The Guy Who Messed Up Is Gradually Doing His Best - Chapter 79

“I’m so happy. Thank you, everyone. Thank you… sniff.”

“Sachiko?”

“Satsu-chan…”

It was the afternoon after the monetization application for the “Armed Girls Channel” was approved, and we finally started receiving ad revenue. In Nene-san’s studio, Sachiko suddenly started to cry while expressing her gratitude to all of us.

Three days after the release of our new song “A Smile to You,” the view count was still rapidly increasing, and it had overtaken Sawakaze-kun’s video to become number one on the trending charts for the first time. The self-introduction video, which was uploaded earlier, was in fifth place, and our first song “By Your Side” was in sixth.

I suspected that the increase in views for the self-introduction video and the first song was influenced by the new release, but seeing everyone happy made me happy too.

By the way, the second place was a dance video uploaded by Sawakaze-kun just yesterday, while the third and fourth spots were held by female netTubers who are primarily idols or actresses.

Of course, the number of subscribers had doubled to around 8 million. We could see 10 million in sight. However, everyone was anxious since we only had three videos.

I thought there was no need to rush… but when the monetization application for the “Armed Girls Channel” was approved and the ad revenue started coming in, Sachiko broke down in tears.

“Satsu-chan, what’s wrong?”

“Sachiko-chan?”

Once she calmed down, Sachiko apologized for suddenly crying, saying she was okay now. We were all worried since she always had such a cheerful and energetic image. Something must have happened.

“Sachiko… are you really okay?”

“Sa-chan, could it be…”

“Sachiko-chan, don’t hold back. We’re friends, right?”

“Yes, if you can talk about it, I want to help.”

“Everyone… sniffs.”

Sachiko began to cry again, but once she calmed down, she slowly started to share her family situation.

Her mother, who had often been visiting her father, began staying away for two or three days from around her second year of middle school. After entering high school, it escalated to four or five days.

While her mother paid the rent and living expenses, conversations between them became fewer and fewer. Worried, Sachiko decided to become a netTuber.

She thought that since she had started cooking for herself after her mother began staying over, maybe there was something she could do with it.

Then as time went on, her mother became increasingly reluctant to pay rent and utility bills, and just as Sachiko was getting anxious, her mother stopped coming home altogether about two months ago. It seemed she was living with her father. Sachiko thought she could live with her father too, but unfortunately, he apparently disliked children and Sachiko had never even met him.

With only her bento channel income and a small part-time job, Sachiko had told us she was saving for college tuition, but the truth was that it was really for living expenses in case something happened.

And then the dreaded thing happened. After her mother stopped coming home, she began receiving notices for overdue payments one after another.

Sachiko had been expecting such a day to come, so she quickly changed her bank accounts to withdraw all payments, including tuition fees, under her name.

However, the more she thought about needing to pay for everything herself, the more anxious she became. Then, when the ad revenue from the Armed Girls Channel came in at an unexpectedly large amount, she felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders, thinking that maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore.

“Your mother… to think you were going through that. I’m sorry I didn’t notice, Satsu-chan.”

Tsukune, who had been friends with Sachiko since middle school, seemed to know a little about her family situation, but she had been unaware that her mother had stopped coming home.

So, Sachiko’s mother had transitioned from a visiting wife to a live-in wife… and to think that despite such significant issues, she was still making my bento…

“I’ll do my best with the Armed Girls Channel too.”

Before I knew it, I was hugging Sachiko. I felt pathetic thinking about how privileged the men who had no worries in their lives were.

“Sachiko, I will do my best too.”

“I will as well.”

“Yeah.”

“Taketo-kun… and everyone, thank you.”

Hearing everyone’s voices snapped Sachiko back to reality, and she quickly pulled away, her face flushed.

For a change, Nanako was looking at us with a hungry expression, so I patted her head gently. Oh, she’s puffing her cheeks, looking dissatisfied. Huh, Tsukune and Saori also…

“Could it be that there are many kids like Sachiko?”

Before I realized it, I blurted out a thought without considering whether it was okay to say such a thing lightly, and I immediately thought it was bad, but it was Saori, the class representative, who responded.

“That’s something I’ve been a bit curious about too…”

Although she didn’t know everything, she told us that there were a few students in our class who were working part-time hard.

“I see.”

After Sachiko calmed down, we spent some time relaxing, but everyone wore contemplative expressions.

Honestly, ever since I heard about Sachiko and Saori’s situation, I have been thinking about what I could do to help.

When I got home, I consulted Kaori about it.

I would also receive some money from the Armed Girls Channel, however, this was something I initially didn’t intend to take, and since I’m male, it would be completely tax-exempt. I was wondering if this income could be used for something.

“Taketo-kun, about that…”

But as I talked with Kaori, I began to understand why men were exempt from taxes.

I thought about how I could offer an apartment for free to those kids… but that would be going overboard. I considered offering it at a very low price so they could live with a little more peace of mind. If they had a place to live, their mental outlook might change.

However, Kaori’s answer was not a good one, men could not own real estate other than property for their own residence.

“T-Then…”

When I suggested that maybe I could incorporate a company and buy property that way, she explained that men could not be representatives or board members… The reason being that men are expected to have multiple wives, which would lead to inheritance disputes.

So even though I was the head of the household in this house, Kaori and I were married, but she didn’t change her last name and remained the head of the Nohara household.

This meant if I had a child with someone other than Kaori, let’s say Nene-san, that child (only girls) would have succession rights in Matsukawa Nene-san’s family but not in the Nohara family. If Kaori were to adopt the child, that would change the situation, but that rule was in place to protect the assets of each wife.

As for the men’s assets? Most men only had their homes, so they were allowed to do as they pleased with those.

I thought, “What is that?” but it made sense.

However, due to this reality, men do nothing. Those who try to earn money for themselves disappear.

Since I had an income, I was treated as special; there were no other income-generating men, so I remained tax-exempt instead of being classified as a taxpayer. I had thought this was because men were favored…

“…I see. Thank you, Kaori.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Well then, I’m going to prepare dinner with Mil-san.”

“Yes, madam Kaori.”

I had proposed taking a commemorative wedding photo (a picture of me in a tuxedo and Kaori in a wedding dress) to Kaori, who always supports me.

She was extremely happy, as it was the first time for her in this world. That commemorative photo was enlarged and displayed in her company, and it received good reviews from customers, making her very cheerful. She even kissed my cheek before heading toward the kitchen.

“I guess I’ll focus on the Armed Girls Channel for a while…”

In the end, I couldn’t come up with any good ideas, so I resolutely decided to do my best with what I could.

Ping♪

A message arrived on MAIN.

“Huh?”

Yuu: “Taketo-kun, I watched the video~”

It was from Yuu and the idol group “January” from Masaka Corporation.