In the end, even after that, there was no contact from the hag whatsoever.
Once, I got a message from Yanagawa, one of the executives, but the contents were trivial.
“The 30-billion-yen business deal has been taken over by Vice President Tsuguharu and concluded without any problems.”
“A missing person report was filed with the police and accepted.”
Hmph, Fujisaki Trading has a mountain of talented people.
Even with just one hag gone, the company is not going to tilt over.
Hiding my true nature, I replied to the message like a borrowed cat.
“Thank you for your trouble.”
After a short while, a notification arrives from Yanagawa again.
“Tomorrow, please take a day off from school and wait at home. I will accompany Attorney Midorikawa-sensei.”
Typing just “Understood,” I got annoyed and tossed my smartphone onto the table.
◆◆◆
“Fujisaki-kun, I’m hungry so order something on Woofer.”
“Tch, can’t be helped.”
Taking advantage of the fact that the nagging hag wasn’t around, I had called Yoko over again.
Her parents were noisy folks too, but here as well, the title “Young Master of Fujisaki” exerted its power.
The company where Yoko’s old man works is a subcontractor belonging to the Fujisaki group.
The moment he found out I was a person from Fujisaki, he turned the tables and kept quiet.
“I will take responsibility. In the future, I’ll prepare a fitting post for you, uncle, too.”
Just by saying that, far from staying quiet, he actively pushed Yoko onto me instead.
The mother muttered for a bit, but when I gifted her a Bruton bag and a T-Her perfume, she easily fell silent.
Now, even if I call her up in the middle of the night, none of Yoko’s family stops her.
Twenty-four hours a day, I can call her whenever convenient and process my sexual desire.
Unlike prostitution, no matter how much, going raw.
Right now, there are only 30,000 yen inside my wallet.
My family card remains confiscated by the hag.
Well, it’s fine; tomorrow Yanagawa will come. I should be able to get as much living expenses as I need.
“Ah, order whatever you like. In exchange, work hard for it tonight.”
“Yeah, okay…”
Saying that, what Yoko chose without holding back was a 12,000-yen luxury yakiniku bento.
…I’m getting kind of tired of this one, too.
When she had black hair, she still had some cuteness, but after making her change to flashy brown hair matching my preference, although her appearance became my favorite, her inside completely turned into that of a business woman.
Aside from being able to do it raw, she’s no different from a prostitute.
Shall I look at the timing and end it in the form of “Taking responsibility and handing over a breakup fee”?
That hag would probably lecture me saying, “How can you treat a girl so roughly,” but if I say something like, “There’s not a shred of affection. Even if I take responsibility and marry her, I’ll just turn into a domestic violence husband,” the hag will probably cover the alimony out of concern for societal appearances and it’ll be over.
It can be settled with that level of response.
I only ever said, “I’ll take responsibility.” I haven’t lied.
◆◆◆
The two of us devour the delivered yakiniku bento.
In the beginning, she used to be moved, saying, “Fujisaki-kun, thank you… It’s really delicious,” but now she just shovels it into her mouth in silence. She really lost her cuteness.
Sometimes, I suddenly have thoughts.
Like, “The thing I obtained thinking it was a sparkling bright jewel has turned into a mere pebble.”
At least, during the period when Kurokawa was in the middle causing trouble, Yoko was definitely the girl I liked the most.
But now, other girls look far more charming.
…Shall I look for the next one soon?
◆◆◆
I take a shower and tumble onto a king-sized bed.
The sound of water is still audible from the bathroom.
In the beginning, I used to demand her intensely, but now I don’t even feel like doing that.
I lie down like a tuna and make Yoko serve me.
That’s less bothersome, so it’s better.
“Thanks for waiting, Fujisaki-kun…”
Wearing a single bath towel, Yoko came to the bedside with her skin wet.
She has an unusually serious look on her face.
“Well then, please start…”
“—Um, wait, Fujisaki-kun. I… think I’m pregnant.”
Are you kidding me?
Well, we kept going raw without contraception, so if you call it a natural consequence, that’s that.
“Is that so…”
My enthusiasm plummeted all at once. The will to do it vanished.
