I Chose the Plain Girl Instead of the Class’s Top Three Beauties, and Somehow She Became the Heroine - 78

Chapter 78: Halloween Party 1

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《Sora Mukei’s POV》

When the weekend came, a class group message arrived from Miura-san.

『I rented a karaoke room! Anyone who can make it, come on over! Let’s have a Halloween party! Mizuki will be there too~!』

With Kiritani-san as bait, it looked like plenty of classmates would show up. Miura-san had arranged a karaoke party room. Paper bats hung from the ceiling, buckets of candy sat on the tables, and pumpkin garlands were strung up in front of the drink bar.

The sign at the entrance proudly read “Private Reservation.” Hiroko-san said she would join and help Miura-san out, so I decided to participate as well. I was wearing the phantom thief cosplay Souma-kun had tailored for me. Akira was dressed as a detective, and the moment we opened the door someone said.

“Whoa, you two together look like a movie poster.”

Once we were inside, I threw a fist pump at Akira. We struck poses and had our photos taken. Once inside, my gaze stopped on one person. A black beret, sheer tulle, a slender persimmon-colored ribbon. A single star on her wrist. Hiroko-san, the praying witch.

It felt like my heart climbed up one level. This was bad. She looked too good.

Tomorrow’s date. Tomorrow is a date. 

I repeated it twice to calm myself down. Then, another star of the show appeared. Vampire Count Souma-kun. I had invited him, and Miura-san had given permission as well. Just the fact that he was Kiritani-san’s older brother—and a celebrity—sent the classmates’ excitement through the roof.

A black three-piece suit with deep wine-colored lining, a single drop of red at the collar. No fangs, just faint shadow around the eyes. Just by entering, the atmosphere settled. He was exuding that reliable big-brother aura.

…Or so it should have been. He froze when he spotted Yua Miura-san waving from the corner.

“So-chan, over here, over here! Long time no see! You look insanely good today!”

Miura-san was in a beastfolk style with cat ears. Maybe a “female panther” fit? She looked kind of sexy. Souma-kun stared at Miura-san and completely stopped moving.

“Sora-kun, that suits you well.”

“Thanks. Hiroko-san, you look really cute too.”

“So cute!!!”

When I told Hiroko-san my thoughts, I could tell she was blushing even in the dim karaoke room. Akira quickly moved toward Kiritani-san, but Okabe—dressed as a werewolf—was in the way. Well, that part was as expected. What wasn’t usual was Souma-kun.

“So-chan, thanks for coming. What do you want to drink?”

“Yua, isn’t that outfit a little too revealing? O–orange juice, please.”

“Really? It’s sexy, right? Hehe, does it suit me?”

Souma-kun’s hand was shaking at about seismic level two while holding a can of orange juice. 

“He’s someone you know, right, Sora-kun?”

“Yeah. He’s Kiritani-san’s older brother. Hiroko-san, you’ve met him before too, right?”

“Yes! I remember. He was dressed in a scary way, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah, apparently it was for a role.”

“But today, rather than scary… He’s kind of… Weird, right?”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

Hiroko-san and I couldn’t help but keep glancing at Souma-kun and Miura-san.

“So-chan, let’s do one song together! Here you go.”

“O–oh… (with the echo still maxed) ‘Aaa—’”

“AAAAAA—!”

I clapped my hands over my ears in surprise.

“So-chan!”

“Nii-chan, the echo—”

“S–sorry!”

The always-cool big brother somehow looked completely flustered.

“Um, that… His older brother. Is he conscious about Yua-san?”

“Huh?”

When Hiroko-san said that and I looked again, sure enough, Souma-kun was glancing over at Miura-san and turning red.

“Okay, just stay like that… Ah, your collar here. All right, click.”

(The smartphone filter switched to “dog ears.”)

“Gyahaha, a count with dog ears! Cute!”

“……(completely silent)”

Miura-san, seemingly unaware, had her arm around Souma-kun’s shoulders while taking photos. That talkative Souma-kun was completely silent.

“Count, I’ll refill your drink. Miura-san, I’ll press the shutter. Three, two, one.”

Akira, apparently noticing, stepped in to help. Click. A great job. Detective-san, how very competent. The karaoke party was in full swing. An-san was a black cat, Fuu-san a forest fairy, and Kiritani-san a white angel. The songs ranged from anime themes to classic rock, and the sign-up sheet filled instantly. Hiroko-san sang one gentle song at low volume. The applause came together perfectly.

“Good work, Mukei-kun, Anno-san.”

“Good work to you too, Kiritani-san. You’re amazing, surrounded by everyone.”

“Well, it’s things like these normal kinds of fun that become core memories.”

Since Kiritani-san had decided to enter the entertainment industry, maybe she was cherishing her time with classmates even more.

“Thank you for inviting my brother. Mukei-kun, you were the one who invited him,right?”

“Yeah. He even taught us cosplay.”

“Mm. Onii-chan looks like he’s having fun being friends with Sora-kun, so thank you.”

“Sora-kun is amazing.”

Being thanked by Kiritani-san made me feel awkwardly itchy. Hiroko-san also looked up at me with sparkling eyes. It was kind of embarrassing.

“You know, Onii-chan is always like that in front of Yua.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Yua has a button that completely disables Onii-chan’s cool switch.”

“That’s way too strong.”

Unaware, Miura-san chatted cheerfully as usual. More than anything, realizing that Souma-kun had cared about Miura-san for a long time made the corners of my mouth curl up.

“So-chan, are you filming again tomorrow? Don’t wreck your health. Here, throat candy.”

“…Ah, thanks.”

Souma-kun stood frozen for a while, clutching the candy he’d received. While watching that unexpected side of Souma-kun, I looked at Hiroko-san’s profile. The edge of her beret, the star sticker, the slender ribbon swaying every time she smiled.

“Is it okay if we still go out together tomorrow?”

“Yes! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow!”

“Yeah. …Me too.”

Just that small reply was enough to make today a win for me. At the end, we took a commemorative photo with everyone.

“Phantom thief—”

“Detective—”

“Count—”

“Witch—”

“Angel—”

“Cat—”

“Fairy—”

“Class rep—”

“Childhood friend—”

With the callouts in total chaos, click. Tonight’s MVP was the praying witch. The fighting spirit award went to the vampire count who froze in front of his childhood friend. And of course, the best assist went to Detective Akira.

On the night before Halloween, as the karaoke lights dimmed, only everyone’s laughter flowed down the hallway.

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