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 12: An Alert Ringing in My Brain

About an hour had passed since the friendly gathering started.

It seemed the event Koki Nishino mentioned earlier was about to begin.

“For this gathering, we prepared a bingo game! The prizes came from the budget, and the stylish girls chose them, so expect great things!” Koki announced enthusiastically.

“Hey, Koki!” Makoto Hiragi interrupted.

“Don’t raise expectations too high!” Kanade Sumeragi added.

Wow, they really thought this through, I thought.

If Makoto and Kanade had been in charge, I might have gotten prizes they picked.

I felt a bit disappointed about missing that chance.

“Ryu, you look kinda upset?” Makoto noticed.

“The prizes don’t suit your taste?” Kanade asked.

“No, it’s not like that,” I replied.

Are these girls psychic or something? I wondered.

I glanced at the prizes Koki and the others laid out: towels, snacks, small items—things you could casually accept as game prizes but still use daily. The girls made impressive choices, as expected.

“Now we’ll pass out the cards, so let us know if you don’t get one,” Koki instructed.

It felt like any prize would be a win, so I decided to enjoy it casually. If the two girls sitting beside me wanted something I won, I could give it to them.

But my enthusiasm didn’t last long.

“Bingo!” Shinya Takeda called out.

He walked toward the prizes from a short distance away.

As for me…

“How can I not get a single bingo?” I muttered.

My card had several holes punched, but not one bingo.

Meanwhile, Makoto and Kanade, sitting on either side of me, already had bingos. Why?

“Hehe, even Ryu has things he’s bad at!” Makoto teased.

“Is this really about being bad at something?” I questioned.

“Luck is part of skill,” Kanade stated.

“Ugh…” I groaned.

Her words left me speechless.

While I stared at my bingo card, Koki approached.

“Are you having fun?” he asked.

“Koki, huh?” I responded.

“You haven’t gotten a bingo yet, Ryu? You’re struggling,” he observed.

“Seriously, I’m shocked at my bad luck,” I admitted.

“Haha, maybe you used up your luck elsewhere,” Koki suggested.

“I’m starting to think that’s true,” I agreed.

Getting close to Makoto and Kanade was pure luck, after all.

Thinking that way, maybe missing out on bingo was acceptable?

Or, considering I almost died from being stabbed, maybe it evens out?

“Are you two having fun?” Koki asked Makoto and Kanade.

“…Yeah, a lot,” Makoto answered hesitantly.

“No issues here,” Kanade replied curtly.

“Great!” Koki exclaimed.

It seemed Makoto and Kanade didn’t have the best feelings toward Koki, but he kept talking to them undeterred. Or maybe he didn’t notice?

“We’ve got another event planned later, so look forward to it!” Koki announced.

“Thanks, Koki,” I said.

He moved on to talk to other members.

His thoughtfulness must be part of what makes him so charming, I thought.

“Now, as the party’s in full swing, it’s about time to wrap up this gathering. Did everyone have fun?” Koki asked the group.

“It was awesome!” someone shouted.

“Thanks for planning it, Koki!” another added.

Thunderous applause went to Koki, who organized the event.

I clapped too, and even Makoto and Kanade joined in, though reluctantly.

“In just under a month, we’ve gotten pretty close, but this gathering helped us bond even more. Thank you all!” Koki said gratefully.

Suddenly, a familiar discomfort hit me.

This time, a dull pain shot through my temple.

“…Ugh,” I groaned.

“Ryu, you okay?” Makoto asked worriedly.

“If you’re not feeling well, you can leave early,” Kanade suggested.

“…No, I’m fine. It’s almost over anyway,” I reassured them.

“One last thing—I need everyone’s attention for a bit,” Koki announced.

The headache grew worse.

Now, a ringing started in my ears. This felt seriously bad.

“I’m a bit embarrassed to say this in front of everyone, but there’s someone I need to talk to…” Koki said.

He turned his gaze toward us—or, more precisely, toward Makoto and Kanade on either side of me.

“Makoto, Kanade, can I have a moment?” he asked.

“Us?” Makoto replied, surprised.

“I don’t recall anything worth discussing here,” Kanade said coldly.

“…Yeah, I get that. I wanted a better mood for this, but I didn’t want to interfere with your kindness, so I never got the chance…” Koki explained.

“Our kindness?” Makoto echoed, confused.

“I couldn’t find a moment to talk to you two because you were always with Ryu. So I’m using this moment to say something,” Koki clarified.

Makoto and Kanade glanced around.

It seemed not just the girls in charge but also Koki’s usual group knew what was coming. Half the members looked at the three of them with expectant eyes.

“From the moment I saw you, I’ve liked you both. Will you go out with me?” Koki confessed.

The world seemed to stop.

How could he confess after all the hostile looks they gave him?

That took incredible courage, especially in front of everyone.

Or maybe that was the point.

