My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 67

"I don't know which era qualifies as nostalgia. Weren't you watching Haruhi Suzumiya last time?"

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is already considered an old work for our generation.

"Well, that's fine then... but don't you mind?"

"What do you care about?"

"It's a guy's house, after all. You came here alone...aren't you wary?"

"Why?"

Dongtou tilted his head, as if he had heard something completely unexpected.

"I just got dumped, what's there to be wary of?"

Her eyes held a pure and unquestioning light...

That left me speechless, unable to think of anything to refute her.

"Oh, so this is Mizuto-san's house... the place that will be my 'first time'..."

"Don't talk in a way that makes people have all sorts of wild ideas, you puberty girl."

Seeing Dongtou awkwardly rubbing her knees together in front of someone else's house, I gave her a choke on the shoulder to bring her back to her senses. Just moments ago, Dongtou said, "Then I'll go and become a Sage!" wanting to split up with me.

"It's all Mizuto's fault! Why did you keep making me a Playful One? (Note: In the video game 'Dragon Quest III,' only the 'Playful One' can change to a Sage without using any items.)"

"I'm starting to feel uneasy too, but if anything happens, I'll just have to be a man."

"Oh, I'm sorry, could I go to a convenience store or a pharmacy?"

"I mean I'm going to resist with brute force!"

Since that confession, this guy's words and actions have become completely unrestrained. It seems there's still a gender barrier between us.

Looking eastward at the gate of the Irito family's house, he said absentmindedly:

"The teacher lives here too, right?"

"teacher?"

"Oh, sorry, I meant female classmate Jie."

"What kind of relationship did you two develop without my knowledge...?"

I already know that the girl and Nan were involved in Dongtou's confession to me, but as for the specifics of how they got involved, the two girls refused to say.

"But I don't think that guy is back yet. After school, he usually either hangs out with Nan and her friends, goes to the bookstore, or studies in the study room or library."

"It's a rare opportunity, and I originally wanted to see the dazzling life of the step-siblings."

"Don't portray our lives like a theatrical performance."

Choosing a time when the woman wasn't home was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. If she had known I brought Dongtou into the house, who knows how much trouble she would have caused me.

I led the way through the front door into the foyer.

I didn't say "I'm home" because no one was home at that time.

"...Sorry to bother you..."

As for Dongtou, he politely hid behind me and whispered. It seems he went into shy mode as soon as he entered someone else's house.

For Dongtou, it might be just fine that no one is home.

I don't want people to see me bringing girls into my home.

"Okay, Dongtou, you go to my room first. I'll go get some drinks."

"Okay, I'd like apple juice."

"In this situation, you should say 'No need to bother.'"

I'd forgotten if we had any apple juice at home. Thinking this, I took off my shoes and headed towards the living room door—

“…Huh?”

"Um?"

The door suddenly opened, and the woman appeared in front of me unexpectedly.

The woman—in other words, Irito Yume—looked at my face first, then at the east side behind me.

Then his eyes turned to me, then looked at the east side, then back at me, then back at the east side...

Again and again, his gaze shifted back and forth between the two of us.

"Oh, what's this? You're here. Hello—Yui-kun."

"Ah, um, hello—that's not right!"

Jie slammed the living room door shut and demanded an answer from me aggressively:

"(What's going on? What happened?! Why did you bring her home?! Didn't you just dump her?!)"

"(You're absolutely right, but that's how things naturally turned out.)"

"(How could you be so easily convinced by that girl...!)"

On another note, why are you speaking so softly?

"(Hurry up and ask her to go back...!)"

"(Hey, that's so rude. No matter how much you dislike it, you shouldn't do that.)"

"(No, no! The timing is terrible! Today is a rare opportunity—)"

Just then, a sound came from the living room.

"Is the water bucket back yet?"

"Hey~ Mizuto--you came back without even saying a word-of-mouth--"

Those were the voices of my stepmother and my biological father.

"………………!"

I immediately broke out in a sweat.

It's good that Jienu found out I brought Dongtou home. She knows my relationship with Dongtou isn't innocent.

But... I have to say, but.

What if Dad and Aunt Youren see this situation...!

"Dong, Dongtou! Sorry, it's not convenient today—"

"?"

