My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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"Ugh—this is so annoying! All my careful efforts to hide it have been for nothing!"

Xiaoyue hurriedly picked up her things and stood up.

"Sorry! I need to go calm down some difficult pervert, I'm off!"

Xiaoyue left the money from the beverage bar on the table, then abandoned us and rushed out of the family restaurant.

I stared blankly as she left, muttering to myself:

"...Maybe to everyone, everyone is actually from another world..."

"Oh? That's profound. Are you saying that even if someone is reincarnated into another world, their fundamental way of interacting with others or the world remains the same?"

No two people are exactly alike.

No two relationships are exactly alike.

Even after first love ends, some other kind of feeling may continue.

I haven't been able to give this feeling a name yet.

Volume Two: Even If We're No Longer Lovers - Postscript: A Happy New Year

A couple of years ago, the advertising copy used by the Japanese wedding information magazine "Zexy" became a hot topic.

"In this era where happiness can be found without marriage, I still want to marry you."

On May 1st, the date this book is scheduled for publication, Japan should have already transitioned from the Heisei era to the next—the Reiwa era. During the roughly thirty years of the Heisei era, a declining birthrate became a trend, the average age of marriage rose year by year, and people's values ​​changed accordingly. As the tagline for *Zexy* magazine says, marriage is no longer a necessary stage of life, and being single is no longer a rarity. If you don't have a partner, just hang out with friends; if you don't have friends, you can play video games or read books. All of these have equal value, without distinction of rank—and thus, the sources of happiness have become richer and more diverse.

If that's the case, then what's wrong with the female lead in a romantic comedy being just a female friend?

Thus, the completely invincible female character, Higashito Izana, makes her debut in this episode.

The term "completely invincible" refers to her indifference even when she suffers setbacks in love. For her, heartbreak isn't a major blow. Because for her, happiness isn't about finding a boyfriend, getting married, becoming a wife, and having children; it's about finding someone to discuss light novels with.

Among these characters whose central personalities are all wounded by love, she can be said to possess the values ​​of someone from another world. Just as protagonists in teleportation or reincarnation stories often have a huge impact on other worlds due to differences in common sense and knowledge, it is conceivable that her mere existence is enough to influence the people around her.

Romantic relationships are no longer unique. Given this, what kind of person needs to be to be truly happy? The diversity of forms of happiness equates to the diversity of interpersonal relationships—

—Honestly, what should we do next? Actually, the online serialization is already finished.

To the editor, illustrator TakayaKi, everyone involved in the production of this book, and all readers, please allow me to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude. Thanks to everyone's support, the first volume has been reprinted. This is not just polite talk; it's all thanks to you all.

That concludes the episode "My Stepmother's Burden is My Ex-Girlfriend (2) Even If We're No Longer Lovers," presented to you by Kashiro Kyosuke. See you in episode three.

(Illustration 014)

Even if the illustrations in Volume Two are no longer lovers

Volume 3: Childhood Sweethearts or Not? - Snapshots of Ex-Lovers' Daily Life - Invaders on a Stormy Night

Taiwanese version from Angel Anime Forum

Image source: Hai

Input: kid

The wind was blowing.

"Yes. The trams have stopped running, so I can't go home today. I've already met up with Aunt Yu-Jin—"

"I'll leave it to you and Yume to watch the house, Mizuto!"

I answered "okay" and hung up the phone.

Looking out into the courtyard, I saw the wind and rain lashing fiercely against the windows.

June was already in its latter half, summer was approaching, which meant a typhoon was imminent. As if hesitant to approach schools and businesses, the typhoon arrived in the evening, instantly robbing people of their freedom of movement. In other words—

"...How are Mom and the others? Is there any way for them to come back?"

"No... They said they'll stay at the business hotel tonight and won't be back until tomorrow."

Without turning my head, I answered my stepsister, Irito Yume's, question.

In the living room, where it was just the two of us, all we could hear was the howling of the strong wind.

Okay, that's it.

It looks like the two of us will have to get through the whole night.

"...Anyway, let's cook dinner first. What vegetables are in the fridge?"

"...Well, I remember there are a few bags of frozen food, but I still need to wash the rice—"

Huh? It's just the two of us at home. Do you really think that will make us lose our temper?

We've been living together for almost three months now—we've lost count of how many times we've been alone at home. Although it was definitely the first time we'd spent the whole night together, it's really just a further development of our experience so far.

Humans are creatures that grow and adapt.

For us now, this level of situation is hardly even considered an accident.

That's what I originally thought.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Just after dinner and a shower, in the dead of night, when all that was left was to go to bed, a scream echoed throughout the house.

