My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 93

"Who would organize a social gathering during training camp?!"

Maki let out a strange giggle, while Nasuka tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"It's called a punishment game, but why does the way it's called sound a bit intimate to me?"

"Yes, yes. I would say that besides the way she addressed me, she also seemed gentler than usual."

"Ugh—so annoying—! I only spoke so softly because I didn't want to be interrogated like this! Why are your ears so sensitive?!"

"I think you two are a good match."

"I agree—although Kawanami seems frivolous, Yueyue should be able to keep him in check."

"Maybe Nan-mei will actually act quite affectionate when she's alone with him?"

"Ah—maybe! That would be so cute!"

Faced with the two people laughing and joking as they enthusiastically shared their delusions, I covered my ears.

Does she give off a gentle vibe? Is she affectionate and prone to acting cute?

That kind of thing never happened. That version of me died a long time ago.

How could simply restoring the old name bring the dead back to life... It would be best if such a thing happened.

◆ Kawamura Kogure ◆

"...I'm exhausted."

I've already exhausted all my energy after just finishing my morning classes.

Damn it, I was trying to make sure no one else could hear, but everyone's ears are only really sharp at times like this. Do you guys really love hearing people call each other by nicknames?!

I'm definitely eating lunch alone. It's a shame I can't see what happens to the Irito family, but I absolutely don't want to be forced to sit at the same table with them like I did this morning. If someone saw us eating together so affectionately in this situation, the consequences would be unimaginable…!

Unlike breakfast, which is a buffet with all-you-can-eat service, lunch is arranged by seat number. I'm "Ka" and that guy is "Mi," so normally we shouldn't sit together—normally speaking.

"...What are you doing here?"

"........."

When I saw the petite woman sit down opposite me, I glared at her fiercely.

Xiaoyue turned her face away unhappily, remaining silent with a sour expression... It seemed it wasn't her choice.

I looked toward the woman's original seat, where the girl with the seat number one in front of mine was sitting, with a sly grin on her face.

...I see. It seems the news spread faster than I thought.

As I sat down in the chair, I gently tapped the table twice to get Xiaoyue's attention.

"(Hey, this is bad. If we don't handle this well, the trouble might continue even after the training camp ends.)"

"(Because you and I rarely become the kind of people we can tease. Maybe we want to take this opportunity to recoup our losses...)"

"(Although we can also hope that everyone will forget about it after summer vacation...)"

"(Boys might forget, but girls will definitely remember, that's for sure.)"

"(I think the only way is to finish it all now.)"

"(Ugh—this is so annoying, I've really been messed up...!)"

Xiaoyue took a deep breath and put on an expression of mental preparation.

I also made up my mind to force my body to obey.

—Everything that follows is just a joke. Don't get me wrong.

Then, as lunch began, the anticipated situation immediately unfolded.

"Huh? Nan-kun, why don't you tell Xiao-xiao 'I'll feed you'?"

The girl's words were clearly spoken in a joking tone. I think she meant no harm; she just took the joke too far. Now, if Xiaoyue shows any shyness, everyone will find it even funnier and continue teasing her. Or perhaps this will become a "classic joke" that they can continue to use to tease her in the next semester.

I would rather die than encounter that situation.

I will put an end to this laughingstock today, at this very moment.

Therefore—I'm willing to make some sacrifices.

They say you shouldn't be ashamed when you're out and about!

"—Come here, little one! Ah~♥"

"Ah~"

Xiaoyue extended the spoon without hesitation, and I took it into my mouth without hesitation as well.

Both of them wore smiles and used cloyingly sweet tones to recreate memories they never wanted to recall in the most realistic way.

(Illustration 011)

When the others around us saw us doing this, they all started to cheer us on, saying things like "Oh oh!" and "Whoosh~ Whoosh~!" Very good, very good, it worked well.

"How is it, Little One? Is it delicious?"

"Hmm—your cooking is better!"

"Ugh, you've never even tried it before!"

“Ah!”

She stomped hard on my foot under the table with lightning speed, eliciting laughter from those around me. Ouch! That woman was serious!

Being coy and shy, or acting awkward and uncomfortable, will only backfire.

Since that's the case, I'll just play along with you guys on purpose.

Don't let it accidentally become real. Treat it as a joke and have a one-time, one-time event. Once you've had your laugh, that's it!

"Here, Xiaoxiao, have this. Ah~"

"Huh? I might not be able to do this~♪"

"Why?!"

"Because you have a strong smell, little one~♪"

"Don't try to take any chances to secretly insult me!"

