My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 353

We both sat at the footrest end of the beach chairs—the shorter side of the rectangle—where space was quite limited, so our shoulders were touching.

It was too cramped sitting like that, so I put my shoulder behind Yui and my hand on the back of her buttocks. The position was a bit like having my arm around her waist, but for a couple having a secret rendezvous at night, it should be considered a very appropriate distance.

The girl leaned towards me coquettishly, gazing at the swimming pool that blended seamlessly with the night view.

"What a nice view……"

Above was a clear, starry sky, and below was a magnificent night view—and a swimming pool reflecting both on its surface.

The stunning scenery, like a jewel inlaid, captivated Yui's large eyes.

I quietly observed her for a while, but soon her eyes silently turned to look at me.

"...Are you trying to say something boring?"

His eyes were filled with suspicion.

I decided to respond to her expectations.

You are more beautiful than any of this.

"See? That's the line! I knew you'd say it!"

"I'm telling the truth."

As I said this, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

That's what I thought of, but I also feel it sounds too fake.

After I finished laughing, I looked again at the dazzling world before me and murmured:

"...To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy a school trip so much."

"Are you enjoying it? It seems like you're always disappearing and hiding away to read books..."

The woman said this with her eyes half-open. And this time, I answered from the bottom of my heart:

"Because you're here... even if we don't have a chance to talk, just knowing that you're nearby makes me happy."

Two blushes rose on Jie Nu's cheeks, and her gaze wandered around as if she didn't know how to react.

"W-What? When did you start acting so pretentious?"

"I've reflected on my actions and thought about what happened during junior high school. Even if you truly love someone, the relationship won't last if you don't make an effort to express it... I think I've been too negligent in expressing myself verbally so far."

This is the truth...including the whole of last year.

A relationship that is unspoken can indeed make people feel relaxed and stress-free.

But that kind of relationship can't last forever. If I want my relationship with her to last, I have to be practical and communicate with her verbally, and I can't be stingy with my words.

Just as we decided to get back together and were being completely open with each other... I discovered this.

So I've decided to stop trying to be cool and concise. Yes, if I ever went through a pretentious phase, it was last year.

"...Seriously, everything's a mess. Around this time last year, I thought I was incapable of dating again; only an idiot would fall in love all the time."

"That's what I mean."

Jie smiled and reminisced about that time, saying:

"Back then, I looked down on people who were blinded by love... but now I've fallen for it all."

That's why people keep separating and getting back together.

"Yeah... but I don't plan to break up with people all the time."

"Nobody wants that, right?"

"And what about us? Are we just like everyone else who knowingly repeat the same foolish mistakes?"

"I don't think I'm that stupid."

I've already made a pretty big decision, and I think so too.

I will never repeat the same mistake again—it was this determination that led to our reconciliation.

The woman chuckled softly and reservedly.

"Of course, I also believe you are the smartest person in our school."

"That sounds fake to you..."

"I mean, sometimes. Sometimes you'll be the cutest person in the whole school."

"...That's strange, you can make dirty jokes too?"

"It seems you have a good understanding of your own limitations."

"Same here."

"Don't worry, sometimes he'll even be the most handsome guy in the whole school."

Jie Nu maintained her gentle expression, snuggled up to me, and mischievously looked up at me.

I gently supported the woman's slender waist, and she smiled slightly again.

"Seriously, if I hadn't become your girlfriend, I would never have known you were such a lecher."

"You're the same way; you'll only know once you become my boyfriend."

"I wonder who made me so lewd?"

"I think that's just how you are."

"I'm already considered very innocent! You have no idea how outrageous the dirty jokes can come out when there are only girls present."

I suspect she was mainly talking about Higashito Izana, but it's probably not appropriate to mention other girls' names right now.

"You're innocent, right... but before we got back together, I didn't think you were that innocent anymore."

"I don't think you were particularly cool before either, so we're even, right?"

"I don't remember ever saying I was cool..."

"That's called being cool! You're clearly a dog that goes into heat with just a little kiss, aren't you?"

I was getting angry when I heard that, but Jie Nu gave me a sly, provocative smile.

