My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 285

Nan wrapped her arms around Chuanbo's neck to prevent him from running away, and turned to look at me.

"Because, in real life, Yui is way cuter and sexier than gravure idols or manga characters!"

...I know that all too well.

"Isn't it said that it's a man's shame not to eat meat that's been delivered right to his mouth, right, Kawanami?"

"If you saw a Manchu Han Imperial Feast in hell, no normal person would dare to touch it!"

"Hmm—? Hell? It should be heaven, right? Watch me bite you."

"Ughhhhh!"

She lightly bit the tip of his ear a few times, and Kawanami struggled painfully and fell to the side.

As Nan straddled his stomach and pressed down on him, she said:

"Hey, Irito-kun, I can tell from your face that Yui must have done something to you, but you need to take it seriously. You know she's not the type to mess around with people, right?"

I know. That's why it's tricky.

Nan turned to look at me, revealing a powerful smile.

"If you dare to hurt Jie Nu—I won't let you get away with it! You'd better remember that!"

“…I’ll keep this in mind.”

After I answered, Nan gathered all the books from the Kawanami collection on the coffee table and started saying intimidating things like, "Why don't you make a ranking of the strongest H-pictures?!"

...I think I'll take my leave. It seems I really have bothered the young couple.

I stood up and walked towards the door. As I reached for the doorknob, I turned around and said:

"Nan, I'll tell you something as a thank you for your advice."

"Hmm—?"

"You've misinterpreted the meaning. He's comparing you to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, not hell."

The moment the words left his mouth, Kawanami blushed.

"...Oh??"

Nan curled the corners of her lips and looked down at Kawabata's face.

"In your eyes... am I a sumptuous meal?"

"No! No, that was just an exaggeration—"

"Kawabata, I'm leaving."

"Hey, Irito! Don't go! Aa ...

I wished them happiness as I took my leave from the Kawanami family home.

Irito Mizuto: Wild beasts merely lie dormant.

With some time before sunset, I decided to stop by Isana's house.

Isana is the type who forgets to eat and sleep when she's focused. She managed to avoid the "Manjianghong" exam in the finals, so she doesn't need tutoring, and is probably engrossed in painting right now—if her family isn't home, she might forget to eat lunch. In that case, I'll have to make her something to eat.

I called her on my phone first, and she replied, "I'll open the door first, you can come in by yourself~" Although it was a bit too careless, I'll be there soon anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal.

Walking through the front door of the East Head family home, which I was already quite familiar with, I soon arrived at Izana's room after walking down the corridor. I knocked on the door.

"Izana, I'm coming in."

Given the accident last time, I'll let you know before opening the door this time.

As I expected, Isana was sitting at her desk with her back hunched over, staring at the tablet computer as if she were burying her head in it.

The way she was so focused on her writing made me feel a little revered, and I didn't dare disturb her. But even when it got dark, Isana wouldn't look up on her own, so I politely called out to her:

"Have you had lunch yet?"

"Hmm—not yet."

I knew it. It's already evening.

There was no sound from the living room, so Aunt Nagi probably wasn't home either. I already had permission to use the kitchen, so I'll just make her something simple to eat.

As I was thinking this and about to leave the room, something suddenly caught my attention.

...Izana's hair seems a bit flat.

I quietly approached Izana from behind and picked up a few strands of hair with my fingertips. This is...

"Did you... take a shower?"

"Huh?"

Isana suddenly raised her head, as if she had just remembered, and gently scratched her scalp.

"Yes, I didn't wash yesterday."

"...Go take a shower. I'll cook for you first."

"Huh?"

She had barely finished speaking indignantly when her stomach started growling.

Izana looked down at her stomach and said:

"...There's really no other way, let's take a break then~"

Izana stretched her back forcefully before finally standing up.

We walked out of the room together. I watched Izana go into the bathroom before walking into the living and dining room.

I opened the refrigerator in the kitchen; there should be some leftover rice—enough for one person. I also saw some eggs and scallions, so I decided to make fried rice.

Heat oil in a frying pan, scramble the eggs and scallions, then add the rice and stir-fry together. Season simply with soy sauce, pepper, salt, etc., and it's done.

"...Mizuto-kun~..."

Just as I was plating the simplified fried rice, I heard a shout coming from the bathroom.

"Mizuto-kun... Could you come here for a moment...?"

