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 5

Chapter 5: [Forced Club Membership] I Thought I Could Have a Peaceful School Life, But Then These SS-Class Beautiful Heiresses Set Their Sights on Me

Charlotte locked eyes with me, her gaze sharp and calm like a cat’s.

The young lady right in front of me seriously believed that the rumored person was ‘Yoichi Kirishima.’

Normally, nobody would even imagine that some random dropout could score perfect marks on the entrance exam for this school.

That’s how most regular people think, so almost everyone who doesn’t know the real story just mocks me as “the dropout who got in thanks to his parents’ connections.” And honestly, it’s way more convenient for me if they keep thinking that.

That’s exactly why I can tell the difference so clearly.

Charlotte—no, all three of these conglomerate heiresses here—are special. They’re not just sheltered girls with fancy names. Each one of them is seriously outstanding.

With their broad perspective and super thorough prep work, they’ve got the confidence to step outside that fixed idea of “normal” and actually see the real truth of things.

Seriously impressive… or more like, I gotta hand it to them. I’m genuinely impressed, but man, they’re a huge pain.

I kept my expression natural so the surprise wouldn’t show on my face and said,

“…No way. Wait, are you actually serious? You looked into me, right…?”

“Yeah, very carefully.”

“Then you should get it… even the teachers call me a dropout, y’know? I mean, as educators that’s kinda questionable, but if they knew the entrance exam results, they wouldn’t say that stuff, right…?”

“The entrance exam results are top-secret info that only a handful of people inside the school even know. So there’s no way a regular teacher would know.”

She answered my prepared line without even changing her expression, totally calm and flat.

“Okay, so let’s say even the teachers don’t know… then why do you guys think the rumored person is me? I seriously can’t think of any reason I’d be suspected like that.”

She was so confident it almost made me wanna believe her, but I figured they probably didn’t have any rock-solid proof. I’d never leave behind anything that could be used as physical evidence. No way.

Then Shiramine, who’d been quiet for a bit, put her hand on my left shoulder with a light pat and went,

“Yoichi-kun, aren’t you underestimating us a little too much? You said it yourself earlier, didn’t you? That we’re young ladies from the four biggest conglomerates.”

“…And?”

This time Minase-senpai put her hand on my other shoulder and answered.

“Meaning we can pretty much do whatever we want! Like, for example… we could shake up the school staff who know the exam results… using our family names… right?”

She said it in her usual cheerful tone, but there was this weird cold edge running through her voice.

But my answer was simple.

“That’s… not gonna happen.”

“…Huh? Why not?”

“Two reasons. First, no matter how big a conglomerate heiress you are, you can’t interfere with school operations. It’s absolutely off-limits. Always has been.”

“Hmm… and the second?”

“The second is… I just can’t picture you conglomerate heiresses throwing your pride in the trash by swinging power around using your family names instead of your own strength.”

The second one was pure guesswork, but I was pretty damn sure. I wasn’t the only one who did their homework.

“Hmm………… yeahhh.”

Minase-senpai nodded happily like she had zero doubts about what I just said.

Charlotte looked like she’d just been hit with a bean gun, totally stunned, while Shiramine was cracking up, laughing her head off.

“Ahaha! You’re seriously such a fun guy! Saying that in this situation is basically you bragging about how great you are!”

Honestly… she wasn’t wrong. Maybe I got a little too worked up.

But come on, it’s not my fault… I’m dealing with three super talented young ladies here…

I kinda slumped my shoulders feeling this vague sense of defeat, when Charlotte gave a big nod and spoke up.

“Yeah, what Yoichi-kun said is right. We really don’t have any solid proof. But… don’t you think that’s more than enough reason for me to get interested?”

“W-Well… yeah…”

I didn’t even have the energy to argue anymore, so I just nodded kinda reluctantly.

Charlotte gave one small, satisfied smile, then straightened her back.

“Okay, let’s get back to the point.”

With just that one sentence, the relaxed vibe in the room completely shifted.

This wasn’t the casual back-and-forth from before.

This was—negotiation.

“Let’s say… hypothetically. If Yoichi Kirishima really was that rumored person…”

She started like that. Her eyes were locked on me, not letting me escape for a second.

“…We have no intention of making that fact public.”

“…Huh?”

Her words caught me completely off guard.

I almost wanted to complain like, then what was all that earlier conversation for? But I barely managed to swallow it.

When Minase-senpai and Shiramine heard that, they just nodded like it was obvious.

“‘Cause… y’know? Spreading it would be boring.”

“Yeah yeah. Keeping it like this is way more convenient for you too, right, Yoichi-kun?”

…What even are these people?

“Actually, it’s the opposite.”

Charlotte said it firmly and kept going quietly.

“The fact that only we know you might be ‘Jin’yō’—that situation itself is the most valuable thing.”

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

This wasn’t a threat. It was something worse—an offer of choices. Of course, only in name.

“So, I’ll ask again.”

She took one step closer toward me. And then…

“Yoichi Kirishima-kun. Please join our ‘Polishing Research Society.’”

I still had no clue what that club even did, but that wasn’t the issue right now.

Her sharp yet beautiful eyes were basically saying answer already.

I paused for a beat, then slowly opened my mouth.

“…And if I don’t join?”

Charlotte shook her head at that question.

“In that case, we won’t do anything.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. However—”

I could tell her tone dropped lower right there.

With a voice so cold it didn’t match her cute appearance at all, she said,

“How long our… my interest lasts… well, who knows.”

I couldn’t help swallowing hard. Words wouldn’t come out right away.

What kind of life do you have to live to be able to give off this kind of pressure as a high schooler?

What Charlotte just said—flipped around, it basically meant “we might bare our fangs at any time,” without saying it outright.

I looked around at the young ladies surrounding me, then let out a quiet sigh.

“…This is really annoying, huh.”

When I muttered that, the three of them reacted in totally different ways.

Minase-senpai was grinning, Shiramine was clapping her hands, and Charlotte—

“Yeah, being conglomerate heiresses is pretty annoying. Looking forward to working with you, Yoichi-kun.”

She said it with eyes that had zero hesitation.

Thinking back… the moment these three set their sights on me, there were never any real choices to begin with.

I gave up and just shrugged my shoulders a little.

“…But there’s one condition.”

“Condition…?”

All three of their eyebrows twitched just a bit, but this was non-negotiable.

“I… don’t plan on standing out. So in normal school life, don’t talk to me more than necessary… that’s the one thing you have to promise.”

A short silence while they chewed on the condition I threw out.

Charlotte broke it with a small smile.

“…Yeah. We’ll accept that condition. Then, once again… welcome to the Polishing Research Society.”

All I could do was give a bitter smile at her words.

How did it end up like this… I got dumped by a fiancée I didn’t even like, thought I could finally have a peaceful school life, and then these SS-class beautiful heiresses ended up targeting me.