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 - V2 Chapter 38 & 39

Chapter 38: The Five-Star Seal of Approval

“Kizuki-kun, will you go out with me?”

Late June—rain already hung faintly in the air, the rainy season just around the corner.

After school, in the quiet classroom, a girl from my class suddenly confessed to me.

Honestly, I barely even knew her name.

We’d only been in the same class since the start of second year, and we hadn’t talked much—just a few forgettable exchanges, if that.

So yeah, there was no reason—none whatsoever—for her to suddenly confess to me, Ikoi Kizuki.

“Uh, first off… thank you. To be honest, I’m really surprised.”

“Of course you are.”

“Can I ask why you’re confessing to me? Is this, like… some kind of punishment game or something?”

I was what people called a “caste-indifferent guy.”

I didn’t belong to any clique, didn’t care about popularity or status.

So for a girl from one of the loud, popular groups to suddenly take an interest in me… yeah, that just didn’t add up.

A prank or some class dare honestly sounded way more plausible.

“That’s not it!!”

Her eyes went wide in a panic—okay, so this was a real confession.

“…Okay, well, that actually makes me even more nervous now.”

“Wait, so that’s really what you thought!?”

“Yeah, I’ve had some… rough experiences getting called out by letter before, so I can’t help it.”

I let out a small laugh at the memory.

After everything that’d happened lately, the idea of someone liking me for real just didn’t feel possible anymore.

“Kizuki-kun, you really are popular after all.”

“Wait, hold on—‘after all’? That’s news to me.”

“Well, come on. You’ve been hanging around with the Fives lately, right? That alone makes you stand out among all the second-year guys.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Somehow, I’d actually ended up with friends—a sentence that still felt weird to say.

The cool, queen-like gal, Hari Suitengu.

The cheerful, sunshine gal, Hinawa Hiwatari.

The tiny, gentle gal, Miyu Chigira.

And the lazy, mysterious gal, Platina Kongouji.

Four girls treated like literal idols at school—the legendary Five-Star Gals, or simply “the Fives.”

By some ridiculous twist of fate, I’d gotten close to them, and after surviving all kinds of chaos, we somehow ended up in the same friend group.

“When a lone guy starts hanging out with four beautiful girls, of course it stands out. But don’t get the wrong idea.”

“You’re being too humble! Ever since high school started, this is the first time the Fives have ever hung out with a boy.”

“Even if they’ve always been special, that doesn’t mean I’ve changed. I’m still just me.”

That wasn’t false modesty—it was simply the truth.

A loner suddenly joining a famous group was bound to draw attention.

But being lumped together with the top of the school caste—the five-star gals themselves—was a weight way too heavy to carry.

I’d never cared about popularity or social rank.

So being in the spotlight like this? Honestly, it was just tiring.

“See? That unshakable attitude of yours is exactly what I find so cool about you, Kizuki-kun. That’s why I decided to confess.”

She looked at me with a warm, almost dreamy gaze.

Yeah… I was definitely being way overestimated here.

Apparently, just being the one guy who happened to be close with the school’s famous Five-Star Gals was enough to make me look special.

It was like being a small YouTuber who suddenly collabed with a celebrity and blew up overnight.

To her, dating me probably meant she could brag a little to everyone around her.

Man, what a casual reason to confess.

“Uh, no, seriously. I’m really not that big of a deal.”

“That calm, mature way you talk—so different from the other guys—that’s what’s so nice about you.”

Uh-oh.

No matter how I tried to explain, she was completely ignoring the point.

“So? What do you think? Want to go out with me, Kizuki-kun?”

“I don’t think I can do romance right now.”

I gave her an honest answer.

“If you actually start dating, you’ll get used to it and have fun, you know?”

“But if I don’t feel that way from the start, wouldn’t that just be rude to you?”

“Love’s supposed to be like a roller coaster—it’s fun because your heart goes up and down! You don’t confess to someone who doesn’t make your heart race!”

Wow. She was persistent. Tough, too.

“Um, I think maybe… you and I just have totally different ideas about romance.”

“Wait—don’t tell me you’re turning me down because you already have a girlfriend? If that’s it, then how about this? We can date secretly for a while. If I end up being more fun, you can always switch to me later.”

…This girl really didn’t hold back.

Honestly, a weaker guy probably would’ve fallen right then and there.

“Oh! Don’t tell me your girlfriend’s one of the Fives? Or wait—are you secretly in a full-on harem with all of them!?”

