My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 304

In the short story, my ex-girlfriend's classmate occasionally uses Line to be overly affectionate.

The online translation is from the Kingdom of Light

Translation: Three thousand anonymous little elves

Proofread by: Zilean

There's a famous saying that the opposite of love is indifference, but there's no evidence that the opposite of love isn't aversion. Since the validity of one correspondence doesn't negate another, the proposition that "the opposite of love is both indifference and aversion" should naturally also hold true.

Just as the opposite of the inside is the inside, and the opposite of the right is the left, the two opposite things are easily identified by reversing them.

These things can always be easily reversed if you just toss a coin with your finger and turn around.

At this point, whether love turns into indifference or indifference turns into love, people will feel that these are almost impossible scenarios—at least compared to love turning into disgust.

Compared to the shift from harmonious coexistence to verbal abuse.

Yes, it has always been this rare situation—though I don’t know what Mother Teresa was thinking, for me, love turning into hatred is a very common occurrence.

The opposite of love is hate.

It doesn't have the profound meaning of a famous quote; it's just some shallow and self-evident things, I can assert that.

I can confidently say this, having become adopted siblings with my ex-girlfriend whom I just broke up with.

"—Can't you even get up early when you're alone, Mizuto-kun?"

As I walked into the restroom, yawning, the long-haired woman, already dressed in her uniform, looked at me with utter contempt.

Irito Yume.

The woman I lived with as my obligatory family member—who was my lover until six months ago.

Don't sleep in so much every morning, or I'll become the one responsible for waking you up.

"...I'm really sorry. But isn't this a perfect example of putting the best use to the best of a bad situation? After all, your noisy alarm is much more energizing than a phone alarm."

【It's a billion times better than your damp, mosquito-like buzzing, isn't it?】

I snorted and approached the sink, while Jie Nu stepped aside, combing her hair as she did so. I turned on the tap and splashed my tears across my face.

Although it's a well-known fact, there's probably no one in the world who would rather not see you than your ex-girlfriend.

Of course, if the relationship is good enough that we can communicate normally, then there is no such thing as breaking up. For the two of us, who have no lingering feelings and feel relieved about the breakup, the current situation would only be superfluous and become an unnecessary burden.

Your voice is truly unbearable to listen to. It's always been like this.

I replied, wiping my face.

Because you spoke even softer, didn't you also find it difficult to hear things clearly at that time?

Yes. Unlike you, I probably only got used to talking to those loud and straightforward people after a lot.

[Only someone with a shady personality would use the term "positive angle" or "negative angle," right? You're a high school graduate who debuted in this field.]

Can you please speak based on actual experience? Aren't you ashamed of pretending to know what you don't?

I stole a glance, and a smile involuntarily crept onto my face. I couldn't stand that feigned composure.

I used to be shy and timid. I would blush and panic if I teased her even slightly. Ah, although I still feel annoyed by my stupidity and ignorance back then, compared to the woman in front of me who is framed by vanity and self-esteem, I think I should be considered better.

This clumsy, slow-witted, and clueless guy, whose only redeeming quality is twice as high as most others—

I just hate places like this.

After I muttered something quietly, Jie Nu responded softly.

[...We're in the same boat.]

Jie seemed to have lost interest in continuing the conversation and took out her phone from her pocket to play with it.

Oh dear, oh dear. If this continues, it will eventually be exposed to our fathers. Our past relationship should be kept a secret from our remarried parents.

...Anyway, I'll try not to bother her during the mornings. As for her, I probably don't want to see a guy sleeping with a recent breakup on his face—

叮叮

Ok?

My phone suddenly beeped in my pocket. Line? Who could it be so early?

I checked, and it was Jie Nu who posted an emoji. A mascot-like cartoon character seemed to be happily jumping around...

Uh-huh?--

叮叮

Uh huh huh? ? ?

The message was retracted.

【…Did you see that?】

The girl's cheeks flushed slightly as she glared at me and said.

No, I almost saw it.

I lied.

"Is that so...? That's fine then."

With a relieved sigh, Jie quickly left the restroom.

As I watched those light, flowing black hairs go, I mentally complained...

...Could you please double-check the recipient before sending a message?

