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 42 & 43

Chapter 42: The Limits of Acting

The Saturday study session ended up being held at Kongouji’s place.

Once the plan was decided, Ikoi excused himself to use the washroom.

And the moment he was gone, the conversation among the four girls naturally shifted—to that recent confession incident.

“Hey… don’t you think Koi-chan’s entered his popular phase or something?”

Hari began with a look of grave seriousness in her eyes.

When a beauty like her spoke with that kind of weight, the atmosphere in the café instantly tightened.

Anyone else might’ve faltered under that pressure—

But not these four. They’d been best friends since middle school. There was no fear, no hierarchy.

They were equals.

“Kizuki-shi’s the kind of guy who’s easy to talk to—no bad habits, no weird vibes. Add that to the fact that he’s always hanging out with us, and it’s no wonder he’s starting to stand out more.”

Platina stated it as if it were some self-evident truth, casually sipping the rest of her frappuccino.

“So basically, it’s our fault he’s getting confessions now?”

“Think about it. If a guy can hang out with four girls without breaking a sweat, of course other girls are gonna notice him.”

“Sure, he’s got decent taste, but don’t you think it’s too sudden? Were he and that girl even that close?”

“Nope. As far as I know, they were just classmates. But that’s exactly the kind of distance that makes it easier to confess, you know? Especially to someone like Kizuki-shi—he’s the type you can gather the courage to approach.”

Ikoi Kizuki was, in every sense, the perfect kind of guy for girls his age.

Talking to him didn’t make you nervous.

He had that calm, gentle air that naturally put people at ease.

He wasn’t so quiet that conversations died, yet he wasn’t the type to talk your ear off either.

He listened properly, let girls finish what they wanted to say, and still voiced his own thoughts when it mattered.

He wasn’t movie-star handsome, but he was easy on the eyes—someone you wouldn’t mind having by your side.

He was thoughtful, polite, and every now and then, he’d drop a line or flash a smile that made your heart skip for just a moment.

In short, he wasn’t flashy, but he was well-balanced.

That was Ikoi Kizuki’s quiet charm.

Platina, who always viewed things objectively, didn’t find anything strange about him getting confessed to.

“Ugh, how shameless. Koi-chan isn’t the kind of guy who’d just flirt around for fun.”

Hari puffed out her cheeks in protest.

“What’s wrong, Hari? You jealous your childhood friend’s getting popular?”

“It’s not that! I just don’t like the idea of someone else taking up his time when we finally got to reunite in high school.”

Lately, Hari had been spending her days happily filling the gap left by all those lost years.

And ever since learning the truth about Ikoi, the sharp edges she once had had slowly softened.

Platina, who’d known her since middle school, could see it clearly.

“Wow, someone’s got a strong possessive streak.”

“It’s not possessiveness—it’s priorities. Friends come first. That’s how it should be, right?”

The four of them had always lived by that rule.

No matter what happened, they put their friendship before anything else.

That’s what made the Five-Star Gals bond something truly one of a kind.

“Hari-chan, you can’t be that selfish, you know?”

Miyu gently chimed in, her tone as soft and easygoing as ever.

“It’s only natural that we come first! So of course, any other girl trying to butt in should back off!”

“Right!?”

“Totally right!”

Miyu was the youngest in her family, spoiled absolutely rotten by her dad and two older brothers.

To her, being treated as the number one person by someone you liked wasn’t just normal—it was the bare minimum.

Hari clearly felt the same way too.

But since there was no one around to play the straight man, nobody called them out.

The truth was, these four had always treated each other as top priority, so none of them saw anything wrong with it.

“What about you, Hinawa-chan? What do you think?”

“Huh? What? Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”

Suddenly dragged into the conversation, Hinawa blinked and lifted her head with a dazed, half-tired look.

“You’re really quiet today. Are you feeling sick? Want me to grab some painkillers?”

With a worried look, Hari reached for her makeup pouch.

“Sorry, I was just spacing out a bit. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay… but if something’s bothering you, you can tell me.”

“You’re overreacting, Hari. I was just thinking, that’s all.”

Hinawa tried to brush it off with a casual excuse, but the other three saw right through her instantly.

“Wait—Hinawa was thinking!?”

“What’s wrong, Hinawa-chan? Did you eat something weird at lunch?”

“If it starts snowing in midsummer, that’d actually be great. Maybe it’ll cool things down a bit.”

“Hey! Even girls our age can have one or two things to worry about, okay!?”

