Parameter Supremacy: The Man Who Seizes a Harem Through Sheer Effort. - Chapter 87.

Tsukishiro Matsuri – The Other Childhood Friend.

Tsukishiro Matsuri’s POV.

It was August. The height of summer. A few days before we childhood friends were supposed to go to the beach with Sagara-kun.

It happened during the summer festival.

That day, after I accidentally ran into Sagara-sensei and Sagara-kun together, my own speculations and wishes got mixed in, and I immediately asked Kashiwagi-san—my grandfather’s close aide—to investigate Sagara-kun’s background.

Sagara-kun is my classmate. Yeah, one of my friends.

From the very beginning, something about him had felt off—like I had seen him somewhere before. I’d been carrying this strange sense of déjà vu, and today, I finally learned the truth behind it.

The day before, Kashiwagi-san had contacted me saying the investigation was complete, so I asked him to come report right away.

Inside the large living room of our big mansion, I sat restlessly, scrolling through my phone.

Still dressed in simple but high-quality loungewear, I stared blankly at the tall, antique grandfather clock.

It was just past one o’clock.

A few minutes later, as I finished drinking the remaining half of my barley tea, the slightly old-fashioned chime rang out—pin-pon.

I hurried to the entrance and lined up the guest slippers I always thought looked like kotatsu patterns.

“Comiiing~”

When I opened the grand front door, the person I had been waiting for stood there, drenched in sweat. Kashiwagi Satoshi, wearing a summer suit.

I led Kashiwagi-san into the living room, poured barley tea into a Baccarat glass, and set it on the table.

“Matsuri-sama, please don’t serve me tea in such a fine glass.”

Kashiwagi-san pushed up his glasses with a serious expression and gently scolded me.

“I don’t really understand the value of glasses. Sorry.”

“Please be more careful next time.”

Even as he said that, he took a sip from the undoubtedly expensive glass.

From the business bag beside his chair, he pulled out several neatly filed documents and handed them to me.

“He’s in the same class as you, Matsuri-sama, so the investigation was simple. However, the contents may be somewhat surprising for you.”

“Surprising for me?”

“Yes. Please read them.”

I poured myself some barley tea into a glass and began going through the documents he had handed me. They were beautifully organized and easy to read.

***

My father was a terrible man. If someone asked exactly how terrible, to be honest, I wouldn’t know. Why? Because I was the girl my father abandoned when I was still very young. I barely have any memories of him.

When I trace back my earliest memories, what surfaces is moving from one room to another with that man. By that time, my real mother was already gone. The reason was simple—I think it was because my father was such a terrible man. She probably ran away.

Still, he seemed to have a good face, and I vaguely remember him often staying at different women’s homes. Sorry for being so vague. That’s really all that remains in my memory.

What I remember clearly is meeting one particular woman and spending quite a long time with her.

She was a beautiful woman with long, slightly ash-gray hair. Her somewhat sharp, upturned eyes became incredibly cute when she smiled. She looked wonderful in floral dresses.

I really liked her.

And she had one son.

He had the same hair color as her and slightly sharp eyes. A boy the same age as me.

Yes. Ryuuji-kun.

Our relationship wasn’t exactly friends, nor were we siblings. We were each other’s parent’s partner’s child. Looking back now, it was quite a complicated connection.

Still, he was very kind to the sudden blonde girl who appeared, and we always played together in that cramped room. Secretly, I was thrilled that I had gained a gentle big brother.

If things had continued like that, it probably would have turned into a pure, straightforward love comedy.

Around that time, Ryuuji-kun became Ryuu-chan.

But at the same time, my father started taking out his anger on Ryuu-chan’s mother more and more often.

My father had always loved gambling. Even in summer he would leave me in the car for hours while he played pachinko. Looking back, it’s a miracle I survived.

If he lost at pachinko, he’d turn to alcohol, then drunkenly demand money. If refused, he’d resort to hitting and kicking. He really was a terrible father. I hated him.

Ryuu-chan’s mother was beautiful, but she had terrible taste in men.

Choosing that man, giving him money—it was all her own fault. That woman was to blame. And for disappearing together with him, too.

Those two vanished.

One day, dressed up more nicely than usual, they said “We’re heading out” and left like always.

That was the last time.

No matter how long we waited, they never came back.

Day after day. Matsuri and Ryuu-chan spent time together, just the two of us.

After we finished all the snacks that had been stocked, we ate the vegetables in the fridge raw. Then we drank raw eggs. After that, mayonnaise. Soy sauce was impossible, though.

Several more days passed.

When we finally ran out of anything edible, all that remained was a life of drinking only water.

I don’t know exactly how many days it lasted, but we probably spent about two weeks alone together.

Inside the rundown apartment with no electricity, the stench of rotting garbage and sweat hung heavy in the air.

If it had been summer or winter, we probably would have died.

The real problem was hunger.

People might say we should have asked the neighbors for help, but two children who were only four or five years old at the time wouldn’t have thought of that.

In the end, the ones who saved us were the debt collectors who came to collect my father’s debts. What a cruel irony.

***

After being rescued, we were passed around between the police, hospital, and child consultation center. Eventually, we were placed under administrative protection, taken to a temporary shelter, and finally became children of Sagara Orphanage.

Sagara Orphanage.

