Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection. - Chapter 26: “It’s Entertainment Expenses”

“It’s Entertainment Expenses”

“I actually think the other side of you—the one that’s not always playing the airhead—is way more likable.”

I drained the last of my now-cold coffee and set the cup down.

“Hmm… well, at my part-time job I’m basically stuck in full-on giggly mode the whole time. It’s probably easier to keep that up at school too.”

“What do you even do for work?”

“Just a regular café. Though… the greeting when customers come in is a little unique, maybe.”

“Greeting? Isn’t it ‘Welcome’ or something?”

“Nope. It’s ‘Welcome home, Onii-chan!’”

“That is in no way a regular café!”

Apparently the place is called “Little Sister Café Kyun♡.”

Yeah… figures.

“The shop’s actually doing pretty well. Their signature dish is ‘Adorable Little Sister’s Homemade Curry’—they take a 70-yen instant packet and sell it for 980 yen.”

“That’s not homemade at all, and the profit margin is insane. But is that really okay? I mean… aren’t your parents worried?”

Come to think of it, Yamano grew up with a single mom, right?

“Not at all. The owner is my mom.”

“Family business out of nowhere!”

They’re chronically short-staffed, so apparently they’re letting her work there partly as a form of “social education.”

Is that really okay from a parenting standpoint?

“It’s fun, though. We don’t get many creepy customers, the other staff are all around my age so we get along great, and sometimes customers treat me to meals or take me out—everything paid for by the shop. What’s it called again…援助交際費? No, wait—セック〇交際費?”

“Entertainment expenses.”

What kind of shady accounting category is that?

The tax office is going to come knocking any day now.

“But still… there are guys who look at you with blatantly sexual eyes, right?”

“Oh, yeah—pretty much every single one. But I’ve gotten used to having my chest stared at. I’ve just accepted that that’s how guys are.”

“That’s not something a high-school girl should be saying so casually.”

“But why do guys even like these things so much…? I mean, they’re basically 100% fat.”

Yamano sighed as she lifted her own breasts from underneath, weighing them in her palms like they were burdensome luggage.

Don’t ruin the fantasy for every teenage boy in the country, damn it.

“And there are zero upsides. They don’t even sell 70H cups off the rack—everything’s custom order. The designs aren’t even cute.”

Yamano’s complaints kept rolling.

“They’re so heavy I slouch all the time, my shoulders are always stiff, and during P.E. if we play basketball or volleyball, the back hook sometimes just snaps. I’m probably the only girl in school who keeps a spare bra in her bag every single day.”

Serious-mode Yamano sure had a lot of grievances.

Okay, time to change the subject before this turns into a full-on rant.

“Are you planning to go to university?”

“Huh? I dunno… I’m not exactly smart. But I’d like to, if I can. Mom only graduated high school and had a really tough time because of it, so she wants me to get a proper education. When I got into St. Clark, she was over the moon.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“An older sister. She got a scholarship, went to vocational school, and now she’s a nurse. She keeps telling me not to worry about tuition—that she can cover my share—so I should aim for a four-year university.”

“Got it. Then you’ve gotta study.”

“Yeah… I know.”

“Want to do another study session sometime?”

“…Will you make predicted exam questions for me again?”

“Fine, fine.”

“You’re the best. Oh—and from now on, just call me Hina, okay? I’ll call you Kousuke too. Deal?”

“…Calling a girl by her first name is kind of a high hurdle for me.”

“You’ll get used to it! So yeah—take care of Yukina and the study sessions too, Kousuke!”

“Yeah, Hina. I’ll do what I can.”

When I said that, Hina turned to me with the brightest, most natural smile I’d seen from her yet.