Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection. - Chapter 10: A Luxurious Bento.

A Luxurious Bento.

The next day’s lunch break.

“Um… here…”

We had pushed the desks together again, the same five of us gathered just like yesterday.

Sakuraba timidly held out a bento box toward me.

“It used to belong to my dad, so it’s a little on the big side…”

“O-Oh. Thanks. Sorry about this.”

I accepted it.

The box had a satisfying weight to it—heavy with promise.

Once everyone was settled, I lifted the lid.

“Whoa…”

The sound escaped before I could stop it.

The main attractions were a perfect trio any high-school guy would kill for: hamburger steak, ginger-fried pork, and fried chicken.

The rice was neatly topped with a colorful sprinkle of furikake.

Beside it sat potato salad, cherry tomatoes for a pop of red, and even a single bite-sized piece of baumkuchen for dessert.

This was outrageously extravagant.

Making something like this must have taken hours.

“Wow, Yukina, you really went all out!” The twin-tails teased.

“Hina, stop it!” Sakuraba pouted, lips pursed.

“But seriously… didn’t this take forever to make?”

“Huh? W-Well… yeah, there were a lot of different items, so I had to do some prep last night. But it’s really not that big a deal.”

She gave a shy little smile.

We all clasped our hands—“Itadakimasu”—and I broke apart the hamburger steak with disposable chopsticks and popped a piece into my mouth.

“Th-This is incredible!”

The onions inside were perfectly sautéed, and the seasoning was bold enough to stay delicious even after cooling.

Dangerous. I could eat rice forever with this.

Needless to say, the karaage and shogayaki were flawless too.

I devoured every side dish and pile of rice at an alarming speed.

When I finally washed down the last piece of baumkuchen with tea, I let out a long, satisfied breath.

“Thanks for the meal. That was delicious. Probably the most luxurious and tastiest bento I’ve ever had in my life.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Sakuraba beamed, clearly delighted.

“No, seriously—it was amazing. If the school store sold these, they’d go for 2,000 yen each and still sell out instantly.”

“You really don’t get it~”

Yamano sighed dramatically.

“This level of bento exists because it was made especially for you, Ooyama-kun.”

“H-Hey, Hina!” Sakuraba huffed, cheeks puffing out.

“Um… so… would it be okay if I made them again starting tomorrow… or…?”

The way she looked up at me through her lashes was criminally cute.

“No, I’ll have to pass. Just look around.”

And yeah—the glares from every guy in the class were practically lethal.

“Yukihime’s homemade bento?”

“No way.”

“I’ll buy it off you for 10,000 yen.”

“Koyama, quit screwing around.”

“Nakayama will never forgive this!” It’s Ooyama. Get it right already.

“Please understand. I’m pretty sure these stares are going to kill me.”

Sakuraba visibly wilted, shoulders drooping.

“Yukina’s super popular, after all~ Can’t really be helped.”

Yamano gave her twin-tails a playful shake.

Right—she did mention that dozens of guys had confessed since enrollment and every single one got rejected.

Being that popular must be exhausting… I thought, as though it had nothing to do with me.

***

“Hey, Ooyama-kun, why do you keep your bangs down at school? You look way hotter with them up~”

Yamano asked out of the blue.

“Nah, it’s just a hassle during the week. I don’t want to spend a ton of time in the morning. The swept-up look is more of a weekend mood-changer.”

Before heading to school each morning, I check the previous day’s New York market movements.

Based on that, I predict how the Tokyo market—opening at 9 a.m.—might behave, then tweak the parameters on my stock-trading program accordingly.

That routine doesn’t leave much room for hair-styling.

“Ooyama-kun, do you cook at all?”

Sakuraba asked next.

“Almost never. Dad gets home late, so we end up relying on instant food or takeout a lot.”

“That’s not good for you.”

“Yeah, I know. But with just two guys in the house, that’s kind of how it goes. You seem really good at cooking, though, Sakuraba.”

“Hmm… maybe? Both my parents work late too, so I handle most of the meals, laundry, and cleaning. If I don’t, the whole house turns into chaos.”

“You have siblings?”

“Yeah, a little sister in third year of middle school. She’s studying for entrance exams, so I try to take care of as much housework as I can. I make the bentos too. Once her exams are over, though, I’m planning to make her help a ton.”

“That’s impressive.”

“What about you, Kousuke-kun?”

“I’m an only child.”

“Did you ever want a little sister?”

“Hmm… not sure.”

“I always wanted an older brother~”

The conversation drifted into harmless, everyday topics like that.

As expected from the most popular girl in school—she could keep even someone as conversationally hopeless as me perfectly at ease.