My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 241

It took about fifteen minutes to climb the slope from Sannomiya Station. Just as the view of the Western-style houses lining the streets came into view, Hong handed out admission tickets to everyone as she spoke.

"The road here isn't very wide, so it's not suitable for ten people to move together. Let's split into two or three groups and proceed independently."

It seems she did her research beforehand.

As for the group assignments, they should naturally fall into place. One group consists of our student council members, and the other group consists of the first-year students gathered by Irito. That makes it a perfect five-on-five.

Or—it's not bad to wander around by yourself.

Just as I was yawning and thinking this over and over, someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

"—Senior!"

"Oh?"

Ya Shuang grabbed my arm and pulled me down hard.

This guy was wearing something I'd seen all the time... to put it nicely, it was girlish style; to put it bluntly, it was downright lewd—a doll-like dress full of wrinkles and ruffles. He looked up at my face with a staring, determined gaze.

Then he said:

"How about we go shopping together, just the two of us, Aisha and me?"

"Huh?"

Esa gripped my arm tightly, as if she would never let go.

Mizuto Irito: Love is not everything in life

After watching Senior Sister Ya Shuang forcibly take Senior Brother Xing Bian away, Jie Nu whispered something to me:

"...This time, senior might be serious too..."

"serious?"

"Ah, no—" I muttered to myself.

Although she immediately put on a smile and brushed it off, anyone who saw their expressions could imagine what those words meant.

I never expected the student council atmosphere to be so restless. Like how Kurenai-senpai is flirting with that accountant. The only one with a truly serious and methodical personality is probably that petite girl—Asuhain-san. Although it's none of my business, I can't help but worry that she might feel uncomfortable in this kind of group.

"Okay, maybe it's better to just ignore them."

After Hong finished speaking, she looked at Jie Nu.

"Will my classmate go shopping with them?"

"Ah...yes."

"Then we'll look for Ah-Zhang, and... Lan-kun, what about you?"

Tomorrow, the students from Ye Yuan will take turns looking at the faces of Hong-senpai and Yui-onna. "Uh..." After hesitating for a moment, they will say:

"Then, I'll go with the president..."

"I see. Let's go then."

Is it okay if I don't have to be alone with that accountant?

Before I could speculate wildly, Senior Sister Hong said tactfully:

"Alright, everyone, let's meet at the Starbucks not far down the slope around noon. There's a living room on the second floor that can accommodate a lot of people."

After saying that, Senior Hong, Asuhain, and the accountant left.

As Kawanami watched them leave, he gave a mysterious smile.

"After all that, it's still the same few familiar faces."

That leaves me, Yui, Isana, Minami, and Kawanami—five people in total. Well, that's a pretty reasonable combination.

"It doesn't matter, it won't cause any problems! We've only just met today, and suddenly having to do something as a group would make us hesitant, right, Dongtou?"

"Hmm... As long as Mizuto-kun is around, it doesn't really matter."

"Yeah, you were surprisingly talkative on the tram, even though there were people you just met there."

"No, it's because that girl's figure was so amazing that it chased away my shyness!"

Okay. If you're going to sexually harass someone on the first meeting, I'd rather you stay shy.

Nan's expression turned into a bitter smile that was hard to describe, and she said:

"It's not convincing for someone with a similar build to that person to say such a thing..."

"Anyone who grabs someone's breasts on the first meeting has no right to speak, Xiaoyue."

"So embarrassing☆"

Nan stuck out her tongue dramatically. Why are all the girls around me like sexually harassing old men inside?

"So? Where should we start shopping?"

Kawanami was scrolling through his phone, probably looking at a map of the Ijinkan district, when he said:

"Irito-san, didn't you mention having a place you wanted to visit?"

"Ah, um, yes. That place is called the British Pavilion..."

"Let's start exploring from there. It seems pretty close by anyway."

"OK! Let's go!"

Nan skipped and hopped forward, and we followed.

Just then, Isana tugged at my sleeve and whispered something to me:

"(Mizuto-kun, Mizuto-kun.)"

"(What's wrong?)"

"(Is this alright? Unlike everyone else, you don't have to be alone with Yui-chan, Mizuto-kun?)"

I thought she was going to say something... Is this girl kidding me?

"(I'm asking you, Dongtou. Who do you think I came on this trip for?)"

"(Huh? No, wasn't it to get to know my female classmate...?)"

"(I'm not that obsessed with romance. Like I said, I'm here to let you travel and gather material.)"

"(Hmm...?)"

