My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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He went back as if nothing had happened.

"........."

……how so!

How could things end like this?

And so, I was left like a defeated soldier, dejected and alone, going home by myself.

Estonia has reached the stage it should have reached, and my female classmate has a boyfriend now.

Aside from Lan, who seems to have no interest in dating, Xiaosheng is the only student council member without a boyfriend!

This makes it impossible to serve as a role model for others.

As the president, this is an unacceptable example for everyone!

I must catch up with you, my lord, as soon as possible.

As the student council president of Luolou High School, this is a very important responsibility!

Kawanami Kogure: Others' futures always seem brighter.

I can usually tell if a couple is a couple.

Once two people like each other, no matter how much they try to hide it, that feeling will still show in their attitudes. For example, they'll frequently exchange glances, casually touch each other, and those who are more perceptive will even secretly whisper and giggle when no one is watching. This is especially evident at the beginning of a relationship when they're blinded by love.

Therefore, you cannot hide anything from my discerning eyes.

You think you can fool my aesthetic sense, honed by my love ROM training? You're a hundred years too early!

"—Hey, Goto! You and Watanabe have started dating, right?"

I pressed the boy in my class who was behaving strangely for answers. Goto, contrary to his usual self, shyly said, "No, no~" and started to mumble something to cover it up.

There are definitely more couples after Christmas. That's a good thing.

-- Back to those two from the Irito family, they seem to be the same as always.

When Erihu came to stay overnight at our house on Christmas, I thought he had grasped some of the concepts. But so far, it seems they haven't made any significant progress since then. How boring.

"You think so too?"

A few days after the start of the third semester, Nan, who was holding a straw, said this during lunch break when he heard me complaining.

"Me too. Judging from Irito's reaction back then, I thought things had changed... but Yui is the same. She's exactly the same as before."

"Could it be that they're just keeping it from everyone?"

"Huh? But I don't think Yui is the type to keep secrets."

"I don't think so. Aren't they living together for almost a year now, hiding a huge secret from their parents?"

"...That's true."

Nan pouted as if throwing a tantrum and sipped her apple tea with a "pfft".

"Even if there's something going on, it's probably just a minor argument or making up. If there's any progress, she should share it with me! Let's leave your words aside for now."

"Why should I leave that aside?"

"You know perfectly well what's going on, you voyeur."

That's true. If I could expect the person involved to confess to me, I wouldn't call myself a "love ROM specialist."

"...But, I always feel like there's something..."

Minami rested her chin on her hand and looked towards the classroom door. Irito had just left the classroom, casually tucking her book under her arm.

"What's up?"

"I just feel like it's a bit... like that."

"I didn't understand!"

"You really don't understand? It's just subtle, a little... or should I say the smell has changed...?"

"Smell? Have you started wearing perfume or something?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant the overall atmosphere seems to have changed a bit... but also seems to have remained the same..."

This girl has always been a super intuitive person. Whether it's sports or video games, she's the type who plays by feel without any prior knowledge. It's the same with interpersonal relationships. Perhaps you should say she has a very keen sense of smell.

"Oh... well, since you've put it that way, there's probably something going on."

"...I'm talking about you."

"Um?"

Nan stared at my face and said:

"How should I put it... has it become more lenient?"

"Huh? Where's the mildness?"

"You were definitely more extreme before. The old you would have ended up saying, 'Let's follow them!'"

"Wouldn't that really make me a voyeur? I just want to observe discreetly from afar!"

"Really~?"

Nan tilted her head slightly, revealing a faint smile.

"Could it be that her interest has shifted to her romantic relationship?"

"Hmm!"

I choked.

Nan smiled maliciously as he watched me cough violently, and said:

"Maybe it's because people are now spending more time looking at certain people than at other couples?"

"...Stop being so vain."

"Huh? What does this have to do with me?"

This guy is so annoying! Nothing is more infuriating than a childhood friend who starts showing off.

