kscans

Chapter 34 - Family Matters

Here is my summary of Erina-san's story.

First, Erina-san's grandparents moved to Japan for work.

Then, their daughter—who would become her and Aira-san's mother—had an arranged marriage meeting with the Miyoshi family.

It was a marriage between two rather prominent families, and since the couple was handsome and beautiful, everyone celebrated. From the outside, it was a good match, so of course they would.

Of course, the marriage was based on the couple's romantic feelings for each other. So it was.

However, the mother was having an affair.

Aira-san and Miyoshi-san—whom I'll call Mia-san for now—were 'sisters with different fathers.'

This came to light when Aira-san's 'biological father' came to the mother's house to demand money. He was a man who, as Erina-san uncharacteristically spat, was handsome but a scumbag.

The lover and the mother had apparently dated in their student days. They had grown distant, but were reunited at a class reunion… and so on.

Miyoshi-san's father requested DNA tests from multiple institutions to prove his wife's innocence. But all of them revealed the sad truth.

Aira-san's father was the lover.

After that, the mother initiated the divorce and sued Miyoshi-san's father for 'domestic violence.'

The trial dragged on for a long time, but Miyoshi-san's father said, 'I'm tired of it,' and the divorce was finalized. With a considerable amount of alimony in hand, the mother and her lover left.

…With custody of Aira-san.

However, it was the grandmother who put a stop to that. The 'Grandma' Aira-san talks about.

'If you're going to raise a child, do it after you've reformed yourself.'

According to Erina-san, it was the first time she had ever seen her grandmother so angry. Of course it was.

And so, Aira-san alone went to live with her grandparents, while the mother and her lover used 'visiting their child' as an excuse to come to their house and demand money.

This continued for three years, and the grandmother finally began to seriously consider 'throwing them into the proper place,' as she put it. …This was when Aira-san was in high school.

The mother and her lover committed suicide.

After drinking heavily, they drove their car straight into the sea. There was a suicide note in the house where they lived, and the contents were so unbearable that Erina-san omitted the details.

If it had just been resentment and grudges against the grandmother for cutting off their financial support, it would have been better. Well, not better, but the person it was written to apparently ignored it with a straight face.

The problem was the words addressed to Aira-san.

'Why don't you die with us? We'll be waiting.'

After reading this, even the grandmother collapsed. It was probably also because her husband had died of an illness shortly before this. To think that her own daughter would leave such a message for her granddaughter and die.

But let's get back to the point. Why did this lead to a rift between the sisters?

"This is just my guess, for the most part, but…"

After that preface, Erina-san shared her theory.

Aira-san has a strong complex about her birth and the words and looks she received from her mother.

Mia-san, on the other hand, believes that 'mother chose my sister.'

It's not uncommon for children who have been abused to have strong feelings of love and attachment to their parents. Even if they are, to put it mildly, the scum of the earth, a parent is special to a child.

On top of that, until the affair was discovered, their mother was truly… an ideal 'mother.'

Add to that Aira-san's academic excellence, which she had apparently shown since she was young… and they ended up in a situation where they were 'jealous of each other.'

…According to Erina-san, 'their mother said something to the sisters when she divorced.' The content of that statement is apparently unknown.

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After hearing the above family circumstances, which could be called Aira-san's past.

"I feel sick…"

`Hang in there, Kyouta-chan! Hee-hee-hoo!!`

"That's for pushing things out…"

`Your comebacks have lost their edge!?`

This was not a story to be heard out of idle curiosity.

It's no laughing matter. After hearing such a heavy story, what kind of face am I supposed to make when I see Aira-san next?

"Still, as a high school student…"

`Yeah. Around that time, you know.`

"So, the time Aira-san got into a fistfight with an elementary school girl was also because she was stressed out from that…"

`No. That was because Pai-sen used an unsportsmanlike move during a trading card game battle at the park, and it escalated into a real fight. The deciding move was a headbutt to the jaw, apparently.`

"Ah, right. I see."

I can't believe Aira-san's disappointing episode is acting as a palate cleanser…

`By the way, I heard that Senpai's father, Miyoshi-san, remarried and had another daughter!`

"Ugh…"

His wife's affair caused a divorce, and then he gets a stepmother and a half-sister.

