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

Tsukishiro Matsuri – Ryuuji’s Mother.

Tsukishiro Matsuri’s POV.

Roughly a month had passed since Kashiwagi-san’s last contact, and we had reached the end of September.

In that time, ugly rumors about Ryu-chan and Moe-chan had spread through school, I had personally cut ties with Satou Minato, and the gossip had overwritten itself from “suspected cheating” to “confirmed two-timing,” among other things.

For my part, Satou Minato’s ending left me with complicated feelings, yet there was also a part of me that had forcibly convinced myself it was satisfying.

Satou Minato hadn’t shown up at school since then. But I no longer had any heart left to worry about it.

***

With the kendo club on break, Ryu-chan was walking home together with us three childhood friends.

Even though I had remembered my childhood connection with Ryu-chan back in August, I kept pretending nothing had changed and somehow managed to maintain our friendship as before.

Every now and then Shii-chan would try to forcibly push Ryu-chan and me closer together, and each time my heart would shake violently.

Would Shii-chan and Moe-chan really be okay with that?

Would they really feel no hesitation if I fell for Ryu-chan?

Was it really all right for me not to lie about my own feelings?

My head was constantly troubled by a swirl of expectation and anxiety. That was how I had been lately.

Suddenly, a message notification rang out from inside my school bag.

Ryu-chan and the others turned to me with slightly startled expressions. I answered with a bitter smile.

Crap, I forgot to silence it. Thank goodness it didn’t go off during class…

While thinking something harmless, I took out my phone, opened the app, and checked the contents.

From Kashiwagi-san? What’s this?

I tapped the name and opened the message.

Kashiwagi Satoshi: Good work. There has been progress regarding Sagara Ryuuji-sama’s mother. The details are not pleasant. Personally, I cannot recommend reading them, but how would you like to proceed?

Progress…? How do you even read that?

Whatever.

Umm… not good, huh. But the truth is finally within reach.

I steeled myself and replied to Kashiwagi-san.

Tsukishiro Matsuri: Good work. I want to know. When are you free?

Kashiwagi Satoshi: Understood. I am scheduled to visit the Tsukishiro residence afterward. Would that be convenient?

Tsukishiro Matsuri: Got it. I’m on my way home now, so around thirty minutes from now should be fine.

I slipped my phone back into my bag and stole a quick sideways glance at Ryu-chan.

I’ll definitely find your mother for you, Ryu-chan.

Whether that would be a good thing or a bad thing for him, I didn’t know.

I just wanted to give him the choice.

That was the decision I had made in my heart.

***

About an hour had passed since I got home.

Kashiwagi-san, with his perfectly combed 7:3 part, arrived at our house in a suit.

His expression was far more solemn than when he had reported Ryu-chan’s information.

Just what had happened to Ryu-chan’s mother? Still, it was easy enough to guess that it wasn’t good.

“This is… somewhat—no, quite unpleasant content. Are you absolutely certain?”

“Yes. I still want to know, so please.”

“…Understood.”

I accepted the several documents neatly filed together from Kashiwagi-san.

I had to read them carefully. For me it was one thing, but for Ryu-chan this would likely become a rather heavy event in his life.

With that resolve, I lowered my eyes to the first line.

As always, the summary was beautifully organized.

Written with care so that even someone like me could understand.

So that it would be comprehensible.

***

There, basic personal information about Ryu-chan’s mother was listed.

“Kirihara Sawa… thirty-five years old, huh.”

She was young. I couldn’t do the math in my head, but it meant she had given birth to Ryu-chan when she was nineteen or twenty.

Also, Kirihara. I had a vague memory that Ryu-chan used to go by Kirihara Ryuuji back then. Ah, my memory’s a bit fuzzy. Was it like that?

Realizing I couldn’t judge any further by digging up old memories, I kept reading.

“Maiden name Saeki. Became pregnant at eighteen. Married her husband, Kirihara Ryusuke, at nineteen, against her parents’ opposition. Dropped out of university the same year upon giving birth. Disowned by her family…”

What a turbulent life. The “Ryu” in Ryu-chan’s name must have been taken from his father’s.

Continuing—

“Husband died when she was twenty-two. Cause of Kirihara Ryusuke’s death: accidental… Died at age twenty-six.”

Ryu-chan’s father was already dead.

My chest grew heavy. If I ever shared this information with Ryu-chan, I would have to tell him this sad truth as well.

Thinking about it again, it might be quite painful.

But even so. Kashiwagi-san had taken the time to compile this despite being busy. At the very least, I had to fulfill that responsibility.

I mentally pumped myself up with a “Right!” and read on.

“Eh…?”

The moment I continued, I realized my body was trembling.

What is this?

My father really is a demon.

***

Right after leaving that apartment, Ryu-chan’s mother had been sold that very same day to an anti-social organization as collateral for the debt my father had created.

“Eh… this…”

My head wasn’t working properly.

Maybe it was a different office from the debt collectors who had saved us.

I caught myself thinking about something completely irrelevant, refusing to accept reality.

At the place she was sold to, she was forced into illegal drugs and dragged down into the sex industry. On top of that, she was even confined.

