Vol 1 Chapter 64 – A Harbinger of Turmoil

When the stream ended, I exhaled. Someone knocked on the door of the soundproof room.

“Yes?”

Who else would knock? It was Michiru-san, though her face was clouded.

“Rin-kun, I’m sorry… I sent your mother away on my own.”

Looking back, there’d been a stretch when Michiru-san left no comments. It must have been then—my birth mother had probably shown up while I was streaming.

“I’m truly sorry. I caused trouble.”

There are plenty of ways to find me: I’m on KidsMonMo, and the net is packed with news about me. If you poke around, you’ll reach me sooner or later.

But pinpointing this house is the absolute worst.

“Trouble?”

Even though I’d already steeled myself to leave, Michiru-san stared at me, puzzled.

“If I stay, my parents will keep coming.”

They tracked down this address; they’ll be back, and they must want something.

“Why are you talking so formally?”

Her tone was sharp, almost scolding.

“Well… because I plan to move out.”

I have enough money to rent a place, build a new booth, and restart as Akiba Rin.

“Let me be clear—if you move, we’re moving together!”

Her low, even voice pinned me in place, and my words stuck.

If someone like her ever had a child, that kid would be lucky. She scolds with logic, not emotion. But Michiru-san being my mom was odd from the start. VTubers call their character artists “Mama,” sure, yet Michiru-san was becoming my mom in a whole other way. I’m older, but my heart’s the childish one.

I pried my heavy mouth open.

“What if my parents track me down again?”

“Hey, do you want to see them?”

The answer was obvious.

“I don’t want to…”

My parents abandoned me in early spring, when I could still freeze to death. It’s no exaggeration to say they tried to kill me.

They tossed me out barefoot; even walking hurt.

They flung salt at me—a crystal-clear exile.

“I don’t want you to see them either. I didn’t sense an ounce of love in those eyes, Rin-kun.”

“Is… that so?”

What had they talked about? Why did she come straight here?

“Yeah. Only your mother showed up. She said, ‘Nanase Rin should be here. I’m his mother, so I want to see him.’ But I saw zero love.”

I should’ve known. When I was kicked out, Mom’s eyes sparkled with joy. She was the one who doused me with salt. If any love remained, she wouldn’t have done that.

So why find me now? Why try to turn back?

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t see the exit; my mind was a maze.

“Rin-kun! …Stop thinking you’re a burden. Mama is Mama. Cause as much trouble as you want—lean on me. That makes me happier.”

Her shout yanked me out of the maze; her gentle tone steadied me.

Even so, that burden feels too heavy for someone else.

If I could, I’d erase this tie entirely. My parents ditched me—so why won’t they stay gone?

“I… can’t trouble you any further.”

Losing my place with Michiru-san hurts. But being hated would hurt more.

Right… it isn’t about being a burden. I’m scared of being hated. I’m leaving for my own ego.

“Hey, how long are you going to pretend we’re strangers? Who is that woman to you?”

She meant my mother—and by asking “who,” she refused to let me answer my mother.

“I don’t know.”

Our bond broke when she threw salt on me—really, she cut it herself.

“I hate to say it, but that woman is probably after your money, Rin-kun. What else could it be?”

“Huh?”

“Rin-kun, you make more in a month than a regular office worker earns in a year. That’s the kind of figure that blinds people! So she’s probably…”

I later found out Michiru-san’s hunch was spot-on.

“No… that’s just—”

It’s revolting. She threw away a chick, and when it started laying golden eggs, she ran back for it. Disgusting.

But she’d always been like that. She gave birth on a whim and tossed me when I became inconvenient—her nastiness was guaranteed.

“I can’t be sure, but she’s probably hired someone—maybe a detective skating the edge of the law. So, why don’t we draft a helper too?”

With that, Michiru-san made a call.

Once it connected, she immediately switched to speaker.

“Ah, Kage-kun? I need a quick consult…”

The voice belonged to Akiba Kagemitsu, the lawyer VTuber behind Utube’s Any Legal Question channel—a sharp attorney.