Chapter 135
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Comfort
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After wrapping up my deal(?) with the Yakuza and Musashi, I headed home feeling pretty relaxed...
'Ugh, fuck, that cigarette stink.'
...but not quite.
I still had Momiji's dad and mom to deal with.
Well, it wouldn't take long anyway.
[Head to the address here.]
First, I dragged Momiji's dad (I didn't bother remembering his name) out of his usual pachinko parlor and hypnotized him into heading straight to the Yakuza's office.
Of course.
[You'll regain your senses right before your organs are removed, but you won't be able to speak or move. Oh, and no fainting or passing out either.]
After cramming the payment for selling his kid down his throat like a lump of cash.
By the way, the money from harvesting that guy's organs—minus what I asked for and the labor fee—would go straight to the people he borrowed from.
You might call it a waste, but if they ever contacted me later to collect a debt, it'd just be a hassle.
That took care of Momiji's dad. As for her mom...
"Hmm, not bad looking at all."
I hesitated a bit.
Originally, I'd planned to turn her into a drug addict and let her suffer from the cravings.
But seeing her face, I figured she could serve another purpose.
Mainly in the sexual department.
If you just heard that, you might think I was feeling sorry for the woman who sold her own kid.
Of course, I didn't feel a shred of pity.
How could I pity a bitch who preferred pachinko over her own daughter?
So, making her a drug addict wasn't off the table.
It just felt a little... insufficient.
'If I only make her a drug addict, this lady ends up enjoying it too much.'
That hardly counts as punishment.
Hmm, what to do...
After pondering for a moment, I had a great idea.
'She'd make the perfect hypnosis test subject.'
I could use this woman as my guinea pig for hypnosis experiments.
I've done plenty of experiments already, you say?
Fair point. I've done enough—up to what I consider my ethical limit.
Sleeping with women might not sound ethical, but by my standards, it is.
Sure, I'm still trash. But at least I didn't harm their bodies, so it's ethical in my book.
Anyway, I decided to use Momiji's mom for some truly unethical hypnosis tests.
Like turning her into a semen addict, or hypnotizing her so she has to masturbate ten times a day just to satisfy her urges.
You might say that's cliché, but that's just what manga addicts or crazies do.
What I'm doing is taking a normal person and...
'Come to think of it, a drug addict isn't exactly normal.'
Whatever, doesn't matter.
I'll induce some kind of mental illness in a sane person... then cure it. Something like that.
Should yield some useful data.
Takuya thought that to himself and made up his mind.
'Yeah, let's use her as a test subject. Whatever the results, I can show them to Momiji later.'
He'd use this wretched woman for his hypnosis experiments.
With that resolve, Takuya hypnotized Momiji's mom (no need to remember her name either).
[Quit your job by the end of the month, then call the number on this paper. Until then, stay home and do absolutely nothing.]
With Momiji's mom dealt with too, I was done with... well, not everything.
There was still one place left to go.
'Momiji's probably still in her room, right?'
The room in the corner of my house where I'd stashed her—Mori's house, technically.
In fact, Momiji, who'd been staying at our house for the past few days, had holed herself up in that room.
I got it, though.
Abandoned by her parents and dropped into a strange place—who wouldn't shut themselves away?
Wasn't she fine during the rescue?
Yeah, I was there, and everything was so chaotic she didn't have time to think.
But once she reached safety, the relief and reality probably hit her like a truck.
The human mind is fragile as hell.
Like that timid soldier who slaughters dozens on a chaotic battlefield without batting an eye, but back at camp, he overreacts to everything—then one night, a gunshot at dawn, and he's dead. Or seeing that makes other soldiers steel their resolve even more.
Human minds are that unstable.
'Some weirdos see that and swear to survive no matter what.'
Anyway, knowing Momiji's head was a mess, I let her barricade herself in the house.
They say you need someone by your side in times like these, but sometimes you need to be alone.
That's why I gave her time to think.
'Well, truth be told, I planned to handle her mental care first, but she locked herself away before I could.'
Still, I figured I'd given her plenty of alone time.
Too short? Any longer, and she might turn into a full-blown hikikomori.
I don't have a hobby of raising parasites.
Takuya thought that as he tapped on the curtained window at the back of the house.
Why the window? If I went through the front door, Mom and the others might kick up a fuss again.
-Tap tap.
He tapped for a bit.
-Rustle.
The curtains parted, and Momiji appeared.
Her face—unseen, unheard for days—was surprisingly fine.
She must've made up her mind long ago.
Though her eyes had this scary edge that felt a little heavy.
As Takuya thought that, the sound of the window sliding open came.
—Slide.
Momiji poked her head out the open window.
"Hey... Takuya..."
She greeted me in her usual timid voice.
Takuya relaxed at her greeting and replied in kind.
"Hey. Long time no see."
At my words, Momiji shyly nodded, and we exchanged pleasantries.
After a brief chat, Takuya got to the point.
Which, naturally, was...
"Momiji, I went and saw both your parents today."
"Yeah."
"No guilt whatsoever."
"...Yeah."
About her parents.
Or more precisely...
"So... here's what I'm gonna do about it. That okay?"
The punishments I'd decided for Momiji's parents.
At my words, Momiji answered in a slightly trembling voice.
"Yeah... do that."
Her tone carried a mix of emptiness, despair, anger, and resentment.
Seems she'd clung to a faint hope right up to the end.
Having felt the same once, it hit me hard.
Momiji quietly trembled, shedding no tears, sorting out her feelings in silence.
Takuya watched her, then spoke up.
"Momiji, don't dwell too deep on your parents."
Not sure if it'd comfort her.
"It's natural to be angry and resentful. I'm not gonna tell you not to feel that."
Comfort wasn't my strong suit, and what happened to her was too dark and complicated for words alone.
"Hell, go ahead and rage and hate them as much as you want."
But at least, I didn't want her breaking here.
"But letting trash like them break you or hold you back from what you want? Ruining your future over that? Too wasteful, don't you think?"
"Don't let people like that wreck your life. You haven't even really started living yet—it's such a shame if they make it miserable from the jump."
I didn't want her becoming someone who stared at the past because of those losers.
"I want you to keep your potential. Live boldly, full of energy."
More confident than anyone, looking down on her parents' faces with utter disdain.
That's why I said it from the heart.
"So, chin up. No point hiding a pretty face like that."
At my words, Momiji sniffled back a sob.
"...Sniff, yeah... got it."
But even then, she didn't lift her head.
Harsh take: she hadn't accepted her past self yet. Kind take: she was embarrassed to cry in front of me.
'Guess she's embarrassed to let me see her cry.'
I decided to go with the positive spin.
Costs nothing to think nice thoughts.
"Once you're out of the hospital, Takuya... let's hang out for sure..."
She said as much herself.
I smiled and replied.
"Obviously."
With Momiji's matters settled, I snuck out of the house again and headed for the hospital.
Or tried to.
"What the—?"
The moment I stepped into the alley shortcut to the hospital, the scenery around me shifted completely.
And right after...
"You rotten brat! Why the hell didn't you show up?!"
I got yelled at by some old geezer with a monocle jammed in one eye.