My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 2 - Chapter 5

The Ex-Couple Quarrel

“What do you take me for?!?!?!”

In what could only be described as a folly of youth, I had a so-called boyfriend during eighth and ninth grade.

He was a pitiful person who was not only unsociable, but also inconsiderate and unathletic to boot. But against all odds, he was extremely intelligent, if nothing else. How could someone who did nothing but nap or covertly read books during class score so highly on his tests?! No matter how forgettable a person he was, the teachers paid him as much attention as they would a delinquent thanks to his good grades.

On the other hand, while I was by no means lacking in the brains department, I never once scored higher than him on a test during the entire duration of our relationship. Not a single time. Well, I may have always scored a few points higher than him in my best subject, math, but when it came to everything else, especially modern Japanese, the difference was night and day.

As much as I may not want to, I’ve accepted this gap in academic ability between us as fact. But back when we were dating, I would stupidly praise him like I was a cabaret girl after seeing that he beat me when comparing test scores.

I didn’t have the social skills to be fake nice back then, so sadly, when I did this, it was genuine. Thinking back, I wanted to scream at my younger self: “Aren’t you frustrated that you lost? Where’s your pride? Did it all fall out of your romance-addled brain, you invalid?”

It wasn’t until I completely dominated the high school entrance exam that I finally felt like a winner—like I could actually compete. Although, I guess there was one time before this—just one time—that the socially awkward coward known as Yume Ayai had actually tried to win.

This was back in the eighth grade during the finals of the first semester, right before summer vacation—right before our encounter.

A student’s job is to study, not to hang out with friends or flirt with their romantic partner. Schools are built for the sole purpose of studying, so hypothetically, if someone has no friends at school, it would make perfect sense for them to go to school just to study. You have a problem with that?!

I was a studyholic, the type of person who found fulfillment in going to school and studying...not that I really had anything else going on. I did, however, have a very good handle on math thanks to something extremely trivial: I really liked a character from a mystery novel who was well versed in STEM disciplines.

At any rate, the one thing I had pride in was the fact that I never lost to anyone when it came to math tests...or at least I hadn’t until the math midterm in eighth grade. That was the first time I didn’t get the top score in math, and the person who beat me was a guy in the same class as me, Mizuto Irido.

He was just like me—a loner. He seemed to recognize that we were of the same tribe, so to speak; he’d throw me a life raft now and then when he saw me struggling. Though I was very thankful for his help, it didn’t change how I felt about him scoring higher than me. My faint pride as someone who considered math to be their best subject wouldn’t allow anybody—especially not another loner like myself—to beat me. I swore that I’d win next time.

That was probably the first time in my life I’d ever felt competitive. I cut back on the hours I slept to cram in as much studying as I could ahead of the finals. I couldn’t let myself lose a single point. All my calculations had to be correct. I had to do everything I could to beat Mizuto Irido, and I did. I got the top score in our class.

As the teacher praised me while giving me back my test, I nonchalantly looked over at Mizuto Irido. How’s that? I win. Too bad for you, but I don’t lose much when it comes to math.

Any feeling of excitement dissipated as I looked at him. He showed no signs of listening to the teacher’s compliments, or even recognizing me. All he did was listlessly stare out the window.

How could I be so stupid? There was no reason for me to think that we were on the same wavelength just because we’re both loners. Why did I think that he noticed me just because I noticed him? He doesn’t even know that I’m good at math in the first place, so what was I expecting? I felt so empty. I thought we were competing, but I was the only one trying.

Then, summer vacation came, and I aimlessly visited the school library, the place where we had our encounter. Irido-kun grabbed a book for me from a shelf I couldn’t reach, and asked, “You like mystery novels too?” Truth be told, I wasn’t too surprised by this.

He was always reading books at his desk, and some of those books happened to be mystery novels. Hearing that he liked mysteries was old news to me, so he might have been under the wrong impression that the trap that a higher power had laid for us was the fact that we both liked books. In actuality, the real trap was the thing he said in a voice so low, I barely heard him.

“No wonder you’re so good at math.”

My heart was deeply pierced by that. I had no clue why mystery novels were linked to math in his head; there was no way that he knew that I’d gotten interested in math thanks to a mystery novel. But even so, my ears did not deceive me. I knew what I’d heard, and what I’d heard was a slight hint of frustration in his voice.

