My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 239

Shining light on someone like me only exposes an empty shell.

So I'll just be a passerby. I want to live in the background; that's my biggest wish.

who knows……

—Haba-kun, please join the student council with me.

But it was she, whose radiance surpassed everyone else's and who was furthest from me, who wanted to draw me out of the background.

Haba Jouji◆A group of unusual and strange travel companions

Arriving at the agreed-upon location early offers me no advantage. Since no one will see me, and I won't become a recognizable figure, I arrive on time and discreetly join the already assembled group. This is my usual practice.

"Oh, he's here. Uncle! We're over here!"

Of course, I'm talking about if Akane Rin wasn't there.

At the ticket gates at the central entrance of Kyoto Station, where crowds of both domestic and international travelers gathered, Hong spotted me immediately and waved enthusiastically.

When she called out to me with such a pleasant voice, I felt everyone's eyes turn to me, which made me very uncomfortable. I quickened my pace and walked to the escalator leading to the underground station to meet up with the group of people who had gathered there.

It's been a while since I've seen Hong in casual clothes. She wore shorts with stockings, a mature style that showed off her beautiful legs. Conversely, her top was an oversized women's shirt, which looked a bit childish. I'm not entirely sure, but this deliberate mix-and-match to create a contrast seems to perfectly showcase Hong's taste in clothing.

Hong smiled mischievously as she swung her side bangs, which were tied into small braids, like a pendulum.

"You seem to have arrived a little earlier than usual. Are you eager to get started?"

"...I was just considering it from the members' perspective; I thought we might gather earlier."

My voice was so soft that it was almost drowned out by the passersby around me, but Hong was happily munching and laughing.

"I have to thank these well-behaved classmates for allowing me to see my father earlier than usual."

Here she is again, saying these cheesy, mushy things without even blushing. And her voice is just loud enough for me, the one closest to her, to hear.

"Hmm?" Her emerald eyes fixed on me, observing my reaction. I quickly turned my face away, not daring to look at her. On the surface, I pretended to check which members had arrived.

Besides me and Hong, three other people have already arrived. They are Asou, Asuhain, and former student council president Hoshibe. They are all familiar faces from the student council.

As usual, Asuha-kun hugged Asuha-in, who, as usual, angrily pulled her away. Hoshibe-senpai leaned against the railing next to the guide sign, yawning and scrolling through his phone.

The meeting time was 9:00 AM—quite early, but despite the former student council president's punctuality, she's actually very punctual. What surprised me, however, was that another student council member—Irito—hadn't arrived yet.

"My classmate Jie said she's with other people and they're already on their way."

My classmate Hong guessed what I was thinking and said this.

"It seems like I spent too much time waking up my younger brother who can't get up in the morning. But I still managed to catch the tram."

Irito's younger brother, Irito Mizuto, right?

I've never spoken to him directly, but I have a one-sided aversion to that first-year student. He always acts like it's none of his business, yet he manages to exert a strange presence at crucial moments—is it jealousy, or just the rivalry between kindred spirits? I can't quite figure out this emotional reaction myself; all I feel is impatience just seeing his face.

"...Yes, everyone will arrive."

"Ah! Yuuko-chan—! Over here, over here!"

Among the pedestrians on the road, a girl with long black hair came running over with two other people.

While trying to catch her breath, Iri looked at Kurenai with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, President... I'm a little late."

"It's alright. Didn't I tell you that as long as we catch the tram, it'll be fine?"

I casually walked around behind Hong, my eyes fixed on the two people that Irito had brought.

I recognized one of them from the cultural festival executive committee; it was Irito Mizuto. His slender, composed face yawned slightly. His hair was messy and unkempt; it seemed he really couldn't get up early. Apparently, he's recently become popular with girls; I wonder if that's part of the reason.

The other person was a girl I had never seen before. This girl looked a bit rustic and clung to Irito Mizuto's side. Although she was by no means petite, her demeanor was like that of a fawn following its parents, making her appear much smaller than she actually was.

Higashito Isana… I think that’s her name. There are rumors that she’s dating Irito Mizuto. This is the first time I’ve met her, but judging from the situation, it might not be a rumor. She seems timid and hesitant, probably because she doesn’t know many people. She exudes a typical shyness.

Just like us, they had already sent their bulky luggage, such as spare clothes, to the hotel. So the three of them arrived almost empty-handed.

"Oh! Little Jiezi, who are these two people?"

Asou-san had somehow gotten close to Irito-san and, after showing interest in the two people behind her, Irito-san exclaimed "Ah!" and stood to the side, saying:

"Let me introduce you, this is my stepson..."

"I don't remember ever becoming your younger brother."

"—Yes, yes, he is my stepbrother, Irito Mizuto."

Irito Mizuto gave a brief greeting, displaying a diplomatic attitude of keeping his distance.

However, Ya Shuang, this social genius, didn't care about any of that. She simply said, "Oh—" and gave him a critique, saying:

"Speaking of which, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Looking closer, you're actually quite cute, aren't you?"

"...Senior, you can't."

After saying this, Irito stretched out her arm to block her stepson, as if to protect him.

Ya Shuang deliberately tilted her head and said:

"What's the meaning?"

"No more devilish tactics!"

"That's so mean. Do I look like the kind of woman who flirts with any guy she sees?"

"But I heard you used to seduce senior Yuba!"

Ya Shuang stuck out her tongue and acted cute, trying to be cunning and evasive. It really bothered me at the time; I didn't know how to react.

Without thinking much, I glanced to the side and saw Asuhain standing behind Asou, casting a hostile look at Irito Mizuto.

