My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

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"...May I go take a look?"

"Please...please go ahead."

The woman answered, averting her gaze.

I breathed a sigh of relief... Why does this happen when it's this guy?

I got out of bed and picked up my phone from the desk.

It's a LINE notification from Dongtou.

Please save me

◆

"I'm saved... I don't know how to talk to an adult I've just met..."

"It's probably because you don't have any other topics to talk about besides light novels and your own breasts."

"Oh! That makes sense!"

Dongtou went downstairs to use the restroom, but unfortunately, he was caught by his father and Aunt Youren. Then he was subjected to a barrage of questions from the two, who were very interested in their son's romantic history.

When Jie and I saw the distress signal sent via LINE, we rushed over and managed to rescue the person. However, we determined that staying any longer would be too dangerous, so we asked Dong to go home as soon as possible.

I was taking her home at that moment. Even though the sunset is late this time of year, it's not a big deal; it's just my duty.

"Both of their parents have completely come to believe that I'm Mizuto's ex-girlfriend. I don't know where this misunderstanding came from?"

"How dare you say that?"

"But it felt pretty good. It felt so good to be mistaken for someone who had a boyfriend before, I couldn't help but put on a girlfriend-like face for a bit."

"Hey! You're making things worse!"

Why are all the girls around me so mean?

"Well, how should I put it? I can only say..."

He walked across the shadows cast by the setting sun at the eastern end and said.

"Even for me, I really wouldn't want to answer, 'I just got rejected after confessing my feelings, so I never became your girlfriend.'"

"........."

"So what if it doesn't matter? Let me be your girlfriend for a while, even if it's a misunderstanding."

"But she's just an ex-girlfriend," Dongtou murmured to himself, lightly leaping over the shadow of the telephone pole.

Then, with eyes devoid of emotion, it looked up at my face as I walked beside it.

"Mizuto-kun—actually, I'm still a little injured."

“…I see.”

"So please comfort me. As a friend."

"you're right."

We walked together.

However, we won't hold hands.

We were just walking side by side.

This is exactly what she wants right now.

"I'm so glad I met Mizuto."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too."

"Hehehe. It's a mutual agreement."

"yes."

"Since we're both interested, why don't we start dating?"

I think we should forget about it.

"Oh no, I've been dumped again."

"Hehehe—" Dongtou let out a lazy sigh.

The shadow cast by the setting sun seemed to be avoiding her, as if it were wary.

We won't hold hands.

But they still walked together.

Perhaps that is the biggest difference.

--If we hadn't become a couple...

Only now do I realize that this was a meaningless assumption.

Neither I nor that woman could ever do what Higashito Izana did.

"—What's wrong, Mizuto-kun?"

Dongtou quickly turned his head towards me, leaned in, and stared intently into my face and eyes.

She didn't blush, and her gaze didn't wander.

Carefree and without needing to hide anything, look at my face.

I felt a wave of dizziness.

The sunset must have been too dazzling.

"…………Feel sorry."

"Huh! Why are you suddenly apologizing? Well then, just buy me a book."

"Don't demand compensation without understanding the situation."

Sorry, East.

I'm so sorry... Neither I nor we can be like you.

We walked side by side in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Our shadows stretched long forward.

Volume 3: Childhood Friends? Forget it! Higashito Isana's Major Makeover: "Please don't portray me like a female pervert!"

Looking back, it can only be attributed to the mistakes of youth. However, between my second and third years of junior high school, I had what is commonly known as a boyfriend.

A smart person would understand what I'm saying. Given my unparalleled lack of sophistication, it's self-evident that once things have escalated to this point, there's one problem that absolutely needs to be addressed urgently.

That's right.

It refers to clothing and appearance.

Before we started dating, we met several times during summer vacation when we didn't have classes, but since it was at school, we wore our uniforms. Our first date was at a summer festival, so wearing a yukata would have been appropriate. Being the resourceful person I am, I cleverly used this method to postpone dealing with the problem.

But this won't work once you officially start dating.

Although neither of us likes to go out, and we're just two guys who only go to bookstores or libraries on dates, we inevitably go out together on weekends after we become a couple.

holiday.

