Right, Kids, class dismissed!" the teacher finally said, closing their binder with a clap. "Tomorrow we'll begin preparations for the play, so enjoy your free time today!"
The moment the words free time hit the air, half the class vanished like ninjas released from a gen-jutsu.
Meanwhile, I was still standing, staring down at my now infamous Lead Role: Prince paper like it was a court summons.
Around me? Four very specific girls... still very much present.
Reina silently packed her bag, her expression unreadable.
Nao kept glancing between the other girls like she wanted to say something, but kept chewing on her lower lip instead.
Arisa was all smiles, as usual, but something about it had a tightness to it.
And Yuki… crossed her arms and simply muttered, "Tch. Lame."
Yeah.
Tense was an understatement.
We ended up walking around the village's side streets, apparently searching for "souvenirs." I wasn't sure why a fox-themed tea towel was something they'd want to bring home, but Nao bought two. Arisa bought nothing but commented on everything. Reina trailed behind, taking slow glances at the sky. And Yuki? Yuki kept walking ahead of us like she wasn't with us, but made sure we were never more than six steps behind.
We eventually ducked into a tiny crafts shop that smelled like incense and old tatami. There were hanging wind chimes, little figurines of frogs and lucky cats, and those weird decorative fans no one ever uses.
I reached out to look at one of the fans.
"Yoink." Arisa took it from my hand before I could even lift it.
"Oh? So you like these kinds of things? I thought you were more of a discount convenience store guy."
I sighed. "Thanks for the reminder."
She grinned, but then... her tone shifted just a bit.
"Hey, Souta…" Her voice dropped slightly. "If you had to choose... between us four, like, if, who'd you want to play your Princess?"
Oh no.
Why.
Why was I born?
I froze like a frog under a hawk's shadow. The other girls, who had all been pretending to browse, simultaneously stopped moving like they were in a live recording, and the director just yelled CUT.
"I mean, not that it matters or anything," Arisa said with the fakest shrug in history. "But, you know... if it did..."
Nao instantly lit up. "Wait, are we playing that game? Because I-I mean... if I was forced, like, if the teacher made me or something, I wouldn't mind doing it… I mean if it was Souta and all…"
Yuki turned her head slowly. "That's a stupid question."
Pause.
"…But the princess should at least not mess up her lines," she added.
That felt weirdly like a challenge.
Reina, who had been looking at some handmade combs, softly muttered, "I wouldn't mind... if the script is good." Then she blushed and turned her face away. "That came out wrong."
I was sweating more than a waiter taking orders from five picky customers.
"N-None of you have to play the part if you don't want to!" I said, waving my arms like I was fending off mosquitoes made of pure romantic tension. "I-I'll kiss whoever I'm told to kiss by the teacher, okay?!"
They all glared at me.
"...Okay, that also came out wrong."
Yeah, I should have never said that because they all looked at each other and left...
"Shit, sometimes I let my big mouth run."
Even the shopkeeper began to tut as he watched me come to his counter to purchase some stuff.
*
Somewhere else close by.
The four sisters were gathered on the wooden porch of the inn, a small open box of local sweets between them. The sun had just begun to dip, casting everything in a sleepy amber glow. The cicadas had calmed down for once, and, miraculously, they weren't bickering.
Nao lay on her back, her head resting on Reina's lap. "Ugh… I feel like I'm gonna explode."
"You did eat three dango sticks and steal half of Arisa's mochi," Reina noted calmly, brushing crumbs off Nao's cheek.
"Worth it," Nao groaned.
Arisa rolled her eyes but didn't look mad. She kicked her legs lazily against the porch rail. "Sooo... now that we've eaten our weight in sugar, are we gonna talk about it?"
Reina blinked. "About what?"
Arisa leaned back on her elbows. "The play. And, you know… him."
That was enough to shut everyone up for a good ten seconds.
Yuki, who'd been perched on the railing like a quiet sentinel, narrowed her eyes at Arisa. "Why are you bringing that up?"
Arisa smirked. "Oh, come on. It's Souta. You seriously think this whole 'kissing scene' thing isn't gonna be a disaster if we just pretend like it's not happening?"
Yuki didn't answer. Not right away.
Instead, she glanced out toward the trees, like the answer might be waiting out there somewhere.
Then she said flatly, "We're not letting him kiss some random girl."
