My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 362

"I'm not angry. She probably isn't either."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at me quickly.

"Who taught her to speak in such a way that leaves room for imagination? It's understandable that you'd be curious. If anyone's to blame, it's her for using innuendo."

"Hey, whose side are you on?"

Hearing my slight complaint, Mizuto continued, "However..."

"Although you meant no harm, it still makes me uncomfortable to have my family being secretly spied on behind my back. Please be more respectful in the future."

After the girls received the travel brochures, Mizuto turned his back on them and walked away without saying goodbye.

I caught up with him and secretly asked him:

Are you actually a little unhappy?

"I'm not upset. I already said, if anyone's to blame, it's you for making insinuations."

Really? But from his tone and attitude, one can glimpse a kind of indifference that he uses social skills to arm himself.

Last year, when I first enrolled in school, some boys approached him because they wanted to get closer to me, and his attitude seemed to be just as forceful.

I couldn't help but smile. I had originally wanted to poke Shuidou's side to tease him, but then I remembered that they might still be watching, so I gave up the idea.

Instead, I decided to say something malicious.

"You just said I'm family...you emphasized that rather deliberately, didn't you?"

"Do you expect me to say, 'Stop digging into my woman's privacy'?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that I feel you're so considerate of me now~ I used to be too lazy to communicate with people."

"It means I've matured a bit more."

"For whom did I grow up?"

"........."

Looking at Shuidou's silent profile, I knew exactly what he was thinking.

I think he originally wanted to retort that it was "for Izana's sake," but then he remembered that as a boyfriend he shouldn't say such things, so he swallowed his words.

I put my hands behind my back, and my steps became light and cheerful.

"The older sister is so proud to see her younger brother grow up into such a handsome young man!"

"...Stop fooling around, let's get back to business."

Perhaps realizing the situation was unfavorable, Shui Dou abruptly changed the subject.

"Yoshino and the other three used the school trip's travel guide to exchange coded messages. So, what was the thief's purpose?"

"Let me think... was it to peek at the code?"

"If that's the case, it would be too hasty to steal on the first night. It would be better to wait until the second or third night to gather more explosive information before making a move. Besides, those simple codes should be easy to understand once seen on the spot—there's no need to take the items with us."

"That's true... in that case—"

I recalled the state of the travel brochures that the three girls had in their hands.

I recall those travel guidebooks whose text had been crossed out in several places, leaving them pitted and unusable for passing codes.

"—Is it to stop them from passing on codes... to stop them from tracking my secrets?"

"Probably."

I gradually came to understand... what kind of underhanded struggles were behind this school trip.

"The girls in our class can be roughly divided into two factions."

The water bucket is shaped like two fingers raised in a V-sign.

"One is Yoshino and her group, who want to find out who your boyfriend is; the other is the manual thief, who is trying to interfere with their forces."

It seems we can conclude that the boy wasn't involved. Mizuto's statement is based on his questioning of Kawanami, so it's likely true.

I mentally sketched out the organized power map and lightly touched my chin.

"I... I think I've figured it out."

"What did you guess?"

"The mastermind behind the travel brochure theft."

"I think so."

Mizuto smiled, his expression mirroring my own.

"She's the only one in our class who would dare to do something like this so nonchalantly."

Why are only the numbers related to the number of copies of the manual Arabic numerals?

After passing through the separate water tank area, you will see a huge water tank called "Kuroshio Sea" on your right.

Suddenly, a huge stingray swam past us, startling me. The tank panel, gleaming with a bright blue light, looked like a window from an underwater palace... It was dreamlike and otherworldly, and its sheer size was the most awe-inspiring aspect.

After walking along the passage for a while, we arrived at a cinema-style lobby. The crowds were so large that it didn't feel like an aquarium, but rather like being in the courtyard of Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

We squeezed through the crowd and past the back of the stands, and the entire massive tank came into view. The acrylic panels, which seemed to cut the ocean into squares, were so large they were practically movie theater screens. The contrast between them and the tourists taking photos or doing other things in front of us actually made me, who has never suffered any psychological trauma, feel a little scared.

In the enormous tank, the star of the beautiful Churaumi aquarium—the whale shark—swam freely. As I stared blankly up at its white belly, the water tank beside me gently tugged at my sleeve a few times.

"Found it, it's on the other side."

I looked in the direction the water tank pointed. The hall, illuminated by the blue light emanating from the huge water tank, was divided into two levels, and we looked down at her figure from the second floor, which had rows of audience seats.

That's right—Xiaoyue is right in front of us, accompanied by her classmates from first grade, Mashi and Nasuka, as well as Higashi, whom Mizuto entrusted to her care, as they walk into the passage on the left side of the sink.

"Let's go."

Shuidou and I stepped down the wheelchair ramp and arrived at the first-floor space where a huge water tank stretched out in front of us. We squeezed through the crowded people and entered the passage deep to the left.

A room labeled "Whale Shark and Stingray Exhibition Area" appeared at the far corner. We passed its door and turned right, and suddenly, the space above us became brightly lit.

Looking up, I was greeted by a vast ocean world.

The transparent ceiling, curved into a semi-fan shape, allows visitors to admire the giant tank from below. It's as if I'm standing underwater; the unusual feeling, coupled with the fear that the acrylic panels might break at any moment and swallow us whole, left me speechless.

Beneath the transparent ceiling were tiered benches where many tourists sat, gazing up at the marine world like I did. This room seemed to be called the "Marine Viewing Room"—Xiaoyue and her friends stood next to the acrylic wall in front of the benches, making sounds that were hard to categorize as cheers or screams.

"Ah, it's Irito-san! Hi hi—"

Before we could even approach and start a conversation, Ma Xi, a tall girl with short hair, noticed me and waved.

