I have been saying that from the beginning.]
Kazuharu-san glared at me with his hawk-like sharp eyes.
Peeping at his eyes, I could see the will in his eyes was as unshakable as a mountain.
[I’m Koharu’s parent and an adult. I will strongly interfere in what Koharu does, and if anything happens as a result, I will take full responsibility. It is with this determination that I am following this educational policy, what about you?]
[What do you mean “what about you”…?]
My words were muddled, I was completely overwhelmed.
[Well, let’s take a simple example, what if Koharu neglected her schoolwork and didn’t get into the university of her choice as a result of indulging in minstagram?]
[……]
[For example, what if the pictures she uploaded on the Internet caused her to become the target of envy and jealousy, and isolated her from the rest of the class?]
[There’s no end to the number of hypotheticals I can come up with! Thanks to that, There’s a good chance that it will work out!]
[Since you are criticizing my educational policy, let me ask you how you are going to take responsibility if things don’t go well?]
[That’s…]
There was no way I could say that I would take responsibility lightly. The weight of those words, and the helplessness of high school students, is something I know all too well.
When I couldn’t help but turn my face down, Kazuharu-san said with a sigh,
[Society is an unreasonable thing. You get hurt just by living. You should already be aware of it, right?]
Thinking back on my situation of the past few days, I fell silent.
[I understand the argument that we grow by being hurt, but there are people who stop growing by being hurt, like Koharu. Is it wrong to want to protect such a girl?]
[……]
I couldn’t say anything in reply.
Because I recognize how to correct those words from the bottom of my heart.
…It’s true that Sato-san is not good at communication, and that she isn’t very strong mentally.
Knowing this, it’s too unreasonable to simply watch her suffer from the frustration and regret of failure just as he said.
Then, wouldn’t it be wise for “sensible adults” to protect her and wait for her to grow up little by little?
[…I guess there’s nothing more to talk about.]
Kazuharu-san gulped down the remaining tea in one breath.
[Thank you for the treat. It was a waste of time.]
He pulled a thousand-yen bill out of his wallet and placed it on the table.
He then proceeded to retrieve Sato-san’s smartphone from the table in a fluid motion.
…The more I looked at it, the more I couldn’t believe that it was a simple smartphone that belonged to a high school girl.
But when I look at it, I can remember it vividly.
I can remember the happy, angry, and crying faces of Sato-san who has worked so hard until now.
[…the muscles]
Kazuharu-san stopped his hand from reaching for her smartphone.