Looks like I wasn’t the only one trying, after all... He pretended not to care, but in reality, he was looking right at me. Behind his calm, cool, and collected facade was a person who was more stubborn and more of a sore loser than me.

Good grief. Looking back, I wonder if he was doing this on purpose. Would it have killed him to be more overtly frustrated? He could’ve at least hidden it better. Why would he only give me a glimpse of how he really felt? What was that, emotional indecent exposure?!

I got the wrong idea because of his actions. He made me think that we were the only people in each other’s eyes, and if he did that on purpose, he was a womanizing piece of shit. If he unintentionally made me think that, he was a clueless piece of shit. If I sound angry, that’s because with just that one sentence, he’d made me fall in love for the first time in my life.

◇

The sound of graphite scratching against paper filled the tense silence in the self-study room. Here, each of the seats was separated by partitions in order to improve concentration. On a normal day, this room would not be so occupied, but during the buildup to midterms, it was packed on the daily.

If this were a normal high school, students would go into party mode when clubs went on study-hiatus, but not here. Not at a prep school.

Excluding idiots like me who had the stupid objective of trying to dodge her ex, people came to this school because they were studyholics and actually liked fighting each other for the top spot on these big tests. They weren’t the kind of people who’d wing it the night before and leave things to fate, and I wasn’t either. Or maybe I was even more serious, since I wanted to score the highest on the midterms and retain my throne.

It was almost time for school to be out for the day. I saw students beginning to pack up, so I figured I should follow suit. I put my mechanical pencil away, and just as I did, I heard a voice from behind me.

“Yume-chan, let’s walk home together!”

I turned around, and standing there were three of my friends, including Akatsuki-san, holding their bags. These girls didn’t talk about studying too often, but around test time, you could be sure that they’d be hitting the books just like everyone else.

They might not have acted like it, but our class was filled with people who scored high on the entrance exam. At their core, every last one of them, excluding Mizuto, were serious and diligent.

I quickly packed up my things and left with Akatsuki-san and two of my other friends. We walked from the self-study room through the halls to our shoe cubbies, and then past the school gates. The entire time, we exclusively talked about the test, which made sense since this was the only real free time we had. Everyone was so busy with studying that they didn’t have the time to watch videos or even text each other—in my case, I just completely shut my phone off.

“I don’t feel good about the midterms at all,” one of my friends, Maki-san, said. “What if I fail?”

“You’re aimin’ for the spot at the tippy-top, right, Irido-chan?” piped up another friend, Nasuka-san.

“Well, yes, I might as well,” I said nervously.

Nasuka-san gaped at me. “Wowie, that’s so cool! I’m good with just bein’ above average.”

“That’s so sad! Let’s aim for the top! We might as well too!”

“Mm, nah. The number one spot’s got Irido-chan’s name on it already.”

As they joked around, I could feel my expression grow stiff. That’s right. The number one spot had my name on it. Me, Yume Irido, the prodigy of our freshman class.

Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I could’ve sworn I felt Akatsuki-san shoot me a look. Just as I thought that, she clapped her hands together as if to change the flow of the conversation entirely.

“Let’s think about things to do after the test! That’ll be some good motivation, right?”

“Yeah, good idea!”

“Let’s go somewhere to hang!”

I nodded in agreement, soaking in the gentle atmosphere.

“I’m home,” I announced as I walked through the front door after parting with my friends.

Though I’d gotten a bit relaxed on the way home, I tensed up again, preparing myself to quickly change clothes and dive back into studying. But first, coffee.

I walked into the living room, and lying there on the couch and reading a book was my little stepbrother.

Excuse me? I couldn’t believe my eyes. Midterms were just around the corner, weren’t they? So what was this guy doing just nonchalantly reading a book without a care in the world?! I’d been forcing myself to hold off on reading and yet he’s just lounging on the couch?!

“What happened to studying?” I asked in a low voice.

“I’m pretty much done. All I have to do is make sure I don’t forget anything,” Mizuto answered, not taking his eyes off his book.

Done? You can be “done” with studying? Urgh, he really ticks me off! He had always been this way, as far as I knew. Sure, maybe he didn’t need to study; he was some kinda genius who got good grades without studying. But it still pissed me off anyway because I had to try so hard! I hate him so much!

“And that’s why you’ll never beat me,” I pointedly said, venom dripping from my words.

“You say something?”

“Hmph. Forget it.”

