While I Was Shutting in My Room for One Year, My Parent Remarried and Now I’m Living Together With Super Beautiful Stepsisters

Chapter 49: Engaged to Yamada?? A Shadow Creeping In Damply

“You’re really serious about dating Momone, aren’t you?”

“Uh, umm.”

I froze up when Dad asked me that.

Well, no wonder…

I wasn’t even dating her for real, and on top of that, Yamada and I were nothing more than high school senior and junior from middle school days.

But… if I didn’t answer here…!

I hesitated over what to do and ended up thinking I’d signal to Yamada…

“…Stare.”

Yamada just kept staring right at me.

Why are you focusing so hard on the one asking!

I’m the one in trouble here, so help me out!!

“Oh? What’s this? Does that mean Aoto-kun isn’t quite ready for that kind of commitment yet?”

“…Th-that’s…”

This is bad, this is bad—if things keep going like this… it’ll come out!

I mean, talking about commitment for a first-year high school relationship… that’s way too heavy!

But now that it’s come to this, even if we’re not actually dating, I had to show my feelings…!

“M-Momone-san is someone I truly see as a precious person (my junior)! Actually, before starting high school, things didn’t go well for me, and I got so down that I shut myself in my room for a whole year. Even so, when I finally managed to get out, the very first person who talked to me was my junior, Yamada-san!”

“Aoto, Senpai…”

“Even though I’m older but such a screw-up, Momone-san still called me ‘Senpai.’ Honestly, that made me happy, and now that Momone-san’s in the same class, that’s why I can keep going to high school.”

I just spoke my honest feelings.

For better or worse, Yamada had helped me out a lot, and even when she said snarky things, she still called me Senpai.

So, I wanted to thank her for that.

“I see… I had no idea you had that kind of past…”

Dad’s face turned serious as he listened to me.

Did I make a bad impression…?

Well, sure, if you found out your daughter’s boyfriend was a repeat-year student who’d holed up as a shut-in for a year, you’d feel turned off…

But… that might actually be good!

If this led to him saying, “You’re not good enough for my daughter!” it’d be perfect for me!

“Uh, um! If Dad says we should break up, then for Momone-san’s sake, I’ll end it right now! I don’t think a guy like me is worthy anyway—”

“Hang on, Senpai! What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Momone, be quiet for a bit.”

Dad cut off Yamada’s worried look with a formal tone, and his serious face got even more intense.

This is bad… is Dad about to lose it?

“I… couldn’t care less about that!”

“Huh!?”

“In fact, I took advantage of being the daughter of this company’s president and joined the local delinquent group back in middle school, and then in high school, I went to that super-famous Yankee school and spent my days fighting nonstop to conquer the nation!”

Sh-she had an even wilder backstory than me!!

And she’s like the protagonist from a Yankee manga…!!

“On the contrary, I like you, Aoto-kun. Someone who’s bounced back from a huge setback like that is definitely strong and appealing. If you don’t know your own weaknesses, you can’t empathize with other people’s troubles. That’s important experience in business too.”

“D-Dad…”

Dad’s words really hit me in the chest.

He’s just such a genuinely good guy… as expected from the president who runs the major local companies.

Sure enough, because of that setback, I felt like I could now stand strong no matter what those wildly free-spirited three sisters and my stepmother threw at me.

“Alright, I think I can entrust the company to you in the future. You two keep getting along. Well, back to work for me.”

“Eh, wait, hold on—”

The call with Dad ended.

I didn’t get found out… I didn’t get found out, but… this turned into something even worse?

“Hang on, why did Papa end up liking you!!”

“How should I know! I thought the flow would lead to us breaking up!”

“At this rate, it’s like Aoto Senpai and I are heading toward marriage!”

“Huh? So Yamada-chan plans to marry Aoto, huh? Wow.”

While we were going back and forth, a shadow appeared at the room’s entrance before we knew it.

“Eek, Haruka, Senpai…”

There stood Haruka, who should’ve been all warm and cozy after her bath, but instead she had this oddly damp vibe.

—

Chapter 50: Haruka is Sleek, Momiji is Plump

“Aoto? What were you so passionately talking about in front of Yamada-chan’s dad?”

“Hah, Haruka!”

Haruka had somehow entered our room without me noticing.

She wore the white nightwear provided by the hotel, and because she had just come out of the bath, her long black hair was sleek too, and she walked while wiping it with a towel.

“Hey, you two, are you done with the call? Wait, Haruka-san? Why are you in the room!”

Momiji, who had come to the room to check if the call was over, was so surprised she collapsed to the floor.

Hm? Wait. Isn’t something off?

Normally speaking, if Haruka came from the bath, before coming to this inner room where we were on the phone, she would have to pass through the largest room connected to the entrance, where the three sisters and Nanoka-san were preparing for the party.

And yet… Momiji did not know about it.

That means… Haruka…

I suddenly glanced at the closet in the room, behind the sofa where we had been on the phone.

The closet’s folding door was open just a tiny bit.

No way… she was here from the start… or something.

She was already sleek enough, but it was a bad habit to cool my own head too.

Anyway, thanks to Momiji coming, I could air things out a bit (loaded meaning), so let’s head to the party.

“Since you’ve both finished greeting Dad, Yamada and Haruka, let’s go back to that room, yeah?”

“Yeah… sure!”

“Aoto, you’re getting good at dodging… you’re the worst.”

Yamada responded with a smile, in contrast to the sulky Haruka.

I had no idea why she was sulky.