My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 148

“There’s an amazing cafe nearby. Want to check it out tomorrow?”

“I think that sounds good, just like Ella said. We could all go after our schedule tomorrow and relax for a bit.”

“Honestly, I was going to go today with you guys… How did you spend the whole day in bed? I can’t believe it.”

“Ah.”

Um.

I definitely spent a lot of time in bed today.

It was my free time, and I was pretty exhausted from all the recent activities, so I hung out in bed with Rize a lot.

I even took a nap and played around while hugging Rize.

“That can happen.”

“Ugh…”

Well, since it was free time today, isn’t it okay that everyone had fun on their own?

The Roseaki Sisters went out and had a great time together.

Ivana quietly spent her time reading books at the lodge.

And besides that, Ella had a good time anyway, right?

“By the way, this place is huge.”

“The restaurant attached to the lodge is definitely on the larger side.”

“You think so too, Ella?”

For reference, we were all in the lodge’s hall where all the students gathered on the first day.

Since we’re scheduled to return to the Academy after our tasks tomorrow morning,

the banquet was just a time for all the Academy students and teachers to eat and have fun together.

Honestly, I thought it would be fine to go tomorrow, but if we did that, some students would definitely oversleep and miss the return time to the Academy.

“Don’t you think… the atmosphere is really noisy in various ways?”

“Well, we came here after the exams, so of course it’s going to be loud, right?”

As Ella said, the atmosphere inside the hall was indeed quite noisy and lively.

Food was slowly being served, and even though the other students just sat down at the tables, the noise never stopped.

When middle school and early high school students gather, there’s no way they’d wait silently in such a situation.

And the reason we’re all gathered today isn’t quietness at all; it’s a banquet, so it’s even less likely.

“Hey. What are you going to drink?”

“I’ll just have soda, please.”

“Got it.”

“And what about you, Grace?”

“…Soda for me too.”

Ah, I see.

While I was chatting with Ella, Grace suddenly spoke up, and it surprised me, but it was nothing much.

She was just asking the other friends sitting at the table what they wanted to drink.

“Hmm.”

By the way, I felt pretty good that I seemed to have gotten closer to some friends I wasn’t very familiar with during this trip.

Both Ivana and Grace… we really only met at club activities at the Academy, and besides that, there really weren’t many points of contact.

So, surely building connections through hanging out all together this time is definitely…

Of course, it might be a bit hard to say we’re completely close yet.

“Karen, what did you and Grace do when you went out today?”

“Uh, what?”

“I’m just curious about what you both did before coming back. I stayed in the lodge the whole time, right? You two came back before dinner.”

“Ah…”

It was unusual for Karen, who doesn’t like going out much, to have been out for so long today.

I was honestly curious.

Of course, it wasn’t like she went alone; she went with her sister, but still, it wasn’t something she usually does?

Honestly, I had thought that Karen and Grace would return around lunchtime.

I was pleasantly surprised they had fun for longer than I expected.

“We just… walked around together, that’s all…”

“Really?”

That’s kind of surprising.

I didn’t think Karen would be quiet while wandering, nor do I think Grace would let her talk that way.

How on Earth did they manage to hang out all day?

“Grace picked out clothes for me… and uh… we ate cake at a cafe… and um…”

“Sounds like you had a fun time?”

“Hehe…”

“Didn’t you buy any clothes, Karen?”

“I usually don’t wear different clothes anyway…”

“Ah.”

That’s true.

I remember Karen and Grace had once picked out an outfit together, but they never went shopping for clothes separately.

Honestly, I’d like to go shopping with Karen a bit, but she’s too… um.

“Then how about going shopping for summer clothes with Grace next time too?”

“Uh, what?”

“Weather is getting warmer and summer’s coming soon. Isn’t it fine to buy some clothes for summer to wear? You can’t keep wearing sweaters and shirts all the time.”

“That’s fine…”

“If you wear sweaters every summer, won’t you just collapse from the heat?”

