I Just Wanted a Girlfriend, But Now I Have Three Fiancées! …Even Though I Don’t Remember Proposing to Any of Them - Chapter 03: I Drank Coffee… and Now I’m in My Popular Phase

Chapter 03: I Drank Coffee… and Now I’m in My Popular Phase

What the heck is even going on…?

I mumbled to myself, but of course, no one had an answer.

Still trying to wrap my head around this chaotic morning, I stepped into the classroom—

—Only to get instantly blasted by a familiar, way-too-loud voice.

“Yo, Haru! Why the heck were you walking to school with Kisaragi-san?!”

By Kisaragi-san, he meant Mei.

Her full name was Mei Kisaragi.

Since our classes were different, we split up before reaching our classrooms, but that didn’t stop the rumor train from going full speed.

The one shouting across the room like a foghorn was none other than my loudmouth buddy, Kyousuke.

“Uh… we just kinda ran into each other, that’s all.”

“‘Just ran into each other’?! What is this, fate?!”

How he had that much energy first thing in the morning, I’d never know.

But honestly, I didn’t blame him for freaking out—

Even I had no idea what was happening.

Still… fate?

“Calling it fate just ‘cause we happened to bump into each other feels like a stretch.”

“Shut up! For me to walk to school with a girl that cute, I’d have to burn through every ounce of luck I’ll ever have!”

With a dramatic sigh, Kyousuke slumped over in his chair like his soul had just floated off.

This guy’s a whole mood.

“Just get yourself a girlfriend already, Kyousuke.”

“Can’t! I literally just got rejected the other day, remember?!”

Kyousuke waved his hand dramatically—the universal signal for “no chance.”

This guy—loud, energetic, athletic, and a total goofball—had zero problems getting girlfriends.

The issue?

He also had zero problems getting dumped within a month.

Over and over again.

And after every breakup, he’d get all sensitive and mopey like a kicked puppy.

He seemed upbeat today, so I figured he was over it…

But clearly, those emotional wounds were still raw.

“Hey, Haru.”

“What now?”

“Hook me up with a cute girl.”

“Define ‘cute girl.’”

“You know, someone from your circle! You’re surrounded by girls, right?”

I thought back to the girls I’d gotten tangled up with recently…

Yeah, no. Not a single one of them was what you’d call safe for Kyousuke.

“Nope. Don’t got one.”

“Wow. That was fast.”

I mean, I’m not wrong.

You want me to safely introduce one of them to you?

Yeah, hard pass.

“Oh yeah, Haru.”

“Hm?”

“You sure it’s okay, walking to school with Kisaragi-san?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You know… that junior from your club.”

“HHRK!?”

He mentioned Mitsuki so casually, I nearly choked on air.

“W-Why are you bringing up… M-Minase?”

That was close! I almost said Mitsuki out of habit from this morning.

Thank god her last name’s Minase.

“Hmm? Wait a sec—Are you telling me you guys aren’t dating?”

“N-No! Not at all!”

My voice kicked into high gear like it was running from a lie detector.

Though… now that I think about it…

Are we technically dating right now?

“Come on, man. You two were flirting so hard after club yesterday, and now you’re telling me you’re not dating?”

“I’m telling you, seriously! There’s nothing going on between me and Minase!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll pretend to believe you.”

“I’m not making this up!!”

Yeah… Kyousuke clearly had zero intention of actually listening to me.

“Y’know, my grandma used to say everyone gets three chances to be popular in life.”

…That’s news to me.

“Looks like your ‘popular phase’ finally hit, huh, Haru?”

“What even is that?”

“Man… when’s my turn gonna come?”

“As long as you keep yelling like that in public, I doubt it’s anytime soon.”

I hit him with a jab that probably echoed the silent judgment of everyone within earshot.

Mitsuki was in a different grade.

Mei was in a different class.

So up until lunch, everything felt… normal.

Weirdly normal.

So normal that I actually started wondering if this morning had just been a dream.

Yeah.

A dream.