"If you have any objections, then prove them to me and let me know that I'm wrong."

...So that's what you meant after all that? That's why I said you're not innocent at all.

"That suits me perfectly."

I said that and moved my face closer to Jie Nu.

The woman closed her eyelids and accepted it.

Then our lips met, and I felt the familiar touch of the girl.

After a few seconds of kissing, Jie quietly opened her eyes and said:

"……How about it?"

"........."

After a long silence, I sealed her lips with mine again to quiet her down.

After a deeper kiss than before, a captivating smile graced the woman's face as she murmured:

"Let's continue when we get home, okay?"

Just then, a "whoosh" sound came from nearby.

Irito Yui ◆ Shadow

"!"

Shuidou and I were so startled that our shoulders trembled, and we turned to look.

The sound came from a row of bushes trimmed into spherical shapes, perched against the hotel wall. From behind them, at that very moment—a figure swiftly fled into the pool entrance!

"Who...who is it!"

I screamed in panic, but the figure had already left the pool and entered the hotel.

We were seen...?

Or was that person spying on us?

Did you see what happened between me and Shuidou just now?

While I was still in shock, Mizutani acted first. He chased after the figure towards the pool entrance. A beat too late, I followed.

We entered the building, but the person had already vanished without a trace. The corridor ahead branched off at the far end, leading to the men's and women's changing rooms.

Mizuto turned to me and nodded before walking into the men's locker room. I understood what he meant and followed him into the women's locker room.

The women's changing room contained only rows of long, straight lockers and a swimsuit spin dryer that sat quietly in the corner of the room.

Nobody's here...

I walked straight through the changing room and into the hotel corridor.

In the brightly lit, silent corridor, I looked around, but there wasn't a single person, not even the sound of footsteps. The hotel corridor was made of solid material; it shouldn't be impossible for footsteps not to be heard—could it be that the person had already run far away?

A moment later, Mizuto came out from the men's locker room.

He looked left and right, just like me, and then said:

"Did they run away?"

"Hmm...it seems so."

"...This is troublesome."

Mizuto frowned slightly as he spoke.

"The fact that the person deliberately hid to peek means they weren't one of the other customers at the restaurant, but rather a student. I don't know if they heard our conversation, but even if they didn't, what they just saw was enough..."

"W-wh-what do we do?! What will happen to our relationship...?!"

It will definitely get out and become a rumor. Eventually, it might even reach Mom and the others...!

"Calm down, there are people on this floor too."

I was startled and quickly stopped talking. Although the voice was very soft, it sounded like high school students talking... which meant there were some students on this floor as well.

"Let's go back to the pool first; I want to clarify the situation."

I nodded in agreement with Shui Dou's calm suggestion and returned to the pool via the women's changing room.

Once Shuidou arrived at the wooden platform, he immediately headed towards the bushes where the figure had been hiding.

Trees trimmed into round shapes lined the hotel walls... There were gaps between them and the walls, where the figure had just been hiding.

"That person saw everything from beginning to end...?"

"Whether it was true or not is uncertain from the beginning. Just like I didn't notice you coming to the pool, that peeping tom could have sneaked in and been hiding here."

As he spoke, Shuidou squatted down at the spot where the figure had been hiding.

He's so calm... Isn't he afraid at all? Our secrets are about to be exposed...

After briefly glancing around the ground, his gaze turned to the round planters.

"……This is……"

Then he brought his face close to the plant and rubbed the back of his neck.

This is a habitual gesture that Shuidou makes when he is thinking.

"Take a look here."

He shifted his body slightly back and pointed to a spot on the plant.

I crouched down and peered at the spot he pointed out, and noticed that the tip of one of the plant's twigs seemed to have turned red.

"This...could it be blood?"

"Yes, and it's not dry yet."

Shuidou pinched the tip of the branch with his fingertips, and his fingertips were immediately stained with red dirt.

"It's probably because that peeping tom from earlier got scratched somewhere when he ran away..."

Now that he mentions it, I did hear a "whoosh" sound just now... Was that when I was cut?