If I talked to him any longer, my motivation would crash, so I decided to save the coffee for later and turned to leave.

“Y’know...” Just as I had one foot out the door, he suddenly spoke again. “There’s something I’ve been interested in recently.”

“What? A new book?” I leered at him.

“The top spot in our grade.” Mizuto sat up and gave me a teasing smile. “Wonder if the throne’s comfortable.”

Oh? I see. Our gazes clashed with one another.

“So sorry, but the number one spot is reserved for me.”

“Then I’ll just reserve it for next time.”

I snorted at him and turned around, breaking our staring contest. “Yeah? Just try it. I doubt you’ll be able to.” I exited the living room. You have guts; I’ll give you that. This is the first time you’ve ever challenged me to my face.

Any free time I could find during the day, I spent studying. I woke up early to go to school and study. During our breaks, I’d study. When school let out, I’d study in the self-study rooms or the school library. When I got home, I’d hole up in my room and study. In order to prevent myself from giving into temptation, I boxed up all the books I’d had on my shelves.

After eating dinner and taking a bath, I would go right back to my desk. I’d only sleep if I felt my concentration dwindling from fatigue. This was my life during midterm season.

“Yume! Your chopsticks!”

“Oh.” Mom’s voice snapped me out of the trance I was in. I quickly tightened my grip on the chopsticks I was about to drop.

Apparently, I’d been dozing off during dinner. That was close. I need to get it together.

“You look like you’re pushing yourself too hard,” Mineaki-ojisan said with a concerned look. “I know studying’s important, but if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take the test at full strength, and all your effort will be wasted, Yume-chan.”

“Oh no, I’m fine. I’m only pushing myself a reasonable amount.” I laughed, trying to allay his concerns.

“If you say so...”

But of course I was pushing myself too hard. I was already busy as the top student of our year, and now that I’d decided to stay at the top, it stood to reason that I needed to push myself. That was the truth, plain and simple.

Mizuto sat across from me, looking at me emotionlessly.

As a way to wake myself up, I decided to take a bath right after dinner. I blow-dried my hair a little, changed into my pajamas, and left the bathroom. Time to study.

I held back a yawn and headed towards the stairs, but waiting there, sitting down, was Mizuto.

“You look tired,” he said.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking behind those eyes of his, but they were pointed right at me. It would’ve been a waste of what little energy I had to respond to him, so I looked away and tried to pass by without saying a word.

Just as I did, Mizuto shot up and blocked my path. “Is getting the top score really that important?”

I couldn’t make eye contact when he was staring at me so intensely. I had no strength to keep up appearances or fight against the enemy before me. I needed to save all of this for studying.

“It’s important...” I didn’t even have the strength to lie. All the fear and anxiety that had been swirling inside of me spilled out. “I earned the top spot... I need to keep it.”

I’d changed my personality, and I’d learned how to be sociable. But I wasn’t without my limits. In the end, I was just playing pretend. I was born shy, awkward, and reclusive. Had I really expected that by changing how people thought of me, I’d actually truly become sociable?

That’s why I needed something extra to add to my value. Even if I was still a little awkward, people would be able to look past that. I needed the leniency that came with being an honor student. In a prep school, honor students held the most value. I needed to be the honor student character people knew me as.

“I don’t expect you to understand. After all, you don’t give a damn about anyone or anything around you. You’re just a wannabe loner.” Maybe it was my fatigue talking, but it felt like I was saying things I shouldn’t have. Regardless, I didn’t have any energy to spare on regret right now.

I passed by Mizuto as I climbed the stairs. I need to study.

Then, from behind me, I could have sworn that I heard him mutter something like: “Yeah, you’re right...”

Finally, it was day one of midterms, and I was about to take the first test in modern Japanese.

“Everything off your desks.”

I began mumbling everything I’d studied until now while staring at the facedown answer sheet.

As an avid reader, modern Japanese played to my strengths, so I wasn’t too worried. There was only one aberrant who stood in my way. I focused my attention on my little stepbrother who was sitting in the chair behind me. As it so happened, modern Japanese was his best subject.

He placed in the top hundred during a nationwide mock exam, even though he didn’t study very hard for it. But now that he’d gone through the hell that was entrance exam studying, he could probably easily place in the top ten.

His answers had such high accuracy that it made you wonder if he was actually able to read the mind of the question writer. This meant that when it came to tests written by his teachers, he almost always got perfect scores.