Throughout our lunch break, we kept the audience laughing non-stop with our silly couple jokes.

It's probably thanks to this.

So we didn't realize that neither of us rejected the spoon being put into the other's mouth, and we naturally just took it and ate.

"I really underestimated you."

After lunch, just as I was about to go to the restroom, Irito came over and said this to me with a blank expression.

"I never expected you to use such a clever method to achieve so much with such ease. This is the first time I've ever truly admired you."

"...Hmph! That's why I said before, we're both social butterflies, understand?"

"You seem to have said something like, 'The ability to pretend to get along well with people you don't get along with is what's commonly known as social skills.'"

He remembers it so clearly. He remembers me saying it when he came to stay overnight.

"We didn't expect things to get out like this—we were worried, but it seems I was just being overly anxious."

"Yes. We're not as innocent as that other couple, who are so coy and make others anxious. I'm sorry to disappoint you."

Upon hearing this, Irito inexplicably curled the corners of her lips into a snort of laughter.

"Indeed, although it was a joke, perhaps only you two could flirt like that in front of everyone without feeling embarrassed."

"That's what I mean."

I casually hid my arms behind my back.

"Sorry, are you done talking? Actually, my bladder is about to burst."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I meant all aspects."

I said goodbye to Irito and rushed into the men's restroom.

After making sure no one else was around, I walked toward the urinals lined up against the wall—of course not.

I turned on the faucet on the sink, scooped up water with both hands, and splashed it on my face.

"...Damn it. It was just a joke..."

It was just a joke, a playful prank. Purely fictional, a made-up lie. It contained absolutely no emotion.

but……

Then explain to me clearly these hives that have sprouted on your arms, Kawanami Kogure—?

Why are humans so unfree? The mind is perfectly clear, and the truth has been told to oneself countless times, yet it's merely a re-enactment of the past, and the past self automatically resurfaces.

Those past events should have been put to rest, long since just useless memories. I know that's what I think, but they just won't disappear from my mind—by comparison, that guy's expression is really calm.

It seems like people say... boys save a new file, while girls overwrite existing files?

In other words, my file has completely disappeared... How enviable!

◆ Nan Xiaoyue ◆

"Aa ...

So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing! So embarrassing!

I rushed into the empty guest room and rolled around on the bed.

In front of everyone, like that…! Me feeding you, and you all acting all cutesy and whiny, waaaaaah! No, no, no! I've said goodbye to that version of myself! I don't want to think about it anymore!

Kill me...! And pretend that beg I just gave you never happened... Ugh, it was so hard to get through high school...

To be honest, I was rolling around in agony like that, so why was he still so calm? Isn't that a bit too cunning? I didn't even get hives! Does that mean no matter how much I flirted with him, he was completely oblivious? ...He used to blush no matter what I did...!

Just as I was furiously biting my pillow to vent my anger, the guest room door clicked open.

"Xiaoyue...? Great, I've finally found you..."

"Ah... Yui-Yui-onna?"

Upon seeing that head of long, black hair swaying gently, I quickly got up and hid the pillow I had been chewing on behind my back.

Jie Nu looked apologetic, her eyes drifting downwards.

"Um... I'm sorry. I really didn't expect things to escalate this much..."

"Huh? Ah, ah... It's okay, it's okay! This is normal, it's normal!"

"Yeah……?"

Actually, Yui could have laughed at me like she did this morning; she's such a good girl. Ah—I like her so much, I want to be with her forever. All my anger towards Xiaoxiao has been purified by Yui's cuteness—…

"Yeah, it would be weird to stop now. I plan to continue like this during the training camp. Anyway, I'm already used to playing different roles! Besides, it should be a win for Xiaoxiao, right? Haha!"

"...Little one?"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"No... I just felt that since he wasn't here, why was I still calling him that?"

"…………ah."

There was a blunder.

"........."

"Wait, wait, Yui, don't smirk! I just let it slip..."

"Yeah, right—hehe. You just accidentally let it slip—hehehehe! You, you really used to call him that…! Hmm heh heh heh heh!"

"Huh...!"

How did she know that? It's a name she used before...

While covering her mouth with her fist to suppress a laugh, Jie said:

"Because as soon as I asked you to 'call each other by nicknames,' you naturally started calling each other 'Xiaoxiao' and 'Xiaoxiao'—we haven't even specified how to address each other yet! Hahaha!"

...One wrong step can lead to eternal regret...!

I pressed my face against the pillow and felt Jie Nu walk to the bedside.