My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 140

A perfectly reasonable reason pierced my heart.

Indeed... there's a bed right next to it, there's no need to sit on the floor...

So that means... I was really too quick to jump to conclusions...?

"You clearly love reading mystery novels, but your observation skills are worse than a smartphone's facial recognition function."

“Ugh…!”

"At this rate, you can't even be Watson. The whole series is going to become a narrative trick."

"Waaah...!"

"The narrative trick is established the moment you appear, the reading threshold is too high. It's as bad as the book jacket says 'Mastering the trick in the last line.' You're like a 'Mansion' series that can walk in clothes. I think only Ayatsuji Yuki could write a character like you."

The way you described it makes it sound kind of cool!

"What...what's wrong...you talk a good game, but you really don't have a single impure thought!"

"Huh?"

"Even if you say you lost your balance and stumbled, that's true! She's so cute! And has such big breasts! Besides... a girl likes you so much, and you pushed her down! Don't you feel anything at all?!"

What right do I have to say such things?

Even if Mizuto really has inappropriate thoughts about her, I have no right to condemn him.

The mind clearly understands this, but the mouth keeps talking on its own.

"You must feel incredibly lucky, or maybe you're thinking of taking advantage of the situation! Didn't you ever even consider sneaking a touch on her in the chaos? But you're making excuses to cover up those thoughts—"

"I hadn't thought about it."

Mizuto spoke in a firm tone.

"I didn't have that thought at all. If I had to say something, I'd only be worried about whether Dongtou bumped his head."

"...Stop trying to impress me..."

"I'm serious."

"Then prove it to me."

I made an unreasonable request.

She became the worst and most difficult girl to deal with.

"Prove to me that even when you're on top of a girl, you don't feel anything at all. That way I'll believe you—"

"understood."

Shuidou stood up and moved closer to me, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Huh?

"Isn't it enough to prove it to you?"

"Wait—"

They didn't even have a chance to resist.

The moment he grabbed my arm, I was slammed down onto the soft bed with a thud.

"........."

"........."

Under the bright white LED fluorescent lights, there is a face of water.

Shuidou's slender hands pressed my arms onto the sheets; Shuidou's raised knees trapped my legs.

A warm breath landed softly on my lips.

As if melted by it, I moved my previously frozen throat and said:

"...You don't feel anything at all?"

"……No."

"real?"

"real."

"...You're lying."

I'm not lying to you.

No, you're lying. You're absolutely, positively lying.

Because my mind was already completely filled. The sensations from the night before last returned to my mind, and every brain cell was screaming to remember more of those feelings.

"...Are your arms sore?"

I stared intently into Mizuto's eyes and spoke.

"Will it—lose its balance?"

If the water bucket truly feels nothing, then it's an accident.

It's just an uncontrollable event.

No need to apologize to anyone, and no need to consider anyone's...feelings.

"……you……"

I did not respond to the water bucket's whisper.

Instead, I lightly touched the arm that Shuidou was using to prop himself up on the bed.

With just a slight effort, bending the elbow—such a small movement is enough to disrupt the balance.

The current balance isn't so bad.

But even so, I still—

"Mizuto-kun? Yui-kun? I think I heard someone swearing loudly—"

click.

Dongtou opened the door without knocking.

"........."

"........."

"........."

Shuidou, Dongtou, and I all froze on the spot.

The frozen atmosphere immobilized us.

Then—after about ten seconds.

Dongtou slowly began to close the door.

"No... don't worry about me, it's okay..."

"It was just a temporary loss of balance!"

Before the door was completely closed, we shouted from the bottom of our hearts.

"Oh dear—that almost scared me to death."

I first sent Shuidou back to his room (staying in the same room with him would make it hard for me to stay calm), and then I tried my best to clear up the misunderstanding with Dongtou.

...A misunderstanding? Well, I guess...you could call it a misunderstanding, um.

Surprisingly, Dongtou readily believed me. But...

"The moment I opened the door, everything became clear to me. Ah—so that's how it is—no wonder I got dumped—that's how it is."

"Uh, um... I see..."

I looked away.

"But at the same time, I also thought, you and him are clearly in that kind of relationship, yet you still helped me confess—really? Is that true?"

"Yeah, that's right—it's such an exaggeration, isn't it—"

I could only keep looking away.

"But then again, I think it would be acceptable if it were a female classmate named Yui—"

"what?"

"It turns out it was a misunderstanding! I was so scared—"

No, wait a minute, don't try to solve this in your head. I can't pretend I didn't hear that.

"For example, if it were me, I could accept it? Don't you like water features?"

"Huh? Didn't I say that before? I think I said that even if Mizuto gets another girlfriend, it's okay for me, right?"

"I think I've heard you mention it before..."

"But it still depends on the person, doesn't it? If the other person is a slut who treats men as a hobby, how disgusting would that be?"

"……Too."

"In that respect, I think it's fine if it's a female classmate. Although there might be many difficulties in dating step-siblings, honestly, it's none of my business anyway."

Dongtou chuckled. Seeing such irresponsibility was actually quite satisfying.

"But even so... don't you care about me helping you confess...?"

"Well, that depends on how you interpret it. Maybe Yui feels that even if they're just step-siblings, there's still a lingering unease about dating, so she wants Mizuto to find someone else."

She's so sensible. I really wish she could share some of that understanding with me.

"But it was all a misunderstanding, right?"

"Uh, yes, that's right. I'm not dating Mizuto at all."

"I see—but then again, it's not that common for siblings to fall in love."

That's right, it's impossible. Yes, that's right, impossible, but...

……So this is ah.

Dongtou's classmate... even if we date, she won't blame us.

She is willing to forgive me.

"Dongtou, classmate..."

"What's wrong, Ms. Jie?"

I hugged Dongtou tightly from the front.

"I... hope that Dongtou can find happiness."

"I'm already very happy, aren't I?"

She chuckled and said:

"If this were a light novel, it would have ended with a perfect ending long ago."

That's it.

I hope that I can become like you soon.

How can I become like you?

All I need to do is convey these feelings to Mizuto... ask him to accept my love... and then we can be lovers again...

Is this really okay?

Will this allow me to surpass my past self?

◆ Irito Mizuto ◆

After returning from Jie Nu's room, Dong Tou exhaled a satisfied "Hoo-hoo!" through his nose.

"I've been flirting with my female classmate!"

"...Really? That's great."

"yes!"