My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 161

Ah wah wah, ah wah wah, ah wah wah wah wah wah.

Faced with a barrage of questions, I couldn't help but groan like Yoshi. They kept talking non-stop, and I couldn't understand a word they were saying. Plus, for some reason, someone suddenly started acting like they knew me well, and I didn't even have a chance to answer.

Most importantly, everyone completely considers us a couple.

Even I started to get anxious. Because I wasn't dating him at all; I'd been dumped. Even though everyone's misunderstood, continuing like this would make it seem like I was deceiving everyone, and that would be so embarrassing. Hurry… I have to deny it now…!

"Um...!"

"Hey! How often do you guys see each other during summer vacation?"

"Huh? Almost every day..."

"Every day!" "They're totally in love!"

"Ah, no, but when Mizuto went back to his hometown—"

"You call him Mizuto-kun?!" "Hey, hey, where do you two go on dates? Won't you run out of places to go if you go out every day?"

"Huh, no, I always go to Mizuto's house..."

"His place! Every day!" "Isn't that practically cohabitation?!"

"Ahhhh!" the female students screamed excitedly.

What should I do? I reflexively answered the questions one by one, thus missing the opportunity to deny the rumors.

But... actually, I'm a little happy.

Semi-cohabitation, semi-cohabitation... so that's what it looks like...

"A confession! Who made the first move?!"

"Huh? Oh, well, I guess it was my initiative..."

Even though I got dumped.

"What did you say? What did you say to him?"

"No, well, this is a bit..."

"She's shy! So cute!♪"

"Hehe, hehehe."

I don't know how long it's been since I talked this much with my classmates.

It might be the first time in your life.

Okay, although we're not actually dating, I'm not lying... Let me pretend to be your girlfriend for a while longer and I won't get any repercussions, right?

After the opening ceremony, I went to the library as I had done before summer vacation.

Maybe I'm just imagining things, but I always feel like someone is secretly watching me, even when I'm just walking down the hallway. A mix of feelings of superiority and unease makes me feel like my heart is swaying.

Wow, but honestly, it really startled me. I was telling the truth without giving anything away. My friend Yui once said that Mizuto and I acted like a couple, but I never expected it to actually be true.

That being said, causing such a commotion in the library would be a nuisance to others. I have to be careful not to get caught.

I felt like I had become a minor celebrity. I looked around to avoid other people's gazes as I walked into the library.

I walked to my usual spot—the corner of the wall by the window…wait a minute?

It's probably too late to think about this now, but will Mizuto come?

We did meet there every semester, but with the summer break in between, Mizuto-kun might not come back...

I felt a sense of unease... and peeked behind the bookshelf.

I saw it—Mizuto was there, gently leaning against the edge of the air conditioner by the window.

"...Hehehe."

This was clearly the norm last semester, but I felt inexplicably happy.

It seems that next semester, Mizuto will still come here to keep me company every day.

Does this mean... he is still keeping that agreement?

"...Hmm? Hi."

Mizuto noticed me and looked up from the book he was reading.

I walked up to him and said:

"It's been a long time since I've been here. I was wondering if you hadn't come."

"Habits aren't so easy to change."

"What book are you reading today—?"

As usual, I talked to him while putting down my schoolbag, taking off my shoes and socks, and sitting on the air conditioner by the window.

This gives me a sense of security.

Peeking out from a quiet corner of the library where no one can see me, with my classmate Mizuto beside me... this environment feels just like my own room, allowing me to relax.

Hmm... While it's nice to be praised by my classmates, this kind of environment suits my personality better. If I could choose one thing to take to a deserted island, I would definitely take Mizuto.

"—Look over there…" "So it's true…"

At this time...

The girl's whispered voice gently reached my ears.

Looking around, we noticed several female students sitting in the reading area frequently glancing at us and whispering amongst themselves. Oh, even places like this have fans of Mizuto?

As soon as Mizuto looked in that direction, the girls immediately looked away.