"(I'm the one who asked you to come, I won't abandon you. That would be too irresponsible.)"

That's how it should be, isn't it?

Isana blinked several times, let out a relaxed laugh of "ho-ho," and then began to rub the strands of her bangs with her fingertips.

"(Th-thank you... Well, then I won't be polite and will continue to bother you, okay?)"

"(Please stay within the bounds of common sense.)"

No sooner had I finished speaking than Izana leaned in and pressed her shoulder against mine. This might be beyond the realm of common sense... but oh well. I'm used to seeing these members anyway.

I do like Yui, but not all my actions are based on her.

I hope to strike a balance in my actions—so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Mizuto Irito◆ The Great Detective Only Has Beautiful Girls

The white walls featured several double-pane blinds, the kind you only see in Western movies or fantasy animations. It was a two-story building, much smaller than the mansions in mystery novels, but just the sight of such a house on a Japanese street was enough to create a strong sense of exoticism.

Wow! Can we wear any of these whenever we want?!

Upon entering, one sees hat racks and coat racks placed beside the entrance. The racks are adorned with various colors of deerstalker hats and cloak-like coats—the very clothing of Sherlock Holmes.

"Wow! So cute! Hey, Yui, which color are you going to wear?!"

"Hmm... Beige is the standard color, but red or blue would also be quite cute..."

"Where's Dongtou? You looked so good in your shawl at the school festival!"

"Oh dear! Do I have to wear it too?!"

Izana was also pulled over by Minami, and the girls started picking out clothes from the hangers, laughing and joking. Kawanami and I watched from behind them. He said:

"It's just a slight difference in color, I really admire how happy they can be."

"Aren't you interested?"

"It depends on the atmosphere. If you don't wear it, I won't either."

Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

"Well, I'm not interested in hats or coats, but pipes are really cool! You see, Sherlock Holmes always gives off the impression of smoking a pipe!"

"Someone like you, smoking a pipe and acting like a heavy smoker, is just incredibly vulgar."

"Please be more tactful! Be more tactful!"

After chatting about this and that for a while, Jie and the others returned.

Nan took the lead, bouncing and hopping as she flipped the hem of her cloak.

"Hehe~♪ You two, what do you think? What do you think?"

Nan chose a blue cape-style coat. To put it simply, a cape-style coat is a coat with a cape covering the shoulders, but on the petite Nan, it looked more like a raincoat than a coat.

In that sense, it's quite cute, but it's not my place to comment.

"Hmm—" Kawanami said, after giving Minami a cursory look.

"Not bad, right? It's like a primary school student on a rainy day."

"You dare say I look like a raincoat when I'm wearing this!"

"it hurts!"

As expected, Kawabata's thigh was kicked.

The other two girls, looking excited and expectant, walked towards me from behind Nan.

"Hehehe... Sorry to keep you waiting."

The girl was wearing a red deerstalker hat and a cape-style coat, and her expression was a bit arrogant.

As for Izana, she was dressed in white and looked a little surprised as she looked down at the cloak she was holding with her fingers.

"How is it? Not bad, right!"

As she said this, the girl proudly showed me her detective outfit. Her coat and hat were both plaid, which, to put it nicely, gave off a casual vibe, but how should I put it—

"...Doesn't this seem more like 'Detective Opera Girl' than Sherlock Holmes...?"

Isana murmured something softly.

I don't know which work she was referring to, but I understood what she meant.

The color of the clothes makes (or rather, enhances the cosplay feel?) even stronger.

While it's something provided by the exhibition hall and therefore doesn't really matter, the color scheme seems a bit out of place with the sophisticated atmosphere of a mystery novel. You, a mystery enthusiast, are satisfied with this?

"Hmm—" Jie looked down at my feet with a serious expression and said:

"This gentleman served as a military medic in Afghanistan, didn't he?"

No.

"Hehe. I've wanted to try on this kind of cape-style coat for a long time...hehehe..."

(Illustration 007)

Jie Nu twisted and turned, back and forth, fluttering the hem of her cloak and coat as she laughed heartily. She was so excited, almost like a child. Compared to her usual feigned seriousness, her appearance was...

"Look, look...aren't you handsome?"

The girl looked at me with expectant eyes and asked.

Rather than saying he's handsome... it's more accurate to say...

I think it should be more... on the cute side.

"...It might be psychological; he seems very intelligent."

I suppressed my true feelings and gave a neutral, measured comment.

Jie smiled broadly and said innocently, "Thank you!" She then took out her phone and went to find Nan. It seemed she wanted to take a picture.