My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 27

"Wow...he's so handsome..."

"...Please don't stare at photos like that in front of the person, okay?"

I looked at Shui Dou, who had completely turned back into a disheveled, dowdy guy, and then compared him to the handsome tutor (Feng Shui Shui Dou) on my phone.

"...Hey, why don't you just die and be reincarnated as someone like this?"

"You can become like that without dying, okay?!"

Come on, that's impossible. The races are completely different, okay? There are inherent differences between races.

I asked around and found out that this design seemed to have been created by Kawanami. I'll have to ask him for apprenticeship someday; that way, a stable supply of supplies won't be a dream. Someday I'll print this out and stick it on the ceiling above my bed. Hehehe…

"...I think you have a problem, which is that you tend to go berserk when you get excited."

"Huh? When did I go berserk?"

"You don't understand yourself at all."

"You have no right to judge me. You have no idea how handsome you are."

"I really admire how you can still be a top student!"

While I do tend to lose track of what I'm doing when I panic, I don't need the gloomy guy in the currently popular movie "The Great Marginal Man" to worry about me.

"Good morning, Yui!"

Good morning, Nan.

On Monday, I went to school and chatted with my classmate Nan and other friends.

"What do you do on weekends?

"I've been working part-time all along."

"Really? I slept from beginning to end."

"I'm so envious!"

"Where is Yui?"

"Me too, I just stay home and read books."

"So intellectual! Irito-san is really suited for this kind of look!"

As for the aquarium date she had with her stepson, of course, she didn't mention it at all.

Without needing to rely on anyone, the daily life I had dreamed of during junior high school continued.

◆ Water Fighter ◆

Realizing your dreams always comes at a price.

It takes the consumption, dedication, and sacrifice of certain things for the dream of a future to finally become a reality.

What's even more frustrating is that dreams require maintenance costs. To keep them going, to protect them, certain things must be sacrificed.

As I watched the dreamlike scene of Irito Yume chatting with a few friends, I realized that my silly operation had worked.

Since that date, Nan has completely cut off contact with me.

Kawanami watched her for a while and assured me, "It looks like everything's alright now. She's dead, dead. Serves her right!" The crisis was over.

Even so, it's still time to put an end to this.

The other person must be thinking the same thing. During lunch break, she gave me a wink.

I quickly finished my lunch and left the classroom for the library. That's where she proposed to me.

In a semi-enclosed room, diagonally opposite the library entrance and with the view obscured by bookshelves, Nan Xiaoyue, disguised as a literary girl, was waiting for me.

"I'm so sorry! Breaking into your house was really going too far!"

As soon as she spoke, she clasped her hands together and bowed deeply to apologize.

"I didn't mean any harm! It's all because you were so careless and didn't lock the door, I couldn't resist the temptation and did it!"

"First of all, it's highly questionable whether you even checked if I locked the door. That's not an unreasonable statement, is it?"

That's the kind of behavior only someone who's been trying to break into a brothel from the very beginning would exhibit.

Nan, through her tacky black-rimmed glasses, timidly glanced at my face.

"...You'll tell Yui on me, won't you?"

Normally, that's the right thing to do.

She's a complete stalker; what she's doing is a crime. It's not just about her; the police should be called.

but……

"...No, it doesn't matter. As long as you learn to control yourself in the future."

"Huh? Why...?"

I let my gaze drift to the window and ruffled my bangs.

"...Because I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

The image of the woman chatting casually with her friend flashed through my mind.

I know.

I know how much sacrifice a girl who cries just from getting lost has to make to have a happy chat with her friends in the classroom.

"...I see—I see."

After giving a knowing reply, Nan grinned knowingly.

"I won't say thank you, okay?"

"Who said you don't need to thank me? You should be thanking me while you're crying."

"No way—because I don't want to make a big deal out of it—"

I don't understand what it means. Seeing that Nan turned her face away and refused to talk to me, I sighed.

"...Speaking of which, what are you trying to do by putting a fifth chair in my living room?"

"Huh? What, a fifth chair?"

"………………Huh?"

