The Lying Counselor’s Eloquent Reasoning - Chapter 30

“Well, I suppose it’s understandable that you don’t know about it, Mrs. Kikuchi. After all, Naoharu was a child with asthma. No doctor would instruct a mother of a young asthmatic child to avoid having her child drink alcohol. They don’t need to tell you that since children are not allowed to drink alcohol.”

Uroma’s tone was chilling. Nobuko’s face was totally pale.

“Mrs. Kikuchi, you told me yesterday. So far, you’ve consulted various counselors, but none of them have been in a position to understand Naoharu’s asthma. But I think that the person who really didn’t understand Naoharu’s asthma properly was you yourself.”

“W-What are you??”

“No, to be precisely, you never intended to understand his current condition and feelings. You simply wanted an excuse to control your only son as you saw fit. That’s why you’ve been turning a blind eye to the fact that his asthma is already better than ever. Yes, it seems that you mistook Naoharu as a pet that you could manipulate at will, rather than as an independent human being.”

“You don’t know anything about us!”

“Actually, I went to a Russian restaurant called Fukusuna yesterday.”

“Eh…”

“It was a very atmospheric place. The restaurant was spotless and the air was clean. Even the food was delicious. All the staff seemed to be friendly.” Uroma said with a grin, a wicked smile on his face. “I asked one of the clerks about Kikuchi Naoharu, who once worked there as a server. The employee was kind enough to share some information with me, given that the store was not crowded at the time. He said that Naoharu’s work was fairly normal and diligent and that there were no problems. He had a rare coughing fit and never had an asthma attack while working. However, there was one thing that was very troubling to him. His mother was always monitoring him from the store when he was on shift. She would stay in the store for hours over a cup of tea.”

“That’s not monitoring! I’ve only been there because I’m worried about my son!”

“That’s what people call monitoring, Mrs. Kikuchi.”

“Hmm,” Uroma snorted.

“Furthermore, you complained to the manager about the way your son was treated. That your son has asthma or don’t make him work too hard. Or that the store should have better air conditioning for his asthma. The manager was naturally baffled and repeatedly warned Naoharu not to allow his mother to drop by the store. However, this didn’t stop your visits to the store. Eventually, Naoharu quitted the store. The staff member who told me this story stated that he probably had to quit because his relationship with the manager turned awkward over his mother. In short, he lost his job due to your outburst.”

“S-So you’re saying it’s my fault!”

“Yes. What else could it be? Some mothers are terrible. On the surface, they seem to be concerned about their son, but in reality, they perceive him as their property that they can control, and they constantly monitor his behavior. As soon as he tries to get a job, you barge into his workplace and sabotage him with all your might… It’s a very typical case of over-interference.”

“Over-interference?”

“It’s a form of abuse. Since it is not the type of abuse that is straightforwardly violent or abandoning a child, neither the mother nor those around her are likely to notice.”

“D-Don’t be silly! Which part of me was being abusive? I’ve been doing my best to help Naoharu with his asthma!”

“But because of your extra effort, Naoharu lost his job.”

“There was nothing wrong with quitting that store! It was the kind of place that didn’t pay you at all even if you worked long hours!”

“That’s right. From what I’ve seen, you’ve been living a very comfortable life, Mrs. Kikuchi. You don’t seem to have any problem with your good-aged son lazing around at home without working, do you?”

Uroma’s tone was still icy.

“By the way, how much allowance did you provide Naoharu?”

“I handed him at least ten thousand yen a month. I’m not an abusive parent.”

“That’s all you can afford after driving your son to unemployment? That doesn’t hold a candle to what happened. Ten thousand yen a month is not even sufficient to cover my monthly snacks.”

Uroma pulled out a mint tablet from the pocket of his white coat and held it up. She was clueless that he spent more than 10,000 yen every month on that stuff. Tomomi thought it was no longer a snack, but a staple food.

“I don’t care about your snack money! I’ve been preparing meals for Naoharu every day and providing him with clothes and everything else he needs. So 10,000 yen a month should be enough! What would happen if I were to hand over more money than that and he went off on his own?”

“What if he went off on his own? Haha, you’ve finally expressed your true feelings, Mrs. Kikuchi. You can say that to a child of 5 years old or so, but that is not something you can say to your 25-year-old son.”

Uroma smiled happily.