Vol 1 Chapter 68 – The Heartless Wretch【Vol 1 – Turning Point】

“My room… it’s gone…”

I couldn’t help but mutter it under my breath. Because, the place I was brought to was where my room used to be. It’s not like I want to come back, and I don’t feel particularly emotional about it. But the thought just slipped out.

“Rin-kun, this was your room. Is that correct?”

Kagemitsu-san didn’t miss that.

My mother didn’t say anything, but I knew what she wanted to say. Don’t say anything unnecessary.

Mitsuru-san stepped half a pace forward, shielding me.

“Y-Yeah. The place that was my room…”

I was able to say it thanks to Mitsuru-san. This was the place where almost my entire life had been contained. And now it was gone.

“Hey, Mama. Keep it together, will you?”

As Kagemitsu-san spoke, I glanced over at Mitsuru-san.

Her fists were clenched tightly. I could tell she was angry without even seeing her face.

“It’s okay, Kage-kun.”

As she said that, Mitsuru-san’s hands, which she had forced open, were trembling.

“I-It’s just a room we don’t use anymore, ahaha.”

My mother tried to laugh it off. But she was letting things slip again.

“Don’t you have… any memories with Rin-kun?”

Mitsuru-san’s voice was trembling.

“Uhm…”

She couldn’t dodge it anymore. My mother was at a loss for words.

It was Kagemitsu-san who threw out a sweet-sounding suggestion as if to rescue her.

“Let’s get to the main topic for now! We came today to ask you why you recently approached Rin-kun.”

Even though it wasn’t a rescue at all, my mother jumped at it.

“The truth is, my husband was in an accident.”

“That’s awful! Was it to tell your son about this?”

“Yes, and I also wanted him to help with his care.”

If only she wouldn’t say such foolish things.

“That’s odd. If providing care is physically demanding, you would normally use a nursing facility. Your son has a small frame. I can’t imagine he’d be suited for nursing care.”

My body is small and weak. If she wanted help with in-home care, Ryo would be overwhelmingly better suited for it. That was the point Kagemitsu-san was making.

“Uhm, it’s a financial issue…”

That confirmed it. What my mother wanted to squeeze out of me was money. Just as Mitsuru-san had said, she was after my money.

“To provide financial assistance, you would first need to apply all of your joint assets. As the father qualifies for disability, there’s the disability pension. Next, the compensation from the accident must also be applied, of course. At that point, it’s highly likely you would meet the minimum standard of living guaranteed by the state. So why the financial problem?”

I was sick of it. If what Kagemitsu-san said was true, then she just wanted to live extravagantly.

In the end, she was just blinded by my money, cooked up a random excuse, and came looking for me.

“Uhm… well…”

“It is highly likely that it would be judged as unnecessary, but what are your thoughts?”

Step by step, Kagemitsu-san cornered my mother. I had come to hate my mother enough. So I couldn’t help but find it a little satisfying.

“Rin, I’m your parent, you know? Don’t you feel like you want to help me?”

Cornered, my mother tried to ask me for help.

“I’m sorry. I don’t.”

“You heartless wretch!”

The moment I answered, my mother flew into a rage.

Seeing this, Mitsuru-san frantically held her own legs down to keep from standing, and Kagemitsu-san also gestured for her to stop.

“Please refrain from raising your voice. You see, it’s not as if anyone’s life is being threatened. Even a minimum standard of living is guaranteed. Therefore, in this regard, your son isn’t being heartless in the slightest. In the first place, you parents kicked your son out of the house in early March, did you not? The temperature where there’s a risk of freezing to death is below 10 degrees Celsius, and the low temperatures during that time of year reach that point. Wouldn’t you say that is far more heartless?”

That day was truly cold. My body wouldn’t stop shivering, and my feet felt like they were frozen. And the rough asphalt would scrape against those frozen feet. It was just… so painful.

“How dare you say that…”

Mitsuru-san muttered in an incredibly quiet voice.

“That’s because this boy would never get a job!”

My mother’s rage didn’t subside. It was as if she was saying, over and over, that she had done nothing wrong.

“But wasn’t your son showing the will to work?”

“That is…”

I had even been going to interviews. There was also the fact that I wanted a little more freedom. I wanted to live alone and go out without having to worry about anyone.

“To say that your own child, who was trying so hard to find a job, ‘wouldn’t work’… Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

“But in the end, he couldn’t find a job for years!”

my mother said hysterically.

“But you’re the one who threw that son out, aren’t you? You are the heartless one.”

In response, Kagemitsu-san didn’t flinch in the slightest. He just stated it matter-of-factly.

“But… we’re family, you know?”

“Yes, and to you as well, your son is family.”

And with that, he cut her off, silencing my mother.

Then, he straightened his posture and spoke again.

“As you seem to be an emotional person, we will be sending a certified letter at a later date.”

“Wh-!? Why is that!?”

My mother was afraid of that. Because certified letters are often sent in preparation for a lawsuit.

“It is to prevent you from approaching your son again.”

My mother couldn’t say anything more to us, and just glared at me resentfully.

After exchanging perfunctory goodbyes, we left my parents’ house.