My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 172

"This point."

...She didn't explain it clearly, but I felt like I understood what she meant.

Maybe it's just my imagination... no, it must be. I must have misunderstood.

I thought to myself, I should confirm things with her. Deep down, I knew that was the right thing to do. However… right now, I don't even know how to ask her.

"...Perhaps I cannot see what the east end sees."

but……

"If it's just about listening to what she saw... I could probably manage that."

"Why not be more decisive and say it's absolutely possible?"

Jie smiled gently, as if teasing her timid younger brother.

"How about it? Feeling more confident now?"

"I've got it. I'm confident enough to say I'm just a mortal."

"If you're just a mortal, then what am I?"

In that instant, a sentence naturally slipped out.

That was something I should have said to you more than a year ago, when you made your first friend.

"I think you're amazing."

“…Huh?”

Yes, let's start with acknowledging it.

I acknowledge that you are no longer the delicate girl who needed me to open even the pull tab on a beverage can.

I admire your ability to admit that you can do things I can't.

"Huh? Huh? W-what do you mean? What do you mean by saying I'm amazing? How am I amazing? Explain it more clearly!"

"...I'm telling you, your writing is absolutely terrible!"

"What did you say?!"

Okay... um.

There's no way to rush these things; we have to take it one step at a time.

And so, my completed novel, just as I had originally intended, received the worst possible rating, which, to put it bluntly, greatly contributed to the healing of Isana's heart ailment.

But unexpectedly, I never imagined that the situation would develop into such a gathering—

"This coincides with the upcoming school cultural festival."

Kawanami Kogure said this on the other end of the phone.

"What's even better is that just two days ago, I made you and Irito into executive committee members! Now you'll have even more opportunities to be together, not only at home but also at school! Give my past self a thumbs up!"

No, no, no.

Now that Higashito Isana has fully returned to normal, she calmly makes a comment.

"Doing something like this without consulting the person beforehand just leaves them speechless. It's no different from a chef forcing a Vtuber to collaborate with someone else."

"Mind your own business! This is my life's work! What do you know!"

This is truly a lifelong career of causing trouble for others. If you want to play around, go play with derivative works.

"Anyway! When it comes to school festivals! There's nothing more youthful than this. I won't tell you to confess, but at least create some romantic atmosphere for me! Who knows, she might even confess to you instead!"

"In light novels and manga, you often see scenes of creating a romantic atmosphere during school festivals, but does that really happen in real life? Especially since we're a prestigious school that strictly adheres to its rules."

"Idiot! It's only because it's a prestigious school that they go crazy during events. Just look at Kyoto University's school festival."

Ugh... I can't believe I'm thinking the same thing as someone like that...

According to her, Isana was traumatized because she thought of attending the prestigious Kyoto University due to its many eccentric individuals. However, my knowledge of Kyoto University is limited to the works of Tomihiko Morimi.

"Listen up, you all!"

Kawanami spoke in a manner just like a teacher leading a school trip, reminding everyone of important things to do.

"Our Luolou High School's cultural festival includes a bonfire party every year during the evening festival. Do you know what that is, Dongtou? It's dancing around a huge bonfire."

"Of course I know! You're making me think too little about society!"

"Don't you feel that if we dance together around that fire, we can be together forever?"

"It was just your imagination! There's no such thing as a campus legend!"

"There's no way there would be a comic book-style plot. Even if there were, it would definitely be copied from some romantic comedy."

"...So? You mean we have to dance? You want me to dance? With Yui?"

I interrupted their stand-up comedy routine and asked them directly, to which Kawanami replied firmly and forcefully, "That's exactly it."

"However, I heard that nobody actually danced; they were just whispering sweet nothings around the campfire. It also conveniently silenced the rumors about 'East End Girlfriends' spreading across campus—a win-win situation!"

"In this situation, wouldn't I be the one breaking the Guinness World Record for speed?"

"Don't worry. You'll just end up being a pathetic woman who recklessly tries to ruin the relationship between those two from the Irito family and ends up getting nowhere."

"That would be even worse!"

I really don't understand why I have to do this kind of thing...

"Sigh." I couldn't help but sigh...

"Don't you want to figure out what Irito-san really thinks?"

Kawanami spoke to me with a serious tone, getting straight to the point.

"If Irito-san has feelings for you, she'll definitely show them when the situation is right; if she doesn't, whatever you do will be a waste of time. So just continue being her brother and sister. Either way, you'll escape this ambiguous, unresolved situation. It won't do you any harm. If I had to say there is, it would be—"

"Kawaba".

