My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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"But I haven't seen Yui in her uniform for a long time, have I?"

"Does changing my clothes make me a different person...?"

"It's not a character from a mobile game!"

Ma Xi laughed heartily with boundless energy early in the morning.

Anyway, I first pulled Xiaoyue, who was clinging to me, away. It was very hot. Although it was already September, the temperature was still like summer.

"Oh dear—summer vacation is over just like that—"

As Maki looked around the classroom, she said reluctantly.

"It doesn't feel as summery as I imagined—is it because it lacks youthful energy? Even though it's a big competition with intensive training and club activities—and everyone seems pretty much the same—"

"I'm almost always lazing around at home. I only occasionally help out at the sports club. I'm exhausted from doing homework—"

"Seriously! There's simply no time to enjoy my youth! Ah—!"

Xiaoyue casually concealed the fact that she went to the swimming pool with Chuanbo. Xiaoyue's ability to lie or have secrets without batting an eye is a little frightening to me.

"What about Nasukichi? Did anything happen during summer vacation?"

When asked, Nasu Hana gave a somewhat absent-minded look reminiscent of Dongtou's character:

"On my end, the only competitions are the club activities."

"What? So you're the same kind as me?"

"And another thing is that I've gotten a boyfriend."

"What?! A man?! Huh?"

“Huh?”

We were all taken aback and turned to look at Nasu Hana's dazed expression.

"Boyfriend...wait, what? What did you just say?"

"I said there's a major competition in the club activities."

"That's not what I was asking you, that's not what I was asking you!"

"Don't try to fool me! I'm asking about your boyfriend!"

Maki wavered and started speaking in a fierce tone, while Nasuka just stared blankly at the side with her head tilted.

"You're asking me about having a boyfriend?"

"Right, right, right!"

"Are you serious?!"

"Um."

Nasu Hana nodded calmly.

"Wow..." We stared blankly at her face.

This isn't our fault, because Nasu Hana—should we call her an energy-saving person?—is basically super averse to trouble and has never shown the slightest interest in the opposite sex. She's like a female version of Oreki Houtarou… I never imagined that it was someone else who underwent such a complete transformation during summer vacation…

"Who is it!"

Maki was the first to break free of her bewildered state, leaning forward towards Nasuka.

"Who is it?! Who are you dating?! Someone from our class?!"

"He's a senior student involved in club activities."

Did he confess his feelings to you?

"No, I was the one who brought it up."

"""What!"""

Confessing my feelings? Expressing my love? With that lazy face that's been going on for a whole year?

Nasu Hana said without any shame:

I told him, "Senior, I know you have feelings for me. If you want to date, let's start soon."

"Can this... be considered a confession?" Maki asked.

"It's not quite what I imagined..." Xiaoyue said.

"But it might suit Nasu Hana's personality..." That's what I said.

"No, wouldn't dragging things out and being so hesitant be a waste of time?"

Woo!

Those words, sharp as blades, pierced my heart. I have my reasons...

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever known that Nasuyoshi can fall in love."

"What do you take me for?"

"It does give the impression that you would say 'that's too much trouble' and refuse."

"I understand—!"

"This senior is different from others."

Suddenly, such a serious remark came out, and we immediately became excited.

"After club activities, he would treat me to ice cream on his way home."

"They're too easy to please."

My restless mood has calmed down.

Although I often call Dongtou a weirdo, Nasu Hana is pretty much the same...

However, just thinking about how, without our knowledge, Nasu Hana went home with the senior student from the club every day and had him buy her ice cream, and that was actually the senior student's clumsy way of pursuing her, and how she silently sensed his affection for her—made her heart flutter a little.

However, the person involved seemed completely unconcerned, turning their gaze in a completely unrelated direction.

"When it comes to knowing how to date, Irito-san is probably more surprising than me, isn't she?"

"Ah! Yes, yes! It's Irito's younger brother, right! I've heard about him!"

My heart skipped a beat.

Before summer vacation, we changed seats, and Shuidou's seat is now quite a distance from mine, located almost in the middle of the aisle. Now, Kawanami is there like a watchdog, holding his position and preventing other classmates who are itching to ask Shuidou questions from getting close.

"Hasn't it all over the place? It's about Irito's brother and the girl in Class 3! Irito-san, is that true?"

"Uh...this..."