Seeing this, Mizuto frowned slightly.

"...Would you mind?"

I think Mizuto probably doesn't like being the center of attention.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes perfect sense. The current situation probably won't make Mizuto too happy.

But instead of answering my question, Mizuto said:

"You are the one, are you alright?"

"Well, it's alright, it's just that I'm being pampered by everyone, and I'm a little smug."

"Don't do that, you idiot."

"Ahh."

He gently poked my head.

Just like usual, except we don't hold back when we tease each other.

However, the moment the action was made, the girls immediately let out small screams.

"what……"

Mizuto quickly withdrew his hand.

Then, as if to hide something, he fiddled with his hair with his fingertips and sighed softly.

"...How did you actually tell them?"

"what?"

"What did you tell your classmates? They'll probably ask, right?"

"Uh──..."

When I said I was "a little smug," I meant it sincerely, but of course I couldn't say it out loud.

"I think...what I said was the truth..."

"It sounds a bit strange... but since you've said that, it should be fine, right? Anyway, I'm sticking to not responding for now."

"Will there be any problems?"

"Of course! If you go along with others and say we're dating, but I say we're not, what do you think will happen?"

"What will happen?"

"You'll become a neurotic who insists we're dating."

"...Wow! It really is!"

"So you hadn't thought of that before..."

I never expected this.

What a close call! Luckily, I didn't get carried away and brag to everyone, or I would have been in big trouble.

"So we need to do that first. We need to rehearse the moves first."

"Yeah. Sigh, I think even if we rush to deny it, it will only backfire. Continuing to gloss over it is probably the safest approach..."

"I understand...! I'll do my best to gloss over it!"

"This is really worrying... Ugh, this is such a hassle."

Mizuto sighed impatiently.

"They're all just a bunch of idle bums..."

...Indeed, it made me a little happy when my classmates talked to me.

I'm much more ordinary than my classmate Shuidou, and it's quite enjoyable to be the center of attention.

But... I absolutely do not want to cause any trouble for Mizuto-kun because of this.

◆ Kawamura Kogure ◆

"So? How's things going on your end?"

As I popped the delivered pizza into my open mouth as if it were dinner, I asked Xiaoyue, who was sitting across from me.

Xiaoyue also stretched the cheese into a long strand while using her other hand to scroll through her phone.

"It seems to have already spread among the first-year girls—but it doesn't seem malicious, so I don't think it'll cause any problems if we just leave it alone."

"Really? Nobody said anything like, 'Is that guy getting too cocky?'"

"There's almost none. Even if there is, it feels like some people deliberately like to criticize things that everyone else is praising. Maybe we should be glad that Irito-san hasn't really become a heartthrob yet. It seems like people find it acceptable for two weirdos to be a couple."

"Ha! But I absolutely cannot accept that."

"What about the boys?"

"Compared to the girls, it didn't cause much of a stir. It's just that some idiots might try to date Irito, who used her younger brother relationship as an excuse to avoid guys."

"You must resolve that issue completely."

"You don't need to tell me, I'm already doing it."

I said while scrolling through my phone screen:

"...So that means it's really okay not to put out the fire?"

Why emphasize "truth"?

"Because I told that guy Irito that if he found it troublesome, I could help him take care of it, but he told me to stop being a busybody."

"What a busybody... Maybe Irito doesn't care what others think of him."

"No... I should say..."

I recalled the situation at that time. When I suggested putting out the fire, Irito said this to me:

—Are you looking down on the East?

"What do you think he meant?"

"Mmm-hmm..."

Xiaoyue frowned, pondering the matter with a troubled expression.

"...Higashi-san is such a little girl in front of me or Yui-chan. She gets shy for ages when Iri-san praises her, and conversely, she gets upset and frustrated when she gets scolded... It feels like I'm taking care of a little sister."

"Huh? So what?"

"I wonder if Irito-san knows about that side of her..."