My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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Okay, actually I had a vague feeling about it before. In first grade, Xiaoyue seemed to be secretly protecting me from confessions. When I entered second grade, she saw that my relationship with Shuidou had finally stabilized and felt that it was no longer necessary, so she removed the protection.

Indeed, if so many people had confessed their feelings to me when I was in first grade, I would have found it extremely annoying, and I might have rejected them too hastily and rudely, which would have caused bad rumors.

However, I am different now.

Of course I still get nervous, but I'm now able to answer calmly and openly:

"I'm sorry, I already have a boyfriend."

The boy who confessed his feelings to me looked up, his hesitation barely concealed, and eagerly pressed for an answer:

"Who...who is it? What kind of person is it?"

To this recurring question, which I've heard three times already, I gave the same answer.

That's right—and you would never have such a bright smile when talking about someone else.

"Perhaps you could say he's the smartest person in our school?"

Irito Suidou◆Exclusively owned by one person

"Please, don't make it harder for me like this."

By evening—when Dad and Aunt Youren had to go to work the next day, and had already gone to bed…

Jie Nu secretly came into my room and lay down on my bed.

"It's all your fault for spreading weird rumors every time you reject someone's confession. Now the rumors are snowballing. First, it's about someone who got accepted to Harvard, then it's about someone who's a Mensa member and a student entrepreneur..."

"Heh, maybe soon I'll even be a famous detective?"

"Talking about something that doesn't concern you..."

I sighed and sat down next to Yui, who was lying on the bed.

Irito Yui, who is now establishing herself as the school beauty at Rakuro High School, has a boyfriend whose true identity remains a mystery. In fact, he is her stepbrother and ex-boyfriend from junior high school, which is me, Irito Mizuto.

While this highly provocative truth perfectly resonates with teenagers, I certainly have no plans to study at Harvard, nor am I a Mensa member or have entrepreneurial experience.

"Don't you have any other adjectives to use? Of all the times, you had to say I'm the smartest person in the school—doesn't that mean I'm even smarter than that genius student council president?"

"That's why I said it that way. If I were afraid of offending people and said you were gentle or handsome, it might cause some misunderstandings. In that respect, describing you as 'the smartest person in school' is like using the Red Student Council President as a breakwater, isn't it?"

"You've become quite remarkable now, no longer worrying about whether others will misunderstand?"

"You flatter me. As her boyfriend, you should feel honored, right?"

As the girl said smugly, I looked down at her face and suddenly reached out my hand.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

Ignoring the woman's confusion, I gently stroked the outline of her earlobe with the surface of my fingernail.

"...I heard today's target is the baseball team's rising star?"

"It seems so. Our school's sports clubs are generally not very good, but this year's are full—"

Before Jie Nu could finish speaking, I pounced on her.

With my hands braced on the bed, I cast my shadow over Yui and peered closely into my lover's wide-eyed, surprised eyes.

Soon, the girl revealed a scathing smile that infuriated me.

"...Are you showing possessiveness?"

I didn't answer.

I could only gaze into the eyes of the girl, wanting her to understand my thoughts.

She seemed to like my attitude, and after chuckling softly for a moment, she said:

"sure."

After saying that, she gave a tender smile.

"You can have me all to yourself."

I immediately felt like a dog that had been released from its "wait" by its owner, and I hugged Yui and kissed her.

This kiss was a little rougher and more greedy than usual. Every time our tongues intertwined, Jie Nu would let out teasing sighs like "hmm" and "whoosh."

After we were satisfied with the kiss, I pulled my face away. The woman smiled, her face flushed, and said:

"You've become quite remarkable, managing to have the most beautiful girl in the entire grade all to yourself."

"...If you keep getting too cocky, I'm going to give you a hickey."

"Oh, please don't! ...Stop it, don't get mad at me. I just wanted to tease you because I rarely see you do something so cute."

After holding the position of pinning down the woman for a while, we got a little tired, so we continued to hug each other and then fell to the side to lie on our sides.

We spoke in hushed tones, our foreheads lightly touching.

(Illustration 005)

"You seem to have become arrogant after just a few confessions... but I also have my own plans."

"Huh? Really? Who is it?"

"I don't know, I just found a note in the drawer."

"It might be a prank."

"But everyone at school thinks I'm dating Isana. Even though it's just a misunderstanding—generally speaking, people wouldn't play pranks on someone who has a girlfriend like that, right?"

"Hmm...that's true."

"That's surprising. I didn't expect you not to ask any further questions?"

"No, don't you think that's a bit tasteless? Flirting while talking about this kind of thing..."

"Do you feel like you're mocking the other person?"

"After all, I know how much courage it takes to confess your feelings..."

What an overly kind person.

You need to take this seriously.

"I understand."

"Also, today we can only kiss; nothing else is allowed."

"what?"

"Is that even a question? If it were me, I would never want the other person to respond to my courageous confession with that kind of body."

...You seduced me like that first...How could there be such a person!

"I shouldn't have said it." Seeing that I seemed a little regretful, Jie Nu lowered her voice even more and said shyly:

"(Before the school trip arrives... I'll let you have a blast.)"

Seeing my lover's eyes darting left and right, as if he regretted what he had just said, I felt a surge of intense, molten emotion welling up inside me.

