My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 358

Hearing her clearly pointed tone, my lips involuntarily left the beverage can.

"Huh? You... what do you mean?"

"Didn't you take advantage of the fact that Asuha-in and Kawanami weren't watching to flirt with Irito-san? You've become so shrewd... It's making me a little lonely~"

"What shrewdness? You make me sound like I'm some kind of cunning person..."

Seeing my wry smile, Xiaoyue added, "However,"

"You guys are surprisingly adventurous! I knew that, you know? You were at the pool last night too..."

“Eh!”

How could Xiaoyue know about that...? It's possible she figured out I was meeting with Mizuto, but she shouldn't know we were on a pool date...! Could it be that Xiaoyue was hiding behind those bushes—

"You should thank me! I even kept watch for you guys!"

"Huh? Keep watch... what does that mean?"

"I was thinking you were planning to meet up with Irito-san at nine o'clock, so sorry, I hid about ten minutes ago and saw you walk into the pool. Then I happened to run into some other students from another class—Sakasui and the others—so I chatted with them while keeping an eye on the pool entrance to avoid being a third wheel and disturbing your secret rendezvous!"

No wonder I felt like there were other students on the same floor when I left the pool... It turned out to be Xiaoyue and Maxi.

"...Wait a minute, aren't you stalking me?"

"Got caught!"

Well, if the positions were reversed, I might do the same thing, because it's inevitable to be curious.

Oh, I see. Xiaoyue was at the pool entrance... When I was chatting with Shuidou, she kept—

--Wait a minute.

"You said you were keeping watch there... approximately until how long?"

"Of course, it'll be when you and Irito come out together~"

"Has no one else entered or left the pool during this time?"

"Of course! I'm keeping a very close eye on it!"

……How is this going?

If that's the case... then where did the figure we were chasing disappear to?

There should only be one entrance/exit to the pool... At least I'm sure that the only place where the figure escaped was through the entrance that Xiaoyue was keeping watch over.

The prisoner who escaped from our sight should have been seen by Xiaoyue, otherwise it would be unreasonable.

However... Xiaoyue said she didn't see it.

Xiaoyue said she was chatting with Maxi and others at the time, so she has an alibi. That testimony is unlikely to be false.

If that's the case, then where did the prisoner go?

Did it really just vanish like smoke...?

With new questions in mind, we ended our banana boat experience and went into the changing room.

As Dongtou reached for the zipper of his wetsuit, he let out a deep breath.

"Phew... much easier..."

"You can imagine how tight it must be! With such a big bulge sticking out from the front!"

As usual, Xiaoyue started pestering Dongtou, pulling the zipper of her shirt over her chest to the side, then pulling the neck part over her head, and then pulling her arm out of her sleeve...

"Whoaaaaaahh ...

Her H-cup breasts, now freed, suddenly sprang out, sending Xiaoyue's petite body flying... No, that's not true, she was definitely acting on purpose.

However, it is indeed more difficult to take off clothes if you have big breasts, so I'd better go and help out.

"Does Asuhain-san need anything? Do you want me to help you?"

"Oh, well... thank you for your help then."

I helped Asuhain unzip her wetsuit. It was much easier than doing it myself. Then, just like Xiaoyue had done, I pulled out the neck and arm sections, took off her upper body clothes, and rolled up her lower body clothes as well.

I always feel like I'm taking care of a younger sister. I'm an only child, so it's actually quite fun—

—However, this feeling…

The moment Asuhain-kun revealed her thighs—they all vanished.

Unlike Xiaoyue, I did not harbor any evil thoughts.

This reaction occurred because of the outer side of her right thigh—

There was a band-aid stuck there.

"...Asuka-in-san, what's this...?"

"Ah...this is..."

Asahi-no-Yuan seemed a little embarrassed and said:

"Yesterday... I managed to fix it a little. It's almost healed, it's nothing."

"I see."

It took me a lot of effort to squeeze out these few words.

I remember Mizuto once said that.

The prisoner who spied on our rendezvous will have a scratch somewhere on his body from a plant branch—

Asahi-no-Yuan quickly tore off the wet bandage herself.

Under that bandage—

—It was a tiny scratch, as if made by a sharp twig.

Mizuto Irito: Things a lover can do at times like this

In short, it was just where we would stay the next day. But the place we actually came to was a mini town with all kinds of leisure facilities, with the Linhai Mountain Hotel as the main attraction.

The students, having finished their various experiential activities, gathered at the restaurant entrance. The teacher was taking attendance. Afterwards, and before dinner, almost all the students were supposed to be free to do as they pleased—however, one group from our class was late. Was it thanks to this that we were able to arrive early and enjoy a short period of free time?

"...Hey, come here for a second."

During this time, Jie Nu secretly came over and tugged at my sleeve.