The orphanage stood quietly, blending into a peaceful residential area. There were no high walls or exaggerated gates. The white exterior walls and the small, sunlit flowerbed in the front yard felt somehow warm to a lonely child who had lived in a cold apartment.

When I first arrived at the orphanage, I refused to leave Ryuu-chan’s side. Whether playing, eating, sleeping, going to the toilet, or taking baths—I did everything with him. Everything.

Without Ryuu-chan, I couldn’t do anything.

Because for a girl whose father had disappeared, Ryuu-chan was the only person I could rely on.

I caused so much worry for Sagara-sensei and his wife, Hanako-san. Looking back now, I feel truly sorry. I must have been such a nuisance.

Little by little, I made more friends at the orphanage and gradually learned to trust the teachers.

That was when my grandfather found me.

My grandfather—and that man’s father—Tsukishiro Gorou.

A bold man who ran several companies in the area. He said he was already acquainted with Sagara-sensei.

In the end, I was taken in by my grandfather, and I had to say goodbye to Ryuu-chan.

On the last night, I cried loudly for what felt like forever. Ryuu-chan stroked my head and hugged me tight. “We’ll definitely meet again,” he told me. We fell asleep in the same futon, holding each other.

That was my final memory of Ryuu-chan.

In total, I don’t think we were together for even a full year after we met.

After that, I entered elementary school and made lots of new friends.

Shii-chan, Moe-chan, and Minato-kun. Those fun, fun days with my childhood friends.

Like snow piling up, new memories gradually buried my young self’s old ones. By the time I entered middle school, I had stopped thinking about Ryuu-chan altogether.

That was the beginning of my story with Ryuu-chan.

A childhood friend relationship that never quite came to be.

Even now, his face from back then is hazy—but I’m glad. I remembered him properly.

***

After reading through the final document, I let out a sigh.

“So it really was Ryuu-chan… I had completely forgotten.”

“Matsuri-sama?”

Lost in my own world, I jumped at Kashiwagi-san’s voice.

“Ah, I…”

“You said ‘I’?”

“I mean… Sorry. Thank you very much. I feel much better now.”

“No trouble at all. It wasn’t a difficult investigation. Here, this is for you.”

Kashiwagi-san handed me a single envelope.

“What is this?”

“Photographs. Sagara Ichirou-sama insisted.”

“Sensei…”

So Sagara-sensei had remembered me.

I had met him only a handful of times after my grandfather took me in. I felt like a cold-hearted person for never asking about Ryuu-chan back then.

Just because I was having fun with my new childhood friends, I shouldn’t have forgotten. What an idiot I was.

But Ryuu-chan is at fault too.

He never told me he’d become this handsome.

And though I have no right to say it, I’m sure he’s completely forgotten about me.

No, no. Calm down. Right now, I’m more interested in these photos.

Inside the envelope were several photographs.

I carefully laid them out one by one on the table.

They were pictures of us taken at the orphanage when we were little.

A photo of Ryuu-chan and me standing side by side, making peace signs.

A photo of me clinging to Ryuu-chan while napping.

A photo of us eating onigiri side by side, staring seriously at the camera.

A photo of everyone at the orphanage playing in the pool.

A photo of Ryuu-chan running in a race.

A photo of Ryuu-chan smiling and looking straight at me.

Huh? Why…? Everything in front of me is getting blurry…

“Matsuri-sama, here.”

I wiped my tears with the handkerchief Kashiwagi-san handed me and took a deep, steadying breath.

This is dangerous. I’m going to cry. I don’t remember any of this, yet it’s so funny.

But why…? I shouldn’t remember any of it… So why?

Why does my heart tremble so much?

I gently traced the cheek of the young Ryuu-chan in the photo with my index finger.

How adorable he was.

The little me from back then seemed to gently whisper to the current me:

‘Your first love was this boy.’

That’s right. I remembered now. Clearly.

But I’m sorry.

That first love will never come true. Because he’s my best friend’s boyfriend.

A bitter smile rose to my lips.

“Thank you, Kashiwagi-san. I was able to remember something very important.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It was worth the effort.”

Kashiwagi-san smiled back.

***

Just as I was gathering the documents to put them back into the file, I noticed one more photograph still left inside the envelope.

“What’s this?”

I took out the single photo and looked at it.

It was a picture of a beautiful woman embracing the shoulders of little me and Ryuu-chan.

“This is…”

“This is the only photograph Sagara Ryuuji-sama had with him when he was taken into protection. Sagara Ichirou-sama had been keeping it…”

Yes. I remember her. I know this beautiful person.

“So, Matsuri-sama, what would you like to do? Shall I continue investigating Sagara Ryuuji-sama’s mother as well?”

Ryuu-chan’s mother. You can find out about her?

I don’t have very warm feelings toward this woman. She’s the one who abandoned us, after all. That’s only natural.

Right now, I don’t even want to know what my own father is doing.

But what about Ryuu-chan?

Ryuu-chan was always such a kind boy. I don’t want to hurt him.

Still… if Ryuu-chan wanted to know…

Yeah. Whether or not to tell Ryuu-chan can be decided later.

Besides, I want to know the reason they abandoned us.

“Kashiwagi-san. I’m sorry to trouble you further, but may I ask one more thing?”

I want to know the truth.

Even if it’s painful, I’ll swallow it alone.

I won’t hurt Ryuu-chan. Sorry for acting on my own.

Ryuu-chan.