“I can just not go out…”

“…….”

Um.

While it’s true that I don’t like going out and I’m not fond of the heat either, Karen exceeded my expectations.

I really didn’t think she would actually say she’d avoid going out all summer just because she didn’t want to buy different clothes.

“…Grace.”

“…What?”

“Isn’t this a bit serious…?”

“I know…?”

“…What’s everyone talking about…?”

After hearing Karen speak, I turned my head toward Grace to start that conversation.

But seriously, it was not an easy topic.

I mean, who doesn’t want to go shopping for clothes? Even if you don’t want to, wouldn’t you go out sometimes?

I hate moving when it’s hot during summer, but I remember enjoying cold desserts and wandering around quite a bit.

“Are you really not going to buy clothes?”

“Um… do I really have to…? I have my Academy uniform… and I don’t really have to go out during summer break…”

“Umm….”

Hearing those words from Karen, I turned my head slightly toward Grace, looking at her.

After all, when doing something with Karen, Grace’s help has been quite useful.

“Sis, you’re not just going to stay in the territory doing nothing during break, right? And lately, you’ve been sweating a lot every time you wear a sweater…”

“That’s…”

“So, how about looking for some cooler clothes while we’re at it?”

“I can just wear my uniform…”

“No one wears their uniform on weekends, right?”

“I won’t go out…”

“What if there’s a situation where you need to go out?”

“I can ask the maids or someone else…”

“…….”

Um.

Is it impossible to change a natural recluse?

I brought up the idea of going shopping unexpectedly, but I didn’t think she’d refuse this much.

“And… But I have so many clothes in my closet back home… Can’t I just ask for those to be sent over?”

“Well, that’s true, but… sigh…”

Even her little sister, who really likes Karen, looked kind of frustrated.

Well, that’s a natural reaction.

I mean, it’s always been like this, but it doesn’t make it any easier to understand.

“Karen.”

“Uh, what…?”

There was only one thing to do here.

Usually, if you compliment Karen, she tends to loosen up…?

And in this situation, there was definitely no atmosphere where Karen would just accept things outright.

“I once found an outfit that I think would look amazing on you… Can we just take a look at it together, just once?”

“Huh…?”

“I really think it’d look fantastic on you. An attractive person like you would definitely pull it off beautifully.”

“Well… even so…”

“And while we’re at it, we could also get some summer clothes for your sister Grace; she’d surely love that too.”

“That’s… definitely true…”

Karen tends to like her little sister, Grace, after all.

So when I say this, it’s just natural for her to start leaning toward agreeing.

It’s the kind of thing where compliments paired with an excuse regarding her little sister are not easy for Karen to dismiss.

“I want to see you in a pretty summer outfit. Don’t you want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just… going out…”

“It’s not that hot yet.”

“Well… uh…”

I could see her slowly starting to sway.

Karen’s introverted nature is true, but if I push a little, she usually tends to shift towards agreement.

If I got closer to her right now or even hugged her while persistently requesting, she’d probably agree without a doubt, right?

“Should we go check it out together?”

“Yeah…”

“Hehe.”

In the end, she accepted my suggestion, and since I wasn’t the only one asking, but Grace sitting next to her was also requesting, it was only natural.

Anyway, while continuing this conversation, we waited for the banquet food to arrive.

The Academy teachers were drinking and chatting among themselves, while the students were enjoying their drinks and having fun.

After all the menu items are served, I’m sure one of the teachers will come out and say something just like last time, right?

“Hmm…”

“What’s up with that look?”

“Ah, Ella.”

While I was gazing at the teachers’ table, Ella suddenly spoke to me.

Was I staring too intently over there?

“Are you looking at the teachers’ table because there’s some problem?”

“Not at all; I just sort of envied them drinking, so I was watching.”

“…What?”

It really wasn’t anything.

I was merely watching because I felt a mix of envy and a touch of regret seeing the teachers gathered over there enjoying beers.