The Protagonist's Sister Loves Me, But She's Definitely a Yandere. - Chapter 26: It’s Okay to Have a Rom-Com Moment Sometimes

Chapter 26: It’s Okay to Have a Rom-Com Moment Sometimes

The rainy season really wasn’t my favorite time of year.

After school, I stepped outside and saw heavy rain pounding the ground. As a member of the Public Relations Department, I had spent the whole day running around and just finished my work for the sports festival committee.

“…The news said it would be sunny.”

The tasks for the Public Relations Department were pretty varied. First, we had to make posters to hype up the school. Aside from the ones the Baldy made, we needed student-style designs too.

There were also duties like keeping in touch with people involved and coordinating with the local community. Even though we had about a month left, there wasn’t much breathing room.

To avoid situations like this, I always kept a folding umbrella at the bottom of my bag. I pulled it out, opened it, and froze.

“…Broken? Why now?”

When I opened it, part of the wire frame was bent and sticking out at a dangerous angle. If I tried using it, I’d probably stab someone by accident.

Carefully folding the broken umbrella back up, I thought about what to do next.

“Guess I’ll have to borrow one from a teacher.”

I checked the time on my phone. Some teachers were probably still around. Since all the teachers involved in the sports festival should still be here, I could explain the situation and borrow one of the lost-and-found umbrellas.

I sighed, cursing my bad luck.

When I went back inside the school building, I ran into Runa and Mimi.

This was a duo that wouldn’t have existed before, but the sports festival committee had brought them together. Of course, the atmosphere between them was pretty heavy.

From Runa’s perspective, Mimi was a girl who liked her annoying older brother.

From Mimi’s perspective, Runa was the younger sister of the guy she liked.

Expecting them to get along smoothly was asking for a lot. Honestly, given how awkward things were, they were handling it pretty well.

Among Rika, Ogawa, and Himeno-senpai, Rika probably had a slight lead.

But when it came to who was the easiest to talk to, that would be Mimi. She was cheeky but not twisted. Not overly cheerful, but not someone you could hate either. As for Himeno-senpai, she was still the biggest mystery.

“Oh, Shin-nii. You’re still here?”

“Nah, I was about to leave, but my umbrella broke.”

“…Oh wow. Then, Usui-senpai, help me out.”

I answered Runa’s question, but Mimi handed me some work instead.

I had to give her credit —she knew how to navigate these situations. I looked down at the stack of papers she gave me and realized it was something that didn’t need to be done right away. I gave her a questioning look that said, What’s this about?

“The work we were originally assigned is done. So, this is just some extra stuff.”

“Ichinose-san is seriously amazing. She just finishes everything so fast! We were about to leave early, but that Baldy caught us. Ugh, that sneaky old raccoon…”

Apparently, Runa and Mimi were too competent, so they got saddled with more work.

The harder they worked, the more tasks they got —a perfect example of how the real world works. Still, as a senior, I couldn’t just leave while my juniors were still working. Plus, we were all in the Public Relations Department, so helping out didn’t seem like a big deal.

“Alright, I’ll help. I’ve got nothing to do at home anyway.”

“Thanks, Shin-nii. Okay, let’s head to the art prep room. —Ogawa-san, can you file this paperwork? Just get a stamp from someone, anyone.”

“Got it~!”

Runa quickly assigned the tasks.

Her clear decisions and efficient work style probably earned her a lot of respect. It seemed like she naturally knew how to prioritize tasks without overthinking it.

It looked like we were going to the art prep room to check the posters used in the past few years of sports festivals. We also had to take notes on the remaining art supplies and report back.

It seemed like something the Equipment Management Department should handle, but Runa figured it was easier to get everything done at once.

“…It smells like dust in here.”

“And the paint smell is pretty strong too.”

As soon as we unlocked the door and stepped inside, a small cloud of dust rose from the floor. I wanted to ask the art club when they last cleaned this place. We covered our mouths and walked further in.

“First, let’s find the posters. Let me know when you spot them.”

“Alright. I’ll search on the right side, and you take the left.”

“Okay. Be careful not to break anything —some of these are works by graduated students.”

When I switched on the lights, stacks of art paper and clay sculptures filled my view. Some pieces even had sticky notes with names on them, though I didn’t recognize any of them.

There were a few projects by current students, but most of them belonged to graduates. I didn’t know much about art, but maybe these were displayed in competitions. There were even detailed clay busts —faces so realistic they were almost creepy.

“Any luck? Cough Ugh, it’s so dusty in here.”

“Not yet. If it’s too much, just give me instructions from the doorway.”

“…Okay, maybe I’ll take you up on that.”

About five minutes passed, and we still hadn’t found the posters.

I noticed Runa coughing more frequently, which started to worry me. I didn’t want her to get sick from this. Besides dust, there were wood shavings in the air too. This place was far from clean or safe.

“It’s fine, I’ll look by myself,” I suggested.

Runa nodded, stepping back as I continued the search alone.

“I’m gonna take a quick break. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“You can take a longer break if you need to. If you get a fever, that’d be even worse.”

“If I get a fever, you can just take care of me, right, Shin-nii?”

I wasn’t sure if she was joking or serious, so I let the comment slide. As I looked around, I noticed a stack of cardboard boxes on top of a shelf. Whoever was in charge here clearly didn’t care much about organization.

The room was a mess —dust everywhere, supplies thrown around carelessly.

“—Runa, watch out!”

“Eh? Wha?! What’s happening!?”

Right after that, the stack of cardboard boxes started falling.

I grabbed her and pulled her toward me —and then came the crash.

The scattered contents seemed to be art supplies, mostly soft materials like fabric. Even if something had hit her head, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.

But the sloppy storage method seriously pissed me off.

“…Why would they store this up there? At least put it on the floor.”

“Uh… Shin-nii, um… this is kind of… well, how do I say this…”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you didn’t get hurt. Are you okay?”

I looked at Runa’s face —it was bright red, all the way to her ears.

I realized I was holding her in a protective embrace, her silky brown hair brushing between my fingers. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I noticed how small she was compared to me.

“Hey, stop squirming! You could’ve gotten hurt, so calm down.”

“C-Calm down?! Then first —let go of me already!”

“…O-Oh! Right, my bad! I should let go, huh!”

Then it hit me —I messed up. Again. The memory of that (fake) date flashed through my mind. At the end of that day, I ended up hugging her.

And now, this was the second time.

She forgave me the first time, but there was no way she’d let it slide twice. I felt like the worst.

Even if it was to protect her, it was a thoughtless move. Seeing Runa’s red face filled me with regret.

As I hurried to step back, my foot clumsily tangled up, and I ended up falling backward.

With Runa.

Let me explain. Runa fell right on top of me. She was so light it barely registered —but that wasn’t the point!!!

“W-Wait, did I just… push Shin-nii down?!”

“It’s completely my fault! I’m the one to blame! I take full responsibility!”

When someone reaches their limit, they really do lose their vocabulary.

My thoughts were a mess.

Words came and went, but all I managed to blurt out were apologies.

“—Geez! Shin-nii! You Dummy! Stop trying to be cool all the time! Stupid!”