The three girls reacted without holding back, and Hinawa couldn’t help but laugh, joining in the teasing herself.

“I mean, if someone as super-positive as you suddenly goes quiet and starts thinking deeply, of course we’d wonder what’s going on.”

Hari said that with a straight, serious face.

“Am I really that carefree?”

Hinawa burst out laughing at her friend’s brutally honest tone.

“Of course—in the best way possible! Thanks to your boldness, we found out Koi-chan’s real identity and managed to make up. I could never have done that myself.”

Back then, Ikoi Kizuki had been hiding his true self because of how he felt about his favorite idol, while Hari Suitengu had treated him as someone completely different from the childhood friend she once knew.

The one who’d bridged that painful misunderstanding and helped them reconnect as their old selves again—was none other than Hinawa, who’d had the courage to draw out Ikoi’s true feelings.

“Hari, you’re such a serious type. But don’t worry—when it comes to helping friends, I’ll always go all in!”

“Same here. I’m really grateful. Just say the word, and I’ll pay that favor back anytime.”

“Thanks, you two!”

Hinawa replied brightly, her usual cheerful energy returning in full force.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Ikoi came back just then, and taking that as their cue, the group decided to head out.

He tossed their empty cups into the trash, gave the table one last look to make sure nothing was left behind and just like that, they left the café together.

“Hinawa.”

“Hm? What’s up, Ikoi?”

“You seem a little less energetic than before. You’re not getting heatstroke or anything, right? Have you been drinking enough water?”

“U-Um… yeah. I’m fine.”

“Don’t push yourself, okay? Sometimes the symptoms hit you later. Summer heat’s no joke these days—if it’s too much, I’ll carry your stuff or whatever it takes.”

“T-Thanks…”

Hinawa blinked, caught off guard by how quickly Ikoi had noticed.

At the same time, she felt her heartbeat start to race.

No, it wasn’t heatstroke.

No one had done anything wrong either.

She was just pretending not to see her own feelings—

Putting on her usual cheerful act like always.

She’d thought she was good at it. At acting.

But the truth was undeniable now.

The sunny blonde gal had fallen—deep—into the calm, caste-indifferent boy’s world.

And the kind of love-sickness she’d caught… didn’t have a cure.

☆☆☆☆☆

Announcement!

Tonight, November 4th at 7:00 p.m., the official MF Bunko J X account will reveal the third batch of character designs for “Five-Star Gals: They’re All Falling for Me.”

Make sure to check it out!

Chapter 43: I’m Just Not Cut Out for Romance

“Kizuki, please—this is a once-in-a-lifetime favor! Help me get closer to Hiwatari-san!”

Ever since I’d started hanging out with the Five-Star Gals, the number of guys secretly coming to me for love advice had skyrocketed.

And every single time, they somehow picked the worst possible moment—like right between classes, when I was just trying to walk down the hallway in peace.

Could they not drop emotional bombshells on me when I barely had five minutes to breathe?

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the only guy who can talk to the Fives like a normal human being!”

Ah, that again.

Sure, the Five-Star Gals were beautiful, popular, and basically the queens of the school.

But the way my classmates suddenly started treating me differently just because I hung out with them?

Honestly, it was weird.

I hadn’t changed at all.

And I didn’t plan to, either.

The Fives’ influence was just that overwhelming.

Even someone like me—the so-called “caste-indifferent guy”—had gotten pulled into their orbit without meaning to.

“We’re all classmates, right? Just talk to her yourself.”

“She’s on a whole different level, man! I can’t just walk up to her. I need to go through you first—as an intermediary! Then I’ll slowly close the distance!”

I couldn’t even tell if that was determination or pure cowardice.

“With that roundabout method, I’d say your odds are… pretty slim.”

“There’s still, like, a one percent chance of a miracle happening!”

“…Then go all in on that one percent. But leave me out of it.”

Seriously, anyone who could get that fired up about love already had more courage than I ever would.

“It’s impossible. I don’t wanna get hurt by confessing head-on. If I’m gonna get rejected, I’d rather it be gentle. Besides, I don’t wanna end up being hated.”

“If you’re that terrified of rejection, maybe romance isn’t for you.”

“If I can get close to a beautiful girl, that alone makes it worth trying.”

He said that with a perfectly straight face.

“…You really like Hina—uh, Hiwatari-san that much?”

“Whoa, hold on! You were totally about to call her by her first name just now! That’s proof you two are close!”

“Or maybe I’m just a rude guy with no sense of personal space.”

