My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 196

"That is indeed annoying..."

Yukinoshita wore a helpless expression. If the reaction was this strong just from hearing it, it was even more intense for us in the same class.

Perhaps that sense of unease about Sagami was the reason for the poor atmosphere in the class.

"...Regarding the solution—"

"Ah, no problem. It will calm down soon."

I interrupted Yukinoshita, who was halfway through her sentence. Yukinoshita gave me a surprised look.

"What's the meaning?"

"It's just that the school festival just ended not long ago, and the Sagami group is still having some squabbles. They'll be back to normal soon."

After a brief silence, Yukinoshita tentatively asked:

"Is the 'fight' you're referring to the incident between you and Sagami during the school anniversary celebration?"

"It's pretty much a done deal. You can tell from the atmosphere."

Upon hearing this, Yui didn't agree or disagree with me; instead, she slightly pouted, making a displeased expression. Her reaction further convinced me of my own thoughts.

Sure enough, those Sagami gang were spreading rumors behind my back, saying things like how ruthless and treacherous Hachiman Hikigaya really was.

To be honest, it's like the anti-Hikigaya group is lobbying for political purposes. I'm used to this kind of attack, but the fact that it makes people uncomfortable has never changed. It would be better if the other party could simply ignore me completely, but if they're hovering around in front of me like mosquitoes buzzing in my ear, it's still somewhat annoying.

However, what's comforting is that Miura seems troubled by this matter. From my life philosophy of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," Miura is on my side in this situation. Ugh, you're lying! Miura being on my side is actually quite nice, so gentle, I almost fell for her! Absolutely not! I silently thanked Miura in my heart, or rather, felt a kind of accomplice-like affection for her, when I heard a soft sigh beside me.

"But that feeling still isn't good... I don't like being talked about behind my back..."

I turned my head slightly and saw Yuihama with her head down, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, so I couldn't see her expression.

"Yuihama-san..."

As if responding to that soft voice, Yukinoshita called the other's name in a gentle tone. Yuihama seemed to snap out of her reverie and abruptly looked up.

"Um, doesn't it always feel bad to hear bad things about others?"

...Hmm. How should I put it, he's such a gentle guy. But I'm anything but gentle.

"I find it incredibly satisfying to hear bad things about others."

"His personality is awful!"

Yui shouted, while Yukinoshita remained calm, a slight smile playing on her lips, and spoke in a tone even gentler than usual:

"Hachiman would never enjoy listening to bad things about others."

...Oh, what's wrong? Is this guy actually quite gentle? Just as I was surprised to hear the unexpected support, Yui Hama also paused for a moment before nodding.

"Well, you're right. Even though autistic men have a corrupt personality, they're still..."

A voice as cold as ice swiftly interrupted Yuihama's half-finished sentence.

"Aren't there plenty of people who would talk badly about others to Hachiman Hikigaya?"

"The reason is too pathetic!"

Yuihama sobbed. No, no, no, I'm the one who should be sad, right? What's wrong with me? I was almost moved to tears.

"But, isn't that true?"

Under the snow, she faced me with the most captivating icy smile of the entire room.

"Generally speaking, it's not wrong, so I can't deny it..."

I really have nothing else to say. What, just how high is this guy's Hachiman proficiency level? I stared blankly at Yukinoshita, but she didn't seem to care about my feelings at all, cleared her throat, and continued:

"In short, let's understand the situation in Class F better, and learn more about Sagami and the others' movements, before making an appropriate response. Of course, I could also speak directly with Sagami, but that would only worsen the situation..."

It seems that Yukino is going to take some more concrete action to resolve the issue. However, I don't think such action would make any sense.

"No, this matter will naturally subside even if left unattended, so I don't think we need to do anything. After all, there won't be any real damage."

In my opinion, the current situation where Sagami is being viewed with suspicion by its classmates is only temporary. It hasn't been long since the school festival ended, yet this trend has already emerged. It's simply that others are trying to cover up their own recent embarrassments by targeting someone even more embarrassing than themselves. It's foolish to bother with something that would have calmed down on its own if they had remained silent.

