Chapter 93: Uncle Just Sold You to Me
"Chishima-kun, are you planning on leaving Shizuka?"
"I won't. As long as Shizuka doesn't leave me, I'll never leave her side. I still owe her my life, after all." Chishima Akishin's expression was dead serious.
"I see. That's good then." Hiratsuka Yuren nodded with a small smile. "That's good. I can rest easy knowing that. However..."
At that point, Yuren paused. His gaze shifted, becoming heavy with a sudden, crushing pressure—as if at any second, he might lung forward and tear Akishin apart.
Akishin met Yuren's eyes steadily, not flinching for a moment.
"...However, Chishima-kun, I still have to say this. If you ever make Shizuka suffer like that again, I will use every ounce of my power to hunt you down until the day you die. Consider this a warning from Shizuka's father."
"In that case, Uncle... does that mean you approve of my relationship with Shizuka-chan?"
Akishin's voice betrayed a hint of excitement, competing with the rhythmic crashing of the waves against the shore below them.
Yuren froze for a moment, the weight of the realization hitting him after a few seconds. He eventually nodded with a wry, bittersweet smile. "Yeah, I approve. You've impressed me, even if we've only been talking for a few hours. More importantly, I believe Shizuka has truly grown up. How about we grab a drink together tonight?"
He would certainly keep observing the boy from here on out, but for now... he gave his blessing.
"I'd be honored."
Akishin gave Hiratsuka Yuren a deep, formal Japanese bow. It was a gesture of profound gratitude to the man willing to entrust his precious daughter to him, and a mark of respect to his future father-in-law.
—Haha, Shizuka-chan, oh Shizuka-chan. If only you knew your own father just sold you off.
...
Beep, beep, beep...
The shrill ring of a phone broke the silence. Akishin set down the Go stone in his hand, offering Hiratsuka Yuren an apologetic smile before picking up. On their walk earlier, they'd spotted a small Go parlor that rented out boards. Since they both knew how to play, they'd rented a set and settled into an outdoor pavilion to kill some time.
"Shizuka-chan? Where are you guys?"
"I should be asking you that! Where did you and Papa go? We did a full lap around the park and couldn't find you anywhere. We thought you'd made a run for it..."
Akishin looked up, spotting the Chiba Port Tower about a hundred meters away. "We're right under the Port Tower," he said softly.
"What are you even doing over there? Mama wants to head toward the city center for a bit..."
Akishin switched to speakerphone so Hiratsuka Yuren could hear. The older man took the initiative to start clearing the stones from the board.
"We'll head over now. Where are you? ...Actually, why don't you guys just come here. Okay. Is there a spare car? ...There is? Perfect."
Hanging up, Akishin quickly helped tidy up the remaining stones. Their game was nearly over, and Hiratsuka Yuren had held a commanding lead. But since the [Real Boss] over there was rushing them, it wasn't really his fault they had to call it, right?
After returning the Go board, Akishin sat with Yuren in the pavilion for a moment, enjoying the sea breeze while they waited for the cars to arrive.
A few minutes later, the familiar roar of an engine echoed nearby. A red-and-black sports car pulled over at the curb a few dozen meters away.
Right behind it followed a sleek, luxury black sedan.
This kind of car seemed to be the standard for Chiba's upper crust.
The two men walked toward the vehicles. Hiratsuka Yuren looked at Shizuka through the window of the sports car for a couple of seconds with a warm smile, then let the chauffeur open his door and climbed into the sedan.
Akishin hopped into the sports car and buckled his seatbelt, turning to look at Shizuka with a grin.
Shizuka immediately turned wary. She checked her clothes—not dirty. She pulled out a small mirror to check her face—makeup was still perfect. Finally, she looked back at Akishin and asked, puffing out her cheeks slightly, "What are you looking at?"
Akishin's smile widened. "Just looking at our Shizuka-chan!"
"What's so interesting to look at?"
"Shizuka-chan is the most beautiful girl in the world."
Shizuka's face instantly flushed crimson. Unable to handle the warmth in Akishin's eyes, she looked out the window. "So... what did you and Papa talk about?"
"Nothing much."
"Be honest!"
"Really, it was nothing."
"Be honest!!"