Short story: May the cherry blossoms still bloom

The online translation is from the Kingdom of Light

Translation: Beatrice

A cherry blossom petal fluttered down.

It danced at an exhilarating speed, as if drawn to her—and clung to her beautiful hair.

I noticed it immediately. Whether I spoke up to remind them or reached out to take it, it was all very easy.

"--What's wrong?"

She turned around in surprise. My hand stopped on her waist, out of her sight.

"--nothing."

I once touched her hair.

We've talked about countless topics.

But why I couldn't tell you about that petal, I still don't know.

It wasn't in the second or third year of junior high, but sometime during spring break—

In the end, I remained silent about the flower petals in Ayai's hair.

◆

Neither a junior high nor a high school student, but still in the nascent stage, I gained a family of the same age.

Moreover, she's a girl I know.

Speaking of which, not long ago, she was my ex-girlfriend, with whom I broke up after graduating from junior high school.

When I learned of this fact at a dinner party held by my father and his new wife, my mind went blank.

I guess she felt the same way. She froze for a few seconds when she saw me, and during the dinner, she could only respond in a way that sounded like an AI. Although I explained to my father and the others that it was because I was still nervous, we were just desperately trying to accept the reality before us—or perhaps refusing to face it.

No, actually, if you think about it calmly, it's not impossible from a probability standpoint.

Living in the same place increases the chances of bumping into each other, and since you both have children of similar age, you should be able to understand each other, right? But even so, why this guy of all people? What was that abrupt breakup on graduation day? It hasn't even been a week since then. Wasn't our relationship finally over? Isn't this sequel starting way too soon? Give me at least a quarter to wait.

So, amidst this awkward atmosphere, we left the restaurant.

The cherry blossom trees on both sides of the riverbank stretched out like a tangled mess. My father and the others said they needed to take a walk to digest their food, so they went to the riverbank. Ayai and I followed them.

Father and Ayai's mother were both secretly watching us. Now that we've reached the point of remarriage, their biggest concern is probably our movements. If we don't get along, Father and Mother will definitely abandon the option of remarriage.

That's really asking too much. After all, we've already broken up. We broke up precisely because we couldn't be together. And now you want us to be family? That's asking too much of us all at once.

I glanced casually at my ex-girlfriend beside me, who was avoiding my gaze. ...If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be any problem. I could have kept a proper distance from that person and treated her properly as family. Just because it's you—just seeing you walking next to me like this makes me uneasy.

It used to be such an ordinary scene.

It used to be a matter of course, a normal part of daily life.

That's why, compared to my current state of mental stress, the obvious changes... make me incredibly irritable.

I sighed softly and looked up at the sky. The blooming cherry blossoms filled every corner of the sky like an arcade.

The petals fell gracefully.

It danced at an exhilarating speed, as if drawn to something—clinging tightly to Ayai's long, flowing hair.

"……ah……"

Memories from a year ago resurfaced.

I recalled the time when I couldn't reach out and touch the petals.

What exactly happened back then? To this day, I still don't know. But now, facing this recurring scene, the thought that comes to mind is—

—Things are different now than they were then.

That's it.

Therefore, I naturally reached out my hand.

"well?"

Ayai turned around in surprise when her hair was suddenly touched.

I took off a petal and showed it to her.

"It's stuck on."

"Thank...thank you."

...They started talking.

Although it was just a sentence, it felt surprisingly natural.

I thought he wouldn't speak again.

The wind snatched the petals from my hands. Ayai's hair fluttered in the wind, the ends dancing in the air.

Ayai gently pressed her long hair down with her hand and said:

"……that"

"……Um"

"Nice to meet you—is that alright to say?"

Ah...yes. I see.

"Um—nice to meet you, I am Irito Mizuto."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Yui Ayai."

Only now are we starting to seriously introduce ourselves to each other.

"……hehe"

Ayai—no, Yui—smiled.

I also smiled slightly, contrary to my usual behavior.

I'm not in a good mood.

I feel restless whenever we're alone together.

But—that's to be expected when meeting someone for the first time.

We can get along like this now.

May the cherry blossoms continue to bloom even after they have withered.