HA1 11.2 - Teammates

Saturday morning, Takeo usually would sleep until noon because his mother would bring Kei and Rei to their restaurant. But today, he wanted to talk to his parents. Therefore, he woke up earlier than usual.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Takeo's father asked calmly.

"I found that besides loan arrears, you also have mortgaged our house and restaurant."

In an instant Takeo's Father frowned, but only for a moment. "You don't have to worry about that."

"I want to help." Takeo placed a large bag on the table, and opened it while adding, "I have six million Ren and will earn more."

With a tone full of concern, Takeo's mother immediately asked, "Son, how did you get this money?"

"I became a freelancer for a robotic programming sub-contractor."

"A robotic programming sub-contractor?" Takeo's father asked he gave Takeo a deep gaze.

"Yes." Takeo handed a piece of paper before adding, "Here's a summary about them. It's a bit difficult to contact them by phone or video call, but some staff will answer chats, emails, or other text messages 24/7."

'Elven Robotic, CEO Zimo Hund,' Takeo's father muttered before turning his gaze to Takeo. "What kind of work they asked you to do?"

"They asked me to write a segment of robotic programming. For every segment, I will get 0.5 - 1.5 million Ren."

Takeo's mother instantly gasped "They paid you that much?"

"Actually, it's not that much. I'm just a beginner. Hide who brought me in is working on a segment with a value of 1-2 million Ren."

Takeo's father and mother looked at each other in wonder. It was really hard for them to believe that a high school kid could earn up to 1-2 million Ren. However, the money that Takeo handed over was too hard to argue with.

"Son," Takeo's father took a deep breath before saying gently, "We will accept your money as a loan."

Takeo firmly said, "No need, the house and the restaurant are mine too."

After shaking her head gently Takeo's mother said, "We never have any intention to hand over the house and restaurant to you. They belong to Rei and Kei."

Takeo's father added, "For you, we hope you can enter university and get a better job than us."

Takeo casually replied, "Don't worry, I'll go to the best university in the country and get a job that will make you proud."

"We believe in you." Takeo's father smiled widely before asking, "Did you find something else in my PC, that perhaps you wanted to talk about too?"

Takeo realized his father was asking about the method to suicide using sleeping pills, but he chose to pretend that he did not know about it. 

"Something else? Do you guys have other loans?"

"No, of course not." Takeo's mother breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "Ignore your father's questions."

"Okay."

Takeo's mother then smiled and asked, "So, when you brought Rei and Kei to Aizawa's house, did it have anything to do with your work?"

"Yes, at that time Hide gave me an explanation regarding my responsibilities."

"Do you mind if we invite Hide and Aizawa to say thank you? Mom also wants to talk with Hide a little."

"No, not at all."

"Good," Takeo's mother said happily.

---

After the conversation with his parents, Takeo returned to his room. He dropped his body into the bed, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, Takeo's plan to trick his parents was quite simple. He would explain to them that he became a freelance programmer a few months ago, together with Hide.

However, Hide then asked him to develop a deeper plan, such as creating a fictitious sub-contractor, several fake IDs, and a group of chat bots that would answer text messages 24/7. The goal was to convince Takeo's parents once and forever.

At first, Takeo thought it would take a lot of time to execute Hide's idea. But once again, he got the impression that Hide seemed to have experience in using the idea and everything was ready in less than two weeks.

It was easy for Takeo to conclude that in programming, his skill was above Hide. But in terms of experience, application of ideas, and how to execute them, he was just a child in front of Hide.

This made Takeo very happy because it meant he was the perfect partner for Hide. Of course, at the same time his curiosity also grew even more.

'Hide, who exactly are you?' Takeo muttered as he looked up at the ceiling.

---

Sunday afternoon, Hide and Aizawa cheerfully entered the lobby of Kikuchi Restaurant hand in hand, and they were immediately greeted by Takeo, Rei, and Kei.

"Kei, Rei, go to second floor with Aizawa first. I'll catch up in a moment."

""Mhm.""

Kei and Rei spontaneously nodded, and then they took Aizawa's hand.

"Big Sis Aizawa, Mom prepared a VIP room for us." Kei cheerfully said.

While Rei happily added, "And Daddy prepared a special seafood hotpot." 

"Mhm."

As his sister cheerfully took Aizawa towards the stairs to 2nd floor, Takeo smiled before turning his gaze towards Hide.

"Ready to talk to my Mom?"

"Yup."

Wasting no time, Takeo led Hide to the back room of Kikuchi Restaurant. Just before the kitchen, the two turned into a small hallway and entered the first room.  

Inside the room, Takeo's mother was already waiting for the two. She only wore casual clothes, but with an ideal body figure and appearance that looked like a woman in her late 20s, casual clothes were more than enough to emit her lethal charm as an attractive and mature woman.

