My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 356

Kawanami said to me with a grin. Although I had already decided to be frank with Yui, I had no obligation to make this guy happy.

"Kawabata, have you heard anything? Aren't you supposed to have a lot of connections?"

"Are you referring to travel guidebooks?"

"right."

"Anyway, I don't think that matter has anything to do with boys."

"are you sure?"

"I can assure you. Although the accuracy of the information is lower than usual because I can't bring my own phone, I still made time to show up at other groups to get a feel for the situation. If Yoshino and the others' travel guidebooks were really stolen, it was probably done by a girl."

"I think so..."

"You think so too? You're talking as if you already knew that."

"We can probably guess a bit of the truth. Because according to Yoshino and the others, the items were stolen from their luggage in the room."

"Ah──..."

"It's obvious!" Kawabata exclaimed. "This guy may have mediocre grades, but he's not stupid."

"So? Do you have a suspect in mind?"

"It's hard to say. It's a rare school trip, and I don't want to wrongly accuse anyone and ruin the atmosphere, so I have to be careful."

"And you've become so good at reading the room... Being in love really can change a person."

"I'm naturally good at reading the room, okay?"

As I gazed at the vast, emerald-green ocean beneath the blue sky and took a big bite of my pork and egg rice ball, Kawanami suddenly said:

"Huh? Isn't that Asuhain-kun?"

I looked in the direction Kawanami was looking, and saw a familiar petite figure lost in the crowd of Japanese and Westerners, walking alone on the street.

"What's she doing? She's all alone. Wasn't she with Nan and the others?"

You can't see their expression from here, but their way of walking gives the impression that they are somewhat disoriented.

The scene that happened on the bus yesterday is back in my mind.

She used to lean her head on my shoulder like a lost child, and she still does now, wandering aimlessly through exotic streets.

I rewrapped the pork and egg rice ball that I had only eaten halfway through and placed it on the wooden table.

"Please look after this for me."

"Hey, hello!"

I stood up and jogged through the crowd.

Then I went to Asuhain's side, gently patted her thin shoulder, and called out to her.

"Asukahain."

"...!"

The moment Asuhain saw me, his shoulders trembled slightly.

Did I scare her? I asked, gauging the appropriate distance between us.

"Why are you alone? Where is everyone else?"

"........."

Tomorrow, Ye Yuan stared at the ground for a long time without saying a word, before finally speaking:

"...Nothing, I just wanted to shop alone."

"Since no one has their phone with them, it's best not to go out alone—"

"Stop talking."

Asahi Yein said stiffly, turning his back to me.

"I...don't want to talk to you."

Tomorrow Ye Yuan quickened his pace and disappeared into the crowd.

...Yesterday, Asuhain, while not exactly opening his heart to me, at least revealed a certain expectation, as if seeking a bit of empathy from me.

However, the departing figure that left my sight at that moment... only made me feel a complete rejection.

It seems the problems have increased again.

The fourth question – why did Asuhain's attitude suddenly change 180 degrees on the second day?

Irito Yume ◆ The First Step

When I was browsing the Christmas merchandise store with everyone, Yoshino and her friends arrived.

"Hey hey~! Did you see anything cute~?"

As I mentioned this morning, Yoshino and her group visited almost the same places as us. Although they didn't travel together the whole time, they kept their distance and remained within sight, occasionally coming over to talk to us.

"........."

As soon as they ran over, the student from the east side hid behind me.

Yoshino was in the same class as Higashi in her first year, and I thought she was one of the classmates I was closest to in the class... Maybe she's still afraid of this kind of gyaru-type girl.

Yoshino and three girls from her group came over to us. "Strange?" they asked, peering behind us as if looking for something.

"Where's Xiaolan? Wasn't she just with you guys?"

"what?"

After she said that, I turned around and looked behind me.

Asuha-in should have maintained a low profile and followed behind us... After all, she was avoiding me, so I couldn't actively talk to her, but I still tried to keep in touch with her through Akatsuki.

But she had vanished without a trace.

Could we have gotten separated somewhere...? It's understandable that we'd get separated here, given the crowds, but because she'd been so quiet, I completely overlooked it...

"Oh! I've found you!"

At that moment, Mizuto and Kawanami walked over from the shop entrance.