In other words, you have to wear casual clothes.

I have to reveal my true colors—I am someone with absolutely no sense of style.

I don't even have any friends; I can only rely on magazines and the internet.

Thinking about this and that, muttering to herself, she shamelessly asked her mother for money, mustered up the courage to barge into a clothing store she had never even considered going in, and was startled by the enthusiastic shop assistant who came over to greet her...

And so, I finally got to wear my first ever date-winning outfit.

When I check my appearance in the full-length mirror, it always feels unreal.

I could hardly believe I'd actually dressed up so meticulously; it felt like I was looking at a dress-up doll—perhaps that's why, despite my considerable confidence in my lack of self-confidence, I only felt this way back then:

Very good, quite cute.

That was the first time in my life I'd ever felt this way while looking in the mirror. Because, isn't it true? Only narcissists would think they're cute when they look in the mirror. A woman who thinks she's cute is utterly shameless. I probably would never have felt this way about myself in my entire life—that's what I thought until that moment.

Men of the world, please remember this well.

We girls are not narcissists.

The clothes are cute, but whether I'm cute or not is a different matter.

So, perhaps that moment was the first time I developed a sense of self-awareness as a woman—the feeling of being "cute" after dressing up carefully. It wasn't just about self-evaluation; it was about being able to simply discern whether clothing was fashionable. It wasn't until I started dating that I had the first opportunity to acquire this ability.

If I had to say something, there's only one problem.

That means my taste in clothing has been completely adjusted to "that man's preferences" instead of "the preferences of ordinary men".

I didn't realize this until I got to high school, but let's put that aside for now and get back to the main point.

On the day of the date.

Seeing me, who was dressed in a conventional, knee-length school uniform skirt—in other words, looking completely dowdy—wearing a miniskirt that exposed my thighs, Irito Mizuto ultimately made the following reaction:

Good morning. Let's go then.

Huh?

No reaction? Seeing his girlfriend dressed casually, which is unusual for her? I'm a newbie, and I racked my brains to dress like this! Wait, I'm his girlfriend, right?

I walked beside him, pretending to be calm, while secretly observing his attitude.

After waiting for ages with no sign of them commenting on my casual clothes, I slowly started to feel uneasy.

...Could it actually be quite unsophisticated?

I think she's quite cute, but my feelings aren't always reliable... Irito is very kind, maybe she's just being kind by not mentioning my outdated taste...?

The more I think about it, the more likely it seems.

Because if it weren't for that, the gentle and considerate Irito would never have made such a typical mistake as not praising his girlfriend's outfit—or so he would have! That kind of guy is just naturally prone to making such typical mistakes.

At the time, I had a demonic mindset, believing that all bad things in the world were caused by myself. On one hand, I was frustrated, thinking, "Oh, so this is really corny. Oh, so this is how it is." On the other hand, I still went to bookstores with my boyfriend and chatted in the cafes that also served as cafes, and completed the date in a very stable manner.

Just when the atmosphere was about to end and everyone was ready to go home...

--...Today's clothes...

Suddenly, the man spoke.

—I think it's very cute.

--...Eh...

My slow brain couldn't keep up for a moment.

Why this time? Why say goodbye?

A bunch of questions were popping up in my head, but when I saw him slightly avert his gaze and cover his mouth with his hand, I realized what was going on.

Ah! I understand.

He actually wanted to compliment me, but he was too shy to say it, so the date ended before it was too late.

--Ugh...Aaaaaaaahh ...

My whole back started to itch! Looking back now, what an embarrassing creature I was!

But at the time, I didn't know that I would be so ashamed that I would roll around on the ground in shame; I just felt the same way and trembled all over.

I could deduce his thoughts from his slightest gesture, which made me incredibly happy.

However, the man then added this sentence:

—However, regarding miniskirts…I hope you'll wear them less often in the future.

--Huh...? You...you don't like it...?

—No, no, how should I put it…

In a rude tone, as if feigning indifference and bravado, he said:

-- However, it doesn't matter as long as you're not traveling.

...? I tilted my head, puzzled.