However, Yukinoshita seemed unable to agree, turning her head to stare at me intently.

"...There was substantial damage."

"Yes, yes! After all, a bad atmosphere is really annoying!"

Yuihama readily agreed. If both of them are this motivated, there's nothing I can do. If it's a majority decision, I can only obey their choice.

"...It's not impossible."

I reluctantly accepted, and Yukinoshita nodded with a satisfied look on her face.

"Then, let's check on Sagami's situation first and see if we can find any clues to a solution."

That being said, it's already after school. Sagami and his friends should have gone home long ago.

"Well, in short, there's nothing else that can be dealt with today."

"Yes... it's about time, let's go back."

We stood up from our chairs, tidied ourselves up, and prepared to go home.

Today's Service Club activity resulted in a meager response to Ebina's delusions, a suggestion to Haruno to maintain the status quo, and an excuse to postpone the matter mentioned by Miura Shinsho. They accomplished absolutely nothing.

I think the club's activities are really too exaggerated. On the one hand, Yuihama put her backpack on her shoulder and cheered herself up.

"Okay, I'll start working on it tomorrow!"

"Start working hard tomorrow." What a great saying. So great that you'd want to say it every day.

Volume 6.5 ② Now, the city returns for another inspection.

As the saying goes, the eyes can convey just as much information as the mouth. To be more precise, what's even more annoying than a mouth is called gaze.

The day's classes have ended, and it's time for the pre-conference tutoring time (SHR).

In the words of elementary school students, it's time to go home.

To be honest, the term SHR is quite difficult to understand. When I first heard it, I thought it was about a cross-continental race across North America (Note 12 refers to the "Steel Ball Run" storyline in Part 7 of "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"; the original subtitle was "Steel Ball Run," abbreviated as SBR).

Today I felt those gazes, like they were glued to me, so I secretly peeked behind me. Because I'm usually completely ignored, I'm very sensitive to this kind of attention. This habit is so pathetic.

Then, I turned around and saw those guys (Note 13: The original text is from the famous Japanese drama "振り返れば奴がいゐ", translated as "Living Better Than You").

The girls in my class. Oh, I'm so popular? For a moment, I worried that, but of course, that wasn't the case.

Those crescent-shaped eyes seemed to whisper insults and mockery. I glanced at them, then turned my head away. A sharp laugh followed. The gaze, a mixture of curiosity and disgust, burned down my neck.

These gazes didn't originate from the top group of the school hierarchy, led by Miura, but from a lower-level group. And at the center of this group was Sagami Minami, who looked down and wore an expression that said, "I'm so hurt, I'm so sad."

While it wouldn't be accurate to call it a feud, there was indeed a slight distance between me and Sagami. In fact, there was a distance between me and most of the people at this school, but it wasn't the kind of isolation that comes from a lack of interaction; rather, it was a pure emotional chasm, or perhaps a distance caused by malice.

This kind of barrier is the most troublesome.

Completely ignoring the other party as if they don't exist—if there is such a lack of intersection, then the two sides can maintain a certain distance and remain parallel.

However, situations where one's stance changes due to feelings are different. Even if one wants to distance themselves, the two will inevitably bump into each other someday.

If you dislike someone so much that you completely want nothing to do with them, the only way is to utterly ignore them. That's ignoring them as naturally as breathing—the ideal form of ignoring. There are also tricks to disliking someone.

After listening absentmindedly to their instructor's instructions, everyone stood up one by one.

Some people rush out of the classroom immediately, some start chatting with the student next to them, some slowly organize their belongings, and so on. Everyone is different.

I was tasked with gathering information about Miura Kazuya's case, and while slowly exuding an aura that suggested I still had things to deal with, I wandered around the classroom.

It was precisely because it was after school that the feeling of not knowing whether to call myself a high school student was even stronger.

Among them, the people gathered at the back of the classroom, as well as Hayama, Tobe, and Miura, were walking on their path of youth.

"Okay, I'm going to my club activities now."

"Okay~ Bye-bye~ Ah, Yui. I'm going shopping on Saturday."

