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 26

“Sigh…”

Ugh, I’m exhausted.

In the end, my morning trip to school turned into a chaotic, high-speed swap-out session among the Tsukimori Sisters—a total power move.

But what’s really draining my energy right now is something else entirely.

“…I should go to the restroom.”

The atmosphere in the classroom didn’t feel welcoming at all.

There were so many piercing gazes.

No one met my eyes directly, but I could feel it—being watched from a distance, whispers behind my back.

I’ve never liked being in the spotlight, and this kind of thing is just… stressful.

Well, I do have a general idea why things turned out this way.

“Hmm… Oh, speak of the devil.”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to hurry into the restroom, I spotted a small group of girls hanging around near the sinks.

The one who spoke was a girl with a short black haircut and a cynical smirk—easily the most eye-catching of the bunch.

“Oh, it’s Miss Popular.”

She’s the one who, on the very first day of the new term, pulled that ridiculous stunt and tried to make me confess to the Tsukimori Sisters.

“Who are you calling that?!”

Um… you are Miss Popular, aren’t you?

Don’t act like you don’t remember.

Thanks to her, I was basically confirmed as the class loner.

…Though, I guess it’s not so bad now, since the Tsukimori Sisters have been really kind to me lately.

“Hehe…”

“…Gross. What’s with the creepy smile out of nowhere?”

Oops. That slipped out.

Whenever I think about the Sisters, I just can’t help but smile.

Even when I remember something annoying, the thought of them instantly lifts my mood. The Tsukimori Sisters are literal angels.

“Alright! I can power through class now!”

Chiya keeps warning me not to get any failing grades, after all.

It’s the little things every day that count.

“Huh? Are you seriously ignoring me?!”

But of course, my path forward gets blocked again.

“…Miss Popular, if I may… Hanging around a gloomy loner like me might rub off on you, you know?”

Stick with someone this damp and downcast, and you might get soggy too.

Just saying—it’d be best if you went back to your usual flashy crowd and kept shining in your sparkly youth drama or whatever.

“I told you I’m not Miss Popular!”

“What?!”

“Why do you sound so surprised?! Isn’t it obvious? It’s totally absurd!”

“You’re not Miss Popular? I’ve never seen an introvert like you before.”

I mean, really—standing straight, your makeup skirted the edge of school rules, your skirt’s super short, your hair’s perfectly styled, and you’ve got that undeniable main character aura. What kind of introvert has all that?

“Like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m actually such a shut-in! I just watch Netflix all day~’?”

Trying to pass yourself off as a background character with that kind of fake loner energy? It makes it really uncomfortable for the rest of us actual nobodies.

Please stop pretending.

“I’m not an introvert!”

…Huh?

“I have no idea what you’re saying. Just calm down for a second.”

Seriously, I don’t want to be having such incomprehensible conversations first thing in the morning.

“My name is Satsuki Saezuki! Stop calling me Miss Popular!”

“Ahh… so that’s what this was about.”

That was confusing.

You could’ve just said so from the beginning.

“And not calling people by their names—do you have any manners?”

Well, you’ve been calling me “you” this whole time too, so…

But, fine.

“…I’m sorry.”

I bow my head politely.

Keeping things peaceful is best.

I really don’t want any more drama, so I’ll just let this slide.

Apparently satisfied with my apology, Saezuki-san curled her lips into another sly smirk.

“So? Still clinging to the Tsukimori girls?”

“Ah… You mean this morning?”

Yeah, that probably explains the weird stares from classmates too.

During the Tsukimori Sisters’ arrival—the academy idols themselves—a background nobody like me suddenly appeared beside them.

And on top of that, that nobody just so happens to be Akari Hanano, the girl rumored to have confessed and gotten rejected. No wonder people are curious.

And of course, Saezuki-san just had to bring it up.

“You still haven’t given up? You’re seriously hopeless. I’m telling you, this is going to end badly, so you really should stop.”

…Even if you say that.

You’re the one who pushed me to confess in the first place.

