Vol 1 Chapter 67 – The Ogre’s Den【Vol 1 – Turning Point】

The day came. Before me was the same unremarkable door that had once shut me out. But I wasn’t the same person I was back then. The person on the other side of that door was the adult I had dreamed of becoming, one who could live on his own, yet still be loved by someone. That person is me, now.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah…”

From that moment on, it was as if Kagemitsu-san had put on a mask. A smiling mask, one with a very gentle expression. The sharp glint in his eyes from moments before had vanished.

I, and Michiru-san as well, put on our masks. We cast aside the comfortable game of playing family; now, the three of us were just friends.

The electronic chime of the intercom echoed.

Footsteps sounded from within, and the door opened.

“Rin… Rin!”

The moment she opened the door, my mother rushed to embrace me. It’s disgusting. This hug is a bundle of lies.

Considering she’s the one who threw salt on me, I can’t believe she has the nerve to do this.

“Let go of me…”

A voice so bone-chillingly cold escaped my lips that it even surprised me.

“Huh?”

“He said, ‘Let go of me.'”

Michiru-san’s voice was something else, too. It sounded like it could kill someone with words alone.

“Yes, please let her go. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Masanao Higure. I am a friend of Rin-kun’s here, and I am accompanying him for certain reasons.”

As Kagemitsu-san spoke, he moved toward my mother and peeled her off of me.

Honestly, I was relieved. This person, who is putting on an act to try and wring something out of me, terrifies me.

“Rin’s friends!? Oh my! I have to entertain you!”

This is, how do I put it, the absolute worst. I wish she would just shut her mouth. Even I can tell this is the reek of deceit stained with desire. It stinks… all her words stink of lies.

“Why did you come all the way to Michiru-san’s place?”

I already wanted to go home as soon as possible. If she had spoken to me a little more cruelly, I might not have felt this much revulsion. If she had been a little more open with her greed, I might have still been able to see her as a human being.

But this isn’t human. It’s a monster. A different kind of creature from us, one that will do anything for its own desires.

“Let’s talk about that inside! This isn’t the place for it, you know! Right?! Come on, his friends, too, please come in!”

With that, my mother tried to usher us into the house.

My feet… won’t move. This is my family home, but it looks like an ogre’s den.

Suddenly, a hand clasped mine. Gently, and warmly.

I followed the hand that held mine, and at the end of it was Michiru-san.

“It’s okay.”

Just that one word, a word that should have held no basis or persuasive power, somehow put my mind at ease.

“Rin-kun, I’m with you too!”

The owner of that voice was Kagemitsu-san. Though we only just met three days ago, for some reason, I trust him.

It might be perfectly natural. Because he’s like Ryou. His actions, his expressions, the way he speaks.

Ryou is a pervert. But he’s a pervert who treated me like a real brother. He would sneak into my room, and we’d have cheap candy parties. He gave me unconditional love.

He’s just like that Ryou. There’s no room for doubt.

“Yeah!”

My resolve hardened.

The trembling stopped.

I was able to take a step forward.

In the entryway, there was a photograph. Of my parents, and Ryou. I, of course, was not in it.

The direction we were heading was toward my old room. A futon as thin as a rice cracker and a desk; that’s all that was ever in there.

With every step closer, the possibility that she was leading us to the place that was my room grew.

That, in itself, was proof that I no longer have a place here.

As I thought, I’m not loved anymore. Not even half a year has passed, yet my room is already gone.

And yet Ryou’s room was still Ryou’s room, even when I was cast out.

But, something’s strange. My father isn’t here.

That… was the reason my mother had been looking for me.