I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!?

Chapter 10: Attending a Social Gathering

“You finally threw it! That’s awesome, big brother!”

“Yeah, it’s still far from full strength, but I finally feel like I reached the starting line.”

The next morning, I connected with my little sister, Sakuya, on the phone.

That said, talking with my sister every morning before school and every night after coming home became a routine.

I welcomed the chance to talk with my cute sister, but since Sakuya was also a student preparing for exams, I suggested stopping the morning calls because they might burden her.

“Big brother… do you hate me or something…?”

The moment she asked me in a tearful voice, I immediately changed my opinion.

Could any brother make his sister say something like that and still stick to his stance? No, there isn’t one.

“I need to work hard too.”

“The last All-Japan Middle School Championships, right? How’s it going?”

“So-so, I guess. I reduced the number of matches this year for the championships, so my condition is good, but my body feels too light, and I’m a bit anxious.”

Let me reveal, my sister Sakuya is a top-tier table tennis player who regularly competes in national tournaments. Her cute appearance and skills got her featured on TV sometimes.

Normally, she would compete in high-status international tournaments like the Japan Championships, but this year, she reduced her participation to focus on her last All-Japan Middle School Table Tennis Championships as a middle schooler.

“I get how you feel. But increasing your training load might cause injuries, so be careful. You’ll win just fine if you keep doing what you always do, Sakuya.”

“Yeah, you’re right! Hearing you say that gives me confidence!”

“I wish I could do more than just listen…”

“No way! Just hearing your voice makes me feel a hundred times stronger! Thanks!”

I want to tell myself from a month ago.

You’ll go through some serious pain soon, but in return, you’ll make up with your sister.

Healed by the conversation with my cute sister, I headed to school in a cheerful mood.

As usual, I met up with Hiragi and Sumeragi before arriving at school, but I noticed something slightly different about the classroom’s atmosphere.

Normally, everyone chats in their friendly groups, and it feels lively, but today, the classroom felt unusually quiet.

“It’s kinda quiet today.”

“I hear some voices, so it’s not like no one’s here.”

The two of them sensed something off too.

That said, we couldn’t just avoid entering the classroom, so we decided to go in and figure out what caused the strange feeling.

“Good morning!”

When I opened the door, Nishino stood at the teacher’s desk, putting up a poster on the blackboard.

“You three came at the perfect time. I need everyone to give me a bit of their time now.”

“What’s about to start…?”

“…”

Nishino seemed to plan something involving the whole class.

The two behind me gave suspicious looks, but…

“Since we all ended up in the same class, I thought a social gathering would help us get closer.”

“A social gathering? Sounds fun, let’s do it!”

“Way to go, Nishino! You’re so thoughtful!”

“Hey, when are we doing it!?”

“Everyone, calm down. I want as many people as possible to join, so I think Sunday would work best. This weekend might be too sudden since everyone has plans, so how about next weekend?”

A social gathering, huh. I had no reason to refuse, and Sunday should work with my club practice schedule.

“I’d love for everyone to join, but I know people have their own schedules. For now, please write on this paper whether you’ll attend or not. I need it by today or tomorrow for the restaurant reservation.”

“Got it!”

“I’m definitely going!”

The classmates got super excited.

It felt like almost everyone would join.

“What about you, Minase?”

“Me? I don’t have a reason to skip, so I plan to go…”

“Then I’m going too! I’ll write your name down, Minase!”

“Makoto, write mine too while you’re at it.”

“Ugh, you looked annoyed earlier, so you don’t have to force yourself to come, you know?”

“That’s my line. You looked openly disgusted.”

“Hmph. If Minase’s going, that changes things!”

Saying that, Hiragi headed to the blackboard.

Are both of them bad with these kinds of gatherings?

Sumeragi fits that image, but I thought Hiragi would be into this stuff…

That day didn’t end there. A small incident happened during lunch break. After eating lunch and returning from the restroom, I ran into Nishino, Hiragi, and Sumeragi talking in the hallway.

It wasn’t anything shady, but they seemed to have a serious conversation, so instead of passing by, I decided to wait in the shadows until they finished.

“So, what’s this about?”

“It’s about next week’s social gathering. I want you two to help me as organizers.”

“Us?”

“Yeah. You two stuck close to Minase when he wasn’t used to school yet, so you didn’t get to interact much with the rest of us, right?”

“We just wanted to be with Minase, so you don’t need to worry about us.”

“I get that, but only talking to him isn’t healthy, you know. Lots of people want to talk to you two, including me.”

“It’s our choice who we spend time with. It doesn’t concern you, Nishino.”

Uh-oh. The air’s getting tense.

I saw an unexpected side of Nishino.

Could he… like both Hiragi and Sumeragi?

Is he trying to separate me from them because we’re always together?

Nah, that’s probably overthinking it.

“I get that you two care about Minase since he looked out for you. But don’t you think it’s time to think about yourselves a bit?”

Saying that, Nishino gave them a bright smile and extended his hand.

But…

“I’m sorry, but we can’t help with organizing.”

“Me neither. Sorry.”

“I see. Well, if you change your minds, let me know. I’ll be waiting.”

Having spent a short but meaningful time with them, I could tell. They were both seriously upset.

After that, they acted normal around me, but I felt their gazes toward Nishino grew colder.

Nishino, on the other hand, kept glancing at them, waiting for them to approach him.

I heard girls are sensitive to those kinds of looks, so it probably doesn’t leave a good impression. But it’s not my place to worry about it.

While focusing on classes and club activities, the day of the social gathering finally arrived.

The venue was a major karaoke place near the school.

In the end, Hiragi and Sumeragi didn’t take the organizer role, and some girls who usually hung out with Nishino helped instead.

The three of us gathered at my house first, then headed to the karaoke place.

“Ugh, I’m not really feeling it…”

“Got something on your mind?”

“I’m happy to go to karaoke with you, Minase, but…”

“The organizers are a bit of a problem.”

At first, they hid it, but over the past few days, they stopped hiding their discomfort with Nishino’s stares, even in front of me.

“Well, we can just enjoy ourselves, right? If it doesn’t work out, we can go karaoke together another time.”

“Really!?”

“You’re locked in now!”

“Y-yeah, karaoke’s no big deal…”

“Then next week! Let’s go next week!”

“If Sunday works after club practice…”

“We’re going to school to work on the class newspaper, so we can meet up afterward and go to karaoke. Cool?”

“Cool.”

Talk about momentum.

I’m not great at singing…

But with them, I’m sure even karaoke will be a blast. It might be a bit inappropriate with the social gathering coming up, but I’m actually looking forward to next week’s karaoke more.

After checking in, we entered the reserved room, where many classmates already arrived.

“Hey, Ryu’s here!”

“Yo, Shinya, what’s up?”

“Showing up with two beauties? I’m so jealous!”

“I know I’m lucky.”

“If you said, ‘Oh, not really,’ I’d have punched you.”

While I greeted my friend Shinya, Hiragi and Sumeragi chatted happily with their usual group of girls.

After a few latecomers arrived, the social gathering finally started.

“Everyone, thanks for coming today. Sadly, not everyone could make it, but let’s have a blast with everyone here!”

Not everyone’s here?

I glanced around and noticed one person missing. The delinquent guy, Shuji Kuroki.

With his personality, he probably wouldn’t join something like this.