If I wanted to ensure I secured my spot at the top, I needed to somehow keep our scores close in at least this subject. I had to make sure that I didn’t lose a single point.

“All right, you may begin.” As the teacher said this, the room filled with the sound of tens of papers being flipped over.

“Ugh...” I frustratedly stared at the questions sheet that I’d recorded my answers on so that I could score myself.

It was now nighttime, and I was in my room, reviewing how I did. As far as I could tell, I’d gotten over ninety points on every test I’d taken today. The only thing was that I’d gotten a ninety-four on the modern Japanese test. If Mizuto had gotten a hundred, I’d have to eat a six-point difference.

I couldn’t believe that I’d lost a whole two points because I’d messed up writing such simple kanji! At a school where fighting for an average score of ninety is the norm, a six-point difference was huge...but that’s only if he got a hundred.

I quietly exited my room, went downstairs, and carefully peeked into the living room. Mizuto was again on the couch, reading a book, which meant that his room was empty... Perhaps, I thought, he had also written down his answers for the same reason. If I could see that, I’d be able to find out for sure whether or not he’d actually gotten full points.

This didn’t exactly sit right with me, but it’s not like I was doing anything underhanded. My scores wouldn’t change whether I looked or not. The only thing I had to be careful of was being caught by him—I’d never hear the end of it. This was my only chance to find out what I needed.

I returned upstairs and quietly entered his room. I turned on the lights, waded through the sea of books strewn across his room, and found his school bag thrown on top of his bed.

I looked behind me multiple times to confirm that he wasn’t coming back just yet before opening it up. I immediately saw a white piece of paper when I unclasped the fastener. This is it.

There were a few question sheets that’d been crammed into the bag, and as expected, there were a few scrawls that looked like answers. I was a little nervous as I pulled them out, but I reminded myself that the most important one was modern Japanese and finding out if he actually got a hundred.

I clenched my eyes shut and steeled my will before looking at his question sheet. I compared his answers against the answer list I’d brought and, to my great chagrin, he’d gotten them all right, even the ones I’d gotten wrong. There wasn’t even a trace of him erasing an answer to change it.

Then I reached the final question, an essay question that was worth ten points. If you didn’t allot your time correctly, you’d find yourself with a good chunk of points gone from your test in an instant. There was always the chance of receiving partial credit, but at least on my part, I knew I’d answered the question correctly.

I couldn’t imagine that he’d run out of time to write the answer, which meant that in all likelihood, he’d gotten a perfect score. But just as I was accepting my fate, I looked at the part where his answer should have been written, but nothing was there.

“Huh?” I looked again, assuming I’d looked in the wrong place or something.

No, he really had written down every answer but this one. Did he not write it down because he didn’t think he needed to grade it? No, I could tell that there were eraser marks. He’d written an answer down and then erased it.

He didn’t even erase it that well because, as long as I squinted a bit, I could still kind of make out what had been there before. It was right. He’d erased the correct answer.

Had he erased it because he thought it was wrong and then ran out of time to write a new one? No, there was no way! No way he’d gotten tripped up by a question that I could easily answer. That only left one option.

“On purpose...”

He’d erased his answer on purpose and left it blank. That’s the only thing I could come up with after seeing how unnatural of an erasing job he’d done. Before I knew it, my hands had started to shake. I could feel my head boiling.

“It’s important...”

“I earned the top spot... I need to keep it.”

Had he done this because I said all that?

“Urgh!” I wailed. I’m not happy about this at all!

When I came to, I stomped out of his room, down the stairs, and into the living room. He jumped a little bit in his seat on the couch and turned to me.

“Wh-What? Why are you being so nois—”

“What do you take me for?!?!?!” I threw the question sheet I’d been gripping in his face.

He furrowed his brow. The guilty look on his face just confirmed my fears.

“What? You’re giving me the top spot?! Do you think that’ll make me happy?! Screw you!!! You were the one who had the balls to challenge me! So, what? Are you trying to say that I was going to lose if you didn’t give me a helping hand?! Who the hell do you think you are?!”

“Wh-What’s going on? Why are you yelling, Yume?” Mom, who was supposed to be taking her bath, heard me, but I didn’t care.

I stomped closer to Mizuto. “What? Do you think sacrificing yourself is cool?! Well, it’s not! Not even a little! You’re just showing how little you think of me! You’re looking down on me! I never asked you to do this!!!”

