The Darkness Was Comfortable for Me

Chapter 124: System Update and Surprise Present

A sudden announcement as usual.

They could just tell us in written format, and yet, God is telling us with their voice like this. It might be because there might be people who wouldn’t read it if it is only in the Status Board…

I put the fishing rod in the Shadow Storage, and headed to the end of the wharf without any real reason.

Anyways, system update…?

[[[Camera Filming Mode function] and [option to turn on or off the automatic translation] has been added! Please select them from the Status Board.]]

Camera filming mode?

When I check the Status Board, there certainly is an option for camera photo mode added.

I tapped it, and it seems like I can choose from Manual and Auto. Current mode is Auto.

Is the automatic translation mode off option in order to enjoy the isekai language?

[[Also, there were a lot of requests for this, so we have added the item [Temporary Filming Stop Ticket]! 1 Crystal for 1. Effective for 10 minutes. After buying the temporary filming stop ticket, please use them at the timing you see fit. In the cases when you use them consecutively, you can add time depending on the amount used.]]

“Temporary filming stop ticket…” (Hikaru)

That’s something I wished for.

If it had been the past me, I would have jumped at the opportunity and thrown all of my remaining Points into it.

But 1 Crystal for 10 minutes is expensive. Way too expensive.

Even if I were to use enough for 1 Point, it would only be 5 hours. There would only be limited scenarios to use them.

Or more like, even if you create a period of time you are not being seen, what would you be doing? It says there were a lot of requests for this, but how were those requests sent?

If the Chosen say something, God would hear it, and would whimsically decide if to implement it or not?

[[Tools that can be bought with Crystals have also been added, so check them out as well. On top of that, we will be giving a surprise present to all Chosen this once! Please check out the Present of God text on the Status Board!]]

(Present…?) (Hikaru)

We are talking about something that God would do. I instead had a bad feeling about this, but I opened it.

Does everyone get the same thing?

[[Alright! You have confirmed it, right?! The surprise present this time around is 20 minutes of video call with a relative from Earth! It has been a month since you have been transferred to a parallel world. Everyone must have been feeling homesick, would be passing a hard time, or experienced so much you can’t even finish talking about it in the time you were living a life you were unaccustomed with. Please hit all of those feelings onto your far family!]]

I listened to that announcement half dumbfounded.

Video call with a relative.

By relative, does it mean my parents…and Celica and Karen?

The video call would…connect…?

[[Well then, well then! Call start! It is a surprise, so it will connect suddenly, but enjoy it with that added to the equation, okay~?!]]

God gave this announcement with an irresponsible cheerful voice, the Status Board text disappeared, and blacked out.

*Turururu Turururu*

The sound of a telephone rang.

It really isn’t even giving me a chance to prepare myself mentally, and will just connect all of a sudden.

“Y-You are kidding me, right?” (Hikaru)

I am scared.

A call with my family? My heart is not ready yet.

My heart was racing and sweat was covering my back.

If it were Nanami, she would have definitely been sad for me. She would be angry that I pushed myself. Would be happy that I survived and that she managed to contact me.

But I don’t know what will happen with my family.

What would it be for my parents?

The two were indifferent towards me, but with me being a suspect for killing Nanami, they had to leave the house, so there’s a high chance they hate me -especially mother.

(No…in the first place, it is a relative. Who will it be connecting to…?) (Hikaru)

Celica and Karen have moved from Japan to overseas.

The two won’t be troubled with language barriers, so they won’t be having that many issues no matter the country they go to, but this and that are two different things.

They must have separated from their friends, abandoned everything and moved away.

Cause I got that message just 10 days after coming to this world.

The two are intelligent, so they most likely already have an idea that I was sent to the parallel world against my will and that someone else is the true culprit.

The two were pretty attached to me, but since entering middle school, they have been acting differently from when they were in elementary.

It is said that when you are extremely intelligent, it is hard to converse with normal people.

Since elementary school, it was widely known that my little sisters were geniuses, so my mother had bought all of those kinds of books and had me read them.

Those two might have entered that stage.

(Even so, it would be best if the call were to connect to Celica. If it is my mother, it would be the worst.) (Hikaru)

It is fine if it is Karen too, but she doesn’t speak to me much, so there’s the chance I wouldn’t be able to get the information I need in 20 minutes.

On the other hand, Celica should be able to tell me what I need to know in that span of time.

My father normally doesn’t say anything, but there’s days when he would suddenly begin talking as if a spark had been lit, and in the first place, he rarely is even at home, so there’s only a low chance it will connect to my dad.

Though it could instead connect to dad who is going around alone; if it happens, it happens.

The problem would be if it were to connect when my mother is alone.

After the sound continued for a while, the status screen connected to somewhere with a puuuh sound.

In the screen there’s the face of my surprised mother, and the background of a hotel room I haven’t seen before.

“Eh, what’s going on here? Huh? Is that Onii-chan?”

“…Mother.” (Hikaru)

Yeah, there’s no allies for me.

The one it connected to was my mother.

◇◆◆◆◇

Mother, who was displayed on the screen, was showing exhaustion.

