My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 202

"Because another student on the executive committee shares the same surname as her, should I also address you by your first name, Lan?"

"Oh! Ah, thank you, senior!"

After smiling and nodding to Asuhain, who bowed deeply in gratitude, President Kurenai walked toward the conference table where Haba-senpai was already seated and waiting for her.

"Okay, everyone, please sit down. All the members are here."

President Hong sat in the main seat in front of the whiteboard, followed by Senior Sister Ya Shuang, and then I and classmate Asuhain took our seats.

According to school regulations, the student council shall consist of five officers.

The student council president is a second-year student named Akane Rinri.

Vice President – ​​Second-year student, Asahi Aisa.

Accountant – Second-year student, Haba Jouji.

General Affairs – First-year student, Asahi Yoshiyuki Ran.

Then there's the secretary—a first-year student, Irito Yume.

The student council president, Hongling, casually crossed her arms and announced:

"From this day forward, we are the Executive Department of the Luolou High School Student Council."

Irito Yume ◆ An OB who lingers there for some unknown reason

"...Hoo ah~ Ah..."

This yawn did not come from the conference table where our student union officers were seated.

All that could be heard was the click of the doorknob turning.

Turning my head, I saw another door in the wall beside the classroom entrance, and a tall boy was walking out of that door.

Wow...it's huge.

Of course, this time I'm not talking about his chest, but his height. The boy was quite tall—definitely over 180 centimeters, maybe even close to 190. His muscular build suggested he played some kind of sport, but his hair was longer than usual for a boy, so it didn't seem like he was involved in a sports club.

Since he's wearing a uniform, he must be a student, but he looks older than the upperclassmen. The loosely tied blue tie at his chest indicates that he's a third-year student.

I don't think I've ever met this senior before, but he seems kind of familiar...

Upon seeing the tall, third-year boy yawning until his eyes were brimming with tears, the first person to react with surprise was Senior Sister Ya Shuang.

"Huh? Senior? What are you doing here?"

"Ah—? Oh, it's Ya Shuang... I'm taking a nap. I watched online live streams all night yesterday."

"President..."

The student council president, looking utterly bewildered, addressed the tall, third-year boy in that way. President?

"You've already stepped down, so please stop using the archives as a nap room."

"Don't say that, Hong. It's just a little something from your senior that's so thoughtful it's infuriating, to wish your juniors a happy new beginning."

"You just had nothing better to do than get approved for the exam, right?"

"That's one way to put it."

Seeing the tall boy grinning, the president sighed. Then she turned to me and Asuhain, the first-year duo who were completely out of touch, and said:

"Let me introduce him. His name is Xingbian Yuandao, and he was the student council president in the previous term. You may have seen him at school assemblies or other occasions."

Ah...right. I did see him at school assemblies and entrance ceremonies. He was the student who gave the speech on behalf of the students.

After Asuhain and I greeted Hoshibe-senpai, he put his hands in his pockets, looked down at us, and tilted his head, saying, "Hmm—".

"I'd heard about it before, but with both of them being girls, it's really putting Yuba in an awkward position. Don't you think so?"

With his large hand on his shoulder, Haba-senpai said, "No..." politely denying it. But Hoshibe-senpai grinned and completely ignored his reaction.

"Okay, then I'll continue to find more opportunities to show my face in the future. Otherwise, it's too pitiful for just one guy like Yuba. Let's do it this way, let's do it this way."

"Mr. Yung, let me repeat myself, you're just doing this because you have nothing better to do than push for approval, aren't you?"

"That's one way to put it."

President Hong looked helpless, but Senior Sister Ya Shuang stood up with a wicked grin on her face. Then she approached Senior Xing Bian's tall frame and peered up at his face.

"Come on~ Actually, you just want to see Aisha, right~?"

"That's for the best. Don't overthink it."

"You're even shy, senior! You're so cute♪"

"Ugh—ugh—why are you always so difficult to deal with!"

Senior Sister Ya Shuang smiled brightly and happily. Although Senior Sister Ya Shuang was considered tall for a girl, she looked petite like a little girl standing next to Senior Brother Xing Bian, who was even taller than her.

Senior Xingbian deliberately rudely chased away Senior Yashuang and slipped away to the guest sofa area.

"Okay, I'm going to go back to sleep. Hong, you can start anytime."

"What?! You're trying to run away, senior?"

"Esa".

Seeing that Senior Sister Ya Shuang still wanted to continue acting cute and teasing Senior Xing Bian, President Hong stopped her in a gentle but sharp tone.

"I understand you're excited to see your favorite senior, Hoshinobe, but it's more important to welcome the two newcomers first."

"Ugh! ...Who says you're my favorite, Rinri? Don't say things that will cause misunderstandings! The juniors are watching!"

President Hong shrugged silently. Senior Sister Ya Shuang pouted, feeling resentful, but still returned to her seat.

Oh, I see.

I understood the situation and stole a glance at Asuhain sitting across from me. I saw her stiff expression, like a child throwing a tantrum, suppressing her dissatisfaction.

