I Got Dumped by My Childhood Friend Fiancée Who I Didn’t Even Like, I Thought I Could Finally Have a Peaceful School Life… But Then I Got Targeted by SS-Class Beautiful Young Ladies

Chapter 33: [Public Confession!?] I Came to the Next Town and It Seems I’m Being Served by Three SS-Class Heiresses

In front of the station in the neighboring town.

I arrived a little earlier than the meeting time, and I was fidgeting more than usual while I waited for the mega-wealthy heiresses to show up.

The reason my heart wouldn’t settle was obvious. It was because way too many eyes were pointed straight at me.

People heading to the ticket gates, people coming out, people waiting for someone just like I was—lots of different folks were around, but almost all of them kept glancing my way. Most did it sneakily, just a quick look. Sometimes people stared openly and whispered among themselves.

I’d never been bathed in stares from so many random strangers before.

That’s why just standing there spacing out was impossible. I pulled my phone out of my pocket with my free hand, switched the camera to selfie mode right away, and checked how I looked.

“Nothing weird… right?”

I didn’t think my outfit or face was strange enough to draw attention. …Probably.

So why…? I frowned at the question, and then a noisy burst of bright chatter from a crowd somewhere hit my ears.

I looked over, curious, and there they were—the three girls I knew well, radiating such overwhelming presence that they pinned everyone’s gaze on them.

“Yoichi~! Sorry we’re late~!!”

With that familiar cheerful voice, Rei came jogging over.

Right behind her, Azusa and Charlotte walked at their own pace, waving their hands.

It almost felt like no one else existed in the place except the four of us. They didn’t seem to care about the eyes on them at all. No… it was more like they didn’t need to care. Like breathing—you do it without thinking.

The other two arrived just a bit after Rei. The moment all three were together, the air in front of the station got even noisier. The stares that had been on me spread out nicely.

“…Yeah, they really stand out too much,” I muttered without thinking.

Rei was wearing a casual jacket over calm, muted colors that didn’t match her usual vibe.

Azusa, on the other hand, had on an off-shoulder top—tight clothes with her shoulders completely bare. It was hard to picture her in something like that normally, but it was super sexy and caught everyone’s eye.

Charlotte was exactly as you’d imagine. She wore a frilly, girly dress that matched her perfectly, and with her blonde hair, she looked like a foreign princess.

All three looked totally different from their usual school uniforms. But the gap suited every single one of them so well that it just proved they really were SS-class beauties.

“Yoichi, you did great not running away~!”

“…You said you’d hunt me down with your life on the line, so…”

“Ahaha! That was a joke!”

“Relax. Your eyes didn’t look like you were joking.”

Even while Rei and I traded light banter like that, countless stares still stabbed into my back.

I wasn’t used to all those straight-on looks carrying so many different feelings, so I shrugged my shoulders. Charlotte noticed and tilted her head with a completely innocent expression.

“…Want me to clear them out?”

“Huh?”

“You seem bothered by all the eyes around us.”

As soon as she said that, Azusa clapped her hands like she’d just figured something out and jumped in.

“Oh~! That makes sense! So that’s why Yoichi was acting all distant! You should’ve said something sooner. I can empty out this whole area right now if you want?”

“No no no! That’s way too much!!”

Honestly, I was just a little unsettled. It wasn’t bad enough to go that far.

But my honest refusal must have sounded like I was holding back, because Rei pulled her phone out of her bag and kept talking.

“What~! I was thinking if we blocked it off so it’s just us, Yoichi might still feel weird~! But if you want that instead, just say so~! Then right now—”

“Wait! Please, hold on! That’s not the reason!!”

I cut off Rei’s words before she could actually do anything and blurted out some desperate excuse in a panic.

It was true the stares bothered me, but I couldn’t use that as the reason I seemed distant. Otherwise, innocent people’s lives would get wrecked.

