My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 366

Until a certain point in time.

Walking into the arcade shopping street that extends from Kokusai-dori, one can only say that this location is very similar to Teramachi Kyogoku.

A dazzling array of goods were piled up like mountains at the store entrance, attracting the attention of passersby and reminiscent of festival stalls. Among them, what caught the most interest of Jie and her friends was a Hawaiian-style dress with a gorgeous floral pattern. They picked it up and held it up to their shoulders, squealing with excitement.

While I stood at a distance and watched...

"...I think I should thank you."

I don't know when she arrived, but Asuhain was already standing next to me.

She wasn't looking at me, but rather at Yui, who was chatting and laughing with everyone in the store. Seeing her attitude, I smiled sarcastically and replied:

"Thank you for what?"

"On the first day... on the bus, you tolerated my attitude. I think at that time... I was quite comfortable."

"That's great."

"If that happens two or three more times, I might actually start to like you."

Hearing this startled me slightly—not because of the content of the statement itself. What surprised me was that she actually admitted to having such thoughts.

"...But you didn't actually develop those feelings, did you?"

Hearing me say that, Asuka-in nodded.

"You're pretty good for a guy, but not enough to make me want to have sex with you."

"...For you, is this your standard for accepting someone as a romantic partner?"

"Is there anything else besides that?"

This kind of rationalist thinking is quite similar to Isana's—that is to say, because she cannot understand the concept of love, she will inevitably turn to a biological way of thinking.

"...Okay, it's easier for me if you think that way. Honestly, it would be really difficult for me if you suddenly fell for me."

"Your words make me uncomfortable—but I'll accept them for now, since I did offend you and Dongtou."

Then it dawned on me that she thought I was dating Isana. If she gets closer to Yui in the future, it will be difficult to keep the truth a secret, so it's better to just tell the truth—

I just had this idea...

"However, let me state this first—"

Asahi-in will tell you.

He had a ferocious look in his eyes that could probably kill a small dog.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on Irito just because we're not related by blood—or I'll kill you."

My entire back instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

Leaving me speechless, I will go back to find Yui and the others tomorrow.

My gaze couldn't help but follow that thin, small figure from behind.

Of course.

When an animal faces mortal danger, its eyes will never leave the cause of the danger.

"...Huh? Irito? What's wrong? Snap out of it—"

Kawanami, who was located relatively close to me, came over to check on me, but I couldn't give him any reply.

Hmm, this looks good.

I've already done things that would get me killed by her.

Irito Yume ◆ Just enjoying a normal school trip

It was already nearly evening on the third day of the school trip...

Upon entering the guest room, Xiaoyue exclaimed, "Wow!" The wallpaper and furniture in the room where she stayed on the third day were all white, with a clean and refreshing overall design. What was most special was the placement of the bed.

Today's room is also a four-person room, so there are four beds, but two of them are placed in the mezzanine level, which can be accessed by climbing a ladder. The other two are directly below the mezzanine, but the space is quite high, so if someone as tall as Asuhain or Akatsuki is standing on the bed, they won't bump their head. This romantic room makes one dream of living in a house like this someday.

Xiaoyue quickly climbed the ladder, poked her head out from the mezzanine, and cheered again, "Whoa!"

"This is so exciting! Can I sleep on the top bed?!"

"As long as no one is competing with you for it."

As I said this, I glanced at the other two. The student at the east end looked up at the mezzanine, as if he had something to say but was too embarrassed to say it.

"Does the student on the east side also want to sleep on the upper floor?"

"Huh?... Well, I'll go check on the house first..."

Dongtou climbed the ladder with her hands not holding on very steadily. I hoped she wouldn't be still half asleep in the morning and fall down... I watched her climb up with a little unease, and then sat down on the edge of a bed under the mezzanine.

"Welcome!"

"Oh...! This feels like a secret base...!"

"No one can ruin our good time here... Shout as loudly as you want!"

"Ugh—!"

Happy, boisterous sounds came from above.

Tomorrow, Ye Yuan sat down on the edge of another bed, and our eyes met. I felt a little awkward, so I smiled and said:

"They seem to be having a blast upstairs."

"……yes."

Asahi-no-in seemed a little unaccustomed to casual conversation, replying to me with a slightly stiff tone. I felt she didn't need to be so polite anymore, but perhaps it's just a habit she can't break. Higashi-no-in used honorifics because "it's too troublesome to distinguish who I must use honorifics with and who I can use friendly language with, so I might as well use honorifics everywhere"—a reason that suggests she's given up on thinking. But surely that's not the case?

To help Asuka-in relax, I tried to crack a joke:

"How about we show off our love too?"

“Eh!”

Tomorrow Ye Yuan was taken aback, her face flushing slightly as if she had just taken a shower.

