When I Helped Out At My Classy Classmate's Family Home, They Started Going All Out To Close In On Me From Every Angle. - Chapter 26: Coincidence?— 7

Coincidence?— 7

After school.
Just like in the morning, the three of us decided to walk home together and headed towards the shoe lockers.

When we stepped out of the shoe lockers after changing our shoes, raindrops suddenly began to fall and hit the ground.

At first, the rain was light, but it quickly picked up in intensity and soon turned into a downpour.

The weather forecast had predicted a 50% chance of rain, and it seemed that the rain had managed to win by a narrow margin.

Looking up at the rainy sky, Ayame and I furrowed our brows.

“Bad timing, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s troublesome.”
“Yeah. I’m glad I brought my folding umbrella, just in case.”

I muttered with Ayame as I took out the folding umbrella from my bag and started opening it.

At that moment, Ayame nervously asked,
“Tetsu-kun… would it be alright if I joined you under your umbrella?”

“Huh? You didn’t bring an umbrella, Ayame?”
“No… I got careless…”
“But, but if we share an umbrella, it’ll be… okay with you?”
“If it’s with you, Tetsu-kun…”

Blushing a soft pink, Ayame nodded shyly. Her cuteness was almost enough to make my heart stop.

Her adorableness stirred up my protective instincts, and I almost agreed right away.

But at the last moment, my reason stepped in.

If we share an umbrella, we’ll definitely attract attention. It’ll be awkward like when we walked to school. Is that alright?

I really didn’t want to experience that awkwardness again, but there was no way I could leave Ayame behind. That was simply out of the question.

So, I needed to find another solution besides sharing an umbrella…

“Hmm…” I thought hard — then it clicked.

Mikage! Mikage is Ayame’s attendant, so she must be prepared for situations like this! She must have a folding umbrella with her!

I saw a glimmer of hope and asked Mikage,
“Mikage, don’t you have a folding umbrella?”

Immediately, Mikage narrowed her eyes.

“…Chicken (Coward).”
“Chicken?”
“I just suddenly felt like having some chicken dishes. No other reason.”
“Uh… I hope it’s on the dinner menu.”

Mikage, who brought up the topic of food without any context, seemed to be enveloped in an oddly cold atmosphere. Her voice sounded almost prickly too.

Sighing, Mikage finally answered my question.

“Indeed, I do have a folding umbrella.”
“Great!”
“But, I would prefer that you take care of Ayame-sama.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, I felt relieved, but Mikage’s unexpected follow-up sentence left me utterly speechless, and I couldn’t help but blurt out a bewildered “Huh?”

“I was just asked by Yuri-sama to run an errand, so I must go,” Mikage said, with an air of finality.

“Huh? An errand?”

“While I’m away, please take care of Ayame-sama. Well then.”

Before I could respond, Mikage ended the conversation and quickly opened her folding umbrella. With remarkable speed, she ran off, as though the ground wasn’t wet at all.

Realizing what had just happened, I called out to her.

“Wait, hold on! We’ll come with you!”

“I can’t trouble you two, so I’ll just accept your feelings. Please make up your mind already, weakling.”

“Did she just diss me out of nowhere?”

“Take care, Mikage.”

With those words, Mikage insulted me as parting words, and this time, she really left. By my side, Ayame waved her hand, watching Mikage leave.

A silence fell between Ayame and me.

The only sound was the rain as Ayame gazed at me with moist eyes.

“…Is it alright if we share the umbrella?”

“Y-yeah. I guess it can’t be helped.”

A slightly ticklish, bittersweet atmosphere lingered around us.

As expected, our shared umbrella quickly caught the attention of the other students, and we became the subject of interest. The looks were as intense, if not more, than during our walk to school.

This is like sitting on pins and needles. I can’t calm down at all.

Unable to bear the discomfort, I subtly moved away from Ayame.

However, Ayame immediately closed the distance.

“Ayame!?”

“You’ll get wet, Tetsu-kun. Come closer to me.”

“It’s fine, just a little rain won’t hurt.”

“No! What if you catch a cold?”

Ayame scolded me like a mother would a child.

She was worried about me, and I couldn’t argue. I reluctantly stopped resisting.

Perhaps because I tried to distance myself earlier, Ayame now pressed even closer, almost hugging my arm.

From the closeness, I could feel Ayame’s softness and warmth, and my heart raced uncontrollably.

But what I felt wasn’t just nervousness and embarrassment. There was also a sense of peace, like something warm was filling my chest.

I felt uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was also comforting.

I wanted to pull away, but at the same time, I wanted to stay closer.

These conflicting feelings coexisted in my chest.

“…I’m defeated.”

I muttered quietly, hoping Ayame wouldn’t hear.

Scratching my cheek, I let out a wry smile.

It seems I feel happy just having Ayame next to me.