My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 278

Me too. I have absolutely no resentment about this situation.

My dad is really interested in the water bucket. And for me, the most important thing right now is my relationship with the water bucket.

It's really amazing.

Mizuto Irito, who should have been the biggest outsider, became the biggest focus of attention at the scene.

Mizuto Irito ◆ The Main Story of My Life

"I'm going to the restroom."

After we had been chatting and eating for a while, Jie got up and left the table.

I was left alone, sitting directly opposite Uncle Keikwangin.

Logically, this should have been quite awkward, but Uncle Keikoin seemed perfectly at ease. He still wore the same knowing smile as he stared intently at my face.

Then he said:

"You seem to really like Yui."

It's like talking about something that's taken for granted.

My hand holding the fork froze for a moment, then I looked at the center of the table and replied:

"...Why do you think that?"

"I wasn't planning on asking any more questions... but chatting with you seems to make me a bit more talkative."

Uncle Keikwangin's tone was somewhat helpless as he continued:

"It's not really deduction, just wild guesses. 'It's too unnatural for a pair of sentimental high school boys and girls to get along so well from the start' -- 'Maybe their getting along well is just an act?' -- 'In that case, maybe their relationship is actually so bad that they have to deliberately emphasize that they get along well' -- 'But they communicate so well, as if they can rehearse beforehand, what exactly is their relationship?' -- Do I need to explain any further?"

"……Need not."

Seriously, this person sees through everything.

Even Dad and Aunt Youren, who live with us, haven't found out about this yet... How come this person figured it all out in such a short time?

"But judging from this, your relationship seems to have improved a lot. Could it be that you've gotten back together?"

I quietly placed the cutlery in my hand onto the plate.

We should probably start discussing today's topic now.

"I thought you mistook me for a couple with Izana."

"That was true when I first met you. But when I met you again recently, I changed my mind. The way you looked at her wasn't as a woman—it was as someone with talent…or to put it another way. You saw someone who held the reins of your life."

"........."

"Mizuto-kun, you and I are a lot like each other. You could even say we're the same kind of people. People like us never think about becoming the protagonist of any story. Discovering people with the potential to be protagonists and writing their life stories as exciting and interesting as possible—that's what's most important to us. For that, our own lives don't matter—this isn't self-sacrifice, nor is it dependence on others; in a sense, it's the most extreme form of egoism."

"........."

"You know what I mean, right? Mizuto-kun—I see that you're starting to think that nothing else matters except nurturing Higashi-kun's talent, aren't you? Yes—even your own feelings are no exception."

I want to stay by Yui's side.

I hope that Yui will stay by my side.

This is my only choice; you are the only one who can be by my side. This feeling has not changed.

But apart from that, everything else has changed.

...No, that's not right. Actually, I was completely unaware of it myself. Until I saw Isana's painting, I didn't realize that I was such a person who didn't consider myself at all.

Currently, I am still undecided.

The work of turning Isana into a painter has not yet yielded any results. The taste of victory has not yet been tasted.

But what if you actually experience that kind of feeling?

I will never be able to come back.

Everything else will become secondary.

My instincts told me this.

"...Let me tell you my story."

Uncle Keikoin began speaking in a sarcastic tone.

It was as if it were a prophecy about my future.

"I still clearly remember the circumstances of Jie's birth—I was too busy with a case at the time, and I didn't see her until a few days after her birth."

I had already heard my dad talk about what happened back then.

He said that Aunt Ren felt very uneasy because her husband didn't come to see the children.

"Several of my friends got married before me, and they all said in unison, 'As soon as you see a newborn child, you feel that the meaning of your life from now on is all in that child.' I think this is a natural biological reaction, and I hope to experience the same transformation myself. I pray—even though I'm a useless guy who couldn't even be there for my wife during childbirth—that I can still be someone who can take care of a family normally."

—I know what happened next.

Otherwise, Jie Nu and I wouldn't be together, and we wouldn't have become a family.

"In the end, I was completely uninvolved."

Uncle Keikoin squinted his eyes, as if he were enduring some kind of pain.

"Only in that moment...did I feel disgusted with myself."

Uncle Keikoin, who always wore a smile as if he knew everything, showed his truest emotions to me for the first time.

"I have to reflect on my own less-than-flattering personality. Mizuto-kun—I think everyone feels their mission at some point, and at that moment they are certain, 'This is the happiness I want'... For many people, that must be the moment their child is born."

My mission. The happiness I want.

These simple words gradually gave shape to my vague inner feelings.