Still, I couldn’t come up with another excuse on the spot, so I stayed quiet. Rei tilted her head, looking a little puzzled, and her face turned slightly suspicious.

“Then… why? Yoichi, why are you… acting so distant?”

The moment she asked, the stares from the crowd and from the heiresses all locked onto me at once.

A lame reason wouldn’t work. If I gave some half-baked excuse, they’d push back and start using their power.

My brain spun at crazy speed in those few seconds.

The decent reason that bubbled up from my boiling mind pulled out a truth wrapped in a lie—

“—It’s because.”

“…Hm? Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

My voice had come out way quieter than I expected, so Rei asked again in a slightly lower tone.

I swallowed my embarrassment, looked straight into her—no, into all their eyes, and opened my mouth.

“It’s because all three of you look so cute in your casual clothes!!!”

My voice came out louder than I meant. But that should be enough of a reason. I’d just have to put up with the teasing later.

When the mega-wealthy heiresses heard that, their eyes went wide and their mouths fell open.

“Eh~!?”

“Your voice is so loud… idiot…”

“Wait, um… this is embarrassing…”

They were probably used to compliments, but Azusa and Charlotte still blushed a little and looked down. Rei’s expression was complicated—I couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed or angry.

It looked like they still didn’t fully believe me.

I turned to each of them and explained what I thought was cute about them personally.

“Rei, you look more mature than usual. The contrast with your flashy hair color feels fresh and really cute!”

“…………Ah.”

“Azusa, that off-shoulder top! Seeing it on top of your usual quiet vibe makes the gap burn my brain! So yeah, super cute!!”

“C-come on… you don’t have to… I’m getting embarrassed too…”

“Charlotte, that dress!! It fits your image perfectly, so it brings out your natural charm like ten times more! Way too cute! Genius!”

“Um, well… ah… y-yes. Thank you… very much…”

I rattled off the praises at full speed and felt secretly satisfied even while catching my breath.

If I went into that much detail, they’d have to believe me, no matter who they were.

But right then, a bunch of curious stares and bright voices brushed past my ears as I calmed down a bit.

That’s when it finally hit me—I remembered. This wasn’t our usual clubroom. We were right in front of a pretty busy station, and everyone around us had heard the whole exchange.

Stares of a completely different quality stabbed into my back. The whispers around us sounded clearer than before—

“…Wait, what? Was that a confession?”

“Is he their boyfriend? With three beautiful girls?”

“Uh, that’s crazy…”

Yeah, it was over. I didn’t know exactly what, but something was definitely over.

I fought the urge to cover my face and slowly slid my eyes sideways.

Just as I thought, the three of them had frozen up with even deeper blushes than before.

Azusa’s ears were red as she looked down. Charlotte pressed both hands to her cheeks. And Rei—

“Y-Yoichi… your voice was so loud…”

“…………Yes.”

There was nothing left to say. At this point, even if they punished me for humiliating the mega-wealthy heiresses, I wouldn’t have any right to complain.

But against what I was thinking, the three quickly recovered their smiles.

Their cheeks still had some pink left, but they looked in a pretty good mood. They grabbed my arms that were hanging limply and started walking a little faster, almost skipping.

“A-anyway, let’s go! There’s this terrace cafe we’ve been dying to visit where you can see the night sky!”

“Y-yeah! We don’t wanna be late for the reservation!”

“Ahaha… more than anything, we should get away from here quick. We’re standing out way too much.”

I had been ready for a scolding, but their reaction made it clear I didn’t need to worry.

It kinda felt like I’d lost something important inside me… but well, if it wrapped up nicely, that was fine. I didn’t know why, but these girls seemed happy.

We’d caused a commotion in front of the station on a weekday evening, and now we left the place at a light jog.

A few people trailed behind us. I had no way to tell if they were just curious daredevils or someone’s bodyguards. Either way, I could only hope they wouldn’t get involved.

After all, this already troublesome outing… had stumbled right from the start…