My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 371

He remained silent, looking down at the half-finished sketch.

He looked dejected...

His shoulders were trembling.

The hustle and bustle of the school trip was far away; only the midday sunlight filtering through the leaves fell on us in the shade of the trees. The shade was like a barrier separating us from the outside world, but for her and me, this was just everyday life. We spent countless such moments in a corner of the library, on the school rooftop during the cultural festival, or outside the sports field during the sports festival.

and so……

Even this moment is just another part of our daily lives.

"That's amazing!"

Isana suddenly raised her head and moved closer to me.

She brought her face so close they were almost nose to nose, her eyes shining as she began to speak at length:

"I knew this would be exposed sooner or later, but I didn't expect you to see through it all! That's brilliant! I'm so impressed! I've always thought Mizuto was incredibly smart, and this has proven your intelligence once again!"

"You really are... Is this the attitude a suspect should have when their crimes are exposed? Although I guessed you'd react like this..."

I can hardly be called eloquent, but the reason I performed this crime-solving process was because I guessed that Izana would be happier—it seems she was even more satisfied than I imagined.

After Isana shrank back to her original position, she placed her hands on her chest with a satisfied expression and took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling.

"Wow—my heart was racing just now. So this is what it feels like when a prisoner is cornered. It's like being in the VIP section!"

"That's not what I imagined. I thought you would say something like, 'Your reasoning is very interesting. Why don't you become a writer?'"

"No way, because I know it's better for Mizuto not to be a writer."

"Well……"

Okay, okay, I'm not completely oblivious to my own limitations.

Isana swung her legs and said, "And then, and then?" She leaned forward and looked at my face.

"What's next? I don't read many mystery novels, so I'm not familiar with the process."

"Then comes the prisoner's confession. Why were you spying?"

"Ah...you're asking that? I can't just not tell you, can I?"

"Thump-thump~ thump~" Isana hummed the background music that played during the confession scene in a certain juvenile detective anime, and said:

There are two reasons.

"It's okay not to try to act smart when explaining things."

"How rude! There are actually two reasons! ...First, it's just because I wanted to see it."

"...Can that even be considered a reason?"

"It's nothing! Yui-chan said she wanted to finish showering before nine o'clock, so I know she probably wants to meet up with Mizuto-kun after nine o'clock~ Then a thought flashed through my mind: I wonder what the atmosphere is like when Mizuto-kun and Yui-chan are alone together~?"

"Okay, I understand... what's another reason?"

"Another reason is... I wanted to do some confirmation."

"confirm?"

"Is it that the more afraid I am, the more I want to see it...? I want to know if I can stay calm if I see a scene like that with Mizuto-kun."

I was speechless.

As for Izana, she didn't seem uncomfortable or embarrassed at all, and continued in a tone that was simply stating facts:

"I've given up on the idea of ​​developing any relationship with Mizuto, and I genuinely wish Yui all the best. But on the other hand, I'm also curious... like playing a horror game. The fear and curiosity combined make me really want to take action. Besides, I have nothing else to do."

"So you're planning to hide in the pool first?"

"That was my original plan, but I hesitated at the last minute... I was standing at the pool entrance when Yoshino saw me. I didn't tell her the real reason, I just said I wanted to go to the pool, and she said, 'Let's go together then~'"

"So, back then, you never dreamed that Yoshino would confess to you, right?"

"Needless to say! I never imagined that my first confession—ah, I mean being confessed to—would be to a girl...and a hot girl at that."

"I understand..."

I never expected it to turn out this way. Rather than saying it's because both of us are girls, I think the main reason is that Yoshino is the type who doesn't show her true feelings at all. She always hides all other emotions with her cheerful personality and never lets anyone see her true inner thoughts.

"I'm asking this out of pure curiosity... What did Yoshino tell you?"

"Yoshino said something like, 'It's so lonely having only girls in such a stylish pool—' and after I casually replied, she said, 'How about we try dating?'"

"So she said it half-jokingly..."

"I thought if I could have brushed it off with humor, Yoshino would have let it go immediately... But I was startled and accidentally reacted seriously, so she couldn't pretend she hadn't said it..."

I started to think back.

I recall just hearing Yoshino herself tell me her motivation for confessing her feelings to Higashito Isana.

Mizuto Irito◆The Gyaru Who Treats Isana Well / Falling into the Pit

"...To put it simply, I fell into a trap."

In a corner of the plaza in front of the solemn Hōshōmon Gate, Yoshino Miko murmured as if in repentance.

"At first, I didn't feel anything. I just noticed that she was always alone, and I had never seen her talk to anyone, so I didn't know what kind of girl she was... so I went to talk to her. I didn't even notice that her breasts were huge."

"She really does have a naturally sunny disposition..."

I was taken aback by the sheer agility of a real hottie. Yoshino replied with a wry smile, "People often say that about me," and added:

"But I really haven't seen her speak to anyone other than me all year. Ah, I mean in class. I know she's close to you. But proportionally speaking, I, as her classmate, have spent more time with her, haven't I?"

"That's right."

"So I thought, this girl must be having a hard time without me—...she can probably only rely on me—...after unconsciously developing this feeling, how should I put it? It's like...a possessive mentality started to emerge..."

