My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 313

"Notice?"

"Actually... I didn't tell Asuhain-kun that I was dating Mizuto-kun..."

As the girl fidgeted and rubbed her fingers together, I blinked.

"Huh?...So you're saying I'm just family now?"

"Hmm... Although it's said that she has a boyfriend, she's actually an adopted family member living with her, so it's really too complicated to explain, isn't it! So, um, I wanted to ask you to be careful not to reveal anything..."

“Hmm…”

When I'm at home, I always remind myself to interact with others as family.

Although that would be troublesome because there is no place where we can feel safe to be together—that is why, even though we are so close, there is absolutely no chance to advance our relationship.

Suddenly, a mischievous thought popped into my head.

"When you say 'pay attention,' what exactly do you mean, for example?"

As I said this, I reached out and touched Yui's cheek. My fingers ran through her hair, and my palm pressed against her soft, supple cheek. After stroking the area above her ear with my thumb, Yui let out a soft "hmm" and frowned in slight annoyance.

"Really... When we're at home, we're family, right?"

"I think this level of touching is perfectly normal for family members."

"……goat"

Lovely things are truly endlessly fascinating. If we hadn't decided to exercise restraint, what state would we be in now?

Relationships change, and so does the environment. Living with my girlfriend every day during our relationship, there were many moments when even I almost couldn't resist. If home is family, where should we go if we want to become lovers? In modern Japan, places where we can create our own private world without being disturbed are rare.

"Um……"

While scolding me, Yui nuzzled her cheek against my palm in a playful manner. Perhaps it's time to seriously consider this. How can Yui and I, while maintaining our family relationship, take a step further than we are now? What is necessary to achieve this?

In short, let's just be content with this level of contact that's perfectly normal for family members.

"—Um, Ayai-san?"

The moment we heard the sound, we separated with the explosive power of an Iaido master.

Immediately after that, the living room door was opened, and Asuhain's face peeked in.

"Ah, Asuha-in-san? What's wrong?"

"They seemed to have been gone for quite a while, so I was thinking of offering to help out..."

Asahi-no-in's gaze darted back and forth between the two of us several times.

Ah, that was close... We really need to choose our venues and timing carefully. Before we know it, we're driven by desire, and the rules we set for ourselves are completely forgotten.

"Ah—, it's alright, it's alright! My little brother will help me!"

Asahi-no-Yuan gave me a scrutinizing look.

If I looked away, people would suspect something. I tried to hide my hesitation and returned their gaze.

"Excuse me for asking... you two have different surnames."

Asahi-no-in frowned in surprise as he spoke.

"The nameplate also says 'Eri House'... Excuse my intrusion, but what is your relationship?"

...Speaking of which, the house numbers haven't been changed yet. They should have been put up for both "Irito" and "Ayai".

Thinking that Yui should be the one to explain this, I gave her a look. Yui began to explain, "Ah, that matter, huh?" "Because we are not related by blood. Although my mother's surname changed to 'Irito' when she remarried, I still have my original surname."

"Remarried? When was that?"

"Huh?...Uh, um..."

The girl's gaze visibly shifted. Finally,

"W-When was it, Mizuto-kun?"

They asked me for help.

Don't throw it at me!

"Ah—...I don't remember. It must have been when I was little."

I'm not lying; the junior high student was a child.

"...I see."

Asuha-in seemed somewhat relieved, her expression relaxing. It appeared she had accepted it.

"Excuse me for asking this question."

"No, it's alright. After all, it's a rather troublesome topic. Right?"

After throwing the topic back to me, she nodded frantically, saying, "Yes, yes! That's right!" Even though I already knew, Yui really isn't the type to lie...

"Well, ah—...it's Asuhain-kun, isn't it?"

If I let the conversation continue like this, it seemed like Jie was about to reveal everything. I casually ended the conversation.

"I'm Mizuto Irito. We go to the same school, so please take care of me if we meet."

"...Yes. Please take care of me."

It doesn't look like they intend to take care of you at all.

Anyway, this gave me a chance to escape. I left the two girls behind and went up the steps alone.

If only Yui could explain the situation tactfully in a little while... but it seems unlikely, judging from her appearance.

"---Yeah?"

"—Yes——It was my time—"

The occasional sounds of girls talking in the next room made it impossible for me to calm down.

