"An escort." Kurokawa replies with no emotion in her voice.

"Escort?" Han stares at our bookworm, unable to comprehend the word. "Escort?" He repeats it.

"She goes around with men, talk to them, consort them, do whatever they want her to do. Every once in a while, she would go with multiple to places that I did not have the need to know. Rarely, she would go with women, as well. To call it lightly, I used the word 'escort'; but in essence, she is a sexual worker...a whore, for short."

Laura and Rachel look at our bookworm in disbelief while saying nothing. The two girls seem shocked by the revelation Kuro just made. Even Han is left speechless.

To them, this is beyond shocking. They must be thinking: how can anyone do something like that?

Sadly, the reality of Kurokawa's Mother is that she never had a chance to do anything else. The storyline set everything up like that since the beginning of the game without her knowing. People can commend her. They can despite her. The truth is she never had a choice. She had to become a prostitute to raise Kurokawa.

"I don't understand." Han suddenly intercepts the conversation. "Looking at it like this, doesn't she value appearance more? Why did your mom even have to create these scars on your body? If that person wanted to make you the best thing she ever created, it's not making much sense. You're the one going outside every day. In a way, you represent your mother. If she cared about other people whispering about her, shouldn't she refrain from hitting you? Shouldn't she treat you the best way that she could?"

"That's the real question, isn't it." The bookworm looks outside the window of the skytrain. As she raises one arm to touch the scar twitching on her forehead, Kuro's eyes waver for the first time since she told her story.

"I don't know." The girl speaks softly, with a hint of gloom. "No one does. Like you said, it makes no sense. Sometimes, I would ask myself the same questions, but the old me would redirect the answer. My existence was her mistake. I was the one who took her dreams away from her. What she was doing was trying to claim it back. Those things forced me to not do anything about it. Knowing that she had to sell her body day in and out, doing God's forbidden acts to raise me didn't help, either."

Laura sighs. "I guess we'll just have to wait until we meet her to find out."

"I guess so." Rachel joins her.

Trying to say something, Han opens and closes his mouth repeatedly. Unfortunately, he can not construct anything good to say.

"I'm...sorry. Kurokawa, I didn't know your circumstances and spoke out of line. I probably made you feel terrible." The guy does a 90-degree angle.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry." Kurokawa replies.

With that, Han returns his seat to its original position. However, the look on his face is still not very good. Actually, they are a bit pale compared to his usual self.

"I am far from being a good person..." He sighs. And I am going to ignore that. It is good that he realizes such a thing. It is better for everyone, including himself, if Han becomes more aware of everyone's feelings. He is looking for a girlfriend, so this much should be expected.

I do not blame Kurokawa's mother's drastic approaches. What I do know, though, is that everything is not as it seems. There is still an open question as to why our bookworm's mother told her she was sorry while being killed by her daughter. While approaching demise, one would demonstrate their most fundamental value. Usually, people would beg to live, as living was their desire, not Kurokawa's mother. Rather than being resentful, she chose to apologize.

The problem of this world is that there is always a deeper level. Especially when the matter involves an event with one of the girls, things are always more complicated than the simple dialogue showing up on the surface. Was it a way for Kurokawa to suffer? Did she apologize to make Kuro's guilt the final nail in her coffin? Or was it genuine? Did she finally realize her mistake when Kuro was exploding in anger?

I really have no idea. Kuro's mother was either dead or did not care about me in the past, so asking her was meaningless.

Now that it has reached this point, I can only hope for the best. There is literally no way for us to run away when we are aboard the train.

*Gata gata gata*

The rest of the train ride passes by smoothly. Nothing outside of the train changes. It is just the same pattern repeating itself.

Soon, we will arrive at that place. Soon, we will have to face another event head-on.

Rachel's event last night was busted. Laura's event this morning was also. This iteration has made everything off-rail with me at the center. The chance of the same thing happening all over again, meaning Kurokawa will once again murder her mom, while not absolutely concrete, is definitely not low. I am getting anxious over the unknown elements that can occur when the time comes. The whats, hows, and whys are plaguing my mind at a rapid rate.

"So, let's sum it up." Blondie suddenly claps her hands loudly, cutting my train of thought. "Laura and Kurokawa will go into the house together while we wait outside. Kurokawa will do the talking while Laura silently stays there as a shield? What about me? When do I get to join you two?" Rachel quickly points a finger at her face.

"You'll be inside, too. Even though Laura will be there to keep my Mother in check, there is still a chance she won't accept my opinion and find a way to hit me. That's where you'll be coming in."

"Gotcha! Wawa does the talk, and Reppy is the keeper. Leave the hard-hitting to Rey-Rey." Rachel then stops as if she can feel something weird in the air. Looking at the other two, she repeats: "Rey-Rey? No? Wawa? Reppy?"

No one answers her.

"C? Rey-Rey?" The girl looks at me with puppy dog eyes.

Again, no one answers her.

*Gata gata gata*

"I think the train says no."

"Ah, shucks... Guess I'll find a better one, then." Blondie pouts.

"I'll be by your side all the time, Kurokawa. Your Mother may not like me, but I'll need to see that you are safe with my own...uh...nose." I approach the bookworm.

"And I'll be happy to have you by my side, dear husband."

"Hey, guys, sorry for being a nasty third w-... Wait! No! I mean...one, two, three, four, five...Firth wheel! Holy crap! I still don't know what I'll be doing!"

"You'll be helping Rachel if needed. Even better, you can get with my Mother."

"Excuse me?!" Han is immediately taken aback. "Was that a joke? It's gotta be, right?!"

"Oh no. Not at all. If you can, woo my Mother to the best of your capability. Enchant her with your charm, let the dogs out, release the Kraken, I don't know. I'll be counting on you."

"I mean...Kurokawa's Mother was always dead. But if she manages to live...there is definitely a chance for Han to jump this boat. This is an eroge, and he is the rightful protagonist, see.

The chance for Han to become Kuro's new stepfather is low but never zero.

"Hold on! HOLD ON! How are you expecting me to do that?! I have never even had a girlfriend! How on earth am I going to woo your mother? What you said was absurd! Absurd, I tell you!"

"Is it the fact that she's a prostitute? Don't worry about that. She has regular check-ups. She is a high-level escort with actual health benefits and influential customers, not your regular street girl."

I should do something. At this rate, Han is not going to help us.

Leaning closer to Kurokawa's ears, I whisper quietly: "Tell him what she looks like. I think Han likes pseudo-incest play, too."

Kurokawa looks at me with her deep green eyes as if to confirm something, then smiles and turns toward Han.

"My Mother has ginormous breasts."

"Wha-What does it have to do with anything?!" The guy chokes.

"I think she also likes Mother-Son pseudo-incest play."

*Gulp*

That was not me.

(Happy new year everyone! Here to another year of suffering for C and his gang!)