"I'm warning you, my Doma family has been a distinguished family for generations... I mean, a family of little sisters! For generations, we've been a distinguished family!" Realizing he'd almost let something slip, Keiryu Doma hurriedly continued, "Since it's already settled that Umaru is running away with you, if there are any rumors about the two of you, I'll destroy the Doma family if I have to, just to take you down with me!"
"Like I said, that's not going to happen!" Sogo Doma said, sounding a little annoyed.
"Heh." A cold laugh came through the phone. "Do you remember what you said while holding Umaru at the end of that piano recital?"
"Hm?" Sogo frowned, suddenly a little unsettled. "Even Umaru couldn't have heard what I said!"
"She didn't hear it. She saw it!" Keiryu sounded rather pleased with himself.
Sogo Doma: "..."
After a long pause,
he said sheepishly, "Dad, can you read lips?"
Damn it! He'd been so careful, and they'd still figured it out? Were these people cheating or something? As expected, the Celestial Empire was safer.
"Seven lip-reading experts stayed up all night studying the footage and comparing notes. Did you think we wouldn't figure it out?" came a sigh from the phone.
Sogo's mouth twitched. He'd forgotten about the cameras. As expected, money was king. The power of money was invincible!
"I'll spend the rest of my life protecting you instead. That's not something a brother should say..."
"Ehehe?" Sogo continued playing dumb.
There was another brief silence on the other end before Keiryu said, "The others..."
"The others?" Sogo narrowed his eyes. "You mean the other Doma family members who would've died to the machinations of capitalism without my help? Or the affiliated families that came swarming as soon as they smelled blood?"
"Ahem, ahem..." Keiryu coughed awkwardly at his blunt words. "Sougo, why do you always have to be so sharp-edged? You're like a weapon with nowhere to hide. A genius like you must know that old saying from the Celestial Empire: 'The tallest tree catches the most wind.'"
If not for that, if you were willing to hide your brilliance, even if you were a monster, why would I keep studying footage of you? After all, I'm your father!
Keiryu kept those words to himself.
"Maybe it's because hiding my abilities isn't fun. Maybe it's because it makes me happy?" Sogo's smile grew wider.
Even though he was surrounded by light, even though his memories had been suppressed,
he'd still been through Cthulhu's baptism, after all.
Sogo Doma was a complete chaotic neutral, leaning slightly toward good.
"Ahem!" Keiryu coughed twice before speaking again. "Anyway, the Doma family believes that your taking Umaru away without permission..."
Sogo didn't need to hear the rest to know what was coming: a long list of charges. What era did they think this was? Who still pulled this sort of thing?
He was straightforward about it:
"Just say it. What do you want?"
Keiryu Doma: "..."
After a long pause, he finally spoke hesitantly.
"First, your living expenses. The Doma family will no longer pay living expenses for you and Umaru."
"Are you really that stingy?" Sogo smiled casually. "Well, the dividends are enough for me, anyway."
"Now for the important matter. In view of your attack on *＆...＆*(the sound was too faint to make out.) and your taking the Doma family's 'jewel' without permission, the board of directors has decided to revoke your share of the profits..."
"Hm?" Sogo's expression changed. "Dad, we agreed on this. I helped those people, and you gave me a share of the profits. What does the board have to do with it?"
"That's right, but the shares are still in my hands!" Keiryu said with a smug laugh. "The so-called profits are yours only if I choose to give them to you. If I don't, you can't take them!"
"Heh..." Sogo gave a low, cold laugh.
"Then let's see how a genius like you manages to live with your sister and show off your brilliance after leaving the Doma family's protection." Keiryu's voice sounded quite pleased.
"Is that so?" Sogo smiled again. "Dad, I feel like playing another game."
"Beep, beep, beep..."
But the call had already ended.
On the other end, Keiryu Doma sat with his eyes closed.
"'Live the life you want'? Sounds like something an elementary schooler would say. I think I said something like that to someone once, too. But life..."
After a long while, he murmured again,
"Sougo, if you really are a monster, then smash this rotten life to pieces. Create something—create a wonderful world for Umaru. Because it wasn't just that piano recital. Umaru protected your entire childhood!"
Meanwhile,
staring at the disconnected call,
"I knew this would happen ages ago!" Sogo Doma grumbled as he put his phone away, muttering about killing the donkey once it had finished grinding, burning the bridge after crossing it, and how the birds were gone, so the good bow was put away...
If there'd been a few people around to offer their thoughts, the air might even have been filled with cheerful banter.
Turning around,
Sogo looked at Umaru, curled up like a dumpling and making "Heh heh heh..." noises as she waved a game gun around. He couldn't help covering his forehead.
The Doma family's legendary "jewel"...
This was it?
It wasn't even worth appraising. They were just trying to confiscate his share of the profits!
Shaking his head, Sogo went inside.
"Onii-chan, done with your call? Hurry over! This game, Akasaka Fireworks, is so cool!"
Looking at Umaru's innocent face, Sogo's mouth twitched, but he still took the other game gun and stepped onto the motion-sensing platform.
"Onii-chan, take cover!"
"Hey, Umaru, you might have to rein in the spending a little from now on. We'll have to lower your daily ¥500,000 spending limit a bit."
"What?"
Umaru was already killing it. What was reality? It didn't matter!
"Phew!" Sogo let out a soft breath. "Forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything."
With that, he promptly went after the remaining players.
Stop!
That's enough reminiscing.
"Heh, hehehe..." Sogo Doma chuckled to himself. Right, he'd found the point he needed to correct!
What did he mean, "pretend I didn't say anything"?
How could he be such a blabbermouth? How could he pretend he hadn't said something like that?
But still!
What happened to the Hamster Umaru who was just a shut-in little sister? Why had she picked up this spendthrift streak? It had to be Taihei. Taihei Doma must have taught Hamster Umaru to be this extravagant because he couldn't compete with Onii-chan for the position.
Just as expected.
Like Hijikata, he was a cancer on the world. For the sake of the Earth, couldn't he just go die?
"Ahem!" Seeing Sogo Doma's vacant expression, Umaru charged forward again. "Onii-chan, I got a little carried away today, but I promise I won't spend recklessly again. And..."
"Don't you always say that a little sister has to spend money to show off how capable her big brother is at making it? And, my clever and adorable (foolish) Imouto, can you get stronger without spending money? No! So spend, spend... Umaru has always followed Onii-chan's instructions."
Hearing that, Sogo Doma took another critical hit.
Yeah.
The evil of this world had been found once again.
Brother Taihei, you'd better stay alive.
Before you continue