"No, sorry, just kidding! Um, it was kind of like a pretend play bar? Ugh! I was feeling embarrassed, so I was trying to gloss over it with a scary ending~! Don't take it seriously~!"

Nan covered her cheeks shyly with her hands. You almost gave me a heart attack!

"I'm so sorry! I'll try to be more sensible in the future and only stay overnight at your place as a friend, openly and honestly!"

"Wow, judging from your expression, you haven't even considered the possibility of reflecting on your actions and keeping your distance, have you?"

"Or maybe I could marry Irito and live with her!"

"They didn't even give up on this route!"

This is not what you said, Kawabata!

"There's nothing I can do," Nan said to me, her pink lips curling into a defiant gesture.

"The best way to defeat your love rival is to find them another partner—right?"

After school, I convened a meeting to discuss countermeasures with Nan Xiaoyue.

Of course, the participants were me and Kawanami Kogure.

"Frankly, as long as it doesn't actually cause any harm, I have nothing to say. It's fine to continue!"

"Don't give me a single sentence to conclude this, you peeping tom."

"How about calling me the Romance ROM Specialist?"

"ROM-specific?"

"ROM-specific, Read Only Member. In other words, a lurker."

...Is it right for you to not look for a partner yourself and just watch others date? No wonder you don't seem to have a girlfriend.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm still pushing you to date Irito! All the other women who get close to you might as well have a heart attack and quit!"

"Hey, what's this dangerous guy here too?!"

"That's enough of the jokes..."

"You think you can get away with this?"

"Let's stop with these creepy and horrible jokes about Irito Mizuto's other pairings..."

"So it turns out they never intended to fool us at all..."

"If that woman does anything dangerous again, come and talk to me. Speaking of Nan Xiaoyue, I think I can help you more than anyone else."

I stared at my reliable friend's frivolous face.

...I had been wondering about this for a long time, and now this statement has finally turned my doubt into certainty.

"I have a question that's unrelated to this, Kawanami."

"Um?"

Have you ever been hospitalized?

Kawanami froze for a moment, then rested his elbow on the table, propped up his cheek, and gave a meaningful smile.

His smiling face—it looked a lot like Nan Xiaoyue's smile.

"Yes. When I was in junior high school."

...Ah, I knew it.

It seems this guy can become a reliable comrade for me.

Realizing what had happened, I gave my friend a wry smile as a gesture of goodwill.

"We each have our own hardships."

"Yes, everyone has their own difficulties."

I can't help but think...

Girlfriends are something you really shouldn't have.

Volume One: Past Romance Remains Unresolved; Couple Exchanges Gifts; "...I Want to Die..."

"...It's a white Christmas."

"Yes... I think I'll never forget this view for the rest of my life."

"Because I'm here with you?"

Do you think so?

"If you say no, I'm going to get angry."

"Then I can rest assured."

"A deadly sight."

—The male and female actors on TV were saying these nonsense things, and then they kissed.

We do have a TV at home, but we rarely turn it on. It's mainly used during dinner time, mostly as background music.

Among the four people in my family, my daughter and I are natural bookworms, and my dad or Aunt Yu-ren usually watches TV.

"Sigh~ Every time I see a scene like this, I feel so lonely."

Aunt Ren watched as the two actors shared a passionate kiss that most people could never do, and sighed as she spoke.

"Every year around Christmas, I'm always so busy I feel like I'm going to die. Just thinking about December 25th makes me feel so depressed. Unlike before, when I would feel both looking forward to it and excited~"

"Hahaha. Even if you can keep a young heart forever, you can't help yourself when you're busy... Oh, but Mizuto and Yume will have plenty of opportunities in the future, right?"

The words are not surprising and die endlessly.

My dad's words made me and Jie pause for a moment as we picked up food from our plates.

"If you get a boyfriend or girlfriend, don't worry about us, it's okay! Ah, Mizuto probably isn't worth much hope, but Yui should be quite popular!"

"Hehehe. This child has changed a lot, hasn't she? Not long ago, she was just an unremarkable little sister—"