I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 56
I know it sounds a little self-centered to say this, but I’ve always been the kind of person who stood out.
I mean, I look decent enough, my figure is pretty good, and I’ve always been quick to pick things up.
I don’t really have one thing I’m amazing at, but I’m above average across the board.
If you look presentable, keep up with the latest trends, and know how to handle yourself, it’s not that hard to build good relationships and stay ahead socially.
That’s why—I was satisfied with myself.
Because I, Riko Saezuki, truly believed that I was a fairly bright and polished person.
It happened at the high school entrance ceremony.
Up on the stage, giving the new student speech, stood this striking girl with black hair and a confident, elegant presence.
…Usually, the student with the highest entrance exam score gives that speech, right?
But seeing her, I wondered if the school just picked the most photogenic student and handed her a script.
That’s how beautiful she was—almost suspiciously so.
I never would have imagined she was actually the top student.
“Wow, look at her. She’s so beautiful.”
“That’s Chiya Tsukimori. I heard she got the highest score on the entrance exam.”
I overheard some classmates whispering and just stood there, speechless.
She was clearly more beautiful than me—and smarter, too.
It’s not like I was naïve enough to think people like her didn’t exist, but… seeing it in person hit harder than I expected.
I’d always imagined people at that level were far away, not standing right in front of me.
“And she’s a triplet, too.”
“Seriously? Three of them? It’s like they’re idols or something…”
Hearing that made my head spin.
Just one person with a face like that is already too much. But three?
I sighed quietly, realizing that whatever position I’d hoped to hold here… wasn’t going to be what I imagined.
A few weeks after school started—
“Riko-chan, that picture you posted the other day was so cute!”
“Really? Thanks!”
A classmate who saw the photo I posted on social media complimented me with zero hesitation.
I had a pretty good following—not influencer-level, of course, but for a regular high school girl, it was a solid number.
Thankfully, I wasn’t in the same class as the Tsukimori sisters, so my place in the social hierarchy was still secure.
“Hey, Riko-chan, want to go shopping after school today?”
“Sure. But… do you really need me to come along?”
“You’ve got great style! I’d love your help picking something out.”
The popular girls wanted to hang out with me, and even the quieter ones were careful not to rub me the wrong way.
That was proof enough that I held a pretty high status in this class.
And honestly, I was satisfied with the role I’d carved out in this little world of ours.
No—I had to be.
People can’t become anyone but themselves. And there was no way I could ever catch up to someone like Tsukimori, whose talent almost felt unfair.
Wishing for more would only lead to disappointment.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yay, perfect. Come on!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Feeling content with who I was, I started walking, thinking that as long as I could enjoy myself, that was enough.
That’s when it happened.
“Ow—”
“Oh, sorry!”
I stepped out into the hallway just as someone else was trying to come into the classroom, and we bumped into each other.
When I looked up, I saw that it was a girl from our class.
But honestly… I couldn’t remember her name.
“No, it’s my fault. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Ah, yeah… I wasn’t really looking either—”
“Well then, excuse me.”
“—Wait, what?”
Before I could finish, she just slipped past me and walked straight to the classroom window.
What was that about?
Still confused, I kept walking down the hallway toward the front entrance.
“Wow, how rude. You were still talking and she just walked off. What a brat.”
“Well… I did bump into her too, so…”
Still, it was rare for someone to act like that with me.
In social dynamics, people don’t just behave without thinking. Everyone measures themselves against others and adjusts their behavior based on that balance.
It’s unavoidable. And in this class, I was someone who others treated with care.
So for someone to bump into me, give a quick apology, and then just run off like that—it was definitely out of the ordinary.
“Plus, that girl’s always alone, right? Maybe she’s a loner because she acts like that.”
I vaguely remembered her as the quiet, unassuming type.
“She’s really always by herself?”
My impression of her was so vague, I hadn’t even noticed if she had friends.
“Yeah, she never talks. Just sits there quietly, looking all gloomy and unmotivated. Total introvert.”
…For someone supposedly slow and gloomy, she moved pretty quickly when she passed me earlier.
And the way she stared out the window—it felt like there was something intense behind her eyes.
“But she didn’t even look at me once.”
“Maybe your aura was too strong, Riko-chan.”
She said it half-jokingly, half-serious.
But honestly… it didn’t feel like she couldn’t look at me.
I suddenly stopped walking, something pulling at my curiosity.
