kscans

Chapter 70 - Generation Gap

"I can't believe I've reunited with Suzuki-kun too."

I mutter to myself while drinking alone, pouring my own drinks. Rika still hasn't come home. She was complaining about having to deal with perverts again for another Mutual Aid Society request. I feel sorry for her, but those types keep popping up no matter how many you crush, so I hope she hangs in there. Well, perverts aside, the real problem is Takahashi-kun and Suzuki-kun... or maybe I should be calling them with "-san" now.

"It's awkward... awkward, but..."

If I'm going to keep being involved with Hiro-kun, I can't avoid the issue with those two. I certainly don't intend to cut ties with them. We've met again after all this time. This time for sure... and there I go getting sidetracked again. I suppose that just shows how much guilt I'm carrying.

"Sigh... if we're talking about victim versus perpetrator, I'm overwhelmingly the victim, but..."

Hiro-kun completely crushed all their schemes to capture me. Even though I have my feelings about Yanagi and Onisaki, the main reason I was able to come to terms with it all was because of that. I haven't faced them yet, but if I were to meet those guys, I wouldn't feel particularly awkward. That's ultimately because they were never more than enemies to me. But Takahashi-k... san and Suzuki-san are different. They were friends.

"Being the only girl... I sometimes felt a bit left out."

But I was able to enjoy those pleasant daily moments. The main reason I longed for life in the surface world was Hiro-kun, but those two were also benefactors who helped me realize that. Yes, that's exactly why I couldn't forgive them. Of course I was angry about them betraying Hiro-kun too. But what I couldn't forgive even more was that they tried to ruin those sparkling, jewel-like everyday moments with their own hands. Having lived carefree lives in the warm sunlight, why would they do something to muddy all that?

"Maybe they couldn't recognize the true value of what they had because it was always just there..."

That's probably part of it. But Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san looked genuinely happy when they were being silly with Hiro-kun. They treasured that time, didn't they? So why betray it? I think in some ways, I felt more betrayed by those two than Hiro-kun did.

"You... traitors! Short●! ▲shaft! Prema■! Scum! Saggy××!!"

"Chika-chan...?"

Every time we encountered each other on the battlefield, I hurled terrible insults at them. What I just remembered is just the tip of the iceberg. I threw all sorts of things at them that I hesitate to even mention now. Hiro-kun was taken aback. He even scolded me, saying girls shouldn't talk like that. But all the insults in my repertoire back then were recycled from things Hiro-kun had used. So I don't think Hiro-kun had the right to lecture me... though I couldn't say that at the time.

"...Awkward."

Just utterly awkward. They apparently don't mind it, and apparently even feel bad about having targeted me. But in the end, no real harm was done, right? Thanks to Hiro-kun, I was always able to stay in the winner's position. Meanwhile, they were underdogs among underdogs, having their schemes constantly thwarted by Hiro-kun until the very end, and then having that done to them. It feels wrong somehow for the winner to resent the losers.

"But this can't continue like this."

Hiro-kun's birthday is coming up soon. They'll definitely invite him. I want to invite him too. I've been secretly discussing with Rika what to give him as a present. I don't want to make him choose between us. Ideally, we'd all celebrate Hiro-kun together... but I still can't bring myself to take that step.

"How pathetic. No wonder Rika is disappointed in me."

Just then, Rika came home, gnawing on dried squid. I want to scold her for her bad manners, but seeing her stone-faced expression, I can't say anything. Good work today.

"Oh? Mom, you're already home?"

"Yes, work is starting to settle down."

We're finally cooling down heading into the Obon holiday.

"Huh? Good work."

"You too. ...Hey Rika, I have something I want to consult you about."

"? That's unusual. Sure, go ahead."

"If you had a fight with a friend and things became awkward... what would you do, Rika?"

Children sometimes offer opinions that even adults find surprising. It's pathetic to consult my own child, but I've already shown her plenty of pathetic sides, so it's too late now.

"Hmm."

Rika tosses the squid into her mouth, chews it with a crunching sound, and swallows it with a gulp. Now what will this child say... huh? Rika tottered around behind me. What's this? Is she going to massage my shoulders? To console her mother who's tired from work and relationships? Oh my, how nice—

"~~~?!"

SMACK! She slapped my back hard. Huh, sudden domestic violence? Why? Why? Why at this moment? Actually, I should scold her first.

"Rika! What are you suddenly..."

"That's my answer."

"Huh?"

"If you're asking that question, you've already made up your mind, haven't you? You're an adult, so there's no way you don't know what to do."

That's...

"Mom just wants someone to give her a push. So I gave you a good strong one to pump you up."

"——"

"There! Now Mom is all set! Reconciliation confirmed♪"

Looking at Rika making a V-sign and smiling, I thought from the bottom of my heart:

"...I can't compete with you."

She's immature in many childish ways. But Rika has grown more than I, her mother, realize. She's much more admirable than I was at her age.

"Thank you. Mom feels encouraged."

"That's the Great Wall... why does the Great Wall of China come up when something good happens?"

...But I'd like her to study a bit harder.

"But seriously, Mom, you get into fights with friends?"

"Well... I'm human. I have the occasional fight."

"Huh? What was the cause? Oh, you don't have to say if you don't want to."

"It's fine. You remember Takahashi-k... san, who you met at the beach before?"

"Oh yeah. That perverted channel person. You fought with him?"

Perverted channel...

"Yes, with Takahashi-san and one other person."

"What did you do? What did they do? From your tone, it sounds like both sides were at fault?"

"Yes. They were trying to kidnap me, sacrifice me, and mess up the world."

"...Excuse me?"

"So I got angry and said all sorts of insults I can't repeat..."

"Wh-wh-wh... wait a minute?"

"? What?"

"What do you mean 'what'! You can't discuss that topic with the same casual tone you'd use to talk about dinner plans!"

I return a wry smile to Rika, who's shouting that the reason for the fight suddenly became world-class.

"The sacrifice thing ultimately didn't work out at all, so it's fine."

"No, it's not fine."

"But all the people who were targeting me got thoroughly dealt with by Hiro-kun."

"Thoroughly dealt with means..."

"Well, you know how there's this term 'digital tattoo' nowadays?"

"Y-yeah."

"Social media wasn't as developed back then, but if the environment had been the same as today..."

"If it had been...?"

Rika asks with a fearful tone.

"Hiro-kun would have become a tattoo artist, carving permanent tattoos on lots of enemies."

Those from the Chaos Army and True World who opposed Hiro-kun were left with indelible scars in their hearts and departed the stage. The hardcore fanatics who remained until the final battle were just killed outright, but the casual participants...

"...I really feel sorry for them, even though they were enemies."

"It was that bad?!"

It was that bad. It was so terrible that even I, the complete victim, was appalled. What was terrible was that the reason for those cruel deeds wasn't deep love for me or profound anger, which would have been really awful. I mean, there probably was some anger about them targeting me, but... that person really comes after you socially with such a light attitude. After Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san disappeared and I started operating as a duo with him, I was usually appalled by the plans Hiro-kun proposed. Well, I didn't function as a moral circuit either, so I was an accomplice.

"And Takahashi-san and Suzuki-san, well, they were forcibly gender-swapped..."

"Gender-swapped?!"

"Yes. Not through surgery or anything, but perfect transformation using occult power. Apparently even their thinking changes from male to female."

"Uncle can do that?!"

"Now... Rika, you've been making too much noise. Please be a bit more ladylike."

"Anyone who could stay calm about this would be seriously messed up in the head!"

Sigh... teenage daughters are difficult.