I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me (GL) - Chapter 18

“So… that whole thing was just a misunderstanding on my part, then.”

After school, once we were home, I explained everything to Miss Karin after she finished her club activities. She nodded deeply, as though everything now made sense.

“Seems that way. By the way, Miss Karin, what exactly did you misunderstand?”

Chiya had only told me, ‘Make sure you properly explain why you came to see me,’ so I simply followed her instructions. But in the end, I still have no idea what it was Karin had misunderstood.

“Well, that’s… you know… it’s kind of hard to explain…”

Karin mumbled, her words trailing off into ambiguity.

Was it something so embarrassing that she couldn’t even bring herself to say it?

“Well, well, Karin-chan is a girl at that age, after all. Her imagination is bound to run wild in all sorts of ways.”

“Wait, hey! Hiyori-nee, don’t just go saying whatever you want…!”

Jumping in with teasing remarks was Hiyori.

By the way, we’re in my room again. It’s kind of become the default gathering spot lately, hasn’t it?

“Oh my, but I’m only stating the obvious, aren’t I? You just didn’t want to be beaten to the punch, did you, Karin-chan?”

“Wha—?! No, wait, how do you even know that?!”

Karin could barely contain her panic.

“Beaten to the punch…?”

What could that possibly mean? I tried to think it through.

“Ah! No! Akari, that’s not it—I wasn’t thinking anything like that at all—!”

“Ohh, I see now. I understand, Miss Karin.”

“Aaaaaahhh!!”

Karin clutched her head again, utterly mortified.

“So you wanted, as a younger sister, to help your older sister Chiya with her troubles before I, her stepsister, could, isn’t that right?”

“……”

Karin has become more vocal about her thoughts lately, and it’s clear she cares deeply about Chiya. That much comes through clearly.

She probably didn’t want to yield to someone like me who just appeared out of nowhere. I can easily imagine how she feels.

“Oh, Miss Karin, you’re just too shy! Don’t worry, I’m not here to steal Chiya away from you.”

“……”

You were just embarrassed that your love and concern as a little sister were showing, weren’t you?

But really, there’s no reason to hide that.

On the contrary, I’d love to see the warmth between sisters bloom even more.

“See, Karin-chan? Akari-chan’s not the type to catch on to these things unless you spell them out for her.”

“Right… I guess so… I’ve just been working myself into a frenzy over nothing, haven’t I?”

Huh? Wait a minute…

Why do I feel like they’re both looking at me with pity?

Well, it’s not a bad feeling exactly, but I am still curious about what Miss Karin originally misunderstood.

“Anyway, Akari-chan? Did you figure out what’s troubling Chiya-chan?”

“Oh, yes. Um, she did say, ‘I just want to become a normal person as soon as possible,’ or something along those lines…”

“That’s quite the vague statement. Did she say anything else?”

“Let’s see… Ah! She also said, ‘Whenever I think about how that woman’s bl00d runs through me, I can’t help but doubt myself.’”

‘That woman’, huh…

The moment I said that, both of their expressions darkened.

They must have thoughts about it too.

“She was talking about Mrs. Tsukimori, their mother… wasn’t she?”

“Yes, most likely…”

“So Chiya-nee really was affected by the divorce after all…”

Still, that alone doesn’t explain how it’s affected her so deeply.

“I know it might be out of line for someone like me to ask, but… if it’s alright, could you tell me more about the divorce?”

“You mean… the circumstances behind it?”

“Y-yes…”

“I’m sorry, Akari-chan, but we can’t answer that.”

Hiyori shook her head gently.

…Well, I suppose that’s to be expected.

It’s not like someone would just open up to a suddenly-acquired stepsister about such a sensitive issue.

“No, Akari—it’s not that. It’s because we don’t know either.”

“You don’t…?”

“Yeah. We noticed the atmosphere between our father and mother had become tense, but no one ever told us the reason why.”

So that’s how it is…

Certainly, from a parent’s perspective, it would make sense not to burden the children with unnecessary worries, and to refrain from explaining everything.

“Still, I think Chiya-chan must have had especially complicated feelings about their mother.”

It’s clear now that her past is tied closely to her emotional struggles.