“Absolutely not!!”

“Phew, thank goodness. If it were one of those four, I’d never stand a chance.”

“Seriously, what part of me makes you think I could ever date any of them?”

I couldn’t help asking, completely baffled by how she’d even reached that conclusion.

“Well, anyone looking at you would think—”

She suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Her eyes shifted past me, and the cheerful smile on her face froze into something stiff and panicked.

“What’s wrong? Something behind me?”

“K-Kizuki-kun! I just remembered I’ve got something to do! Anyway, that confession earlier was a joke, so forget all of it! Let’s just stay classmates, okay?!”

Her voice shot up an octave as she bolted out of the classroom like her life depended on it.

What the hell was that about?

She looked like prey that had just locked eyes with a predator.

Still confused, I turned around—

“Koi-chan, you’re so slow!”

“Ikoi, hurry up already!”

“Kizuki-kun, come on, let’s go home together.”

“Kizuki-shi, stop wasting time.”

Standing there were my friends—the four dazzling Five-Star Gals.

“Yeah, I’m done here. Let’s head out.”

And just like always, I left school with them.

One guy. Four girls.

A 1:4 ratio that—for now, at least—had zero romantic vibes.

…Or so I honestly believed at the time.

☆☆☆☆☆

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Also, the light novel edition — “Five-Star Gals: They’re All Falling for Me” — will be released on December 25th under MF Bunko J!

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Chapter 39: Summer Plans

The walk from Gingamine High School to the nearest station was pure torture—even in the evening. The heat clung to our skin like a curse.

“Man, starting the week off with this kind of heat is brutal.”

The sky was finally clear between stretches of rainy June days, but the sun burned like a spotlight, and the humidity made it almost unbearable.

Beside me, the Five-Star Gals clustered under their parasols, doing everything they could to stay out of the sunlight.

Hari shared her umbrella with Hinawa, while Miyu’s parasol barely fit both her and Platina underneath.

By the time we reached the station, we were all one step away from melting into the pavement.

A unanimous, unspoken decision: find air conditioning.

We made a straight line for Stella Bucker’s Coffee, the café chain by the station.

The instant we stepped inside, an icy wave of air conditioning washed over us—like stumbling across an oasis in the middle of a desert.

We snagged a large table, dropped our bags, and claimed it before anyone else could.

I stayed behind to guard the seats while the girls headed off to place their orders.

“Kizuki-kun, what do you want to drink? You want something to eat too?”

Miyu Chigira tilted her head slightly, her small-animal charm in full force—cute enough to melt even tougher guys than me.

“I’ll take a large iced coffee—black. That’s all I need, thanks.”

“Got it! Just wait a sec, okay?”

That little tilt of her head was ridiculously cute.

Now that Miyu had switched to her summer uniform, the chest she used to keep hidden under layers of clothes was suddenly… a lot more noticeable.

Yeah. The contrast was dangerous.

Add in that soft, caring voice of hers, and honestly, most guys would instantly start thinking, Wait, does she maybe like me?

As the air conditioner cooled my overheated body, I leaned back in my chair and watched the four Five-Star Gals waiting in line at the counter.

Even in a stylish café like this, they completely stood out—like four pop idols casually stopping by for coffee.

Heads were turning left and right, and honestly, who could blame them?

Four beautiful girls gathered in one place were bound to steal the spotlight.

“When you hang around girls like that, even a background extra like me gets noticed.”

I, Ikoi Kizuki, was just your average high school guy.

I didn’t dye my hair, didn’t mess up my uniform, didn’t try to stand out.

Just a plain seventeen-year-old you could find anywhere.

That’s why that confession earlier in class still didn’t feel real to me.

I wasn’t the type to care about school connections or status games like, “Oh, I’m friends with so-and-so!”

So realizing my reputation had changed overnight just because of the girls I hung out with… yeah, that honestly freaked me out a little.

It wasn’t like I’d done anything to change myself.

If anything, the ones who’d changed—the ones who’d dragged me into their bright, chaotic world—were them.

“Koi-chan, were you just staring at us in awe?”

The one teasing me was Hari Suitengu—short black hair, pale skin, and a slender, delicate kind of beauty.

She’d once dreamed of becoming a professional ballet dancer, and her graceful poise had earned her the nickname Glass Doll.

Oh, and she also happened to be my childhood friend.

“Would you have preferred if I said I was only staring at you, like in the old days?”

