My Stepsister is My Ex-Girlfriend - Volume 6 - Chapter 5.13

1:10 P.M.: You Can’t Copy a Natural Seductress

Yume Irido

After Akatsuki-san left, the three of us decided to have lunch.

“Our class is closed right now, so should we try some of the outdoor stalls instead?”

“Yeah, I guess. They’re kinda pricey, but it’s not like any of us brought food.”

“O-Oh! I-If you two are truly okay with that—if you two are truly okay with that, may I strongly suggest we eat takoyaki?!”

Surprisingly, Higashira-san was a big fan of stall food. Despite that, she was too shy to go to any of these places by herself. I totally get that.

We lined up at the takoyaki stall and bought some from it one after another. Though it was more expensive than the frozen ones you’d get at the grocery store, we’d been given money to spend today, so we had no reason not to buy it.

“Careful. It’s hot.”

“Of course!” Higashira-san blew on the takoyaki a little before putting one in her mouth. “Haah, haah...” she exhaled, steam coming out of her mouth.

Higashira-san was a little taller than I, but seeing her mouth stuffed with takoyaki kind of reminded me of a squirrel. Pretty cute. I’m lacking in the “adorable” department, now that I think about it. Okay, in that case...

“Hot!” I exclaimed.

I’d purposely eaten one that hadn’t cooled down yet. I covered my mouth while Mizuto gave me a look as if to say, “Really?”

“Maybe you should take your own advice,” he said.

“I-It was hotter than I expected!”

I’d tried to play an airheaded character, but the takoyaki was so hot that I didn’t really have the chance. I might’ve burned my mouth. Meanwhile, Higashira-san was happily chomping away. When she went to swallow it, though, she began groaning and covering her mouth with her hand.

“I might have burned my tongue.”

“Are you okay?” Mizuto asked.

“Please take a look,” she said, sticking out her pink tongue for Mizuto to examine.

Uh... Huh?! I-Is that not embarrassing?! It seemed that I was the only one finding this strange, as Mizuto was calmly examining Higashira-san’s tongue.

“Yeah, it looks a little rough. I’ll get you something cold to drink.”

“Thank you...”

Sure, it’s kinda cute, and it might make one’s heart skip a beat, but... The tongue... The tongue, huh?

“Mi-Mizuto...?” I tugged on the hem of his uniform.

“Hm?”

All I had to do was open my mouth and stick out my tongue. Stick out...my tongue...

“N-Nothing...”

“Okay, then I’m gonna get a drink. Hold this for me?” he asked, giving me the tray with his takoyaki on it before going to a nearby drink stall.

I stood there, a feeling of depression welling up inside me as I held his tray with both hands. It’s impossible. I can’t be like Higashira-san...

“Is there something the matter, Yume-san? Haah, haah...”

“Can I ask you something? How does one become completely shameless?”

“Huh? Why do I get the feeling that I am being judged very extremely right now?”