My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 116

I held up the plate that still had meat, but she said:

"No, no. This is for the water basin."

“Eh!”

"Could you please take this to him for me?"

Hehehe. Cousin Yuanxiang revealed another eerie smile.

...I think she must still be misunderstanding, right?

But my relationship with Mizuto really wasn't like that—in fact, we disliked each other.

"Okay, okay, hurry up—it's getting cold!"

"……All right."

That being said, insisting on refusing would seem even more suspicious.

I obediently took the plate and walked towards the relaxation mat where I was sitting by the sink.

As evening approached, the sunset slowly painted the sky. The shadows of the trees stretching along the riverbank, lengthened by the sunlight from the sides, enveloped the relaxation mat from all sides.

I said to Mizuta, who was standing there motionless, staring at the paperback edition:

"water……"

I wanted to call him, but then I hesitated again.

It's embarrassing... I should say, I still feel a little uncomfortable calling it that.

If it were my cousin Yuanxiang, she definitely wouldn't hesitate like this...

Thinking about this, I had an idea.

I adjusted my voice, trying to sound as cheerful as possible—imitating my cousin Yuanxiang—and spoke to Shuidou.

"Mizuto-kun!"

Likes and dislikes.

They sent me those two words without even glancing at me.

It seems he could tell who was coming just by listening to the footsteps.

Of course, I'm not happy at all.

I took off my sandals and sat down next to the water bucket.

"This is yours."

I handed him the plate, and this time he glanced at it but didn't seem inclined to put down his book.

Aren't you going to eat?

"I want to eat, but..."

Seeing the book Shui Dou had opened, and noticing that the pages on the left side had become noticeably thinner, I guessed what he meant.

You must have seen the climax of the plot. Of course you'd want to eat later.

In this case……

"Eehee."

"…………?"

Mizuto gave me a suspicious look. Oh no, I caught my cousin Madoka's laughter.

I picked up a piece of meat from the plate in the sink with my chopsticks.

"Open your mouth."

"Huh?"

"Ah~"

The laughter of adults came from not far away.

Mizuto glanced over there with a hint of unease.

"It'll be fine, they can't see it in this dark."

"No, that's not the problem..."

"So where is the problem?"

"this……"

"Hey."

“Ugh!”

I took advantage of the opening in his mouth and stuffed the meat inside.

Shuidou puffed out his cheeks and chewed the piece of meat. After swallowing it with a gulp, Shuidou glared at me in protest.

"Hey! It's dangerous—"

"Oh dear, look at you, your mouth is all over it!"

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm!"

I immediately used the handkerchief I had prepared to wipe my mouth with the water bucket.

After wiping it completely clean, I chuckled softly.

"If you just shut your mouth, you'll be just as cute as Takema."

"...Then you should go and take care of Takema."

"Are you alright? Does it make you jealous that your sister was taken away?"

Likes and dislikes.

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

This man, who is usually annoying, seems to become an adorable younger brother if you treat him differently.

I don't know if she saw a paragraph or if she was afraid I would do the "open your mouth" thing again, but Shuidou closed the book and put it aside, then snatched the plate and chopsticks from my hands.

I sat next to him, watching my ex-boyfriend and stepsister start stuffing meat and vegetables into his mouth.

"...Hey, water—"

Hmm.

Ugh! Why can't I just say it?!

While chewing his food, Mizuto looked at me and said:

"You've been calling me 'Water' all day. That's quite a unique nickname."

"You...you found out?"

"Of course... I was prepared for the worst, thinking you would start calling me by my first name from today."

...In other words, just as the person making the call needs to be mentally prepared, the person being called also needs to be mentally prepared, right?

"...Try calling me by my name this once."

"Why?"

"It's not fair that I'm the only one calling you by your first name."

"Who cares about you? You're the one who called out."

"Is this a good idea? If I'm the only one calling you by your first name, but you use honorifics, everyone will think I'm the older sister."

"...Ugh! You despicable scoundrel..."

I ignored his stubbornness after losing the water fight, but he stubbornly pouted and said:

"...Conclusion—"

"Knot?"

"........."

"What a unique nickname!"

"Mind your own business!"

Mizuto said in a forceful tone, taking a big bite of potato.

Was he embarrassed? ...or...

Is it reluctance to part?

I can't bear to part with the surname "Ayai," which no longer exists.

Good morning, Ayai.

—Have you read that book, Ayai?

—I like you, Ayai.

──Ayai.

I don't know how many times I've heard his gentle voice.

That was a fleeting image of first love, gone forever.

A pang of sorrow shot straight to my heart. I admit it, but... precisely because of this, I cannot linger in the past.

We must not cling to things we are attached to.

He and I are both "Irito" – we are not married, but step-siblings.

The past romantic relationships were nothing more than trivial matters.

Because this is everything we have now.

"By the way, I was wondering, hasn't that rule been used recently?"

"Oh...the one who gets punished for doing things that step-siblings shouldn't do?"

"We're used to it, and we might not even need it anymore."

"...It's hard to say. I think we might need it today."

"what?"

Looking at the babbling brook, Shuidou continued rudely:

"Staring at you in a swimsuit is not something a fraternity would do."

Ah. Oh──...

I see, that's true.

Ok?

"Why...why did you specifically choose to tell me this?"

"Because you're hard to deal with... Are you relieved now? Now you know why I don't look at your swimsuit."

"...Pig head."

I turned my face away, refusing to look at the water scoop that was maliciously curling its lip.

If I said I was relieved, that would be going against the rules.

"In any case, let's keep that rule in place, especially while we're here. After all, there are too many people here who can't be exposed."

"That's true...maybe that's indeed the case."

I glanced over and saw that the plate in Shuidou's hand was empty.

Mizuto's eyes were fixed on the empty plate.

"...Still not full? Do you want to get some more?"

"……Too."

Shuidou replied curtly, glancing at what I was holding, and said:

"You can grab some while you're at it."