I looked away. How should I put this? I looked to Xiaoyue for help.

Xiaoyue said:

"Just tell the truth, okay?"

He even had a slight smile on his face while speaking.

"Oh? What? Little Yueyue knows the inside story too?"

"I guess so! I've gone out with that girl a few times—I mean, about Dongtou, didn't the four of us talk about it before?"

"East end—ah, you mean that girl?"

This reminds me of when Mizuto first met Higashi-san, Nasu-ka saw the two of them together. Her reaction, however, was surprisingly indifferent.

As for Maki, she said with great interest:

"Irito's younger brother is the real example of someone who's completely uninterested in romance. Ever since the midterms last semester, his personality seems to have become a kind of charm, so this news is really shocking—"

"Wasn't there already a rumor during the training camp? I've heard that Irito has been seeing a girl all the time."

"But it wasn't a big deal back then, right? Because he already had rumors with Irito-san, so it wasn't too bad in comparison—"

I quickly looked away again. That scandal was my own doing, and I had no room for defense.

"But things change once they're spotted on a date. The girl she's dating—is her name Dongtou? I heard her whole demeanor is completely different from when she was in school; she seems super cute."

"Haha."

Xiaoyue feigned ignorance and gave a fake smile. That completely different demeanor from when she was in school was something she and I had created together.

"So what's going on? Are they dating?"

"Ah—well..."

Xiaoyue is right. Making up excuses to cover it up might just make the rumors seem weirder and weirder.

"I think they... are probably not dating."

"Huh—? So it was just a rumor?"

"Most of the so-called rumors are just rumors."

"So, is the other thing also a rumor? That the girl's breasts are so big that they would make gravure idols feel ashamed?"

"That's true."

My voice overlapped with Xiaoyue's.

"Oh my god—is this for real? I really want to see it with my own eyes—"

"I could introduce them to everyone. She and Nasu Hana would probably get along really well, right, Yume?"

"Indeed. The two have very similar temperaments."

"Hey, what about me?"

"Then please excuse me for a moment, dear girl..."

"Who are you calling a delinquent?!"

Everyone burst into laughter, but I was secretly filled with worry.

It wasn't that I was worried about Dongtou's dating strategy progressing smoothly—it was that I anticipated the drastic changes in her surroundings would erode her life.

◆ Higashito Isana ◆

The moment I opened the classroom door, I was immediately taken aback.

Because until summer vacation, my school life was like being invisible. Even when I entered the classroom, no one would glance at me, let alone greet me. That was the norm.

But—what's going on now? There are so many eyes staring at me.

I've already heard the rumors about me and my classmate Mizuto from my female classmates.

I sensed it during the training camp, but Mizuto is really popular! It surprised me. Even though I was the one who liked him first.

I shrank back, trying to avoid everyone's gaze, and sat down in my seat. Ugh—I just couldn't concentrate. It's because I'm not used to being stared at. I heard that Jie has been a heartthrob since the beginning of the semester, so she's always lived under that kind of scrutiny? I have to admire her.

"Excuse me, Dongtou student..."

As I was hesitating between sleeping or studying before class started, a voice timidly struck up a conversation. Strange, who was she talking to—wait, didn't she just mention the east end?

"Ah!...You...you were looking for me?"

"Yes, that's right. I've been looking for you."

Two female classmates were standing in front of my seat. They were both classmates… their names were… uh… sorry! But Mizuto probably didn't remember her classmates' names either, so I got through safely!

The two students probably never imagined that someone would still not remember the names of their classmates by the next semester, and continued talking without introducing themselves:

"Well, we heard some rumors..." "We heard you went on a date with Irito from Class 7, is that true...?"

"Dating……"

My female classmates only told me that someone saw me with Mizuto. Could it be that they witnessed something that looked like a date? If so... I need to find out what actually happened first.

"Excuse me... are you referring to what happened on the 27th?"

"Ah! Yes, yes!" "It really is true!"

Wait, no, that's not right. I just confirmed the date; I haven't replied yet...

I wanted to correct my statement, but it was too late.

Perhaps they had been eavesdropping the whole time; it was as if they had seized the perfect opportunity, because all the girls in the classroom gathered around.

"When did you start dating?!" "You guys were always together during training camp, right?!" "Why did you keep it a secret?!" "What kind of person is Irito-san really?!" "Why are you being so formal?!"