My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 224

But I'm not the same person I was back then. I'm not as brain-damaged as I was then, and I know how to control myself. If I could do it all over again, I should be able to efficiently gather the wisdom needed to compete for the top spot in the grade, while also indulging in a little bit of sweetness!

That's what I originally thought.

"Hi—is there a picture of me?"

"Yes. What happened to your hairstyle?"

"Wow, it's all collapsed. It looks so old-fashioned, like something out of a classic gangster movie."

"Mind your own business! I just finished showering! Of course it'll collapse!"

Four faces are crammed into the small screen of the phone. There's Xiaoyue, Kawanami, Dongtou, and then there's Shuidou—that familiar cool face, now as small as an ice cream spoon, moving across one of the four sections of the screen.

why?

Why use a remote connection when we're clearly in the same house?

No, actually I understand. My mom and the others are at home, and we agreed to try not to go to each other's rooms at night. Besides, since Dongtou, Xiaoyue, and Chuanbo said they were going to participate, I couldn't possibly be being sweet with Shuidou.

But! He's clearly in the next room! Why is he being shown in such a small frame?!

This is the first time I've ever wanted a personal device or a tablet so badly.

As I suppressed a sigh, I spoke to the image divided into four parts:

"Is everyone alright?... Strange? Xiaoyue?"

Xiaoyue, who is usually very talkative, was unusually quiet. Just as I was wondering about this, I saw Xiaoyue on the screen opening and closing her mouth as if she were saying something.

"Xiaoyue—there's no sound from your end!"

With her hair down, Xiaoyue, seemingly completely at home, tilted her head with a worried expression. Then, she suddenly reached her hand into the frame, and immediately the image began to shake violently.

"Hey, don't shake her! Are you some kind of old woman from the Showa era?! ...Seriously, there's nothing I can do with her. Excuse me, wait a minute. I'm going to her side."

After saying this, Kawanami turned off the screen. The screen then split into three sections, with the three people's faces slightly enlarged.

"I remember they lived next door? Going to a girl's house so late like that, really showing off his thuggish side."

"I feel sorry for him; he must be on edge all the time."

"...What do you mean by that? Mizuto, who lives in the room next to mine."

It has many meanings.

Ugh...! I'm even more on edge than you, okay?!

...Wait a minute? If I pretend the machine is malfunctioning now, won't the sink come to my room too...?

The microphone mute button caught my eye. This… just press this…!

Just as his finger was about to touch the button he shouldn't, Kawanami ran into Akatsuki's screen. He leaned closer to look at the screen, reached out, and said:

"...No, you just muted the microphone."

"Oh, really?"

"How utterly useless! Such a basic mistake should have been noticed immediately. I brought my entire textbook and notes with me."

"Yes, yes, it's all my fault! If you find it troublesome, you can stay and study. There's still space. I mean the floor."

"There's clearly plenty of space on this table!"

Xiaoyue yelled "Hah!" and kicked Chuanbo out of the frame, then leaned back into the shot and said:

"I'm so sorry—I've disturbed everyone!"

"So, Nan is still with that scoundrel... I sincerely beg you two not to forget about us and just jump straight into business."

"Hmm—? What's up?"

That's love, of course!

"What's up?"

"...I'm sorry, I was wrong..."

The pressure exerted by Xiaoyue forced Dongtou to give in to his lewd jokes... I really dare not admit that I had secretly worried about the same thing myself...

"Let's not talk about that, Yui! You're wearing glasses today!"

"Huh? Ah, um... I usually wear contact lenses, but I wear these when I'm studying at home."

"So cute! It's like entering home mode!"

"Xiaoyue, you look great with your hair down too. You look so innocent and pure."

"Haha! Thank you!"

As we complimented each other, Shuidou yawned beside us.

"Speaking of which, Mizuto-kun also wears glasses."

That's what Dongtou said. She's right, Shuidou in the picture is wearing glasses.

After yawning, Shui Dou closed his mouth and said:

"They're blue light filtering glasses. I wear them when I use the computer."

"Wow...it suits you so well. Can I take a screenshot?"

"Can't."

"Why?! He's so handsome and cute!"

"It feels really disgusting."

At that moment, I felt that Shuidou's gaze seemed to shift slightly. Although we didn't make eye contact, he might have looked at my face on the screen.

It's... really disgusting...? Yeah, I used to make you wear glasses and take tons of photos of you, even I think it's disgusting! But I couldn't help it! Who told you to be so handsome! (So disgusting)

"...Let's stop chatting. It's about time we started studying."

I said this, no longer wanting to confront that rotten version of myself from the past.

"You can quit anytime if you get tired. Let's read it by keeping a close eye on each other."

"OK! Oh, right. Asaki and Nasuka said they might join us sometime. So, Kawanami, don't come into the frame!"

"Huh? Why?"

"I haven't told them you live next door yet! You're so slow!"

"I told you it hurts! Don't kick me!"

Kawanami complained from off-screen, while Higashitou looked annoyed.

"Sigh... Watching others flirt and banter through the screen really makes me, a single person, feel incredibly lonely..."

Seriously. I'd love to share a room with Mizuto if I could, but only Akatsuki gets to. It's not fair!

"Mizuto-kun, can I stay overnight at your house next time?"

"Can't."

"Waaaaah! Why can't I have this too?!"

"It feels like you're planning to strike at any moment; it's disgusting."

The reasons have become more detailed than before...

Hidden behind my classmate in the east corner, I remained silent. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried to seize the opportunity to strike.

Irito Mizuto: Experiences and trials have helped him grow and thrive.

Meow...

In one of the five screens on the computer, Isana is dozing off, nodding vigorously.

I noticed her state, and she looked up from her math textbook and said:

"Isana."

"Hoo...? I wasn't asleep... Hahhh—"

"It's okay to go to sleep if you want to. Forcing yourself to study won't help; you won't remember anything anyway."

"Mmm, twisting..."

Even its responses to me were cryptic cries. It seems it has truly reached its limit.

"Mmm—so gentle—♪"

A friend of Yui's who joined halfway through... uh—right, Sakamizu Maki interrupted and teased. I haven't forgotten who she is.

The short-haired girl, who seemed cheerful and lively, propped her cheek with one hand and twirled a mechanical pencil as she spoke:

"My little brother Irito—he always seems so arrogant, I thought he'd be even more aloof—but I didn't expect him to be so kind at times—especially to Higashi-kun♪"

"She's too weak, which makes me a little overprotective. Besides, I'm not the younger brother."

"I heard you share the same birthday as Eri? What a coincidence!"

That bob-haired girl who spoke so leisurely and yawned with a soft "ah-hoo" was... uh—Kanei... ah, I remember now, it's Kanai Nasuka. I remember, I remember.

She rubbed her already sleepy eyes with her fingers and said:

"I can't take it anymore... I think I can't hold on much longer. Maybe I should go to sleep."

"Huh—? Well, I'll stop here for today then. There's still a week left!"

Sakamizu stretched and yawned, "Hmm—!" Yui smiled wryly and said:

"Time flies when we're talking. Let's meet again tomorrow."

Okay, okay—I understand—

After this conversation ended, the images of Sakamizu and Kanai disappeared.

As for Izana, she had already collapsed onto her desk in front of the camera.

"Izana, don't sleep there. Go to bed."

"Aww~"

"East-end classmate—? ...No, she didn't hear me."

Honestly, there's nothing I can do about her. I muted my microphone for now and then picked up my phone to call Isana's number.