My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

"(—I heard that today's suggestion was made by Irito-san?)"

A cold smile, utterly incongruous with her small, animal-like appearance, appeared on the corners of her mouth.

"(Thank you so much. It feels like a dream to spend the night alone with Yui! She truly lives up to her name!)" (Note: Yui sounds like "dream" in Japanese.)

...I don't know what she's trying to say to me, but this crazy girl wants to marry me so she can be my best friend. I think I should give her a warning.

"(...Don't do anything weird, Minami-kun.)"

"(Are you jealous of me? I'm so happy! All my efforts to pursue you weren't in vain!)"

"(If you're serious, then you're just incredibly stupid.)"

"(Sure, sure!)"

I'm not praising you, so don't give me that arrogant look.

"Okay, okay, get away from here, get away from here."

Kawaba came over and grabbed Nan, who was approaching me, by the neck like a cat, and pulled her away.

"It's not appropriate for a girl to barge into a man's sanctuary like that. Go pick some flowers over there."

"Wow—the male chauvinism is so obvious. And it's a male-dominated sanctuary, huh? It's totally incompatible with you!"

"Hey, is this really a good idea? The little princess is feeling lonely being left out like this."

I turned my gaze to Jie, who was being ignored, and saw her looking at us with a slightly sullen expression. As soon as she noticed me looking at her, she immediately turned her head away coldly.

Minami broke free from Kawanami's hand and rushed to grab Yui's arm.

"I'm sorry, Yui! I won't neglect you! I won't!"

"No, it's okay, Xiaoyue. I just feel as a family member that my younger brother's lecherous and shameless behavior is embarrassing."

A cold gaze quickly swept over me. What lecherous look? Does that guy have something wrong with his eyes? He'd better see an ophthalmologist.

Minami hugged Yui's arm and turned to Kawanami, saying:

"...Well then, Kawanami, don't bother us, okay? This is a sanctuary for girls."

"I won't go to your house even if you ask me to."

Seeing Kawanami picking his ear and replying dismissively, and then seeing Minami sticking out his tongue and making a face, Yui said timidly:

"...Um, Xiaoyue, I've always been curious...what's your relationship with Kawanami?"

Yes, that's it.

My misjudgment this time was on this point.

I originally thought I could give my dad and Aunt Yu-ren some time alone, and also get away from Yu-no-jo—but I never expected the plan to go wrong.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about it at all?"

Nan, with a beaming smile, casually told her:

"That guy and I just live next door to each other, and we've been playing together since elementary school."

"Isn't that childhood sweethearts?"

Let me just say something.

The location was in the living room of the Kawanami family's house. I heard that his parents were often away from home all day, and it was unlikely they would be home today either. So he said we could take over all the rooms without any restraint, and I accepted his barley tea at the living room table.

Kawanami sat down across from me across the table.

"It's not that exaggerated. We just live next door and have been playing together a lot since elementary school."

"If this isn't what childhood sweethearts are, then what is?! I apologize to all the childhood sweetheart characters in the world!"

"What are you getting so worked up about?"

Kawanami said indifferently, gulping down his barley tea. What's wrong with me? It's like I'm the weirdo. What's so strange about me?

"Childhood sweethearts... Indeed, that's probably what others used to call us..."

"Don't talk like you're the protagonist of a work that established a legend in the past but now lives in seclusion."

"But isn't the term 'childhood sweethearts' used to describe people who still have a good relationship? We were just classmates in elementary school, so it can't be called childhood sweethearts."

"You two seem to have a great relationship."

"That's because I'm just exceptionally good at socializing with that guy. You know, being able to pretend to get along well with someone you don't really get along with—that's what's commonly known as social skills."

This inexplicably plausible argument convinced me. By this definition, my communication skills are zero.

"So that means you two used to have a great relationship, but now you've drifted apart? How cliché."

"Don't call other people's lives cliché. Besides, the emotional distance between me and that guy is now so great that estrangement doesn't even begin to describe it."

"But physical distance means being neighbors?"

"yes."

"This is hell."

"Is that so?"

I can deeply empathize. This man's situation is becoming more and more like mine.

"...But if I remember correctly, didn't you say that you and Nan went to the same cram school in junior high?"

"I'm not lying, okay? We just went to the same cram school in junior high and have been neighbors since elementary school."

It was a narrative trick, after all. Why add a narrative trick to everyday conversation?

"...Okay, I'm not going to pry into your privacy."

"I've decided to press you on this. How's your relationship with Irito going?"

"Please consider this a little, okay?"

Chuanbo revealed a sly, mischievous grin, as if he loved digging into other people's privacy.

