My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 310

—He is my man!

...Oh dear, my apologies. I couldn't suppress my sense of superiority.

However, one can't always be so carefree and secretly happy. While it's quite gratifying to have a popular boyfriend, it's not without its unsettling aspects.

While I don't think Mizuto would cheat, I can't say for sure that the girl might be one-sidedly showing interest and making some strange gestures. That type of guy is easily provoked. If one person makes a move, everyone else will follow suit. In fact, compared to the fans of the athletic guys in the sports club, is their devotion more intense, or is it just a completely different level of stickiness...?

Since I haven't actually seen it, this is just for my own reference.

In short, the outbreak of a great war is not hard to imagine. At that time, if anything went wrong and my existence was exposed—ahhhhhh, that would be hell!

Well, this is just my own paranoia; reality probably won't be that serious. But regardless, it's a fact that my boyfriend is being flirted with by someone else.

"...Yume?"

During our after-school date, I tightly hugged the arm of my classmate, Mizuto, who was walking beside me.

"What's wrong? It's making it hard for me to walk like this."

"Nothing's wrong, it's normal. After all, I'm your girlfriend."

Mizuto is mine.

It's too late for me to like him now, you damn casual fans! I'm only realizing his charm now; Mizuto-kun has been mine for a long time!

As I was gleefully gloating over my rival, who didn't even exist in front of me, Mizuto looked away somewhat awkwardly and said in a weak voice.

"...I ran into him."

"It's bound to bump a little, it's already so upright."

*Pfft*, my chest brushed against Mizuto's arm. While I wouldn't say I wasn't shy, I didn't dislike it either. In fact, in a moment as pleasant as this, letting Mizuto touch me would be nice—no, no, I don't actually want to be touched!

Mizuto-kun said, as if sighing.

"I really don't recognize them anymore..."

"Is it Mizuto's fault?"

"Why?"

"You know, female hormones and stuff."

Actually, since I started dating Mizuto when I began growing up, I wondered if the two were really related. While it wasn't like I was being touched or anything, it's true that I was gradually developing into a more feminine woman every day. ...It was so embarrassing back then. When I reported to my mother that "my bra is getting tighter again..."

"Since you were raised by Mizuto-san, please take responsibility for taking good care of him."

"What kind of care? Do you want me to shake a rattle?" (Translation: a toy to amuse a child)

Rattle drum → baby → breasts ———

I hurriedly dismissed the association that had crossed my mind.

"Hmm—well, maybe water it or something..."

"...She really has a unique personality."

"Wait, wait, don't imagine it—!"

If you say that, I'll start thinking about it too! Surprisingly, it's a bit suggestive, isn't it? I can't help but start thinking about it!

Mizuto said with a light laugh.

"You don't need to tell me, I'll take care of everyone until the very end."

"...In the end, where does that mean?"

"Let your imagination run wild"

...Ehhhhh!? How could you say something so suggestive!

"Speaking of taking care of..."

When Mizuto was flustered by the meaningful words, he suddenly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, recently I met this guy..."

"Huh? Could it be... you've made a friend? Mizuto-kun?"

"That's a really rude reaction."

Unlike me, who used to be the type who "couldn't make friends," Mizuto is the type who "doesn't try to make friends." And here Mizuto is, actually mentioning "someone I know"...

"What kind? What kind?"

"Just an insignificant otaku. We met in the library, just like us, in the first year of high school. He's the kind of guy who only reads light novels..."

"Ah—, Mizuto-kun is watching too."

"Light novels cover a wide range of genres, right? So, for someone like me who enjoys all kinds of things, is it surprising that I can keep up...?"

"Huh—? There's actually someone among our age who can get along with Mizuto-kun?"

"Hmm. Seriously, if she paid more attention to the hem of her skirt, she'd be an interesting guy."

"Eh?"

skirt?

"...Wait, wait a minute? Could it be...a girl?"

Did you meet with a girl behind my back?

And they met in the library? Book lovers? That kind of thing is so old...!

"—I knew it would turn out like this, that's why I said it."

Mizuto said with a gentle smile.

"You're very jealous—basically, you're a jealous person. So I thought I'd say it as soon as possible to see if I could get you a meeting with Dongtou."

"East end...?"

"Yes. East end. East end Izana."

Hearing another girl's name from Mizuto's mouth might be a first for him.

"Yui--Can I meet my friend? That way, I'll know if he's the kind of person I'm jealous of."

The day after we agreed to meet, I went to the study room during my lunch break.

Although there was still about a month until the midterm exams, at Rakuro, one of the top high schools in Kyoto Prefecture, no amount of early preparation was enough. While I wasn't that stressed, I still scheduled preview and review sessions every few days. I wanted to leave time after school for Mizuto and try to finish everything during lunch break.

Today is that day that "occurs every few days," seemingly a coincidence. Most of the tables that divide the study room in the middle are occupied by students with their notes spread out.

