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"...Your rotten old man is playing pachinko again."
Kitahara Makoto, holding Togawa's hand, instantly appeared in front of a pachinko parlor.
Watching her rotten old man eagerly walk into the shop and excitedly sit down in front of a machine, Togawa Sakiko merely sighed, her pretty face devoid of other expressions.
The reason was simple.
This scene had happened many times in the Dream World.
At the beginning of the Dream World, Togawa Sakiko still held hope, because her rotten old man hadn't lied to her; he said he was going out to look for a job, and he actually did—when people make a mistake for the first time, they usually feel guilt and want to make amends.
Unfortunately, looking for a job and 'finding a job' are two completely different things.
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
Japan's economy is currently in a downturn, and many recent graduates earn only 200,000 Yen per month. Sakiko's rotten old man is already over forty years old, too old, and unemployed. The difficulty of finding a job is imaginable.
He couldn't find a high-paying, easy job, and he was unwilling to do dirty or tiring work. The first day yielded nothing.
The second day, he continued to look for work, and still hit walls everywhere.
The third day, he lay flat at home.
The fourth day, he drank alcohol.
The fifth day, he went out to play pachinko...
At first, the Dream World's Sakiko would be full of anticipation, but as time passed, the light in her eyes gradually disappeared.
Time is one of the most terrifying things in the world.
No matter how strong the emotion, it will slowly dissipate in the tide of time.
In the Dream World, in less than a week, the guilt in rotten old man's eyes completely vanished. He never mentioned looking for a job again and comfortably resumed his life of drinking and playing pachinko.
No, it shouldn't be called 'lying flat'; it was clearly a rotten life.
"I'm out of money. Give me some more."
The drunken middle-aged man, shamelessly reached out to his sixteen-year-old daughter for money.
"And the izakaya bill, pay it tomorrow on your way home from school."
The highlights in the Dream World's Sakiko's eyes were already few and far between:
"You only gave me 10,000 yen the day before yesterday; you spent it all in two days... Did you go play pachinko again?"
"Less nonsense."
"You really can't play pachinko anymore..."
"What do you know? As long as I win one game, all the money I lost before will come back!"
"You always say that. How many times have you won?"
"Today was just bad luck. I'll definitely win it back tomorrow."
"..."
Pachinko's official name is 'Pachinko.' It looks like a game machine, but it's actually gambling, just with a detour—the pachinko balls won aren't directly exchanged for cash in the shop. Instead, at the counter, the pachinko balls are exchanged for gold products, and then, carrying the gold products, you leave the shop. Within fifty meters, there's bound to be a recycling shop. Go in with the items, and you can easily exchange them for cash.
The next day, the gold products would appear in the Pachinko parlor again.
These people have truly mastered skirting the law.
Of course, the reason why Pachinko parlors are ubiquitous in Japan is naturally due to official tacit approval.
Pachinko may seem insignificant, but it brings in over 300 billion US dollars in tax revenue annually and can absorb millions of jobs. No one dares to ban it.
During the argument.
The drunken rotten old man, once again, laid hands on his daughter.
The fact proves that domestic violence is either zero or countless times.
Once he laid hands, there would naturally be a second time, a third time.
Looking at the Dream World's Sakiko, who was hugging her knees and silently crying alone in her room, Togawa Sakiko deeply empathized with that despair.
However, the matter was not over.
People either don't touch gambling, or once they do, they can never stop.
In the Dream World, there was no Kitahara Makoto. The Dream World's Sakiko's income mainly came from her customer service part-time job. Although her tuition was waived due to excellent grades and she could receive scholarships, her life was still tight.
After another argument, rotten old man directly snatched the Dream World's Sakiko's wallet, took the last bit of money inside, and went out to play pachinko again.
Due to bad luck, he lost everything shortly after going in. Then, he actually walked into a private lending company nearby...
Kitahara Makoto, holding Togawa's hand, invisibly followed him inside. The place was full of people in suits and ties, looking quite enthusiastic.
However, the more enthusiastic they are when lending money, the more vicious they become when it's not repaid.
Rotten old man hesitated at first, but under the persuasion of those around him, he finally signed the loan agreement…
Seeing this scene, Togawa Sakiko's pretty face lost all color, and her pearly teeth bit her lower lip so tightly it almost drew blood:
"Kitahara-kun, let's stop here. There's no need to continue."
He knew it was an abyss, yet he borrowed at usurious rates just to gamble… Such a rotten old man was truly beyond saving.
"I'm still here."
Kitahara Makoto silently clasped Togawa's right hand and whispered:
"Leave the rest to me."
Togawa Sakiko looked up, her eyes misty: "What do you plan to do, Kitahara-kun?"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt him." Kitahara Makoto naturally understood Sakiko's meaning and said gently, "I just plan to create a nightmare so that he will voluntarily stay away from you tomorrow… From now on, Togawa's life will be my responsibility."
With his current ability, he was fully capable of shouldering another person's life.
Silently communicating with Hana in his mind, he had Hana lead Togawa Sakiko out of the dream, while Kitahara Makoto chose to stay behind.
"Now it's my turn."
Kitahara Makoto let out a soft breath, his gaze instantly becoming sharp.
The dream just now had confirmed that there was no way for rotten old man to pull himself together. His future life would consist of nothing but drinking and playing pachinko, and reaching out to Togawa Sakiko for money. Therefore, he absolutely had to be kept out of Togawa's life.
Creating a dream of guilt was meaningless; with the passage of time, the feeling of guilt would quickly be forgotten.
Talking sense was also useless. If rotten old man truly had a conscience, he wouldn't keep gambling, or even borrow from private loan sharks. Even if talking him into moving out worked, he would surely come back to pester Togawa once his money ran out.
In that case… let him be afraid.
Only the deepest fear would never be forgotten.
There was no need to say more about what happened next. As a nightmare, Kitahara Makoto could also control dreams, and with Hana's cooperation, he quickly implanted a brand of fear in rotten old man's heart through repeatedly cycling nightmares.
By tomorrow morning, rotten old man would, under the stimulation of the fear brand, automatically distance himself from Togawa, running as far as he could. At the very least, he definitely wouldn't dare to stay in Tokyo.
After confirming there were no oversights, Kitahara Makoto then exited the dream.
Opening his eyes, he saw that the room had quietly brightened, indicating that time had unknowingly moved on to the next day.
Having spent a long time in the dream, Kitahara Makoto felt a moment of daze and disorientation upon waking.
"Kitahara-kun, you're awake?"
A sweet and pleasant girl's voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Togawa?"
Kitahara Makoto's gaze shifted downwards, his consciousness gradually clearing.
"Th-that… it hurts a little…" Togawa Sakiko's pretty face was flushed, her eyes moist, and she bit her lower lip in embarrassment, "Kitahara-kun, could you please take your hand out first?"
"What…?"
Kitahara Makoto froze, only then realizing that his right hand was actually measuring Togawa's conscience. He jolted in fright, completely waking up:
"Is it too late for me to apologize now?"
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