My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Anyway, I've already successfully passed the trouble to him, so let's talk to Yui on the phone ──♪

"Hey, hey—? Yui—? Have you finished your homework—?"

"No, answer me! Did you hear what I said?!"

Who cares about you?

Looking at your blushing face now, it's not funny at all.

Volume 3: Childhood Sweethearts, Forget It (Part 1)

At that time, that guy and I weren't in a boy-girl relationship yet.

If I remember correctly, that was our first and last family trip together. Our two families, which were always on good terms, went to a tourist destination and stayed overnight. It must have been when I was in the lower grades of elementary school—it was such a long time ago, I don't remember exactly where we went.

During the day, I played with that guy, laughing and joking around. Whenever I saw something that interested me, I would ask my parents for it. Perhaps that trip had a sense of atonement for not being able to spend time with us usually. I remember that both sets of parents were more generous with the money than usual.

Then, we stayed at a hotel that night.

That was the first time in my life I had ever stayed in a hotel.

Both sets of parents were probably exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep, but the unfamiliar pillows and blankets—coupled with the first experience—made me excited and I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

--How boring.

Just as I started to think that way...

Something warm and cozy wriggled and snuggled into my blankets.

--Hmm...?

──Shh──!

Xiaoxiao peeked out from under the covers, grinning mischievously as she held up her index finger in front of her lips.

--Small and quiet.

I stared intently at Xiaoxiao's face, which spoke in a manner reminiscent of a school teacher, and she was chuckling.

--What are you doing?

--Just because I have nothing better to do.

--Oh, I see. Me too, I can't sleep either.

—Exactly!

But my parents are already asleep, so I can't play games with the lights on. What should I do?

As I pondered this, an extremely simple idea flashed into my mind.

—I've got it. How about we go outside?

--Huh? Outside? No, no, this won't do...

—I'll be back soon, nothing will happen. They won't find out.

Of course, I was just a child at the time, and my ideas were very naive.

Xiaoxiao is more sensible than me, but at the time I held the reins of our actions, and I managed to persuade Xiaoxiao.

So as not to wake our parents, we tiptoed out of the room, took off our bathrobes, changed into casual clothes, and sneaked out. There was someone at the front desk in the lobby, so we quietly slipped under the counter and went outside.

-- Oh wow...!

Before me lay a world I had never seen before.

It's a nighttime world that you can usually only see from your apartment window.

Every bright, dazzling light on the street filled me with excitement. It was like arriving at a new map in a video game, making me want to explore and discover new places.

When I go to sleep at night, I always think—while I'm asleep, the world is still there, perfectly fine.

What kind of world would it be? What kind of people and things would there be? Why can't I see that world?

The world I've long dreamed of is now unfolding before my eyes.

I was itching to run forward, but someone reached out and gently grabbed my hand.

When I turned around, I saw Xiaoxiao hunching her shoulders, looking lost and confused.

—Are you afraid?

──……………………

--What should we do? Should we go back?

I planned to go back immediately if Xiaoxiao didn't want to. Although I was a hopeless little kid at the time, even though I was young, I had already decided that I would never do anything that Xiaoxiao didn't like.

However, Xiaoxiao gently shook her head.

With Xiaoxiao here... I'm not afraid.

Seeing Xiaoxiao smile so bravely as she said this, I didn't know what to name the feelings lingering in my heart.

And so, our adventure began on unfamiliar streets in the dead of night.

Of course, we couldn't go into any of the shops. The adventure consisted of simply walking around the streets. Even so, it was incredibly fun for us at the time.

One shop owner even gave us some snacks, saying, "Eat this and then hurry back." We also hid from a group of drunkards. We also stopped to enjoy a street musician's performance. We felt like adventurers navigating an unexplored labyrinth.

Later, when I got tired of walking, I used my spare change to buy drinks from a vending machine. We sat together in a corner by the roadside, gazing up at the distant night sky.

—The moon is so beautiful.

--Really?

I don't quite remember if it was a full moon or a crescent moon.

But that was the first time in my life that I felt the moon in the night sky was beautiful.

...But then again, this story does have an ending.

We were immediately advised by the police and then severely scolded by our parents.

Looking back now, I'm so grateful that nothing unexpected happened—that's why it became such a beautiful memory.

This memory ends with this conversation.

Reckless, disregarding the consequences... but a promise still lingers in my heart—

—I hope I can be with Xiaoxiao forever.

—Sure, of course?

As you all know, I broke this agreement.

◆

About a week after the start of summer vacation, around the end of July, during what should have been a long holiday, our school held an event.

A three-day, two-night intensive training program.

