I Confessed to the Three Beautiful Sisters at School and Got Rejected, but After I Became their Stepsister, They Started Doting On Me - Chapter 72

I decided to clean up the rest of the mess myself.

If I had kept asking her to help, Saezuki-san might’ve turned into a wolf—or so my self-preservation instincts were screaming at me.

“Thank you for the handkerchief. I’ll wash it and return it to you.”

It felt rude to give back something I borrowed without properly cleaning it first.

“You don’t have to go that far, seriously,” she replied.

“No, no, I’d feel bad otherwise.”

“It’s really not a big deal.”

“Ah—”

Before I could say anything else, Saezuki-san snatched it from me without hesitation.

“It’d be more of a hassle the other way around. I’ll keep it with me, so don’t worry.”

“…Huh? Keep it?”

Something about that phrasing felt off in Japanese.

Shouldn’t she have said, ‘I’ll wash it for you’ or something?

“Oh, I meant—yeah, I’ll wash it.”

“…R-right, okay.”

I couldn’t help but wonder—do people actually make that kind of mistake?

Then again, it’s not like she had any other use for it.

I decided to take Saezuki-san at her word.

“So,” she continued, lowering her voice just a bit, “what do you want to happen between you and Tsukimori and the others?”

Maybe that was the real reason she’d come today—to ask me this.

“…Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real. I’m kind of overwhelmed and unsure what to do,” I admitted.

“Is that because they’re your… ‘faves’?”

“That’s probably it.”

They’d always seemed so distant—like stars in the sky. Suddenly, they were too close, and I didn’t know how to process it.

“Then what about me?” she asked.

“Saezuki-san, you…”

“I’m not expecting you to fall in love with me overnight or anything. But I’ve been around more, right? Maybe I’m not exactly your type, but I’m closer than Tsukimori and the rest, don’t you think?”

She had a point.

Tsukimori and his group were like the idols of the academy—people I looked up to, practically worshipped.

Saezuki-san, on the other hand, was the heart of the outgoing crowd—someone I admired from afar.

They both felt unreachable, but if I had to choose, I did feel a stronger sense of familiarity with Saezuki-san.

“That’s why,” she said, “I’m not going to pressure you to choose right now. But I want you to think about it seriously. Doesn’t it feel suffocating, standing shoulder to shoulder with someone like Tsukimori—someone you admire from a distance?”

“…Yeah, I suppose it would.”

“You don’t hold back with me. You say what’s on your mind. I think things go smoother between us than with them.”

The force behind Saezuki-san’s words was probably driven by her feelings for me.

And when she came at me so directly, I couldn’t pretend not to see it anymore.

“Why do you care about me so much, Saezuki-san…?”

Why would someone like her take an interest in someone like me—just a gloomy, ordinary girl with no redeeming features?

“Because you’re clumsy, but you’re honest. You never waver… That’s what I like about you!”

And the way she said that—so directly and without hesitation—

“A-aah…”

“Don’t ask questions you can’t handle the answers to!” she snapped, turning red.

“I—I’m just so embarrassed… My face is burning.”

“That’s my line, thank you very much!!”

And so, we spent the whole time wrapped in a light, fluffy atmosphere.

“Oh, look at the time…”

Before I realized it, it was already past 8 p.m.

“You heading out?”

“Yeah, I should.”

“Wow, that’s kind of early.”

“Really? I didn’t think so.”

I always left around the end of my shift, so I wasn’t too conscious of the time.

“…So you’re going back to Tsukimori and the others, huh.”

The way she muttered that with her lips pursed carried a subtle sting.

“A-ah… sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing, Hanano?”

“R-right… That is weird, isn’t it?”

I guess I just felt guilty—like I was leaving her behind in a situation she didn’t find amusing.

Even though I had to go, knowing Saezuki-san would be left alone afterward made my chest ache just a little.

“Well, it’s fine, I guess.”

Even as she said that, there was a hint of frustration in Saezuki-san’s voice.

“I’ll come visit again…”

The words slipped out naturally, like a quiet request—so please, forgive me for today.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“Ah, s-sorry! I sounded way too full of myself just now, didn’t I? Saying I’ll come over again even though no one invited me…”

“No, not that. You said you’d come again—right?”

“Uh, y-yeah… I did.”

“That means… you didn’t hate spending time with me, did you?”

“O-of course not!”

How could I, after everything she did for me?

She spent time with someone like me—someone plain, with nothing to offer. I was nothing but grateful.

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

Saezuki-san smiled, her face relaxing with relief.

There was something innocent in that smile, a quiet warmth that made her look peaceful—almost childlike.

It was such a rare expression that I couldn’t help but stare.

◇◇◇

With a promise to meet again someday, I said goodbye to Saezuki-san.

Outside, the sky had already turned black, and the glow of the streetlights lit up the road.

“Today gave me a memory I’ll treasure.”

It wasn’t like the time I’d spent with Tsukimori-san and the others.

For someone like me, who used to be all alone, this felt truly special.

Maybe this is what it means to share time with someone.

“But still…”

Will this time with Saezuki-san disappear if I don’t choose her in the end?

…Of course it will.

She’s only waiting this patiently because she cares about me. Underneath all that kindness… are real feelings.

And if I don’t return them—if I can’t give her the answer she hopes for—then she won’t keep spending time with me.

That thought made my chest ache.

“It’s the same with Tsukimori-san and the others too… isn’t it?”

I’m sure the three sisters have those kinds of feelings for me too.

And more than anything, I was scared… of hurting them.

“I don’t want to be the reason they lose their smiles…”

Because I really do want them to be happy.

“I’m home.”

I stepped through the front door and switched on the light.

After taking off my loafers and stepping into the hallway, something felt… off.

“No one’s answering…?”

Usually, someone would respond from the living room.

But tonight, the house was completely dark.

There wasn’t even light coming from under the living room door—just pure darkness in the glass pane.

“Is no one home…?”

No, that can’t be right. Someone should be here at this time of night.

With a strange sense of unease, I walked into the living room.

In the pitch dark, I fumbled for the light switch.

Click—light flooded the room.

“Now then… care to explain yourself?”

Eek!?

A cold, spine-chilling voice cut through the air.

Sitting at the living room table were the three sisters.

…What were they doing in the dark!?

“Answer me. Where were you, and what exactly were you doing out this late?”

At the head of the table sat Chiya-nee, legs crossed, winding a strand of her jet-black hair around her finger—her sharp eyes locked on me without a shred of mercy.

“See, Chiya-nee? I told you—we need to go to and from school with her from now on.”

That was Karin-san, holding her head like she had a headache—while casually plotting to take away my freedom.

“Sniff, sniff… Akari-chan has gone bad… She’s become a delinquent…”

That was Hiyori-san, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief (though I’m pretty sure there weren’t any actual tears), wallowing in dramatic sorrow.

…W-what is this scene?

“Come now, explain yourself. Depending on your answer… we might have to take appropriate action.”

…Okay. First things first.

I would really like to go back in time and slap myself for saying, “I don’t want to take away their smiles.”

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