Capítulo 48: To keep this family safe
Vladimir nodded, as if he'd expected these words to come out. Nadezhda looked to him for guidance, "What does that mean?"
He shot her a condescending look and explained, "Emancipated, Nadya. We won't be responsible for him anymore. He can make his own decisions."
"Absolutely not! Just give him an inch, he'll start drinking and smoking…"
"Mom!" Michael's face was an open book, and the story was one of exasperation. "I will not be allowed to drink, drive, vote or marry. And if I started smoking, the principal would find out in a day or two. That guy knows everything."
"But why, Misha? Are you not happy with us?" the woman's eyes were getting puffy.
"Of course, I am! But I want to run a company, come up with fresh ideas, live for bigger things than classes! Not that I'm dropping out, mind you. Can't you see, this is the best time for me to make something out of myself. While I'm at EIS."
His mother sulked, "You're still my son, Misha. Still a child."
"Get it together, woman. He's not moving away, you can mother him all you want," interjected Vladimir. "He's getting all the troubles of being an adult and none of the privileges."
Nadezhda silently stood up and left the room. Michael moved to chase after her, but his father indicated to drop the matter.
"Your mom is just too emotional right now. You know how she is."
Michael tried to look at it from the woman's perspective. Her husband refused to move with them to Europe, but she made the sacrifice of not seeing him for Michael's education. Then, she left her son to finish her work for a company in Russia to get the late pay she was owed. That was when Vladimir's health declined.
After the comet, Nadezhda endured a hellish month of seeing both men in her life wither away. She lived alone in their apartment, unable to accompany her cultivator son. Now that the family was together once again and financially stable, Michael showed interest in leaving the nest.
For his mother who thought of herself as a homemaker, these past three months were a rollercoaster ride full of painful events. She only wanted to keep together, but something tore at their bonds, threatening to take her husband or her son away.
"I support you, Misha," the words woke Michael up.
"Dad?"
"I realize this can't be easy. You've proven to me how much you've grown. I'm proud of you." Vladimir's normally cold face softened as he gave his son a lopsided grin.
Michael hugged his father. They didn't spend much time together when he was little, so he only had some recollections of him back then. But many of Michael's manly qualities like leadership, decisiveness and unwillingness to bend in face of adversity he got from his dad.
In this life, with LZD suppressed and other advantages over the old him, Michael had the chance to put these qualities to good use.
"I wish I could give you a starting capital, but you don't seem to need one," laughed Vladimir. "The best thing I have," he waved the debit card with two million on it, "you held in your hand a minute ago."
"I still have enough."
"Yes. My son!" Vladimir hugged the teenager's shoulders. "If you ever need advice, don't be shy and ask your old man. I might not have all the answers, but sometimes all you need is a voice you can trust."
"Thanks, dad."
"I'll take care of your mother, go and make preparations."
Michael shook his head, "Let me talk to her first."
When his son left the room to comfort his old wife, Vladimir gave a slight nod and whispered, "Really grown up." He patted his groin with pride, giving himself credit for his child's business acumen and talents. Who else could he thank? That's where Misha's life began, after all!
An hour later, Nadezhda Severniy calmed down and unlocked the door into her and her husband's room to go wash her face. When mother and son occupied the apartment three months ago, there were two of them, and they decided not to move to a bigger place when Vladimir arrived. Michael had the smaller room to himself, while his parents shared the space in another one.
When Nadezhda opened the door, she felt a slight push which prompted her to look down. There was her son, sitting on the floor, his back reclined on the door.
A normal person would fall back if someone took the support out from them, but 1-stage, 4-star provided Michael with a little ability called Enhanced Sense of Balance. On pure reflex, he stretched his leg, clenched his toes and tensed his abdomen. Somehow, it shifted his weight with such precision that he kept his body in a straight position.
"Mom!"
"Misha, what are you doing here? Where is your father?"
"He went for a walk a while ago. Look, mom, I'm not trying to leave you. It's just so I don't run into unnecessary problems."
"I-I understand," Nadezhda wiped her cheeks for the umpteenth time to get rid of the traces of tears.
"I know how that must feel, mom. Don't worry, it won't happen."
"What?"
"Dad doesn't get it," Michael chuckled bitterly, "He doesn't know how far you and I will go to keep this family safe."
His mom's face went slack. Did Misha really feel her pain? He was never a very compassionate boy, but…
The woman pressed her son's head against her chest. She cared about the two silly boys more than anything, and the younger one was not as little as she remembered anymore.
'Fuck! Who dares threaten my family! Show me a monster, I'll kill a monster! Show me a demon, I'll slay a demon! Give me a spoon, and I will chew on it until it becomes a blade!' Michael's family was taken from him too early in another world. With his more mature, grimmer attitude, there was no telling what horrible things he could do to whoever tried to keep them apart.
He was so full of passion in that moment that he teared up. Nadezhda thought it was because he cared so much about her opinion. She flashed her son a weak smile and said, "If you believe it's the right thing to do, you have my OK."
Michael only hugged her again.
As was within his expectations, in the two years of EIS's existence, there had been previous cases of students getting emancipated. After a consultation with the school's legal representative, Michael filed the papers on the same day. At the same time, he took the necessary steps to register North Gaming as a company. The finishing touches would be done after he gets his full legal status.
Vladimir and Nadezhda were hesitant to travel after spending so little time with their child. There was also Anna who lived next door and needed to be looked after.
To the old couple's surprise, however, their son was a changed man. In the several days after his return to school, he put an end to his heroic image among the students. The attention was unwarranted, because there was no threat to Michael's life. He didn't know it back then, but it left him feeling like a fraud when students approached him in the halls to thank him.
He dealt with all his overdue homework in a matter of days. That was together with YouTube videos, applying for partnership, dealing with legal matters and helping Dimitri with game support.
Michael also learned how to cook somewhere, and cook well. His craftsmanship wasn't outstanding, his dish repertoire was limited, but the taste always left his parents wanting more. Vladimir gained weight quickly on such delicious food.
As for the cultivator himself, he flaunted his bachelor skill with glee. If he'd known that Enhanced Senses of Taste and Smell were so useful, he would've purchased them long ago. Now, he worked his ass off to keep mom and dad happy before the court hearing.
In the evenings, he checked his glory points balance and smiled whenever filial piety appeared in Glory's Notifications. Once, he struggled to get these points and felt their absence when his mother left. Now, they came in by the thousand. Michael was saving up for treating Anna's mother, Natalia, instead of buying two costly memory abilities.
One good habit he didn't take to was working out. Michael was incapable of it in his past life. Even in this life, it intensified LZD1's symptoms and was pretty useless, considering the second stage was almost certainly all about the body.
A few days later, when the cultivator was on the brink of his 9-star breakthrough, the Severniys went to court. After glowing recommendations and full consent from both parents, Michael became a legal adult.
That evening, when the family was on their way home, they met another student one year older than Michael, Marie Dupont. The blonde girl stopped jogging and waved at him, "Getting famous, Mike!"
"Huh?"
"There are TV people at the school gates, looking for you. Want to feature you in a morning show."
Vladimir and Nadezhda shared a stupefied look.
That kind of attention was not something they were used to.
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