Although She's a Beautiful Student Council President Who Maintains Her Coolness Towards Everyone, She Wants to Act Spoiled and Lovesick Around Him, Who is Misunderstood by Everyone as a Delinquent - Chapter 17: Sharing An Umbrella

After 5th period, it was break time.

“Uwa. ……. The weather looks bad …….”

“Weather? Ah, you’re looking at it on your phone.”

Kenta had his phone out on his desk and was looking at the weather forecast. There was no rule against bringing your phone to this academy. As long as you are not in class or in an assembly, you can use your phone anywhere.

“By the time we leave, there’s an 80% chance of precipitation …. It’s definitely going to rain. …… And the weather’s already bad at this point.”

“When you say 80%, that doesn’t sound much different than the morning forecast, does it?”

“Oh, the morning weather forecast… Did you watch it?”

“That’s right. I brought a folding umbrella today.”

According to the morning weather forecast, there was a 50% chance of precipitation during the time they’ll be returning home. It’s not an exaggeration to say that a 50% chance in a weather forecast almost certainly means rain. Students who saw the weather forecast would probably have brought an umbrella like Riku did.

“Impressive preparation, man. The gap between you and the delinquent is already making me laugh. …… hahahaha!”

“What are you laughing at… I just made a normal decision.”

“In that case, how about trying to talk to girls who didn’t bring an umbrella? Like, ‘Do you want to come under my umbrella?’ or something like that…Kahahaha!”

Kenta was laughing hysterically while banging his desk, perhaps imagining Riku hitting on a girl while trying to look cool. His classmates, who looked at him, quickly turned their heads away the moment their eyes met Riku’s.

“Haaa, the moment I call out to them, they all run away. I mean, just now in class, when I made eye contact with my classmates, they turned their faces away,”

“That may be true, but I feel like it could work on girls who like bad boys.”

“First of all, I’m not a skirt chaser like you, Kenta, and I don’t have the courage to call out to them.”

It takes as much courage as confessing to someone to approach and flirt with a stranger who you have never even met face-to-face. Because Riku has never done anything like that before, taking that first step is difficult for him.

“I just talk to girls I’m interested in. Well, I haven’t talked to Shizuku-senpai though.”

“That’s called ‘picking up’ someone, you know?”

“Oops, you got me there.”

At that moment, Kenta put his hand on his head in a very deliberate manner, causing Riku to look at him with a cold stare.

Just in time, a chime rang to announce the sixth period.

******

(Whew…it’s over)

After school, Riku stayed alone in the classroom to finish the assignment due tomorrow, and stared out the window. Raindrops hitting the window. The sky was darker than usual with rain clouds.

(Well, it’s time to go home. ……)

At this school, the last remaining student must lock the classroom door and return the key to the staff room. After Riku checked the door, he closed the classroom door, and stepped into the staff room to return the key.

Riku went straight through the staff room and tried to go out through the school entrance, but stopped moving when he saw a … female student being surrounded by male students.

“K-Kaichou…! W-Would you like to be under my umbrella!?”

“N-No, please use my umbrella!”

“Use my umbrella!”

“Shizuku-san, please come over to my side!”

“I’ve called someone from home. Thank you for your concern.”

A graceful appearance. Shizuku, the student council president, who was politely refusing the invitation.

“You guys be careful on your way home, okay? Don’t get wet in the rain”

“Yes!”

“T-Thank you very much.”

“You take care, too!”

“Excuse me!”

After seeing off the male student who called out to her, Student Council President Shizuku….came face to face with Riku.

“Fufu, It’s not good to peek, you know?”

“I didn’t mean to peek. I just happened to see you in my line of sight.”

He only used a casual tone when they were alone. She must have remembered the promise Riku had made. Shizuku made the first move and changed Riku’s name to “you.”

“Are you on your way home now? It seems a little late.”

“I was in the classroom working on an assignment I have to turn in tomorrow. I was hoping that the rain would weaken during that time, but in the end it didn’t change.”

The other students who were watching the delinquent Riku and the student council president Shizuku chatting amiably were taken aback..

A few of the boys were wary of him.

“O-oi….. if the delinquent does anything, we’ll jump in …….’

“Right…..I am prepared to die…….”

“We have to protect Kaichou….”

“B-but …… aren’t they pretty close ……?”

Riku and Shizuku, unaware that the people around them were having such a conversation, proceeded with their conversation as usual.

“Although you say so, aren’t you a little late too, Kujo-senpai?”

