It wasn't strange for Nakano Nino to have thoughts like these. A guy and a girl walking together beneath an umbrella on a rainy day, and suddenly the guy brings up a romantic rain scene from a drama—how could anyone blame her for thinking too much?
Not to mention, Shirase Haruto had never hidden his affection toward her…
The girl's heart was thrown into chaos, her mind utterly unguarded. She felt like a lonely figure who'd stood beneath a dim lamp in a world of endless nights, until one day, through the vague misty drizzle, someone she'd waited forever for appeared, charging forth on a raft like someone staking it all in one desperate gamble.
She naturally didn't realize that this shy, restless look of hers had already been noticed by someone.
Shirase secretly smiled to himself, face calm as he changed the subject, "By the way, Hayama really seems serious about helping the Soccer Club."
"Huh?"
Nakano Nino's delicate face showed visible confusion, as though asking: Are you out of your mind? How did the topic jump this far?
This tug-of-war left her feelings rising and falling drastically, swaying hard.
Right as Shirase glanced her way, she caught sight of his eyes, which twinkled with amusement, and suddenly understood. "You jerk, you did that on purpose just now, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Shirase naturally didn't admit it.
Nakano Nino grit her teeth, ready to snap at him, but suddenly felt her shoulder tighten, held by that warm, large hand.
At the same time, his voice sounded beside her ear: "Stop squirming. If you actually get wet and go home soaked, Ichika and the others will definitely come after me."
Nakano Nino's body stiffened, and the distance between them shrank further.
This time, she could even smell the faint scent of lemon from his shampoo.
Being held so intimately, the girl naturally became tense, her heart racing nervously. Yet, oddly enough, even she herself couldn't explain why she didn't immediately scold him.
If she said something, he'd definitely obediently let go.
No…
Considering this guy's peculiar thought patterns, it wasn't impossible that he'd suddenly pick her up and run down the street instead.
Maybe she should learn from Miku and say, "You are guilty. Commit seppuku."
The girl's mind wandered wildly as she tried repeatedly to steady herself: "What were you saying about Hayama Hayato just now?"
"I said recently another girl confessed to him. He's really popular, huh?"
"Are you sure that's what you said?"
Nakano Nino abruptly raised her head, eyes sharp as swords. The movement was so sudden it even made her bangs sway slightly.
"Pretty much," Shirase answered calmly.
Nakano Nino stared at his handsome face for several seconds and sighed softly. "I say, you're clearly good-looking, tall, and have decent qualities—so why does your true nature have to be such an idiot with weird brain circuits?"
"I don't think I've committed a crime severe enough to deserve being called an idiot," Shirase protested.
"Oh, my apologies then. But that's exactly what you are in my eyes." Nakano Nino's lips curled into a shallow smile, carrying the unique adorable smugness of a young girl.
By the time they reached the entrance of the apartment where the Nakano sisters lived, the rain had completely stopped.
Today, Nakano Nino didn't invite Shirase upstairs. She'd already made plans with friends to check out the latest bags if the rain cleared up.
As a fashionable girl attuned to style, shopping with friends was naturally an essential part of Nakano Nino's life.
"I'll be going, then."
Shirase handed back the umbrella. Just as he turned around, Nakano Nino's voice rang out again: "Wait."
"Anything else?" Shirase turned his head, catching sight of the girl's slightly unnatural gaze.
"Um…" Nakano Nino seemed to avoid looking directly at him, "If the Soccer Club recruitment still doesn't go smoothly, I could help out."
"You?" Shirase was momentarily stunned.
Nakano Nino folded her arms, lifting her delicate chin proudly, adopting her trademark arrogant pose. "Did you forget? My popularity at school is far better than yours. If I help you recruit members, you might gather enough people very quickly."
"There's no need, actually. Hayama's already doing exactly that."
"Is that so?"
Seeing herself rejected, Nakano Nino wasn't bothered. Instead, she asked, "Speaking of Hayama Hayato from your class—don't you think he's a bit…too perfect?"
She strangely paused as she reached the last words.
"Perfect? Oh, he kind of is. He's really popular at school—even the upperclassmen seem friendly towards him," Shirase replied without changing his expression.
But Nakano Nino shook her head. "That's not what I meant. What I'm saying is, there's no such thing as a truly perfect person in this world. To me, his image feels like someone living with a mask on."
Then she quickly added, "Of course, that's just my speculation. I'm only mentioning this because you seem close to him."
Ah, should I say, 'as expected of women's intuition'?
She'd caught on surprisingly quickly.
Shirase naturally knew Hayama Hayato was merely an imitator of Yukinoshita Haruno.
And, at that, one who hadn't quite grasped the essence yet.
As for whether he genuinely had feelings for Yukinoshita Haruno, Shirase couldn't be certain.
After parting with Nakano Nino, Shirase bumped into a familiar figure on his way home.
The one among the quintuplets he talked to least often, always with headphones—Nakano Miku.
"Oh, it's you."
Surprisingly, Nakano Miku was the one to greet him first.
Before Shirase could respond, she spoke again, "Kana-nee told us the other day that your grades have improved rapidly. Is that true?"
"You already know my reputation, right?" Shirase shrugged.
"Mm, a disciplined studying machine," Nakano Miku evidently had heard the rumors as well.
But after finishing that sentence, she suddenly fell silent, gazing at Shirase with her watery eyes. Blink blink, blink blink—who knew what she was thinking.
"Is there something on my face?" Shirase touched his face tentatively.
Nakano Miku withdrew her gaze. "Nothing. I'll go now."
Shirase stared after her slender, graceful figure in confusion. Since when did Miku start acting like a riddler? Wasn't that supposed to be Yukinoshita Yukino's specialty?
Unable to make heads or tails of it at the moment, he decided not to think further.
Because he had something even more important to do.
Unlocking the [Wheel-of-Fortune Lottery] feature!
"Just one last [Free Hosting] left."
Shirase stood in his living room, unusually excited.
Kojima Kana still hadn't come home, but she'd sent him a message earlier, saying she was visiting Kirisu Mafuyu's place.
At the end of that message, she'd added a line filled with grievance that one could feel even through text:
[Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that the elegant and courteous Kirisu-sensei from school was actually such a slob in private. It seems I didn't come here today as a guest, but as a maid instead.]
Shirase chuckled softly. Kojima Kana really was a top-tier onee-san with her womanly charm maxed out.