Chapter 14: Sharing an Umbrella with The Ice Lady

When I left the supermarket after paying the bill at the register, Fuyuka was still standing there, staring at the rain for a decent amount of time.

The rain was getting stronger and it didn’t look like it would stop for a while.

“Let’s go.”

“…Okay.”

When he raised the umbrella above his head, Fuyuka’s body was completely covered by its shadow.

Looking from the side, did they look like a friendly couple under an umbrella?

However in reality, there was not even the slightest bit of sweet mood in that small space.

“Is it intentional that…you are on the left and I am on the right?”

“Hmm? Well, I was just trying to keep the stuff you bought from getting wet. Why would you ask me that?”

“It is said that having the man on the left and the woman on the right under the same umbrella is a kind of spell wishing for the success of their love.”

“…You see, you think I went out of my way to ask you for that kind of thing?”

“No, not at all. You’re just being nosy, aren’t you? I don’t think you have any romantic interest towards me.”

“If you know it then don’t probe me like that.”

On the way home, when it seemed that the silence would continue, he was suddenly accused of something he didn’t know, but Asahi was not surprised.

It started when I brought her into my house to take care of her, served her dinner, carried her luggage, and even offered her an umbrella.　

I can assure you that it was all done with the best of intentions, and that I had no ulterior motives whatsoever, but I can understand why the receiver would want to find out the intention behind it.

In particular, Fuyuka was often courted by many because of her good looks, and her “Ice-like” personality probably made people wary of her.

However, it seems that the image of being an overly nosy neighbor had some merits.

Fuyuka understood exactly what Asahi was feeling.

That he was just being nosy and had no romantic interest towards her whatsoever.

And that was exactly right.

“First of all, if you had any doubt about that, you wouldn’t exactly come over to my house and tutor me.”

“That’s true. I’m so glad you’re harmless and just being nosy.”

“That’s not a compliment, is it?”

“I am complimenting you, just a tiny bit.”

“Oh, okay. Glad to hear it.”

“Why are you speaking in a monotone voice?”

“It’s because I don’t feel like I’m being complimented at all.”

I don’t feel complimented, but I can’t help but wonder why I’m walking next to her, conversing with her like this.

On the other hand, the fact that Fuyuka was acting as the “Ice Lady”, it might be nosy but I wonder if she considers others to be harmful in some way.

That radical idea of his seemed unlikely, but something might have happened in her past that made her this way.

However, no matter how harmless and nosy he was, they were not close enough to talk about it.

Since they were not even friends yet, their conversation was limited to superficial topics.

“Retort and staple goods…”

After a short period of silence, he thought about carrying Fuyuka’s plastic bag, out of concern for the injured person, but the situation made it difficult because both of his hands were occupied as well.

At that moment, I caught a glimpse of a plastic bag with a small amount of contents and that it seemed to be very light.

“…Is there a problem?”

“Not really.”

Asahi immediately looked away when Fuyuka made a grumpy noise, as if she was upset that someone was looking at what she had bought without permission.

“I also want to cook my own food and eat healthy, nutritious and tasty food as much as possible. But I can’t use my dominant hand so…”

She unusually  began to speak eloquently, even though I hadn’t asked her, perhaps because she didn’t want me to think that she can’t cook for herself.

The other day, I thought she had bought the ingredients for curry and started cooking for herself, but what she had now were retort and staple goods.

At first glance, there were two possibilities: either she can’t cook for herself after all, or it became too troublesome to cook for herself.

However, if you look down a little and look at Fuyuka’s right hand, a third possibility emerges.

As Fuyuka herself was speaking somewhat rapidly, it would be difficult to cook for herself if she could not use her dominant hand.

“Then, want me to cook for you?”

“…What?”

I thought to myself that I was meddling too much.

However, I couldn’t help but notice that my mouth was moving on its own.

I guess she still hadn’t caught up with what I suggested as she didn’t refuse.

Fuyuka looked up to Asahi as he continued what he was saying.

“I’m asking if I can cook dinner for you while I’m at it. You want a healthy, nutritious and tasty meal, right?”

“I did say that, but…”

“And even though it’s retort and prepared food, you’ll be using your dominant hand for preparation and washing up. If you want to recover from your injury before the ball game, I think it’s not a bad suggestion.”

It made sense, but it was still being quite nosy.

Why do I have to go to such lengths for the sake of a mere neighbor?

When I think about why I made this suggestion, I can’t think of a plausible reason.

If I had to give a reason, I would say that Fuyuka was somewhat fragile, the fact that she collapsed in front of her apartment and for the ball game, I couldn’t help but worry about her.

This had stirred Asahi to being excessively nosy.

However, we should never try to impose our good intentions.

If they don’t want to, then back off quietly.

This proposal was also based on the premise that it would be rejected, just like offering her an umbrella.

“…Is that just you being nosy as usual?”

“Yeah.”

“What can I say…you’re the embodiment of being nosy.”

“I think so, too.”

Fuyuka sighed loudly, not even trying to hide her dismay.

After that, for some reason, she kept her eyes down and was silent.

There was no way he could know what the silence meant, so he just waited for Fuyuka’s reply.

I arrived at my apartment after a long time in which only the sound of raindrops splashing echoed in the quiet residential area.

Folding up my soaking wet umbrella, I walked through the entrance and down the long hallway.

We arrived at the front of the room, and it looked like we were going part ways without saying a word.

“…Let me pay for all the ingredients and labor. If that’s fine with you, I think I’ll stay under your care for a while.”

When Fuyuka finally opened her mouth to speak, the words were so surprising that the proposer, Asahi, involuntarily let go of the umbrella.