My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

I sat back and looked up at the east end, which seemed to be stretching out its body as if showing off its huge breasts.

"Wow, that was fast! Have you finished watching it already?"

"I've finished watching it~ It's really good. The only minor drawback is that there are no nude illustrations of beautiful girls."

"They don't have any regular books anymore."

...I remember this guy was reading a touching romance novel, but there wasn't a single tear on his face.

Dongtou is the type who doesn't easily express her emotions. However, it's just that she doesn't easily express them, not that she's emotionally detached. She once stared at the eye-catching illustration of the female lead for a very long time without saying a word or showing any expression.

In this respect, she's the exact opposite of Yui—that girl always has a big "Huh!" on her face when the plot takes a turn in the second half, which sometimes spoils the plot for me.

"Hah—my shoulders are sore. Mizuto, could you please massage my shoulders?"

"No. Why?"

"Having a large bust makes your shoulders sore more easily, didn't you know?"

That's not what I'm asking.

They weren't asking for reasons, but rather what obligation I had to do this.

"Ugh~ My shoulders are so stiff I can't move. I've decided to just stay in Mizuto's bed and die. *thud*—rolling around everywhere."

"Okay, okay, I got it! Okay, okay, don't smear your body odor on my bed!"

I climbed onto the bed and made Dongtou, who was rolling around, sit up. Then I knelt down and went behind her, where she was sitting in a W-shape with her buttocks facing down, and put my hands on her shoulders.

Dongtou turned his head and looked up at me.

"Please... be gentle, okay?"

As I pressed down hard with my finger, Dongtou shuddered and let out a faint sigh.

"Mmm... Ugh! So good... You can do whatever you want to me... Mmm, oh...!"

"...Hey, what are you doing?"

"It's the kind of description that's common in light novels: 'pretending to do something erotic, but actually being perfectly acceptable.'"

"That doesn't work in real life!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Wait... grip strength! I gripped too hard! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"

Just as I was squeezing her hard shoulder muscles, a long-haired woman stood up from the corner of the room.

"My sense of distance has completely gone haywire!"

I thought reading had calmed her down, but her tone of voice was still seriously abnormal.

For some reason, Jie blushed and pointed at us, saying:

"You're lying to me, right?! You're actually dating! She's his current girlfriend, isn't she?!"

"No way! We've always been like this, haven't we, Mizuto-kun?"

"It's probably always been like this. Just friends."

Seeing our bewildered expressions, Jie exclaimed, "Ah! I know...!"

"I get it now! It's because you haven't made many friends that you don't understand the concept of distance in friendship! The mystery is solved!"

"That's so rude. We at least have one or two friends..."

"Yeah, but only one or two friends..."

Then our gaze wandered.

"...Sigh, everyone has their own sense of distance."

"...There are a hundred different kinds of friendships with a hundred different people."

"Stop sticking together in bed before you try to give me excuses!"

Dongtou sighed helplessly, then rested the back of his head against my chest.

"Having a stepsister who's obsessed with her brother must be tough, Mizuto-kun."

Yes, really.

"I am neither a brother in love nor a stepsister!"

"Help me put on my socks—"

Dongtou ignored Jie Nu's protest and stretched out his bare feet toward me.

This was already the norm, so I picked up the socks that were lying on the floor. Then, I lifted Dongtou's heel with one hand, put the socks over her toes, and slid them over the instep.

"...I was wondering before, can't you put on your own socks...?"

"No, it's like this—my breasts are too big, so it's not easy for me to bend over—"

"They keep pulling at her chest! Thank goodness Nan isn't here!"

"Hehe—okay, actually I've just gotten addicted to having Mizuto take care of me."

"I just occasionally turn my socks inside out."

"Eh? Is this true?"

"real."

"You treacherous minister—!"

"It hurts! Don't kick me!"

While I was defending myself from kicks, I helped Dongtou put on her socks, and then she finally got out of bed.

"Could I use the restroom?"

"I thought you were going home. Are you planning to stay here any longer?"

"I was thinking of deciding which books I wanted to borrow before I left."

