My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

My ears could barely pick up… Irito's subsequent reply:

"...If you had said so earlier, none of this would have happened!"

Ah!!

The bottom that was about to stand up sat back down.

I lay down on the table.

I was busy dealing with the surging emotions raging inside my body, and I couldn't care less about anything else.

He finally apologized! Just when I'd completely forgotten about it! Wow! That's amazing!!

"...That's really awful."

Hearing the icy voice, like a bucket of cold water being poured over me, I looked up.

I saw Nan Xiaoyue glancing at me with a cold look.

Huh? Stop bothering me! I'm not talking to you right now!

I wanted to tell her directly, but Xiaoyue quickly looked away before I could speak, touching the ends of her ponytail with her fingers.

"However... I should say, I feel a little guilty for making you take sick leave during the fifth period..."

She pulled the ponytail she had touched to her mouth.

(Illustration 009)

"(Just now, I might have gone a little... too far.)"

She didn't let anyone see her lip movements; only I could hear her murmurs.

His usual silver tongue suddenly stopped moving.

By this time, Xiaoyue had already hurriedly walked away.

I could only instinctively watch her retreating figure as she walked away, like a dog chasing its own tail.

—At this point, we have no feelings left that allow us to reconcile.

Because now we wouldn't argue even if we ate each other's pudding without permission, and probably wouldn't even feel guilty—it's become second nature to us. We've lost that part, but the two from the Irito family haven't.

Oh, I see.

In other words, it still makes sense in the end.

Even if you don't find happiness in the end... it's not without meaning.

Because──

"...I'm the one who should apologize, you idiot."

We have all learned to reflect.

Volume 3: Childhood Sweethearts, Forget It. The former childhood sweetheart is unbearably lonely. "...I don't need you anymore."

This is a chilling fact: during my third year of junior high school, I had a so-called boyfriend.

The other person is my childhood friend whom I've known since I was old enough to understand things—you could really say we're like brothers, someone who's always been by my side without a second thought.

I want to ask everyone, have you ever been infatuated with an older brother? Have you ever had a crush on a younger brother?

Well, of course there are people like that in this world, but if we're really talking about it, there are probably more people who become their first love from relatives they only see occasionally—that's right, most people have a crush on someone they only see occasionally, rather than someone they're with every day.

So for me, that guy would never be a romantic partner.

—Until that moment.

There used to be a term called "key children".

It refers to children who carry house keys but come home from school to find no one home.

It's normal for kids to carry house keys these days, and it's also normal for no one to be home. But in the past, this was a minority, and we needed to use this term to distinguish it.

When I was in elementary school, I opened the door myself as usual and walked into the entrance hall of my home.

There's no need to say "I'm back".

Since no one will hear it, there's no need to say anything.

They didn't even say "goodbye" today.

Since no friends will hear, there's no need to say anything.

I have to confess, I'm the type of person who's quite dependent.

I become very clingy whenever I get close to someone, and I can't do anything without them. If they keep even a little distance from me, I get anxious and become a bothersome pest. Just like last time, I accidentally did the same thing to Yui.

At that time, I lacked this self-awareness and didn't know how to restrain myself... so everyone kept their distance from me—I didn't even have any friends to walk home with after school.

I put my backpack on the living room sofa, glanced at the dining table, and saw a note that read, "Dinner's in the fridge." I opened the fridge and saw a pile of frozen food beckoning to me. Just like always, I could eat whatever I wanted.

I have never thought this kind of life is pathetic.

I've gotten used to it for a long time, and I've always thought that's how it's always been.

But... sometimes...

Which one should I eat today?

I would mutter to myself, but I received no response... Sometimes it made me lose control of my emotions and I felt like crying.

I plopped down on the sofa, picked up the tablet that was always on the living room table, and opened a video website. Watching the new videos on my subscribed channels, I kicked my legs up and down and laughed out loud.

This is my daily life after school.

──……Disturbed──

Sorry to bother you!

Just then, I heard the lively sounds from my neighbors next door.

It's Xiaoxiao's home.

Little Xiao is adorable and has many friends, so he often brings them home to play. His parents rarely come home, but the house has Wi-Fi and lots of electronic toys, making it the perfect gathering place for boys.

That guy and I didn't drift apart at that point. During this period, we were already having dinner together normally... it's just that he's a naturally cheerful person, the kind of annoying guy with a hundred friends, so we spent less time together.

