Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection. - Chapter 33: A Nasty Cold.

A Nasty Cold.

“Ha—choo! …Ugh, it’s so cold… Wait, what? A minus 92,000 yen?”

About ten days had passed since the fireworks festival.

I lay in bed, shivering with chills, while checking my trading results on my phone.

It was Tuesday, 12:23 p.m. I had come down with a fever and stayed home from school.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange had opened firmly, but just before 11 a.m., news broke of a major fire at a large Saudi Arabian oil refinery. Energy and trading company stocks plummeted instantly. Every position my program had entered on the long side was stopped out for a loss.

“Seriously… when things go wrong, nothing goes right…”

I muttered to myself.

It seemed I had caught a nasty cold.

I tried to think back—had there been any obvious moment when I might have gotten sick?

The mornings and evenings had been quite chilly lately.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t dried my hair after a bath?

Or because I’d eaten a frozen “Gorigorikun” popsicle in just a T-shirt in the living room?

Or because I’d fallen asleep on the sofa while watching TV?

There were too many possibilities.

I hadn’t had any appetite since morning and hadn’t eaten a thing.

Still, I needed to take medicine. I forced myself out of bed and staggered toward the kitchen.

I couldn’t take pills on an empty stomach.

On the kitchen table sat a single plate with something wrapped in plastic wrap that looked like bread.

I warmed it in the microwave and took a bite.

The inside was moist, almost like it had been soaked in milk, and the outside had a thin layer of egg. It seemed to be some kind of French toast.

Dad must have made it for me before leaving for work.

I took the medicine and checked my temperature.

38.8°C. No wonder my body felt so heavy.

I crawled back into bed. The medicine must have kicked in, because drowsiness quickly overtook me.

I had no idea how long I slept.

A Lime notification tone woke me up.

Shingo: You okay? I’m coming over to visit and bring the printouts.

So it was already evening?

As usual, he completely ignored my convenience. I left the message on read and let out a long sigh.

Honestly, the printouts didn’t really matter that much.

A little while later, the doorbell rang—ding-dong.

Still in my sweatshirt and sweatpants, I shuffled out of my room and pressed the intercom button.

On the monitor were Shingo’s grinning face… and the figures of three beautiful girls.

***

“Geez… if you were all coming, you could’ve at least told me.”

I grumbled at Shingo while lying in bed.

My hair was a total mess, and I was wearing baggy loungewear. This was nowhere near presentable for meeting three gorgeous girls.

“Ehh? But I did message you that I was coming to visit, right? I just didn’t say who with.”

“There you go again!”

Shingo was smirking like the guilty mastermind he was.

“Kousuke-kun, are you okay?”

“Ooyama-kun, are ya really alright?”

“Lunchtime was so boring with just the four of us~”

The three beautiful girls stepped into my room.

They glanced around curiously, eyes sparkling with interest.

Not that there was much to see. My room was painfully plain—bookshelf, bed, a small table beside it, and three monitors on the desk. That was it.

“How high is your fever?” Yukina asked in a gentle voice.

She really is an angel.

“When I checked at noon it was 38.8°C. I took medicine, so it might have gone down a bit.”

“That’s pretty high… You must feel awful. Are you hungry at all?”

“Hm? Yeah… now that you mention it, I think I’m starting to get hungry.”

“Could you eat some rice porridge?”

“Huh? Ah… well…”

“Is it okay if I use the kitchen? I brought ingredients. You have rice at home, right?”

Yukina lifted a supermarket shopping bag with a bright smile. She must have gone shopping before coming over.

“Are you sure?”

“Yep, leave it to me! I’ll just help myself to whatever I need in the kitchen.”

With that, Yukina left the room.