A caffeine-fueled hallucination, maybe?

But just when I was starting to forget all the chaos—

Rinnnng!

The lunch bell went off.

“Yo, Kyousuke. Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Our school didn’t have a cafeteria or anything, but a couple local shops came by at lunch to sell bentos and bread.

That was the plan—until…

“Sorry, I brought lunch today.”

Kyousuke shut me down with a casual wave.

Welp. Guess I’m flying solo today.

But the moment I stepped out of the classroom—

A girl suddenly stopped me in my tracks.

“Haru-senpai.”

“Hmm? What’s up, Mitsuki?”

“Wanna eat lunch together?”

“Sure, but I didn’t bring anything today, so I gotta go buy—”

Before I could even finish, Mitsuki pulled out a lunchbox she’d been hiding behind her back.

“Ta-da! I made one for you too, senpai!”

“…Wait, seriously? You sure I can have this?”

She’d been taking care of me nonstop since this morning.

I mean, yeah, I was happy—but at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

Still, I asked cautiously—

“Yup! Of course!”

She nodded with a bright, beaming smile.

And at that exact moment—growwwl—my stomach betrayed me.

“Geez, senpai. What an appetite! Let’s eat in the clubroom.”

“…Yeah, sounds good. It’s nice and quiet there.”

There were only two members in the Literature Club anyway.

Might as well use our cozy little lunch lounge.

As we walked through the hallway together, I could feel all the stares following us.

Mei might be the school’s top-tier beauty,

But Mitsuki wasn’t far behind—she was gorgeous in her own right.

When she first joined the club, Kyousuke wouldn’t stop messing with me.

Said stuff like “pearls before swine” or “giving coins to a cat.”

Totally the wrong idioms… but I never had the heart to correct him.

“Here you go, Haru-senpai. Your lunch~!”

“Thanks, Mitsuki.”

“Of course! After all… I am your girlfriend ♡”

When Mitsuki put extra emphasis on the word “girlfriend,” I swear my stomach started cramping.

Maybe I should stop by the pharmacy on the way home and pick up some antacids…

I opened the lunchbox she handed me, and inside was a colorful, picture-perfect spread of side dishes.

“Whoa… this looks amazing. You’re really good at cooking, Mitsuki.”

“Right? Right? You can totally praise me more, you know?”

“For real though, this is impressive. If you’re already this good in high school, you could totally go pro someday.”

“More! Gimme more praise!”

“Oh, and—thanks for breakfast this morning. It was delicious.”

“…F-For today, I’ll let you off the hook with just that.”

Her face turned bright red as she let out a tiny cough to reset.

“When I stopped by your place this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder—Haru-senpai, are you actually eating your veggies?”

“Of course. I drink veggie juice and everything.”

If you checked the trash can in my kitchen, you’d probably find a mountain of empty bottles from those “100% vegetable” drinks.

“That doesn’t count! That’s not eating veggies! You’re gonna shave years off your life!”

“…I’ll be more careful.”

“No. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you eat properly from now on.”

Ah.

So that’s where this is going…

While I sat there mentally coming to terms with my new vegetable overlord, Mitsuki just kept going.

“Haru-senpai, just sit back and relax like you’re on a cruise ship—I’ve got everything covered! Starting with lunch!”

Mitsuki flashed me a dazzling smile as she said that.

“You’re the type who always finishes food when someone makes it for you, right?”

“…Well, yeah, I guess.”

“Exactly. So let’s dig into this bento, shall we?”

Ah.

So that’s the strategy here.

“Do you have any allergies, Haru-senpai?”

“Nope, none.”

“Perfect! I’ll put together a full meal plan for you.”

“Wait… are you saying you’re gonna keep making me lunch from now on?”

“What are you talking about? Once we’re married, it’ll be for life.”

She smiled sweetly—but it wasn’t a “haha, just kidding” kind of smile.

It was the stone-cold serious, eyes-shining-with-determination kind.

My stomachache just leveled up.

…Can I even eat this bento with all this pressure?