For her, a screen must have suddenly appeared in midair, and her son that had gone to a parallel world was shown there.

(…She looks fine.) (Hikaru)

She has gotten fancier than the mother I know.

Blonde hair all over, dense foundation, deep crimson lipstick.

“Eh? What’s this? What’s going on?”

“God said it is a surprise present to talk to my family.” (Hikaru)

“Huh? Something like that…just choose Celica-chan. Why me…?”

Mother grumbled complaints, but it has already connected, so no going around it.

“You haven’t changed, Mother.” (Hikaru)

“You seem to be having it rough.”

Mother sips on her wine while saying that with a voice that held no emotions.

Seeing my mother who is not showing any signs of missing me despite being so long since she has seen her son was instead giving me relief.

She is a person that is always having the world circling around her, and her pace doesn’t get thrown in disarray by others. And there’s not a single thought of her pampering her non-blood related son.

…Even so…

Even so, maybe because I have been living alone in this world where I know no one for so long, just by seeing my mother, my eyes grew hotter and I disliked that.

However, I only have 20 minutes. There’s no point having a casual talk with her.

In order to avoid having her notice that my voice has grown raspy, I asked in a low voice.

“Are Celica and Karen there?” (Hikaru)

“Hm? No, they aren’t.”

“They aren’t?” (Hikaru)

My heart shook.

Seeing that so normal state of my mother, I was relieved for a moment, but with me being bashed, it wouldn’t be strange for something to have happened to my family.

More so with those two who are still in middle school.

“Celica-chan and Karen-chan gave me this as a present, you see. I am currently cruising around the whole world.”

“World…cruising…?” (Hikaru)

“That’s right. I am going around the world for 100 days. Nice, right?”

“Well…I guess…” (Hikaru)

Somewhere in my heart, I thought that at least my family would be worried about me.

There’s no way it would be exactly as I imagined.

But I thought that they would have their eyes nailed at the TV and…at the very least, be cheering for me. I unknowingly had been hoping for that at some point in time.

Energy was sapped out from my whole body.

She poured wine in her glass to help herself to more, and she gulped it down once again.

She is going faster than usual.

Her gone son has suddenly begun talking to her in a video call, so she might be scared internally. As proof of that, mother was not looking over here and was facing diagonally backwards.

It might just be that she hates me though.

“…Then, that means Celica and Karen are not with you?” (Hikaru)

“That’s right. They presented us with a 100 days trip saying that they wouldn’t want to get in the way of us married couple. They said they had that ready a while ago. You really gotta have intelligent daughters. When Onii-chan was around, those girls must have been holding back for their traitless Onii-chan.”

Were they…holding back?

Even I knew that those two outstanding people were not the type that should be shut inside such a small house.

But for me, those two were simple, small, and cute little sisters.

Just like mother says, I was a brother with no redeeming qualities, but I did try to do my utmost best as their brother.

If the two said they didn’t want to show up on TV, I would try to convince our parents somehow… Well, it mostly was father moving to manage somehow. Trying to convince mother always ended in failure.

“Doesn’t that cost millions?” (Hikaru)

“Of course it would. They said they won big from a bubble of a something coin. Karen-chan said she is the sender, so there’s no problem. I don’t really get it though.”

I also knew Celica and Karen were earning money on the internet.

My parents were unreliable, so I advised them to save their money for the sake of the future, but that might have been a big unnecessary advice for the two.

To think they would be cruising the whole world.

“…Then the two are doing well?” (Hikaru)

“It seems like the two are doing a lot of things and earning like crazy, you know? Even though they didn’t show anything like that when Onii-chan was around.”

“I see…” (Hikaru)

Mother hates me.

Her comparing me to her well brought up actual daughters was a daily occurrence.

If Celica and Karen are doing well, I should be happy about it. That’s one thing I wanted to know, and it is great I learned that.

…But my chest hurts.

“Mother…I was suddenly brought to this world……and am doing my best. I have almost died.” (Hikaru)

That’s why I ended up spilling those words out.

Did I want to be praised by mom?

Did I want her to at least say that she is happy that I am alive?

“I know. Celica-chan has told me. That you are facing tribulations that could kill you. You must have had it rough…like really.”

I could see pity from my mother for the first time.

Just that alone threatened tears to fall down from my eyes.

But those tears instantly drew back at the next words of mother.

“…I am truly glad that the one who was chosen was you.”

Mother said laughing with a red face.

She said that.

“Just thinking about that being Celica-chan or Karen-chan, it brings me shivers. Well, isn’t it great that you managed to survive?”

“Y-Yeah. Is…that so. Yeah, you might be right… I managed to survive…so that’s great.” (Hikaru)

I don’t know what I am even saying anymore.

Mother poured herself more wine, and she really looked in bliss gulping it down, and there’s no doubt she really doesn’t think anything of me.

Did I want her to be worried?

Did I want her to say kind words towards me?

Did I want her to say ‘You have worked hard’ and show sympathy?

Even though I wanted to ask a lot of things, my throat compressed, and words were not coming out.