“If you were actually a flirt, you wouldn’t be helping me like this. You’d just go after her yourself.”

…Weird how he could sound so confident in me when I didn’t even trust myself that much.

“Wait, Kizuki—don’t tell me the reason you’re dodging this is because you like one of the Fives?”

“Of course not.”

The instant I said that, his eyes went wide like he’d just seen a ghost.

“No way. Anyone hanging around those girls would fall for at least one of them! And yet you act totally calm! You’re not normal, man!”

What a rude way to compliment someone.

“People fall in love at their own pace. Let me handle things how I want.”

“You can’t control when you fall in love! That’s not how it works!”

“Then stop lecturing me. We’re gonna be late for the next class.”

Honestly, I didn’t owe it to anyone to entertain their convenient, love-struck theories.

The truth was simple—

Romance just wasn’t something I was good at handling.

“Alright, alright! My bad! Please, Lord Kizuki, Saint Kizuki—be my god of love and help me out!”

“You’ve got final exams coming up, and you still have time to chase romance?”

“If it means getting closer to Hiwatari-san, I don’t care if I flunk every subject!”

For someone that determined, he sure had a spineless way of showing it.

Then again, maybe that’s just how love worked—a weird mix of boldness and total cowardice.

“Is having a girlfriend really that important to you?”

“Of course! I want it as bad as winning the lottery! I wanna be one of those cool, successful guys who gets to flirt with a cute girl every day!”

…Well, at least he was honest about it.

I could understand it on a biological level, sure, but since I’d never been the type to obsess over romance or social status, it was hard to relate.

Maybe that was proof enough—

That I just wasn’t cut out for this whole “love” thing.

“Out of curiosity, why do you like Hinawa?”

“She’s crazy cute, and she seems fun to be around!”

“What made you fall for her?”

“She’s totally my type.”

“And why do you want to date her?”

“Because having a girlfriend like her would make everyone jealous!”

“…Your reasons are way too shallow. Paper-thin.”

Exactly what I expected.

Every guy who’d ever asked me to “put in a good word” with one of the Five-Star Gals had been the same—all surface-level feelings, with nothing real underneath.

“Hey, come on! It always starts with looks! You only get to know someone’s personality after you get close!”

“I was hoping for a slightly better reason than that.”

“Kizuki, dude, all I’m asking is for you to introduce me to Hiwatari-san! Don’t be stingy!”

Man… if guys like him were constantly hitting on Hinawa and the others, those girls really had their hands full.

And honestly, the last thing I wanted was to make things worse by playing middleman for every random classmate.

“Sorry, but I’ve got no obligation—or interest—in managing anyone’s love life. I’m not the Five-Star Gals’ receptionist.”

I cut him off before he could drag this out any further.

“Oh, sure, sure. You just don’t wanna share your harem, huh?”

“…My what?”

That caught me so off guard I actually blinked.

“One guy surrounded by four gorgeous girls—that’s a harem, man! Textbook example!”

“A harem means multiple people actually like you, doesn’t it? We’re just friends. Don’t twist it into something weird.”

“…Kizuki, you really have zero interest in romance, huh?”

He gave me this look—like he’d just spotted some rare, unexplainable creature in the wild.

“It’s not that I’m not interested… I just don’t really get it.”

“For real? You mean to tell me you’ve never thought about dating one of the Fives? You hang out with four gorgeous girls every day! Anyone else would kill to be in that position. You could literally pick your favorite! What a waste!”

“This isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet…”

“You’re overcomplicating it, man! Love’s simple. Out of the four, who’s your type? Be honest!”

“Friends don’t come with ranking charts.”

“Oh, cut the nice-guy act! Come on, gut instinct! Who’s the one you’d want to spend the most time with?”

When he pushed me like that, I couldn’t help but pause and think.

Hari Suitengu—my childhood friend, someone I’d always admired.

Hinawa Hiwatari—bright, outgoing, the kind of girl who could make anyone smile just by being around.

Miyu Chigira—cute and gentle, with that quiet, unassuming charm that made it hard to look away once you noticed her.

Platina Kongouji—sharp, clever, and always fun to talk to, with a way of keeping every conversation interesting.

Each of them had their own kind of appeal—completely different, yet equally strong.

There was no way to choose one over the others.

“I think… I—”

☆☆☆☆☆

Announcement!

Tonight, November 6th at 7:00 p.m., the official MF Bunko J X account will reveal the fourth round of character designs for “Five-Star Gals: They’re All Falling for Me.”

Don’t miss it—make sure to check it out!