I Started Dating Someone By Taking Advantage Of Her Weakness, But I Was Actually Dating Her Mother - Chapter 3-4: Preparing Dinner (At the Tsukimizato Home)

“Well then, I have work on Saturday, so is next Sunday okay?” 

“That’s fine.”

Otowa had ended up making a date promise with her classmate Kaneda, a boy who sat behind her in class, due to circumstances.

“Sigh, how did it end up like this?”

Otowa regretted not being able to hold in her fart at that time. If only that hadn’t happened, she wouldn’t have had to promise a date with a boy she didn’t even like, but since he had caught her weakness, she’d reluctantly accepted.

“Since Kaneda-kun will be covering the expenses, I can avoid unnecessary spending, but what if he demands something physical from me afterward?”

Otowa and Kaneda had no particular connection beyond sitting in adjacent seats, and she had never even spoken to him before. Because of this, she couldn’t understand why he had brought up the idea of a date. Overthinking it, she even began to wonder if her body was his objective.

“If I don’t keep my promise, he might tell everyone about that incident. I don’t want to go, but I have no choice, do I?”

Generally speaking, having someone hear the sound of a fart might be considered trivial, but from Otowa’s perspective, it was extremely embarrassing and something she absolutely didn’t want others to know about. On her way home alone, she regretted making the promise with Kaneda.

“I’m home.”

Otowa returned to her home. Her house was a dilapidated apartment with only one room where she lived with her mother. After divorcing Otowa’s father, her mother had taken custody of Otowa and moved to this apartment. Since her mother worked part-time, there was no response when Otowa said “I’m home.”

“I have to quickly prepare dinner before Mom gets home.”

Otowa began preparing dinner with practiced ease before her mother returned home.

“It’s almost Mom’s payday, so the refrigerator is pretty empty, and we’re running low on rice too. Hmm, what should I make?”

The Tsukimizato household survived on her mother’s part-time income and Otowa’s meager earnings from her part-time job. Even that small income was allocated to repay the enormous debt left by her father, leaving them with barely enough money to scrape by. To avoid being a burden to her struggling mother, Otowa attended school on a scholarship. 

Due to these circumstances, the Tsukimizato household before payday had to carefully manage their scarce ingredients to somehow make ends meet. Otowa opened the refrigerator and contemplated what to make with the few remaining ingredients.

“Alright, this should do.” 

“I’m home.” 

“Welcome back, Mom.”

Around the time Otowa finished preparing dinner, her mother, Tsukimizato Yoriko, returned home.

“I’m sorry for always making you prepare dinner.” 

“I don’t have work today, and I got home first, so it’s only natural for me to cook.” 

“You’ve really grown into such a good girl.” 

“Oh, Mom…”

Yoriko, who returned home with a tired expression from work, was very grateful to her daughter Otowa who had prepared dinner and waited for her.

“It’s ready now, so let’s have dinner.” 

“I’ll help too.”

Yoriko changed her clothes and helped Otowa set the completed dinner on the table.

Chapter 4: Are You Being Threatened? (At The Tsukimizato Home)

“Thank you for the food.” 

Otowa and Yoriko clasped their hands together while sitting in front of their dinner, which was placed on the low table in their six-tatami room that served as both living room and bedroom.

“This is delicious. Otowa, it seems your cooking skills have improved again.” 

“Really? But I’m still not as good as you, Mom.” 

“I might be surpassed soon. Hehe.”

The two enjoyed their dinner while conversing. They would have preferred to prepare a proper meal with soup and three dishes, but due to budget constraints, they had to settle for soup and one dish. However, Otowa’s cooking skills compensated for this, making the modest menu satisfying with its good taste.

“Otowa, how’s school? Are you getting along well with your classmates?” 

“Huh? Oh, y-yes, I’m managing somehow.” 

“Are you troubled by something? If you’d like, would you tell Mom about it?”

When Otowa heard Yoriko’s question, she remembered her promise with Kaneda. This showed on her face, prompting a concerned Yoriko to ask gently.

“N-nothing’s wrong.” 

“To me, it looks like something’s bothering you.”

“Sigh, I can’t hide anything from you, Mom.”

Being Otowa’s mother, Yoriko could tell from her daughter’s expression that she was troubled. Realizing she couldn’t keep hiding it, Otowa decided to confide her worries to Yoriko.

“Actually, a boy in my class has discovered my weakness, and I’ve ended up agreeing to go on a date with him next Sunday.” 

“W-what did you say?”

Upon hearing Otowa’s confession, Yoriko openly expressed her anger toward this unknown boy who had used such underhanded tactics to take advantage of her daughter.

“But, considering our financial situation, I’ve arranged for him to cover all the dating expenses.” 

“I see. But the part about him taking advantage of your secret bothers me.”

Otowa informed her that the date partner would cover all expenses, ensuring it wouldn’t affect their household budget, but Yoriko was concerned about her daughter being forced into a date by someone exploiting her.

“I’ve never spoken to this boy before, so I’m scared because I don’t know what he might do. If he tries to attack me, I…” 

“That’s true. With young boys, you never know what they might do.”

Seeing Otowa trembling with unknown fear, Yoriko was considering what to do.

“Can’t you refuse?” 

“Probably not. This person sits behind me. If I refuse, he might do something during class. It’s really scary.” 

“I see.”

Looking at her daughter trembling with fear, Yoriko strongly felt that as a parent, she must help her no matter what.

“I understand. If you’re scared to go on the date, I’ll go in your place.” 

“Huh?”

Otowa let out a surprised sound at Yoriko’s statement.

“People often say that you and I look like sisters, right? So that means I can disguise myself as you and go on the date. If he tries anything, I’ll reveal that I’m your mother and strongly warn him not to approach you. If he doesn’t comply, I’ll threaten to file a police report for assault. Besides, there’s probably no boy your age brave enough to attack an older woman like me.”

Yoriko explained her plan to Otowa.

“It’s true that when we’re together, people often mistake us for sisters, but there’s too much of an age difference, so I’m not sure it will work.” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Someone who threatens my daughter deserves some punishment. I’ll make him spend money until his allowance is completely drained.”

It was unclear where Yoriko’s confidence came from, but that’s how it was decided that Yoriko would go on the date with Kaneda in place of Otowa.