“…Riko-chan?”
“Sorry, go on ahead. I forgot something in the classroom—I’ll catch up.”
I had this strange feeling—like there was something I needed to find out.
I hurried back, and when I stepped into the classroom, the soft glow of the sunset had dyed everything a deep shade of orange.
And there she was—blending into that fading light, the same girl from earlier.
Just like before, she stood completely still, eyes locked onto something outside the window.
She hadn’t looked at me even once.
“…What are you looking at?”
“Ah—woah.”
When I spoke to her profile, her lips parted in surprise and that serious expression quickly disappeared.
…But even then, she didn’t look at me.
Her gaze was fixed somewhere off in the distance.
“You startled me… What is it, all of a sudden?”
“I just… wondered what you were looking at.”
“Ah… um, those girls over there.”
“Huh?”
I followed her gaze out the window and saw three stunningly beautiful girls walking away from the school building.
“The Tsukimori sisters,” she said quietly.
“…Ah, of course.”
Right. One of those.
“What, are you one of those people who idolize the Tsukimoris?”
I’ve seen plenty of them.
The kind who fixate on someone they could never be, eyes full of admiration, trying to fill the emptiness in themselves by watching someone else shine.
If you really admire someone that much, why not put in the effort and improve yourself?
But she didn’t seem interested in doing even that. I found myself thinking she really was just another boring person.
“Oh no, admiring them would be far too presumptuous. If I had to describe it… I guess it’s more like the love of a mother watching over her favorite child?”
“…Huh?”
What came out of her mouth next was something totally unexpected.
“Just being able to gaze upon their radiant presence with my own eyes—that’s enough. That alone brings me joy.”
“…What are you even talking about?”
Wasn’t this girl supposed to be the quiet, introverted type?
But now she was rambling on, answering my questions like she’d been waiting for someone to ask.
“Anyway, I’m busy, so if you’ll excuse me.”
“H-Hey, wait a sec—”
She turned her attention right back to the window, staring at the Tsukimori sisters again.
…Like I wasn’t even there.
And for some reason, that really irritated me.
“You do know that no matter how much you look up to them, you’ll never be one of them, right? And you’re still just alone.”
I was sure of it—she was just using the Tsukimoris as an excuse for her own loneliness.
Saying she “loved” them was just her way of justifying being a loner. Pathetic.
Or at least… that’s what I wanted to believe.
“Uh… yeah? Isn’t that obvious?”
“…What?”
“I never said I wanted to be Chiya Tsukimori. That’s way beyond anything I’d ever aim for. Like I said—I’m happy just being able to watch them from afar. And I know I’m a loner. You don’t have to keep rubbing it in. It kinda hurts, you know?”
“…Oh. Right.”
Wait… seriously?
I thought we were all stuck playing some kind of musical chairs game, fighting for our place in these tiny circles of social hierarchy.
Polishing our good traits, mimicking or sucking up to whoever shines the brightest, or dragging them down if we can’t compete.
And if someone couldn’t do any of that, all they could do was look down and pretend not to exist.
That’s how I thought the world worked.
But she was different.
She admired someone purely and genuinely, without trying to gain anything or lose anything.
There was no manipulation, no strategy—just raw, honest emotion.
“…What’s your name?”
“Ah, it’s Akari Hanano.”
Seeing her like that…
I couldn’t help but feel like I was the pathetic one—so caught up in how others saw me, clinging to my fragile pride like it was something sacred.
And the fact that she was the one who made me realize it—someone who seemed so unsure of herself—only made it worse.
It frustrated me.
“Well then, looks like the Tsukimoris have left, so I’ll head home too.”
Even then, Akari never looked me in the eye. She turned and started walking away.
“See you later, Hanano.”
“…Ah, yes. Um…”
“Hm?”
What was with that long pause?
“…Rui-san.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“N-Never mind! Bye!”
And just like that, she hurried out of the classroom like she was running away.
“…She totally doesn’t remember my name, does she?!”
Even though I went out of my way to ask for hers.
Unbelievable.
I mean, I do stand out. People usually remember me.
Isn’t it normal to at least ask someone’s name again if you didn’t catch it?
It was the first time I’d ever gotten this mad just because someone didn’t notice me.
“I’ll make sure she remembers me next time…!”
And just like that, I found myself starting to pay attention to Akari Hanano.
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saezuki : woman you have succesfully caught my attention
Akari : ……….