"Human beings are creatures who never know where their limits are unless you push them..." Sogo Doma said as he prepared to explore human nature.
"Hm?" Miyuki Shirogane's father froze at that.
"What I mean is, given your family's financial situation, Mr. Useless, you probably can't afford to care for a psychiatric patient, can you? Not to mention that this patient is also the family's primary source of income..." As Sogo Doma spoke, he clasped his hands behind his neck and stated the most piercing facts in a languid tone:
"Doesn't this seem like a 'surprise' Heaven deliberately created to demonstrate your worth? Rather than standing here trying to confirm whether President Shirogane is ill, Mr. Useless, shouldn't you think about what to do from now on? Will you keep wallowing in decadence, or rise up and strive?"
"Phew!" Miyuki Shirogane's father took another drag from his cigarette. "That should have nothing to do with you, should it...?"
"I'm just curious. After all, Mr. Useless, your family's current situation is very much like the setting of a story I once read. Hailed as the model family after the Great Economic Depression—the Isono family was a happy family envied by all. But one day, Mrs. Isono suffered a mental breakdown and stabbed seven people to death in the street... The happy family everyone envied began to collapse..."
"Phew! The mystery novel The Collapse of the Isono Family? That's quite an apt comparison..." Miyuki Shirogane's father blew out a smoke ring before picking up the thread. "But the Isono family is the Isono family. Even if Miyuki is sick, the Shirogane family will never become another Isono family!"
"You've even read such an obscure story, Mr. Useless? Impressive."
"Obscure? I suppose so. This country always buries certain things, whether they're people or