...Actually, I understand what she means.

When I was dating Yui in junior high school, and when I was talking to Isana in a corner of the library in high school, it would be a lie to say that I didn't feel a sense of superiority that "only I know their hidden charm".

It seems she's fallen into this trap.

"Don't you think I'm being awful? How could I presume that the other person belonged to me alone... So I try not to think about it. But one time... it was probably last winter, I accidentally saw it."

"What do you see...?"

"Izana's paintings."

I understood immediately.

Speaking of last winter, after the student council-organized trip to Kobe, I began to nurture Isana's talent as an illustrator—

"I saw her engrossed in drawing on her tablet in the corner of the classroom, just for a fleeting glance. But the moment I saw it, I was truly stunned. It wasn't just that she was incredibly good at it... but because I had seen it before on social media."

"oh……"

"It didn't go viral, but it was already quite popular for an ordinary person like me... The illustration itself was also to my liking, so I remembered it—and then when I thought that Isana was the artist of that illustration, I immediately...! How should I put it? Should I call it fate...!"

"I can roughly understand..."

I said it with a sigh.

For human beings, few things bring greater pleasure than discovering value unknown to the world, and I feel this more than anyone else. After all, I was the first person in the world to discover Isana's talent and become hopelessly enamored with it.

"And then I couldn't keep going."

With a self-deprecating smile, Yoshino spoke.

"My brain just shut down. I find it amazing that someone could become like this. Although I'm trying my best to hide it and not let anyone around me find out. After all, given the impression I give off, I can't talk to others about this kind of thing."

"Is this the reason? Is that why you love teasing me about my relationship with Isana?"

"I guess so... I heard her say herself when we were in first grade that she knew you two weren't actually dating. Besides, if I did that, no one would doubt my feelings for Isana..."

"After dinner on the first day, you whispered something to Asuhain, right? That was...?"

"Wow, you saw that? I told her... 'Good luck.' Because if Xiaolan could get you, I'd have one less rival. -- Ugh~ I can't believe I could be so awful! No wonder Xiaolan was scared by me."

Why was Asuhain so devastated by Yoshino's confession?

That's the answer. Yoshino teased us about our relationship and even called Asuhain to negotiate on our behalf, but it was all just a smokescreen to hide his own feelings and secretly date Isana.

At that time, Asuhain was troubled by her feelings for Yui. Seeing Yoshino's obsessive pursuit of Isana reminded her of herself. She feared that she might be that kind of person too, which was why she wanted to keep her distance from Yui...

"So, I deserved to be dumped."

Yoshino tried to make things sound as lighthearted as possible.

"At the time, I was emotional and didn't want to let her go. But after Ran pushed me into the pool, I calmed down... I felt that it was too presumptuous for someone as insignificant as me to think I could develop a relationship with Isana."

"Is there any need to become so insecure?"

"That's true... I'm so timid that I don't even dare to tell my teacher that I broke my phone."

But I think if we really have to say, it was Asuhain who broke the phone.

"Hmm—" Yoshino stretched lazily and said:

"I feel so much better after telling you everything—!...Mizuto-kun, you rejected Isana's confession, right?"

"right."

"I'm so envious and I hate you so much, so I'm telling you, you'll definitely regret it."

"Won't."

I told her without hesitation.

"Because if I had accepted Isana's feelings back then, that guy probably wouldn't have been able to paint anymore."

"Ah...that won't work."

Yoshino smiled faintly and turned his back to me.

It's as if I'm saying goodbye to who I am now.

"Then continue to make her happy—take good care of my beloved 'Push'!"

Irito Mizuto ◆ Higashito Isana Unshakable

Recalling Yoshino's departing figure, free from all his troubles, I looked at Isana's profile.

She's no longer someone who can find happiness simply through a casual romance. Both I, who was once loved by her, and she, who once loved me, think so, so it can't be wrong.

Compared to dating her and being her boyfriend, I now have a much heavier responsibility on my shoulders.

In order to fulfill her expectations, I must take responsibility—now that I have made Higashito Isana give up being an ordinary high school girl, I must be responsible for the other path she has chosen.

"...So? What was the result?"

When I asked her, "What do you mean, how?" Izana tilted her head.

"Didn't you try it? You wanted to know how you would feel if you saw me with Yui. And the result—how did you feel?"

At the same time, I also have a responsibility and must bear the consequences of her actions.

Regardless of the outcome, I have already rejected her for the sake of Jie Nu—I have no right to deny her feelings.

“Well…”

Izana looked up at the clear, bright sky and thought for a moment, "Hmm—".

I waited nervously for her answer.

Finally, Isana murmured very softly, like raindrops falling:

"...I don't remember."

"Huh?"

Seeing me frown in confusion, Isana said to me with a serious expression:

"My classmate was too sentimental... I don't remember anything anymore."

"........."

"No way... because she actually said, 'Let's continue when we get home, okay?' Wow! That's so lewd! She's usually so innocent and earnest, how could she do this! I was so excited I leaned forward!"

So that's how that "sha" sound is made?

"Now, in my eyes, my female classmate is nothing more than a symbol of lust! Last night, when I heard about her bra size, I almost had a nosebleed!"

"Speaking of which, it seems you even crawled into Yui's bed the next morning..."