Just as I was rushing to push Dongtou, who was tilting his head slightly in confusion, out the door, I was just a hair's breadth away.

The living room door opened.

"Mizutani? Why isn't he answering—hmm?"

The father, peeking out from the doorway, clearly saw Izana's figure in the east.

"Hmm? Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm? Girl...?"

He looked east, then at me, then at Jie Nu…

"Yume's friend...? No, you were with Mizuto just now...?"

His eyes were full of question marks jumping around.

Dad, is it really that unbelievable to you that I came home with a girl?

"Ah, ah, uh, sorry to bother you..."

Dongtou was so nervous he didn't know what to do, so he simply bowed and greeted him.

"I'm Mizuto's...friend...Isana Higashigota!"

"Ah, oh... I see, friend. No, I thought Mizuto had brought his girlfriend home."

"No, no, no! I've already been dumped!"

"…………Uh-huh?"

The whole thing started when I and Jie were frozen in place, and then it was all over.

"He completely dumped me before, so we're just friends now! Don't worry!"

Dongtou's merciless and scathing remarks finally allowed time to flow normally again.

"Yo-Yo-Jin! Mizuto! Mizuto brought his ex-girlfriend home!"

"Huh! What's going on? Tell me more!"

I grabbed Dongtou's arm and rushed up the stairs to my room.

"...Um, why does Mizuto's dad mistake me for your ex-girlfriend?"

Dongtou turned his head blankly and asked me, who was hiding in his room with his head in his hands.

"...I'm telling you...if someone says, 'I got dumped before, but we're good friends now,' most people would interpret it that way, right..."

"I see?"

"You don't understand at all..."

This guy's understanding is indeed a bit off.

Dongtou covered his mouth with the long sleeves of his sweater that reached the back of his hands, only showing a sly smile with his eyes.

"Since I'm going to be misunderstood anyway, I'd rather be misunderstood as the current one—it's easier in every way."

"What do you mean by 'all aspects'? -- No, never mind, I don't want to hear it."

I sighed and put my hand on my forehead.

Since we're going to be misunderstood anyway—right?

It might be a good idea to let Mom and Dad mistake Dongtou for their ex-girlfriend, so they wouldn't easily realize that Jie is the real ex-girlfriend. This is the so-called misleading technique.

However, getting Dongtou to play my ex-girlfriend might be quite difficult...

"Oh, the room is full of books, it's so messy—but it's calming."

Ignoring my own troubles, I walked around the tower of books and moved to the front of the bookshelf.

"Oh, really, it covers everything from light novels to fine literature... It's often said that a bookshelf reveals the owner's psychology. In this case, how do you explain Mizuto's psychology? Is he a social butterfly?"

"Don't put it so harshly. I am Lingmian Linglong."

"You can also turn into the kind of Reiryu who only acts cute towards me—you see, because I still like Mizuto-kun on an emotional level."

"........."

"Oh! Don't take it seriously or feel embarrassed! I was just kidding!"

Anyone would be in a difficult position, right? How should I keep my distance from you?

Dongtou said, "Can I look around freely?" So I replied, "Please put it back in its place." Dongtou excitedly began digging for treasures in my bookshelf.

"I think visiting someone's bookshelf is a lot like excavating fossils. The bookshelf is like the strata of the earth. The strata of wisdom, or the wisdom layer (Note: the Japanese word for wisdom, 'zhi,' is pronounced the same as the word for strata of the earth)."

"You just wanted to make that last joke, didn't you?"

Just as Dongtou was engrossed in the excavation work, someone knocked lightly on the door twice.

Could it be Dad? I became more wary, but the knocking quickly turned into kicking the door, which put my mind at ease. That rudeness must be from that woman.

"Is your world all about knocking on doors with your feet?"

I started talking to her like that as soon as I opened the door, and the long-haired woman standing in the hallway—Irito Yui—glared at me with a sour face.

"I'm here to stop you from getting handsy with Dongtou."

"Who would do that kind of thing in a home where the whole family is together?"

"...Oh, right? You only do it when you're at home and no one else is around?"

The stepsister wore a smug, arrogant smirk... Was she referring to the typhoon incident?

Feeling embarrassed, I looked away and said:

What are you doing here?