“Fujisaki-kun, you said you’d ‘take responsibility’ when we did it raw, right? Mom and Dad also said, ‘Since Fujisaki-kun says he’ll take responsibility, give birth with peace of mind.’ …It’s okay to give birth, right?”
“Go home.”
“Eh… Fujisaki-kun?”
Crap, my natural voice just slipped out.
“—No. If you’re pregnant, it’ll interfere with your body. Sex is out of the question.”
“Hectic stuff might be no good, but I’m still in the stable period so it’s fine, right? Once my belly gets big, I won’t be able to keep you company, so while I still can…”
Now that she mentions it, I feel like her body has started getting rounded lately.
She seems to have gained a little weight, and the area around her nipples has also darkened.
I hate it. It gives me the creeps. I absolutely refuse to become a father at this age.
“No good, what if something happens to the baby in your belly. Go home today.”
“Fujisaki-kun… I’m uneasy. Won’t you stay with me?”
Ah, she’s really annoying.
In a hurry, I put back on the mask of a gentle boyfriend.
“I’ll tell you honestly. Right now, I’m super pent-up. If such a charming Yoko is beside me like that, I might lose my reason and get rough with you. That child is ‘someone who carries Fujisaki’s blood’. If by any chance a miscarriage or something happens, I don’t know how much blame both Yoko and I will get from our parents. Therefore, please go home today.”
She’s making an overtly happy face. Gross.
“Is that so… But it’s hard for Fujisaki-kun to hold back, right? Hey, shall I do it with my mouth?”
“Just go home! Here, taxi fare.”
I pulled a 5,000-yen bill out of my wallet and shoved it into Yoko’s hand.
“Fujisaki-kun…”
She stares at me with moist eyes.
I wanted to wipe this woman’s face from my field of vision as quickly as possible.
“Don’t make a face like that. Go back home now and quietly rest your body.”
“Yeah… I’m not in that kind of state yet, and my belly isn’t big either. But if Fujisaki-kun is that worried about me, I’ll go home. Will you see me off downstairs?”
“Ah.”
While the hag is away, a troublesome thing has happened.
Before it becomes a big deal, tomorrow, swallowing my shame, do I have no choice but to consult Yanagawa and the others?
◆◆◆
The next day, while I was waiting in the room, the electronic sound of the intercom echoed through the space.
“Tetsuya-kun, it’s Yanagawa.”
Peeking at the monitor, there were the figures of Yanagawa and Midorikawa the lawyer.
But what surprised me even more was the figure of Uncle Tsuguharu standing behind them.
“Uncle Tsuguharu! I’ll open it now.”
For the vice president, my uncle, to come personally—is it really a serious matter after all?
I invited the three of them into the spacious living room and offered them a sofa.
“…”
The silence hurts. The mild atmosphere they usually directed toward me was completely absent.
The one who opened his heavy mouth was Midorikawa the lawyer.
“I will explain the current situation. Currently, Misako-sama is missing, and a missing person report has been submitted to the police and accepted.”
“I heard that yesterday from Yanagawa-san.”
“Yes. However, it is hard to think that Misako-sama would disappear without any grand rationale right before an important contract. Therefore, we will begin preparations for filing a ‘Declaration of Disappearance’ with the family court. Because of this, if her whereabouts remain unknown for seven years, legally, Misako-sama will be deemed to have passed away. We are holding a will entrusted to us by Misako-sama, so it will take the form of being executed seven years from now.”
“…So, what should I do for those seven years?”
“I, as your legal counsel, will become the ‘Administrator of Absent Property,’ and Tsuguharu-san will become Tetsuya-sama’s ‘Guardian’.”
“Is that so. Well then, right away, my living expenses—”
“About that though,”
Uncle Tsuguharu, who had been silent until then, cut in with a cold voice.
“First, I am going to have you evacuate this tower apartment immediately.”
“Ha!? What are you saying, Uncle, if I get kicked out of here, I won’t have a place to live!”
“This is not Misako-san’s personal asset. It is company property and treated as company housing and dormitories. There is no logic in letting the family of an employee who is missing live here any longer.”
“That’s… I’m a high school student now, but in the future, I’m going to inherit this company!? Isn’t it fine, just that much!”
“Tetsuya, do not misunderstand. There is not a one-in-ten-thousand chance of a future where you inherit the company.”