Arisa raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Getting protective?"
"It's not about that," Yuki replied coolly. "He's our maid. Our problem. If anyone has to do that dumb scene... it should be one of you. Not some class rep with a crush and a fake smile."
"Ohhhh?" Arisa leaned in, grinning. "So you do care~"
She continued.
"Let's be honest, you want to be the princess just as much as we do. Awww Yuki, you're such a lovely Dovey gi-"
Yuki flicked a pebble at her. It bounced off her shoulder with a pat.
"Shut up."
Reina sipped her tea. "It's just a play."
"But not for everyone," Arisa muttered.
Nao stretched, letting out a little yawn. "Sooo... do we all just audition? Or, like, pull straws?"
"I'm not pulling anything with you, don't lump me in with that," Yuki muttered.
The girls chuckled lightly, nothing resolved, nothing certain.
Just tension, quiet rivalry, and the slow, uncomfortable realization:
Tomorrow's audition might change everything.
*
There's a special kind of peace that comes with being the only one in a quiet coffee shop in the middle of a rural village.
The wood creaked beneath my chair as I leaned back, arms folded, my lukewarm can of Boss coffee halfway done. The scent of roasted beans lingered, mixing with the earthy smell of pine trees and old paper menus. Outside, the sun was setting, the last light of the day painting the rooftops in warm orange.
It was the kind of moment that could have felt peaceful.
Except for the fact that my brain was currently chewing itself apart like it owed it money.
"There's going to be a kissing scene."
Why? Why did it have to be a kissing scene? I'd barely survived breathing the same air as those girls without being accused of something indecent, now they wanted me to put my lips on someone?
Whoever wrote this script was a menace to society.
And now I was stuck in this weird limbo, wondering who was going to volunteer to get roped into playing Princess Kaguya to my reluctant Romeo.
I sipped my coffee again and sighed.
"If this turns into a full-blown romantic competition, I'm retiring. I'll fake an injury. Change my name. Open a takoyaki stand in Hokkaido. Anything."
I tilted my head back and let the quiet take me. For a second, I almost drifted off until someone dropped into the seat across from me.
"Yo, Issei Hyoudou."
I blinked. Shinji.
Wearing his usual smug grin and oversized hoodie, he leaned over the table like this was a secret rendezvous.
"Can I help you?" I asked flatly.
"You can help yourself, actually. Like, damn, man. One room with four girls, and now you're the lead role in a romantic play? What god did you bribe in your last life?"
"I don't even want to be here."
"That's the worst part! You're the reluctant protagonist, too! The 'oops-I-got-popular' type! That's cheat-code tier, also never will forgive you about that Arisa thing."
I sighed. "If you've come to be annoying, mission accomplished. Can I enjoy this coffee in peace?"
He chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. Just checking in. For real, though, keep your eyes open. You think you've got problems now? You haven't even met all your potential kissers yet."
"…Potential?"
Shinji leaned back, just as the bell above the café door jingled.
I glanced over instinctively, and my heart skipped a beat.
She walked in like she owned the place.
Black thigh-high boots, pleated skirt, and a white blouse under a fitted black jacket. Her long, flowing hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and a single silver hair clip held back the left side of her bangs. A pair of wire-framed glasses sat perfectly on her sharp, porcelain face.
She looked like she'd walked straight off the cover of a light novel titled "Top Student Assassin of Love."
Tall. Calm. Fierce. Focused.
And the moment our eyes met, just for half a second, there was something else too.
Determination.
She didn't smile. She didn't look away either. Just a single glance that said, "I know what I want."
Then she turned and walked to the counter to order.
I sat frozen in place.
"…Who the hell was that?" I whispered.
Shinji leaned in.
"No idea. But the rumor is she wants to become an actor. Name's Shiori. Weird girl. Quiet. Keeps to herself. But she signed up for the play, too."
I blinked. "She did?"
"Yep. No one's heard her say a word yet, but apparently she volunteered right after they announced the kissing scene."
"…Oh no."
"Oh yes." Shinji chuckled, standing up. "Your life's about to get spicy, my guy. Better bring breath mints."
As he walked out, I leaned back in my chair, coffee forgotten.
Great. Now it wasn't just the sisters, it was a wildcard transfer student with eyes like laser beams.
And I was the poor fool who got cast as the romantic lead.
Again, why me?