As I searched for an empty seat, I started thinking about our meeting after school.

Mizuto... doesn't understand at all.

He has absolutely no idea how popular he is!

Even if they're friends, you have absolutely no idea what the other person is thinking. And this is the kind of girl who practically lives in the library right after starting university—to put it bluntly, she's 100% infatuated! That's exactly what happened in the past, so it's definitely true!

The environment was different up until junior high. Outgoing boys who joined clubs like soccer were popular, while bookish boys like Mizuto were not. Because of this preconceived notion, Mizuto was unaware of his own shortcomings.

This is Luolou High School. A school where boys and girls from all over the country who are obsessed with studying from junior high schools gather together.

In the eyes of these girls, she's a million times better than the seemingly frivolous soccer club members! The intelligent, refreshing, and secretly kind Mizuto is definitely much more popular than them!

If I could secretly meet someone like him in the library...!

How could anyone not misunderstand?!

Even though Mizuto said he's "not that kind of guy," girls have their own side that only girls can see through! If I don't see through it... If I don't see through it...!

While pondering this, I found an empty seat.

I silently pulled out a chair and sat down.

Unexpectedly, the face of the girl sitting next to me came into view, and I couldn't help but exclaim "Wow!" in my mind.

She's a girl who, while not flashy, is incredibly cute... She has a boyish short haircut, but her petite frame reminds one of a small animal. There's another girl in the class named Nan, also petite, with a similar build.

However—if I had to say there's one difference between me and Nan.

That's it, her breasts, slammed onto the table with a thud.

She has an overall cute and petite figure, except for her breasts, which are quite adult-sized. Even though I'm the larger one, hers is twice the size of mine… What was it called again? Something like that. Crystal… Crystal… Right, Transistor Beauty! (Translation: A popular phrase from the Showa era. At that time, Japan released its first transistor radio, which achieved both miniaturization and improved sound quality compared to vacuum tube radios. Against this backdrop, the phrase "transistor" emerged to praise petite and beautiful Japanese women.)

With looks like that, physique like that, and body like that, it's already a foul.

A child like that must be very popular with boys... It seems less like envy and more like something quite difficult to achieve.

...And, I feel like I've seen her somewhere before...?

Whatever. I'm not the kind of person who's always watching others. I'll just study.

When I opened the notebook I had brought, I heard a faint gurgling sound.

Hmm, looking down at her feet, she saw an eraser rolling towards her.

The direction it rolled from was directly towards the short, busty beauty from before.

I picked up the eraser and gently patted her shoulder.

When she turned her sharp gaze to me, I handed her the eraser.

"(Is this yours?)"

Whispering is prohibited in the study room, so I asked in a low voice.

She looked at the eraser and opened her mouth wide.

"...Yes. ...Thank you very much."

It was a tone that suggested she wasn't very willing to talk to people. That's surprising. She seemed like she would be very popular.

And so—at that moment, I saw her face clearly from the front for the first time.

In that instant, the memories resurfaced.

During the entrance ceremony, the speaker solemnly reads the address.

"(Could it be... Asuhain Ran-san?)"

Tomorrow, Ran-kun.

As a representative of the new students—the one with the highest entrance exam score.

"(...Yes, that's true, what's wrong?)"

As he said this, Asahiya-kun frowned as if he were quite surprised.

This was my first encounter with Asuhain-kun.

After school, familiar and unfamiliar figures walked together toward me, who was waiting outside the school gate.

On one side is Mizuto Irito—my boyfriend, and also Giri's family member.

On the other side was a girl who was hunched over, looking overly shy.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No... Is it her?"

I looked behind Mizuto.

The girl, who had been huddled up, was startled and used Mizuto as a wall, as if trying to avoid my gaze. So I looked at her from the other side, and she flinched and retreated to the opposite side. Although she looked taller than me, her behavior seemed a bit like that of a small animal.

"Yes. This guy is Izana from the east."

Gently tapping Mizuto's back, the girl who had been hunched over—Higashito Izana—raised her head slightly and gave a soft nod.

That's a familiar gesture. I felt the same way two years ago—

So, looking at her with a warm feeling, I finally noticed something.

...It's huge.

A part of her body—below her shoulders, above her abdomen—was horribly bulging. Was it because she was curled up and hadn't noticed? Or was it because, ultimately, she was the kind of person with a faint presence? But now, face to face with her like this, I just felt incredibly blind.

How did you miss it? Such big breasts.

In terms of size alone, it's even bigger than Asuhain-san's...? Proportionally, they seem to be the same size. What's wrong with me today? Twice in one day, I've encountered such enormous breasts that don't seem like they belong to a high school student.

With a tone half a pitch lower than usual, Mizuto glanced at the boy behind him, Touto.

"This is the girl I mentioned before, my girlfriend. Ayai Yume."