"Don't be like that, Togawa."
Looking at Sakiko's father in this state of total "rotten" stagnation, Kamijou Mutsuki stepped forward and directly put an arm around his shoulders.
"I'm telling you, I happen to have a job opening right here."
"Not only does it pay well, but you can travel all over the world. It's a popular field, too—way more fun than sitting at home drinking like you are now."
"Want to consider it?"
"But..."
Sakiko's father looked a bit hesitant. It was clear he really didn't want to work.
"Togawa, you can't just be a waste at home!"
Seeing this, Kamijou Mutsuki began pouring on the "chicken soup" motivational talk.
"A man has to strive!"
"Respect is something you earn for yourself."
"Look at you now—who's going to look up to you?"
"Brother Mutsuki, say no more. I'll do it!"
Kamijou Mutsuki's words seemed to hit a sore spot in the man's heart; his expression darkened for a moment before he spoke up immediately.
"Only... is it the real deal, Brother?"
He still appeared a bit hesitant and suspicious.
"It's guaranteed!"
Kamijou Mutsuki patted his chest, giving him a full assurance.
"Thank you so much!"
Hearing Kamijou Mutsuki's guarantee, the middle-aged man instantly showed an expression of deep moved emotion.
"From this day forward, you are my own blood-brother!"
"And you are my second brother!"
Kamijou Mutsuki said magnanimously.
"In the future, as long as I have a can of beer, you'll have a beer bottle!"
"Come, second brother, let's drink!"
"Big brother, cheers!"
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, on the road outside, a blue-haired girl wearing a Haneoka uniform was walking slowly toward the house.
Seeing this girl, a certain Miss Soyo, who was observing from the shadows, couldn't help but widen her eyes.
'Sakiko?
Why is she here?'
Watching the girl she had been constantly thinking about walk toward that familiar house, Soyo found it hard to believe.
Could it be that her intuition was right?
Was Kamijou Mutsuki actually here to find Sakiko?
But with Sakiko's status as a young lady, why would she come to a place like this?
She might... even live here.
In fact, Soyo had a faint feeling that something had happened to Sakiko, but she couldn't guess exactly what it was.
But now, having obtained this key information—combined with the events of this period and the clues revealed in the anime—the girl suddenly had a bold conjecture.
'Could it be that Sakiko...'
Soyo couldn't help but hold her breath, fighting the urge to rush to Sakiko right now and demand the truth. However, her two previous failures made her restrain that impulse; she stayed hidden, continuing to observe.
As for "Sakiko-sensei," who had just returned from school, she was completely unaware of what was happening—and what was about to happen—around her.
She was merely annoyed that she had wasted so much time at school today. It was supposed to be a simple cleaning duty, but she hadn't expected so many accidents. Fortunately, she didn't have to go to work today, or she definitely would have been late.
However, as she reached her front door and heard the faint, muffled sounds of a ruckus coming from inside, an inexplicable sense of foreboding rose in her heart.
The girl quickly shook her head, dispelling the feeling. At most, it was just that man drinking inside again, tossing beer bottles everywhere. It couldn't possibly get any worse, could it?
Thinking this, Sakiko gave a self-deprecating smile, took out her key, and opened the door.
Immediately, the girl realized she was still too naive.
Seeing the two drunks inside with their arms around each other's shoulders, her face instantly went dark. This bastard—not only was he using her money to buy booze, but he had even brought one of his shady drinking buddies back to the house?!
In that moment, Sakiko truly felt the urge to kick her father out of the house. 'You damn drunk, there's no room for you in this home!'
"Oh, my daughter is back..."
At that moment, the two drunks noticed her presence.
"Sakiko-sensei is finally here?"
'Sakiko-sensei?'
In the girl's memory, there was only one person who called her that.
She finally took a serious look at the drunk sitting next to her scumbag father, only to discover to her shock—wasn't that Kamijou Mutsuki?
"Why are you here?"
It's safe to say the development of events had completely exceeded her expectations.
"To find you, of course," Kamijou Mutsuki said with a smile, taking another swig of the beer in his hand.
"How does this beer have no flavor?" He smacked his lips and remarked.
"Stop drinking!"
Kamijou Mutsuki's behavior was nothing short of dancing in a minefield; predictably, Sakiko-sensei's expression darkened. She snatched the beer right out of Mutsuki's hand, tossed it aside, and tried to pull him up.
"You... do you want to become a degenerate like that drunk over there?"
Sakiko's voice was laced with disappointment. Even though she didn't have a great impression of the man before her, she absolutely didn't want him to turn into someone like her scumbag father.
She had no idea why Kamijou Mutsuki had suddenly started mixing with her old man, but seeing the beer in his hand triggered her PTSD.
"Don't make me look down on you!"
"Sakiko," the actual drunk sitting nearby said, sounding a bit displeased after hearing Sakiko-sensei's words. "Have some manners. How can you talk to your Eldest Uncle like that?"
Sakiko: ?
Wait, she just went to school for a bit—how did she suddenly gain an "Eldest Uncle" out of thin air?
"The child is just being sensible; as elders, we shouldn't be too harsh on her."
Kamijou Mutsuki, however, appeared very magnanimous. He first patted the man's shoulder, then looked at Sakiko and said with a grin: "Sakiko-sensei, from now on, we'll each have our own rank."
"I'll call you Sakiko, and you call me Eldest Uncle!"
'I f'
At this moment, Sakiko felt as if she were possessed by Taki; she desperately wanted to smash the beer cans on the floor right into the faces of these two drunks.
"What on earth is going on?" Sakiko turned to her drunkard father, asking with a grim face.
"Sakiko, starting today, he is my Big Brother, and your Eldest Uncle!" Sakiko's father replied while continuing to drink.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Sakiko felt that her scumbag father had finally managed to drink himself stupid.
After all, if he hadn't lost his mind, how could he acknowledge a boy the same age as his daughter as his "Big Brother"? If he'd had even a single peanut to go with his drink, he wouldn't have done something this ridiculous.
"Sakiko, how can you talk to your father like that?"
The middle-aged drunk felt extremely dissatisfied with his daughter's attitude.
"There's a future in following Big Brother. You have no idea what he just told me..."
Then, Sakiko's father proceeded to recount all the "big pies"—the empty promises—that Kamijou Mutsuki had just drawn for him.
'Wait, you were bought off by just a job offer?'
After listening to her father's explanation, Sakiko couldn't help but complain inwardly.
'Is your "Big Brother" really that cheap?
And more importantly, you actually want to work?'
Recalling her scumbag father's previous behavior, Sakiko felt an indescribable sense of cognitive dissonance.
....................