Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Ayaka's Mom's Secret (2)
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In life, there are often times when you just can't manage your facial expressions.
"Aaang~♥"
"Ah, aaang."
And right now was one of those times for me.
I couldn't keep a straight face as I watched Ayaka's mom plastered right up against my side, feeding me bites of food.
No way. The only one who could keep a poker face in a situation like this would be some con artist grinning casually at a 10-billion-yen poker table.
In short, nobody could pull it off.
Anyway, I was eating Ayaka's mom's food in a total daze.
Honestly, it was delicious.
It had all my favorites—karaage, samgyeopsal (no idea how she knew about that one), salad, rice, and more. How could it not taste good?
The problem was, I was so flustered I couldn't tell if the food was going up my nose or into my mouth.
"Here, another aaang~♥"
"Aaang..."
Even as I diligently scarfed down the food (or rather, the bites Ayaka's mom was feeding me), I kept an eye on her reactions.
'She seems to just be enjoying herself...'
Ayaka's mom's face was all smiles, like she was purely delighted just to feed me.
No, honestly, she looked like she was genuinely savoring this exact moment with innocent joy.
Thanks to that, I seriously wondered if I should just relax and enjoy it too.
How much time had passed since I'd been sorting through my tangled thoughts while eating Ayaka's mom's food?
"Ugh, Mom... My stomach's stuffed."
I'd crammed so much food into my gut it felt like it might burst.
Ayaka's mom had piled it up like a four-story pagoda.
I couldn't ignore the effort she'd put into bringing it all, so with my shrunken body, I'd stuffed every last bit into my stomach through sheer willpower.
After finishing the meal like that.
Ayaka's mom looked at my bloated belly and smiled just as brightly as before.
"Hehe, Takuya. Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes. Thank you, it was delicious."
It really had been, so I nodded and replied honestly.
At my response, Ayaka's mom chuckled happily, and I took the chance to ask her.
"Ayaka's mom."
"Yes, what is it~?"
"Don't you think it's about time you told me how you knew I could use hypnosis?"
At my serious expression, Ayaka's mom seemed to understand and smiled back as she answered.
But oddly enough, her smile carried...
"Of course."
...an inexplicable sense of longing.
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We moved to a spot with a great view of the city skyline, like a scenic hilltop.
Well, it was pretty steep—more like a mountain, really, since it took a good half-hour drive to get up there.
Anyway, Ayaka's mom leaned against the weathered wooden fence at this prime vantage point and spoke with a thoughtful expression.
"Now then, where should I start?"
"From the beginning, if possible."
I figured if she started midway, I might not follow.
Ayaka's mom nodded at my answer and began recounting her past—specifically, from around the time Takuya was born.
Mori Ayaka had been born into a highly prestigious family.
Her mother came from a lineage renowned even before Japan was called an empire, and her father was a high-ranking government official.
Growing up under such parents, Ayaka received an extremely strict education.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—it was her older brother and sisters who were expected to uphold the family's honor.
So while Ayaka got the harsh upbringing, she wasn't saddled with the toughest tasks or the heaviest expectations.
Her parents knew full well that not every child could excel.
No great hopes meant no great disappointments.
Actually, from the start, Ayaka was little more than a gift to be packaged off to some capable man.
A token to cement alliances through marriage—"We'll give you this, so let's become family."
Ayaka didn't particularly object to her fate.
After all, this was why she'd been raised the way she was.
She had just one tiny wish she never voiced to anyone.
Life had been peaceful for Ayaka like that, but change eventually came.
The trigger was simple.
She'd reached adulthood, so it was time to arrange a marriage. First, they sent her to the hospital for a checkup to ensure her body was marriage-ready.
"Go get examined at the hospitals we specified."
"Understood."
But it didn't end as a simple checkup.
What should have been routine turned into a massive turning point in Ayaka's life.
It was inevitable. Because Ayaka...
"M-Me? Infertile?!"
"Yes, according to the results. It's quite severe..."
...was infertile. In other words, her body made pregnancy extremely difficult.
No, not just difficult—it might be impossible.
The news turned her family upside down.
A priceless gift meant for delivery had turned out defective. Chaos was only natural.
No, it went beyond chaos.
"It's because you raised her wrong."
"Infertile in this day and age..."
"Now we have to find someone else to introduce her to, damn it."
She'd caused trouble for the family, so demands for accountability came pouring in.
And hilariously enough...
"What the hell did you do to end up like this?!"
"Did you go off and fool around with some guy like your sister?!"
...the blame fell hardest on Ayaka herself, the one it hurt the most.
The doctor said it was congenital and could be improved gradually, but her parents hounded her instead.
Of course they did. They'd planned to sell her at peak value, and now she was unsellable. Who wouldn't be pissed?
But the one truly wounded was Ayaka herself.
'I can't have kids?'
Ayaka had always obeyed her parents, but she harbored one private dream: to have a child of her own.
To hold a baby sleeping peacefully in her arms—that was her long-cherished wish.
Maybe that's why she always played extra sweetly with her cousins' babies.
Having her precious child was her sole heartfelt desire.
And now it was shattered.
Ayaka suffered more than anyone in the family.
Though no one bothered to consider her feelings.
Time passed like that.
Ayaka was more or less abandoned by her family.
Not completely, of course.
Her parents hadn't expected much from her anyway, and since rehab might make pregnancy possible, they sent her to university to build her resume in the meantime.
Even that time was agony for Ayaka, though.
'Can I really have a baby someday?'
Waiting for the train to school, Ayaka rubbed her belly, lost in the worry she mulled over dozens of times a day.
It was just an ordinary stomach, same as always. But thinking about it—or rather, her womb—filled her with mounting anxiety.
The fear that she could never have the child she so desperately wanted.
'I don't know...'
That gnawing unease.
She let out a deep sigh and waited for the train, just like any other day.
It would have been nice if that's all there was to it, but today was an unlucky day.
"Hey, pretty lady, wanna hang with us?"
"I'm busy."
"Then gimme your number."
A gang of daytime thugs trying to pick her up latched on.
And they were persistent, which grated on her nerves big time.
She was about to yell for the station attendant when...
-Swish.
...a little girl in a pure white dress and hat, with black eyes and hair, suddenly grabbed her hand.
And moreover...
"Mommy. Let's go."
...she called her "mommy."
"Ah, uh, yeah. Let's go?"
It was so sudden, but Ayaka wasn't dumb enough to miss the opportunity. She grabbed the girl's hand and bolted.
Having escaped safely, Ayaka thanked the little girl who saved her.
"Thank you, little miss."
And in response...
"You really mean it?"
"Of course."
"Then..."
...with brazen confidence, as if it were the most natural thing in the world...
"Please raise me."
...she asked Ayaka to raise her.
That was the moment Ayaka felt an inexplicable twist of fate.
I'd been listening intently to Ayaka's mom's story, but I was a little dumbfounded.
Why sense fate from that? I couldn't help thinking.
No, honestly. It was just a rescue, and she felt destiny?
It seemed a bit odd, but whatever—if that's what she felt.
I was focusing hard on the rest of Ayaka's mom's tale when...
-Crack.
...a splitting sound came from the fence she was leaning on.
"Mom! Get away from the fence quick!"
Panicking at the noise, I shouted for her to move, but it was too late.
-Crash!
"Huh?"
Ayaka's mom tumbled down with the fence. Without a second's hesitation, I charged toward her.
-Thud!
With a massive crash, a heavy silence soon blanketed the hill where Ayaka's mom and Takuya had been.