"But my moment ended a long time ago, it was already decided. In game terms, it's the main storyline. So the birth of the child can only be relegated to a side story."

This is probably something that can't be helped.

This isn't a problem that can be solved by changing one's mindset. I'm just this kind of person by nature, born to live this kind of life. Feelings based on this standard cannot be controlled by my own will.

Of course, who isn't like that?

When a child is born, everyone wants to be a good parent.

It's impossible not to think this way, impossible not to hold this hope. No matter how terrible a parent you are in reality.

Even if it sounds like a weak and incompetent excuse, it is the truth.

"After realizing that I was this kind of person, I decided to try my best not to burden my family. I hired professionals to take care of the children, and I tried not to bother Yu-Jin with preparing meals... But this approach is completely different from the family relationship that Yu-Jin imagined and pursued."

Uncle Keikoin, with a lonely expression, tried to console himself.

"Her definition of happiness is completely different from mine."

Uncle Keikōin's ideal future probably lies in his career achievements.

But Aunt Ren's ideal future lies within her family.

You can tell just by looking at Aunt Yu-jin at home. Even though she's very busy with work, she often brings us lunchboxes. She sometimes finds satisfaction in doing things that are typical of mothers. The way she was so touched when I gave her a Mother's Day gift is another example. Aunt Yu-jin probably has a longing for what family truly means.

But Uncle Keikoin was unable to fulfill her longing.

"So I felt that I couldn't let her waste her life any longer. Actually, I had made up my mind a long time ago, but it was Yu-Jin who actually spoke up. I accepted the divorce on the spot, but when she saw my reaction, Yu-Jin showed the saddest expression I had ever seen in her... Even now, I still feel like I owe her something."

I recalled the circumstances of my breakup with Jie Nu.

We all wore expressions of relief and a sense of accomplishment. But somewhere deep down, the thought must have crossed our minds: if I had been a better person, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.

"I'm not qualified to call myself a father, so I let Yuzu take Yujin's surname. And I'll just dutifully pay alimony. This is the only compensation I can offer for the harm my personality flaws have caused them—though paying money is both vulgar and unsightly, I don't know how else to take responsibility..."

After closing his eyes for a while, Uncle Keikwang-in looked at me with a serious expression.

That was the look of a mature adult.

It's the look in someone's eyes when they're facing off against another person.

"This is the first time in my life I've made such a direct confession... Mizuto-kun, do you know why I'm only telling you this?"

I know.

It couldn't be clearer.

"If you want to stay by Yui's side forever, then there will be issues of responsibility. High school students don't usually have to think about these responsibilities... but the special circumstances you're in don't make it so easy to downplay your failures. The relationship between you is related to the lives of your families. So for Yui's sake, I must harden my heart and question your resolve."

I don't want to know.

I really wish I could stay ignorant forever.

"You might lead Yui down the same path as Yujin."

However, when I saw Higashito Isana's painting, everything was decided in that instant.

"Mizuto-kun—you must have already figured out what happiness truly means to you, right?"

Irito Yume ◆ No consensus on the future

"........."

I... heard everything.

When I came back from the restroom, I heard them talking, and without thinking, I held my breath and eavesdropped...

As a result... they heard everything.

I recalled something from six months ago—what Xiaoyue said when Dongtou confessed his feelings to him.

Mizuto has no attachment to romantic relationships—so if he were to date, he would only choose someone he genuinely wants to be with.

But that was me before.

It's the same him from before.

He might also—no longer want to be with anyone.

My father told me to find enjoyment in endless choices.

It's almost as if it's saying that some people don't have unlimited choices—

Some people have already made their choice...

—Unlike me, there are people like that too.

"........."

Alas, the facts have been proven.

He was the only one who maintained his aloof and proud nature, so I chose to change.

Isn't that why we argued and broke up?

We have distinct differences in our definition of happiness—our ideal future.

I already knew about this...

Irito Mizuto ◆ Fated Partner

"Then, please give my regards to Ms. Irito. Be careful on your way home."

After saying that, Uncle Keikoin disappeared into the city as night fell.

After watching his retreating figure for a while, the girl said:

"Go home."

"……good."

We walked through the city, filled with the Christmas spirit, preparing to return to the same home.

We are step-siblings.

They are not just a man and a woman, but family members living under the same roof.

Therefore, I cannot ignore the consequences. I cannot be a child who can make amends for their mistakes.

Every step you take must take your family and your future into consideration.

I've been thinking about this for a long time.

I just haven't figured out the answer yet.

"...I'm asking you."