Chapter 10: Family Gathering

The days without school were truly boring. When I wanted to find someone to hang out with, I realized that I hadn’t made a single good friend in all three years of high school.

All I could do was stay at home alone, surfing the web, chatting, or playing games with Athena. Under my influence, Athena had actually grown obsessed with them. Afterwards, she would boast to me triumphantly, "See? I am better than you!" To this, I could only give a helpless smile.

Dad and Mom came through the door arguing, seemingly bickering over something.

"Keihou, you haven’t gone back in all these years. Look, Fuitsu is eighteen now; it’s time he meets them!" Dad’s voice said.

"Heisen, get one thing straight. It’s not that I, Ou Keihou, refuse to acknowledge them—it’s that they don’t acknowledge me as their daughter-in-law. Whatever you say, I’m not going. If you want to go, go yourself," Mom said loudly.

I roughly understood what was going on. The once-a-year family gathering was around this time. Mom had never been accepted by the family, so Grandpa and Grandma never invited her to these gatherings—it was always just Dad going alone. I had gone once when I was sixteen, but I sat in the corner the whole time.

I don’t know when our family took root here in Osaka, but our documented history goes back over 500 years. After such a long time of growth, the family had become huge. We were from the direct line of power, but starting around my great-grandfather’s generation, we gradually declined while the collateral branches grew stronger and stronger. By the time it reached my grandfather’s generation, because of our decline, we lost control of the family power, along with authority over the family business.

Grandma came from a prominent family herself. Back then, family background was everything, so she had married Grandpa. Grandpa wasn’t very capable, and failing to hold power made Grandma furious—from then on, she never gave him a good look. It wasn’t until my eldest uncle and second uncle got into business and started a company within a few short years—with eldest uncle even regaining control of the family, taking over the family business—that Grandma started treating Grandpa slightly better. Naturally, Grandma favored eldest uncle and second uncle for bringing her immense prestige, while looking down on my mediocre Dad.

Ever since eldest uncle took power, he would invite Dad to the annual gathering—and it was the kind where Dad couldn’t say no. Because Dad was the younger brother of the current head of the family, the collateral relatives present were polite on the surface, but the way they looked at us carried a sense of contempt.

While I was thinking about this, Dad pushed open my bedroom door. Seeing me inside, he said, "Fuitsu, come with me to your uncle’s house tonight!"

"You’ve got to be kidding..." My face immediately fell.

"I have no choice, your mom won’t go..." Dad said, acting as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I don’t want to go. It makes me sick seeing the way those people act!" I quickly refused.

Seeing my clear reluctance, Dad sighed and said, "Alright then, even my own son doesn’t care about me anymore. Guess I’ll just go and take the abuse by myself. Who asked me to agree to it in the first place?" With that, he turned to leave.

Looking at Dad’s retreating back, my heart softened. My dad is great in every way, except he takes promises way too seriously; if he agrees to something, he follows through no matter what. I had told Athena that one must face things bravely when trouble comes—wasn’t I just running away right now? Thinking of this, I quickly called out, "Fine, I will go with you."

Hearing me relent, Dad said happily, "I knew my son was good to me! Go get ready, we’ll head out in a bit!" After saying that, he dashed back to his room to change clothes.

Unwillingly, I changed into a decent set of fitted clothes and went downstairs with Dad. We flagged a cab and headed straight for my eldest uncle’s villa. As soon as we arrived outside, we saw the place already packed with all kinds of luxury cars. Many of them were models I had only seen online. Coming by taxi like this was probably something only Dad and I did.

Stepping out of the car and heading toward the main entrance, we saw my eldest uncle outside greeting family members as they arrived. Eldest uncle was 50 years old this year, 8 years older than my dad, but he looked younger than my dad. Seeing us approach, he put on a fake smile, stepped forward, and said, "Heisen, why are you only arriving now? Oh, Fuitsu came too?"

Depressing—it was as if I wasn’t supposed to come. I bowed my head slightly and greeted him softly, "Hello, Oji-san." Then I turned my head away and stopped talking. Dad was his brother after all, so he couldn’t ignore him. Dad smiled and said, "Nothing much, go ahead and attend to your business!"

"Mm, sounds good then. You two go on inside first," he said before turning to greet the people who had just arrived.

Damn it, he didn’t even bother asking why my mom didn’t come. Thinking about this, even someone with a good temper like me started getting angry.

Stepping inside, there were already plenty of people, though I didn’t recognize most of them. Dad, figuring that since we were already here anyway, started greeting others. I sat at a table with zero interest, picked up a glass of Matcha, and chugged it down.

Right then, I saw from a distance my eldest uncle’s daughter, Shizune, and my second uncle’s son, Shohi, walking toward me. Behind them followed a young man who looked about the same age as Shizune. He was dressed up sharply like a proper wealthy heir, but as he walked, his eyes looked upward, every movement exuding arrogance as he trailed closely behind Shizune. Shohi looked even more condescending, a sight that made anyone instantly annoyed.

Shizune walked up in front of me and put on a surprised expression, "Oh my, Fuitsu-san is here? Wearing these clothes, I almost didn’t recognize you! What are you doing sitting here?"

"What else could he be doing? Drinking tea, of course. Can’t you see there are already two empty glasses on the table? So, how is it? The tea at my house tastes good, doesn’t it? Have a few more glasses—I bet you usually only drink those cheap two-or-three-dollar ones!" Hearing Shizune’s words, Shohi sneered from the side. The young guy behind them chimed in with a laugh to play along.

Even a clay statue has a temper! This was a blatant way of calling me uncultured and poor. I looked at the sneering Shohi and, instead of getting angry, burst into a smile: "If idiots could fly, this place would literally be a fucking airport, with idiots flying all over the sky!"

Shohi clearly didn’t expect that I, who had always been meek and submissive, would actually dare to curse at him, leaving him stunned for a moment. Instead, the rich kid standing behind them grew indignant and tried to mock me further. He shouted, "Just looking at you, anyone can tell you’re a pauper. Are the clothes on your back even worth a hundred bucks?"

Since I had already offended one, I decided to drag them all down together. Suppressing the rage in my heart, I asked, "Is money really that useful?"

The wealthy young guy instantly puffed up with arrogance and said pompously, "Money is everything! Having money means having social status. Having money means having manners—unlike a pauper like you who opens his mouth just to curse!" Feeling like he had spoken with great sophistication, he quickly glanced at Shizune, hoping for her praise. Shizune didn’t hesitate to reward him with an appreciative smile.

I burst out laughing and said to the rich guy, "Looks like money really is almighty! How about I give you ten million, and you help me hang my second uncle’s portrait up on Mount Fuji, deal?"

That single sentence choked the rich guy into speechlessness; his face turned pale with rage as he stared at me. Shizune frowned slightly, glared at the rich guy, then turned her head to smile at me, "Haven’t seen you in a while, Fuitsu, and you’ve grown quite quick-tongued! Not bad. Keep working hard, and maybe if you drop out of school later, you can apply for a job where you just run your mouth to make a living! Let’s not stand here talking anymore—Fuitsu has already chugged two cups of tea, he must be hungry. It’s just time to take our seats, so let me take you over." With that, she grabbed me and pulled me toward the center table.

The only thing more annoying than meeting two assholes is meeting a shrew! What Shizune meant was that I relied entirely on running my mouth, but when it came to real capability, I had nothing to offer and only knew how to eat all day. In one swoop, she paid me back with interest for the insults I hurled earlier. It really is true: better to offend a villain than to offend a woman.