"(...we can go all the way up to kissing, right?)"

"Huh?... Hmm-hmm!"

We didn't have the chance to do this during the school trip. Our relationship was a secret, known only to our closest friends.

So, in preparation for my pre-trip abstinence cheat day, I need to take this opportunity to brush up on my skills. Blame yourself for talking nonsense.

...However, before that...

We need to resolve the current problem properly. Although I don't know who the other party is, I must make them realize they won't find any opportunities with me, to avoid future trouble.

"I like you, please go out with me."

"........."

Then, I was speechless.

A girl who was petite like a middle school student, but had a full and curvaceous figure, said this to me in a tone that showed no sign of nervousness or emotional reaction.

Tomorrow the leaves will be orchids.

She was a member of the student council just like Yui, and was also the girl in school who was known to hate boys the most.

...It feels like something similar happened a year ago?

Volume 11 Anyway You Won't Understand Chapter 1 The First Day of Snuggling Together

Irito Yume ◆ A group of six

After taking a bus from school and swaying along for over an hour, the plaza on the first floor of the Osaka Airport Monorail station was packed with Rakuro High School students.

From this plaza, which resembles a multi-story parking garage with no walls, only pillars and a ceiling, you can see the terminal of Osaka International Airport (also known as Itami Airport) across the street.

The time was mid-May, and the weather was cloudy.

This year, Rakuro High School's school trip destination is Okinawa.

The itinerary included peaceful learning activities, an experience at the marine world, visits to various tourist attractions, and free time for group activities. The accommodation was a resort hotel with a swimming pool – a luxurious four-day, three-night trip only private schools could afford. As the student council secretary who helped create the travel brochure, I knew the itinerary better than anyone else.

During my junior high school school trips, I felt more melancholy than enjoyment because I had so few friends.

But this year is different.

We were lucky to be in a mixed-gender group of six, which was divided into groups beforehand. Everyone in the group was a good friend I had met throughout the past year.

"Yui-chan! Did you bring your own shampoo? Let's exchange it tonight~"

"Yes, it's possible... but is this some kind of special culture?"

"I just want to be embraced by Yume's scent~!"

This girl with bright, open eyes and candidly expressed her inner desires is Nan Xiaoyue. Although she is a petite girl with an impressive ponytail and a lively hairstyle, I have recently begun to see a dangerous side of her that she occasionally reveals.

Beside her, swallowing back her yawn, was a boy with brightly dyed hair.

"So sleepy... Why do we have to gather so early...?"

The third person in our group is this Kawanami Kogure. He and Akatsuki are childhood friends, and their relationship seems to have progressed to a certain stage without us noticing. However, he calls himself a "love ROM specialist" and is an oddball who doesn't date himself. But he seems to really enjoy listening to other people's love stories.

He's usually a lively and playful ray of sunshine, but today, because we had to gather early, he didn't seem to be in his usual mood—but there was someone else even more out of character than him, dozing off in a daze.

"...Oh dear..."

"Hey, Isana, you can't sleep yet."

"...Phew! Is the deadline already?!"

A gentle shake on the shoulder from Mizuto made the girl hurriedly look around as if she were being chased. She was Higashito Isana, the fourth member of the group, a shy, introverted girl with a somewhat unusual personality and an impressive bust size beyond the average high school student. She was originally Mizuto's female friend, but through him, she gradually became close to me and Akatsuki. When we first met, she was even my so-called love rival…

Many things happened afterward. Now, she's both a close friend of Mizuto and also manages his illustrators' activities. In terms of the amount of conversations they have, it's probably comparable to my relationship with him, who is also family. However, we've already communicated and coordinated on this matter and made careful adjustments, so there's no need to worry.

Then there's the fifth person, who is Irito Mizuto, whom I just mentioned. Apart from the three people I've mentioned so far, no one knows about my romantic relationship with him, but since we are step-siblings, we were assigned to the same group without any obstacles.

It should be said that he and his female friend Dongtou were so close that the classmates (and our parents) all thought they were dating. So, since Dongtou was already in our group, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that he would join.

Shuidou left the awakened Dongtou classmate where he was and came over to find me, who was sitting at the very edge of the group.

"Team leader, will we depart on time?"

"That would be terrible, since the flight's departure time can't be postponed."

The teachers are taking attendance now. After attendance is taken, everyone will head to the airport to catch their flight. Actually, this is my first time flying, and I'm a little nervous.

Shuidou leaned closer to me and said in a low voice:

"...Is this really okay?"

Although the question lacked a subject, I understood it immediately.

The person Shuidou was referring to was the sixth person in our group.

She sat idly behind her drowsy classmate on the east side, not talking to anyone, just sitting quietly with her knees drawn up to her chest.

Asahi Yuuin Ran-san—like me, she's a member of the Rakuro High School Student Council, and she's also the one who just confessed to my boyfriend two days ago.

I've already heard about this from Mizuto himself. After all, he's not an ordinary person, and he seems to think it's necessary for me to know the details as well.

Mizuto said he naturally refused, citing that he already had a girlfriend... However, Asuhain's response to this answer was quite surprising.

—But I can still continue to like you, right?

Asuhain, who hates boys the most, actually said such affectionate words... I, who have been with her in the student council for half a year, really can't believe it.