Confessing publicly made it hard for them to refuse. Clever move, Koki.

I glanced at their faces.

Oh no, they’re furious.

Deep wrinkles creased their foreheads, and their mouths tensed with force.

But something felt terribly wrong.

As their emotions flared, my condition worsened.

What was this? My gut told me I couldn’t let them speak.

Koki, with some kind of confidence, still wore a calm smile.

Makoto and Kanade stood up abruptly.

They stormed toward Koki.

An alarm blared in my brain. Something bad would happen to them if this continued—I felt it strongly.

In that instant, I stood up and placed my hands on their shoulders.

“…Ryu?” Makoto said, confused.

“You look really pale… Are you okay?” Kanade asked, concerned.

“Ryu, no matter how bad you feel, relying on girls at a time like this isn’t cool,” Koki remarked.

“No, hearing your confession, I couldn’t just sit still,” I replied.

“…Huh?” Koki said, puzzled.

“If I thought you’d take them away, I couldn’t stay quiet, right?” I explained.

“What!? Ryu!?” Makoto exclaimed.

“Wait, this is too much to handle,” Kanade said, flustered.

I expected their reactions and ignored them for now.

As their attention shifted to me, my headache faded like a receding wave.

“What do you mean by that?” Koki asked.

“Exactly what I said. I want them to stay with me,” I stated.

The classmates around us, especially the girls, erupted in excited cheers.

It made sense—two guys fighting over girls made for a dramatic scene.

Sure, one’s a handsome guy and the other’s an average baseball player, so it’s questionable if it’s a real contest.

“I gathered the courage to confess, so I’d like to settle this first,” Koki said.

“I feel bad about that. But stepping up like this took some courage too,” I countered.

“Are you going to keep holding them back?” Koki challenged.

“Holding them back?” I asked.

“You might’ve saved them, but using that to keep them by your side—what’s that about? They deserve freedom,” Koki argued.

“I’ve never forced them into anything. I might be taking advantage of enjoying their company, but…” I trailed off.

“That’s not true!” Makoto interrupted.

“I’ll say it again—we’re with Ryu because we want to be. Don’t worry about that,” Kanade added.

“…There you go,” I said.

“But! Isn’t that just a sense of duty to repay him!?” Koki pressed.

“Maybe it started that way, but that’s not how we feel now. I think I understand their feelings,” I replied.

“I doubt that! That incident wasn’t even a big deal, was it? Acting like they owe you…” Koki accused.

“Koki!” Makoto shouted.

His tone grew harsher, frustration building. The others, who had never seen him like this, looked confused.

But Makoto cut him off.

“Stop it. We’re not with Ryu out of duty. We’re with him because we enjoy it. That’s all,” she said firmly.

“Same here. He’s never demanded anything from us, and we haven’t either,” Kanade added.

“But…” Koki stammered.

“Above all, Ryu almost died protecting us. Don’t ever make light of that,” Makoto said sternly.

“Ryu saved us at the cost of his life. But it’s not just that—we’ve seen so many good things about him. That’s why we want to be with him,” Kanade explained.

“Your words dismiss our feelings entirely,” Makoto continued.

“We respect the courage it took to confess. But that’s it. I’m sorry, but we can’t go out with you,” she concluded.

“Sorry. This is our honest response to your feelings,” Kanade added.

Koki tried to say more but stopped, looking around.

Even the members he’d spoken to beforehand gave him skeptical looks. He seemed to realize the situation wasn’t in his favor.

“…Okay, I get it. Thanks… Thanks for making time, everyone… So, let’s end the gathering here…” Koki said.

He shuffled out of the room.

As he left, I faintly heard him mutter, “Why… didn’t it… work…” but I couldn’t make it out clearly and didn’t care to.

The girls who helped organize the event followed him, bowing apologetically to us.

The atmosphere turned super awkward…

As the one who caused this, I felt really sorry.

But I had no regrets.

I never expected Koki to make such a move.

If it was just friends confessing and being rejected, I wouldn’t have stepped in. But I knew how Makoto and Kanade felt about Koki. Plus, that intense bad feeling with the headache…

It’s just a guess, but if I’d let them be, they might’ve said something vicious to Koki.

If that happened, they could’ve fallen out with his friends too, maybe even gotten isolated in class.

The gathering’s vibe was ruined, but our classmates didn’t seem to view us too negatively.

Makoto and Kanade handled it rationally, which probably helped resolve things smoothly… I think.

The gathering wasn’t exactly a success, but we got through it.

Now, the real challenge for me began.

“…Shall we head back, you two?” I suggested.

“Yeah! Let’s run! I feel like I could break a world record right now!” Makoto exclaimed.

“I agree. I’m certain I could reach the edge of the universe,” Kanade added.

“…Let’s just walk back normally,” I said.

What kind of talk should I have with these two in this state? Someone, give me advice…!

My second round begins now…!