Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection. - Chapter 14: “There’s an Umbrella Right Here”

“There’s an Umbrella Right Here”

Friday after school. With midterms starting next Monday, the last thing I expected was to be summoned to the staff room by my homeroom teacher.

This sort of thing happens to me from time to time.

Ever since the entrance exam, I’ve held the top spot on every test. Among the faculty, that makes me stand out—in a not entirely positive way.

So every so often I get called in for casual check-ins: “How are you feeling?” “About your last mock exam results…” Small talk like that has become routine. With college entrance rates on the line, they naturally want to keep close tabs on their high performers.

It’s a complete waste of time… I muttered to myself as I left the staff room.

I was changing shoes at the entrance when I spotted one of the girls.

Glossy semi-long black hair, skin so fair it seemed almost translucent.

Sakuraba.

Even in the dim light of the shoe lockers, a beautiful girl like her looks like she stepped out of a painting.

“Sakuraba? What’s up?”

“Ah, Ooyama-kun.”

She turned, offered a bright smile, and walked over.

“I didn’t check the weather forecast this morning… so I didn’t bring an umbrella.”

Outside the windows, what had been clear skies earlier had turned to a soft, steady rain.

“It only just started,” I said.

“Yeah… but the forecast says it’s going to get heavier toward evening.”

“I see.”

Which meant waiting it out wasn’t really an option.

“Sakuraba. Good news—you’re in luck.”

“?”

“There’s an umbrella right here.”

I pulled the compact folding umbrella from my bag. Sakuraba let out a small “Eh?” Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink.

She suddenly started fidgeting—playing with her bangs, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Uncharacteristically restless.

What’s wrong with her?

“Sakuraba.”

“Mm…”

Her gaze stayed fixed on the floor. The tips of her ears had gone red.

“Use this to get home. I’ll just run.”

A beat of silence—then she snapped her head up with explosive force.

“Y-Yes?!?!”

The high-pitched squeak echoed through the entrance.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

“That’s not—! I mean, that’s not what I—!”

Apparently I’d completely misread the situation.

“…I’m the only one acting like an idiot…”

She muttered something under her breath, too quiet to catch.

“I’m fine. It only just started raining, and guys don’t mind getting wet anyway.”

The moment the words left my mouth, an image flashed through my head: Sakuraba soaked through, uniform clinging—

Yeah. That’s definitely felony territory.

“…Why does it always end up like that with you…?”

I barely caught the whisper.

“Ooyama-kun… would you let me under that umbrella? Let’s walk to the station together?”

***

“That possibility never even crossed my mind.”

“But it was the only possibility I could think of…”

Sakuraba pouted just a little, standing so close that her face hovered thirty centimeters below and to the left of mine—right at umbrella height.

…She’s unfairly adorable.

A rain fairy, maybe?

And so we ended up doing one of those classic “happy-couple” clichés: sharing an umbrella on the way from school to the station.

With the Snow Princess, no less.

How did my life turn into this?

Lately, things I never would have imagined keep happening one after another.

Fortunately the timing was slightly off-peak; no other students from our school were around.

“Good thing there aren’t any other classmates nearby,” I said.

“Why?”

“Why…? You wouldn’t want rumors spreading that you walked home under the same umbrella as the ‘eccentric,’ right?”

“I don’t really mind.”

“Really?”

“Really. And Ooyama-kun… do you actually care that people call you ‘eccentric’?”

“Not even a little.”

“See? Same thing.”

It didn’t feel quite the same to me… but she was probably trying to be considerate in her own way.