My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 102

"Sigh, is that all you guys can do? Those kinds of unfunny stand-up comedy routines?"

Hiratsuka-sensei let out a very deep sigh.

"There's no way around it. Asking laymen like us to tell ghost stories is simply asking the impossible..."

"Hmm... But this is an essential skill for anyone in the workforce. When drinking with others, you'll often be asked to tell interesting stories, so you'd better hone your speaking skills. This will make your relationships in the workplace more harmonious."

After hearing what the teacher said, I felt a shock. That...that kind of thing...

"What...that's impossible for me! For the sake of my career, I'd rather not work."

"You've got the wrong thing to worry about, and you're way off... Let me demonstrate."

So, Hiratsuka-sensei relit the candle.

As the saying goes, "Ginger is the spiciest," and now we finally have the chance to hear adults tell ghost stories. Everyone looked at Hiratsuka-sensei, their faces full of anticipation, almost singing, "Tell us! What other stories do we not know? We feel our bodies trembling" (Note 41 is from the lyrics of the opening theme song of the anime "School Ghost Stories").

The teacher smiled smugly and met our gaze, beginning to explain:

"I have a very good friend named Kinoshita Haruka. However, about five years ago, Kinoshita Haruka suddenly disappeared without a trace... Before she disappeared, she only left me with the words 'I'm leaving now,' and I have never seen her since."

But just a few days ago, I saw a woman who looked very familiar. Her face was full of fatigue, but she still had a faint smile on her face. This person was undoubtedly Kinoshita Haruka, who had been missing for a long time. Just as I was about to call out to her, I was shocked to see a smiling face appear behind her…”

As Hiratsuka-sensei recalled the horror of that moment, her face turned pale. Even we were chilled by her trembling expression.

"...The child on her back was already three years old, it was terrifying."

Then, the teacher blew out the candle in front of her, and the room fell into darkness again.

In the ensuing silence, someone finally couldn't hold back and spoke:

"That's just a matter of having a child after marriage, taking the husband's surname..."

I'm serious, please, someone come and marry this teacher, okay? If this keeps up, I might marry her out of pity.

Finally, we concluded that none of us knew how to tell ghost stories, so we unanimously decided to play the "School Ghost Stories" animated DVD from the visitor center instead.

× × ×

While the elementary school students were engrossed in watching the DVD, we were busy preparing for the "test of courage" competition.

While Yukinoshita and the others were busy with various tasks, Hayama came to discuss the details of the plan with me.

After confirming the process and key points, we move on to more detailed steps.

"We just need to adjust the order of the group that's going to study in the US, right?"

"Hmm...that group might take longer, so it's best to be last in line. Should we tamper with the lottery box?"

"No, making a signature isn't very feasible, and it's too troublesome. Let's see if we can just designate the order. Let me think... I'll talk to the teacher about it. This way, students won't need to prepare mentally, and the activity will be more exciting."

Our discussion went quite smoothly. I consider myself to be quite intelligent, but Hayama was even better; his thinking was a step ahead of mine, and even the reasons he made up seemed plausible, and incredibly cool too.

"...Then I'll trouble you."

"Understood. So, how do we lure that group?"

"I will move the cones and lead them to a dead end. You can wait at the end of the road."

"Understood. As for the Ministry of Revenue and Yumiko, they might not remember if we give them overly complicated instructions."

Indeed, those two didn't seem to be very good at memorizing.

"We can ask them to write cheat sheets on their phones. It won't look unnatural if they just tap on their phones. They might even look more realistic playing around with their phones in a lazy manner."

"That makes sense..."

Ye Shan typed a bunch of dense text on the tablet, his shrewd and capable demeanor truly admirable.

That said, it's so easy to only talk about work. We don't need to constantly think about topics or consider the other person's feelings; even if we say something harsh, we'll get their understanding because it's necessary for work.

"That's about it. I'll go and talk to Tobe and Yumiko."

"I'll leave it to you."

If I were to say it, they probably wouldn't listen to me.

"See you later."

After we finished our discussion, Hayama went to explain to Miura and Tobe, while I went to help Yukinoshita and the others with their preparations.

Although it's called preparation, there's really no need to do anything special. Basically, just scare the elementary school students who dare to venture into the forest at night.

In these kinds of daredevil events, rather than emphasizing concepts and details like a haunted house, the focus should be on delivering a sense of awe and excitement to children. Because the target audience is children, realistic and scare-inducing mechanisms are more appealing than story-driven content. Simply put, the unexpected way of jumping out from the shadows to scare someone is more likely to entertain children. When I attended a daredevil event at an elementary school camp, a completely unrelated masked Jason (Note 42, the serial killer from the movie "Friday the 13th") suddenly jumped out, the next second there was chanting, and finally, ghosts draped in sheets wandered around – the content was incredibly chaotic.

Campsites that host school camping events always have some scary costume props, and some teachers also prepare their own.

However, when I saw these props, my head started to ache.

"Little devil outfit...cat ears, tail...white kimono...witch's hat, robe, cloak...shrine maiden outfit..."

Even if the main purpose is to scare people, there should be a limit, right? These are just Halloween props.

According to Ms. Hiratsuka, the props were prepared by the teachers at that elementary school. But no matter how I think about it, I feel that the teacher just wanted to see what high school girls would look like in cosplay. Seriously, it's making me want to be a teacher too.

First, there's the shrine maiden outfit Ebina received. Although she belongs to the Miura Group, her delicate features are widely acknowledged, so the kimono suits her very well. However, the outfit doesn't have a particularly frightening feel; "mysterious" would be a more fitting description. Perhaps having her near the shrine would add a touch of eeriness.

I glanced around at everyone else's attire, and thought about how to assign each person their assigned area.