Jie didn't say much at the time and left the classroom as if nothing had happened. It seemed she had something to talk to me about—I followed her to the large swimming pool next to the hotel.

Perhaps to create a Southeast Asian feel, plants resembling coconut trees were planted around the pool. Yui stood in the long, thin shadows cast by the trees as the setting sun shone down.

"What's wrong?"

I asked the woman who was slightly bowing her head.

The girl didn't speak for a moment, as if she was confused or bewildered, and remained silent until she finally spoke with some hesitation.

"Actually, it's about... the prisoner from last night..."

"Have you gotten any leads?"

The woman nodded and said:

"I saw the wound... on Asuhain-kun's thigh."

"...Asuhain."

Aren't you surprised?

"Even though it's certain someone spied on us doing that, the news doesn't seem to have spread at all. I've long suspected that the person was someone whose life intersected with ours."

If that's the case, then the reason why the other party kept it a secret for us makes sense.

There's another suspicious point: it seems the other person anticipated we'd meet at the pool. Of course, it's also possible they just happened to see me or Jie enter the pool, but by that logic, it's highly likely they overheard our conversation and figured out we were planning to meet.

To be honest, I originally thought there was about a 60% chance that the culprit was Kawabata.

But if the culprit is actually Asuhain, her sudden change in attitude today makes sense. She probably stopped bothering me after learning about our relationship, which made things awkward between her and Yui...

"So... what do you plan to do?"

I asked the woman.

"If it was Asuhain who did it, I don't think she would go around telling everyone. Pretending we didn't find out won't cause any problems."

"……you're right."

"But judging from your expression, it seems like you're feeling uneasy about this."

The woman remained melancholy.

I don't think she was angry; she just still had some questions in her mind.

Why did Asukain spy on our secret meeting?

Asukain isn't the type to do anything so vulgar. She must have had her reasons for doing so—reasons only she understands.

But Yui hesitated. She'd finally gotten a chance to be friends with Asuhain; was it really okay to go and question him about something like this?

"I think you must be the type who's really bad at playing Werewolf."

"what?"

Jie didn't react for a moment and looked up at me.

"You're not the type to say one thing and mean another. The reason you've been able to convincingly play the role of a model student so far is because it's close to your true nature. I don't think you have the ability to keep your doubts to yourself and continue interacting with the other person."

"Well... you might be right, but..."

"If you want to muster up the courage, I suggest you speak up as soon as possible."

I gently patted the girl's shoulder, placed my hand on it, and said:

"Compared to getting along with my stepson, this is a small matter, isn't it?"

I smiled. Jie looked up at me and gave a similarly helpless, bitter smile.

That's exactly what I meant.

I think that in the woman's heart, she was only one step away from making up her mind.

She must have wanted me to give her a push. Not just because I was also involved... but because we were a couple in the same boat.

"I... I'll go ask. Besides, I feel that Asuha-in-san... seems to have many unresolved issues."

"come on."

These simple words are the greatest encouragement I can give her.

Irito Yume ◆ Seize the opportunity

Back in the classroom, I saw the group that was late making excuses to the teacher. The group consisted of three girls and three boys, and it seemed that the girls, who seemed to be in charge, had gotten the assembly time wrong, which led to a small argument.

Class 2-7 is a class of thirty students, with fifteen girls and fifteen boys, making it about half boys and half girls. However, because of Yoshino, the girls have more power. I feel that the boys don't seem to care much about who's in charge, which inevitably leads to some minor conflicts during these kinds of activities.

The roll call went smoothly, and a meeting of group leaders was held, where the five group leaders from each class gathered to report on the day's events. Apart from the earlier commotion about being late, everything seemed fine.

Afterwards, there was dinner and leisure activities. Everyone enjoyed Okinawan noodles together and listened to a live performance of island songs, spending a time full of Okinawan charm.

With all these commitments fulfilled, free time finally arrived.

"Phew...so relaxing..."

Tonight's room has a balcony, offering panoramic views of the various trees and beach nightscapes that evoke the charm of Southeast Asia. Xiaoyue sat comfortably on a chair on the balcony, enjoying the view.

"This kind of time to completely clear my mind is really nice—it makes my mind feel relaxed."

"What a surprise... I thought Xiaoyue was the type who would die if she had nothing to do."

"I'm not a tuna!"

She complained to me, who was sitting in the chair next to her, but her tone was quite gentle.

Judging from the breadth of her social circle, Xiaoyue must handle several times more interactions with people on social media than I do every day. So perhaps she needs to step away from her phone occasionally and enjoy a moment of detox.

"Yume, let's go to the gift shop later~"

"Okay, I also want to buy souvenirs for the senior students in the student council."

As I spoke, I glanced into the room.

Inside the room, Dongtou was sprawled on one bed, while Mingri Yeyuan was reading reference books on another bed.