"If I insisted on taking Umaru away from you right now?" Keiryu Doma's voice sounded somewhat cold over the phone.
But.
The reply he got was even colder. The smile remained on Sogo Doma's face, but his tone turned icy. "Then I'll destroy the Doma Group. No, the Doma Family."
On the other end of the call.
Keiryu Doma felt a chill rise through him. If anyone else had said that, he would have laughed it off. The Doma Family was involved in food service, construction, mineral development...
At that scale, even the Four Great Zaibatsu would have to think twice before trying to crush them. At the very least, they wouldn't come away unscathed themselves.
However.
When it came to Sogo Doma, Keiryu Doma couldn't afford to dismiss his words.
My youngest son is a genius?
Five years ago, if anyone had dared tell him that, he would have whacked them with a stick. And everyone else would have helped him, because he'd have been in the right!
He couldn't help it.
After all, his son was the disgrace of the Doma Family, a spacey, stupid idiot.
Thankfully, the gods had answered his prayers.
His son, who had been mentally impaired for eleven years, had suddenly snapped out of it.
Though.
The first thing he'd said after coming to his senses was, "Obviously, the first step is to escape Japan!"
Though.
At the time, a group of bigwigs had been gathered for a meeting. Keiryu Doma had brought his child along, but he hadn't thought much of it. What could his mentally impaired kid possibly do? Even that diplomat Sawamura had brought his daughter. That girl was far more rambunctious than his own son.
But...
Right as the head of the Shinomiya Family had proclaimed, "As men of the Heisei era, what's the first step toward success?"
For some reason, his mentally impaired son had answered, "Obviously, the first step is to escape Japan!"
Awkward!
Painfully awkward!
The first step was to escape Japan? What kind of answer was that, especially in front of a room full of political and business bigwigs?
Under the gazes fixed on him from all sides, Keiryu Doma had felt mortified. Fortunately, everyone there knew about that kid Sougo's history of mental impairment.
So it hadn't caused any trouble.
Still, someone had to take the blame, and that idiot son of his was stuck with it!
Though that mentally impaired Sougo had also picked up a few more labels: traitor to Japan, useless coward who ran away...
Keiryu Doma didn't care if the labels sounded bad. He already had enough troubles to last a lifetime. But after that incident, when Sougo had suddenly come to his senses, Keiryu Doma realized that his child, Sogo Doma, was a true genius... No, a monster would be more accurate.
Perhaps to make up for all the years he'd spent in a haze, Sogo Doma could talk like an expert about any skill.
With just a little effort, he could reach a world-class level.
Piano,
was one such skill...
At first, Keiryu Doma had only wanted to let his foolish child appreciate the beauty of music. Instead, he'd nearly trained him into a god of music—with performances that handed out candy like Cthulhu.
After less than three months of lessons, the boy had reached the level of a world-class performer. Who would believe that?
Because of this.
Several piano instructors had questioned their entire lives when they quit. Were they really suited to a career in piano?
Even Yoko Toma had looked at her son as though he were a priceless treasure.
"A miracle... A miracle from the god of piano, surely? H-how could there be such a priceless treasure, as if he'd been blessed from the start..."
If only that child Sougo had stayed like that.
However.
The piano piece he'd played only halfway through at a competition!
The drunken shenanigans!
And
the Chiba Shinno Elementary School incident, among other things...
All of it had made Keiryu Doma understand that Sogo Doma wasn't just a genius. He was an uncontrollable monster.
At first,
Keiryu Doma had planned to use Umaru's interest in food to keep that monster, Sogo, penned up at Totsuki. But it seemed...
When he thought about Sogo Doma's abilities, he remembered how, time and time again, that brat had saved the Doma Group from the brink of ruin by pinpointing the problem with a single remark—
If he could save the company, he could just as easily dig a hole and bury it.
So Keiryu Doma wasn't at all surprised that Sougo could destroy the Doma Group.
To Keiryu Doma, Sogo Doma wasn't a genius, but a monster—and an uncontrollable one!
Back to the point.
Hearing Sogo Doma's cold words, a low voice came through the phone again. "Tell me honestly, Sougo. What do you think of Umaru?"
"Umaru?" He glanced at his useless little sister. "She's my light—the last one keeping me from sinking into darkness."
Without the slightest hesitation.
"..." There was another pause on the other end.
"Is it because of what happened at the end of that piano recital? The way that girl stood up for you?"
"Uh... What are you talking about?" He played dumb out of habit.
Keiryu Doma: "You know that was just something a child said on impulse!"
"Just something she said?" Sogo Doma smiled and closed his eyes.
The final piano performance came back to him again.
He remembered the imposing figures who had pressured him to play. No one had said it outright, but countless sinister gazes had been fixed on him the whole time. The heavy breathing and oppressive atmosphere had made him feel as if he were standing in darkness.
In that darkness, Sogo Doma's eyes had suddenly gone blank. If they liked Cthulhu's candy so much, he'd give them what they wanted. He was just about to walk over to the piano.
But.
A small figure suddenly stepped in front of him.
"You're not allowed to bully Onii-chan..."
"If Onii-chan doesn't want to play, then he doesn't have to..."
"I'll protect Onii-chan..."
"Get out of the way!"
That silly little figure was clearly terrified, trembling as she stood her ground in front of him. Then she even turned around and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Onii-chan, it's okay. Umaru's super strong and super cool. Umaru will protect you!"
Once the tension was broken, it wasn't scary anymore.
No one knew.
What Sogo Doma had seen in that moment.
The young Umaru Doma seemed to shine with endless light. He wanted to go closer, to reach out.
But he was afraid that light would disappear.
He hesitated.
Finally.
He threw his arms around her. He wanted to chase after the light, too!
"Eh? Onii-chan's crying? How embarrassing!" Umaru Doma had been caught off guard by the hug. She looked back at him, then said smugly.
He was glad that light hadn't moved away.
I had once been in darkness, so I longed for the light even more.
"Idiot. There was too much dust in the hall. I just got something in my eyes."
"Eh? Is that so? Did Onii-chan see how cool Umaru was just now?" Young Umaru asked.
"..."
"Yeah, I saw. You were super cool!"
"Ehehe." Young Umaru grinned foolishly. "But more than seeing Onii-chan cry, I'd rather see you smile. You're always making such a gloomy face."
"Is that right?"
Sogo Doma tried to wipe away his tears with his sleeve. Then he looked up again, wearing a bright smile. He murmured softly, "Next time, Onii-chan will protect you, Umaru. For the rest of our lives..."
"Eh?" Young Umaru turned around again. "Did Onii-chan say something just now?"
"Dummy!" Sogo Doma smiled back at her. "I didn't say anything!"
Back in the present.
Sogo Doma's tone didn't change. "Call it something she said on impulse or a promise, but all I want now is for Umaru to have a life of her own!"
"One last question. Have you fallen for Umaru? You know what kind of love I mean..." The voice on the phone suddenly turned stern.
The question made Sogo Doma freeze. He quickly glanced at his useless little sister. Still as round as a dumpling. Good, he wasn't falling for her. "Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? Has someone sucked out your brain?"
How could he possibly fall for a useless little sister like her? What a load of crap!
Even if he had to jump off Tokyo Tower or starve to death in Aokigahara Forest, he'd never fall for that little hamster Umaru!
Idiot!
Before you continue