“Stop! Okay, I don’t understand what’s going on, but stop!” Mom held my arm that I’d cocked to deck him in the face before bending her arms around mine from behind me to hold me back. I struggled, trying to break free but to no avail. “I’m your mother! Tell me what’s going on! What happened? Explain it to me! M-Mizuto-kun, what is—”

“Not my fault...” Mizuto stood up, crushing his answer sheet in his hand, and glared daggers at me.

“Huh?”

“You’re the one who’ll be in trouble if you don’t get the top score... You’re the one who said it was important to you. That’s why I thought I’d give it to you! What’s wrong with that?!”

“H-Huh?! Mizuto-kun?! M-Mineaki-san, come quick!” mom called as she ran out of the living room.

Mizuto walked over to me and firmly gripped my shoulders. “What happens if I don’t get the top score? Nothing! You said it best—I don’t give a damn about what anyone thinks of me! That’s why I decided to give the top spot to you! Tell me what’s wrong with that! Tell me! Come on! Am I wrong?!”

“No...” There was nothing false about what he said. Taking all the advantages and disadvantages into account, he’d made a very logical decision. But... But still... “This isn’t right.” My vision blurred.

I knew this wasn’t fair, but the rampant feelings inside my head and heart wouldn’t come out as words, and instead came out as teardrops.

“Th-This isn’t like you, Irido-kun...”

This wasn’t the same frustrated-looking sore loser I’d caught a glimpse of back then. This wasn’t the Mizuto Irido that I’d thought I shared an understanding with.

“Why are you...” It sounded like Mizuto was about to get angry again, but whatever it was he was going to say, he swallowed it, and let out an exasperated sigh instead.

Then he stomped past me—ten times louder than I had been—without another word. The only sounds after that were the creaking of him opening the living room door, the thuds of him storming up the stairs, and the bang of him slamming the door to his room.

I stared at the floor as I left the living room.

“Y-Yume, are you okay?”

“What happened? It’s not like you two to fight.”

Mom and Mineaki-ojisan worriedly called out to me, but I couldn’t really answer them. All I did was silently go up the stairs to my room. When I reached my bed, I just crumpled onto it as if the string holding me up had snapped.

What had I expected? I now knew that our “mutual” understanding had been all in my head. That was something I should’ve learned during this turbulent half year. I should’ve known by now that it was all just a delusion that was too good to be true.

There was no way that he, of all people, would ever face me just as himself—as an equal. I was crazy for thinking that’d ever happen. I really was just competing by myself.

“Whatever. Why should I care?”

This just meant that I had one fewer rival. That’s all it meant. That’s all. I should be happy. I’d be able to keep my top spot. If I didn’t keep it, I wouldn’t be able to stay the same person I was now. That’s what everyone expected from me, after all.

Day two of the midterms.

I’d fallen asleep just like that, so I didn’t end up studying at all. But even so, I’d already studied a lot, so if anything, a good night’s rest dispelled my fatigue and put me in perfect condition.

Mizuto and I didn’t exchange a single word at the breakfast table. As we ate our toast in silence, both mom and Mineaki-ojisan kept shooting us worried glances. Who could blame them after yesterday? I had no desire to try and pretend like we were on good terms.

“Thanks for the food...” After finishing my breakfast quickly, I left for school earlier than usual.

The biggest threat to me had dropped out on his own, and one of today’s tests was my best subject—math. As long as I put my usual effort in, I was sure to secure the top score in our grade.

I put on my shoes, and just as I was about to leave, a voice interrupted me.

“You don’t get to determine what is and isn’t like me.”

My heart jumped. I turned around and saw Mizuto in his uniform staring at me through sleepy eyes.

“Similarly, nobody gets to decide what is and isn’t like you,” he said angrily, making my heart jump more.

It felt like he was seeing right through me—like I was wearing my heart on my sleeve. I couldn’t return any kind of meaningful words in the moment, and while I tried to scramble for some kind of answer, he put on his shoes next to me. He glanced at me as he put his hand on the doorknob. It was then that I finally realized he had bags under his eyes.

“I’m putting an end to your high school glow-up, little stepsis. Savor it while you can.”

Then, without even giving me a chance to respond, he disappeared out the door, leaving me completely dumbfounded. There was only one thing left for me to say.

“I’m your older stepsister, little stepbro.”

I’m not going to let the likes of you decide who I am.

