Chapter 88: Two mothers.

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Translated and Edited by: luccayn.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you're close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it's cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one's older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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“Miyoko-san, you lied, didn’t you?”

“I lied… you say?”

“Yes, you did. Have you forgotten? It was on her twelfth birthday that Michiru left this place. Even if it was only an attempt, she was also caught up in the ritual.”

“You! What are you suddenly—”

“Shut up!!”

Michiru and Chisato flinched, their shoulders jumping as they looked at me. But I didn’t care; I pointed my index finger forcefully at the priest.

It was an overly dramatic pose, but effective enough against a man as vile and cunning as the priest. Because making clear who is just and who is evil is the most necessary step in settling things.

And this man is the typical piece of trash who wants to believe he stands in the light. A scumbag who preys on people’s weaknesses while pretending to be a saint.

If so, I’ll drag him into the darkness myself. I’m no ally of justice.

“I believe I told outsiders to shut up, Father. Don’t make me say the same thing over and over.”

“Y-You b*****d…”

Of course, no comeback would come to mind.

Fighting is, after all, something you only get good at through experience. Even the vocabulary for this kind of argument won’t come to mind unless you constantly predict patterns.

Until today, you’ve surrounded yourself with women who do whatever you say. The refined eloquence you remember is merely phrasing for brainwashing and domination. As a weapon to strike with, it’s third-rate or lower; you can’t kill an enemy with a sword made of gold and jewels.

We have different levels of experience, you moron.

“Therefore, Michiru knows what goes on in this church. There is no need to hide it.”

“…That cannot be.”

Miyoko-san shook her head in denial. Her expressionless mask peeled away instantly, squeezing out a thin voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

“Yes, you would think so. Because you falsified Michiru’s birthday. From your perspective, there was no reason for her to be involved in the ritual.”

“W-What do you mean?”

Michiru asked in a trembling voice.

“Did you forget? Ukai said, ‘The bad news came in fours.’ And my real age is eighteen to nineteen. If so, my sister Michiru should be the same age or close to it.”

“That means…”

“In other words, you had already turned twelve a year before you ran away. Miyoko-san had orchestrated it so the priest wouldn’t violate you since before you were old enough to understand.”

However, there is a puzzling point in this deduction. Why did Miyoko-san need to fudge Michiru’s age? More specifically, why did she need to protect her for just one single year?

“But thinking about it, this was also obvious. When Michiru turned twelve in reality, Miyoko-san had a plan to send her outside the church. Because there was such a promise, she only needed to buy one year of time. Am I wrong?”

“…I don’t know.”

“And the person you intended to entrust her to was Ukai Toru. None other than Michiru’s father. You were thinking of letting Michiru escape to Ukai.”

Before she could ask what proof I had, I borrowed Michiru’s smartphone and displayed a single image.

“I had been wondering why Michiru has an image of this tattoo design.”

“What is so concerning about that?”

“Because it makes no sense. An image of a sketched illustration, not on a body. Moreover, saved right before the image of me. It’s clearly strange for her, who was separated from that guy and raised in the Tsukino household, to have it.”

According to Michiru, the photo she used to search for me was one Yamakawa uploaded to SNS. That was taken around the rainy season, meaning half a year ago is undoubtedly when Michiru got the tattoo illustration, or rather, the original drawing.

“Then, the question is who handed this to her. Since the illustration is the original drawing, it is, of course, the tattoo artist who inked Ukai.”

“…No, stop.”

“During your penalty activities, you contacted the tattoo artist, your only connection, and investigated where Michiru was.”

“E-Enough already. I was in the wrong.”

“At that time, you encountered an unexpected development. Michiru had been picked up by a certain wealthy family and was active as a race queen. It’s such a conspicuous profession; there must have been countless ways to find her.”

I wonder what Michiru thought. She gently placed her hand over Miyoko-san’s, who was desperately trying to stop me, to silence her.

“Witnessing your daughter living with all her might, you were deeply ashamed of your own existence. A barely sixteen-year-old girl was calmly managing the independence you couldn’t achieve. As a mother, as a woman, how great must that sense of inferiority have been?”

“…”

“And aside from the intense self-hatred, you must have also thought this: ‘I must never get in my daughter’s way.'”

Half a year ago, I met Michiru in front of the station. At that time, she was in plain clothes and holding a tote bag. I’m not certain, but I believe that errand of Michiru’s was the day she met the tattoo artist, the day she obtained the original drawing of the tattoo.

Because of that dry sound that rang out when she lightly hit me with the tote bag. That was the sound of something like a tube containing the original drawing.

“That’s why you left life with her father up to Michiru’s own choice. You believed that if she wanted her father, she could find him with just that illustration. You felt that forcing the answer on her would restrict her way of life, so you decided to give her only a hint.”

“I, I…”

“Hey, Michiru.”

And then, I spoke the words to break Michiru’s curse.

“Your mother doesn’t hate you.”

It’s obvious.

In reality, she must have been terrified from the bottom of her heart. Michiru has long since overcome the priest. Being the Michiru who could so easily relegate the events at Shirayuri-ga-oka Academy to the past, there is no way she was trembling in fear of such a petty man.

Then, what was she afraid of? It was resentment from Miyoko-san, whom she had abandoned.

The reason people cannot rejoice in their own happiness is, in the end, nothing but guilt. Even before falling in love, and even after, she struggled with the question, ‘Is it okay for me to be happy?’

Thinking of it that way explains her way of life until today. It makes sense why she chose a life of giving courage to others. Her underlying spirit of self-sacrifice, the circumstances where she disregarded herself—all these elements determined who she was.

Tsukino Michiru’s lifelong regret. That was precisely the act of choosing Kakeru.

“…Takatsuki Shinji-kun, was it?”

“Yes. What is it, Miyoko-san?”

“Do you, perhaps, understand why Toru-san betrayed Michiru and me?”

“Yes. If you mean the events when Michiru was twelve, rather than the reason you came to the church. Then, yes.”

I want to hear it. Saying that, she looked down.

“It’s my fault, Miyoko-san.”

“…Eh?”

“Because I went to Ukai to repay my foster parents’ debt, he took a great liking to me. If not for that, the promise would likely have been fulfilled.”

And if not for that, Michiru’s life would have been something completely different. I have no intention of making excuses, but it is sad that I cannot think that led to her happiness.

It is all my fault.

“…I see. So you were Michiru’s big brother.”

Is she superimposing Ukai’s image onto me? She narrowed her eyes wistfully, and for a moment, seemed to smile. It was a gesture of believing me rather than just being convinced.

Eventually, she quietly opened her mouth.

“Come here, Michiru.”

“…Yeah.”

The ice melted.

She was able to make Ukai Toru a thing of the past.

“I’m sorry for making you go through such pain, Michiru.”

“…Yeah.”

“You did your best. You really are amazing.”

“…Yeah.”

“You protected your little brother all on your own and grew up splendidly. I am truly proud of that.”

“…Yeah… Yeah.”

Miyoko-san accepted Michiru, and Michiru accepted Miyoko-san. There were twists and turns, but the two acknowledged each other’s lives. It is presumptuous for me to narrate it, but they overcame obstacles that only the two of them could understand.

“Really… I’m really sorry for being a weak woman. Michiru.”

“It’s okay, Mom.”

Tsukino Michiru has two mothers.

One is the woman who raised her. The other is the woman who gave birth to her.

I was able to believe that they are wonderful women whom I should respect.

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