It didn't seem like they just happened to see us. Kawanami, who was walking ahead, clearly looked like he was searching for us everywhere.

"What's wrong? Are you two grown men getting lonely and looking for some entertainment?"

"No, that's not it."

Kawanami briefly brushed aside Xiaoyue's entanglement and then spoke.

"We just saw Asuhain-kun alone, so we came to ask if you know anything about him."

"Hey! We were just talking about this! Everyone only just realized she's missing—since you saw her, why didn't you bring her back!"

"Irito went to talk to her, but it seems she slipped away."

"They slipped away?"

"I can't explain it either..."

Seeing that Kawabata was tilting his head, unsure how to explain, Mizuto spoke for him:

"She told me she wanted to go shopping alone... Judging from your reactions, she probably didn't ask you."

Shopping alone...

Given Asuhain's personality, it's not impossible. But during our time working together in the student council last year, she never left without saying goodbye like this. She's very serious and never cares about basic manners…

What were her thoughts when she left us?

I can't really explain it, but I just feel like I can't ignore her. If I carelessly abandon Asuha-in and continue having fun with everyone else, the distance between us will probably grow further and further.

I would be very sad if it were me.

Deep down, I feel like... nobody really needs me.

"...I'm going to find her."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue immediately echoed:

"Then I'll go too!"

"It's okay, I'll go and be right back—let me think, everyone should meet at Depot Central."

If I were Asuhain's classmate, I would feel guilty if everyone came to see me, so I would rather go alone—no, maybe that's just what I want to do.

"I saw her at a place by the sea where there was a row of wooden barrel-shaped chairs."

Let's get straight to the point.

"Go west through the building and you'll reach the end. She might not have left yet."

"Okay, thank you!"

After giving Shuidou a light pat on the shoulder, I jogged away from the Christmas shop.

Following Mizuto's instructions, I arrived at the coastal area located on the west side of the mall.

Outdoor seating, filled with barrel-shaped chairs, stretched out in a row, while the wide walkway beside them remained bustling with tourists. I walked between them across the walkway and saw a row of white railings and a vast expanse of emerald green sea that filled my entire field of vision.

Where did Asuhain-kun go...?

I looked around, searching for the petite figure of my classmate.

The streets were full of tourists, a few percent of whom were foreign visitors, and the rest were families. School trip students—especially petite girls like Asuhain—were rare. So if you looked carefully, you'd find them quickly—

"—Found it!"

A few dozen meters ahead, I saw a girl leaning against a white railing, gazing at the sea alone.

I recognized the outfit. A light and airy shirt paired with girlish culottes—I had thought before that she seemed uninterested in dressing up at first glance, but actually had great taste in clothes.

I walked along the railing and said to the girl:

"Asuhain-kun."

Asahi-no-Yuan gave me a speechless look.

But those eyes immediately turned to the other side of the sea.

I hesitated a little, unsure of what to say.

Saying "I've been looking for you for so long" feels a bit like being nosy.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

So after thinking for a long time, I could only describe what I saw directly.

"The sea view... is so beautiful."

"……yes."

Silence filled the space between us.

How awkward, it felt like we were meeting for the first time. We'd been student council members together for half a year, but the relationship we'd built up seemed to have completely disappeared.

Are we just going to continue living together in this awkward situation, where we can't quite put our finger on it?

Eventually, they lost touch, and after the student council's term ended, they never spoke to each other again...

Ah—I don’t know how many times I’ve done this.

In the past, I always took a laissez-faire attitude towards things in front of me. When faced with opportunities that were within easy reach, I never dared to seize them.

Even after entering high school, I remained the same, relying solely on my advantage of being admitted as the top student and waiting for classmates I might click with to get to know me. The same went for the student council; if it weren't for President Hong's invitation, I wouldn't have even considered joining.

But... it's not like I'm without experience.

I have also reached out, disregarding all pride and consequences, to fight for what I wanted and what I was unwilling to let go of.

—Whatever, this is too much trouble.

"Asuhain-kun, would you like some ice cream?"

"……What?"

She looked at me with surprise, her eyes seeming to say, "How can you be so oblivious to people's expressions?"

Let's ignore this reaction for now.