"No, no, we're not in that kind of frivolous relationship. As student council members, we can't do anything excessively shameless...!"

"Why be so reserved? Just do it for a bit."

I stood up from the edge of my own bed, walked over and knelt on the edge of Asuhain's bed. "Take this!" I pushed her petite body down. "Ah!" Asuhain cried out in surprise.

"Watch how I deal with you; your weakness is right here, isn't it?"

"Mmm... there... ah, mmm...!"

I hugged Asuhain and tickled her side. My touch made her blush, her body tremble sensitively, and she let out a soft, coquettish moan.

So cute!

I can understand why Asuha-senpai always hugs Asuha-in like a doll. She's petite, cute, and reacts so readily—she's absolutely adorable, isn't she? Hmm… I wish we could play like this forever…

"...I'm saying..."

Whispers could be heard coming from the upper mezzanine, which had quieted down without anyone noticing.

"……downstairs……"

"……yes……"

"...They're basically having sex, aren't they...?"

"...It was all just sex..."

"No way!"

I lodged a protest with the higher-ups.

Don't make us sound like a couple who started flirting in the next booth of an internet cafe!

(Illustration 011)

As I went downstairs to have dinner, I ran into the water bucket.

There was still a little time before the buffet dinner began. I hadn't had a private conversation with him in quite some time and wanted to seize this opportunity, so I said to Mizuto, "Shall we go talk?"

"That's roughly how it is."

I told Mizuto what Asuhain had told me at the beach that morning.

Because Shuidou has helped us a lot to make up, I think he has the right to do so.

"...I see, so you saw a confession..."

Mizuto seemed particularly interested in the scene that Asuhain-kun had witnessed at the swimming pool.

"Choosing that place to confess your feelings creates a really atmospheric atmosphere."

"Right? Could it be that person, like me, thinks no other students will come from there?"

"That's hard to say—it's also possible that the two of them just happened to walk over there, felt the atmosphere was right, and then spoke up."

That's true, that's one possibility. Since all the confessions I've experienced, including my own, have been carefully planned, I never imagined there could be such a situation.

"I wanted to ask, regarding the time Asuhain left the pool with that person who confessed, did she say anything specific?"

Mizuto asked me a strange question.

I tilted my head and tried to recall the conversation carefully, but I couldn't think of anything worth mentioning, so I moved my head back to its original position and shook my head.

"No, they only said she entered the pool around 8:30—but didn't say what time she left. Besides, Asuka-in-san isn't wearing a watch, so she probably doesn't know the exact time, right?"

"That's true... I forgot that none of us brought our phones."

Unless you're wearing a watch, the only way to tell the time is by checking the group leader's phone. However, some people had thought of this beforehand and wore watches on their trip—Yoshino was one of them.

"...Oh, right."

Shuidou suddenly changed the subject.

"Did Asuhain say anything to you? Like... about us living together?"

"Why are you only asking this now? Are you worried about rumors? I didn't know you were so thoughtful."

"No... I just wanted to say that Toshiba-in is a rather serious type. Even though we're family, I'm worried she might have a problem with you living with a guy who isn't related to you by blood."

"Isn't this asking way too late? It's not like Asuha-in-san is only finding out we're step-relatives now... Even if we just told her we're dating, it wouldn't make a difference—"

"It's better not to."

Mizuto immediately denied it, and in a very firm tone.

Seeing that I was startled, he quickly added, trying to smooth things over:

"She might be okay with us living together, but that doesn't necessarily mean she'll be okay with us dating, right?"

"That's right, but... what happened? Tell me."

"What could happen?"

It's suspicious enough... Although it's very suspicious, this guy is too good at putting on a poker face. I can't be 100% confident that I can find something wrong with him.

"...Anyway, just don't tell Asuhain-kun about our relationship, okay?"

"That would be better."

"If I find out that you're actually cheating on me with Asuhain-kun and are only saying this to avoid being caught, I'll make you wish you were never born."

"How could I possibly do that..."

"I've lost to you," Mizuto said, feigning defeat. "Of course, I wasn't serious."

As they were talking, the banquet hall, which was to be used as the dinner venue, opened its doors, ready for people to enter.

If we continued talking intimately, it probably wouldn't look good if someone saw us. Just as I was about to wave goodbye to Mizuto, he called out to me in Sugishita Ukyo's manner of speaking, "Oh, right. There's one more thing."

"If Yoshino comes to talk to you, please tell her something for me."

"With Yoshino-kun?"

After hearing the message, I was even more confused.

"Just tell her that, and I think she'll understand."

"Understand what...?"

"Don't overthink it. Just focus on enjoying the school trip with Asuha-in, that's the most important thing, isn't it?"