What happened? I went over to take a look and saw that Izana was only peeking out from the doorway of the washroom and changing room in front of the bathroom, her face peeking out.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I forgot to bring the clothes I needed to change into..."

...Yeah, that guy went into the bathroom empty-handed.

"I usually change clothes in my room, and sometimes I just forget..."

So that means this guy is completely naked now? I can only see his face and shoulders at most...

This reminded me of the previous encounter with the Jade Maiden, and I immediately stopped thinking.

"Okay, okay, I'll go get it for you."

"Please..."

My gaze inadvertently drifted upwards from Isana's apologetic face, and I froze on the spot.

There is a washbasin at the very back of the washroom and changing room.

(Illustration 010)

Since there's a washbasin, there must be a mirror.

The mirror reflected the back of a naked woman.

My fleshy back, buttocks, and thighs are slightly red from just taking a shower.

"Mizuto-kun?"

"...Oh, I'll go get it right away."

I quickly averted my gaze and headed to Isana's room.

Damn it, this girl is so careless. I'll have to teach her a lesson someday.

I randomly picked a set of loungewear from Isana's closet. Normally I might have taken her underwear too, but given my current mood, it felt a bit risky.

After handing her the clothes through a small crack in the door of the washroom and changing room, I went to the living room first.

As I brought the plate of fried rice to the table, Izana, wearing a loose winter shirt and shorts, with her hair soaked, came down the hallway.

"Oh, it smells so good."

Izana plopped down in front of the fried rice on the table and said, "I'm going to eat now." She picked up a spoon. She seemed really hungry, as she hurriedly stuffed the fried rice into her mouth. So I went to the refrigerator and got a water filter. I poured a glass of water and placed it in front of Izana, who gulped it down in one go.

"How did it go?"

I sat down opposite Isana and asked her this question while resting my chin on my hand.

Isana picked up the water filter pitcher, poured another glass of water, and said:

"I'm starting to want a desktop computer—"

"A desktop computer? Why?"

"Although you can draw on a tablet, if you want to do 3D or something, it seems like a desktop computer with better features is better. Besides, the screen is also larger."

"The screen size... it should definitely be quite large..."

I have an old laptop my dad gave me, but its performance is probably comparable to a tablet. That said, a desktop computer—and a high-performance one at that—is beyond the reach of a high school student.

"Working... no way. That would reduce my drawing time, which would be putting the cart before the horse. Although maybe one day you could earn income through a creator platform's paid subscription model..."

"A paid plan! That sounds so tempting..."

"I'm really surprised, are you interested in making money?"

"The paid plan is a modern, uncut edition! It's a paradise that can only be seen by crossing the payment threshold... full of dreams..."

What do you mean by modern or not? This guy probably doesn't even know what an ancient, rough-edged book was. He's probably been influenced by what older people say online.

"Let's do it this way, Mizuto! And then release those nude difference images!"

"I'd better give you permission, you're a minor."

"Protest—Protest—"

Perhaps we can consider that in the future, but for now, we should focus on Isana's personal growth and increasing her fanbase. Making money can wait.

What is 3D used for?

"Basically, it's the background. You can put a few 3D assets on it, design the composition, or outline it. Some people even seem to use 3D puppets to draw the auxiliary lines of characters."

"I see... As long as 3D is used, the skeleton will definitely not be drawn incorrectly."

"But if I start using it right away, it might create some bad habits. I think it's better to practice until I'm at a certain level before using it—then I won't need to take selfies!"

"You always use yourself to represent the sketched dolls, don't you?"

"When I can't think of what character to draw, I'll even use a selfie as a template."

"That's really interesting, he seems like a modern painter."

"Hehe, because I've been a digital artist almost from the very beginning..."

"How are your copies turning out?"

"what?"

For some reason, Isana looked astonished.

"What's wrong?"

"Um...should I...show you my copy?"

"? Um, if it's convenient."

It was just out of personal curiosity.

"Ugh... Okay, if it's Mizuto-kun..."

"Are you embarrassed to show people drawings that aren't official works?" Isana shyly took out her phone, probably sharing files with her tablet. She tapped a few times on the phone, stared at the screen for a long time, and then inexplicably started blushing.

"—Wash, wash the dishes! I'm going to wash the dishes!"

Then she suddenly picked up the plate of fried rice she had finished eating and ran to the kitchen.