I Was Blackmailed Into Accepting Bullying Using My Childhood Friend as Leverage, But When I Found Out My Friend and Bully Were Together, I Abandoned All Compassion and Swore to Take Revenge with Everything I Had - Chapter 23: A Request from the Housekeeper

Chapter 23: A Request from the Housekeeper

After a week of hospitalization, I was discharged the following Tuesday. Not that it mattered—if they had tried to stop me, I would have left on my own anyway.

“Fudo-sensei, congratulations on your discharge.”

My personal driver greeted me politely. At the entrance of the university hospital, a few of the doctors who had treated me, along with a group of female nurses holding autograph boards, were there to see me off, their faces flushed with excitement.

In the end, the cause of my health issues remained unclear. However, after four or five days, my strength returned as if nothing had happened. Perhaps it really was just stress-related exhaustion.

“Doctor, nurses, please, no need for such formalities. More importantly… “Thank you all for taking such good care of me.”

I said with a polite smile.

The nurses holding the autograph boards squealed with excitement, “Kyaa~!”

I waved energetically back at them, maintaining my business smile as I got into the car. My driver quickly shut the backseat door, then swiftly returned to the driver’s seat and started the car.

“Even in the middle of a weekday, the Tokyo expressway is as congested as ever…”

I stared out the window at the gray soundproof walls of the highway with a blank expression.

“So? I reviewed most of the details by email. It’s a relief that my ties with those scumbags and their family have finally been severed. But about Iketsuki’s movements… What’s the full story?”

The driver, cautious of being secretly photographed from outside, wore a mask to obscure his face while explaining the details that he had mentioned in his email.

After listening to everything, I stared out the car window again, thinking for a moment.

“I see… Well, at the end of the day, these are just the schemes of some punks and high schoolers. I’ll handle it myself… Just take care of the groundwork.”

Without looking away from the road, the driver simply replied, “Understood,” and focused on driving in silence.

That day, I planned to rest at home and return to school on Wednesday.

“For now, let’s clear the three-month quota…”

I booted up the large PC in my study and typed in the VPN passwords to route through servers in France, the UK, Italy, the US, and Australia. Once I reached a locked file server, I entered three different passwords to unlock it. Inside were files containing over 300 novel manuscripts.

“Hmm… This month’s submission… Yeah, the first volume of this sequel will do.”

I quickly transferred one of the files to my PC. After 30 seconds, the file server automatically locked again and disappeared from the screen. I added a password to the file on my PC and sent it to Junka-san’s computer.

“Sent. That takes care of the next three months… I wonder what the situation will be by then.”

[Ding-dong]

When I checked the screen on my device, I saw someone in a shirt with the logo of the housekeeping service I had a regular contract with, but their face was hard to see under the hat.

It didn’t seem like the usual person. Just to be safe, I requested the password we had agreed on during the contract signing. On the screen at the entrance, the correct password—1244—was entered without any mistakes.

(Am I just feeling overly cautious after being in the hospital? I seem to be on edge about everything lately…) 

I chuckled at my own wariness and unlocked the automatic door. The staff entered the room and gave a small bow before me.

“Thank you for using our services again today. As usual, I’ll prepare dinner, do the cleaning, and take care of the laundry. Please feel free to relax.”

“Yes, thank you. I’ll be in my room working for a bit, so if you need anything, just call me.”

“Ah, before you go, I wanted to say… Thank you for helping me the other day.”

“What?”

When she removed her hat and looked up, it was Junka-san’s daughter, Sumie.

“What’s going on? Why are you here?”

“Why, you requested housekeeping services from our company, didn’t you, Fudo-sensei?”

Sumie replied with a playful smile.

“I specifically requested that a dedicated housekeeper be sent to my place.”

“My deepest apologies, Fudo-sensei. The staff assigned to you caught the flu that’s going around and will be on home rest until the end of next week.”

“Enough! I’m calling the housekeeping company—and Junka-san too!”

“There’s no need to trouble yourself, Sensei. As for Mom’s phone, it’s already connected here.”

Sumie said with a smile, handing me a smartphone that was already in the middle of a call. Annoyed at being handled by someone younger than me, I grabbed the phone roughly.

“Hello!? Junka-san, what’s going on? This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“Hahaha, hey, hey, calm down! It’s just your cousin’s stubbornness. She’s your stepsister now, after all. I told her your thoughts, but she’s as stubborn and willful as—well, whoever she takes after.”

“…Sounds a lot like you, Junka-san.”

“Huh? Did you say something?” 

“N-No, nothing at all…”

As I continued talking with Junka-san, I watched Sumie efficiently handling the laundry and preparing dinner. I let out a small sigh.

“Fine… I’ll let Sumie-san handle the housework today. Consider me doing you a favor, Junka-san.”

I sighed at Junka-san’s chuckle over the phone. 

(Well, whether it’s Junka-san herself doing the housework or her daughter, I guess there’s not much difference…)

In the Fudo household, Junka-san was the boss. I’d heard her husband was a live-in son-in-law, and although I’d never spoken to him directly, he must be a pretty easygoing guy to stay married to someone like her.

“Fudo-sama… um, I’ve finished prepping dinner, so I’ll start cleaning now…”

“Oh? Sure. Is something wrong?”

“No… but if possible, when it’s just the two of us, could I call you ‘Onii-san’ instead? (It feels a bit strange to call you that…)”

“Sorry, but as I’m sure your mother already told you, while we might technically be family now, that’s just on paper. I have no intention of getting involved in the Fudo household affairs, so…”

Seeing Sumie’s sad expression as she looked down, I couldn’t help but be reminded of my mother, who always looked lonely when she scolded me after I came home from a fight. I shook my head slightly to chase away the memory.

“Well, do as you like… You’re just the housekeeper for today, after all.”

“Yay! Thank you, Onii-san! I’ll finish the cleaning quickly then!”

I watched her happily run off with the cleaning supplies to another room before locking myself in my office to make a call.

“Yeah, I’ve heard the situation. I understand what’s going on… As for the Himeno family, I’ve cut ties with them, so it doesn’t concern me anymore. Whatever happens to that scum isn’t my problem… The letter? It was just on a whim, though it ended up being pointless.”

“~~~”

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it tomorrow. You all better be ready too.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the sofa, staring up at the ceiling.

Anyway, I’ll make sure Junka-san, her husband, and Sumie stay out of my plans…

Tomorrow, I’ll settle things with Iketsuki.

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