"...Okay, it doesn't matter. It's the first door on the left after going down the stairs."

"Thank you—"

Dongtou staggered out of the room.

Only the girl and I remained.

For some reason, Jie Nu stared at me intently, her eyes even revealing resentment. I could guess some of the reasons she hated me, but as the saying goes, "Respect the spirits, but keep your distance." I pretended not to notice and opened the book I was reading.

"…………Eh."

Hearing the stiff, grating tone, I glanced over out of the corner of my eye.

Then, the woman was seen pulling down her black knee-high stockings and taking them off herself.

...Huh? What's this guy doing?

Her bare, fair legs were exposed. Ever since I bumped into her after she took a shower, her legs still looked completely toned, much thinner than Dongtou's.

The woman, holding her removed knee-high socks, strode towards me, who was lying on the bed, and then, thud!, plopped down heavily next to me.

Then—she stretched out her bare feet to me.

Just like what Dongtou just did.

"Help me get dressed."

As she spoke, she held up her knee-high socks that she had taken off and placed them in front of me.

Her meaning was so clear that there was no need to be confused, yet her actions were so unexpected and unfunny that I didn't know how to react.

"What are you comparing yourself to others for... Is there anyone as possessive as you?"

"Mind your own business. I just find it quite amusing to treat you like a servant. Help me get dressed!"

What a difficult guy.

If we keep arguing, Dongtou will be back soon. Since that's the case, it would be smart to just do what she says.

I took the black knee-high socks.

Then, just as he had done to Dongtou, he gently lifted Jie Nu's heels with his left hand.

...faint bluish veins appeared on the instep.

Her toenails were meticulously trimmed to a neat, even length. The ones on the east side were always a little long.

I pulled on black socks to cover it all up.

Once your toes touch the front of the sock, pull the excess fabric stuck at your ankle up to your calf.

Beautiful calves with not a single pore, and slender calves with very little excess fat, were gradually covered by black stockings.

Just as I reached for the elastic band on my socks, I thought, "Oh no."

Dongtou always wore long socks that only reached her calves.

These are over-the-knee socks—they reach above the knee.

In other words, when I put on her socks, my hand would be closer to her groin than when I put them on Dongtou...

I secretly glanced up at Jie Nu's face and saw that her complexion was as red as a rose as she gazed at my hand.

You only just realized it now, huh?

For this guy, it must have been the greatest violation of his private parts in his entire life. I thought I would stop as soon as she told me to, so I paused for a few seconds.

But she didn't tell me to stop, and remained silent.

So I kept quiet and just kept doing what I was doing, as if I hadn't noticed anything.

Black fabric covered her fair knees.

I slowly and cautiously moved my hand, which was holding the sock, upwards.

Then I saw the woman's hand gripping the bed sheet tightly.

There can't be any accidents... I absolutely mustn't touch her.

With a focus comparable to that of a heart surgeon, I moved my fingertips carefully.

Finally, all the wrinkles in the socks were smoothed out.

The black fabric covered her from toes to thighs completely, leaving no room for airflow.

I took a breath... and released my fingers from the elastic band.

Just then, my fingertips gently sank into the tender flesh on the inside of the woman's thigh.

"—Eeya!"

Suddenly, the girl let out a strange cry and trembled.

I was startled and looked up to see that the guy, his face flushed, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly covered his mouth.

"...N-nothing..."

I think so too. It would be terrible if something happened.

I looked down at my hands.

It's only natural to assume that socks are always worn in pairs.

"...What about the other one?"

I spoke in a low voice, afraid someone would hear, and Jie Nu whispered back:

"…………Um."

Then, it stretched out its bare feet to me.

Well, that's true. She said it's nothing.

My heart remained calm as I slipped the other knee-high sock over Jie's foot—

Buzz buzz buzz! My phone vibrated.

Both Jie and I were startled and our shoulders jerked as we looked at the desk where my phone was.

Buzz buzz buzz! Buzz buzz buzz! My phone vibrates intermittently. What's wrong? What notification is it?

I looked into the woman's eyes.