I, Who Was Criticized as the World's Weakest S-Rank Explorer, Am Actually the World's Strongest Explorer - Episode 70

Episode 70

(Note: Special for this chapter, dialogues through the telephone are in ‘….’)

I didn’t miss the moment her expression stiffened instantly.

“…Should we just ignore it?” 

“…Y-Yeah.” 

We’ll have to consult the lawyer again. 

As I thought that, Mom reached her hand toward Rin. 

“…Rin-chan, could you lend me your phone for a moment?” 

“Huh?” 

Mom spoke to Rin with a smile. Or rather… no, that wasn’t exactly a smile. 

Her eyes weren’t smiling at all. 

Rin must have noticed too. 

Looking surprised, she hesitantly handed her smartphone to Mom. 

And then— 

The moment Mom answered the call, an ear-piercing voice rang out. 

‘You still haven’t sent the money?! What are you thinking?!’ 

The woman’s voice over the phone was brimming with anger and frustration. 

It echoed in speaker mode, spouting infuriating remarks. 

While Rin averted her sad gaze, Mom silently put the phone to her ear. 

‘Hey, what’s with the silence?! Don’t mess with me! Are you defying your parent?! Do you even realize who raised you?! It’s a child’s duty to give money to their parents!’ 

A tirade of abusive language. 

Mom finally let out a small sigh, then her expression sharpened. 

“Hello, this is Rin-chan’s…….  friend’s mother speaking.” 

Mom’s voice was quiet, yet somehow carried a sharp edge. 

…Scary. 

I haven’t seen Mom this angry since the time I accidentally washed a tissue in my pocket… 

The voice on the other end seemed to try to retort. But Mom remained utterly unfazed. 

‘Huh? Who are you?! Where’s Rin?! What are you doing to my daughter?!’ 

“…As a fellow parent, may I teach you something? Money isn’t something you take from your child. What you’re doing is nothing but exploitation.” 

‘What are you trying to say?! Just put Rin on the phone!’ 

“Do you have any idea how much your behavior has cornered her?” 

Mom’s words reverberated through the living room. 

Neither I, my stepfather, nor Yuna interrupted. 

……. Actually, there was no way we could interrupt. Mom was terrifying. 

While my stepfather nodded in agreement, Yuna, Rin, and I could only exchange nervous glances and tremble. 

‘Shut up! Don’t talk nonsense!’ 

“Nonsense? Which of us is truly being unreasonable here? Why don’t you reflect on your role as a parent for once?” 

‘Y-You…! How dare you interfere with someone else’s daughter…! Do you know what will happen?!’ 

“And do you realize what kind of crime it is to force your son or daughter into reckless exploration activities?” 

‘Hah?! She’s an S-Rank Explorer! She can handle that easily!’ 

“…There’s nothing *easy* about it!” 

The shouting on the other end grew louder, but Mom was utterly unmoved. 

“Do you even understand how difficult dungeon exploration is?! People place their hopes on her; everyone expects her to succeed… Every day, she’s pushed to the brink! The fact that you don’t even worry about her disqualifies you as a parent.” 

‘…Shut up! I’ll take this to the police! You’ve kidnapped my daughter!’ 

“Shut up! Rin-chan is already going to be part of *our* family!” 

Wha–?!

‘Whaaaaaat?! That makes no sense!’ 

For the first time, I found myself agreeing with Rin’s mother. 

“It’s fine as long as she marries my son!” 

“I’m NOT marrying her!” 

“…….Haruto.” 

Why does Rin look a little sad about that?! 

And now Yuna is glaring at me too! 

‘You…! What are you even saying?!’ 

“I don’t mind if you don’t understand. If you make another call like this, I will take appropriate action. I’ve already consulted a lawyer… so please prepare yourself.” 

Mom’s calm voice left the person on the other end struggling to respond— 

And then the cold, monotonous *beep-beep* of a disconnected call echoed from the smartphone. 

Mom quietly handed the phone back to Rin and exhaled deeply. 

“……I just couldn’t hold back. I had to say how I felt. Sure, the legal system will decide the finer details……. And while that might be the ‘right’ resolution, I think there are times when your heart just can’t accept it.” 

That’s true. 

…Bringing this issue to a formal setting and resolving it there would undoubtedly provide a solution. 

But that would only be a solution in the sense of doing what’s technically right. 

…For Rin, who has suffered so much, it would mean freedom—but it wouldn’t address the frustrations she has bottled up until now. There would be no space for her to release those feelings. 

“Sorry, I know it doesn’t really help to speak out emotionally like that.” 

Mom offered Rin an apologetic, faint smile as she handed the phone back to her. 

………That was incredible. 

Honestly, it carried way more weight than if I had yelled at Rin’s parent myself. 

“…Th-Thank you. That’s… exactly what I’ve been thinking all this time.” 

Rin’s voice quivered as her tear-filled eyes glistened. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I might have said some awful things about your mom…” 

“…N-No, it’s not that… I-I’m just so happy… that someone cared about me like this…” 

“R-Really? Well, if that’s the case, then I’m glad…” 

As Mom gently patted Rin on the head in her flustered way. It seemed to finally overwhelmed Rin, as she broke into tears. 

………..Well, at least the conversation has settled into a decent direction. So let’s call it a win for now. 

…Next is dealing with those bullying Rin out in the world. 

For that, we’ll need to get the Explorer Association to withdraw its unreasonable requests. 

I’d better start preparing to meet with Director Aizawa.