My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 346

Rather...

"...This is Mizuto's cell phone..."

I slowly got up and put my phone back in its place. This time, I actually picked up my phone, tiptoeing so as not to wake the sink, and put my feet under the bed.

"That was close..."

I almost kicked the books piled on the floor.

I'd completely forgotten that this was Mizuto's room. How should I put it? Maybe there's still that smell or atmosphere in my room, something that evokes strange feelings, so I ended up sleeping in Mizuto's room.

"……Um……"

Hearing the groan, I turned to look.

The water bucket, whose blanket I had pulled back, rolled over and opened its eyes a crack.

I said:

"morning."

"……Good morning."

His voice was hoarse from just waking up.

"I'm going to wash my face."

"Um……"

"No sleeping in! You've had enough sleep, haven't you?"

"Um……"

Hmm... I think he'll just sleep it off anyway. But he's so cute, so I'll forgive him.

I wanted to give him a good morning kiss, but I heard that bad breath is very strong when you wake up... so I chose to restrain myself and stood up from the bedside.

I put my hands on my hips and stretched my back. My physical condition... should be fine.

I left the sink's room. I was going to go straight down to the first floor, but then I remembered something and opened my own room door.

I've kept the window open the whole time. I was worried about lingering odors, so I opened it last night before bed to let the air circulate.

Next up are the bed sheets...

It's not just that it looks obvious; I'm also worried about lingering odors. I was supposed to shower last night, but I accidentally used the washing machine before going into the shower, so I had to wait for it to finish before washing the sheets. But I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I finished showering…

Mom and the others will be back this evening. Putting the washing machine in now should still be in time.

I took the bed sheet off and carried it downstairs.

I went into the dressing room, put down the sheets, and took out the pajamas and underwear I'd washed yesterday from the washing machine. That's when I realized I'd left my "Decisive Victory" underwear on the sink and forgotten to wash it!

First, I put the sheets in a laundry net and put them in the washing machine, then turned it on. Then I quickly washed my underwear myself. I can only take them to my room to air dry; hopefully they'll be dry in time… At worst, I'll only be half-dry before hiding them away.

After finishing the whole assignment and feeling relieved, I finally washed my face.

It's more tiring than I imagined... I wanted to sneak in from home without my mom and the others finding out, just like Xiaoyue said—but it feels like I'm just fantasizing.

Just as I finished washing my face and was about to brush my teeth, I heard someone coming downstairs.

The door clicked open, and a dunker with disheveled hair came in.

"……Good morning."

I turned to look at him, toothbrush in hand, and said:

"This is the second time."

"Um……?"

Say good morning.

Shuidou tilted his head. He was really in a bad mood after waking up.

I squeezed toothpaste onto my toothbrush, held it in my mouth, and made room in front of the sink. Shui Tuo stood beside me, smoothing her unruly hair with her hand.

"……ah."

Just as he was about to turn on the tap, he noticed that the washing machine was running.

"I forgot..."

"I've got everything ready."

"Feel sorry."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll leave it all to you to do..."

Perhaps because he had just woken up, Mizuto seemed genuinely apologetic. He probably just cared about me.

"It's okay, it's nothing."

"...I'll take out the trash."

"Thank you for your help."

We didn't speak for a while after that, and just brushed our teeth noisily.

Shuidou quickly washed his face and then brushed his teeth with me. I finished brushing and rinsing my mouth first, but stayed behind to wait for Shuidou to finish washing.

After rinsing his mouth with the water, he wiped it with a towel.

Then, when he turned around, I said with a slight smile:

"Ready?"

Standing in front of the water trough, which was tilting its head in confusion, I slightly raised my chin.

"Um!"

"Ah──..."

Mizuto gave a wry smile and put his hand on my shoulder.

After I closed my eyes, Mizuto leaned in and kissed my lips...

"Hmm—!"

He stuck his tongue in!

I was grabbed by the water bucket and my mouth was ravaged before I finally managed to separate my lips and protest to him.

"Rush like that in the morning is too fast!"

"I thought you were implying something to me."

Mizuto seemed to be trying to suppress his laughter, chuckling softly. "I only flirted a little bit and this happens...you're so mean. Can't you just flirt with me normally?"

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat out after I change my clothes."

"Where should we eat?"

"Since we have enough money left over from the meal, let's eat something nice. Consider it a victory celebration."

"And a victory celebration banquet, huh..."

I smiled wryly as I left the washroom and changing room with Shuidou.

Just then, my phone rang.

The screen showed a notification from my mom on LINE.

"Mom said they'll get home around four o'clock."

"So fast!"

"There are about four hours left..."

"Then, we need to change ourselves back before that happens."

We're family again.

Shuidou added this sentence.

I nodded with an "Mmm" and then said, "However..." as I gently leaned against the water bucket.

"Just... a little bit more."

We are a couple.

We are a family.

We want to continue serving on both sides.

As long as I can do it, I will definitely be able to live a very happy life.

Asahi Yoin Ran◆ The Victory Cheers Left Behind

I was alone, staring up at the ceiling of my room.

What I can't forget are the scenes etched in my mind.

A large white sheet was posted on the bulletin board.

Upon seeing the list, I immediately headed to a location.

Go to the place where you are most likely to see someone—the student council room.

--How should girls respond on White Valentine's Day...?

Just be calm and confident! Just be confident!

However, being in a passive position makes it hard to concentrate.

I opened the door as I heard familiar voices, and all three of them turned to look at me.

—Tomorrow's Yeon-kun? Thanks for your hard work!—

I was panting heavily from running all the way, but I didn't stop and went straight up to her, saying:

—Irito-san! Did you see that?!

--Huh?

--Me...!

I abruptly stopped halfway through recalling the recurring memories.

I sat up in bed and looked at the untouched thing on the desk.

That was the answer sheet for the final exam of the grade, which was sent back half a month ago.

The numbers written above are almost all "100".

Two weeks ago, a notice posted on the bulletin board read:

"First place: Ran Asuhain"

"Second place: Irito Yume"

Did you hear that, Irito-kun?

I won.

Did you hear that, Irito-kun?

Did you hear that...?

Irito Mizuto, Class 2-7

New semester.

At the same time, they also moved up to a new grade.

After about two weeks of not wearing uniforms, Yui and I walked together to the same classroom.

"I never expected to be in the same class again this year—"

Despite saying this, Jie Nu smiled happily.

We'll be changing classes when we move up to second grade. We just got our new student IDs, which have our new class printed on them.

Class 2-7

It's like going directly from the first grade class to the second grade—thinking about last year's classmates, the class division probably wasn't just based on academic order, but it seems the school teachers thought pairing us up wouldn't be a mistake.