Page 99 of Pandion

“So, where are you heading with this link of yours? What are you going to do?” Reika was the only one interested enough toask, but even she seemed like she was merely trying to make conversation.

“I’m tagging along with Satoru to go visit his family up north.” Kagesawa passed Harumine the steamed vegetables.

“You’re not going to be a burden over there? Do you need money?” Kagesawa’s father asked.

“I can take care of myself, thank you.” Kagesawa served Harumine the rice. He’d been exceptionally attentive all day, possibly to distract himself.

“It’s fine if you need some—”

“Stop babying him, dear,” Kagesawa’s mother stepped in. It was the first time Harumine heard her speak.

“So, Hokkaido then? What does your family do?” Reika was kind enough to keep the conversation moving. She poured Harumine a glass of wine.

“They grow lily bulbs. My aunt’s family owns a restaurant called ‘Yurineko’.”

“You’re from a small town? A family business? Sounds charming.” Reika seemed genuinely curious. “Where did you go to school? Does Hokkaido have empath schools?”

While there were certainly places in Japan with no empath schools, her perception of Hokkaido seemed skewed. Harumine hadn’t thought there’d be a day he’d feel disappointed to reveal his alma mater, but it would have been so satisfying to correct her with something impressive closer to home.

“They have good schools, but I got into the SEU, so…”

“Tsk.” Kagesawa’s mother looked away. The corner of her eye twitched as she suppressed what seemed like anger. What was her deal? It wasn’t as if Harumine meant to brag. Reika had asked. It would have been rude to not answer.

“Oh, that’s top tier, isn’t it?” Reika ignored her mother. “You must be really good. How did you end up with him? Did someone pay you?”

Kagesawa sighed and hung his head down.Not this again.

“I wasn’t paid anything.” Harumine enunciated as clearly as he could.

“Are you looking for some compensation?” Kagesawa’s father jumped in. “Is that why you’re here?”

“Of course n—”

“Shush! No. No more of this.” Kagesawa’s mother stood up. She glared at Harumine but said nothing more. Instead, she stormed out of the dining room. Reika looked confused, but her father did not.

“I don’t want to be compensated. There’s really no need.” Harumine glanced at Kagesawa, worried.It’s stupid. You’re great.

“You’ll have to excuse your mother. She is cross with the SEU for rejecting the application.” Kagesawa’s father continued with his meal undisturbed.

“Why’s she mad at them? I’m the one that botched the entrance exam,” Kagesawa noted.

“She said it was discrimination and that they should have given you more allowances for the DEFD. I don’t think she’ll ever let that go. You know what she’s like.”

“I was never supposed to be qualified in the first place. Did she know that? Did you? No one bothered to tell me.” Kagesawa didn’t sound upset, just disappointed.

“The whole thing was a sham, a big mistake. DEFD? What DEFD? You needed better tutors and teachers, and you needed to apply yourself properly. And see, you must have done something right to have them pair you up withhimwithout me having to pay for it. If you’re not here to ask for money, what are you here for? To finally thank us for our efforts?” The suggestion was so preposterous Harumine didn’t know what to say. Kagesawa also fell silent. “It was a right mess to deal with after that quack’s diagnosis. We ended up having to makearrangements with the Ayano-boy to take the exam for you in exchange for his tuition.

“Then when the EA was going to launch an inquiry after your graduation; our lawyer advised us to skip the compatibility testing and manually assign you your first linking partner before they had the chance. Once that was done, your files were moved to another archive where it was easy to make a few alterations. We did have to pay Ayano-kun a hefty sum to agree to it, but since you said you wanted to be an empath, what else could we do? After all that, I think we deserve some thanks. It was especially hard on your mother. I recall she was distraught for weeks when you got rejected so many times.” Kagesawa’s father appeared to cringe at the memory. “Not that it pleased me to see my son fail repeatedly. It was shameful.”

“I apologise. Thank you.”

Kagesawa’s forthright apology and show of gratitude made Harumine’s stomach turn. It didn’t seem at all fair that he’d need to thank his parents for pushing him straight into peril, no matter how unintentional it had been or how well-meaning they were. They should have cared enough to take the time to educate themselves!

Harumine felt compelled to say something, but before he could, Kagesawa added, “You helped make my life a living hell. To think you could have saved all three of us a whole lot of trouble by simply saying ‘no’ to me… But it’s all right. If I don’t end up getting zapped to death and can have him as a link from now on, I’ll be happy. I really am thankful for that.” He stood up and bowed to his father. His father looked troubled, perhaps because he couldn’t be sure whether his son was showing this gratitude in earnest or if he should be insulted by the gesture.

“That’s enough,” he said, visibly abashed by Kagesawa still bowing. “More importantly, you should apologise to your mother.”

When Kagesawa left the table to actually do so, his father frowned and raised a hand to try to stop him. Having missed the right timing, he cleared his throat and resumed his meal. The silence that ensued was heavy and awkward. Finally, after several discreet false starts, Reika managed to force out her question.

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