My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 190

Kawanami's expression immediately became one of understanding and sympathy. "Keep it up," he said, patting my shoulder gently.

Upon arriving at the outer area, where there were far fewer guests than before, they saw that Yui had already been caught by her.

"—Come on, Takema. What should you say to Sister Yui?"

"Eek, ah, woohoo..."

"It's alright, Cousin Yuanxiang, you don't have to force him... I'm sorry, Zhuzhen. Don't worry about making me unhappy, okay?"

Sure enough, it was Cousin Yuanxiang.

She had said she would come, and Yui had even sent her an invitation, but she never expected her to actually show up and cause trouble. And for some reason, she brought her younger brother, Takema. Poor thing. He's already very shy; won't he feel awkward coming to a high school cultural festival?

I reluctantly joined the scene where high school girls and college girls surrounded the blushing elementary school student. "Oh!" My cousin Yuanxiang immediately looked over.

"Water~ Fight~ Cousin! I heard the reviews—? I heard you're the star waiter at this place—?"

"I don't recall the store having such a ranking system, and I'm only helping out temporarily, not in a full-time position. I'm an executive committee member."

"Come on—I saw it all—! Lots of girls were screaming at you! Hehe, you make your older cousin so proud."

Continuing to be serious with her would probably drive me crazy, so I looked away and changed the subject to Jie Nu.

"Don't slack off for too long, there are other customers in the store."

"Your attitude was really bad. You should have used your social skills even more with Cousin Yuanxiang... I'm so sorry, Cousin Yuanxiang. I didn't expect there to be so many customers..."

"It's alright, it's alright, we'll just watch you work from here! You go ahead and get busy—"

After bowing her head in greeting, Yui left her cousin Yuanxiang's seat. Takema's gaze kept following her retreating figure... Well, generally speaking, it's understandable to feel longing if you suddenly have another relative like that. I mean, generally speaking.

I also left my seat to attend to the customers who were waiting in line. Luckily, a table became available.

"How many people are in your party?"

"Ah, the two of them—!"

They were probably middle school students, and looked like first graders. They were two girls who seemed to be growing taller. One seemed very outgoing, while the other kept looking diagonally downwards, as if she had a slightly strange temperament. They were probably the last group of customers that morning.

Two junior high school girls looked curiously at the newspapers from the Taisho era pasted on the wall to create an atmosphere, as well as the bookshelves displaying works by writers of that time; I led them to their seats.

There were quite a few junior high school students visiting. They received invitations from their older siblings or seniors and came to tour the campus with the mindset of attending a school information session. In other words, they are potential junior students—however, by the time these kids are in high school, I'll probably have already graduated.

After I sat down, the one who wasn't shy at all, just like everyone else, smiled and said to me:

"Big brother, you're so handsome! You look amazing in that outfit! Don't you think so?"

"........."

The one she asked, who had a rather strange temper, for some reason kept staring at my face.

After wearing this dress for a while, I gradually got used to the way she looked at me, but... no, the way she looked at me made it seem like I had a little lobster stuck in my face.

Why are you looking at me like that?

Just as my doubts began to grow...

"……Excuse me……"

The middle school girl stared at my face with a furrowed brow as she slowly began to speak.

"Have we... met somewhere before?"

"Huh?"

I accidentally lost control of the business model and revealed my true nature.

"Have we met somewhere before?" Is that what she asked me?

I took a closer look at the junior high school girl's face. Was it called a long-haired double ponytail hairstyle? It was like a combination of long hair and double ponytails. Her features were regular, and although she still had a youthful appearance, her eyes were slightly upturned, giving her a slightly fierce impression.

I'm not good at remembering people's faces, especially those younger than me, because they all look the same. I really don't understand why people become unable to distinguish children's faces once they grow up.

"I'm sorry... I don't remember."

"Is that so..."

The girl lowered her head, looking somewhat disappointed. Another girl, who seemed more outgoing, said:

"Huh? That's rare! You're actually interested in boys! Unlike usually, you don't look at the boys in class like they're trash!"

"No... I just mistook you for someone else."

"Big brother, let me tell you something! It's like this, she said—when she was in fifth grade, she accidentally bumped into an older guy... I think he was around middle school? It was a scene of a couple kissing—! As a result, it seems she was left with some kind of psychological trauma? And now she's very afraid to approach boys!"

"Hey...! You big mouth!"

I see. So, the way she was staring at me earlier was probably out of wariness... But even so, that question is still very puzzling...

"Okay, then, I'll have a female employee serve you in a moment. Is that alright?"

"Thank...thank you."

Despite saying that, this junior high school girl who dislikes boys continued to glare at me while ordering food.

After I finished taking the customer's order and returned to the staff area, Jie Nu immediately rolled her eyes at me.

"...Why did you talk to them for so long?"

"It's because the other person likes to talk. Oh well, the number of customers is gradually decreasing anyway, so spending a little more time won't make a difference, right?"

"Hmph—..."

Jie glanced at the two middle school girls from earlier and said:

"...maybe first grade."

"More or less."

"She's so short."

"I guess all national first-tier universities are like that."

"...Do you prefer junior high school students?"

"Believe it or not, I'll beat you up!"

It's true that I dated junior high school students before, but I was a junior high school student myself back then, okay?