Has a murder occurred?

I frowned and walked out of my room. What was that woman shouting about in the middle of the night?

Immediately afterwards, a long-haired woman hugged me.

"Whoa!"

For a moment, I thought it was Sadako or something, but it turned out to be my stepsister.

The woman pressed her face against my shoulder. Her long, black hair, tied into two braids, exuded the floral scent of hair conditioner, which I tried my best to banish from my consciousness.

“Wha…what’s wrong?”

When I asked her a question, Jie Nu trembled slightly and pointed to her room with the door ajar.

"That...that thing...that thing...!"

"Uh-huh?"

That thing? Please tell me its name, okay? You can't exactly say Voldemort has appeared in your room, can you?

I peeked into Jie Nu's room and found that my analogy was actually quite apt.

Right on the carpet.

That thing whose name cannot be spoken—the Dark Lord who plunged the world into an abyss of terror.

I saw that small, dark afterimage fly past my eyes at high speed.

"Quick, quick, think of something...! Insecticide! Where's the insecticide?!"

After I had a proper grasp of the situation, I made a decisive decision and found the best course of action I could.

That is, tiptoe slowly towards the room and place your hand on the open door—

With a snap, the door closed quietly.

"…Seal complete."

"Whose room were you sealed in?!"

I remained vigilant, retreating step by step from the sealed area.

Seeing me like this, the woman who had stepped aside quickly narrowed her eyes.

"You...you're not afraid of bugs, are you?"

"...Perhaps that's one way to put it."

"What else can we say? Aren't you ashamed? Your century-long relationship has completely cooled down!"

"It'll probably only last a year at most, and by then it'll be long gone, okay?"

I tried to strategically retreat back to my room, but Jie held onto my arm tightly.

"Enough talk, hurry up and get the insecticide! I don't know where it is!"

"I think you're just trying to dump everything on me! You only pretend to be a weak woman at times like this; you're shameless!"

"It's much better than you, a grown man, being so useless!"

After I reluctantly went downstairs to get the insecticide, Jienu shamelessly hid behind me and said, "It's yours to handle." Ugh, damn it! Usually, I can let Dad deal with it, but today...!

Holding the insecticide spray in my hand, I made up my mind and opened the door to Jie's room.

Centering my gaze on the carpet at the scene of my earlier observation, I scanned the floor. Jie's room had many books, yet it was very tidy. Unlike my room, where things were left on the floor, my hundreds of books were meticulously stored in bookshelves or boxes.

So I originally thought there would be fewer blind spots... but it turns out that's not the case.

"...Look, they've disappeared somewhere...!"

That guy not only vanished without a trace, but his very presence disappeared as well.

I gritted my teeth, feeling bitter.

"...Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to launch a saturation attack—I'm going to activate the smoke-filling insecticide."

"Huh? Where am I going to sleep tonight?"

"Aren't Dad's and the others' rooms empty?"

"What...? You want me to sleep in a newlywed couple's bed?"

...I hadn't thought of that. After all, it's about biological parents...I unconsciously forgot about that.

"How about the sofa in the living room?"

"……don't want."

"Sigh... then I'll sleep on the sofa, you go sleep in the bed—"

"don't want."

Jie spoke in a firm tone, yet her hand gripped my pajama sleeve tightly.

"If that one gets out again... I don't know what to do..."

"........."

Even if I were here, I could only share the fear. Doesn't this woman understand that?

I activated the insecticide in Jie Nu's room (luckily there was no computer in her room), and also sprayed insecticide into the door cracks to completely seal the room.

"Now there's nowhere to run... let's see how that guy survives."

"That actually sounds like they won't die."

"It was a slip of the tongue."

Then we went to my room.

After I slammed the door shut, Jie Nu tiptoed around the mountain of books piled on the floor, her brows furrowing slightly.

"This room is way dirtier and messier than mine, so why is it in my room...?"

"Because my room gets ventilated in the winter, which makes it cold and kills their eggs... But yeah, your room was always empty before, so it was never ventilated."

"Ugh, this is so annoying!"

The woman in her pajamas sat down on the edge of my bed, her body sinking slightly into the ground.

Looking at her long black hair tied into two braids with white scrunchies, hanging down in front of her chest (I must say), a look that evoked a sense of nostalgia, I threw out what I think was the umpteenth question:

"...Hey, are you serious?"

What are you worried about?

She glared at me, her gaze piercing through me.

"You're so... insecure? You can't even guarantee you won't attack me?"

(Illustration 005)

Jie Nu placed her hands behind her buttocks, showing no intention of hiding or dodging.

She was only wearing a thin nightgown, offering no protection whatsoever.