Next, you see Totsuka adjusting the height of his tricorn hat so that the brim covers his eyes.

He tugged at the hem and sleeves of his robe, muttering to himself in bewilderment:

"Are magicians considered ghosts...?"

"Hmm... I guess you could say that in a broad sense."

However, to me it looks more like a magical girl. Salara (Note 43: from the spell of the protagonist in the 1974 anime "Little Fairy").

"It doesn't seem that scary."

"No, it's actually quite scary, don't worry."

Yes, it's really scary, scary enough that I could accidentally end up on the Totsuka route. Ugh, so you're the one who cast forbidden magic on me... What am I even saying?

"Brother! Brother!"

Just then, something soft patted my shoulder. I turned around and saw a cat plush glove waving at me.

"What's that? A monster cat?"

"I guess so……"

Seeing my younger sister's appearance, I couldn't help but think of that musical by the Shiki Theatre Company (Note 44: The original Japanese name is "Gekidan Shiki," which is currently the largest theatre company in Japan, importing many foreign musicals and also producing many original works).

Komachi is dressed in artificial fur, wears cat ears, and has a tail.

"Komachi isn't really sure either, but as long as it's cute~"

Who taught that cute girls are adorable no matter what they wear? They might even be cute as mobile suits. Just look at Nobel Gundam from "G Gundam" and you'll understand.

Komachi bent her enormous cat gloves, studying how to act more like a cat. Just then, something like a ghost appeared behind her.

“…………”

The ghost gently reached out its hand towards Komachi's cat ears.

—Pinching and kneading.

"Um... Yukino-neechan?"

—Touching and touching.

Yukinoshita grasped her tail again and nodded.

What did you find out? Don't make that face like those appraisers on appraisal shows! Are you going to say "This is a good thing" next? (Note 45: This is the catchphrase of appraiser Seinosuke Nakajima on the variety show "Kaiyun Appraisal Team")

"...You did a really good job, it suits you very well."

"Thank you for the compliment, Yukino-neechan! Yukino-neechan's outfit suits you perfectly, doesn't it, brother?"

"Yes, that kimono suits you perfectly, you look just like a snow woman. How many people are you planning to kill tonight?"

"...Are you complimenting me?"

As Xuexia's eyebrows slightly lifted, I instantly felt a chill run down my spine.

"Yes, yes, that's the chilling aura. It really is a Yuki-onna (snow woman), it's so similar."

I praised Yukinoshita to the best of my ability, but Yukinoshita brushed her long hair aside and glared at me.

"Your zombie outfit suits you very well; the realism of your dead fish eyes is already Hollywood level."

"But I didn't wear any makeup at all."

I glared at Yukinoshita with a dark look, but she immediately glared back at me, causing me to reflexively look away. How terrifying!

After shifting my gaze, this time I saw Yui Hama dressed in a little devil outfit, moving awkwardly and shyly.

She stood in front of the full-length mirror with a smile, then immediately shook her head as if she had just remembered something, sighed in disappointment, and then cheered herself up and struck another pose, just like someone who is participating in a cosplay event for the first time would do the night before.

"You're really busy."

"Ah, an autistic man..."

Upon hearing my voice, Yuihama crossed her arms to cover her body, her expression clearly revealing a lack of confidence.

“I’m telling you…”

She lowered her head, only raising her eyes upward, waiting for me to express my thoughts.

"What do you think...?"

"If there were any inappropriate points, I would have said them out loud and ridiculed you extensively... Unfortunately, I don't have that opportunity today."

"Huh? This means..."

Yuihama thought for a while before she understood, and then chuckled smugly.

"Why not just give honest praise? You idiot!"

She scolded me happily, then turned back to the mirror with an even better mood than before. Komachi watched all this, chuckling with satisfaction.

"My brother is so cute!"

"Don't create strange terms yourself."

I felt a strong sense of futility. Just then, Hayama and his group returned.

Miura and Tobu are also ready, especially Miura, who is terrifying even though she is not disguised, meaning she is always this terrifying.

"Hayama".

When Ye Shan heard me speak, he nodded and said:

"Then, let's do one last sand table simulation."

There isn't much time left before the test of courage begins.

This was destined to be an unhappy ending; nothing good could possibly happen. However, things proceeded slowly, and no one could stop them.

× × ×

A bonfire was lit at the starting point of the test of courage, making the atmosphere even more eerie. The flames crackled as the firewood burned, constantly sending sparks flying.

"Alright~ Next up is this team~"

Every time Komachi called out the name of the next team to depart, the children would let out a commotion of "Yay!" The team whose name was called would stand up with a shout and walk together to the starting line.

Thirty minutes after the test of courage began, nearly 70% of the teams had already set off to find the talismans.

As suggested by Hayama, the order in which each group departs is not predetermined, but rather designated by us on-site.

The elementary school students couldn't hide their nervousness, worried that they might be next. Hayama breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his proposal had worked, and then whispered something to Miura and Tobe, probably in the final stages of discussing the plan.

"Please go to the shrine deep in the forest and retrieve the talisman."

Totsuka, dressed as a witch, stood at the entrance of the forest, giving simple instructions to the elementary school students. He was a little nervous at first and made several mistakes, but after guiding a few groups, he became more and more skilled and performed quite well.

It seems we can safely leave this place to Komachi and Totsuka. Besides, Hiratsuka-sensei is here, so there shouldn't be any major problems.

I secretly left the starting point and wandered around, observing the situation of the test of courage competition and checking out how others were performing.

I hid in the woods so that the elementary school students wouldn't see me.

After starting from the starting point, the first ghost you encounter is Yuihama.

When elementary school students pass by, she jumps out from under the shade of the trees.