I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 66

I, Hanano Akari, have never had any outstanding qualities.

I don’t have a particularly nice figure, I’m not especially cute, I’m not smart, and I absolutely hate sports.

And more than anything, I was a person who lacked emotional ups and downs.

“Akari, you’ll be apart from your father starting tomorrow. Will you be okay?”

One day, my mother told me this with a sorrowful look on her face.

Looking back now, I realize how painful that conversation must have been for her.

To this day, I still don’t know the full story behind their divorce.

But parting ways with your life partner must be a deeply sorrowful experience.

Breaking that news to her young daughter must have been excruciating.

“I understand.”

And yet, I accepted it without resistance.

“…Aren’t you going to be lonely?”

Imagining being separated from my father, I…

“I’m fine.”

“…I see. You’re a strong girl, Akari.”

My mother seemed to think I was just putting on a brave face.

But that wasn’t the case.

I did have thoughts like, So I won’t see him anymore, or Maybe I wasn’t loved that much.

I thought about it that much, at least. But I never cried or made a scene over our parting.

I was simply a person lacking some important emotion.

“Hanano-san, are you free after school? If you are, want to hang out?”

By the time I was in middle school, I had developed a better sense of the world, and my emotional detachment became even more obvious.

“I’m sorry. I have something to do.”

“Oh, I see… Sorry for asking out of the blue.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”

The classmate who had approached me quickly returned to her group of friends.

“She turned me down.”

“Hanano-san always says no.”

“Really?”

“She always gives that kind of excuse. But she never actually tells us what she’s doing.”

“Maybe she doesn’t like socializing?”

“Could be. She’s always so formal—kind of feels like there’s a wall.”

Because of how I acted, I gradually created more distance between myself and my classmates.

The truth was, I didn’t really have anything going on.

It’s just that—I didn’t see the point of hanging out. Or maybe I felt like it would just create an awkward atmosphere if someone spent time with me.

As I grew up and learned to be more considerate of others, my already emotionless nature blended with that, and I became someone incompatible with society.

“…I do feel lonely, though.”

On my way home, all by myself.

I lost count of how many times I whispered that to myself.

Even someone as unfeeling as me had at least a faint sense of loneliness.

But even that was something I could bear.

I always felt it would be selfish of someone like me—so boring and dull—to take up someone else’s time.

And so, carrying that faintly sentimental feeling, I arrived at the entrance ceremony for high school.

The classroom was buzzing with cheerful energy.

Of course, I was the one left behind.

“Wow, that’s so cute! Where’d you get it?”

“Oh, that? Riko and I bought it together.”

“Eh, really? Was it that good?”

“Riko-chan was the one who recommended it, you know. She was being totally random.”

“Ahaha, well, vibe is everything, right?”

…

A single cosmetic item sparked a conversation that began with “So cute!” and spun off into memories of shopping trips, eventually evolving into talk about personal traits.

They were basking in the springtime of their girlhood, radiant and dazzling.

“Ah, so that’s what they call the popular crowd,”
I murmured, narrowing my eyes as I watched them.

I’d never even worn makeup before, so I didn’t have the slightest clue what they were talking about.

I mean, can makeup even be cute?

Even though we’re all girls, the wall between them and me felt impossibly high.

Unlike me—plain, unadorned—their vibrant, age-appropriate selves were almost blinding to look at.

“I envy them…”

But it wasn’t that I wanted to dress up like those popular girls.

I simply envied the kind of personality that could actually enjoy things.

I had nothing that gave me joy, and no one to share anything with.

Maybe that’s why things I didn’t have looked all the more beautiful.

“…Guess I’ll head to the restroom.”

Killing time alone in an unfamiliar classroom was tougher than I thought.

I walked slowly down a hallway I didn’t know, dragging out the time as long as possible.

Will spring never come for someone like me?
I let out a sigh as I looked out the window at the rows of cherry blossoms, feeling the weight of that gloomy thought.

“Look, I’m going to put everything into my club activities, so it’s fine, okay?”

“That’s not the point. Honestly, getting in with such borderline scores… As your sister, it’s embarrassing.”

“My, my, says the top student and representative speaker of the new class. You do speak differently, don’t you?”

—!!

A jolt ran through me as I saw the trio walking toward me from the end of the hallway.

Each of them had a stunning figure, distinctly feminine silhouettes.

Their doll-like faces were practically identical, yet their voices, gestures, and expressions were all different—each one with her own vibrant personality.

“…Karin, move a bit closer to me.”

“Eh? Why?”

“There’s someone coming from the front. Or do you plan on bumping shoulders and becoming a delinquent on your very first day?”

“I would never do that!”

Then, noticing me, the three gracefully shifted to the side of the hallway to make way.

“Sorry, were we in your way?”

“Ah, n-no…”

The one with twin tails apologized, and I stammered awkwardly in response.

“This girl can’t judge distance unless it’s on a basketball court. I hope you’ll forgive her.”

“It’s not that extreme!”

“Oh yes, Karin-chan struggles with long shots, so she really doesn’t have a good sense of distance. Even in basketball.”

“I told you—it doesn’t affect my daily life!”

They weren’t even dressed up, and yet their words bloomed like flowers, full of charm and grace.

“Ah, n-no, it’s fine…”
That was all I could manage, voice low and barely audible.

A God-given gift.
Something unreachable no matter how much effort you put in.

From someone without such gifts, that beauty felt almost violent.

“…So divine.”

I found myself whispering those words as I watched their figures disappear down the hallway.

Creatures that beautiful and stunning…

It was the first time I’d ever seen anything like them.

I had always thought of myself as emotionless—but now, something like a fan’s devotion, a spark of “admiration,” had been born within me.

From that moment, my feelings began to take on color, bit by bit.

Just watching from afar was enough for me.

Because even that was enough to show me that I was no longer the same person I used to be.

◇◇◇

Or so I thought—

“Hey, Akari? If you ask me, I think I’m the best pick, you know? I mean, no one understands a little sister like another little sister! So that means I’m the best match, right?”

“Oh my, if that’s your argument, I’m a little sister too! And I can make anything Akari-chan likes to eat~”

“How shallow. As her elder sister, I’m the one best suited to truly understand a younger sibling’s feelings. A fellow younger sister would be too close to see the bigger picture.”

“Will you shut up already?! Why are you all talking like this is a family affair?! Love is something that connects strangers through mutual affection, okay?!”

W-Why are the school idols—the very girls I thought were the furthest from me—and the ultimate extroverts… fighting over me?!

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