My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 379

I continued to nibble gently while whispering in her ear.

"I think I'm getting used to it... Hmm. Last year, I just felt it was lively, but I didn't know how to fit in... Sigh. But this year, Mom and I seem to have naturally become part of this family... Hmm! -- Hey, stop messing around while I'm talking..."

He says that but doesn't resist; he's such a funny guy.

That being said, if you go too far, you really won't be able to stop. I loosened my arms around your waist, letting us get a little less close. Then…

"Ouch, that hurts!"

The girl frowned and called out.

"Oops, sorry, did you pull your hair?"

"Yes, we need to tie him up."

"I'll help you."

Jie divided her long, loose hair into two sections and let them fall in front of her. She took a scrunchie and tied the right side of her hair up herself, so I was in charge of tying the left. We were too lazy to move, so we just started tying our hair by hugging each other from behind, which resulted in our arms getting tangled, making it a bit more difficult to fix.

Having long hair is really tough for girls. Washing, drying, and tying it all takes so much time. And it's a daily routine, morning and night. I definitely couldn't stand the hassle.

"ah."

Ponytail.

"...Hmm? What's wrong?"

When Jie noticed that I had suddenly stopped moving, she turned to me and asked me.

I managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice in astonishment:

"Ponytail..."

"what?"

"When were you tied up?"

This is it.

The huge sense of abruptness I felt from the incident involving Kawanami and Minami came from this.

I left Jie Nu's side and hurriedly picked up my phone, which was placed next to the bedding and pillow.

At the same time, he was muttering something he took for granted:

"She couldn't possibly sleep with her hair in a ponytail..."

Kawanami Kogure ◆ Ponytail and Skirt

I spent the peaceful night with a clear conscience.

We have to thank Irito for this. After we finished singing karaoke, just as we were about to leave Ichijoji Temple, Irito called and told me about his reasoning.

His point was that, considering the circumstances, it was unlikely that Nan and I had made any major mistakes.

The reasoning was so convincing that I was immediately convinced. As a result, I felt completely at ease and regained my inner peace.

Although the mystery of last night's amnesia remains unsolved, it's enough to be certain that nothing happened.

Nan's mysterious behavior today must just be part of her usual exposure therapy routine. She doesn't always give prior notice.

I had just finished eating and taking a shower, and as I was drinking a refreshing, cool soda into my clean and comfortable body, my phone rang.

Is this a call about tomorrow's class reunion? I picked up the phone as I thought about it, and found that it was Irito again calling.

What's wrong? Seriously, stop worrying about me. Just go and do some lewd things with Irito-san.

I lightly touched the answer button and brought the phone to my ear.

"Hello? What's wrong?"

"...Kawabata, I'd like to ask you to confirm this for me."

His serious tone startled me. What happened?

"It's probably on your desk in your room, or next to your pillow... or maybe it fell under your pillow, bed, or blankets. Could you check those places for any unfamiliar items?"

"What unfamiliar item is it?"

"Yes, that's true, there's a grammatical error in how you phrase it. It's about something you're absolutely certain doesn't belong to you."

I didn't understand what he was saying, but his tone was very serious, so I had no choice but to obey.

I went into my room and checked the desk where my laptop was. Of course, I found nothing. Something that definitely didn't belong to me—if it had, I would have found it long ago.

It's also near the pillow, so is it under the pillow or under the bed? And inside the blankets...?

There's no comforter on my bed right now, just a thin towel. I picked it up and shook it vigorously, but nothing fell out.

Then I put my hands on the floor and peered under the bed, but I didn't see anything there either.

That leaves only under the pillow—

“—Ah.”

found it.

It was pressed under the pillow.

It was a dark blue one—

"There's a dark blue ribbon..."

"...Do you have any hair ties?"

"Yes, it's with the ribbon..."

"I knew it."

This is not an unfamiliar item.

But it can never be mine.

This is what that guy uses every time he ties his hair—

"Kawabata... what I'm about to tell you might scare you."

"That's what I said to you, looking on in astonishment, from the other end of the phone."

"You said you woke up to see a swaying ponytail and a fluttering skirt, right?"

"Yes, that's right... Although I was still a bit groggy from just waking up, the fact that the object was moving left a deep impression on me..."

"Actually, Yui also heard about this from Minami. Minami said that after she woke up in your bed, she panicked, hurriedly put on her clothes, and ran away from your house."

This is the first time I've heard of such a thing. She hurriedly put on her clothes… which means she was originally naked…

"……so what?"

"Didn't you notice? She didn't say she tied her hair up."

A chill ran down my spine.

It was clearly not caused by the soda.

"Nan usually wears her hair in a ponytail, but there's no hairstyle harder to fall asleep with than a ponytail. I don't think she'd sleep with her hair tied up. In other words, when she wakes up in your bed, her hair is probably all over the place. If she were panicked in that situation and just threw on some clothes and ran away, she wouldn't have had the energy to tie her hair up."

"Wait, wait a minute... but I definitely saw it, a person with a ponytail left my room!"

"Then why are Nan's hair ties and ribbons in your room?"

The evidence is in my hands.

Without these things, Nan can't tie her hair up.

So when Nan left my room, she didn't tie her hair in a ponytail.

"This makes the skirt seem suspicious. Nan didn't say she left your room after putting on her clothes; she said she left your house. If she had taken her clothes off in the living room, there's no way you could have seen Nan wearing a skirt."

My mind is a complete mess. What does it mean? What does it all mean?

"Nan didn't check if you were awake, and you can't be sure if the person who left the room was Nan. Finally, there's the situation you described—it's completely impossible to determine if it happened at the same time."

Nan left my room.

When I woke up, I saw a person with a ponytail leaving my room.

Assume these two events do not occur at the same time...

Only one explanation makes sense.

"That's what Irito said."

"The girl with the ponytail you saw wasn't Nan."

"That's what Irito said."

"It was someone else who appeared after Nan left."

"That's what Irito said."

"Besides Nan, someone else broke into your bedroom while you were asleep."

The warmth left after the shower had completely dissipated.

I felt a cold sensation spreading from deep within my body.

"Aren't you sure? Will any girls come to your house around that time?"

Have.

Because that guy came to my house not long ago.

That's not all—we also went out to play together today.

"...Irito...that's all for today, I have to hang up now. Thanks."

"Hey, Kawanami—"

I hung up the phone unilaterally and laboriously placed it on the table.

That guy's entire demeanor has changed completely since junior high...

He's still the same as always; he's not very good at interacting with girls.

He used to hang out with us all the time.

But it won't be included in the men's restroom.

Koyama Makoto.

She was the only girl among those who attended yesterday's small class reunion.

"—Ugh...!"

My whole body is covered in hives.

A strong wave of dizziness hit me, causing me to fall backward onto the bed.

—If Kogure goes, I'll go too.

-- No need to hide it anymore, just say you're dating Nan.

—If you encounter any problems, come and talk to me. We're friends, after all.

Makoto has been to my room.

Makoto, she...

My consciousness sank into darkness as if struck by lightning.

Volume 12, There's Only One Man, Interlude 2

What am I doing?

Looking down at his sleeping face, I pondered this question.

I don't think I'm qualified. Someone like me is a hindrance wherever I go; there are people more suitable for him. Even knowing I'm a hindrance, I still don't want to leave.

That girl is cuter than me.

That girl was more outgoing than me.

That girl is more—

Why this guy of all people?

There are plenty of men in the world—that's what all my close friends say in unison. But for some reason, I only have eyes for him. For some reason, this guy is someone I can't let go of, someone who makes me stand by his bedside like this.