It was like having cold water poured over me.
“Stupid… I am that ha—Mom’s son, you know!?”
“Fujisaki Trading is a stock company. My deceased older brother, Tetsuyaji, held 30% of the shares, but Misako-sama returned all of them, saying, ‘The main family of Fujisaki should hold the shares, not me.’ In other words, she does not hold a single share. The reason Misako-sama sat in the president’s chair is because she was an exceptional manager. Tetsuyaji-niisan bought into her capability, gave her the vice president’s seat, and after he died she simply slid right into being president. Misako-sama, who held no shares from the beginning, has no decision-making authority.”
“No way…”
Despair runs up my spine. Uncle Tsuguharu’s declaration does not stop.
“Equal chances were given to you who carry the Fujisaki surname. The right to receive advanced education, tuition fees provided as much as you wished, opportunities to study abroad. But you yourself threw all of that into the drain. Even entering a third-rate university is likely precarious for you right now, isn’t it? Where is the fool who would entrust the fate of 300 employees to such a person?”
“Then, what happens to me?”
“If you are going to remain in this town, I will rent a single apartment for you. Midorikawa-sensei, as her guardian, what is a reasonable amount to hand over to a high school student living alone?”
“Including rent, somewhere from 100,000 to 130,000 yen per month would be reasonable, I believe.”
“So he says. We will provide 130,000 yen including rent. You can live a life fitting your station with that… or else, you can retreat to the countryside.”
“Countryside…?”
“You know a boy named Ren Kurokawa, don’t you?”
My heart leaped. Why is Kurokawa’s name coming up here?
“…What about Kurokawa?”
“This is a report from our company’s investigation department. Before disappearing, Misako-sama visited Kurokawa’s apartment to offer an apology for your misconduct. And right after that, Kurokawa’s whereabouts also became unknown.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Whether there is a relation or not does not matter. If the president of Fujisaki Trading goes missing, it will immediately become prime fodder for the mass media. In that process, if the fact that the boy you persistently bullied went missing at the same time becomes public, it could turn into a fatal scandal for the Fujisaki family. It is wiser for you to hide from the public eye before that happens… You decide what you will do.”
Even Kurokawa vanished…? You’ve got to be kidding me!
And besides, if they find out I have no money, the lackeys I’ve been bossing around until now are bound to all abandon me at once.
No, there might even be some who come out seeking revenge.
However, the biggest problem is elsewhere.
“Umm…”
Enduring the unpleasant feeling rising from the bottom of my stomach, I squeezed it out.
“I… got a woman pregnant. I have to take responsibility…”
Uncle didn’t move a single eyebrow as he looked down at me coldly.
“As your guardian, I will not put out a single yen for that purpose. If you want to take responsibility as a man, the story is simple.”
“…What should I do?”
“In the sense of hiding yourself from society, you will withdraw from high school immediately. I will have you find employment as a field laborer at ‘Fujisaki Fisheries’ in Hokkaido. Midorikawa-sensei and I will go talk to that girlfriend’s parents. If the other side wishes for marriage with you, the two of you should cross over to Hokkaido and live within the range of your salary. If they refuse, we will pay alimony, and if the other side chooses to give birth, acknowledge the child and continue paying child support deducted straight from your salary. That is all. All options belong to the other side.”
“That’s… going too far…!”
“I am not as sweet as Misako-san. This is the first and last time I will clean up your mess. There is no one left to shield you. I do not know whether Misako-san will return or not, but in the worst case, there is also the possibility she has already passed away. Seven years pass, and if her death is confirmed, the inheritance will be handed over according to the will. Until then, do not think you can rely on anyone.”
“…Please let me think about it.”
“Think? Do you think you have such time? Countermeasures against the media and an apology to that daughter’s house are waiting ahead. Decide right now.”
Damn it, what should I do?
If I stay here, it’s hell. Having lost the high stepping stone of money, I don’t know what kind of treatment I’d suffer from the guys I’ve looked down on until now.
“…I will go to Hokkaido.”
With a voice that was fading away, I answered just that.
There were no escape routes left anywhere anymore.
For the next seven years, I have no choice but to survive crawling on the ground.