`Grandpa and Grandma felt so sorry that they went all out to find him a new marriage partner. She's a good person, and she's nice to Senpai, so their family relations are good, but…`

"Of course that would make things complicated."

Even if they are good people, it's beyond awkward.

`In Grandma and Grandpa's generation and background, it was standard practice to find a better marriage partner as a way of settling things like this… Oh, there was talk of Senpai going to live with Grandma and Grandpa too, but Senpai refused. She went to a boarding school for middle and high school and is now living alone as a university student.`

"Has there been anything but complicating factors from the start?"

`And that's why things are the way they are!!`

A very cheerful reply came. Right. Of course, that's how it is.

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"…The two of them don't hate each other, do they?"

`Nope. In fact, I think they love each other? Pai-sen even has a life-sized photo of Senpai on her bedroom wall.`

"That's a little creepy."

`I think it's because they love each other that they're so conscious of each other.`

"…I see."

For now, I've heard what I was curious about.

And I've already figured out what I should do.

"Erina-san."

`What is it?`

"Please tell me a lot of Aira-san's disappointing episodes. Enough to overwrite the story I just heard."

`Leave it to me! I've got a mountain of stories about Pai-sen's bloopers and fine plays!!`

What I should do. It's not to change my attitude towards Aira-san because of the story I just heard.

I don't want things to be weird between us when she's navigating for me in the dungeon. We even play games together sometimes.

In that case, I have no choice but to reset my impression of her with her disappointing episodes…!

For a moment, the angel on my shoulder said, 'Be a man and mediate between the two of them to reconcile the sisters!' But the devil and my reason beat it to a pulp.

If I had that kind of social skill and drive… I wouldn't still be a loner in the classroom…

Besides, when a third party sticks their nose into this kind of thing, it usually doesn't end well. I'm not the protagonist of a story; I'll just make things worse with my unnecessary meddling.

In fact, the fact that things are still like this even with the embodiment of action, Erina-san, around tells you just how complicated the situation is…!!

`First off, in middle school, Pai-sen introduced herself to the class as 'Silver Bullet'! The strongest vampire hunter!!`

"That's going to hit a lot of people, but first, are you okay, Erina-san? Did you take any fatal damage?"

`Huh? Why? I think that introduction is super cool!!`

"I see."

This self-proclaimed ninja is strong. I look forward to seeing her in a few years.

`There's more to this story! The very next day, Pai-sen started talking about being an onmyoji or something, so her backstory had a contradiction on the second day!`

"Oof, that's rough…"

Wait, could this be damaging me too?

………That cringey notebook I wrote in middle school. I'll burn it next time… No, maybe I should try to decompose it to the molecular level with alchemy…

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The next day. At the Dungeon Store.

`Are you ready, Kyouta-kun, Erina-kun?`

"Yes, Pai-sen!"

"Yes. …Um."

`What is it, Kyouta-kun? Do you want to know my three sizes? Unfortunately, that's a top secret! You should keep your adolescent curiosity in check! Hahaha!`

"Aira-san, is it true that in middle school you claimed to be 'Silver Bullet,' 'the reincarnation of Abe no Seimei,' and 'the Knight of the Round Table who left no name'?"

`Hssss… Kyouta-kun. Who did you hear that story from?`

"I told him! Ahem!!"

`Erina-kuuuuun!!`

A wail echoed from the earring.

Yep, that's the usual Aira-san!

`In about five hundred years, when I die, I'll be reborn as Abe no Seimei, hunt vampires, reincarnate, and become a Knight of the Round Table…!! Then it won't be a dark history, it'll be a prophecy…!`

"First of all, you're planning to live for five hundred years…"

`Well, I'm half-elf, you know. I don't really know what my lifespan is like. I've heard of elderly people becoming elves and getting younger, but it's only been two years since the 'Day of Awakening.'`

"I plan to live to be 130!!"

"Are you challenging the limits of your cells?"

`Ahem! That's enough idle chatter. Let's go to the dungeon! And get a good knock on the head while you're at it!`

"You want me to get amnesia?"

`Indeed!!!`

"At least deny it, please."

With my mouth in a 'へ' shape, I finished my final equipment check in front of the gate.

"Let's go, Kyouta-chan! Forwaaard march!!"

"Yeah."

I confirmed that Erina-san had placed her hand on my shoulder and passed through the white door.

───The first dungeon exploration since the sale of drop items was permitted had begun.