Shizuka whipped her head back around, glaring at Akishin. There was no way her father and this guy didn't talk about something. If they hadn't, he wouldn't be looking at her with that stupidly smug expression.
The corner of Akishin's mouth twitched upward, looking every bit like a mischievous uncle teasing a little kid. "Shizuka-chan, do you really want to know?"
"...I do."
Meeting Akishin's gaze, Shizuka hesitated, but her pride wouldn't let her back down. Come on, I'm older than you. I'm your senior!
Akishin's grin grew even more pronounced, his eyes crinkling as he laughed. "Shizuka-chan, Uncle just sold you to me."
"..."
"???"
"!!!"
Shizuka's expression went from calm to confused, then shifted into pure shock. She quickly turned her head back to the window, shouting in protest, "You—you—you... you're definitely lying! Papa would never say something like that!"
Akishin stayed quiet, looking away to hide his amusement. Progress had to be made in small steps; overdoing it would just backfire.
Seeing Akishin go quiet, Shizuka took it as a sign of guilt. She felt more certain he was lying, though deep down... she wasn't entirely sure.
After all, her father was exactly the kind of person who might actually do that.
"Yeah, totally a lie," Shizuka muttered, still trying to convince herself. "Akishin, you—"
"Shizuka, stop flirting you two! Drive properly and watch the road!"
The Big Boss Mother-in-law waved cheerfully from the car behind them, her voice carrying easily.
"We are not flirting! Mama, stop saying such embarrassing things!"
"Hahaha..."
Akishin tried to hold it in for about two seconds, but he eventually lost the battle, laughing so hard he had to clutch his stomach.
"Chishima-kun, exactly what is so funny?"
Take this! Iron Fist Punishment!
Thwack!
Akishin doubled over, clutching his gut, his face going pale.
Shizuka let out a long, relieved sigh after landing the blow. "Actually, that felt great. It's been a while since I've hit someone."
With the black sedan leading the way, Shizuka started the engine and followed closely behind.
Their first destination was the Mitsui Outlet Park, the largest in Chiba City. The main focus was Hiratsuka Sachiko buying things for Shizuka—lots of things. Everything from dresses and trousers to shoes.
The one doing the buying was full of energy, while the one receiving looked more and more out of her element.
"Mama, this is too much. I don't even wear clothes like this."
"Shizuka, you just don't know how to dress yourself. Even if you don't like it, you should wear it for Chishima-kun's sake! I've wanted to tell you for a long time—wearing that white lab coat every single day is just awful..."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Of course it is! Your mother would never lead you astray... Chishima-kun, come over here and look at this..."
Akishin and Yuren were essentially relegated to being pack mules for the shopping bags.
For the first time, Akishin truly understood the terrifying stamina of a woman on a shopping mission.
They had more energy than him, and he was basically a 'superman' with double the average stamina. What was even more annoying was that halfway through, Great Uncle Yuren made an excuse and vanished, leaving Akishin alone to carry the mountain of bags. Talk about a lack of comradeship.
Still, there was a silver lining. Along the way, Akishin got to see Shizuka in all sorts of outfits that left him breathless—cute, elegant, sharp, and even alluring...
It was proof that a beautiful person looks stunning in literally anything.
...
By midday, the car arrived back at Chishimaya. Akishin pulled out all the stops, using his best culinary skills to host his current Uncle and Aunt—or rather, his future parents-in-law.
Both of them were thoroughly impressed by his cooking.
After lunch, the four of them said their goodbyes. Yuren and Sachiko headed home. 'Spending the whole day out' had just been a figure of speech; they weren't young anymore, and neither their minds nor bodies were up for a full day of excitement.
The drinking plans Yuren had mentioned were postponed for another time.
And 'another time' meant whenever Akishin would eventually visit the Hiratsuka residence.
A soft breeze blew by, catching the fabric of Shizuka's dress and her long hair. Akishin looked at her gently, asking warmly, "Shizuka-chan, is there anything special you want for your birthday?"
...
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
50 Power Stone = 1 Bonus Chapter (Up to 5 bonus chapters per week).
You can purchase this novel directly on Patreon without subscribing. Please check out my Patreon page.
Read ahead and support the story on Patreon: patreon.com/FaaanzKun
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —