I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 49
“Alright then, Akari-chan, shall we have lunch?”
“Ah, yes…”
We’d moved from the noisy field to a quiet courtyard.
Now we were seated side by side on a bench, just the two of us.
“Um… are you really going to have lunch with me?”
“Why, yes. That’s what we agreed, isn’t it?”
That was true.
The schedule had been neatly split: the morning was with Karin, helping the sports committee; the afternoon would be helping Chiya with student council tasks.
But once you factored in my own competitions, there wasn’t really time left to just sit and watch the festival with Hiyori.
That meant—logically—the only time left for us was lunch.
“Here you are, I brought lunch for both of us.”
“Thank you so much!”
Truthfully, Hiyori-san always prepared my lunch, so that part hadn’t changed.
But this was the first time we’d shared that time together like this, side by side.
“Please, go ahead.”
“I will… Thank you.”
She gently handed me the bento box.
Yes—Hiyori-san, the goddess of serenity herself, was sitting right next to me.
We had deliberately moved away from the crowds on the field, but it seemed other students had the same idea. A few were scattered nearby… and they were very clearly watching us.
It made sense.
This pairing—me, the background character, and her, the divine older sister of the Tsukimori trio—was hardly ordinary.
“Why do you keep looking around so nervously?”
Hiyori-san, as always, noticed immediately.
Among the sisters, her perception was the sharpest. I instinctively sat up straighter.
“Ah, no, I just… can’t help noticing all the people around.”
“Do you always eat lunch while scanning your surroundings?”
Even though her tone was gentle, I felt a strange pressure behind her words…
Something like: “Shouldn’t you be focusing on the lunch I made for you?”
Maybe I was overthinking it.
“No, I’ll look at the food while I eat.”
“That’s right. It’s rude otherwise, isn’t it?”
“Yes, ma’am. Completely right.”
“Then… let’s eat, shall we?”
And of course, she wasn’t wrong.
I should focus and show proper appreciation.
—Click.
I opened the pastel-pink lid of the bento box.
“T-Today’s lunch… what’s… what—?!”
—Click.
I closed the lid again.
“Akari-chan?”
“Y-Yes…?”
“You won’t be able to eat it with the lid closed, you know.”
“I-I know, but…”
There was… a reason I couldn’t keep it open just yet.
“Did I include something you don’t like?”
“Oh, no, not at all!”
It wasn’t about taste.
It was about… presentation.
“Then what’s wrong?”
“Um, doesn’t it… look a little different from usual…?”
“Ah! Since it’s the sports festival, I thought I’d make it a bit more festive and cute!”
Hiyori-san clasped her hands together with a bright smile.
Which was… the entire problem.
“I… I thought I saw a lot of hearts in there…”
Pink rice molded into tiny heart-shaped onigiri.
Heart-shaped tamagoyaki.
The hamburger patties? Topped with ketchup… in the shape of hearts.
Even the vegetables weren’t spared—thinly sliced pink-stained daikon formed heart-shaped dividers that held carefully packed greens.
Carrots were, of course, cut into hearts.
And just to complete the theme, the bento box itself was… heart-shaped.
There were so many hearts, I was on the verge of gestalt collapse.
“Oh dear, you didn’t like it?”
“N-No! I mean—it’s not that I didn’t like it… I was just a little surprised, is all…”
I don’t think even couples go this hard with themed bento lunches…
Why in the world had she made such a love bomb of a lunch?
“Ufufu. Akari-chan, you’re just overthinking it.”
“Eh…? I’m… the one overthinking?”
I thought my reaction was pretty normal, to be honest!?
“I mean, it’s the sports festival, right?”
“W-Well, yes…”
“And when you think of ‘hearts,’ what do they represent? The heart, of course! Your actual organ.”
“Um… huh?”
“It’s a day when everyone pushes their hearts harder than usual. So I wanted to honor that—that’s why the bento is heart-themed.”
“O-Oh… I see…?”
Is that… actually a thing?
Do people make lunch with anatomical symbolism in mind?
Is this something I just don’t know about?
“Also, I just used a lot of pink because I thought it was cute, that’s all.”
“O-Oh… so it’s purely based on your sense of aesthetics, Hiyori-san…?”
“Of course it is. Or… were you thinking it meant something else, Akari-chan?”
“Ah—n-no, not at all…!”
R-Right! That makes sense.
She’s Tsukimori Hiyori—the idol of the entire school.
And I’m just her stepsister. A girl. One of many.
There’s no way any special meaning could be attached to this.
Phew… that was close.
Seriously, what was I thinking?
I was this close to becoming one of those delusional girls with a wildly overactive imagination.
This bento was made to cheer me up after the sports festival. The pink was just a cute touch, nothing more.
Anyone who reads more into it is clearly warped.
After all, Hiyori herself said so.
There’s no room for doubt.
“R-Right!? Of course! You’re completely right, Hiyori-san! That’s what I was thinking too!”
“Ufufu. I thought so.”
Exactly.
There’s no reason to be embarrassed.
Sure, eating lunch next to Hiyori-san might feel a bit overwhelming, but aside from that—there’s nothing strange about this!
I reopened the bento and reached for one of the heart-shaped rice balls.
“Well then, I’ll start eating!”
“Yes, please enjoy.”
Yay!
A heart-shaped rice ball made by Hiyori-san herself!
It was flavored with plum, light and refreshing—delicious.
There’s absolutely nothing suspicious or strange about this.
It’s just a wholesome, wonderfully made lunch.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s amazing! So delicious!”
“Ufufu. I’m so glad.”
Chew chew! Mmm!
…Wait. Was that a shadow…?
A student just walked past us. No, wait—they stopped right in front of us!?
Am I imagining things…?
Nope, they’re staring right at us!
“What kind of bento even is that!? Are you two, like… a couple or something!?”
“PFFFHH!”
No—no way!
It was Saezuki! Saezuki Satsuki herself!
And she had just—out loud—perfectly voiced the exact embarrassing thought I had earlier!!
“S-Saezuki-san…!? W-What are you talking about…?”
“No, seriously, what’s your deal!? What is that lunch!? You look like one of those gross lovey-dovey couples!”
W-Well… yes… I mean, no! NO!
This is not some kind of couple’s lunch! It’s not what it looks like!!
“This is a bento Hiyori-san made to help me recover from the sports festival! Th-There’s nothing romantic about it, I swear!”
“Then explain the one sitting next to you!”
“Huh? Sitting… next to me?”
I turned my head.
Next to me sat Hiyori-san—with the exact same pale pink, heart-shaped bento in her lap.
“They’re… completely identical!?”
Matching heart bento ×2!
“Ufufu~”
Hiyori-san simply smiled sweetly, resting her hand on her cheek.
No—say something!!
“There’s just… too much to unpack!! Why are you two sitting out here eating matching heart lunches!?”
“T-That’s… um… Hiyori-san…?”
“Ufufu~?”
No—no no no!
That’s not a response, it’s just your smile!!
Please, give me actual verbal support!
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UFUFU~