The Story of How I, a Guy Who Couldn’t Care Less About School Castes, Somehow Ended Up Making All the Five-Star Gals Fall for Me - Chapter 20: Am I Not Good Enough?

Chapter 20: Am I Not Good Enough?

It was obvious Miyu always kept her guard up around boys.

With her small frame and cute looks, she probably felt more pressure from them than I could imagine

“Thanks, okay?”

“That’s why… I let myself lean on you today. Was it a bother?”

“When someone’s in trouble, helping each other’s just natural.”

“Um… I actually have another favor. Will you hear me out?”

“If it’s something I can do.”

“…Then, Kizuki-kun—can I rely on you more whenever I’m in trouble!?”

“What do you mean by ‘rely’ exactly?”

“Like… in times when I need a boy’s strength, like earlier. Or when I feel uncomfortable with other guys… I want you to be my excuse, my shield!”

It wasn’t like her to say something so blunt.

Compared to the other three Fives, Miyu’s softer, girlier presence made boys approach her carelessly.

She probably wanted me to act as a wall or a “no entry” sign in those moments.

“So basically, a bodyguard?”

“If you’d always be by my side like that… I’d be happy.”

“Sure.”

“R-Really!?”

My answer came out easier than even I expected, and Miyu looked momentarily surprised.

“Of course, I can’t be around you 24/7. But if you ever call on me, I’ll be there.”

“Mm! That’s plenty! Thank you so much!”

She brightened up with excitement—

Which only made her press even closer against me.

“Chigira-san, you really should be resting right now.”

“Hearing your voice works better for me, Kizuki-kun. So… can I ask one more question? Please?”

Her tone softened into a dreamy sweetness.

With the Five-Star Gals, a tricky question could always be hiding around the corner—I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

“…Just one more.”

“Kizuki-kun, do you… have someone you like? Like, maybe Hari-chan, for example.”

Even though I didn’t want her to push herself, she dropped that bomb of a question straight at me.

“Why are you bringing up Suitengu-san?”

Her curveball left me no choice but to answer with a question of my own.

“Because—it’s the first time Hari-chan has ever talked with a boy every single day. Ever since middle school.”

“They all have boyfriends, don’t they? Talking with guys isn’t that rare, right?”

“Maybe so, but still…”

She clearly wasn’t satisfied with that.

“I’m just her practice partner. A punching bag, nothing more.”

“But even if that’s how it starts… don’t people sometimes fall in love anyway? I mean, I dream about those romantic, shoujo-manga developments.”

“That does sound dreamy. Unfortunately, I’m not the cool, manga-style prince type.”

“Kizuki-kun, you are cool!”

Her voice suddenly rose, and with that burst of energy her chest pressed even harder against my back.

That double impact stunned me into silence.

“C-Chigira-san!?”

“I-I just meant…”

“Thanks… for being so considerate.”

I couldn’t see her face from behind, but I could tell she was pouting a little.

“Kizuki-kun, don’t you want to get a girlfriend?”

“I just don’t have that kind of luck.”

I answered as if it were someone else’s problem.

After all, I couldn’t imagine any girl actually falling for someone like me.

“That’s not true. You’re kind, Kizuki-kun. You helped me before, and today too. There’s definitely someone out there who’d fall for you.”

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of ‘good guy.’”

“To me, you are the best guy.”

“Chigira-san?”

“So… if Kizuki-kun ever did get a girlfriend, I kinda wish I… could be one of the candidates.”

That comment made all their earlier boyfriend-talk feel less convincing.

“…Sorry, I don’t really get it. Not that there’s anything wrong with you, Chigira-san—but don’t you already have someone you’re dating?”

I circled back to the obvious question.

Because of my doubts, it came out as, “don’t you?”

“T-That was just… an example! I only meant as a candidate! Hari-chan told me, right? That you’d talked about who you might date if it were one of the girls in our class.”

Ah… so that’s what she meant.

I almost let myself misunderstand.

It was all just hypothetical. Just “candidate talk.” Not anything about actually dating.

Because we were pressed so close together, I’d started seeing Miyu too much as a girl.

Pathetic of me—and honestly disrespectful to her.

Right now, I was just carrying an injured classmate to the nurse’s office. That was all.

“Am I… not good enough?”

“Not good enough for what?”

“Mou~~ Kizuki-kun, if you’re pretending not to get it, I’ll be mad.”

“I’m seriously asking.”

“I-I mean… as in, if you were to have a girlfriend, being one of the candidates, that kind of thing…”

Her words, soaked with obvious affection, left me rattled.

So… maybe that whole “I already have a boyfriend” line really had been a lie.

Physical closeness. Emotional closeness. Both hit at once.

Was this one of those things people said—when a girl talks about breaking up, she already has her next option lined up?

And I was… the option being weighed?

Had I been entirely wrong about Miyu—thinking she was the quiet, gentle type—when deep down she was actually bold and predatory?

Or was she just teasing me?

I tried to glance back at her, but she suddenly pressed both hands against my head.

“Don’t look back!”

…Yeah, girls’ hearts were impossible to read.

“You always compliment me so directly, Chigira-san.”

“I’m just bad at lying, that’s all.”

No—there was no need to overthink her words.

If I accepted them at face value, that was enough.

And if she’d gone that far, then doubting her any further would only be rude.

“Okay, fine—just as a purely hypothetical. If I were your boyfriend—”

“Then that means I’d have a chance, right?”

She cut me off before I could finish.

Definitely not some harmless mascot girl. 

Behind her gentle air, Miyu was surprisingly forward about romance—or maybe she was just brutally honest with her feelings. Either way, she was very much a gal.

“Could you at least let me finish? I meant… what about the other three?”

“Why bring them up?”

Miyu tilted her head, clearly not following my logic.

“I mean, casual classmates is one thing. But as a boyfriend? Someone like me wouldn’t exactly match up… and wouldn’t the other three be against it?”

“Kizuki-kun, you said it yourself before, remember? ‘As long as you and the person you’re with see each other as the best, that’s all that matters.’ And if it were the three of them, they’d be happy for me—they’d celebrate it.”

She said it so openly, without a shred of doubt.

Friendship and love—she believed she could have both, and share both.

That confidence said everything.

She must’ve been surrounded by affection her whole life. Even with her worries, she’d been shielded from the kind of cruelty that twists people; she’d grown up straightforward and bright.

“And besides, if you became my boyfriend, you could hang out with our group too. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

That whole “best of both worlds” idea—honestly, it had never even crossed my mind.

But that was Miyu Chigira for you—radiating quiet confidence like it was natural.

Of course she did.

Girls like her, like Hari Suitengu, Hinawa Hiwatari, and Platina Kongouji… if they wanted boyfriends, they could get one anytime they liked.

So why would girls like that ever bother with someone like me?

I couldn’t figure it out—though it wasn’t as if it felt bad, being on the receiving end.

Before I knew it, we’d already reached the nurse’s office.

“Um… what I said just now, it’s embarrassing. So, can you keep it a secret from the others?”

“…Sure, I can do that.”

I handed her over to the school nurse.

But the strange aftertaste of that moment lingered in me, refusing to fade.

She hadn’t confessed outright. Not exactly.

Even so… it was more than enough to make me start seeing Miyu Chigira in a completely different light.