The Heroines Want to Confess

That night, after dinner—

Sakurai Saku was gaming with an online friend, pushing all thoughts of the five sisters to the back of his mind.

Only an idiot would spend time worrying about others for no reason.

And Sakurai wasn't that kind of person.

Besides, he had already made up his mind about what to do.

"Saku, you're playing way too aggressively today! You got focused down multiple times already! Did something piss you off?"

A female voice came through his headset—his gaming partner, Xiaojia.

They were duo queuing in League of Legends.

Apex Legends had server issues, and both of his usual teammates, Ishigami Yuu and Hayasaka Ai, were busy tonight.

Sakurai couldn't be bothered to play solo queue, so he decided to call in his usual support for some MOBA matches instead.

"Just play Yuumi and stay attached to me."

His hands moved effortlessly, dodging ten+ skillshots with ease.

The enemy team was furious, calling him a cheater in all chat.

Hah.

Just because my reflexes are better than yours, you call me a script user?

These ordinary people really don't know their place.

They have no idea what an Esper can do.

"Damn, Saku, that's insane! But this playstyle is so boring for me. By the way, don't forget you promised to buy me some in-game currency!"

Xiaojia suddenly brought up an old debt.

"In-game currency?"

Sakurai narrowed his eyes.

Oh, right.

She did mention that before…

"I thought you quit that game."

Sakurai typed rapidly, dodging another wave of attacks,single-handedly wrecking the enemy team.

The chat exploded with insults—

Not just from the enemy team, but his own teammates as well.

They accused him of cheating, saying his plays were inhuman.

Then, his own allies joined in, scolding him for ruining the game.

Sakurai sighed.

Even in a video game, he was getting ostracized and bullied?

"Maybe the world should just end."

He muted everyone.

"You're the one who disappeared, not me! I spent too much money on that game to just quit!"

Xiaojia's voice pulled him back to reality.

At that moment, he wiped out the enemy team solo—then pushed down their Nexus by himself.

"Xiaojia, do you know what a sunk-cost fallacy is?"

He explained calmly while ending the game.

"The more money you spend on a game, the harder it is to quit. You become a corporate slave—just a mindless spender."

"People like you, Xiaojia, are exactly what we call… Fallen Angels."

Sakurai leaned back and stretched.

That match had been too easy,but at least it satisfied his urge to destroy something.

"I work part-time, you know?!"

Xiaojia protested.

"Oh? But wasn't your job just a way to fund your addiction?"

Sakurai smirked, clicking the button for another queue.

Meanwhile, in a small Tokyo apartment—

Xiaojia looked at the pile of garbage next to her desk,

Then at the black void of her bank account.

She had no regrets.

An angel?

Hell no.

Helping others?

That's what real angels do.

A fallen angel like her had one true love—

Gaming.

Who the hell works just for fun?

Not her.

Minato City, Tokyo – The Nakano Household

After dinner, the five sisters gathered in the living room.

Tonight's cook had been Nakano Nino.

"The tutor's already gone? I was only asleep for a little while."

Ichika yawned, stretching lazily on the couch.

"Don't bring him up."

Nino crossed her arms, her face darkening.

"Just thinking about his smug face pisses me off."

Itsuki stayed quiet.

She couldn't shake the feeling that—

This was all her fault.

If she hadn't told her sisters about Sakurai's rumored dating habits,

Maybe Nino wouldn't have been so hostile toward him.

Maybe things wouldn't have gone this way.

But she couldn't ignore what she had seen with her own eyes.

Sakurai really was close with a lot of girls.

Holding hands, hugging—

It was too much to be a coincidence.

He was definitely the wrong person to be their tutor.

Then again—

How unlucky do you have to be to catch him that many times in just one week?

Or maybe…

Japan was just that small?

Itsuki mentally replayed the timeline.

Two weeks ago, she saw Sakurai hanging out with different girls,so she told her sisters about it.

It was big news—

The third-ranked student in the entire grade…

A total playboy?!

Then last week—

Their father hired him as their tutor.

She only found out when he showed up at their apartment.

Since he and Miku were former classmates,they hit it off immediately.

That worried Itsuki.

So she tried to stop them from getting too close.

At that time—

Ichika was busy with work,Yotsuba was helping out at her club,and Nino had cooking classes.

None of them had met Sakurai until today.

And then—

Everything fell apart.

Nino overreacted because she cares deeply about her family.

But looking back—

Sakurai hadn't done anything wrong.

If anything—

Itsuki's own words had fueled the misunderstanding.

Maybe…

She should apologize.

After all, a person's private life and work life are two separate things.

"Honestly, I think Sakurai's kinda cool. And super handsome too."

Yotsuba grinned, her ribbon bouncing.

"Didn't you say before, Nino, that you liked his face?"

Nino's expression darkened.

"I don't like playboys."

"But what if he's not a playboy?"

"Impossible! Itsuki saw him herself!"

All eyes turned to Itsuki.

She froze up.

W-Wait!

Don't put this all on me!

"I… I could have been mistaken."

She said, almost too softly.

Nino gawked at her.

"You're saying that NOW?!"

"After we already kicked him out?!"

Her entire argument was built on the assumption that Sakurai was a womanizer.

And now…?

What if they had been wrong?

What if they had driven away a perfectly good tutor?

That was irreversible.

Because no guy would ever come back—

After having his bag thrown off a thirty-story building.

"But he did hold hands with a lot of girls… and even hugged them."

Itsuki said firmly.

"Did he kiss them?"

Miku suddenly asked.

If Sakurai stood her up, then she had every right to be annoyed.

But she wasn't mad at him.

She was mad at her sisters.

Itsuki hesitated.

Nino fell silent.

Yotsuba, sensing the tension, cheerfully suggested—

"If we were wrong, we can all just apologize together! No big deal!"

Ichika, who had been quiet until now,

Doused them all with cold water.

"You guys seriously think he'd forgive us?"

"After we threw his bag off a thirty-story building?"