My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 29

"Hey, hey, that's way too absent-minded."

Irito smiled wryly, dumbfounded, and unbuttoned a small button on her coat.

"Here you are."

As Irito called to me, she draped her coat over my shoulders.

So warm...

I pulled my warm coat up to my chest, and a warm feeling instantly washed over me. It felt like being embraced by Irito-san, and I felt a little shy… If you want to hug me so badly, you can just hug me directly, okay? — This thought flashed through my mind, making me even more shy. Who do I think I am? What gives me the right to order people around?

For various reasons, my body temperature rose, and I exhaled a breath of hot air, but...

"...But won't Irito-san be cold?"

"No, I'm fine."

Irito spoke calmly, but her shoulders trembled slightly. She was just putting on a brave face. It was kind of cute.

But if this continues, he'll catch a cold. What should we do...?

Thinking about this, an extremely difficult idea flashed through my mind. So difficult that it would be easier to just crawl under from below. No, umm, but, since it's already like this… well, it's Christmas after all.

...Anyway, it's Christmas!

The overwhelming power of the word "Christmas" gave this coward a push. Thank you, Jesus Christ. This was almost a miracle for me; it even made me consider converting to Christianity.

"Well, so... that..."

I felt my face gradually turn red, but I still surrendered to the power of Christmas and finished speaking in one breath.

"Should we...should we wear them together?"

◇

Surprisingly, I can actually wear it.

Ayai and I shared a coat by draping it over each other's shoulders and sat down on the edge of a roadside planting trough.

Although Ayai flinched when our shoulders touched under my coat, she still took her time and cautiously leaned against me.

...So light.

But it feels so warm.

And it smells so good.

I found myself in a rare state of feeling both at ease and having my heart race. But if this wicked thought were to slip up, everything would be ruined. I stared blankly at the night sky, trying to keep a straight face.

Ayai chuckled softly in my ear.

"……What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just think my boyfriend is so cute."

Ugh... I've been seen through.

He was clearly panicked just now, but now he's suddenly become calm and collected...

Seeing that I was trying to hide my embarrassment by remaining silent, Ayai frantically waved her hands.

"Ah...you...are you angry? I'm sorry...?"

"No, I'm not angry. I'm just a little embarrassed... You don't need to be so afraid that I'll be unhappy, it's okay."

"Is that so...?"

"You—"

Although I hesitated for a moment, I managed to overcome my shame.

It's Christmas anyway.

"I won't get angry no matter what you do..."

As I continued, I became somewhat hesitant, and my tone lacked confidence at the end. This made me even more embarrassed, so I turned my face away.

then……

"...Hehe. Hehe. Hehehehehehehe..."

I heard a happy yet shy laugh, and felt an even greater weight on my shoulders.

She seemed pleased to hear me say that. Thank goodness. If the atmosphere had turned sour, I would have jumped into the river.

I silently felt the weight pressing on my shoulders for a while, and it felt very relaxing. Two wisps of white smoke rose intermittently and disappeared into the night air.

"...I'm telling you...Irito-san."

Hearing this made me look down, and I saw Ayai looking up at me with an expression that seemed to be observing my face.

"I have something... that I want to give you."

My heart skipped a beat... It turns out that Ayai also prepared a gift for me.

"You won't get angry no matter what I do... right? In that case, you'll accept my... gift... right...?"

Her tone lacked confidence, and by the end she was almost inaudible.

Whenever I see Ayai like this, I feel that she doesn't need to be so polite. Ayai is quite intelligent and has good taste, and besides... I think she's also... quite cute.

If she could maintain a normal mindset, making many friends shouldn't be a problem—but she inexplicably lacks self-confidence and keeps others at arm's length.

"...Ayai."

“Eh…?”

Without saying a word, I put my hand in my pocket and took out a packaged box.

Ayai blinked several times when she saw it.

"Ah... what... what is this?"

"Christmas present... I was too nervous during the day to give it to you."

"...Huh...?"

Ayai stared at me blankly for a moment—and then…

"--Pfft! Aha! Ahahaha! Ahahahahahaha...!"

She couldn't hold back her laughter and giggled sweetly.

I felt a little uneasy.

"Don't laugh at me for laughing like that..."

"I'm so sorry...! But... I didn't expect that Irito-san would do the same thing as me..."

"So, Ayai is just like me after all?"

"Um."

Ayai also took out a packaged box from her pocket to show me.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw it, and we both shook our shoulders and laughed for a while.

Before we knew it, we had forgotten the stinging cold on our cheeks and ears.

After laughing to her heart's content, Ayai wiped away the tears that had seeped from the corners of her eyes and covered her mouth with her gift.

"Then... let's make a trade."

"Okay, let's trade."

We handed the other person a small box that was simply wrapped up a little nicer. It was nothing special, but it felt like some kind of solemn ceremony.

I gave my box to Ayai, and Ayai put her box in my hand in return.

I looked at the front of the box, then the back, then back again, and finally couldn't resist anymore.

"Can I open it?"

"Huh?...Here, here?"

"You can open mine too."

"...Okay, then..."

We simultaneously pulled with our hands and untied the red ribbon.

It's not that I've never given her a gift. However, the things we exchanged in the past were all practical items. They were all safe gifts that I didn't have to worry about being returned.

But today's gift is different.

It's a gift that, if not handled properly, will be difficult for the recipient to handle, impractical, and risky... a gift that only lovers would dare to give.

"……ah……"

Ayai opened the box and called out softly.

"This is... a magic pendant?"

Inside the small box was a pendant with a pink flower encased inside a transparent glass bead.

That said, it was bought with my junior high school allowance, not some expensive piece of jewelry. And since I have absolutely no interest in accessories in my daily life, I racked my brains with my limited taste, spending ages browsing online to find this one, so honestly, I don't know if it's cute or pretty. However—

Aya raised the pendant high in front of her eyes.

"So beautiful... there's a flower inside the glass bead... what kind of flower is it?"

"...Baby's breath. I chose it because of its symbolic meaning."

"The language of flowers..."

Upon hearing this, Ayai immediately took out her phone and started looking up information. I panicked.

"No...! Wait a minute! This is so embarrassing...!"

"What's wrong with that? It won't do anything!"

Ayai, with a mischievous grin, bent over to protect her phone, and read out the search results, "Let me see—".

"Like a dream," "A pure heart," "Charm," "Innocence"...

"...Actually, this flower..."

I'm going all out and will just say it straight:

"...often used as wedding bouquets."

"...Huh..."

Aya looked down at the pendant again, her face flushed so red that it was visible even in the evening.

...What am I doing? Am I thinking of proposing to her?!

Me too, my whole face started burning late. I should have chosen something more conservative!

"...Yes, it's open."

Just as I was feeling incredibly regretful, Ayai quietly unfastened the metal clasp of the necklace, brushed her hair aside, and put the necklace around her neck.

"Heave-ho... all done... how does it look?"

The pendant I bought for Ayai, she wore it around her neck.

...Ah... Ah—ah—how should I describe this?

Should I say I'm happy, or am I embarrassed and uncomfortable—a feeling similar to a sense of accomplishment welled up inside me.

"I rarely wear this kind of jewelry, so I don't know if it will look good on me..."

"No, it looks great."

I couldn't help but speak frankly.

"It's really beautiful. I'm not kidding...it's so cute."

"Huh?...Uh, um...thank you."

Ayai shyly looked away, a slight smile appearing on her flushed cheeks.

Seeing her expression, I realized that the time I spent picking and choosing a gift was not only worthwhile, but also brought me even more rewards.

"...Well then, it's time for me to open my gift."

"Ah... um, okay!"