My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 389

"That's quite a coincidence... We had it yesterday too. After we finished talking on the phone, we ate at a famous restaurant in American Village."

"It's very hot, isn't it?"

"Of course—…………"

He couldn't continue after answering half of the question.

I don't only eat takoyaki in America Village.

I've eaten it in other places too... I think.

"You told me that Makoto Koyama fed you takoyaki at the karaoke bar—in that story, you only said 'she stuffed the takoyaki into your mouth,' but you didn't say how hot it was. Generally speaking, if someone else feeds you takoyaki, it should be so hot that you can't even scream. In fact, my mouth was burned, and it still hurts a little."

“S-Sorry…”

Irito-san said it with a slightly embarrassed expression.

I didn't have the energy to ask her why she apologized.

"Kawabata, what about you? Did you burn your mouth after being fed takoyaki at the karaoke bar?"

"No...no..."

I don't remember getting burned.

When eating takoyaki in American Village, if you've burned yourself on the same day, you should at least be wary, but I was completely careless...

"The other story is even stranger."

Ignoring my astonishment, Irito continued.

"You said, 'Makoto Koyama, come sit next to you,' right? But that's probably impossible."

"Why...are you so sure?"

"First of all, you told me there were 'four seats' there. Generally speaking, a bowling lane is for four people, so that makes sense. And you said those seats were occupied by 'a few boys from a small class reunion sitting side by side.' Based on what you told me before, the boys attending the small class reunion were 'Shoma,' 'Sota,' 'Yamato,' and you—'Kogure,' right?"

"That's true... but so what—"

"With four people sitting side-by-side in four seats, where can one more person squeeze in?"

"...!"

That...is indeed...but...!

"Maybe it was someone's turn to fight... so Makoto came over and sat down. That makes sense, right?"

"No, you said that 'Shōma' only went to fight after Makoto Koyama came to sit next to you. When Makoto Koyama went to sit next to you, all the seats should have been taken."

This...this is impossible...but...after he explained it like that...

"Based on my speculation, is there another row of seats in front of you, and Makoto Koyama is sitting there? And you imagine her sitting next to you and tell me this. Although it was probably true to you at the time—fantasy has its limits when it comes to details."

"You mean... I'm just imagining things...? Has my mind... gone that far...?"

"It's not just you who's like this."

Irito said in a relaxed tone.

"Anyone can mistake what others say for their own words, or confuse dreams with reality... Human memory is just that ambiguous, don't take it too seriously."

"No, but..."

"Of course, I initially found it strange, wondering why you would make up such a story. But when I heard you have allergies, I understood. You probably had a severe allergic reaction yesterday, what's commonly known as a severe allergic reaction."

"A severe allergic reaction...like the kind that happens when you get stung twice by a bee...?"

"That's right. The night before last, I told you that Makoto Koyama had been in your room—that incident had a second impact on you, strongly activating your allergy to romantic feelings. It may have caused you to become sensitive to everything, even the smallest things, which you perceive as harmful expressions of love... I didn't know it would hurt you like this. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you those things."

A second... impact.

His words were practically—

"Irito... but I don't remember. Since it's called the second time, it means there was a first time before—but I don't remember Makoto causing me that first impact. Could it be that it was three days ago—"

"Maybe."

"Have you guessed it yet? Guessed what happened three nights ago—why Makoto was in my room—and why I took off my clothes to sleep—"

All I can say is...

The ticket gates for Keihan are now in sight.

Irito stood in front of it and told me:

"If the clothes are put in the washing machine after being taken off, it means they are dirty."

The clothes...are dirty?

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Nan keeping her mouth shut and remaining silent.

"As for other matters, just ask those who know the truth."

Irito turned around and stepped slightly to the side.

Make way for the ticket gate.

Make way for the road back to Kyoto.

"What do you plan to do?"

……I……

I……

I don't want to... linger in a place like this.

I don't want to.

What if everything I've seen so far was just a figment of my imagination...

If the reality is even better than I imagine...

I want to know.

—I want to know what the truth is.

I took out my IC card and lightly touched the sensor area at the ticket gate.

Kawanami Kogure◆ The Reason You're Indispensable

We didn't get back to Kyoto until after noon.

