My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 126

"Oh dear, we're starting to delve into troublesome issues... Hmm—in short, romantic feelings and the instinct to procreate should be two different things. Otherwise, wouldn't that be denying all homosexuality?"

"...That's true."

"What's the difference between love and lust, right...? This is probably a question that has troubled humanity for thousands of years, but anyway, if I were to answer it—"

Cousin Yuanxiang leaned her head languidly against her arm resting on the edge of the bathtub.

With a mischievous smile—like a whisper on your pillow—tell me:

"—Even after we've made love, when I see my boyfriend's face, I still feel like I really like him?"

"Love—!"

I couldn't help but recall the time that ended in failure, and the time he pushed me down when my mother and the others weren't around—my whole body was burning up so much that I couldn't even feel the temperature of the hot water.

"Hehehe! Isn't this a little too exciting?!"

Cousin Yuanxiang stood up from the bathtub, creating a splashing sound.

Her full breasts were like the eaves of a house on a rainy day, with raindrops dripping down.

"I didn't tell you to give me an answer right now. Didn't I say 'finish it early and take your time'? So—just give it a try, and stop awkwardly avoiding him!"

"You...you say that..."

But if I could do that, I wouldn't be so sad.

Cousin Yuanxiang chuckled again.

Now, her laughter sounds to me like the doomsday horn blown by an angel.

"It's alright, leave it to my cousin!"

"Okay, wait for me here for a bit!"

After saying those words, Cousin Yuanxiang slammed the glass sliding door shut.

After I finished showering, my cousin Yuanxiang led me to a room that had absolutely no romantic atmosphere.

Inside, there was only a chest of drawers and an empty bookcase, so it seemed to be an empty room—but the tatami mats looked clean, so it didn't seem to have been neglected in cleaning.

With so many people moving in, there are still empty rooms... What a magnificent mansion!

An old incandescent light bulb hung from the ceiling, but it was not turned on.

Seeing that it didn't have a pull cord, I rubbed my arms through my knitted cardigan while looking for the light switch.

Even in summer, it can get chilly at night, so dress warmly—that's what my cousin Yuanxiang told me. I wonder if she meant this whole thing would take so long that I'd catch a chill? I think she's trying to set me up with Shuidou…

Ah, found it.

I pressed the switch on the wall.

However, the light bulb on the ceiling did not seem to be turning on.

It seems that the only light source in this room is the moonlight shining through the glass.

"—This is it, this is it."

In the moonlight, two figures were reflected.

One is my cousin Yuanxiang.

The other one... is probably a water bucket.

"I'm sorry~ I was asked to do this!"

"...Since we're already here, it's fine."

"Thank you! I think I should find it soon!"

It seems they used the excuse of asking him to help them find something to bring him here.

I see... So I helped out too, and while we were doing things, they naturally arranged opportunities for us to speak, right?

As expected of Cousin Yuanxiang, that's a brilliant plan.

...As expected, he would obediently listen to anything that was his cousin Yuanxiang.

"Alright, come in, come in!"

The glass sliding door opened.

When Mizuto saw me in the room, he frowned slightly.

But his cousin Yuanxiang pushed his back forcefully, forcing him to step onto the tatami mat.

"I think it's in that chest of drawers! Let's look for it together, Yui! Please!"

"……oh."

Shuidou gave a casual reply, then looked at me again and walked toward the five-drawer chest she had indicated.

Their attitude was extremely bad.

What would it be like to say hello?

—I suppressed the urge to unleash a torrent of abuse as I walked toward the chest of drawers.

at this time……

"Ah! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Cousin Yuanxiang made a ridiculously fake scream while pressing her hand to her stomach.

"My stomach suddenly hurts! I need to go to the bathroom!"

Just as I was stunned by the absurdly bad acting, my cousin Yuanxiang ran into the hallway and closed the glass sliding door.

Then, he said loudly to us in the room:

"I absolutely will not be back for at least half an hour! And I absolutely will not let my uncle and aunt come over! So you absolutely, absolutely cannot leave this room before I return!"

"Then I'm off!" With that, Cousin Yuanxiang left with light footsteps that didn't sound like she was suffering from stomach pain.

"........."

"........."

An unsettling silence hung in the dimly lit room, illuminated only by moonlight.

--So, so utterly useless!

I take back what I just said, "No wonder she's Cousin Yuanxiang." Who arranges things so haphazardly? Even Dongtou is more considerate and thoughtful than her!

Cousin Yuanxiang...it seems she's the type who can't lie.

"...Sigh. So that's how it is..."

Mizuto sighed and put the documents he was about to take out of the dresser back down.

She probably realized that the reason she was brought here was just an excuse.

"Half an hour..."

Mizuta took his phone out of his pocket to check the time. There was no clock in the room.

Then, he sat down near the brighter glass sliding door and immediately started scrolling through his phone.

It seems she has absolutely no intention of cooperating with Cousin Yuanxiang's arrangements...

"...Don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

Hearing me ask this calmly, Mizuto glanced in my direction and said:

"You're the one who has something to say, aren't you?"

My gaze immediately returned to my phone.

"I am no longer obligated to care about your feelings one by one."

Yes.

It's so accurate it makes me angry.

While you're still dating, you might have to make concessions sometimes in order to maintain the relationship.

But now we are brothers and sisters, a relationship that cannot be severed.

There is no reason to force yourself to bow your head.

Therefore, the one who should speak up is... me, who feels apologetic.

But—I don't know.

I don't know how to talk to him.

I don't know what problem is stuck in my mind right now, or how to solve it.

This is my third day in this home.

On the first day, in the old study, I first came into contact with the origins of this man.

The next day, I joined the relatives and stayed by his side, as if I had found my place as a family member.

But on the third day... I realized how narrow-minded I was.

Yes, that's the kind of person I am.

A person who thinks negatively, is timid, narrow-minded, and petty.

Water bucket must be tired of me by now.

Ultimately, the most direct reason for our breakup during junior high school was my lack of tolerance.

No matter how much I think about it, everything is my fault. I wasn't smart enough, I didn't know how to be considerate of others, my attitude was terrible, and my handling of situations was inappropriate—I am almost entirely reaping what I sowed.

That's why I'm still unable to let go of feelings I should have forgotten long ago.

Ah... I understand.

I don't know why, but I gradually came to understand.

Know where the problem lies and how to solve it.

Now I know what I should say to him.

But this requires courage.

It takes more courage than to interrupt a book-reading water bucket with your words, or even to get to the root of the water bucket.

Because it's like reopening an old wound.

It felt like forcibly tearing open the scab that had been hanging over my heart for so long, a wound that had never truly healed.

Even so, in order for me... so that we can move towards the future—

—I must accept the pain of first love.

I went to the water basin sitting by the wall and sat down on the ground there.

Shuidou didn't look up; he continued looking at his phone.

So—I used a name that I would never have had the chance to use again.

"Irito-san."

The finger that was swiping on the phone stopped.

"Irito-san."

A puzzled look crossed my eyes.

"Irito-san."

This is what I have to face.

We should fight against it.

For feelings that truly remain in one's heart, one should not pretend to be indifferent or pretend to have moved on.

Because I simply cannot ignore it forever.

"Irito-san, Irito-san, Irito-san—"

I want to—I want to—call him that forever.

Call it many, many more times.