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 7

“Brr, it’s so cold…”

The air outside was freezing.

Thanks to P.E. class, where I had to change into my sportswear and head outside in the morning, I was left shivering.

“Maybe being all alone like this just makes it feel even colder…”

…

Sigh, even if I muttered something so pitiful, no one would hear me anyway. This really was miserable.

Today was the physical fitness test, which meant I’d have to move my body quite a bit.

“Alright, I’m calling roll now! Line up in order!”

The first test was the short-distance sprint.

One by one, students stepped up to the starting line as their names were called by the teacher.

(But looking at it this way, it’s actually kind of random, huh…)

My gaze landed on the Tsukimori sisters.

They were always together, or at least that was the impression they gave, but that didn’t mean they stuck together for everything.

Each sister was in a different spot, surrounded by classmates, naturally engaging in conversation.

“The fact that I’m the only one who knows their little secret… Hehe.”

As a fan, this was truly a privilege—it felt a little indulgent.

“Why are you grinning to yourself…?”

“Huh!?”

Uh-oh.

I had completely let my guard down, thinking I was alone.

Before I knew it, Karin had approached, her brows furrowed in suspicion.

Please don’t look at me like I’m some kind of weirdo.

“N-No, I was just lost in thought…”

“So, you start laughing to yourself when you’re thinking…?”

“S-Sometimes…”

Only when I’m thinking about you Tsukimori sisters, though.

Should I just say that outright?

“It’s honestly creepy, so maybe you should stop doing that at school.”

“Ah, yes.”

I should stop.

I really don’t want Karin to look at me any weirder than she already does.

“More importantly, what brings you over to someone like me, Karin?”

Someone as radiant as you shouldn’t be around someone like me—you’ll attract the wrong kind of attention.

“The teacher’s been calling your name, but you didn’t respond. I came to check on you.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t notice at all.”

“You space out way too much.”

“I have no excuse for that.”

“…Are you troubled by something?”

Karin suddenly asked in a concerned tone.

“N-No, it’s nothing major.”

I can’t have this.

Making Karin worry about me? That’s unacceptable.

As someone who supports the Tsukimori sisters, the last thing I should do is burden them in any way.

I just want to quietly watch over them.

“…If something’s wrong, I wouldn’t mind listening.”

“Huh?”

Her unexpected offer left me momentarily speechless.

“I-I mean! We live in the same house, after all! If someone in the house is acting all gloomy, of course I’d notice!”

Karin quickly rattled off her words, her face slightly flushed.

Ah, I see.

She was just making sure the atmosphere in the Tsukimori household wasn’t disrupted—it wasn’t like she was actually worried about me, personally.

Understood.

I wouldn’t want to get in their way, either.

“I’m fine! I promise I won’t cause any worry for you all!”

“That’s not what I’m saying—I’m telling you that if you have something on your mind, you can talk to me!”

“I don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Somehow, that’s even more concerning…”

With a tilt of her head, Karin walked off toward the starting line.

I had the feeling that her opinion of me had taken another hit, but…

Well, it’s still better than making her worry.

And now, the 50-meter sprint.

Six of us lined up at the starting position, waiting for the signal.

“Ready…!”

Bang!

At the sound of the starting cue, everyone took off running.

And among them, one person sprinted ahead with remarkable speed.

“Wow, look at that! Karin’s really fast, just as expected.”

Karin was so overwhelmingly fast that even our classmates couldn’t help but voice their amazement.

With each passing second, she picked up speed, leaving everyone else in the dust and crossing the finish line without a single challenger.

As expected of her.

“…Hah… haah… ugh…”

The one wheezing pathetically was me.

Since I was mostly an indoor person, with school commutes being my only form of exercise, being forced into a sudden full sprint was practically torture.

My heart was pounding wildly, and my lungs were screaming for oxygen, as if they were being squeezed tight.

…Ugh, I was starting to feel a little nauseous.

I bent my knees and lowered my head, focusing entirely on catching my breath.

“Hey… are you okay?”

Just then, Karin, who had finished her race long ago, called out to me.

Not once, but twice…!?

Sh-She’s so kind…!!

No, wait a minute, Akari Hanano!

Hadn’t I just told myself that I shouldn’t make Karin worry!?

“I-I’m f-fuh… fine…!”

“You don’t look fine at all.”

“N-No, I’m just… sh-short on o-oxygen… a-and it’s a b-bit suffocating…”

“That’s exactly what ‘not fine’ means.”

“This… is n-normal… for me…”

“There’s no way that’s normal.”

Oh no.

The more I talked, the more I was making Karin worry.

I had to change the subject.

“Karin, you were incredibly fast just now.”

“Oh, well, you know… I’m in a sports club, after all.”

“The basketball team, right? But you were even faster than the track team members.”

Among the Tsukimori sisters, Karin was the most athletically gifted.

The eldest, Chiya, was competent at everything, while the second sister, Hiyori, wasn’t very fond of sports.

That said, all of them were far more capable than I was.

“Haha… Well, being fast doesn’t really mean much in basketball.”

…Huh?

Something about that comment seemed oddly loaded.

I’d heard that Karin was the ace of the girls’ basketball team.

So why did she sound so self-deprecating?

Was this just the humility of someone at the top?

“With my skills being this half-baked, there’s no way I can ever surpass my sisters.”

She muttered the words under her breath, as if speaking to no one in particular.

Something about that really stuck with me.

It seemed like basketball played a role in her relationship with her sisters.

My instincts as a devoted fan told me that this was important.

“This… I can’t just ignore this.”

I had to learn more about Karin.

To do that…

“Karin!”

“Huh? What?”

“Um… my… my legs…”

“My legs?”

Just as I was about to chase after her, something went wrong with my body.

“M-My legs hurt… and… they won’t move… P-Please help me…”

My knees buckled, rendering them completely useless.

“You should’ve just said that from the start!”

With Karin scolding me the entire time, I ended up borrowing her shoulder for support.

…D-Damn it. What an utter defeat.