Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Picked Up a Big-Breasted Woman on the Road (4)
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Suzuki Haruka.
Her life had been incredibly bleak.
From a young age, she had sensed that she was different from others.
It was only natural. Even when her mom or dad cried or laughed, she couldn't quite grasp those emotions.
This wasn't just because she lacked tact.
She carried a mental illness.
This condition set her apart from everyone else.
But she didn't particularly hate it or resent it.
"Haruka, let's sleep together with Mommy!"
"She's plenty grown up now, dear. Let her sleep alone."
"But..."
"I wanna sleep together..."
"Really?!"
At the very least, even if other emotions eluded her, she could clearly feel how much her parents loved her.
And then there were computers, which she adored.
So she figured she wasn't all that different from anyone else.
And that belief of hers...
"You're weird."
...started to crack the moment she was thrown into the little society of school.
"Why?"
"Everyone else is sad, but you don't look sad at all!"
The initial trigger was something incredibly trivial.
Just failing to cry along with a sad classmate. A minor thing.
It was so insignificant that there were no real issues for the first few years.
The real problems arose as she—and the other kids—grew older.
Haruka didn't blend in as she matured. She came off as this quirky kid lost in her own world.
'Maybe we should get her tested.'
Her third-grade elementary homeroom teacher knew it all too well.
So the teacher recommended counseling with the best intentions.
"Kids! Haruka has a disability, so we need to be nice to her!"
But that counseling flipped her life upside down.
No one knew where the info came from, but one of her classmates spread a rumor around school that she had a mental disability.
She neither confirmed nor denied it.
Luckily, her elementary school cracked down hard on bullying, so she never faced any ijime.
The real trouble started in middle school.
On her mother's strong recommendation, she attended an all-girls middle school. And there...
Knock... knock... knock.
...she had to face malice she'd never encountered before.
People often make one big mistake.
They think girls together means no bullying, just harmony.
But reality was the opposite.
Haruka endured even more persistent and vicious bullying than in elementary school.
The reasons? Nothing major.
Precisely—there were no real reasons.
She just acted differently from the "normal" kids. That was it.
You think that's not enough to justify it?
Children can be far more cruel and brutal than adults ever imagine.
Normally, her father should have noticed and complained to the school or punished the culprits. But her patriarchal, rigid dad just scolded her for having a weak mind—or worse, beat her for messing with "girly" things like computers.
The bullies were sly too, tormenting her in ways that left no visible bruises.
So Haruka was left to fend for herself.
Her mother wanted to transfer her or raise hell with the school, but her husband's fierce opposition killed that.
Thanks to him, the bullying dragged on through all of middle school—and didn't stop in high school.
No. With his business failures piling up, her half-burned-out father started beating her harder each day. And the girls at her all-girls high school amped up the abuse after seeing her state.
She survived only thanks to her mother.
"Haruka... I'm sorry... It's all Mommy's fault... I'm so sorry, Haruka..."
"..."
"I'm sorry... What a worthless mom I am... Really..."
Haruka's mother swiftly handled the divorce and school withdrawal, then moved them to a rural-urban mix in Miyagi Prefecture.
Word was, it was a villa her grandparents had lived in.
Once settled in Miyagi, Haruka could pursue whatever she liked.
From little hobbies like bug-watching, leaf studies, or nature observation...
...to computer studies and part assembly, which had fascinated her since childhood.
This freedom laid the groundwork for her talents to bloom... no, fully blossom.
Less than a year into serious computer study, she could assemble and set up market PCs flawlessly.
By year two, she mastered all sorts of computer functions.
By year four, ordinary computers bored her.
That's when she stumbled upon supercomputers.
No longer satisfied with the mundane, Haruka dove into supercomputer studies like mad. Not content, she yearned to tinker—but lacking funds, she built her own.
Of course, her supercomputer, pieced from nearby rich folks' castoffs and junkyard wrecks, had pitiful performance.
But crafting that from scraps proved her genius.
One day, after tweaking and upgrading her supercomputer as usual, it was time for a photosynthetic stroll.
"Hehe. You guys are working hard, huh? Go for it! Go for it!"
She was cheerfully ant-watching as usual when a car sped toward her. Distracted, Haruka didn't notice—and nearly met disaster.
-Roll roll roll.
But a man dove in, tumbling with her into the field. Crisis averted.
Dazed from the roll, Haruka shook it off and looked at her savior.
He was yelling at the car in some unknown language. Probably cursing it out.
After venting, he turned with a gentle smile. Watching him approach, Haruka recalled a fairy tale her mother once read her.
The one with a prince who raged at injustice, was kind to the weak, and saved those in peril.
For some reason, thinking of that prince made her heart race faster than usual.
And that quickened heartbeat gave her courage for things she'd never do.
-Thump. Thump.
"Whoa, Prince Charming?"
Words she'd never say normally.
And this action.
-Click.
"You saved me, so... Prince."
Haruka brazenly scooped up her savior—no, Takuya—and hauled him home.
Once home, she introduced him to Mom. They talked...
And then...
"Haruka's talents should never be dismissed by anyone."
He acknowledged her hobby... no, her gift.
A gift even her family ignored.
-Thump! Thump! Thump!
She felt her heart pound even harder, and being sharp, she realized why.
'Am I... falling for Takuya?'
She had fallen for Takuya.
Someone might scoff—what's the big deal? But risking his life to save her wasn't enough; he validated her lifelong unrecognized talent. Even a stone would fall for that.
Smart Haruka quickly accepted her feelings and knew how to ease the flutters.
'We were supposed to bathe together, right?'
Only flaw: she'd learned it online. Minor nitpick.
Of course, oblivious Takuya was just baffled by the situation.
He glanced sideways at Haruka soaking beside him.
Here she was, in the bath with a guy, calmly wetting herself down.
'Why'd she suddenly join me? Just wanted to bathe together? Or...'
Watching her, Takuya's mind raced with theories, but he couldn't figure out Haruka's motive.
Haruka eyed him with concern.
"..."
After fretting over Takuya, she pondered briefly, then spoke while gazing at him.
"Takuya."
"Yeah?"
With that, she dropped the towel shielding her chest, exposing herself fully.
"Wanna touch my boobs?"
"Sure."
Hearing that, Haruka thought:
Men really are as simple as they say in books and online.