I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 55

“Hey, why was that girl hanging around Tsukimori and the others?”

“Trying to cozy up to them, maybe?”

“Ew. So full of herself. She should really pick her company more wisely.”

“No doubt about it.”

Grrr…

Well, I kind of expected people would think that.

Still, hearing it out loud like this… it really stings.

“But apparently, sometimes it’s actually Tsukimori and his group who talk to her first.”

“Seriously? So maybe they actually like her?”

“Seems like it.”

“Huh. That’s… surprising.”

Hehehe…

Believe it or not, I’m basically the fourth little sister here. Technically a stepsister, but still.

I don’t think we get along badly, either.

But yeah… standing out too much probably isn’t a great idea.

“I heard that even when Tsukimori talks to her, Hanano tends to run off like she’s avoiding him.”

“What the heck? So stuck-up. Who does she think she is?”

“Ugh, introverts are impossible to read, right?”

“Totally.”

H-Hey now…

So when I’m with them, I’m arrogant, and when I leave, I’m still arrogant?

You girls are contradicting yourselves…

That said, I didn’t have the guts to challenge them through the bathroom door.

So all I could do was sit there, stomach twisting into knots, and listen in.

“—How long are you gonna keep yapping, seriously?”

Another voice suddenly cut in.

A voice I recognized well.

“Oh, Riko-chan!”

“Talking about Hanano again, huh? That’s kind of your thing.”

Ughhh…

Now Satsuki Saezuki has joined the chat…

This is turning into a full-on gossip session about me.

I—I don’t want to hear this…!

“You were talking so loud I could hear everything. Something about Hanano and Tsukimori, right?”

“Yeah, yeah! You’ve said stuff like that too, right Riko?”

“Like how she’s always clinging one second and cold the next. So stuck-up—like, who does she think she is?”

With Saezuki, the queen of extroverts, joining in, this tea party is blooming fast…

And I’m the fertilizer for that flower.

They’re sucking me dry, and I’m gonna shrivel up.

Like a raisin…

“Don’t lump me in with you.”

But contrary to my expectations, Saezuki’s tone was… critical?

“…Eh?”

Both girls were clearly thrown off.

Honestly, even I thought she was going to side with them. So I can’t blame their reaction.

“It’s the way you’re doing it. That kind of behind-the-back talk? I don’t vibe with it.”

“W-What do you mean…?”

“C’mon, you say stuff like this too, Riko-chan.”

They turned their confusion on Saezuki.

“I say it to her face. What’s the point of gossiping in some empty hallway like this?”

“W-Well… I guess that’s true, but…”

“Isn’t that kind of even scarier…?”

The tide starts to shift.

It’s true—Saezuki has always come at me head-on, while these two gossip in places I can’t see. They’ve got totally different approaches.

“So when I say it, it’s a statement. What you’re doing is just talking trash. You called her an introvert, but honestly? You two are kind of shady yourselves.”

“……”

The two fell silent.

Well… whatever the content may be, she did take a stand, so a bit of conflict was inevitable, I suppose.

Still, I didn’t expect it to play out like this…

“Just kidding~ Honestly, I’m kind of jealous she gets to hang out with Tsukimori and the gang, you know?”

“Right? It must be nice, being close with them.”

And just like that, the flip-flop.

Saezuki called them shady, but there’s no way these girls aren’t extroverts too.

That kind of clean pivot? An introvert could never pull it off.

“You should’ve just said that from the beginning.”

“Like, we’re just mad ‘cause we’re jealous—y’know?”

“Exactly.”

For a second, the mood was tense, but they played it off and turned it light again.

With a round of “Ahaha~,” their footsteps faded into the distance.

So this… is how extroverts survive. I’m learning a lot.

Not that I could ever do it.

I feel like I took a heavier punch than I expected, but… I guess it could’ve gone worse.

And that’s probably thanks to Saezuki. Which is… surprising.

……

S-So… is it safe to leave the bathroom now?

Clunk.

With a heavy heart, I finally stepped out of the stall.

“Yo.”

“…Eh!?”

Right at the entrance—hand raised like she’d been waiting all along—stood Saezuki.

Like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Did you… know I was in there?”

Maybe I was being paranoid, but her vibe definitely felt like she did. So I asked, hesitantly.

“I saw you fake that weird excuse and leave the classroom.”

She didn’t deny it. Just told me straight up.

…So, I was totally found out.

If that’s the case… then Saezuki-san must’ve joined that conversation knowing I was in there the whole time.

“U-Um, thank you. It kind of felt like you were defending me…”

“It’s not a big deal. I mean, it’s true I’ve said similar things before. It’s nothing worth getting thanked for.”

Still, her tone had clearly been more of a reprimand than anything else.

So, I do think there was at least a little bit of consideration toward me.

“Anyway, more importantly—what did you think?”

“…Think? About what?”

“What those two said earlier. Didn’t you notice the contradiction?”

“Ah… well, yeah, it’s tough. Whether I stay close or keep my distance, they’ll talk either way…”

If I approach, I’m called arrogant. If I walk away, still arrogant.

There’s no “right” answer for me in any of that.

No matter what I do, it only seems to provoke negative reactions.

“Exactly. There are people like me who think it doesn’t suit you to get close to someone like Tsukimori, and people who think that keeping your distance makes you stuck-up. It’s both.”

“That’s… a lose-lose situation…”

What the heck am I supposed to do…

The situation was so hopeless, I found myself mumbling in fake Kansai dialect.

“That’s why—you need to set your own standards. Stick to your own values.”

“…My own values?”

“Yeah. If you just let yourself get swept up in what everyone else says, it’ll wear you down. People are selfish. They say whatever they want. Trying to match them will just exhaust you.”

“…That’s hard.”

I’ve only been able to exist by not making waves—by quietly keeping to the corner of the classroom where I’m neither a poison nor a cure to anyone.

If I were to start asserting myself, it would inevitably cause friction.

And I just don’t have the kind of strength or charm to withstand that kind of pressure.

That’s why… I’m an introvert.

“That’s why I’m telling you—figure out how you want to deal with Tsukimori and the others.”

“…Even if you say that…”

“Even if you’re trying to keep your distance, the fact is, they’re coming to you. Things aren’t the same as they were before.”

“…So I can’t stay the same either.”

The time we’ve spent together… the way we’ve interacted… has changed things, for better or worse.

That kind of transformation—born from human connection—is something I never really understood before.

“Or… you could try a different approach altogether.”

“…A different approach?”

“Being around people like Tsukimori is the problem. As irritating as it is to say… those guys stand out too much.”

They are, after all, the school’s unofficial idols.

Even I get that.

“Then… what should I do?”

“…Why not hang out with someone like me?”

“…Huh?”

Me… and Saezuki-san?

Wait—what?

“I mean, I’ve got some pull around here. I get how to deal with someone like you, more or less. And it’s not like I’m as flashy as Tsukimori and his crowd. …Ugh, saying this out loud is so annoying!”

She ruffled her hair in frustration after making her own suggestion.

“A-A-Anyway! I’m just saying—it’s an option, okay?! Use your head and think a little!”

“R-Right…”

Thinking is kind of my weak spot, though.

Yet despite my confusion, Saezuki-san’s cheeks were clearly turning red for some reason.

“D-Don’t take it too seriously, okay?! I just meant, if you really begged me, I might consider it!”

“I-I see…”

“Hmph! Later!”

With a loud clatter of footsteps, Saezuki-san stormed off.

“…What should I do?”

Maybe…

Maybe I really do need to change.

That thought slowly started to take root inside me.

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