"Love is the most boring thing to do when you're alone. I have no intention of changing that opinion."

"Okay, it's not that I don't understand what you're trying to say. Especially after seeing Dongtou's recent situation, I feel that way even more."

"East end? Why?"

"Strange? You didn't know?"

Seeing my surprised expression, Nan said, "Wait a minute," and started scrolling through her phone.

Then she opened an illustration on the screen that she had uploaded to Twitter and showed it to me.

"This illustration was just a normal retweet."

"Really? Yeah, I think I've seen that before too..."

"I heard this was drawn by Dongtou."

"Oh, right? -- What did you say?!"

Let me check the number of retweets under the illustration. The number exceeds 3000.

"This was... drawn by Dongtou?"

"I heard a bit about it from Yui, and I even asked her directly. I heard she was already quite good at drawing, but she started taking it seriously around the time she was traveling in Kobe, and within a little over a month, she became a sensation. She's a complete genius, right?"

"That girl... no wonder she hasn't been logging into the game much lately, so that's why..."

"I heard that Irito is her producer. They said the two of them will discuss what kind of illustrations to draw together."

"What?!"

That woman... hadn't learned her lesson when I wasn't looking...!

"Don't bother her for no reason. She got her permission first."

"I know... But then again, it's only been a month..."

Although I don't know her original skill level, this illustration that's going viral everywhere looks like the work of a professional artist to me, a layman. Considering she reached this level in just one month, she certainly doesn't have time to play video games or date.

"That's great, there's something she can be so engrossed in."

Nan spoke as if he were sighing.

"Well, although I help out in various clubs, I've never really put much enthusiasm into any particular thing. Should I say I only do half the job?"

"...Then why couldn't you just do half of what I did back then?"

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

As she looked at the painting on the east side of her phone, she said:

"This makes me feel so sad that I can only find happiness in romantic relationships."

"I'm the one who's sad, okay?" I swallowed that thought at the last minute.

Actually, I understand her feelings. I'm just as carefree and irresponsible, so when I see someone clearly decide on their path, I sometimes feel quite envious.

"...This isn't about who's good or bad. It's great to love drawing, and it's also fine to love boys."

"yes……"

"It's just that it's a little more dangerous for boys."

"Then everything should be alright, right?"

No way! I mean the guy you love is in danger!

"Sigh... Isn't there just one person like that? Someone who can bring me happiness?"

"...Are you waiting for me to complain?"

"Ideally, it would be someone I can become increasingly dependent on and fall deeper into with."

"Want to be criticized?"

With your qualifications, you wouldn't find a job anywhere.

Irito Mizuto ◆ The Remaining "First Time"

The location she specified on LINE was the multi-purpose hall on the fifth floor of the school building.

This hall, about twice the size of a classroom, is filled with long white tables spaced at equal intervals, but there is currently only one person in this spacious area.

I casually tucked the paperback and bento under my arm and walked in, where I saw Yui smiling and waving gently at me.

"Over here, over here."

I walked over to her, placing the bento box on the seat next to her as I spoke:

"I know where you are without you calling me, there's no one else here."

"Doesn't this feel like we've arranged to meet?"

"We're not so rusty that we need to wait until now to pursue 'feelings'."

I pulled out a chair and sat down next to Jie Nu, looking around the empty hall.

"We held a few meetings here during the cultural festival, and now it's just sitting empty? Isn't it usually locked?"

"Hmph."

The woman smiled smugly and, with a jingle, hung the key in front of me.

"So, the so-called student council authority?"

"...Is this what you call abuse of power?"

"That's not how you put it. You really will need it after school, so you're just giving me the key for safekeeping."

Perhaps afraid of losing it, Yui carefully put the key back into her wallet, and then said, "Besides..." as she opened her own bento box on the table.

"If we don't do this, we won't find anywhere to eat lunch with you."

The girl glanced at me and smiled gently.

I felt a little embarrassed as I opened my lunchbox cloth bag.

"What's the big deal? We eat together every day."