I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 46

Chapter 46: Accident

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《Sora Mukei’s POV》

We gathered in the morning and assembled in the waiting area beside the gymnasium. Everyone was tense. Their faces were stiffer than usual. At times like this, Miura-san’s brightness really helped in easing the mood.

“Good morning, everyone!”

Some might say she was just pretending to be cheerful, but it was a relief that she was the first one to speak up.

“Good morning, Miura-san.”

“Hehehe, good morning, Mukei-kun. Mizuki, are you okay?”

Then she directed her worried voice toward Kiritani-san. When I turned my gaze toward her, Kiritani-san removed her mask and shook her head. Air came out of her throat, but no sound formed. She had seemed unwell since yesterday, but this morning her voice had completely stopped.

She had been examined at the nurse’s office, and although she didn’t have a fever, she was told that the only thing she could do was rest her vocal cords. With this, she couldn’t possibly play the leading role. Even though she had worked so hard until today…

“She could technically do lip-syncing, but…”

In Kiritani-san’s place, Miura-san conveyed her intentions to me. Even if she didn’t have a fever now, it could rise later. We couldn’t push her. More importantly, lip-syncing wasn’t professional. It would feel unnatural. There was no way we could pull that off in a live performance.

“Mizuki says she’s sorry.”

Kiritani-san bowed her head to the gathered classmates.

“Hey, it can’t be helped if it’s because of health issues, right?!”

Okabe raised his voice to defend her. Usually, he was bad at reading the atmosphere, but in moments like this he was reliable.

“Yeah. I guess we’ll have to find a substitute..”

With apologetic eyes, Kiritani-san looked at me. Flipping through the script, I thought about what we should do. The ghost was the main heroine. She had more lines than any other character. Most importantly, we had designed the ghost’s acting to speak quietly. Even if I helped her, there were limits.

“Hey, should I take Mizuki’s place?”

I widened my eyes at Miura-san’s suggestion. It was true that in terms of looks, she was also a beautiful girl and wouldn’t lose out against Kiritani-san. But the ghost character had been created with a calm and pure image in mind. With Miura-san’s gyaru-style makeup and dyed brown hair, that image would fall apart.

“Thanks. But let me think about it just a little longer.”

“Got it! I’ll at least read the script. Hiro-chan told me about it, so I think I can do it!”

When she mentioned Hiro-chan, I glanced at Anno-san. If it were her, she might have remembered the script since she had read it many times.

“An—”

I started to call out to her but stopped.

What am I talking about? Anno-san hates standing in front of people. There’s no way she could do it.

“Anyway, our play doesn’t start until the afternoon. Until then, let’s focus on preparation and rehearsal. Miura-san, can I ask you to be the temporary substitute?”

“Yeah! I’ll do my best.”

Miura-san inherited the ghost costume, but no matter what, she looked too flashy to be a ghost. Still, we spent the entire morning practicing for the play. However, the students in clubs also had responsibilities with their club events, so things were tight. Hino-san was also in the basketball club, so she was there during the morning.

“Um… Sorry.”

While we were practicing in the classroom, Hino-san returned, slightly dragging one foot. She had apparently twisted her landing during the basketball club’s layup performance.

“It’s a light one, so it will heal quickly, but I’m sorry for today. I’m fine. I can walk. I just can’t run.”

The taping wrapped around her ankle in the nurse’s office looked painful. She insisted on performing after taking painkillers. Her role was a blind character, an androgynous young man with a cane.

Why are accidents happening one after another?

While I was panicking, Miura-san called out to me.

“Mukei-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Miura-san?”

“Honestly, I was planning to tell you and Hiro-chan to walk around together for a bit this morning.”

She had been planning something so considerate, but right now my mind was too overwhelmed to think about anything like that.

“But the priorities are different now, right? Hey, Mukei-kun, choose the heroine. Decide who it’s going to be. I’ll take responsibility too. Mizuki would probably go on stage even without a voice if you told her to. Asuka feels responsible too, I’m sure.”

The three who were called the Three Great Beauties of the grade. Maybe the audience wanted to see them. But in the script I wrote, no matter what, Miura-san didn’t match the heroine. That said, I wasn’t going to put Kiritani-san on stage when she couldn’t speak. And I didn’t want to force the injured Hino-san, either.

My chest tightened. I cut off my hesitation in a single second. If I faltered here, everyone would suffer.

“Anno-san… Could I ask you to play the heroine?”

Anno-san froze for a few seconds and looked at me.

“Eh?! M-me?!”

Her eyes trembled behind her glasses. Her throat bobbed. She inhaled deeply, showing her confusion.

“…I’ll take Hino-san’s role as the substitute player. And I will ask Miura-san to do the narration.”

“OK! If the director decides on it, then I’ll follow! Everyone’s fine with that, right?”

In response to my words, Miura-san kept the class together. Both Hino-san and Kiritani-san showed their approval as well. Kiritani-san couldn’t speak, but she immediately helped with Anno-san’s costume fitting. Despite her injury, Hino-san apologized to everyone and helped me practice the lines.

“U-um, someone like me as the heroine?!”

Anno-san tried to refuse. I stepped forward to say something, but Miura-san got ahead of me.

“Hiro-chan, girls need guts! I’ll do your makeup, so come here.”

And just like that, she took off Anno-san’s glasses. The face only I had seen until now… Anno-san’s bare face. Without her glasses, Anno-san’s beautiful eyes were in an open field. Everyone could see her beautiful eyes. 

“Yep, the base is already good. I’ll put on makeup to make you look ghostly. Also, Hiro-chan, does the world look blurry without your glasses?”

“Uh… Yes. I can’t see very clearly.”

“Then there’s nothing to be scared of! Don’t worry, I’ll guide you to the stage.”

Holding Anno-san’s hand, Miura-san persuaded her.

“First, sit down. The white dress just needs slight adjusting. Hair half-up, add two pins. Make sure the lighting creates a light shadow across her face.”

Her instructions were precise, and Anno-san gradually transformed beautifully.

“An, Fuu, light lip tint, quick. Minimal blush. Keep the base sheer.”

“Got it.”

“Leave it to me.”

The costume rack moved, and the chair in front of the mirror opened up. Anno-san placed her glasses in their case.

“Anno-san, if it’s hard to see on stage, I’ll give you all the cues. Feel for your position by finding the marks with your feet. I’ll hold out my hand so we can check together.”

“…Alright. I’ll try.”

Good. Anno-san agreed. It was an emergency, but I chose Anno-san—not one of the Three Great Beauties—to be the main heroine.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

I took Anno-san’s hand and listened to the opening bell.

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