As was customary, the top fifty scores for the midterm were currently being posted on the announcement board by our teacher. Getting your name on the board wasn’t too difficult a feat, though, because there were about two hundred people in our year. You just needed to be in the seventy-fifth percentile.

The announcement board was crowded with students, and I was at the front. As soon as I had arrived, people had opened a path for me. It was proof that I was acknowledged by everyone as the person who deserved to check the rankings first.

There wasn’t really any need for me to check, though, because there was no one left to oppose me since my biggest competition, Mizuto, took himself out of the running. I was all but assured to have secured my spot at the top.

Of course, this was because I’d already scored myself at home, and it was more than obvious that I’d gotten myself a very comfortable number of points. I would’ve done even better if I’d caught myself before making some careless errors, but there was nothing I could do about that now.

As soon as our teacher finished hanging up the results and moved away so that everyone could look, the students around me started buzzing, and I let out a sound of happiness.

Right there, at number one was my name...or at least half of it. “Irido” was certainly the last name there, but that was the only part of my name that was written.

1st Mizuto Irido: 777/800 points

2nd Yume Irido: 774/800 points

There was no mistake. This was what was printed on the board. No matter how many times I looked at it, there was no change.

I... I lost? I lost the lead I got from modern Japanese?

“Whoa, for real?”

“The Irido siblings with the one-two finish?!”

“Sheesh, it’s neck and neck.”

“Irido-san was dethroned already?”

For some reason, I couldn’t really hear what anyone was saying. All my focus was turned to searching for Mizuto. I looked to my right, then to my left, and finally I saw someone slowly backing out of the crowd.

“E-Excuse me, I need to get through!”

I clawed my way through the crowd and chased after the guy who was casually waltzing away. I grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to face me.

A really nasty smile crept across his face. “Well, well, if it isn’t the second-best student of our year. How are you doing on this fine day?”

I wasn’t in the right state of mind to continue this contest of insults. I had way too many questions to try and be discreet, so I just asked him straight out.

“How, how did you— You gave me a huge handicap and still came out on top? You didn’t even study that hard! You were able to turn the tables just after one all-nighter?! That’s not—”

“‘Like me’? Was that what you’re gonna say?”

I clammed up, which made Mizuto just nastily grin at me even more.

“I told you from the start that I’ve been interested in what the top spot’s like.”

“Huh?”

“But, I messed up. This throne isn’t comfortable at all.”

What? Could he have possibly...

“I envy you. The weight on the shoulders of the second-best student’s gotta be a lot lighter.” My little stepbrother, who was now shouldering the title of top student of our grade, turned his back to me after saying this. “Later. If you want the throne so bad, you’d better bring your A game come finals, Miss Honor Student.” He didn’t even try to hide how sarcastic he was being, calling me that.

But the fact that it actually bothered me when he called me that was proof that my standing in the school had changed.

“Aw, you were so close, Irido-san!” I jumped a little and turned around as I felt someone suddenly grab my shoulder. Two of my friends were there.

“It sucks that you didn’t get first with that score! Irido-kun’s got some big brains,” Maki Sakamizu-san, a tall, cool girl with short hair, said. She looked even more frustrated than me.

“There’s always a higher peak. I dunno if we can keep up,” Nasuka Kanai-san, a girl with a bob cut, said in a sleepy voice, like a cat waking up after a nap, leaning forward slightly, as if she had a hunch.

“You’re one to talk; you’re forty-fifth! That’s higher than me!”

“For reals? I didn’t check at all. Thankies for lettin’ me know.”

“Urgh, you really piss me off, you Kyoto native!”

Wait... What’s going on? I couldn’t comprehend what was happening. My friends were acting the same as they always did, poking fun at each other. This wasn’t anything like what I’d imagined. This was completely different than the disaster I’d feared.

What was supposed to happen if I didn’t keep the top spot again? Nothing had changed. The way they talked to me, their expressions—not a single thing had changed, even though I was now number two.

Oh. I see now. It was me all along. I was the only one who was so fixated on my place as the top student.

Mizuto’s words suddenly played in my head: “Similarly, nobody gets to decide what is and isn’t like you.”

The bags under his eyes that I’d seen on the second day of midterms must have been because of the studying he’d done... It had been all for this.

“Ah...” My head dropped, and I covered my face.

My friends patted my back in a panic.

“D-Don’t cry, Irido-san!”

