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 4

“…(I feel suffocated.)”

Living together with the Tsukimori sisters.

It was dinnertime, and we were gathered around the dining table in the living room.

In front of me, the three sisters sat, and a balanced meal with grilled fish as the main dish was laid out.

By the way, my stepfather and my mother would be late due to work, so we wouldn’t be eating together.

Naturally, it was just the Tsukimori sisters and me.

“Is something wrong? Is the food not to your liking?”

Chiya, noticing my behavior, asked in a tone that almost felt like she was scolding me.

“Oh, no, it’s not that…”

Chiya was strict, so I tried my best not to upset her.

“It’s fine. If there’s something you don’t like, don’t hesitate to say so.”

Then Hiyori stepped in to back me up.

Apparently, Hiyori was the one in charge of cooking for the Tsukimori family.

A homey, beautiful girl—how perfect!

“Ah, thank you! But really, it’s fine. I can eat anything.”

“Oh, you’re like a little dog, how cute.”

“A dog…?”

Wait, a dog?

Was I being compared to a pet?

That was a unique way to describe someone.

Anyway, that aside.

I should be honored just to be able to eat Hiyori’s cooking, to be honest.

“There’s no way she’s like a dog. Clearly, she’s just a shy human, Hiyori-nee.”

Now, Karin chimed in, defending me.

“Thank you, Karin!”

It felt great to be treated like a human again.

“I-I wasn’t saying you should thank me, though!”

“Oh, really?”

Ugh…

I had no idea what kind of response would be the right one.

Well, aside from their individual reactions, there was something else on my mind.

“…”

The silence.

Earlier, they had all been quick to comment on me, but this silence was different.

With no one speaking, I felt completely out of place.

As the newcomer in this situation, I only felt uncomfortable in this quiet atmosphere.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

I hesitated before speaking, and Chiya responded, giving me her attention.

“Is it always this quiet during meals?”

The thought that maybe I was the one causing this tension crossed my mind.

Had I ruined the usual family conversation just by suddenly joining their lives?

The thought of being a negative factor in the Tsukimori family’s daily life was terrifying.

I really didn’t want to be the one causing any discomfort in their family.

“Well… I suppose so.”

Surprisingly, Chiya gave a vague answer, but she confirmed it.

Hiyori and Karin didn’t say anything, so it seemed they didn’t mind.

I wondered if it was just a rule in the Tsukimori household not to speak during meals.

I had assumed that the Tsukimori sisters would always chat happily during meals, so this was a bit unexpected.

◇◇◇

In the end, I was the last one to finish eating.

By the time I was done, Chiya and Hiyori had already gone back to their rooms.

I gathered my dishes and walked to the kitchen.

“Finally finished eating, huh?”

Karin was in the kitchen, washing the dishes, and she glanced at me.

Her domestic side made her even more beautiful.

“Sorry for taking so long.”

“It took you a while to finish eating.”

It’s because everyone else looks so perfect while eating!

“Excuse me… um, is it you, Karin, who’s going to do the cleaning up?”

“Yeah, that’s basically my role.”

It seems Karin has a lot of responsibilities involving water-related tasks, just like when she cleaned the bath the other day.

“I’ll take care of the rest.”

Since Karin had nearly finished washing the dishes, I decided to handle my own.

Above all, her delicate hands shouldn’t get stained by my leftovers.

“Eh, really? Is it fine?”

“Yes, it’s the least I can do.”

“Hmm… Oh, then maybe I’ll just leave all the dishwashing to you from now on…”

Oh, so after the bath, Karin is transferring her duties to me again.

“That’s fine.”

That’s easy enough for me to do.

“No, but if you take over everything, then I won’t have any role left!”

“Eh, huh…?”

It’s a mystery why I’m being scolded when it was Karin who suggested it.

“If you say yes to everything, it wouldn’t feel like a joke anymore.”

“It was a joke?”

“Please, notice! I’m not that kind of mean girl.”

“I thought maybe it was a reward.”

“Why would it turn into that?!”

But it’s the dishes from the Tsukimori sisters… right?

Even though they are usually beautiful and divine, they, too, cannot resist the physiological needs of living beings.

Being able to clean up after them feels a little… sinful. No, no, I should stop before it gets too disgusting.

“Sorry. But really, it’s okay for me to take over, you know?”

“It was a joke, so just hand them over.”

With that, Karin took the dishes from my hands and began washing them with a sponge.

Ah, Karin’s delicate fingers are touching the dishes I dirtied… This feels… sinful too.

Wait, no, no.

“Anyway, if I did that, Chiya would scold me.”

“Eh, she would scold you?”

“Chiya is strict with the rules. Hiyori is always smiling and doesn’t say much.”

I see…

But now that I’m talking with her, it seems Karin feels a bit reserved around her older sisters.

And that quiet meal…

It made me wonder.

“Karin, you and your sisters are close, right?”

“Yeah…? Well… we’re not bad, but…”

Karin’s response was rather vague.

“Not bad, but not great either.”

That nuance is quite shocking to me.

“But at school, you all seemed so close…”

“Well, we’re sisters, so we spend a lot of time together. Our bond is probably deeper than with others. But… maybe we were even closer in the past.”

“…No way.”

The phrase “I nearly collapsed from shock” seems to have been made for moments like this.

“Why are you so surprised by this?”

Karin looks at me, surprised.

But to me, it’s a shocking revelation.

The Tsukimori sisters’ nobility comes from the deep bond they share because of their bloodline.

And yet…

“Were you closer before?”

“Ah… well, we used to talk and play together more… But why do I have to talk about this?”

I see now.

They really were a close-knit trio of sisters before.

But what caused them to become so distant?

“Please, tell me more about this!”

“What’s with the intensity? That’s scary! Are you… really after me?”

Oh no.

I just realized that my “love” for the three sisters was still being misunderstood.

“No, no! I’m just curious about the three of you!”

“So you’re after all three of them?! You’re supposed to be my little sister-in-law, and you’re too indiscriminate!”

“But Karin, you really do see me as family…”

“Why are you getting all dreamy about it!? You really are confusing!”

Karin quickly retreated to her room, as if trying to escape me.

…What a mistake.

My intense feelings for the three sisters clearly aren’t being conveyed as I hoped.