I Promised to Make the Class Honor Student My 'Little Sister'. It Seems She Wants to Be Spoiled a Lot - Volume 1 Chapter 13.1

Me, Running Away from My Family, Finding an Important “Connection”

Ao’s tattered passcase, a keepsake from her father.

I had shielded it from falling into the river… and instead, I tumbled down into the water myself.

That led to a mild case of pneumonia, and I ended up hospitalized at the only major hospital in the vicinity──Inaba Central General Hospital.

And then, in that hospital room────.

“What are you doing here…?” I questioned. “Such an attitude towards your parent is unexpected, Ryuuki.”

In a quiet yet angry tone,

My father──Takato Okina, said with a stern face.

Behind his thick glasses, his eyes were glaring at me coldly.

“…No, really, why are you here? You’re a surgeon, aren’t you? Pneumonia isn’t exactly in the surgical realm, is it?”

“Watch your mouth. You’re in high school and yet you don’t know how to show respect to your elders?”

The tension crackled.

A conversation where we cautiously chose our words, gauging each other’s reactions.

Ah… feels like home.

It’s just like──coming back to the Takato household.

“Listen, Ryuuki. I’m here not as the Chief of Surgery, but as your parent.”

“…Even more reason then, I didn’t ask for this. I need to rest, so please, leave me be. Just your presence is enough to raise my fever.”

“How dare you speak to your parent in such a manner!!”

The bed vibrated with the force of his shout.

It’s a good thing there are no other patients in this room. Such yelling could worsen anyone’s recovering condition.

After coughing a bit, I adjusted my glasses.

“The career preference form submitted by your parents was found. Is that the reason for your running away?”

“…Well, it’s not the only reason, but yeah.”

“I’ve been telling you since you were little to aspire to be a “doctor”. And you didn’t present any alternative future plans. Hence, going to medical school was the only option. So? What’s the problem with me submitting the career preference form?”

──Rather than wasting your time on such nonsense, study!

My dream of becoming a “manga artist”, torn apart along with the illustrations I drew.

I see.

Indeed, that was a childish fantasy, hardly a career plan. To you, probably just one of many trivial matters.

So… you’ll never understand.

The reason I left home.

Why I can’t have hope for the future.

Why I’ve given up on──family.

────Everything.

“You’re still underage. Whenever you make a decision or sign any contract, you need a guardian’s consent for all of it. Even your hospitalization here… of course, it’s because I signed the paperwork.”

“…So that’s what you meant by coming here as a parent.”

“Exactly. I’m here as a father visiting his hospitalized son──that’s my role right now.”

And then, my father, still glaring at me, said gravely.

“The “Family Contract”──you seem to have made one with Kakogawa-sensei and her family.”

…Huh?

I was taken aback by the familiar phrase uttered by my father.

Yukari indeed said she had talked with my father. And that she had obtained his consent for me to live with the Kakogawas.

But I never imagined she had told him about the “Family Contract”.

“However, Ryuuki. That “Family Contract” has no legal binding force. If I exert my authority, you’ll have no choice but to return to the Takato household. In other words, your current living situation is only possible because of my consent.”

“…Spare me the favors. I know that.”

“No. You don’t understand.”

Immediately denying my words,

My father continued.

“In living with the Kakogawas, you must have incurred expenses for food and utilities… How are you handling that?”

“Well… Kakogawa-sensei is covering it. Of course, I plan to pay her back──”

“Wrong. I have been transferring money to the professor for all the expenses incurred by you.”

“…What?”

My father’s revelations were so unexpected,

I froze up, unable to do anything but listen to his words.

Addressing me, my father stated clearly.

“You thought your current life was made possible solely by the promise with the Kakogawas, didn’t you? But that’s not the case. It’s established because I consented, I provided funds, and in emergencies like now, I give my consent… that’s what your current “Family Contract” is based on. Do you understand, Ryuuki? No matter how much you resist, parents are necessary in your life.”

────Blood is thicker than water.

Family connected by the same blood is bound tighter than strangers.

Like a snake, like a chain.

Yes──like a curse.

“Your mother is also worried about you.”

He continued relentlessly, as I held my head in despair.

“She says every day she wants to contact you, wants to hear your voice. The reason she hasn’t is because I… told her not to indulge you and give you space.”

“…So that overly protective mom hasn’t contacted me because in the end, she just does whatever you say.”

“Don’t speak ill of your mother! If you have complaints, direct them all to me!!”

──As if complaining ever made you listen. That’s how it always was in the Takato household.

It was always like that. Anything goes, but it was just sophistry.

Someone’s will always suppressed someone else’s feelings… that was the structure.

And yet, I thought I had left that house behind.

“You’re still a child, not yet an adult. You can’t survive without parents. Stop wasting time with pointless defiance. I forgive you, so come back home… Ryuuki”

Nothing had changed, and once again────.

“──It’s not a waste of time, you know?”

That’s when it happened.

As I felt myself being dragged down into a cold, dark abyss by the curse of blood,

A warm light… illuminated me.

“…And you are?”

The father turned to look at the girl who had entered the room.

She was a girl I knew well.

Medium bob hair gleaming. A flower-shaped hairpin.

Her skin was as white as snow, with only her lips shining like a red flame, moist and vibrant.

She was dressed in a cute blouse and a light blue flare skirt, giving off a demure and lovely impression. The fullness of her chest conveyed an indescribably beautiful and maternal aura.

With her large eyes fixed on my father, she said with a gentle, bright smile,

“Hello. I’m always in your debt. I live with Takato-kun… I’m Kakogawa Ao.”