My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 237

Xiaoyue's mouth left the red bean bread she was about to take a big bite of, and her eyes widened.

"Yes, President Hong invited me... so we can't go together during the three-day holiday. I'm sorry."

Seeing me clasp my hands together in apology, Maki said, "Oh, is that so~" and rested her elbows on the table as she said:

"Since we already have an appointment, there's nothing we can do about it. By the way, Irito-san, you get along really well with the student council members."

"The fact that they can travel together shows how close they are."

Nasu Hana ate her bento box and said, doing as she pleased:

"Nanmei said before that Eri-chan is shy, and she was worried that you might say something like that~"

"Huh? Is that so...? I, or rather, you all thought I was shy from the start...?"

"No matter how you look at it, you seem very shy."

"No matter how you look at it, she seems very shy."

So...it was exposed a long time ago...? Then what was I doing all that trying to maintain my image when I first enrolled, acting all silly...?

"Right, little Yueyue!"

"Huh?... Ah—yes! That's it!"

Xiaoyue finally began to nibble on her red bean bread, chewing slowly like a squirrel as she said:

"I always thought the student council was very strict about discipline! But when I talked to them during the sports festival, I found they were much more approachable than I imagined—and we ended up becoming good friends!"

"That's because Xiaoyueyue is a social butterfly!"

"When you say you become good friends with someone, does that apply to everyone?"

"For girls, it applies to everyone, right?"

Huh? I know she already knows Asahi-senpai and Asuha-in, but does she know Kurenai-sama too?

When did we meet...? Xiaoyue's ability to get close to people is simply off the charts in my eyes.

"I occasionally send them LINE messages~ although Asuha-in almost never replies to me."

Perhaps only by asserting "we've become good friends" based solely on this can one qualify as a true social butterfly. Just as I was beginning to see through the ways of the world, Xiaoyue gulped down a red bean bread and said:

"Looking forward to your souvenir, Yume! Since this trip was planned by that student council president, it sounds like it'll be a lot of fun!"

"Yes, I'll remember to buy it."

Xiaoyue's expression was as cheerful as usual.

However, I actually know. I know that despite her cheerful personality, her ability to make friends with anyone, and her constant phone calls, she is actually more afraid of loneliness than anyone else.

...Thinking about it carefully, it seems like it's been a while since I went out to play with Xiaoyue.

I know perfectly well that the student council is important, but Xiaoyue is just as important to me... even more important than that.

"Looks like you've all managed to make plans with yourselves."

After school, all members gathered in the student council room, and President Hong looked at me and Senior Sister Ya Shuang and spoke.

"Although it took a little longer than initially expected, it's alright, it's still within the predicted timeframe. As for the girl, you can rest assured about increasing the number of participants. It would be a bit too lonely for him to participate alone."

"Thank you, Chairman."

The president agreed to let Higashi go without hesitation. However, the reason why Mizuto asked Higashi to come along as a condition was not because he was "lonely with no one to talk to" or anything like that.

I heard that Dongtou has recently started formally practicing drawing.

She seems to have always drawn based on the covers or illustrations of light novels, mostly drawing characters, but recently she seems to have also become interested in the backgrounds, and has been searching for a lot of information online.

However, the scope of reference is still limited. She explained that she wanted to paint atmospheric, extraordinary landscapes, but was hampered by a lack of imagination. This is because the Dong family's interests are mostly indoor-oriented, and they almost never travel.

And it seems she had just confided this concern to Mizuto.

Just then, I extended another invitation—although the place was very close, the hot springs were already quite a tourist attraction that was detached from daily life, so Mizuto thought that perhaps he could take this opportunity to provide some inspiration to Higashito.

...What kind of guy is he? Is he the editor in charge of Dongtou's classmate?

Oh well, it doesn't matter. It wasn't just the two of us on the trip anyway! But if this happens, the guy might end up spending all his time with Dongtou... What should we do then...?

"You speak so condescendingly, so let me ask you a question."

Senior Sister Ya Shuang contradicted President Hong in her speech.

"Did you manage to make a date yourself, Riri? You did, but you asked Joe out, and you even wore your cosplay outfit!"

"There's no need for me to make a special appointment. Wherever we go, as long as I'm here, you'll be here too."

...It seems so cunning...

I pouted with Asou-senpai. As for Haba-senpai himself, he remained in the background as usual, seriously and diligently continuing his student council work.

"Back to the main point, now there are eight people on the trip..."

"Huh? Please wait a moment."

At this moment, Asuhain, who had been staring at the computer screen without paying attention, called out.

"Senior, you said eight people...you didn't include me, did you?"

"Hmm? Of course... Is it inconvenient for you?"

"N-no... The idea of ​​going on a trip with the president is very appealing, but..."

After finishing his hesitant speech, Asuhain glanced at Haba-senpai with some apprehension.

"...Going on a trip with a guy is really... a bit... I'm embarrassed, but I hope you can allow me not to participate..."

"No—you're not allowed!"

Senior Sister Ya Shuang suddenly hugged classmate Asuhain, interrupting her.

"Lanlan absolutely has to go too! Otherwise, it'll be so boring!"

"...No, senior. Even though you say that..."