It’s not like I’m stalking the Tsukimori Sisters.

If anything, I know I’m not worthy of being around them, and I was planning to back off quietly.

“Um… if I’m really that dangerous to be around, wouldn’t it be better to just leave me alone?”

Not that I expect her to actually take that advice.

Fine. I’ll admit I’m a hopeless case and hope she walks away.

I’ll survive in this class as the heartbroken, emotionally unstable girl who got rejected.

Yep. No hope for happiness in sight.

“What? I’m the one talking to you, and that’s your attitude?”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

“Then answer properly when someone speaks to you.”

Ugh, this is hard. This is really hard.

I already admitted it. I said it—out loud.

So why won’t she just leave me alone?

What else am I supposed to do?

While I’m flailing for the right response, for some reason Saezuki-san’s smile only grows wider—as if she’s enjoying this.

“Seriously, knock it off, okay? You’re just making things awkward for the Tsukimori girls too.”

With that, her little entourage starts smirking as well.

A few even chimes in with “Yeah, seriously,” and other comments of agreement.

Something about this feels really unpleasant…

“Come on, apologize to the Tsukimori girls. Say, ‘I’m sorry for following you around.’”

“Ah, um, that’s…”

…I can’t do that.

After all, they were the ones who invited me to walk with them.

“Huh? Are you seriously trying to refuse? You think you have the right to do that?”

“Um…”

Saezuki and her entourage began to close in on me.

As they moved forward, I backed up—only to bump into the wall behind me.

But they kept closing the distance.

Wait… What is this?

Something about this feels ominous…

“—And who exactly doesn’t have the right to what?”

A commanding voice suddenly rang out.

I turned toward the entrance and saw a stunning girl standing there, her twin tails swaying dramatically.

“M-Ms. Tsukimori…”

“It’s Karin. There are three of us in the same class, remember? Use our names properly.”

Her tone was rougher than usual.

Her eyes were sharp, and the air around her radiated authority.

“So? Who doesn’t have what right?”

Karin stepped in front of me and glared fiercely at Saezuki.

“I-I mean… she’s been following you guys around since this morning, so I told her to apologize. But she refused… I just said she didn’t have the right to do that…”

Saezuki’s tone instantly lost its edge.

Looks like she can’t act tough in front of Karin.

“Excuse me? Who are you calling ‘she’?”

Karin’s voice took on a dangerous edge.

“I-I mean… Hanano.”

“Watch your mouth.”

As Karin stepped forward with force, Saezuki and her followers instinctively took a step back.

“We’re the ones who invited Akari to come with us. She has nothing to apologize for.”

“A-Akari…? You invited her…? Since when are you even that close…?”

Saezuki looked stunned by how familiar we were.

“Do I have to explain that to you?”

“Uh, no…”

“And of course Akari has the right to say no, doesn’t she?”

“U-um, well…”

“She doesn’t?”

“N-no, she does… but…”

Karin kept advancing, slowly but firmly.

It was… quite the sight to behold.

“Then we’re done here, right? No more saying things like that to Akari.”

“F-fine, I get it…”

With that, Saezuki and her group practically fled the scene.

Wow… Stuff like this actually happens, huh?

“Are you okay, Akari? They didn’t do anything weird to you, did they?”

Karin turned to me, gently placing a hand on my arm to check if I was alright.

Her voice, earlier so commanding, had softened into something kind and warm.

She felt like a completely different person.

“Ah, yes. They didn’t do anything.”

“I’m so glad…”

“Oh…?”

A warm, comforting sensation wrapped around me.

Before I knew it, Karin had pulled me into a hug.

As she held me tightly, I could feel her warmth even through our uniforms.

“Um… Karin?”

“If anything had happened to you, I seriously wouldn’t have forgiven them.”

…Now she’s mad again.

This emotional rollercoaster is just so Karin.

It looks like I really worried her a lot.

So, I—

“I’m really okay.”

“Ah…”

While still in her embrace, I gently wrapped my arms around her back and reached up to pat her head.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

I put all my gratitude into those words.