“I had some work to do for the student council. I finished it early, so I’m okay now,”

“Still, it’s amazing how you don’t look tired.”

“You too.”

“Mine was a simple task.”

“Fufufu, What a coincidence. Mine was also the same.”

Riku smiled and Shizuku giggled happily. Their conversation made the surroundings even more noisy.

“Doesn’t the atmosphere seem good..?”

“I thought so too… What on earth is happening?”

“The president talking like this… I’ve never seen it before.”

“Yeah… me neither.”

Riku was not oblivious to the buzz. Talking to Shizuku, who was famous in the school, in a public place would naturally draw attention. Riku, who doesn’t like to stand out, decided to part ways with her early.

“Well, I think I’ll be going now.”

“Ara, I’d like to talk to you some more. ……”

“Ah. Then, would you like to go home together?”

Riku didn’t really mean what he said. He was just saying it as an excuse to get away from this place. He heard Shizuku calling for a car to pick her up earlier in the conversation.

Shizuku, who had called for a pick-up, would decline the invitation, just as she had done with the other boys earlier. It was a strategy to create a flow of going home from that refusal. A strategy that he was almost certain would work. However, not everything … goes well.

“…That’s a good suggestion. Give me just a little bit of time.”

“Huh?”

Yes, Riku’s anticipated development collapsed in an instant.

As if to symbolize this, Shizuku took out her smartphone without making any statement of refusal – she called home.

“I’m sorry. About the car, it’s no longer needed. …Yes, I’ll walk home instead. …It’s okay. …Thank you, goodbye”

A short phone call that communicated only the requirements. Taking the phone away from her ear and putting it in her pocket, Shizuku faced Riku.

“W-Well …… let’s go home together”

The only way to go home together in this rain was by using the folding umbrella in Riku’s right hand.

Imagining what will happen next – a shared umbrella, Shizuku struggled to hide the blush in her cheeks.

“U-um, ……. Didn’t you call someone from your house?”

“I called for it, but I declined. You made a helpful suggestion, after all.”

“I-I was only joking. ……”

“Once refused, I cannot call for the pick up again. That’s why, you must take responsibility for your words earlier.”

For Shizuku, this was an unexpected opportunity. It was a chance she couldn’t afford to miss. In a shared umbrella, you naturally stick close to each other.

“Sticking close” is an absolute necessity when launching an attack. …And it is what Shizuku wants to do to Riku.

Shizuku was so desperate that she even lied, saying, “Once refused, I cannot call for the pick up again” This was proof that she wanted to try the umbrella and get close to him.

“What about Kujou-senpai’s umbrella?”

“If I had brought it, I wouldn’t have called for a car.”

“Right, why would you call for the car if you had brought it…..But my umbrella isn’t big enough to hold two people”

“T-then, why don’t we just huddle up together? ……”

When sharing an umbrella, the important thing was to avoid getting wet. The only way to keep each other dry was to stick together. Shizuku was right.

“…U-um, please wait for a moment. Maybe you can borrow an umbrella from lost and found at the school. Let me ask for a bit–“

“B-By any chance, you don’t want to share an umbrella with me…?”

In response to Riku’s words, Shizuku showed a move that blocked any retreat by overlaying her own words on his. Shizuku knows that Riku is not refusing because he dislikes it. She can assert this because she knows Riku’s personality of “speaking up when he dislikes something.”

“T-that’s not true.”

“I don’t mind either. …So this solves the problem, right?”

After finishing what she wanted to say, Shizuku walked to the exit, her heeled loafers clacking.

“Come on, you’re gonna get me wet if you don’t hurry up.”

“Wait, wait a minute.””

“Fufufu, it would be nice if you could at least keep my clothes dry so my underwear doesn’t show through. I’m wearing a color that stands out a little bit. ……”

“You don’t have to say that.”

Riku caught up with Shizuku, who was going to get wet himself, and unfurled his folding umbrella to secure it above his head. As Riku, the cool delinquent, walked away, the onlookers who had been watching the student council president and him began to express their thoughts one after another.

“Is what I’m seeing not a dream…?”

“That student council president just accepted a guy’s invitation for the first time…”

“What on earth happened…?”

“Is it possible that she likes that delinquent…?”

Being told such things was something that Shizuku was aware of. However… it could be said that one of her goals had been achieved. What Shizuku wanted to do was something like marking her territory. She wanted to convey the message “Riku-kun is mine, don’t touch him” through her actions.