CH 96

Toxic Parents

Translated by Dawn

Toxic Parents

Kiriha gave me the courage and I stretched my back from the sofa in the living room.

Then I called Maria’s device.

With Kiriha watching right next to me, Maria answered in just two rings.

It felt like she had been waiting for my call, which made me happy.

[Yes, this is Maria. Is there something I can help you with?]

She spoke slightly faster than usual.

“Ahh, this is a crucial matter. I need to see my lovely girlfriend, is it okay if I call her with Apport?”

After a tenth of a second pause,

[Wait a minute, please.]

Came a somewhat panicked voice.

It was a series of unimaginable things from the usually emotionless Maria.

“…Yes, I’m ready. Please, summon me.”

—A game term!?

Even though I retorted in my mind, I swallowed the point because it was correct as the original usage of the word [summon].

“Then here I go, three, two, one, Apport.”

I activated the Apport and Maria appeared right next to me.

She was dressed in a long light blue skirt and a white half-sleeved blouse, as her loungewear.

She must have been taking a shower, because her long wet feather-colored hair, which was usually pulled back in a chignon, was down, giving her a very different impression.

While her beauty was usually as seamless as a work of art, this one had a loveliness that made you want to protect her.

—No, this is not the time to be fawning.

After correcting my mental attitude, I asked Maria.

“Maria, I overheard your conversation at the door.”

“….”

Silently, Maria lowered her gaze as if to escape.

After all, it was a scene she did not want others to hear.

At the same time, her suffering became certain and I clenched my fists in my lap.

“Was you always like that with your parent, Maria?”

After a long silence, Maria nodded briefly.

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? No matter how you look at it, your parent is in the wrong, no?”

“….No, I am the one who is in the wrong.”

As if defending her mother, Maria blamed herself.

“My parents are not to blame. I have always shamed my parents because I have been stupid since I was a child. So it’s my fault that I can’t do what they want me to do.”

I couldn’t miss the word “parents,” even though I was upset by her unbelievably vigorous speech, which I couldn’t believe from her usual appearance.

“And by parents, do you mean your father as well?”

“Yes. I brought a lot of shame to my father, too.” /OR DISGRACE

“Shame, huh? I’ve been together with Maria and I haven’t thought badly of you as your parents did though?”

“You may be thinking so, Honey-san. But others are not. Every time I do something weird, every time I say or do something out of the ordinary, I make my parents ashamed, saying, ‘What kind of education are your parents giving you?’”

Maria’s passionate words made me emotional, too.

“Hey, wait a minute. Who told you that?”

“My parents!”

I could not catch up with my understanding, but Maria told me with wetting her big eyes.

“My mother and father have always said to me since I was a child. Every time I say or do something out of the ordinary, they said, ‘What kind of education do you think your parents are giving you,’ ‘Don’t embarrass your parents,’ ‘Why can’t you be normal?’”

“You mean from way back since elementary school or so?”

Maria gave a small shake of her head.

“No. The first time was when I was attending kindergarten. One day, a teacher asked me. ‘What do you like about your mother?’ I was four years old at the time, and I did not understand the intent of the question. I liked my mother. But I wondered if my liking changed depending on what she was doing. I still like my mother no matter what she is doing.”

Maria had a point.

At four years old, some children might not be able to convey the exact meaning.

“So I replied that I liked my mother when she walked. Compared to other parents, my mother’s back was straight and she walked with good posture and dignity, which I found beautiful.”

—Un, isn’t that fine?

I was reminded of the usual Maria, who walked with the posture of a model and a steady rhythm like a metronome, and I couldn’t help but be convinced.

Even if there was a video of Maria just walking, I felt it would look good.

But just as I was beginning to be convinced, Maria let out a sad voice.

“When I told my mother about it, she was furious.”

{What do you mean you like it when I walk!? Why are you saying something that doesn’t make sense!? At times like that, you have to say you like your mother when she makes you lunch or when she reads you a story! Oh, my God, they must have thought we are a weird family! What do I have to look like next time I go to see your teacher!?}