This time, I used a firm tone and called his name.

"You're interfering too much—I get angry too."

"...Um, sorry. It went a bit too far."

You've gone too far, and this isn't the first time.

The momentary tension seemed to have made Isana hold her breath; I heard her exhale.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is, you won't lose out. At least not in your case, right?"

"...What if she really does have that intention?"

"Just date her."

"Just date her."

"You make it sound so simple..."

Only outsiders can make such sarcastic remarks. These two have absolutely no idea what it's like to fall in love while living in the same house.

"If you really can't accept it, just reject her. Even though you might feel guilty for playing with her feelings—you still need to make things clear, right? With ordinary classmates, you could pretend you don't know and let it go until graduation, but you're siblings."

...She spouts platitudes to the point of being infuriating. Yes, if that's what she means, pretending not to know won't last long. We need to think of a solution as soon as possible.

It would be best if I were just creating trouble for myself. That way, I could relax and treat that woman like a sister.

"……knew……"

"oh?"

After much agonizing, I finally said:

"As long as it's within the bounds of common sense, I'll listen to you. Just don't be too obvious and make that woman think I'm in love with her."

"Don't worry, I understand!"

"Even if you mess it up, I'm still your backup plan. Just go for it!"

"Hey, get this over with! Don't you feel ashamed as a woman?!"

Not at all, so what?

And so, in order to test the girl's true feelings, I had no choice but to do something similar to pursuing her.

at no choice.

...It was only out of necessity.

The six sentences I couldn't say back then in Volume 6: "So cute."

I think that date was definitely an opportunity.

Shortly before summer vacation began, Ayai asked me to go out on the weekend.

Back then, at least we could talk about harmless topics. We had just superficially reconciled and were thinking about how to get back to how things were before.

Now I know that it was the last and best opportunity.

Ayai dressed herself up beautifully. It was clear she had put a lot of effort into it; her outfit was a way of telling me she wanted to mend our relationship.

it's actually really easy.

What I need to do is really simple.

But for some reason, I couldn't say a word. This wouldn't have been a problem for me before; it wasn't the first time, so there was nothing to be ashamed of. But… something was stuck in my throat. Something inside me was blocking those few words.

so cute.

Actually, all I need to say is this one sentence.

◆ Irito Yume ◆

"We're heading out!"

"Okay~ Be careful on the road~"

My mother's voice saw me and Shuidou off at the door.

Mizuto was waiting for me outside the door. After I locked it, he strode off. It seems he has no intention of considering my needs at all. I just can't do anything about him. But I expected that, so I wore comfortable shoes today.

Mizuto was wearing a hoodie and khaki pants—as usual, I suppose? Anyway, casual and comfortable was the priority. In comparison, my outfit wasn't even up to the level of a date outfit. Just a regular women's blouse and long skirt, plus a shawl since it was getting a bit chilly in early autumn.

They were both dressed casually and went out together, which did look a bit like a date. But this time, they didn't have to hide it from their mothers.

This is because today we are going to my cousin Yuanxiang's university to see the costumes used for the cultural festival.

I walked over to Shuidou and started talking to him.

"Is my cousin Yuanxiang's university far away?"

"It's a bit far. But it shouldn't take too long by tram."

"A tram..."

"The cultural festival funds will cover the transportation costs."

"I wasn't talking about money!"

I was thinking about how, when I went to buy a Mother's Day gift, I was crammed onto the train like I was being pushed against a wall by a bucket of water... And Kyoto is full of tourists in the fall, so the train will probably be packed with people again today...

This is not a date.

Although it wasn't a date—but putting that aside for now—Xiaoyue actually gave me some instructions.

—Listen up, Yui? The cultural festival is the perfect opportunity! You can increase your intimacy through work during the preparation period, and then use the event on the day as an excuse for a date! In other words…!

—In other words?

--The number of girls who want to pursue Irito will suddenly increase!

──!

--However, since he's still having a rumored relationship with Dongtou, I think that might just happen to become a line of defense, but some girls might not care so much.

—But…but…! How could that guy be kidnapped by a girl who suddenly appears out of nowhere…!

Wake up, will you? Have you forgotten about Dongtou, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere? What's he like now?

-- Waaaaah...

—So, Jie, you need to take the initiative! Now that you've become an executive committee member, the situation allows you to ignore Dongtou's gossip and go on dates with him without worry!