Since she harbored a competitive spirit towards Irito-san, it was natural that Irito Mizuto, who ranked second in the entire grade and was second only to Irito, was also a formidable rival to her. The reason she didn't actively provoke him was probably because he was a boy.

"And then, she was a classmate from the east end."

After Irito introduced herself, the girl, whose attire was rather tacky, continued to cling to Irito Mizuto, saying indistinctly, "Please, please teach me, Mizuto..." while bowing her head in greeting.

"Um, nice to meet you! My name is Asahi Aisa!"

"Please guide me. My name is Hong Lingli."

Although Ya Shuang and Hong also responded with similar greetings—

Their gaze moved downwards...

I noticed their eyes seemed to be drawn to the chest of the girl in the east.

"...Oh. This is really..."

"Although I had heard about it before, it's truly astonishing and speechless..."

In the spirit of a gentleman, I refrained from giving her a disrespectful once-over, but they stared at me without any restraint. They even suddenly adopted the air of antique connoisseurs, making quiet, applauding sounds of amazement.

Even if you say they're all girls, that's still incredibly disrespectful... Just as I was thinking that—

"Excuse me for presumptuously reminding you two senior students, but staring at a woman's chest like that, even if you're the same sex, is probably not very polite."

Asuhain, standing behind the two, said this while sighing.

Hong and the others turned around and said:

"Indeed, I'm truly sorry. Even I am deeply impressed."

"How could anyone not watch it! Everyone will watch it! I'm sure of it!"

"That can't be used as an excuse..."

Asahi-no-Yuan looked dumbfounded, but I had already noticed something.

Someone was looking down at Asahiya-san's chest, which seemed disproportionate to her petite frame, with great interest.

"OH..."

The student at the east end let out a soft exclamation of admiration.

"...A real-life loli with huge breasts..."

"Who are you calling a loli with big breasts?!"

Upon hearing this, Tomorrow Ye Yuan immediately raised his eyebrows and protested to the East Head student.

The student in the east corner was so startled that his shoulders jerked upwards, and he said:

"O-Sorry! The correct term should be 'petite and voluptuous'!"

"The issue isn't about what you call them! You wouldn't be happy if someone commented on your breasts the first time they met you!"

"I'm so sorry...! Because I only see this kind of big-breasted, voluptuous figure in anime, comics, and games, and I accidentally...!"

"Hao...! You, you said meat...!"

"Awa, ahwa wawa wawa..."

Faced with Asuhain-kun, whose face was flushed and blood pressure was rising, Higashi-kun turned into a robot that could only groan and scream. Irito-kun hurriedly stepped forward to act as a peacemaker.

I see. It seems that girl is the type who tends to talk too much.

I think Irito might take care of her, but there's probably going to be a lot of arguing these next few days...

As they were talking, the last two people squeezed through the crowd and came to stand in front of us.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting—!"

A petite girl with a ponytail, just like Asuhain, skipped and hopped over. Behind her appeared a boy with brightly dyed hair and a clean-cut, stylish appearance, who calmly followed like a guardian.

The girl with the ponytail stopped in front of the girl in red and bowed deeply.

"My name is Nan Xiaoyue! Please take good care of me these next few days!"

"Haha, you talk like a sports club member. Xiaoyue, this isn't our first meeting, you don't need to be so polite."

"Hehehe. I helped out in a lot of clubs, and I got influenced by them as I went along~"

Hong had somehow become quite close with that first-year girl surnamed Nan. Hong already had a wide circle of friends, but Nan might be even more proactive.

"Hello seniors~ My surname is Kawanami. Please take care of me."

Then another boy, Kawanami Kogure, greeted him briefly as he spoke.

Hong smiled and said:

"Yes, my name is Hong Lingli. Nice to meet you. I heard you and Xiaoyue have known each other since childhood?"

"Yes, that's about right if you try to put it nicely."

A terrifying smile appeared on Nan's face.

"Oh—? Kawanami~ So, what would it be if we tried to put it in the most unpleasant way possible~?"

"...Master and slave, isn't it?"

"Should I remind you who the slave is?"

"Idiot, you idiot, stop it! There are outsiders here today!"

What would happen if there were no outsiders around? In short, it seems to be an obvious fact that the two have a very close relationship.

These two seemed to be the type who carefully cultivated interpersonal relationships, greeting each of us upperclassmen one by one… Only Asuhain stepped back, subtly avoiding Kawanami's greeting. He was definitely the type Asuhain might not like. Although, in my opinion, he was merely friendly, not frivolous.

"You must be Senior Xingbian, right? I've heard so much about you."

"It certainly can't be a good reputation, right?"

"No, no, those are all heroic deeds by our seniors."

Kawanami showed no fear even when facing Hoshibe-senpai. Hoshibe was tall and had a somewhat delinquent-like hairstyle, so everyone was initially a little afraid of him, but it seems this junior didn't have that concept. Having a guy like him in the group is honestly very helpful.

Now all the members are present.

I stood a little distance behind Hong, looking around at the nine people gathered in front of the guide sign.

Before we knew it, the members naturally split into five first-year students gathered by Irito and five students from our student council.

The first-year group seemed to be centered around Irito, with Kawanami and Minami as key figures. The other two—Irito Mizuto and Higashigata—were whispering to each other a step away.

Irito frequently tried to start conversations with them, wanting them to join in—no, it seemed like she herself wanted to join them. And whenever she showed this intention, Kawanami and Minami would subtly help her out.

I vaguely discerned the power dynamics among those five people. At first glance, it seemed like a world with only two people, but in reality, those two—Irito Mizuto and Higashigata—were the center of that group. Should the other three be considered subordinate? They gave me the impression of dancing to the tune of those two.

...I don't think it's just a typical circle of good friends.