Even Today, the Genius High School Programmer Cashes In on Day Trades, Completely Flustered by Beautiful Girls' Growing Affection.

“Does This Count as a Date After All?”

The next morning, at 10 o’clock.

I met up with Shingo in front of the clock tower on the main street in front of the station.

The first place Shingo dragged me to was a beauty salon. He had already made a reservation.

“For now, we need to get you to a level where you won’t look out of place standing next to Sakuraba-san,” Shingo said.

Was it really necessary to go that far?

A stylish, good-looking hairstylist came out from the back. Apparently, this was the one Shingo always went to. I left everything to him. He trimmed the sides a little shorter and styled it nicely. At the end, he even taught me how to apply wax properly.

“Next, we’re going to buy clothes,” Shingo announced.

“You already have black jeans and sneakers, right? We can use those for the bottom. For the top… let’s keep it safe. We’ll go with a shirt and a hoodie.”

“It’s getting colder, so I was thinking of getting a down jacket too.”

“Sounds good. Let’s pick a color that matches everything.”

We visited two stores and ended up buying a checkered shirt, a white hoodie, and a red down jacket. Including the haircut, the total came to just under 20,000 yen. Still, part of it was on Christmas sale, so I decided it was acceptable.

“Going on a date really costs a lot of money,” I muttered as we walked along the main avenue.

It would probably look stunning at night once all the illuminations lit up.

“Well, this is your first date, right? And with the Snow Princess, no less. You’ve got to be prepared for at least this much,” Shingo replied with a grin.

“Does this really count as a date after all?”

“Given the situation, I think it would be more of a stretch to say it isn’t.” Shingo laughed.

Was that how it was?

A date with Yukina… For some reason, I was starting to feel a little nervous too.

“Oh right, and over here.”

Shingo stopped in front of a certain restaurant.

The sign read “Ristorante Buono.”

“I’ve already reserved a table for two on the 24th at 6 p.m.”

“Huh? A reservation? For who?”

“For you and Sakuraba-san, obviously.” Shingo sounded slightly exasperated.

“On Christmas Eve, every restaurant is fully booked during dinner time. You can’t get in without a reservation. So I went ahead and booked it. You can have dinner at six, then take your time enjoying the illuminations afterward.”

“…Shingo.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You’re definitely popular with girls.”

“What are you talking about? This is just normal.” Shingo burst out laughing.

I really couldn’t compete with this handsome guy.

“Juuust kidding. Even though I’m acting all high and mighty, the truth is… this restaurant actually belongs to the Ryuusenji Group.”

“The Ryuusenji Group?”

“Yeah. So I asked Aoi-chan to pull some strings and get the reservation for me.”

I see. That made sense.

It would be hard to refuse a request from the daughter of the Ryuusenji Group president. On the other hand, it felt a bit rude to the restaurant itself.

“I’ll have to thank Ryuusenji properly next time.”

“Hmm, I don’t think you need to worry about it. Aoi-chan was really grateful to you for those test practice questions.”

Right… In that case, I’d better keep helping her.

“Are you and the others going on a date on Christmas Eve too?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah. We’re planning to have dinner at a restaurant.”

“So you made a reservation as well.”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

His answer sounded a little hesitant.

“By the way, Kousuke, have you prepared a Christmas present?”

I had actually been thinking about that myself.

“It’s better to have one, right?”

“Absolutely. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive.”