episode_0049

Even though I got an adult ID, it didn’t change my daily life.

As usual, I was playing various mini-games and collecting a tiny bit of money.

“Nice!”

“Ugh! Why did the heavens give birth to Takuya, and then to me?!”

By the way, this tiny sum wasn’t for stocks or crypto investments; it was for my personal snacks.

No matter what, I couldn’t use Miyuki’s money even for my snacks.

Of course, the kids who give me money are pitiful. But naturally, that’s not my problem.

After getting the snot-nosed kids’ money, I was about to move on for the next round, full of excitement.

“Ah! I finally found you! Takuya!!”

That is, until Sōta came looking for me, while I was teasing my next prey.

The prey I had all but caught quickly escaped from its spot as Sōta approached.

‘Damn, it was a fish I had already caught [meaning, prey I had already secured].’

Seeing that, I smacked my lips regretfully and looked at Sōta, who had called me.

If he had called me for something trivial, he would face the appropriate consequences.

Although I stared at Sōta with an intense gaze, Sōta seemed to think such a look was welcoming and simply greeted me cheerfully.

“Hi, Takuya!”

“Hey. By the way, Sōta, why did you look for me?”

“Oh, right! We need to go quickly!”

Huh? Go?

“Where?”

At my question, Sōta spoke to me as if asking if I didn’t remember.

When I nodded, Sōta explained it in a way that was easy for me to understand.

“Today’s the day of the fighting game tournament!”

Ah. That, right?

It was definitely a promise made during the process of becoming friends with Sōta to create a close match with Miyuki.

‘That was today?’

As I slowly traced my memories, it was indeed so.

After I made Miyuki my personal slave, I hadn’t paid any attention to it at all, and I’d completely forgotten.

One might think it’s a bit too much, but society is a cold place.

‘Society is cold.’

An child’s innocence and my cold society… when I say it like that, it sounds a bit strange. Anyway, adults are cruel.

Therefore, I thought to myself, ‘Should I just not go?’ I secretly considered it.

“Ah. And the winning prize money is…”

That is, until I heard the prize money amount.

“They say it’s 200,000 yen!”

“200,000 yen?”

“Yeah!”

For a small-town tournament, that’s quite a lot, isn’t it?

I thought that to myself and said to Sōta, who had mentioned the prize money to me.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Let’s go!”

At my words, Sōta quickly told me which way to go and started walking beside me.

And so, we began our arduous march to the neighboring town where the tournament venue was.

***

Although I called it an arduous march, the neighboring town was only about 30 minutes away on foot, so it wasn’t very far.

Thanks to that, we arrived at the bustling event venue and immediately started playing the game.

And funnily enough, after coming all the way to the neighboring town with such effort for the tournament…

“This is crazy.”

“Takuya, no bad words!”

We were immediately eliminated in the preliminaries!

To be precise, I lost my last match before going to the main round, and Sōta was eliminated directly after losing consecutively.

Didn’t I sound confident when we first talked about the tournament?

I had those moments too…

Taptaptaptap!

That is, until I met the ‘real deal’.

I subtly shifted my gaze towards the pale-skinned, blonde woman who was deeply engrossed in a game.

Even though she was wearing sunglasses and a hat, she was a woman of outstanding beauty, beautiful enough to be recognized as a considerable beauty.

No, actually, she was a very familiar person to me.

And that’s because…

“As expected, Elder Sister!”

“There’s no one who can stand against her!”

“Cough, hack. This junior is moved by Elder Sister’s combo—*cough*!”

“You’re playing a game. Stop spewing nonsense and be quiet.”

The person beating up men who looked at least in their 30s was Takuya’s mother—no, is she my mother now? Anyway, it was Yuka Mama, one of my mothers.

‘Truly, a talented person is a talented person [meaning someone exceptional will always be exceptional].’

According to Yuka Mama, she was famous in the neighborhood for her beauty even when she was young.

Yuka Mama was certainly pretty. No, Ayaka Mama was also pretty, but it was a different kind of beauty.

If Yuka Mama was a beauty exuding the aura of an idol or a celebrity, Ayaka Mama was someone whose charm lay in her elegant appearance, like a model or an actress.

I can’t help but wonder why such a person would engage in compensated dating, but the world always has many stories.

