My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 99

"This is just my own wild guess, take it with a grain of salt. It didn't rain last night, right? That means you guys probably fell into the water by yourselves, right? Like... I see, you fell into the lake or something. There aren't many streetlights along the shore of Lake Biwa, it's quite dark. You were looking for the east end around there, and you accidentally slipped—"

It was Yui who slipped; I just wanted to grab her. As a result, I got dragged into the water too, and that's how it happened.

"Last night, Irito-san was wearing white clothes, right? You know, white clothes become very transparent when they get wet."

—The wet clothes clung to her skin, revealing colors that should have been concealed. The moonlight illuminated flesh tones and blue hues. It was clearly a simple, minimally adorned style she wore normally. Her cheeks were wet with hair, and following my gaze to her chest, she instantly blushed crimson, a blush visible even in the darkness, and reached up to cover her breasts…

"Of course, she couldn't just go back to the hotel where someone was watching. So she had to find a place to take off her clothes and wring them out—"

"Have you said enough?"

"Ugh!"

I nudged the man sitting next to me in the side with my elbow. This isn't just a ROM review anymore; you've brought up parts I didn't even see.

—You absolutely must not look this way…

It's infuriating. They talk as if Kawabata knows us better than we do.

The observer and the observed—sometimes the observer imposes their own desires on the observed, but the observed sometimes also deceives themselves. There is always a gap between the ideal self and the real self, so we cannot discover our true nature on our own.

Humans have two eyes because it is impossible to accurately perceive the shape of an object with only one eye.

Therefore, to truly grasp the shape of the mind, perhaps two eyes are also needed. Values, prejudices, desires—each person has only one heart, but needs two eyes to see it.

But what if the self I discover in this way doesn't match my own desires—would I want to make a change?

...A stupid person can't come up with a good idea.

When that time comes, I'll choose the one that looks more interesting.

Volume 3: Childhood Sweethearts - Let's Forget It (Afterword) - Realistic Character Creation

This is a true story from my middle school days. There was a really funny boy in my class. He was part of a small, noticeable group, and although he wasn't the leader, he was always making everyone laugh. He was probably the type who was most likely to be the target of pranks. Compared to me, who had already become a light novel otaku, he seemed much more comfortable in the school environment.

However, one day, that classmate suddenly stopped coming to school.

According to the homeroom teacher, the reason was that "he no longer wanted to pretend to be that kind of person"—looking back now, it seems a bit insensitive and leaves one speechless that the teacher explained his reasons for refusing to go to school so bluntly to the whole class. But putting that aside for now, what impressed me most was the reaction of the classmates when they heard about it.

Everyone was stunned.

None of his former classmates, who used to laugh and joke around with him, understood his feelings at all. Although everyone was playing a role to some extent, they seemed neither pained nor aware of it. And among them, only he was reluctantly going along with everyone else. This was probably because everyone else expected him to play that role.

In this way, humans are creatures who play certain roles in response to their surroundings or expectations. Some people suffer from this, while others are completely unaware of it; some see it as growth, while others see it as submission, but in short, no one can escape the observational effects of others' gaze.

I think that casting Kawanami Kogure, who claims to be an expert on romance ROMs, as the protagonist in this role is absolutely necessary to address this theme. Putting aside the fact that this guy loves to give advice and isn't really an expert on ROMs at all... I think it's essential to understand how others' perspectives can strongly influence the actions of those involved in order to accurately grasp the current situation between Mizuto and Yume.

They are brothers and sisters in the eyes of their families, but on the other hand, they regard each other as former lovers. How will these two establish their roles? Starting from the next episode, I intend to return to the original intention and gradually focus on the relationship between Mizuto and Yume.

Sincere thanks to the editor, illustrator TakayaKi, everyone involved in the production of this book, and you for your support.

The above is a summary of "My Stepmother's Burden is My Ex-Girlfriend (3) Childhood Sweethearts, Let's Forget It". I usually write what I want to say in reverse, and in a very obvious place.

Volume 3 Childhood Sweethearts - Let's Forget About It (Illustration)

Volume 4: First Kiss Declares War - Daily Life of a Future Couple - Nighttime Phone Call

Taiwanese version from Angel Anime Forum

Light Bookshelf × Angel Anime Entry Team

Image source: Hai

Input: kid

"...Sigh..."

That happened during the summer vacation of my second year of junior high school.

After dinner, I returned to my room, lay down on the bed, and sighed.

