My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 9

After finishing her speech calmly, Jie Nu went upstairs.

...Tsk. Why should I have to put up with her smug face for something like this?

I'd like to ask her, what reason do I have to feel lonely?

After being completely baffled, the next morning arrived.

"Irito! Which junior high school did you attend?"

"...It's nothing, just a regular public school."

"What do you usually like to do? Do you play video games?"

"I don't play video games much..."

"How did you do on the entrance exam? After all, he's Irito's brother, he must be very smart, right?"

I think I did pretty well on the test...

Why.

Why am I the one being surrounded now?

This is truly bizarre. I simply came to school as usual this morning, and suddenly everything turned out like this—not only that, but the fact that Jie and I are step-siblings has already spread. Could that girl have blabbered at some family reunion? Although it was only a matter of time before everyone found out…

I've probably never been surrounded by so many people since my mother gave birth to me in the delivery room. And the number of men surrounding me now seems to be far greater than the number of obstetric nurses or doctors I encountered back then.

The barrage of questions almost made me dizzy. How could that woman handle such a near-torture situation so skillfully? Was she a trained spy?

Just as I was getting to the point of exhaustion, Yui, who was at a different school time than me, entered the classroom—as she greeted the other girls, she subtly raised an eyebrow when she saw me surrounded.

Then, she put her backpack on the seat behind me and sat down...

--Bang!

She kicked my chair.

why.

This is exactly what they mean by misfortunes never coming singly.

Perhaps because it's a prestigious school, they weren't holding back on the very first day. There were six classes in a single day, and the content wasn't just a course introduction. However, compared to the almost torture-like interrogation, this was like heaven. Attending class was the best part.

As soon as lunch break started, I would immediately slip out of the classroom and run away.

When class was about to start, I learned that more than half of the interrogators were from other classes—so it would take some time for them to gather. This gap was the opportunity.

I locked myself in the toilet stall to avoid the commotion. The toilet was clean and Western-style, more comfortable than I had imagined. It was a very private place.

Seriously, but then again, how did I suddenly become a celebrity? -- It wasn't a tweet that was reported by online news, so what made me so popular?

If I had to point out anything, it would probably be that Irito Yume and I are step-siblings.

Are you going again at noon?

"Go for it! I absolutely have to become friends with her."

Suddenly, a sound came from outside the toilet.

So it turns out it's not just girls who chat in the bathroom. That really surprised me.

"That girl—she's gorgeous. And she topped the entrance exam! She's practically a goddess of academic excellence!"

"You're absolutely right. I fell in love with her at first sight when I saw the photo she forwarded on LINE."

Top of the entrance exam? ...Are they talking about that woman?

They actually said that woman was pretty... You guys should go see an ophthalmologist, right?

"So you're just clinging to her stepson? Why don't you just go see her directly?"

"She'd definitely find me annoying. In that respect, wouldn't it be more natural to meet her through my brother?"

...Huh?

"A lot of people think the same way you do."

"But her younger brother seems pretty gloomy. We can't really have a conversation."

"It's probably because you're too annoying, isn't it?"

"Ah! You're so ruthless~ Hahahaha—"

...Oh, now the mystery is solved.

In other words, I was just a stepping stone for them to get close to Jie Nu with ulterior motives.

Oh, I see?

I walked out of the toilet room.

“Wow!”

"You scared me..."

Ignoring the surprised boys, I left the men's restroom.

"...Huh? Who was that person just now...?"

“Ah—”

As soon as they entered the corridor, several boys gathered around them.

Or rather, they came to curry favor with me.

Faced with these guys who were eager to talk to me, I replied casually without thinking.

—If someone comes to me purely to be friends, I'll be more likely to spend time with them.

But if that's not the case—then it's not even worth letting me escape.

That evening—after dinner, as I was washing my own dishes in the kitchen, Jie Nu seemed to have finished eating as well and came to stand beside me.

For a while, all that could be heard was the sound of rushing water—the woman whispered softly:

"...Aren't you angry?"

"What's bothering you?"