"Let's soak in the hot spring together! Let's help each other bathe! Let me see your bare breasts!"

"Please, don't be so vulgar with your dirty jokes! Yuba-senpai is here too!"

As you can see, the student council is a space where girls make up more than half the members, so the topic of how difficult it is for boys to join often comes up, but I've never seen Haba-senpai feel embarrassed about it. He exudes an aura of someone who has been through countless battles.

"Anyway, Suzuri will pay for it—wouldn't it be a shame not to go? This is a plan proposed by your favorite Suzuri—?"

"But... I heard that besides the student council, there are other boys participating...?"

"No, don't worry! He's Xiaojie's younger brother, he's not the kind of frivolous guy, right?"

"Yes, he's alright. If he dares to lay a hand on Asuha-in, I'll take responsibility and teach him a lesson."

After all, there's been a precedent with Higashi-kun, so there's no guarantee that nothing might happen. Besides, Asuha-in probably also sees Mizuto as a rival for the top spot in the entire grade—it's not unheard of for competitive mindsets to completely change before… The more I think about this, the more similar it seems to be to the circumstances that led me to develop feelings for Mizuto, which is really unsettling!

"See, even Xiaojie said that!"

"No, but boys are boys! They actually want me to go on a trip with a boy..."

"(—You can spend the whole day with Rinri, right?)"

Senior Asahi whispered in Asuhain's ear like a devil.

"(We're together 24/7, from morning till night? Whether it's your face when you just woke up in the morning or your face when you're dozing off at night, you can look at it all to your heart's content? None of the other classmates have seen these expressions, have they?)"

"Ugh... I... I didn't look at you with those... evil intentions—"

"(Don't you want to help Suzuri wash her back?)"

"Waaaaaahh ...

Asuhain groaned in pain, like someone possessed by a demon being purified by an exorcist.

Even I know that Asuha-in's feelings for President Kurenai have gone beyond respect and reached the realm of faith. It's not only people in love who want to get closer to the people and things they like.

"(I'm afraid you'll regret it...spending a lonely three-day holiday alone...thinking to myself—if I hadn't refused back then, I'd be soaking in a hot spring with Suzuri by now~)"

"Oh, okay! I know! I know! I'll go!"

"Yay!"

I really don't know how Senior Sister Ya Shuang is so good at inciting other people's desires...

"So, Lan has decided to participate too?"

"I don't know if anyone heard that devil's murmur just now," President Hong concluded calmly, saying:

"So let me repeat, now there are eight people on the trip, five girls and three boys... Speaking of which, there's something I'd like to discuss with you all."

“““?””””

"Actually, I booked a six-person room and a four-person room. So if we could invite one more boy and one more girl to join us, the number of people would be just right—"

Two more people, one boy and one girl.

To join this group, you must be someone highly trustworthy. Ideally, you should know the group leader or others, or be a social butterfly who won't ruin the trip's atmosphere due to shyness...

My best friend and the face of her childhood sweetheart flashed through my mind.

If it's those two people, then it perfectly meets the requirements.

There's just one problem—

"...? What's wrong, Irito-san? I'm sorry to ask, but I don't have anyone I can ask out."

--There is only one problem, which is that one of them is the kind of frivolous boy that Asuha-in dislikes the most.

But it probably doesn't matter.

"President, if that's the case, I have someone in mind—"

Nan Xiaoyue ◆ The Clown of Atonement

Don't get me wrong. It was Jie who asked me to make the appointment, that's why I brought it up!

"........."

She's a bit of a tsundere.

Anyone who hears this will say she's arrogant.

"Oh no... what should I do...?"

I hugged the pillow to my chest and rolled around on the bed.

My girlfriend invited me to a trip organized by the student council president.

The idea itself was absolutely fantastic. I was feeling lonely and abandoned, so being invited made me even happier. I agreed without hesitation.

The problem is that the woman made a condition:

--There's room for one more person in the boys' room. You should invite Kawanami to come along.

Even though it's a phone call, I can guarantee it.

At that time, Yui was definitely secretly laughing.

Ever since that training camp, Yui must have been speculating about my relationship with Kawanami! I really want to tell her that our relationship isn't as funny as she thinks! It's a sensitive and negative one, okay?! Please don't stir up trouble out of mere curiosity! It's because I always interrupt her on everything, big or small! Although her love for romance is kind of cute!

"……well."

How should I ask him out?

Approaching him in a normal way won't work. That guy's ego is so excessive that no one can help him—if I were to ask him to go on a trip, he would definitely misunderstand and trigger his romantic allergy.

Only I know that he has a difficult constitution; once he senses that someone else has romantic feelings for him, it will trigger symptoms such as hives or nausea.

The most troublesome thing is that even if the other party doesn't actually mean it that way, as long as that guy thinks so, he's out.

...If it were someone other than me, there probably wouldn't be so many problems.

As for me, well—because he already knows that, at least, I used to have those feelings for him.

One more thing, he also knows that I'm still acting like a fool and haven't gotten over that breakup.

So the whole thing is full of possibilities. From beginning to end, no matter which angle you look at it from, it seems like there's still a chance.

Of course, I mean, I saw it in his eyes.

"What should I do now?!"

I wish someone could help me when I'm tossing and turning like this.