"You don't need to do that. It's been a long time anyway. I missed you." Lubius spoke to Jamila.
"Is that so? You don't have to push yourself." Jamila spoke with a voice of worry for Lubius who, although his mother in this world was slightly different in appearance, somehow the voice she used and the look on her face were not that different from the mother of his past life.
"No, I don't. I'm fine."
"Well, if you said so. But if you change your mind you can say it. Okay…"
"Yes. Thank you, Mom."
"Oh, Lubius. You're coming down… I've prepared dinner for you. Are you going to bring it upstairs by yourself?"
Maybe he heard people talking to each other in the living room and it made him see what was going on. Before he saw Lubius having a conversation with his mother, which was a rare sight. So he asked his son, trying to make him as comfortable as he could.
Lubius turned toward his father's voice, which was the same as his mother's, Jamila. His father, Guraj, had changed in appearance and besides being more animated, he also looked smaller and not as bulky as Lubius remembered. This was probably because he was basically just a stay-at-home dad, which was something common in this world.
"No, I am thinking of having dinner with the two of you."
"Eh, really? That's really amazing. Haa… If you tell me about it. I will make your favorite food."
"Well, actually I just suddenly wanted to."
"Really, if that's the case, you can sit down. Dinner is ready."
To be honest, it was very strange for Lubius to see his father, Guraj, wearing an apron and working in the kitchen, because as far as he could remember, his father rarely did that in his previous life.
So Lubius followed his father's words, sat down and took the dinner his father had prepared. Jamila looked at Lubius and noticed whether he looked uncomfortable or not. However, she saw Lubius eating without making a fuss. She felt more relaxed.
Lubius himself enjoyed the dinner that was served this time. He didn't think it was much different from the food he ate in his past life, but if he was honest the food he ate was arguably more delicious than what he usually ate at home. It made him wonder if his father in his past life could cook more than his mother. Well, unfortunately he couldn't possibly know that.
During this dinner, it was his father Guraj who talked a lot and asked Lubius a few questions, who answered as best he knew how. Because he realized that he didn't get all the memories from Lubius in this world. If he thought about it again, basically when he got the various memories it was in a short time. So of course there were many memories that he still didn't receive.
'No, I guess the memories I got can be considered memories that helped me not to feel confused. Somehow I suspect I won't get any more memories.' Lubius felt that he was only getting one piece of the puzzle in a mystery. Although, of course, all of this might just be in his mind.
It was just that sometimes Lubius felt better knowing that what was happening had a purpose.
Lubius finished his meal, he couldn't believe that he ate so much under these circumstances. Or perhaps to relieve the tension he felt he ate more than usual. Something his parents probably realized.
"Honestly, there's something I want to talk about."
"Ah, yeah. We can see that." Jamila who responded to Lubius' statement.
"I actually have a debt."
"A debt!?"
"Yeah, and it's around $3000."
"That's a lot! What are they used for?"
"Most of it is used for online gambling, and buying various other things online. Mostly alcohol and some questionable drugs."
"Ah…" Guraj looked very shocked with a pale face, while Jamila held her forehead as a sudden problem arose.
"Well, It's a number that we can manage and solve. But, at the same time, it's not an amount that we can just let slide. Right, Dad?"
"Ah… Yes… It's also our fault for letting you do as you please too."
"I'm really sorry. But I don't think I can handle this all alone." Lubius finally apologized while bowing his head. Jamila and Guraj stared at each other, the situation was certainly not pleasant for either of them, but seeing their son genuinely regret and apologize like this. It was a relief, especially since Lubius was starting to show the withdrawal from society that often happens with boys.
"We might need to hold your credit account and stuff too." Guraj said something that made sense for a problem like this.
"We should also tighten up what you shop too and we're limiting your money. Also you may pay us back." Jamila added.
"..." Guraj showed a complicated expression. It may seem that he was not entirely happy, but at the same time this needed to be done.
"Well, that is to be expected. I'm grateful you are helping me…"
"Good, at least you don't have to worry about interest."
What Jamila said was true because that's why Lubius had to pay off this debt immediately. Besides, if the debt got bigger, he might get some unpleasant treatment. A lot of bad things happened to men who borrowed money from money lenders and the like after all.
"You may need to look at this…" Lubius showed proof that he borrowed money from one of the money lenders.
"Hm… Ah… This is really bad. We may need help from them."
"Really… Ah… that may be true."
"We may have the money. However, it is much quicker and easier to get help from a family that has a strong history like theirs."
Lubius could listen to his parents' conversation and wonder how long their family had known such a family. But considering that he was in a different world from his previous life. So it wasn't strange if there were things that were far different from what he knew.
"I'm really sorry. If there's anything I can do to help with this, I will. No, I'm even now hoping that you guys can help me get a job too." Lubius said that which made his parents' faces change.
"You want to get a job!" Guraj, his father couldn't even stop himself from commenting.
"Well, that would probably be very helpful." Jamila was a little surprised before smiling slightly at the change in Lubius.
"But working. Huh… But…" On the other hand, after seeing Lubius looking serious, Guraj began to think about what Lubius could do. In all honesty, as a dropout with only a high school education, and with Eron being so far from the standard, the list of jobs he could get was very limited.
"Is there a job you're thinking of? One you might like." Jamila asked Lubius once again, showing that she was more concerned about Lubius' feelings first.
"At this moment, I don't think I need to think about something like that. I'm happy to get any job."
"That might have some truth to it. But it's good to choose a job that you might like or at least be interested in. Right now, you're basically in an emotional state from what's going on. It's good that you're still thinking about your future and looking for a job that interests you." Jamila lectured Lubius not to be too hasty.
"Ah, okay. It's just that I don't know what I really want for myself." Lubius himself was interested in Eron because it was basically something that had never existed in his past life. However, since the Eron he had was far from standard it was unlikely that he could get involved in a field specialized for women.
"In that case, it would be good for you to work where we know. Especially if you still don't know what you want to do in the future. I think there might be a job in my office. If not, maybe your sister Sumira can help." Jamila finally offered the possibility of a place for Lubius to work.
"Okay."
"Good, You might want to calm down and leave this matter to us for now." Jamila spoke after she saw Lubius who nodded slowly listening to her explanation.
"Yeah, I will do that. I'm really grateful." Lubius once again bowed his head to his parents.
"It's fine, really… You can do it and we can get through this together." Jamila encouraged Lubius and took both of his hands and held them tightly as if trying to send her feelings to him. It was a very effective thing to do because Lubius felt that even though his family in this world looked a little different with different roles.
They were still very concerned about him giving Lubius that he was at home.
"Yeah, we know you have a difficult time. But I'm happy that finally you're open yourself…. It's just we may talk about other stuff too… Like a drug…" Guraj spoke as he took the time to walk up to Lubius and even hold his shoulder before the tone became more strict.
And that night, his father Guraj gave him a long lecture.