Anyway, as I was watching my mother for a while, she finished her game, exchanged light greetings with her opponent, and then approached Sōta and me, asking:

“How was it, son, your mother’s match?”

“As expected of the person who defeated me.”

At my words, Yuka Mama chuckled and said,

“Alright.”

Saying that, she stroked my head.

Since my height was similar to my mother’s, her posture was awkward, but I readily accepted her touch.

By the way, Yuka Mama said she knew it was me the moment she first entered this arcade.

It seems I have a noticeable appearance.

In contrast, although Yuka Mama was noticeable, her style was different from usual, so it seemed difficult for others to recognize her.

Normally, she gives off the vibe of an ‘inssa gyaru’, but now she looks more like a ‘party gyaru’.

So, why is my mother suddenly participating in such a game tournament?

“Ah. This is just my hobby.”

She said it was just a hobby.

It seems my mother has quite a unique hobby.

Well, it seems like she’s hiding something more, but…

‘Let’s overlook this much.’

At her words, I vaguely agreed and then asked my mother, who had advanced to the finals.

“So, if you win, will you buy us meat?”

“If it’s a family restaurant.”

“Then let’s get some for Ayaka Mama to go as well.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Yuka Mama agreed to my suggestion, and since it was almost time for the finals, she told us to watch carefully and then left her seat.

And a moment later.

“The winner of the XXth XX Arcade tournament is Ms. Yuka, who is here with us!”

My mother returned after quickly taking the head of the enemy general before his wine cup could cool [a proverb about swift victory].

““Waaah!””

When the winner’s name was announced, a roar of cheers erupted, loud enough to make the small arcade reverberate.

Well, it was only natural, if anything.

They had held an offline fighting game tournament which already had few female participants. And a woman, one with both immense skill and outstanding beauty, had won.

It would have been stranger if there hadn’t been cheers.

Of course, because of that,

“Hey, hey. Should I try talking to her?”

“With your face, it might be possible?!”

Although there were people thinking such impure thoughts, I easily took care of that.

“Mama! You’re amazing!”

I shouted loudly towards Yuka Mama, and at my words, Yuka Mama made a V-sign with her hand, delighted.

Naturally, people started murmuring at that sound.

“She was married?”

“Well, it would be strange for someone that pretty not to have a boyfriend.”

“Ah. My hopes were dashed.”

“Still possible.”

“Get out of here.”

After a brief commotion, Yuka Mama, who had safely received the prize money, took Sōta and me to a pretty good family restaurant nearby.

We had a good meal there and chatted happily.

After chatting for a while.

While drinking melon juice for dessert and conversing, an interesting topic came up.

“Ah, now that I think about it. I heard a summer festival is being held two days from now. Sōta-kun, are your family going?”

“Oh! Yes, we’ve decided to go as a family this time!”

“Summer festival?”

“We talked about it this morning over breakfast. I said there would be a pretty big fireworks display this time.”

It was about the upcoming summer festival.

‘A Japanese summer festival, is that the kind that often appears in anime?’

You know, the one where people wear yukata and walk around eating squid or candied apples.

If it’s exactly as I saw it in anime…

‘It should be fun.’

It seemed like it would be quite enjoyable.

The last festivals I experienced were only the ones during middle school and military-style festivals.

Naturally, festivals held in closed, narrow societies couldn’t compare to civilian ones.

It was only natural for me, who had only experienced pseudo-festivals, to feel anticipation.

As I was thinking that, Yuka Mama said,

“Then, shall we meet at the shrine in two days?”

“Ah. I’ll go with Sōta.”

“With Sōta?”

“Yeah. I plan to play games before we go.”

At my words, my mother made a ‘this kid?’ expression, then reluctantly gave her permission.

“But don’t be too much of a bother.”

“Where would you find someone as obedient as me?”

“Oh, you little rascal?”

We chatted like that for a long time before we could return home.

***

Late at night.

In the house where everyone was asleep, there was someone sitting at the dining table, tilting a glass of alcohol.

That person was Yuka, the owner of this house and Takuya’s birth mother.

She was tilting a glass of alcohol late at night.

“Haa…”

The reason she was tilting her glass was simple.

It was because of her son, Takuya.

No, to be precise.

“Who in the world is it…”

It was because of someone inside her son’s body.