“I wouldn’t mind that.”

Her expression didn’t change at all—completely unreadable. I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.

After meeting again for the first time since we were five, we’d been through a lot—but somehow, we’d managed to end up as friends again.

“Hari. If you really want Kizuki-shi to notice how you feel, you’ll have to be a bit more direct about it.”

That lazy comment came from Platina Kongouji, who was fanning herself while eavesdropping.

Among the four, she was the tallest—and lately, she’d started paying more attention to her appearance.

The fake glasses were gone, her once-messy long hair tied neatly into a ponytail, and with her jacket off for summer, she looked effortlessly cool.

Her natural charm was shining through without restraint now, and honestly, it was almost too dazzling to look at directly.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Kongouji?”

“That right there. You always sell yourself short, Kizuki-shi. Modesty’s fine, but too much of it just makes you seem insecure.”

“Wow. Getting lectured by you, Kongouji… that’s a first.”

I couldn’t help scrunching my face a little.

Talking with Platina was easy because neither of us held back—but that also meant she sometimes got under my skin. Still, most of the time, it was actually fun.

“Here you go, Ikoi. One iced coffee!”

The one placing the drink in front of me was Hinawa Hiwatari.

She looked exactly like what you’d picture when you heard the phrase “the gal of all gals.”

But that blonde hair of hers wasn’t dyed—it was completely natural.

With an American father and a Japanese mother, her features were sharp yet perfectly balanced.

Basically, she wasn’t someone who became a gal through makeup or fashion—she was born one. A genuine, purebred gal.

Her energy was bright enough to blow away the summer heat, and just being around her made you feel more alive.

“Thanks. How much do I owe you?”

“Forty thousand yen.”

“What kind of luxury café charges that!? That’s robbery!”

“Come on, it’s an iced coffee personally delivered by a high school girl. That’s premium service right there.”

“In that case, I’ll just buy it myself.”

I started to get up from my seat, clearly not planning to play along.

“Wait, wait! I’m kidding! It’s only one percent of that—just the regular price!”

Hinawa grinned like a kid who’d just been caught pulling a harmless prank and was proud of it.

“Good. ’Cause if this were some crazy overpriced café, I’d have to bail.”

“No worries! We always split the bill evenly, so you’re safe, Ikoi.”

“That helps. Thanks.”

Feeling relieved, I took a sip of my iced coffee.

The chill bitterness ran down my throat, cooling me from the inside out.

I let out a quiet breath—like my body and mind were finally refreshed.

“So, what’s the plan for this summer?”

I tossed the question out casually while sipping my cold drink.

We were second-year high schoolers now—summer vacation was just around the corner.

Next year, we’d be exam students, buried in mock tests and study sessions.

Which meant this summer… might be the last one we could truly enjoy without holding back.

There were plenty of things we had to do—but way more things we wanted to do.

The Four Five-Star Gals each took a sip of their sweet drinks and started throwing out ideas.

“I definitely want to go shopping before any trip. I need a new swimsuit.” 

Hari said, ticking things off on her fingers like she was building a mental checklist.

“Let’s play in the river again—and then have a barbecue! I’m gonna eat so much meat this year.” 

Hinawa cheered, already in full summer mode.

“I wanna do a test of courage! And fireworks too! Summer just isn’t complete without them!”

Miyu chimed in, eyes sparkling with excitement.

I’d always pegged her as the type to scare easily—but apparently, I was way off.

“Tokyo’s too hot. I’d rather spend it somewhere cool and quiet. Maybe just lie back and watch the stars.”

Platina Kongouji muttered, already looking halfway done with summer before it even began.

“What about you, Ikoi? What do you wanna do?”

Hinawa turned the spotlight on me.

All four of them looked over, waiting for my answer.

“Hold on a sec—before we get ahead of ourselves. You’re all talking like it’s already decided, but… are we seriously going on a trip this summer?”

“Oh, right! You’re a first-timer, Ikoi! Every year, we stay at Platina’s family’s vacation house!”

With a sheepish “oops,” Hinawa stuck out her tongue playfully.

The “villa owner” herself, Platina Kongouji, struck a smug peace sign like she’d just pulled off a victory.

“Wait, you’re not saying I’m going too, right? A guy?”

“Of course you are. We’re not leaving you out, Koi-chan.”

Hari replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and Miyu nodded along enthusiastically.

And just like that—before I even knew it—my entire summer vacation had been decided for me.