Chapter Nineteen: Life Is Just Too Hard (Please Recommend and Add to Favorites)

Having just one Origami Tobiichi was already enough to keep him constantly on his toes, but now with Tohka added into the mix, the two of them attacking from both sides left Su Mo utterly exhausted. Especially with Tohka’s almost confessional tone, the entire class would shoot them ambiguous glances from time to time. Most importantly, even Shiori seemed to look at Su Mo with strange eyes on occasion.

“Su Mo!” After class, Shiori called out to him in a low voice.

“Huh? Shiori?”

Su Mo glanced to his right. Today, Shiori wore a white blouse with a knitted sweater over it. A red ribbon was tied at her collar, her long blue bangs were adorned with a green flower-shaped hairpin, and most notably, she wore an extremely short skirt with black knee-high socks.

Looking at Su Mo, Shiori’s expression was a little hesitant. Finally, she couldn’t help but ask, “Su Mo, you seem very close to Tohka, don’t you?”

Until now, she had never seen Tohka before, nor had she ever heard Su Mo mention this girl. Yet, judging by Tohka’s behavior, the two were obviously very familiar, possibly even romantically involved. This made Shiori quite concerned—after all, she was the elder sister to both Su Mo and Kotori, so caring about her younger brother’s love life seemed only natural.

“Uh… We’re pretty close,” Su Mo replied, scratching his cheek, unsure how to explain. He had already agreed with Kotori that they wouldn’t reveal anything about the Spirits to Shiori for now, so naturally, he couldn’t possibly disclose Tohka’s true identity.

“Is that so? So… what exactly is your relationship with her?”

“Well… I’d say just ordinary friends!”

As Su Mo spoke, Tohka, sitting in front of them, suddenly twitched her ears, then turned around and chimed in, “Yes, yes! Su Mo and I are really good friends. I can feel that my heart is tightly connected to Su Mo’s!”

What Tohka meant was their contract—since they had signed it, their lives were bound together. But clearly, Shiori misunderstood, for no matter how one listened, that sounded like something only lovers would say. Surprised, she covered her mouth and asked Tohka, “So, Yatogami-san, are you really Su Mo’s girlfriend?”

“Girlfriend? What’s that?” Tohka tilted her head.

“A girlfriend… well, that’s someone you eat with, go shopping with, go on dates with, and… kiss, I suppose,” Shiori explained, counting off with her fingers.

“Is that so? I’ve done all those things with Su Mo. Does that mean I’m his girlfriend?” Tohka exclaimed in delight, but soon furrowed her brows. “But… I don’t think we’ve kissed yet. By the way, what is kissing?”

Her thoughts drifting off in a strange direction, Su Mo knew he couldn’t let them continue this conversation. He quickly interrupted with an awkward laugh, “Let’s not worry about these trivial things. How about we change the subject?”

“How is this a trivial matter?” Shiori retorted, a little annoyed. Then she sneaked a glance at Origami, who was sitting behind Su Mo, and asked, “If you and Tohka are in a relationship, then what about you and Origami? What’s your relationship with her?”

“Don’t worry,” Su Mo answered with utmost sincerity. “Origami and I are completely innocent. There’s absolutely nothing between us—just a perfectly normal classmate relationship.” And he was telling the truth. He and Origami were hardly acquainted; it was just that she insisted on clinging to him.

Unfortunately, the moment he finished speaking, Origami, who had been quietly studying with her head down, immediately looked up and stated concisely, “I’m Su Mo’s girlfriend.”

Su Mo: “Σ(⊙▽⊙‘a”

Under Shiori’s disdainful gaze, Su Mo collapsed onto his desk, utterly dejected, on the verge of tears.

…………………………

Time flew by.

Under Shiori’s contemptuous eyes, Tohka’s persistent questions about what “girlfriend” actually meant, and Origami’s unwavering stare, Su Mo endured the entire morning as if he were being slowly executed.

By lunchtime, most students had already left the classroom to eat. Only a handful, who had brought their own lunches, remained. At that moment, Shiori took out two bento boxes from under her desk and handed one to Su Mo.

Since Shiori was always the one cooking at the Itsuka household, and since they attended the same school, she prepared Su Mo’s lunch every day. While this used to make Su Mo feel guilty, as if he were freeloading, over time he grew used to it and eventually accepted it as a matter of course.

Time truly is a terrifying thing, he thought. He’d grown accustomed to Shiori cooking for him every day, going to and from school together—something that, in the past, would have been unthinkable.

As soon as Su Mo received his bento, he felt a pitiful gaze upon him. Tohka stared longingly at the lunchbox in his hands, clutching her rumbling stomach, her round eyes filled with yearning as she softly called his name, “Su Mo…”

It was obvious she hadn’t prepared a lunch. There was a cafeteria at school, but Tohka was undoubtedly penniless, and the cafeteria food was both unappetizing and absurdly expensive. This was precisely why many students in this country preferred to bring their own lunches rather than eat out.

Feeling her gaze, Su Mo looked down at his bento. In the end, resigned, he handed it over to Tohka. “Here, you can have it.”

“Ah, hooray! Su Mo!” Tohka cheered and quickly accepted the lunchbox. Inside was oyakodon—chicken, egg, and onions served over rice—which Shiori had made that morning, similar to a Chinese-style rice bowl.

Faced with such a sumptuous meal, the gluttonous Tohka couldn’t help but drool. Yet, realizing that Su Mo had given his lunch to her, she hesitated. “Su Mo, if you give your lunch to me, what will you eat?”

“It’s fine for a man to skip a meal,” Su Mo replied with a slight smile. “Better you have it than let you go hungry—who knows what kind of trouble that would cause. Besides, you really don’t want to see a foodie go hungry.”

“Why don’t we share it?” Tohka suggested.

But before Su Mo could agree, Origami quickly passed her own bento box to him and said, “Su Mo, let’s eat together.”

Their gazes clashed again. Tohka was kind to everyone, even to her enemies, but when it came to Origami, she was downright hostile. Origami, on the other hand, harbored deep animosity toward Spirits ever since her parents had been killed by one five years ago, and thus she was especially unfriendly toward Tohka.

A new storm was brewing—how could he possibly move forward? Caught between the two girls, Su Mo sighed once more.

Life was just too difficult.