I just feel that maybe there's nothing we can do about it.

Because that guy seemed to be having a lot of fun with his new friends—besides, I don't want Xiaoxiao to find me annoying like her other friends do.

Wouldn't it be fun if I invited lots of friends over to my house, just like Xiaoxiao?

I wasn't really sure, so I just imagined it. I'm terrible at reading people and tend to make things awkward; I might even be happier being alone. Like now, watching videos of cats uploaded by others multiple times—if I'm watching alone, no one will think I'm weird.

—Kawabata, are you dating Minami?—

It happened suddenly.

A loud, sarcastic remark came from the other side of the wall, and my heart skipped a beat.

That's probably the right age.

After learning some knowledge, I started to become precocious and mischievous, even making a fuss when boys and girls were together; that's probably when I entered that phase.

Xiaoxiao hasn't changed the distance between us, so she was bound to be asked this question sooner or later. Or maybe I just didn't hear it before; in fact, Xiaoxiao has been asked this several times already.

I became curious and wanted to know how he would answer.

I'm not Xiaoxiao's girlfriend. Even if it's just a joke, it bothers me a lot when people say things like that. Because Xiaoxiao is so popular, people might think I'm getting arrogant and start bullying me...

Looking back now, I realize how shallow I was.

I only think of myself. I only care about whether it's convenient for me.

Unlike Xiaoxiao—who genuinely cared for me.

--Huh--? I told you it wasn't like that.

That guy is way more interesting than my girlfriend.

The moment I heard it, my whole body froze.

I became unable to think; all I could hear was the frantic pounding of my heart.

—Isn't that just liking someone?

—I told you it wasn't! Don't compare her to that kind of boring stuff!

All those sounds drifted away directly from the other ear.

The film has somehow become content I haven't seen before.

The tablet fell to the floor.

I didn't even pick it up, and staggered to my room—

Bang! She collapsed onto the bed.

──～～～～～～～！ ！

I hugged the pillow to my chest and kicked my legs up and down.

My face felt like it was burning from running, my chest was pounding incessantly, and I had a high fever churning inside me; I had absolutely no idea how to cure them.

He'll definitely be ridiculed and annoyed. Even if he lies and tries to evade the issue, I can't complain.

Xiao Xiao still insisted that I was better than her girlfriend.

Maybe it was just a momentary retort, or maybe it was something said without thinking. Thinking about it carefully, I don't really understand what it meant. What does it mean to say I'm more interesting than my girlfriend?

...But... But even so.

At that moment, I was so happy, so happy, so happy that I was hopelessly infatuated and my mind went completely crazy.

Ah... I understand.

Around this time, a crucial part of my brain probably broke down.

Oh no, this is terrible, this is terrible.

-- If you're this small, you'll never get a girlfriend.

—It's all my fault. He's so pitiful…

-- Ah, yes.

—If Xiaoxiao ever wants to have a girlfriend…

—At that time, I'll be his girlfriend.

And so, the seeds of hell were sown.

◆

"Ughh ...

Summer vacation is here.

So I lay on my bed in my room, rolling around with my pillow.

"Yume～～～～～～～"

I wasn't worried about anything before.

I was being too optimistic. I thought that even if school was on holiday, as long as I made plans to go out, I could meet up with Yui anytime.

However, Yui was much more serious than I had imagined.

She said she wanted to finish her homework as soon as possible, so she didn't plan to go out or play at all in July.

Although I like her personality, it has left me feeling empty and alone, and I've fallen into a state of loneliness.

At times like this, I feel a deep resentment towards Irito, who lives under the same roof as her. I'm not kidding. Because I hate her so much, I've decided to bother her relentlessly on LINE today, just like always. I'm poking and poking. Even though I haven't received a read reply, I won't give up.

I spent the morning like that, but around noon, the doorbell rang.

It's not the apartment entrance, it's my doorbell. The apartment building's main door locks automatically, so it must be a neighbor living on the same floor. Honestly, I'm too lazy to answer the door, but since I'm responsible for looking after the place, it wouldn't be right to completely ignore it.

"Here it comes—"

I stepped over the clothes I had carelessly tossed aside and walked toward the entrance. Without even looking at the door, I opened it with a click.

A neighbor was standing outside the door.

And he's the neighbor I know best, and the one I least want to see.