Then the other three noticed us, and some raised their hands to say hello. Only Dongtou was clearly terrified by the vast ocean above him, and he was trembling all over.

We went down the steps between the benches to find them. As soon as Dongtou saw the water bucket, she rushed over like a small animal fleeing into its den.

"Mizuto-kun, what's wrong with you?!"

She leaned close to the sink and began to protest in a low voice.

"How could they leave me to interact with so many people! They've been making fun of me about Mizuto all this time, and I don't know what to do!"

"It's better than being ignored, right? You should try to get used to communicating with other girls."

"I can't do it! I have the soul of a typical otaku virgin! I can't do anything except act like a weird otaku!"

"I really hope you can channel that confidence into other areas..."

As I was wryly smiling at Dongtou, who continued to act as usual, Mashi shouted, "Hey, watch out!" and stepped between the two of them, hugging Dongtou from behind.

"As long as I'm still breathing, you're not allowed to have any of those lovey-dovey aquarium dates with your boyfriend!"

"Oh my god! We didn't do that...!"

"You're so huggable! Do you use your body to turn your boyfriend into a beast at night? Tell me!"

Maki hugged Higashi, who was screaming in pain, like a rag doll.

Since I now always say I have a boyfriend when rejecting confessions, out of the four of us who used to hang out a lot in first grade, only Maki is still single. That's why I've recently become so jealous. By the way, although Akatsuki doesn't have a boyfriend either, Maki says she has a childhood friend who's not her type.

(Illustration 009)

"Alright, alright."

At this moment, Nasu Hana, who had a bob haircut and a gentle demeanor, tactfully advised Maki.

"No matter how much you interfere with other people's relationships, it won't make you happy."

"How could you say such a thing with a smile on your face! Do you want to kill me?!"

Terrified by Nasu Hana's gentle yet stab-in-the-skin words, Maki finally let Higashi go.

Seize this opportunity...

Mizuto approached Xiaoyue and said this to her:

"Nan, do you know how to get to the restroom?"

That's a strange question.

If you want to ask, you can ask his best friend, Dongtou classmate—Shuidou, but he specifically chose Xiaoyue classmate to ask this unimportant question.

Xiaoyue seemed to sense some unusual intention from this question.

She smiled knowingly and replied:

"The restroom is a little way back. Do you want me to take you there?"

"Thank you for your help."

Xiaoyue said to Maxi and the others, "Excuse me~! We're going to the restroom, you guys go ahead, it's okay~!" Then she and Shuidou turned back along the original path. I followed them as if nothing had happened.

We walked straight past the entrance to the "Whale Shark & ​​Stingray Exhibition Area" and arrived at the restroom door at the other end of the narrow passage. Xiaoyue leaned against the blue wall, swaying her ponytail slightly as she looked at the sink.

"So? What do you want to tell me?"

Xiaoyue got straight to the point without saying a word. It was as if she had known all along that Shuidou would come to talk to her today.

"Of course I came here to ask you that question."

Shuidou didn't hesitate to explain things to Xiaoyue.

"Where did you go and what did you do after dinner on the first day?"

After dinner...? Did anything happen during that time?

Leaving my confusion aside, Xiaoyue clasped her hands together behind my back and smiled meaningfully.

"Since you're asking me this kind of question, did you see something at that time?"

"No, I didn't witness anything decisive. I only saw Asuhain being surrounded by Yoshino and the other two—telling her not to come near me and to pretend to be familiar with me."

"Is Asahi-no-Yuan-kun being blocked?"

I was startled, but it wasn't hard to imagine. The three of them did seem very likely to do something like that—after all, they usually liked to joke about Mizuto and Higashi-san's relationship, so it wouldn't be surprising if they warned Asuha-in, who had confessed to Mizuto, out of a sense of justice or self-governance.

But I've never seen anything like it. Did they witness Asuhain taking action against Mizuto somewhere...? But I can't imagine her sweet-talking a boy at all.

"The content of the conversation is not important, and I did not intervene in what was being said, but I can say with certainty that during that time, the three of them, Yoshino and Yoshino, were not in their rooms."

"Not in the room... -- Ah!"

I let out a soft gasp and voiced my thoughts:

"Are you implying that the travel brochure was stolen around that time?"

"No reservations were made between the end of dinner and lights out. In that case, we can only wait for Yoshino and the others to happen to leave the room. To avoid that, I think the only chance is right after dinner."

Indeed, since there's nothing to do before lights out, no one can predict when Yoshino and the others will leave the room... If that's the case, as long as someone goes to buy some time after dinner...

"You once said that Asuhain was also an accomplice to the handbook thief... So that's what you meant..."

Xiaoyue tilted her head slightly, looking troubled.

"Hmm... I don't quite understand what you mean. But since you seem to be having a lot of fun, I'll say something in the style of the real culprit. What you're saying is that someone sneaked into the room while Yoshino and the others were away and stole the travel brochure, right? Don't you think it would be difficult to pull off? The guest room door has a lock."

"Just have someone with the key open the door. Besides the three members of the Yoshino group, there's an extra girl who was assigned to their group—isn't that perfect for being a spy?"

I see... There was no need to sneak into the room from the outside. As long as a spy who is actually on the side of the thieves gets back to the room before Yoshino and the others, and secretly switches the handbooks in their luggage... and then hides Yoshino and the others' handbooks, everything will be fine.

"The reason all four of their travel guides were switched is because only one person escaped the thief's notice. She might have even helped them exchange messages using coded signals."

That's a classic spy act. The girl didn't seem like the type to be good at this, but some people just have unexpected skills.

"I see—then I won't argue with you about that. Next question—if you really want to talk about this, why did you come to me about it? If everything you just said is true, then the only person definitely connected to the handbook thief is Asuha-in-kun, and I shouldn't have anything to do with this, right?"