Hide even sure that a normal high school kid won't be able to think straight when sitting face-to-face alone with Takeo's mother, who for who knew why, was wearing a bra that would make her breast looked very provocative.

'What a vixen,' Hide inwardly muttered.

Meanwhile, Takeo cheerfully said, "Mom, Hide has arrived."

"Yupe."

"I'll go to second floor first then."

"Okay."

Once Takeo left the room, his mother invited Hide to sit on the sofa in the middle of the room.

"Hide, sorry for asking you to come all of a sudden."

"No problem, I'm the one who should thank you for the lunch invitation."

Takeo's mother smiled gently before saying, "As I mentioned on the phone this morning, could you please explain a little about Elven Robotic, especially for the parts that are not mentioned on their website."

"Sure."

Hide already knew what he had to say, so he easily explained.

"The website says their main office is in Madried, Svain, but actually their center of operations is in Kasko, Vinland. Their main contract is from West Eurova, but recently they got a client from Nikko and hired local freelancers for it."

"So, it's not a terrorist or criminal syndicate?"

"Of course not, to be honest, Elven Robotic is just a small sub-contractor who takes crumbs from the real contractor. They only have two expert programmers and a dozen freelancers. That's why they use cheap, ready-to-train people, like Takeo and me."

A big question mark instantly appeared on Takeo's mother's forehead, "Cheap labor?"

"Yeah, Takeo and me, we are basically the lowest-level workers in robotic programming industry."

"I see."

A shock was evident on Takeo's mother's face. She never thought there was a low-ranked worker with such high wages. However, at the same time she also relieved because it made sense, if right now Takeo was still in the lowest pecking order.

Hide then calmly added, "Of course, there is no certainty how long we will be employed by Elven Robotic."

Takeo's mother nodded slightly before saying, "Hide, thank you for inviting Takeo to join Elven Robotic. Believe me, it's the greatest kindness our family has ever received. It's a bit difficult to explain, but you are a savior of our family."

After skillfully pretending to be blushed, Hide said, "Mrs. Ishida, I think you're exaggerating it. As national champion in programming competitions, Takeo is more than deserves it."

"I see."

Takeo's mother had no intention of explaining further, so she just smiled. For her and her husband, the most important thing was that Takeo did not involve in a criminal organization to earn big money. Moreover, after Takeo took part in paying their debts, somehow their fighting spirit rekindled and optimism filled their hearts.

With a heart full of relief, Takeo's mother then walked Hide to the room where the hotpot lunch was being held.

---

"Big Sis Aizawa, this squid is super yummy."

"The prawns are super yummy too."

"Mhm."

Kei and Rei cheerfully showed Aizawa the best component of the seafood hotpot their father prepared, while Hide and Takeo watched the three with a smile.

"It seems you managed to calm my mother down."

"Yup, for now at least." 

"I owe you a lot, Hide."

"We are teammates. It's natural to help each other."

"I see."

"Just make sure you treat Shizuka well, like how I support you."

"I will."

"Good."

Hide smiled widely, and then took his chopstick. Before long, he already joined the happy hunting on the hotpot.

However, deep down in his heart Hide felt the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier. Now, if something happened to Takeo and their cover was exposed, he would have to answer directly to Takeo's parents.

'There is no other choice. Everything has its own price and I need to make sure Takeo is able to work without any slightest distraction,' Hide muttered as he downed a piece of egg tofu.

---

In the middle of the night, after applying moisturizer to her face, Takeo's mother then climbed into bed where her husband lay staring at the ceiling.

Takeo's father then asked, "Dear, do you remember Akira's son who became a programmer, and how Akira boasted that he earned eight million Ren per year?"

"So what?" with a sharp tone Takeo's mother asked back.

"I mean, how Takeo made nearly as much money as Akira's son's annual income in less time."

"Akira's son only graduated from a second-rate university, and who knows if he actually works as a programmer in his company."

"Still ..." Takeo's father turned to Takeo's mother before continuing, "Maybe I should contact Elven Robotic and talk face-to-face with Takeo's supervisor?"

Takeo's mother instantly massaged her forehead. Then, in an icy tone she said, "They are busy people. If you annoy them and Takeo is affected, I will beat you until our children don't recognize you anymore."

"Okay," Takeo's father meekly replied before swallowing hard.

"Don't overthink it," Takeo's mother said as she rested her head on her husband's chest. "I found an interest-free loan document legalized by Totsuka Firm in Takeo's room. He borrowed three million Ren from Hide and still has several hundred thousand Ren in cash."

"I see," Takeo's father softly replied.

"It's been a while since we last did it."  Takeo's mother's hand then touched her husband's third leg before continuing, "So, let's do it all night."

"Okay." 

Takeo's father immediately initiated the midnight versus contact. A moment later, the sound of 'Creak!  Creak!  Creak!' were heard, along with Takeo's mother's rapid panting and moaning.

*****