When I asked her a question, Jie Nu frowned, looking quite anxious.

"You're asking a question you already know the answer to."

"You mean those guys crowding around me?"

"right."

As expected of a girl, she's really well-informed.

"They...don't even respect you."

"I think so."

"They didn't dare to talk to me directly, so they tried to approach me from the perspective of someone who seems like a well-behaved person... But when their plan failed, they started talking nonsense... I really dislike those kinds of people."

"I don't care what you think. Just ignore that kind of person. Trying to catch the moon's reflection in the sea, or a blind man lighting a lamp. As a student at a prestigious school, you should at least know these idioms."

"But then, wouldn't that mean you...!"

Jie Nu spoke in a firm tone, but stopped halfway through her sentence.

The hands that were washing dishes had stopped at some point.

I also stopped washing the dishes.

The water from the tap kept flowing.

"...How am I?"

I calmly countered with a question.

For a long time, Jie Nu neither spoke nor washed the dishes. Not long after, she resumed using a dishcloth to wash the dishes.

"…………nothing."

the next day.

On the morning of my third day of high school—Yesterday, my daughter and I had agreed to stagger our school times, but only one day after signing the contract, she broke her promise.

"Let's go to school together today, Mizuto-kun."

How disgusting!

Her gentle tone made me reflexively think that way, but she brought it up in front of my parents while we were having breakfast, so I couldn't be indifferent.

"You two have such a great relationship~"

"Haha, let him teach you how to treat girls, Mizuto."

Jie was all smiles. It was obvious she knew I couldn't refuse, which is why she made that suggestion to my parents.

What does she mean?

My questioning gaze was met with a flawless smile.

I had no choice but to reluctantly walk out of the house with her.

As I walked to school, I glared at Yui with suspicion, but she seemed completely unfazed. What on earth was she thinking...?

I felt uneasy the whole way as I walked until I was only fifty meters from the school gate. There were more and more students about to go to school nearby.

...I remember we parted ways around here before.

I don't know what she was up to by suggesting going to school together, but surely she wouldn't suggest holding hands and walking into the classroom together, so here it is—

At that moment, my thinking came to a standstill.

Why, you ask?

That's what I was thinking of asking.

Why did this woman so naturally wrap her arm around mine?

"Huh? Wait, wait...!"

"Okay, that's enough."

After speaking in a soft, murmuring voice, the woman took my arm and walked ahead on her own. I could only let her drag me along.

We can feel everyone watching us. Of course, because the freshman representative, who's always the center of attention, was walking arm-in-arm with a boy on the street first thing in the morning!

Seriously, what is this woman thinking?! She's deliberately showing off to everyone, something she never did even when they were dating!

What was terrifying was that Yui clung to my arm as we passed through the school gate—there were, of course, many more students on campus, making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. Even if it wasn't us, any boy or girl walking to school arm in arm would definitely attract attention!

"Hey, isn't this Mizuto-kun?!" "Shall we...go together... today too?"

Just like yesterday, several boys who wanted to pursue Jie-nu surrounded her—then suddenly stopped.

No wonder they did it.

Because the beautiful woman they wanted to get close to became unusually close to me, who was originally just a stepping stone.

The girl hooked her arm around mine and tightened her grip, bringing our bodies even closer—oh no! I touched her arm! It's so soft, you idiot! What's a short, stocky girl like you doing with such a well-developed figure!

"Sorry?"

The girl had a charming smile, a beautiful smile that could captivate anyone who wasn't looking. Several boys were completely mesmerized.

"As you can see, I'm talking to Mizuto—could you please not interrupt?"

Several boys stared in disbelief, their fingers moving back and forth between me and the girl.

"Irito, classmate...?" "W-This is..." "You two are...brothers and sisters, right!"

"yes."

At that very moment, the girl's smile reached its cold and aloof peak.

"Sorry, I just have a thing for my younger brother."

I froze on the spot.

Several boys automatically shut down their phones.

The atmosphere of onlookers quickly heated up.

"Well then, that's settled."