After My Girlfriend Dumped Me, I Got Reincarnated As A High School Student. That Part’s Fine—But Why Are All My Ex-Girlfriends Here Too? - Chapter 45 – The are some things that you can’t choose. But there are also some answers you can find by choosing.

And so…

Lunch break.

Though called a lunch break, I was about to become a corporate slave! Kiran!

“This is my favorite place.”

As promised, I—Yuta Misumi, supposed ex-boyfriend of Tsugawa Mizuho—was being led by the hand… Wait, why am I naturally being held like this…?

Leaving the school grounds in our uniforms, we arrived after a few minutes’ walk at a stylish little café.

“Uh… sneaking out of school to come here feels kind of… sinful…”

The path here had been a heart-pounding adventure for many reasons.

“This place is out of sight, so when I sneak out, I usually climb over here.”

Mizuho started climbing the fence behind the school.

“W-wait, what!?”

Since she went first, her short skirt gave glimpses of black underwear.

“What? Are you getting flustered over just some panties? Are you a virgin or something!”

She laughed teasingly.

Insulting me…!

I quickly climbed up to stand beside her.

“That’s more like it.”

With a mischievous smile, she jumped to the other side of the fence.

So active…

Nervously, I managed to cross the fence too, and here we are…

“Got a valuable experience, right?”

“Not exactly the kind of experience I wanted…”

Come to think of it, the student council president probably knows about this escape… Maybe I should bring some sweets as an apology later…

Inside the café, a young male employee was reading a newspaper.

“Hey, Mizuho, sneaking out again?”

“Y-yeah! Oh, my usual order, please!”

“Sure. So, is this your new boyfriend today?”

“Nope, ex-boyfriend.”

“Uh… thanks.”

Being introduced as an ex is… complicated.
Well, it’s true, though…

“Oh, I’ll introduce him properly. This is my cousin, Jin Aosaki. And this is my ex-boyfriend of three days, Yuta.”

“Was that clarification necessary!?”

“Hahaha, three days? That’s like Akechi Mitsuhide!”

He laughed at me… By the way, historically, Mitsuhide’s rule lasted 11 days before Hideyoshi defeated him…

“Haha, sorry, sorry. Well, take your time… or maybe not, since you’re skipping school. What’ll you have, Misumi? Today’s recommendation is curry that’s been rested for a day.”

“Ah, I’ll have that.”

“Two-day rested curry—so ex-curry, haha!”

I hate this guy!

When I glared, Mizuho patted my back.

“Alright, alright, sit down! Jin makes good curry!”

“O-okay.”

I was half-forced to sit.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Going out just the two of us.”

“Well, we broke up, after all.”

“Yeah, but still~.”

“You’ve probably gone out with someone else without me, right?”

“Huh, are you being possessive? I didn’t think you were that type.”

“No, I’m not. Being possessive over an ex is kinda crazy…”

“Haha, true.”

“So, um, is there a reason why you turned out like that?”

I asked, curious as she laughed lightly.

“Huh? Are you curious about me now?”

“Just… simple curiosity.”

“I can tell you, but it’s not a fun story.”

At that moment, our curry and mini-salads were brought to the table.

“Going to tell that story, Mizuho?”

Jin asked as he set down the dishes.

“Yeah, well… it’s fine if it’s just for you, Yuta.”

What exactly does that mean…

Itadakimasu.

Ah, this curry is a bit spicy, but tasty.

“So, my first experience… was with my dad.”

“Buh!?”

W-what is this girl suddenly saying!?

“W-wait, are you okay?”

“You dropped an outrageous bomb out of nowhere…”

“Well, it’s true.”

“But still…”

“Haha, yeah, that’s the normal reaction.”

Jin laughed heartily.

Not funny…

“My mom died when I was little, and I didn’t have a close relationship with my dad either.”

“Uh… okay.”

I’d never heard that before. We broke up before I got to know her deeply.

“But when we were intimate, he was happy and gentle with me. At first it hurt a lot, and I cried, but if I endured, he was happy, and that made me happy too.”

“…!”

I understood—her dad is a jerk.

“You’d think he’s terrible, right? Mizuho’s mom died when she was very young, so the only parent she really knew was that awful dad.”

Jin spoke seriously.

“That’s awful…”

“Well, kids naturally want to make their parents happy. In her case, her dad, usually never kind, suddenly was gentle, so it made her happy too.”

“Her dad used her feelings for his own advantage…”

“Maybe, but he was probably lonely too. I resembled my mom when she was young… so…”

“Why are you defending that guy!?”

I raised my voice. It’s someone else’s story, yet it made me angry like it was my own.

“Well, normally you’d think that, but to her, he’s still family.”

“Family…”

We can’t choose the family we’re born into. By that logic, I’m actually quite fortunate. But many aren’t.

“By the way, the neighbors noticed and reported him to the police. Her dad was arrested, and Mizuho went to live with her grandmother.”

“Yeah, that’s about it. I wanted to make someone happy, so I dated a lot. Like Yuta, some relationships ended quickly. Some were violent, so I learned self-defense. Well, that’s about it.”

“…Wow.”

I had no words. She’s a high schooler now, like me, yet she’s had such a harsh life. Without that history, she could’ve had a normal high school life.

“Don’t look so grim. I’m happy with my life now, so I’m not upset about the past.”

“I-I see.”

She’s satisfied with her current life, so it’s not my place to be angry. I drank some water to calm myself.

“But… thank you.”

“Yeah.”

“After we broke up, I dated a lot of people.”

Oh no… I didn’t want to hear this… Why bring it up now…

“But no one was fun, nothing lasted. Why do you think that is?”

“Well, I didn’t last long either, you know? How should I know?”

“I see.”

Mizuho grinned. What is she plotting…?

Still, despite her awful past, seeing her happy now makes me feel… okay.

Incidentally, we ended up being late afterward and got scolded by Tsunoka-sensei, but that’s another story…