It seems that high school students are pretty much the same everywhere, whether it's a prestigious school or a student council.

Asuha-in seems to have a lot of complaints about the student council's atmosphere being gentler than expected, but I'm the opposite; I feel a sense of closeness to the new environment I've joined—this classroom.

Irito Mizuto's first time with Higashigoro Isana...

Starting today, Yui-onna becomes a member of the student council, while I, as always, go to the library after school without any change.

Lately, not only after school, not only in the library, but even during lunch break or in the classroom, Isana from the east end comes to hang out with me. Right now, her eyes are glued to the pages of a light novel as she says:

"Speaking of which, Mizuto-kun, what are you going to do for me?"

"Um?"

What to do?

Izana bent and straightened her feet, which were resting on the air conditioner by the window, and said:

"You said you'd make it up to me. Wasn't it to make it up to me for abandoning me after the cultural festival?"

"Ah—right...I think I mentioned it before."

"What do you mean 'it seems like it was mentioned before'? I was really looking forward to it!"

Okay, putting aside whether or not I should make amends, Izana did help me a lot on the day of the cultural festival—and I do want to thank her.

"Then let me ask you the other way around: what do you want me to do for you? Anything I can do, I'll do."

"Huh? You can say whatever you want now?"

Seeing Izana relentlessly pursue me with astonishing speed, I realized I had made a huge mistake.

I leaned back, trying to avoid Izana who was suddenly closing in.

"You, you, you can say whatever you want... Hehe. You can say whatever you want, right?"

"How disgusting! How disgusting! Calm down, you nerdy geek! I said I only allow what I can do!"

"No, it won't be difficult... Hehe, hehehe. You just need to be patient for a little while... Hehe! Okay? It'll be over in a second!"

If it weren't for the fact that she had done me a favor, I would have called the police already. I grabbed Izana's shoulders and pushed her away, saying:

"...What do you want me to do? Let me know your request first."

"Hehe. Well, it's like this. I've always, hehe, really wanted to go somewhere with Mizuto-kun!"

"Want to go somewhere?"

"It's one of those soundproof, enclosed rooms where boys and girls can go in together to rest, and it costs money by the hour!"

"Wait a moment."

Is this woman the embodiment of lust? Just as I was about to strike first and exercise my right to self-defense, Izana from the east flared her nostrils and said:

"—A comic book cafe! Shall we go together?"

"........."

...Oh, so that's what it was...

I've always only known that the building has that sign, but as you can imagine, I've never actually gone inside. If I want to read comics, I can just buy them; if I don't have the money, I can borrow them from the library—to be honest, I read fewer comics than novels, so the concept of a comic book café doesn't really suit me.

On this point, Higashito Isana seemed to have a different opinion, saying:

"Comics take up a lot of space, and more importantly, don't you think the cost-effectiveness is lower than that of light novels? You can read a light novel for three hours, but you can only read a comic for one hour."

"I've never reviewed books or magazines using CP (cost-performance ratio), but well, that's true in terms of time—and the content is too. I've heard that a light novel can be turned into a three- or four-volume manga."

"So I would like to read a bunch of comics at once, but that would cost a lot of money."

This is where comic book cafes come in handy. Besides, libraries don't collect comic books.

Isana chuckled and said:

"Okay, actually I just thought it would be exciting and fun to go into a double room with Mizuto-kun."

"...Besides, if it weren't for this situation, you probably would never have the chance to enter one of those private rooms in your entire life."

"Exactly. Unlike Mizuto, who can go with Yui anytime."

"Yeah, right!"

"Yeah?"

"It's obvious that the woman overreacted."

Don't let her appearance fool you; she's actually full of lewd thoughts.

"...Hmph."

"What are you doing?"

"I think a guy's tsundere attitude is also acceptable."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph."

I found her annoying, so I gently poked her, and then we stepped into the comic book cafe on the second floor of the building.

It seemed that Izana had already booked a private room online. I helped her, who was hiding behind me for fear of having a seizure, complete the formalities at the counter and moved to the private room.

"Oh──..."

Izana was very interested in the tour, visiting the open seating area with computers lined up in a row, and the bookshelves filled with comics that reached the ceiling.

"All-you-can-eat soft serve ice cream...! It says all-you-can-eat soft serve ice cream, Mizuto-kun!"

"It seems so. But it's not very convenient to read comics while eating ice cream, is it?"

"Comics and ice cream have two different stomachs!"

"Even if I had two stomachs, it wouldn't matter... Anyway, let's put our belongings down first."

Izana booked a three-hour package in a completely private double room. If the cost is split between the two, it won't break the bank even for a high school student.

Inside the cubicle, the entire floor was designed like a large cushion. It seemed to be called a soft cushion. Izana went in first and plopped down on it.

"Oh oh~..."

After I closed the door, Isana looked around the not-so-spacious secret room.

"It feels really good. It's like shutting out the whole world."

"Keeping the world out...that's quite an interesting metaphor."

Indeed, this feeling of almost complete isolation from outside information is quite nice. It makes me feel more free than in open spaces. Perhaps this environment suits our temperament well.