“Second place’s still real impressive!”

No, that’s not what I’m crying about. I’m not crying because I lost. I’m crying because I wasn’t the only one competing. He really did notice me.

How did he know? How did he understand me? Wasn’t this all supposed to be my misunderstanding? I had thought this was all my delusion. Why now? Why did he have to be like that?

Who else but you? I suck at communicating, I’m bad with words, and I don’t have any real social skills—who else but a weirdo like you could read my mind so easily? It’s like you’re a psychic. How am I supposed to live without you? Hey, tell me, what are you going to do about this? Please, tell me.

◇

After midterms ended, peace returned to the school. Right now I was walking with Mizuto, heading towards the school library after classes ended.

“Why are you following me?” he asked, glancing over at me.

“Am I not allowed to? There’s a book I want to read now that tests are over.”

“Uh-huh.”

That was a lie, though. My real purpose was to find the right timing to apologize for screaming at him. Things had gone back to normal for the most part, but neither of us had apologized yet. I’d be the bigger person if I was the one who apologized first, so I wanted to make sure I did.

To be clear, I wasn’t sticking with him because I wanted to be close to him. It was because being nearby meant that I’d have all the opportunities in the world to apologize.

“Oh, it’s the Irido siblings.”

“Huh? The number one and two students?”

“Hm? So that’s them?”

Ever since the test results had been announced, people noticed us more than before whenever we were together. I was used to the attention, but Mizuto looked like he absolutely hated it. Serves you right. This is what you get for stealing my spot. I was still mad about losing, but that was to be expected.

When we arrived at the library, Mizuto pointed to a shelf in the back of the library.

“Mystery section’s around there.”

“Oh.” I looked at another shelf. “What about over there?”

“Light novels. It’s mostly filled with old ones, but there’s a pretty big selection to choose from. You finally interested in them?”

“Not a chance. There are no mystery light novels.”

“Don’t blame me if you get killed by the Fujimi Mystery Books fan club.”

I headed over to the mystery section while Mizuto headed to the corner of the library where the light novels were. It seemed that he was currently in a light novel phase.

I looked up and down the bookcase filled with an assortment of books. I was surprised by how diverse the selection was and wished that I’d come here sooner.

As I pulled out a book that I’d never read before, I peeked out from behind the bookcase and saw the section in the corner of the library he’d disappeared to.

Maybe I should just pass by him while he’s picking out a book and apologize? It was only fair since he’d passed by me, spouted whatever nonsense he wanted, and left me standing here. He deserved the same treatment of a drive-by apology. I might be a genius. All right, let’s do it.

I carried the book I’d picked out and approached the light novel corner that he should have been behind. Just as I got close, I heard a soft yelp and the sound of books falling.

“Sorry,” Mizuto said in a low voice.

Mizuto ran into someone? I heard a loud noise. I wonder what’s going on. I was getting severe déjà vu because I felt like something similar had happened in the past. I quickened my pace and peeked around the corner of the bookshelf.

Books with colorful covers were scattered across the floor, and a girl—a plain-looking girl—was trying to pick them all up in a panic.

For a second, I thought it was the same girl that I’d seen Mizuto with before our aquarium date, but I was wrong. Instead of two low pigtails, she had a short, frizzy bob cut—I figured she probably hadn’t bothered to comb her bedhead or something. She was also a good five centimeters taller than the girl from before. I bet if Akatsuki-san saw how tall she was, she’d be jealous.

But the biggest difference by far was her chest, which looked like it was carrying a library of books itself. S-So big... They were so big that they stretched her school sweater. Needless to say, they really jumped out at you. Akatsuki-san often spoke of how jealous she was of my chest, but this was like a David and Goliath situation. How could I call myself big chested in front of these? F-cup?! Maybe even G-cup?!

As I began to be filled with fear of these huge breasts that I’d only seen on the cover of light novels, Mizuto picked a book off the floor. She let out another yelp and glanced at Mizuto before looking at the ground.

She must’ve been embarrassed. Well, that only made sense. It was embarrassing for someone to find out what you’re into.

“This series...” As Mizuto spoke, both the girl and I looked at Mizuto with surprise.

His expression wasn’t fake or calculated in the slightest—no, it was the genuine face of someone who’d found someone else interested in the same thing.

“You like this series too?”

And this is how I saw that moment firsthand—the moment when a higher being’s trap was sprung on someone other than me.