Otaku Translation: I! Anomaly Cleansing Agent! C43

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As Leon pushed open the creaking door to the main bedroom, he immediately spotted Anna lying face-down on the bed, sobbing quietly. Like Leon’s room, this bedroom contained only a single bed. When William and Melanie were younger, it was just enough space for all three of them, but as the two troublemakers grew, it became increasingly cramped.

To make do, Leon had scavenged wooden planks and bricks to extend the bed, adding layers of old clothes and blankets to make it more comfortable. However, the makeshift addition was unstable, and the boards wobbled with every movement.

Anna was sprawled across this shaky extension, her body trembling slightly with each muffled sob. The wobbling bed amplified her movements, making her squirming bottom jiggle comically. Despite himself, Leon couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

"Brother! How can you laugh at a time like this?!"

Hearing Leon’s stifled laughter, Anna grew even angrier. In an uncharacteristic display of petulance, she kicked her legs into the air before turning to complain bitterly:

"It’s all your fault for spoiling them! Every time they misbehave, you always stop me from disciplining them properly! Now they’re shoving horse dung into people’s mouths, and you’re still laughing!"

"Uh..."

Too embarrassed to explain what exactly he found amusing, Leon quickly averted his gaze, pretending to examine the room as he changed the subject:

"I just think spanking alone isn’t enough. They need to understand why they’re being punished. Otherwise, they might think causing trouble is fine as long as they endure the consequences. Look at William—he’s already figured out exactly how many slaps he’ll get for each prank. That proves we need to reason with them properly."

"But they only listen to reason after they’ve been spanked!"

Anna, who was usually gentle and rarely voiced opinions around Leon, was fiercely adamant when it came to disciplining her younger siblings. Wiping her tears with the back of her hand, she turned over, pouting stubbornly:

"You don’t spend enough time with them, so you don’t know how infuriating they can be! Melanie knows right from wrong but thinks she can wiggle her way out of trouble. And William... he doesn’t cause trouble actively, but his ideas are so strange—it’s like... like..."

After struggling to find the right words to describe William’s peculiar thought process, Anna slammed her fist on the bed in frustration and concluded:

"Anyway, I have to discipline them! If I don’t, it’ll be too late once they grow up!"

"Mm-hmm, yes, discipline! Absolutely! Next time, I won’t interfere, I promise."

Nodding along, Leon sat down beside her on the bed. He gently rubbed her back while speaking in a soothing tone:

"But try to look at the bright side. Though they’re mischievous, they’ve never bullied anyone intentionally. Most of the incidents weren’t entirely their fault… Let me think..."

As Leon recalled past events, his expression grew increasingly complex:

"This time, they got into trouble because someone said you wouldn’t come back. Last time, it was during a game—some kid called William a ‘bastard.’ Before that, they were trying to stop that fat kid Jack from bullying others. Even earlier, it was because I was fired from my job at the docks for being too weak, and neighbors gossiped about us. And before that, your nighttime coughing disturbed the neighbors’ rest, and they called you names..."

The more they reflected on why the younger siblings caused trouble, the heavier their hearts became. Only now did they realize that almost every incident had a reason behind it. Rather than simply labeling them as "mischievous," it seemed the two were trying, in their own clumsy way, to protect their fragile family.

If only Leon and Anna had been stronger as older siblings—if only they could have shielded their younger siblings from life’s harshness—perhaps the two wouldn’t have needed to act out so much. Maybe they could have grown up as carefree, ordinary children...

"Forget about that for now."

Seeing the tears welling up in Anna’s eyes, Leon quickly changed the subject. He reached for an old, yellowed photo album on the bedside shelf, pulling Anna close as he spoke:

"I’m working at the Police Department now, and once I’m officially hired by the end of the year, I’ll enroll William and Melanie in school for free. They won’t have to fight with neighborhood kids anymore. So let’s leave those past troubles behind. Our family will definitely get better...

“By the way, the last time we looked through this album together was over two years ago when I had a high fever. It’s still early today, and if you’re feeling okay, why don’t we take another look?"

"Mm..."

Leaning against Leon’s shoulder, Anna accepted the album. She traced her fingers over its worn cover, then opened it and began flipping through the pages.

"This is Mother when she was young."

Pointing to a faded group photo on the first page, Anna explained softly:

"Mother told me... told us... this was taken when she passed the entrance exam for the Mechanic Academy and was assigned to the Artillery Adjustment Division." Her finger moved upward, pointing to a tall, handsome man with black hair standing in the back corner, smiling warmly.

"Father and Mother were classmates. After graduation, they were both drafted into the same unit and gradually grew closer. Then came you, and the following year, me..."

As Anna slowly turned the pages, Leon watched the unfamiliar couple fall in love, graduate, and eventually stand together in wedding attire, embracing joyfully in front of a small church. His mood softened as he absorbed the warmth captured in these frozen moments.

Was Anna really such a lively child back then?

