I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 48

“You’re late, Karin. What exactly were you doing?”

As we returned to the field, Chiya poked her head out from the student council tent.

Her usual cool tone was in place—but was it just my imagination, or was there a slight edge of disapproval mixed in?

“Yeah, yeah, just look at me. Isn’t it obvious?”

Karin huffed, shoulders loaded with traffic cones.

Admittedly, it was painfully obvious what she’d been doing.

…Still, I had to wonder: Where on her slim arms does she hide all that strength?

“I see. So even though you brought someone with you, you carried everything alone. Incredibly inefficient. No wonder you were delayed.”

“……”

A clean, direct hit of pure logic silenced Karin on the spot.

She didn’t even try to fight back. Just seeing her fall quiet so fast made her seem… kind of adorable, honestly.

“Get those delivered. Everyone’s waiting on you for the next task.”

“…Fine, I get it!”

With a few dramatic snorts, Karin stomped off across the field.

A girl that strong and that elegant… do others like her even exist?

“And you. What were you doing while you were with Karin?”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

While I’d been admiring Karin’s retreating form, Chiya’s attention suddenly turned to me—with pinpoint precision.

And her question was even more dangerous.

“I-I was… um, helping…”

“Helping how, exactly?”

Welp, fair.

My hands were completely empty, after all.

Truth be told, I wasn’t really sure what I’d been doing, either.

“If Karin was capable of carrying everything on her own, you would’ve finished much faster. So… what exactly were the two of you doing?”

We were on the verge of becoming… a mattress and a blanket.

It was an accident.

But still.

Yeah, there’s no way I can report that to her older sister.

That’d earn a serious scolding for sure.

“Umm…”

“Did you do something you can’t explain?”

Terrifying. Terrifying. She’s terrifying.

Even though only a short pause had passed, Chiya filled it with enough pressure to collapse a building.

Still… I didn’t want to lie to her.

If possible, I always wanted to be honest and open with the Tsukimori sisters.

Which means…

“We, uh… kind of turned into a mattress and a blanket. On top of a mat.”

It’s a metaphor.

I was the sheet (on the bottom) and Karin was the blanket (on top).

That’s all I meant.

It’s not a lie. Just… poetic truth.

“…What are you talking about?”

“…”

Yup. That’s fair.

Even if I’m being honest, it makes no sense.

“…So being around someone this incomprehensible is what caused the delay, I suppose.”

She’s actually trying to justify Karin’s inefficiency now—by implying I was the problem.

My credibility was hitting rock bottom…

But hey, if it keeps Karin from getting blamed, maybe it’s worth it?

“Oh, Akari-chaaan~!”

A voice called out from a distance.

Hold it right there!

I spun around and rushed in that direction.

“Hiyori-san! You can’t do that!”

“Oh my, what did I do wrong?”

With a serene smile, she touched a finger to her cheek and tilted her head—a literal angel.

She was adorable… but her innocent timing was dangerous.

“At the sports festival, you can’t go calling me that name in front of everyone!”

The students, caught up in the excitement of the sports festival—a day far removed from the usual routine—were practically floating with heat and adrenaline.

And in the middle of all that excitement stood the Tsukimori sisters—beings who were less “high school girls” and more “divine miracles sculpted by the hands of gods.” There was no way people wouldn’t notice their presence.

Right now, the entire school had their eyes trained on them—every movement, every breath.

…Thankfully, all the attention was currently centered on the youngest sister, who was walking across the field with a stack of cones on her shoulders. Because of that, no one was paying me any mind—which was very much appreciated.

Still, this was exactly why one must never casually call out to a background character like me with a familiar nickname in a setting like this!

“Hiyori-san, calling me that name here just makes me stand out weirdly…”

“Oh my, is ‘Akari-chan’ going to become a trend now?”

“N-No! That’s not what I meant at all…!”

Only Hiyori-san could take my concern and interpret it as potential popularity.

She’s just a little… off sometimes.

“Wait, we’re not done talking here… Wait—is that Hiyori?”

Chiya, who had been following after us, came to a stop when she noticed Hiyori. She tilted her head curiously.

Funny how even a simple gesture like that, the angle of her head, was so similar between them. Must be a sister thing.

It was… kind of cute.

“Chiya-chan, I need to borrow Akari-chan for a bit, okay?”

Without warning, Hiyori slipped her arm around mine and started guiding me away.

Her movements were so smooth and natural, I hadn’t even realized I was being led off somewhere until it was already happening.

“Hold it. I said we weren’t finished talking.”

Pull.

Now my other arm was being pulled—this time by Chiya.

…W-What is even happening right now!?

“My, my… is this going to turn into a tug-of-war, Chiya-chan?”

“Once I’m done with my business, I’ll let go. You’re the one who should let go of her arm.”

Neither of them backed down.

Each pulled on one side of me, refusing to yield even an inch.

“Still, if I’m not mistaken, it’s my time with Akari-chan now, isn’t it?”

“Tch…”

True enough.

We’d just finished the scheduled work time with Karin, and it was approaching lunchtime.

That slot was allocated to Hiyori, per Chiya’s very own time management plan.

“For someone so strict about scheduling, it’s not very admirable of you to interfere with my time, is it, Chiya-chan?”

“…Ugh.”

With her ever-gentle smile, Hiyori still managed to land that verbal blow perfectly.

And to her credit—this was Chiya Tsukimori she was up against.

The fact that Hiyori could talk circles around her like this… wow.

“So then, the one who should be letting go… is you, don’t you think?”

“…Yes, I suppose so.”

Chiya frowned, clearly frustrated, but in the end, she couldn’t argue with logic—especially her own rules.

With a reluctant sigh, she let go of my arm.

“Alright then, let’s go, Akari-chan.”

“W-Wait—yes! Coming!”

Hiyori pulled gently on my arm as we began to walk off together.

“Still… that was impressive. You talked Chiya down just like that.”

“Oh, is that so? Chiya-chan is easy to reason with if you use her own logic. She has her own internal rulebook, and if you stick to it, she’s not so hard to handle.”

“Is that so…”

That kind of strategic thinking and adaptability was… weirdly out of character for someone as angelic as Hiyori.

But maybe that’s just another side of her.

“Come on now, Akari-chan, let’s go~”

“U-Um, I’d still prefer you not call me ‘Akari-chan’ in public—it’s confusing and gives people the wrong idea…”

Is she a scatterbrained angel or a cunning strategist?

Tsukimori Hiyori… I can’t underestimate her.

Support