I didn't have time to waste on her nonsensical ramblings. I forcefully steered the conversation back to work.

"Those two junior high students, the one with the long hair seems afraid of boys. Could you please serve the food instead?"

"Oh really... Even girls who are afraid of boys are talking to you..."

"Is that enough?"

Hearing the "hee-hee" laughter, I turned around and saw my cousin Yuanxiang looking at us with a sly grin. And there they were too… I really hope they can learn from Zhuzhen, who obediently blows the tea to cool it down.

Just as I was thinking this...

"Ah!"

Just as Takema was about to bring his mouth to the rim of the cup, his elbow bumped into the table.

The saucer was about to slip off the table and shatter with a jarring crash—just as I imagined it…

"Wow, that's dangerous."

A hand quickly reached out from the side and caught the tea saucer.

It was the middle school girl sitting next to me, the one who disliked boys.

She sighed and handed the teacup to Zhuzhen.

"Here, take it. Be careful."

"what……"

Zhu Zhen weakly called out and took the teacup. Yuan Xiang, who was watching from the side, said, "I'm so sorry! Thank you! Come on, Zhu Zhen, say thank you too!" Zhu Zhen blushed with embarrassment because of her mistake and looked up at the junior high school girl's face.

"……Thank you……"

"────Waaah!"

The junior high school girl hesitated for a moment for some reason, but then coldly murmured, "...It's nothing," and went back to her seat.

Hmm—she even treats younger boys with that attitude; it seems she's really not good at interacting with boys.

When I was in fifth grade, I witnessed a couple kissing—if I were in seventh grade now, that would have happened two years ago.

Two years ago, a couple kissed a primary school student.

"……Uh-huh?"

It seems like... something is stuck in my head?

"The food for table number two is ready! Bring it over here!"

The shouts from the kitchen staff instantly dispelled the strange feeling. I couldn't figure out what had happened.

12:48 PM ■ Complimenting a female friend's appearance makes me feel inexplicably defeated.

"Did Xiaoyue send it?"

During lunch break, the simulated store temporarily closed. The kitchen staff wailed about a food shortage and rushed to the supermarket near the school to buy more ingredients, while Yui and I headed to the designated changing room to change our clothes.

During the journey, my phone received a mysterious message.

Jie Nu leaned over to look at my phone screen.

"'Dongtou is in my hands. If you want to save her, come to the automatic palm reading machine next to the stage on the playground'... Xiaoyue really likes this set."

"Okay, anyway, we were already planning to meet up with Isana, so this is perfect. By the way, what exactly is this automatic palm reading machine...?"

Does that make sense? Or rather, it means that some classes are being lazy and using automated machines as simulated shops.

Anyway, we went to the changing room, and only there were we finally able to get rid of the burden of our hakama.

I put on my uniform and walked out of the men's locker room. A short while later, Jie came out of the women's locker room. She wore a pleated skirt, but her top was a yellow class uniform.

The woman looked at my clothes, tilted her head and said:

Where's your class uniform?

"...wear it underneath."

I gently tugged at the collar of her uniform shirt, letting her see the class uniform she was wearing underneath.

As I talked to Isana before, I really can't like this so-called class uniform. That being said, it's actually quite comfortable to wear, and Yui is going to be as nagging as she is now, so I put it on without saying much nonsense—but considering that I'm going to meet someone who might hate class uniforms even more than I do, it's better to wear it as a shirt underneath.

After returning the clothes we had taken off to the classroom, we moved to the location designated by Nan.

The playground is lined with stalls resembling a miniature shop, and beyond this area lies the stage for events. Performances such as plays or orchestral concerts are all scheduled to take place here or in the gymnasium.

However, it was lunch break, so the stage was empty. We traversed the deserted audience area and went around to the side of the stage, where we found an easy-to-overlook corner with a stall selling automatic palm reading machines.

Right next to it, hidden in the shade of the school tree, was Minami, wearing her class uniform, and Izana, who was hunched over for some reason.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Xiaoyue. And Dongtou... what are you doing?"

"...Waaah...it wasn't me...it was Nan who suddenly..."

Isana murmured weakly to herself as she faced the tree hollow, her shoulders trembling.

I frowned and glared at Nan.

"...What did you do to her?"

"How fierce! Don't be angry, it was just asking her to change her clothes! I'm so untrustworthy!"

I'd like to ask her when she's ever done anything that would earn my trust.

Now that she's mentioned it, it's clear that Isana isn't wearing a uniform. Her upper body is covered by a dark shawl that barely covers half of her body, but you can see her skirt is a deep matcha green, and she's wearing something that looks like an apron over it. It doesn't look like a uniform at all; if you had to compare, it looks more like a waitress's outfit…

"Okay, okay, Dongtou! You've already changed your clothes, let him see them clearly! It's alright! You look really good in them! Yui has great taste!"

"Aaaaaah! Wait, wait a minute, I'm not mentally prepared yet...!"

Isana was forcibly turned forward by Minami-kun, "Wow—!" Yui clasped her hands together.

"Great! The size is just right!"

"It fits perfectly! I was worried it wouldn't fit my chest!"

I just thought of a waitress, and the general direction is correct.

Although the chest area is covered by a shawl, it appears that an apron-like garment with a large opening is worn over the white women's blouse.