What came to mind was my first date, which I had just experienced a few days ago.

At that time, I put on a yukata and went to the festival with my classmate Irito.

It sounds simple, but it doesn't feel real to me at all.

Because, because, it's only been about ten days since we started having real conversations.

I'm going on a date and going to a festival so soon? What's wrong with my life? Am I going to win the championship again? Is this what they call winning the championship again?

Moreover, and—

"...Ugh..."

My mouth, buried in the pillow, let out a laugh that even I found disgusting.

Irito found me, who was not only lost but also talking depressingly into my phone.

My mind was full of negative thoughts, and I felt that he would definitely hate me for being like this, but he said, "It's okay to cause me as much trouble as you want."

Sigh... I like him so much!

I like him so much, so much, so much! I like him so much～～～～～～!

I kept swinging my legs on the bed.

It turns out that a person can change like this in such a short period of time.

Not long ago, I even considered him a formidable rival, and perhaps even harbored hostility towards him.

Now, whenever I think of Irito, my heart races, I feel lightheaded, and I can't concentrate on anything.

I really want to see him soon... I really want to talk to him.

I believe it should only last until tomorrow.

He said he had something to do until tomorrow and couldn't go to the library.

So I'll be able to see him again the day after tomorrow...

I pressed my cheek against the pillow and saw the smartphone next to it.

...Oh, right.

We've already exchanged phone numbers, so we can talk anytime we want...

Is...is it alright? Will it cause him any trouble?

It's so late... Will he find me annoying?

No, it shouldn't be a problem... What I did on our festival date was way more annoying than this. He forgave me then, and now it's just a phone call at night...

I hesitated for a moment as I reached for my phone.

It happened at exactly this moment.

The phone rang before my fingers even touched it.

"Wow!"

The ringtone that was playing was the original factory ringtone, with no settings changed.

I quickly grabbed my phone to see who was calling.

"I...Irito-san...!"

Why, why, why! Is it telepathy?!

Just when I wanted to talk to him, he actually called me first...!

Consecutive wins... It's definitely a winning streak... I've entered a mode where God will grant my every wish... I'm really afraid I'll have to pay a heavy price in the future...

Anyway, I have to answer the phone…! If I'm any slower, he'll hang up!

"Hey!...It's me~..."

I got too excited and shouted too loudly the first time.

But when the volume is adjusted, it becomes somewhat like scaring someone out of bed.

I'm still the same; the volume control function of my voice is completely broken... utterly useless!

"……Hello?"

Irito's voice doesn't sound very good. Is it due to poor reception?

"Is it... convenient to talk now?"

"Fun... convenient...! I'm perfectly free! I'm very idle!"

That seems a bit too much. Calm down!

To hide my nervousness, I continued the conversation:

"W-What's wrong? Is there something you need from me...?"

"Nothing...nothing special."

"Oh, I see...?"

"Um... I just want to talk to Ayai."

"Eek!"

My heart was pounding so hard that I let out a strange scream.

Talk to me, me, me, me, talk to me? Huh, what does that mean? What does that mean?

"Um... me too..."

Don't be so cowardly, just step on the gas!

"I... also wanted to talk to Irito-san."

I said it! I said it! That's great! I'm so great!

"Oh, I see... That's perfect then."

"That's right! ...Hehe..."

I could hear Irito's voice and breathing coming from beside me.

It was nighttime, and I was at home.

Can something this wonderful really happen to me...?

Later, we chatted about random things.

We chatted about the books we'd been reading recently, and information about new releases at the library. We both have very small social circles, so we could only talk about novels, but we still had plenty to say.

"I still believe that the era of winning through strange tricks is over."

"Yes. If we're going to be honest, modern mystery novels seem to win more by the ingenuity of their theories. The increasing number of works with unique settings proves this point—"

At that moment, I seemed to hear the rustling of trees swaying in the distance.

Without thinking, I looked out the window. But this was an apartment building; there were no trees in sight.

"Is it very windy outside?"

"Hmm? Oh—a little."

I felt something was off about Irito's answer, but I quickly lost the will to investigate it further.

"Yui--? Still awake?-- I'm coming in!"

"Aaaaah! Waaaaah!"

The door clicked open, and Mom came into the room.

I quickly crawled into bed and hid my phone in front of my chest.

"W-wh-what's wrong?"

"I'm here to empty the trash can—"

"Okay, at least knock on the door...!"