“We’re starting to get a clearer picture of what’s going on in Chiya-san’s heart. Now, we just need her to open up a little more.”

I don’t believe she needs to tell us everything.

Even just admitting, “There are things I can’t talk about,” would be enough to make a difference for her sisters.

“…Akari, you really don’t know how to give up, do you?”

“Nope. I absolutely won’t.”

“…You’re really that interested in Chiya-nee, huh…”

Once again, Karin mumbled awkwardly, flustered beyond measure.

“It’s Alright, Akari-chan—this is Just Part of What Makes Karin-chan So Endearing, So Let’s Leave Her Be.”

As expected of big sister Hiyori—her patience and understanding are truly admirable. So precious.

◇◇◇

That said, the distance between me and Chiya-san hasn’t really changed.

I do wish we could grow a little closer, but…

「「「「……」」」」

As usual, dinner is eaten in near-total silence.

What should I do? Maybe I should try to break the ice with some small talk—

“I believe midterms are coming up soon. How is everyone’s studying going?”

—or so I was about to say, but Chiya-san beat me to it.

Huh? Midterms?

“I think I should be fine, more or less.”

“I’m not concerned about you, Hiyori.”

“Oh my, then who are you concerned about?”

For reference, the three sisters’ academic ranking, as I’ve heard, is:
Chiya > Hiyori > Karin.

“…I’m doing… okay-ish? I guess?”

Karin’s eyes were visibly darting toward the ceiling.

She’s clearly flustered. It’s kind of adorable.

“Last year, you were barely above failing during finals, weren’t you? I’d prefer it if you didn’t flirt with danger so early in the new school term.”

“I-I’ll be fine… probably…”

“Funny, I haven’t seen you studying much lately.”

“W-well… I’ve been studying in my room.”

“I see. Then naturally, you’ve finished the assignment due tomorrow, haven’t you?”

Wait, what? There was an assignment due tomorrow?

I completely forgot…

“…Ahhh… haha…”

Karin gave a weak, forced chuckle, clearly trying to dodge the question.

She’s so easy to read—and honestly, it’s kind of cute.

“If there’s something you don’t understand, I’ll help you. So ask me right away, Karin.”

“…Y-yeah…”

I see now.

Having the top student Chiya-san as an older sister means you can always ask her for help.

What an enviable sibling relationship.

…Wait a sec.
I think I just had a great idea.

“Me! Chiya-san! Pick me!”

I raised my hand high in the air, signaling my enthusiasm.

“…What is it.”

She looked incredibly annoyed—but I decided to ignore that for now.

“I failed finals last year! I haven’t done the homework due tomorrow! And I haven’t started studying for midterms!”

“…And your point is?”

She looked even more irritated now—but I wasn’t giving up.

“Please teach me how to study!”

This is it—this is my chance to grow even closer to her!

“No.”

“Eh…”

What a swift and absolute rejection.

“I have no obligation to look after you.”

…I figured she’d say that.

I am her stepsister, but I guess that still doesn’t count.

“Wait, wait! But Chiya-san, didn’t you once say, ‘Laziness is contagious when you’re around lazy people’?”

※Chapter 6, A Sister’s Thoughts — during breakfast

“…I did say that. And?”

“Well, that means if I fail, then Karin-san might end up failing too, right?”

“Why am I being dragged into this?!”

Karin looked genuinely shocked, but I decided to power through and ignore it.

“So please teach me how to study!”

“…That’s just nonsense.”

“Or are you saying you’d take back your own words just because I’m a hassle?”

“……”

She gave me a fierce glare but didn’t respond—perhaps because she couldn’t argue with the logic.

“Well, well, she does have a point, doesn’t she? They say people are heavily influenced by their environment.”

“Hiyori… you too?”

“Besides, it’s true that Karin-chan’s been influenced by Akari-chan quite a bit lately.”

“…That’s not untrue.”

“And most importantly, it was your words, Chiya-chan, that moved her to act. Don’t you think it’s only fair to take some responsibility?”

“…Haaah.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Chiya-san turned her sharp gaze to me.

“Fine. If you’re that determined, I’ll teach you.”

“Wah—yes!!”

And just like that, I scored another opportunity to get closer to Chiya-san.