It wasn't a school trip or a forest school; it was just an activity where we had to intensive classes in a hotel. The only thing to look forward to was that the hotel, which served as the training location, was quite upscale, and the food was delicious—that's what my senior classmates told me.

Seriously, why do we have to make time to study during summer vacation? That's the unbearable thing about elite schools.

Although I really want to complain like this, let's look at it from another angle—it's a rare opportunity to have an overnight stay away from home. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

"Hey, didn't you get enough sleep, Irito?"

"……Um……"

I met up with Mizuto Irito at the meeting point at the school gate and heard him groan in an unprecedentedly low voice.

"Summer vacation...my sleep schedule is irregular..."

"Oh...you really are the type who can't get up in the morning. I really admire how you manage to get up."

"...I was...forcibly woken up..."

"By your mother?"

"no……"

His dazed eyes, still seemingly struggling against sleep, looked at the schoolgirl talking to her friend a little further away.

Her long, smooth, and lustrous black hair shimmered in the morning sun. That intellectual demeanor, so unlike Irito's at all, so full of energy so early in the morning, was unmistakably Irito Yume herself.

"...Could it be...?"

I quickly checked to make sure no one was watching, then secretly asked Irito:

"(...Every morning, it's Irito-san who wakes you up...?)"

"...not every morning."

Irito answered in a negative tone, but did not completely deny my question.

So you ask her to wake you up occasionally?

So ask her to wake you up occasionally!

I covered my mouth. Such a strong start first thing in the morning! That's practically like a married couple!

"Time's up! Everyone, board the tour bus according to your class!"

Just as I was finally managing to suppress the emotions welling up inside me, the teacher in charge of the group spoke loudly.

Hotels in Kyoto are always fully booked year-round, so the training camp is held by sightseeing bus to another prefecture. I heard the hotel is in Shiga, with a view of Lake Biwa. Lake Biwa is actually the second most popular hiking destination for Kyoto kids (the first is Mount Hiei), so there's nothing particularly surprising about it—

But I got this done before I even set off.

What kind of unexpected events will unfold over the next three days and two nights to attack me...?

As I boarded the tour bus with Irito, I made up my mind again.

During this training camp, I must find an opportunity to give the two members of the Irito family some alone time.

I'm going to create an ambiguous atmosphere for these two guys who are driving me crazy with anxiety.

I mentioned before that the training camp was just about attending classes seriously in a hotel, but I heard that the first-year courses aren't actually that demanding.

The discipline isn't strict, and there's plenty of free time. I heard that there will be exams on the last day for students in second grade and above, but not for first graders. I guess the most important thing is to get the students used to the atmosphere of intensive training.

If I had to point out any inconvenience, it would be that cell phones are temporarily kept by the instructors. It's not that they're prohibited, but rather that they can be brought in and kept by the instructors. Apparently, this is because it's impossible to catch people trying to smuggle them in, and it's also more convenient in case of an emergency.

We arrived at the hotel around noon and immediately went to our assigned room to drop off our luggage. It must have been what they called a lake view; from the window, we could see the entire Biwa Lake, where the water and sky met. As always, there was a huge pond. However, the lakeside would be a great spot at night…

"What should we do next?"

My classmate—Irito, whose complexion had improved after a nap on the tour bus—asked me while pulling a book out of her bag. People who have other forms of entertainment besides their phones and video games really have an advantage in times like these.

"Let's go to the dining room for lunch, and then there should be an information session. Anyway, we don't need to take the book out yet."

"Ugh......"

If I leave this guy alone, he'll probably spend all his free time reading. I need to take the initiative to take him out more often, otherwise, getting the two of us alone is just a pipe dream.

I snatched the book from the disgruntled Irito, put it back in my bag, and left the guest room. The dining room—or rather, the main dining room—I think was on the first floor.

I looked down at the carpet, silent as a shadow, then up at the brilliantly illuminated ceiling lights, and said:

"There's a reason why the tuition is so high. Just how rich is our school?"

"I'm a special student, so I didn't pay a single penny."

"This intimidating tactic is too effective at our school; I advise you to say less about it."

Just as we took the elevator to the first floor, something happened in the blink of an eye...

"Found you! Mizuto-kun!!"

A woman ran over while screaming pitifully and hugged Irito tightly.

"Ouch!" Irito staggered a few steps, but still gently embraced the woman's body.

"Dongtou? What's wrong? You look so sad."

"Waaaaah...! There were so many strangers on the tour bus and in the rooms, it scared me to death..."

"We're in the same class, okay?"

"Mizuto-kun, do you remember what your classmates look like and their names?"

"........."

"See?!"