"Alright, alright, consider it a favor for the night and a meal. How about satisfying my curiosity?"

"What a ruthless opportunist..."

"I won't just take advantage of people in their distress; I'll also take advantage of them in various ways."

"He's a complete freak."

"So let's be frank, have you seen her breasts? What color are her nipples?"

"Who would tell you! Even if I'd seen it, I'd rather die than tell!"

"Oh—? So you mean Irito-san's breasts, from the physical objects to the information, are all yours alone?"

"Think what you want..."

"Oh—I see—"

Kawabata grinned slyly. The moment I had a bad feeling, he suddenly shouted:

"Irito said, 'Yume's breasts are mine!'"

Suddenly, a series of sounds came from behind, "Bang bang bang!"

...Huh.

Could it be...

I froze, sweating profusely, as I looked at my classmate who was grinning wickedly.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, the walls of this apartment building are very thin."

Why didn't you say so first?

"Bang bang thud bang!" A series of terrifying sounds came from the wall behind me. This was what is known as a "wall slam" (the kind you don't see in romance movies).

"Yui, Yui! Calm down, calm down, calm down! If you keep fighting, either the wall or Yui's hands will reach their limit!"

"Waaaaah...! Waaaaaaahh ...

First, I heard a low growl like a beast, then my phone emitted a series of LINE notification sounds.

<Hentai>

<Hentai>

<Hentai>

<Hentai>

It seems she finds even typing a Chinese character or adding an exclamation mark too slow; her speed is much faster than any random spam message.

I quietly turned off my phone.

Then, I gave the man in front of me, who had been laughing uproariously, a look that was icy cold.

"...Kawaba".

"Ee-ee-ee-hahahahahahahaha!"

"Where is your room, you bastard?"

"Hehehehehehehehe?"

Kawabata's smile froze.

Irito Mizuto refused to swallow his anger.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; the harm done must be repaid tenfold. This is the knowledge I've gained from a lifetime of reading.

"—'My future dream is to be a police officer. I want to become a really good police officer so I can protect Akatsuki.'"

"No, I want to scream 'Aa ...

(Boom! Boom! Crack!)

"Wait... Xiaoyue, stop, stop! *splat!* It made a splat sound!"

I went to Kawanami's room to dig for treasure, and what I unearthed was enough to pile up into a small mountain. This elementary school essay, it seems, was written when he started to like girls, and he unquestioningly wanted Minami to be his "wife." The thought that this essay was read aloud in front of the whole class, even though it had nothing to do with me, still gave me the creeps.

"Kawabata—! Didn't I tell you to throw those things away?! It's all your fault, Yume heard us!"

"What's it to me!"

"It's all your fault for joking around like that, you idiot—!"

"Shut up, you idiot—!"

While bound by electrical wires, Kawanami and Minami exchange insults through the wall.

It's unbelievable that this man, who usually smirks and watches the show with a sly grin, and Nan, whose image is so intensely eccentric, would both go crazy like this.

I smiled maliciously and said to Kawabata, whose hands and feet were bound and who was lying on the floor:

"Kawabata... I think you two actually have a pretty good relationship, right?"

"Didn't the school teach you to do unto others what you wouldn't want done to yourself?!"

"I'll return those words to you verbatim."

As expected of me, I know exactly how to exploit someone's dark past. All that experience of being manipulated by my past self wasn't for nothing. I didn't want such terrifying power... (trembling all over)

"Okay—let's see if we can find something even more fun."

"Is this never going to end?! Irito, you're such a sadist! You put on a goody-two-shoes act, but what's with this bully at heart?!"

I didn't even know I had this side to me. I... I'm actually this kind of person...! (Trembling all over)

I left Kawanami, whom I had tied up, in the living room and stepped into Kawanami's room again.

The bed was piled high with pajamas and other items carelessly tossed aside, the bookshelf contained only comic books, and the game console's power cord was tangled. It was, in short, a typical high school boy's room.

I noticed a laptop on the desk and casually turned it on to take a look. It seemed to have been in sleep mode, and the desktop appeared directly without locking the screen. Hey, that's really careless when you invite someone over.

I originally intended to reveal the name of his H-image folder, but I saw a few words first.

"……journal?"

It's a Word document; it seems he uses a laptop to write a diary. That's really unlike him.

This might be a bit too much of an invasion of privacy… I thought to myself, and for a moment my conscience was stirred, but I changed my mind when I saw the update date. The last update was several months ago.

Haha—looks like he gave up halfway through, huh? That's my guess. I figured he wouldn't write anything too serious if he hadn't been writing for a few days, so I clicked twice.