This situation is so novel that I don't know how to stop it... No, although there's no need to do anything, since I'll hear about it anyway even if I do nothing, it doesn't change, and I feel like I'm eavesdropping.

Currently, it seems to be a study session for top students, which is fine—

Just then, my phone beeped.

I confirmed, it's Higashito Izana. And it wasn't a regular call... it was a video call?

I placed my phone on the stand on the table and pressed the answer button.

"Hey hey~"

On the LCD screen, the image of someone wearing loungewear appeared.

No, calling it loungewear is too much of a compliment. Dongtou was wearing a large shirt, like he was wearing pajamas. In fact, it was definitely pajamas.

"Hey. What's wrong? All of a sudden."

"Can't I just have a video call from a friend?"

"Don't they usually let you know via Line or something beforehand?"

This is basically how it goes when I talk to Jie Nu on the phone.

"Ah, I see! There are such rules..."

"It's not really a rule, is it?"

"I've been a ROM for six months on LINE, so this was a huge help." (Translation: This is an internet slang term used to describe people who leave comments or replies that don't convey the intended meaning or atmosphere. ROM is the same term as Kawanami Kogure's self-proclaimed "Read Only Member" in the context of romance.)

Has Dongtou never even done something so trivial? Well, I'm not in a position to judge others. Because I was the same way before I met Yui.

"And then, what happened?"

"Um... there's something I wanted to ask you."

Hey, Di Dongtou peeked out from the table where the phone was placed.

"wait……"

In that instant, the scene unfolding before the camera made me involuntarily lean backward.

Dongtou was probably reaching into something deep inside the table. As a result, Dongtou's unusually full bulge drooped down in front of the camera, giving a close-up of the bottomless valley in the large shirt room.

Not to mention the bra straps, you can even clearly see the top of the bra cups. Black...

"...You..."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Dongtou, back in his original position, seemed oblivious to everything, tilting his head and staring blankly at me as I rested my hand on my forehead.

Dongtou isn't very comfortable with video calls, so she might not be aware of the camera's location. As her friend, I should make sure she's aware of it.

"East end... take a look at the camera's position. Right now, everything under your shirt is on full display."

"Eh"

Dongtou blushed and pulled up his loose collar with his hand.

"This, this is... how should I put it, I'm so sorry to have let you see something so good."

"Do you still think it's a good thing?"

"I think it's my only source of pride!"

Dongtou straightened his chest, causing the two lumps of flesh to sway slightly.

Well... it's better than having no pride at all, right...?

"Anyway, just be more careful next time... And then? Is there anything else?"

"Ah, this is it, this is it."

After saying that, Dongtou, like a storyteller on Douyin (TikTok), held up a light novel next to his face. The cover was familiar. Although he didn't think it was a famous work…

"This is a slightly older light novel; the sequel isn't even sold in used bookstores—and the price online has gone up too… Mizuto-kun, do you have any volumes after volume two?"

"Hmm...wait a minute. I remember there was one."

"Really!?"

I got up from the table and started rummaging through the bookshelf. I remembered it was inside this bookshelf—

"I've got it! I've got it!"

"Ah! That's the one, that's the one!"

The east end crossed the screen and pointed to the cover I was showing in front of the camera.

"Please lend it to me! I've been looking for this book!"

"If you really want to read that, there's always the option of e-books, isn't there?"

"If you start by reading the physical book, won't you want to finish reading it entirely on paper?"

It's not that I don't understand this feeling.

"Then, bring it next time you go to school."

"Ah, then, the others too—"

"chest"

"oh oh"

While keeping an eye on the camera, Dongtou showed me the next book. After seeing it, I also started searching through the collection, busy uncovering hidden masterpieces.

During that time, a thought flashed through my mind. Higashi knew that Yui and I were dating, but he didn't know that we were living in the same house as adopted family. It was exactly the opposite of Asuhain-kun's situation. It wasn't that I wanted to hide it, but explaining it would be too much trouble, so I didn't say anything.

Now I'm not in a position to talk about Yui anymore... Although I wish I could have said it more tactfully afterward.

"Um—, Mizuto-kun. May I ask a question…?"

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

As I returned to the table, Dongtou asked timidly. I had a strange feeling about this way of bringing up the topic.

"Since just now, I've been faintly hearing a girl's voice... Do you have guests visiting your home?"

……ah.

Speaking of which, the voices of Yui and Asuhain next door...

"……ah--……"