We got off at Sanjo Station, and at Irito's suggestion that we get something to eat first, we decided to do so. Sanjo is the busiest area in Kyoto, with all kinds of shops, but our usual chain family restaurant is still the most relaxing.

"Yui, how was your trip back to the countryside?"

"I feel a bit more relaxed than last year. Actually, once you get used to it, it's a really nice place with lots of natural scenery."

"But there's nothing there, and you'll get tired of it after a few days."

"You're still reading all day, just like always?"

"I still play video games this year."

I let them chat happily while I sent messages on my phone.

The recipient is Makoto Koyama.

The message reads as follows:

I have something important to discuss. Is this a convenient time for you?

After the meal, we said goodbye to the Irito siblings.

They probably knew what problems I was about to face. But neither of them said anything, and they just left as usual.

See you another day.

When they parted, Irito left with a brief farewell.

It's hard enough to get that guy to say goodbye, but this time he actually made a promise about the future.

Those words reassured me, letting me know I still have a future. They gave me certainty—the world hasn't closed its doors, I'm alive and well, and I can live a normal life again starting tomorrow.

It's very simple.

I just need to confirm the facts.

Then I'll honestly express my feelings, and that's enough.

"...Well then, I'll head back now."

On the way home, Nan stopped and said.

"You're going somewhere else, right?"

"right."

"...Just going for a short while, right?"

Hearing her repeatedly confirm with slight unease, I thought for a moment and then replied:

"Sorry, I have to tell Makoto the answer first."

Was that place just a stopover for me along the way?

Or perhaps, that is where I belong?

Nan seemed to have given up, but she gave a slightly happy smile and nodded.

"Okay, then that's settled."

And so, the petite figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

I turned my back to her and walked towards the agreed-upon location.

I walked towards the place where I had already graduated.

I went to the junior high school that Makoto and I attended.

I still remember how I met Makoto Koyama.

In our second year of junior high, a game called "The Coward" was popular among some of us boys. It involved bringing game consoles (which were prohibited by school rules) to school and secretly playing until the very end without getting caught by the teachers. It was just something we found fun out of boredom. If we wanted to play games, we could use our phones (which were allowed by school rules) however we wanted, but using a game console specifically felt more adventurous.

Back then... yes, I remember it was behind the dojo during lunch break. Neither the kendo club nor the judo club would go to the dojo during lunch break, and of course, the teacher wouldn't be there either; it was practically a secret base.

As usual, we focused intently on the battle, both quietly and nervously. Just then…

—Hey—! What are you doing?

Makoto suddenly adopted a teacher's tone and came to talk to us.

We were startled and turned around. Makoto laughed and said:

Sorry, I couldn't resist teasing you guys because you were having so much fun.

After apologizing like this, he said:

--What are you guys playing? Super Smash Bros.?

She leaned closer to look at the picture with great interest.

The way her skirt fluttered was clearly that of a girl, but her attitude was so natural that we didn't feel any gender barrier, and we naturally let her join us.

...I only heard about it later—

Makoto doesn't seem to get along well with her female friends.

Of course, on the surface, she belonged to a circle of girls and did not cause any disputes; she was chatting and laughing with her friends.

But since she started hanging out with us, she's spent less time with the girls' clique and hasn't paid much attention to that circle.

I don't remember when, but Makoto said:

—I have an older brother, so without realizing it, I mostly learned boys' games. It was the same in elementary school; while all the girls in my class were obsessed with *Pretty Cure*, I spent all my time playing card games with the boys. And when we played dodgeball, I was the only one who could actually hit a boy!

He's probably the type who doesn't quite fit in with girls' circles.

So seeing Makoto become so girly now that she's in high school, not just me, but everyone must be secretly worried about her.

I'm worried that she won't be happy in high school.

Worried that she wouldn't find friends like us with whom she could get along naturally in high school, she had no choice but to cooperate with others and deceive herself.

So at our small class reunion, we definitely went absolutely crazy. The fact that some idiot brought alcohol was probably because he anticipated this. Although I haven't thought about it yet, I must have really wanted Makoto to go back to how she was before.

That's why—