The happiness preserved in the album continued, and Leon couldn’t help but reach out to touch the golden-haired little girl in one of the photos—the radiant, smiling Anna who seemed so different from the sister he knew. In his memories, Anna was either gently nodding at him or coughing painfully, her brows often furrowed. He had never seen her smile so freely... What had stolen her laughter?

Flipping through the album, Leon realized something unsettling: most of the photos were taken before the younger siblings were born. The answer hit him like a cold wave, gripping his heart with an icy dread.

"Uh... I just remembered, I have some work left undone!"

Knowing full well the cruel fate awaiting the happy family immortalized in the album, Leon stiffened. Regretting his decision to suggest looking through the photos, he hastily apologized:

"Why don’t we stop here? You must be tired. Get some rest."

"Mm..."

Anna murmured softly, seemingly oblivious to Leon’s unease. She closed the album, offering a faint smile as she nodded. But once Leon hurriedly left, she didn’t rise. Instead, she reopened the heavy album and flipped to the last page.

On the yellowed back cover, where the most important photo should have been, there was a torn, crumpled image. Whoever had ripped it had done so with great force, leaving jagged edges that refused to lie flat despite careful handling. Even the faces in the picture were incomplete.

In the damaged photo, the couple who had appeared countless times earlier—and who had been dead for six years—still smiled happily at the camera, embracing beneath a sign reading “Family Portrait.” But instead of four siblings, there was only one child, about eight or nine years old, standing between her parents, holding their hands and beaming at the lens.

Anna ran her finger over the child’s face, smoothing out the raised edges to reveal golden hair matching her mother’s. Staring at the unfamiliar smile, she bit her lip hard. Then, as if making a decision, she began scraping off the glued fragments with her nails. Finding matches and a small metal bucket, she tossed the pieces inside.

With a final, reluctant glance, Anna struck a match, lit a cotton ball, and dropped it into the bucket. The last photo of her parents and herself turned to ashes at the bottom of the pail.

---

Hmm... I seem to have forgotten to do something yesterday.

Unaware of what had transpired after he left the previous night, Leon—a worker without holidays—rose from his bed as dawn broke. Checking his makeshift notepad, he sighed in frustration. Yesterday, fearing Anna might recall painful memories, he had fled midway through looking at the photos, forgetting entirely to confirm his birthday with her.

Now, she and the younger ones were probably still asleep. He decided to ask her later that evening.

Glancing at the still-dark main bedroom, Leon shook his head and abandoned the idea of asking now. Instead, he picked up a stack of old newspapers, quietly slipped out of the house, and headed to work under the dim morning light.

Huh? Where’s the coffee stall?

When he reached the usual spot, Leon was surprised to find that despite the perfect weather for business, the vendor—whose name coincidentally matched Char Department Store—was nowhere to be seen.

After searching nearby streets without success, Leon finally gave up hope of getting his half-priced coffee. Disappointed, he trudged to another small stall across the street and ordered the cheapest cup available.

Though the other stall offered generous portions, it lacked the unique charm of Char’s coffee. Sighing regretfully, Leon gulped down the scalding drink and prepared to leave when he noticed a familiar face at a neighboring table.

Isn’t that one of Char’s regular customers?

Recognizing the man, Leon hesitated briefly before approaching.

"Excuse me," he began, gesturing toward the empty spot where Char’s stall usually stood. Before he could finish, the middle-aged customer raised his eyebrows knowingly and interrupted:

"Oh! Aren’t you the son-in-law Char chose?"

???

What? I’ve only bought coffee from him a few times—and paid for it, no less! How does that make me his son-in-law?

Seeing Leon’s bewildered expression, the customer chuckled and explained the origin of the nickname before asking:

"You’re wondering why Char isn’t here today, right? Well, I happen to know!"

Waving Leon to sit, the man continued:

"I ran into him last night. Apparently, his wife got caught in a business scam and lost a lot of money. She collapsed from shock, but luckily, a kind young man passing by saved her. Nothing serious happened, but she’ll need at least half a month to recover. Char said he has to take care of her and deal with those responsible, so he won’t be opening his stall for a while."

...

Business... scam... huge loss... collapsing from shock... saved by a passerby... This sounds oddly familiar...

Listening to the tale of the other “Mrs. Char,” Leon scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Coincidences in this world were truly absurd.

Logically speaking, if sneaking into Waterworks Company to steal documents could count as “passing by,” then the two Mrs. Chars’ stories were identical. As for whether the two could be the same person—or whether the coffee vendor on the street was the same Char who owned the department store...

Impossible!

Laughing inwardly at the ridiculousness of the idea, Leon smirked. Meeting a random coffee vendor on the street who turns out to be one of the richest men in the capital, saving his wife’s life during an assignment, and then hearing rumors about him being chosen as the son-in-law to inherit his empire...

Stop dreaming. Do you really think you’re the protagonist of this story?

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