If this was true, my father was nothing short of a monster.

As I kept reading, the documents described the drugs that had been administered.

Even with content like this, Kashiwagi-san had summarized it carefully.

“Velvet Night… a hallucinatory illegal drug…”

There was no way an ordinary person like me would know about such a thing.

The illegal drug that had been forcibly given to Ryu-chan’s mother.

Narcotics.

I opened my phone and searched for Velvet Night.

“Sensitizes touch and smell… Sexual contact is remembered as dream-like and distorted… Reality’s sensations fade… Can only find satisfaction through drugs and sex… Extremely high dependency…”

I read the lines from the search results with a blank expression. There was no particular meaning to it. It was simply that if I didn’t say the words out loud, my head refused to process them.

What should I do?

Until now I had thought of Ryu-chan’s mother as the perpetrator who abandoned us. In reality, she might have been the most tragic victim of all.

The one and only absolute perpetrator was my father—Tsukishiro Koichirou.

My father was the one who had destroyed Ryu-chan’s family.

The owner of the blood that flowed through me as well.

“Ugh…”

Tears and nausea surged up at the same time.

What the hell… this is horrible. I really am the child of a demon.

“Excuse me… the bathroom…”

Barely holding back the nausea, I rushed to the toilet.

“Ugh… blegh… sniff… blegh…”

This was the result of pretending to be strong and forcing myself to keep reading. I really was pathetic.

After emptying everything in my stomach, I rinsed my mouth in the kitchen.

There was still more to the documents. I had to read it.

As the child of a demon, I had the responsibility to know the fate of the woman my father had ruined.

***

“Three years of imprisonment… actual sentence…”

“Yes. Around two years after she was confined there, the police conducted a forced raid. She was rescued at that time, but despite it being her first offense, the circumstances were deemed unfavorable. In other words, her relationship with the ringleader as his lover, combined with the high frequency of use and large quantity possessed, was judged as malicious, resulting in a prison sentence with no suspended term.”

“Something like that… Was Sagara-kun’s mother really considered that malicious?”

“That is unclear. However, judging from the court documents, there is a high possibility she was framed by the malice of a third party. That person being the ringleader… possibly Matsuri-sama’s father. Also, since she was paroled after two years, we can assume her behavior during imprisonment was good.”

“I see… So, what is her mother doing now?”

At that moment, Kashiwagi-san’s expressionless face twisted slightly.

“I am truly sorry. I did everything I could, but I was unable to trace her movements after release. There is not much public information available, so a private investigation has its limits.”

“I see…”

In the end, the only thing I had learned was the fact that Ryu-chan’s mother had lived an unfortunate life.

This was meaningless. I hadn’t been any help to Ryu-chan at all.

“Um… Is there really nothing more that can be done?”

The words came out almost like a plea. As a child, I didn’t understand. I wanted to borrow the wisdom of an adult.

“There is one thing.”

“Eh? P-please tell me!”

I leaned forward, placing both hands on the table.

“Use a detective agency.”

“A detective agency…?”

“Yes. In manga terms, it’s like a detective. Leave it to the professionals.”

Leave it to the professionals? I didn’t quite get it. But I understood “detective.”

A detective, huh. Yeah, that might let us find Ryu-chan’s mother.

But it couldn’t be free. Even I knew that much.

However, this matter was far too personal. I couldn’t ask my grandfather for the money.

“How much does a detective agency cost…?”

“I use them for work sometimes, but I have no experience with missing persons searches. Probably between fifty thousand and three hundred thousand yen.”

“Three hundred thousand…”

As a high schooler, I think I have quite a bit of money. My allowance is more than most people my age. No matter what, my grandfather dotes on me.

Plus, the unused portion of my allowance should still be sitting in my account.

I opened the banking app on my phone. The total of all my assets appeared.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand yen—I can pay that right away.”

Kashiwagi-san, who clearly hadn’t expected me to pay out of pocket, showed open surprise on his usually expressionless face.

“You truly intend to commission a detective agency?”

“Yes. Now that we’ve come this far, I want to know.”

Kashiwagi-san fell silent, looking troubled. It was the first time I had ever seen him make such a face.

A few minutes later, as if half-giving up:

“Understood. In that case, I will handle the request to the detective agency. A minor cannot sign a contract. Also, Matsuri-sama, please prepare one hundred and fifty thousand yen. I will cover the remaining one hundred and fifty thousand.”

“Eh? But that’s really…”

“Please don’t worry about it. I have watched over you since you were little, and I think of you fondly, Matsuri-sama. It’s only a small gesture, but please allow me to help.”

A trustworthy confidant of my grandfather. Someone who had known me since I was small.

A stern, unsociable man. A kind uncle.

“Thank you very much.”

I bowed my head with sincere gratitude.

“So, the person to investigate is Kirihara Sawa, correct?”

“…”

I wanted to know.

How my father had been involved in this unfortunate woman’s life.

Whether he truly was a demonic human being.

I thought I ought to know.

“Within the budget… but could I also ask you to investigate my father… Tsukishiro Koichirou?”

“Your father?”