"Okay, I want to go too. Bye-bye."

Yui subtly filled in the gaps in Miura's words and then replied. "To be honest, Miura's really bad at inviting people... he's on the same level as me. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it since she's a queen. So, my way of inviting people is almost no different from a king's, huh? ※Except completely naked."

Yui waved to Miura and her group before leaving the classroom. She was probably heading to the clubroom. Miura, watching her go, seemed to have a smile on her face; it seemed she understood Yui was going to a club activity. If you clearly express your meaning, Miura will express her understanding. Looks like I've inadvertently learned a little more about Miura.

Miura, who remained, placed Ebina beside him like a queen bee, leaning against the wall. Hayama and his group seemed to be preparing to leave due to club activities, and would probably depart after enjoying their brief chat.

There is one entrance and one exit at the front and one at the back of the classroom. Anyone leaving from the back will inevitably see Hayama and his group.

One by one, the classmates passed by Ye Shan and the others who were chatting, leaving behind a few words of farewell. What on earth is this? Are they taking turns to pay their respects?

However, this only applied to those who were on good terms with Hayama's group. The others, whose relationships weren't exactly harmonious, quietly disappeared through the front door.

Another person is leaving the classroom. Is that Kawasaki...? Hmm, I think her name is Kawasaki. What happened to her? Is she working a part-time job?

As Kawasaki passed by me, his walking speed suddenly increased. It accelerated to the point where it felt like a brisk walk. Then, after putting some distance between us, he returned to his usual listless pace.

Kawasaki walked to the door and quietly turned her head. After meeting my gaze, she made a speechless expression, nodded slightly, and then quickly left.

It seems like he's saying goodbye to me. Am I stupid? He should have said goodbye when he passed by me.

After Kawasaki left the classroom, I spaced out for a while longer before Sagami and his group left through the front door. They probably chose the front door to keep their distance from Miura's group. This also reveals that Sagami isn't actually good at dealing with Miura.

Her act of keeping her distance must have further provoked Miura. Just like Yuigahama in the past, her ambiguous and unpleasant attitude was probably what most easily angered Miura.

That's enough for now. The key point is that as long as Sagami doesn't do anything to make Miura anxious, the problem can be solved. Next, we need to figure out how to implement this method.

I think the most effective method is still to operate beyond the allotted time, that is, to keep it going until the class assignments are completed. However, since Yukinoshita is so eager to resolve this matter, this method probably won't work...

In short, while ruminating on the information I had just learned, I dawdled as I left the classroom and headed toward the club office.

× × ×

The student council office is having a leisurely afternoon tea today. It feels like they'll be starting a band soon.

As soon as I entered the office, I saw two people sitting directly in front of the computer.

The two sipped their black tea and reached for snacks, their foreheads touching as they squeezed together in front of the screen, their brows furrowed as they stared at the computer display.

I sat down in Hu Ri's seat and stared blankly at the two people pointing and gesturing at the computer screen.

Since it seemed there was no black tea for me, I took out the hot MAX coffee that I had bought before coming into the office and started sipping it.

Autumn is in full swing, and as we approach winter, it's the perfect season for MAX coffee. And throughout the summer, from the very end of spring, a refreshing iced MAX coffee would surely be delightful. In fact, MAX coffee is delicious all year round.

Then, today's snack to accompany the tea is wet pancakes.

In Chiba Prefecture, wet pancakes are a famous specialty of Tōshi City. Plus, they're an official product of the Tōshi Electric Railway, so they're practically a household name. Chiba Prefecture is known as the rice capital, and it's also widely recognized as a famous soy sauce producer. Chiba rice, topped with a layer of Chiba soy sauce. The dreamlike collaboration of rice and soy sauce☆ (Note 14 is a parody of the lyrics to the K-ON! insert song "Rice is a Side Dish.")

...That's what I'm saying, but if you ask me how wet pancakes and MAX coffee actually taste together, I can only answer with a cheerful smile, "...I love Chiba Prefecture!"

Just as I was savoring Chiba's famous local product, or simply savoring Chiba, Yukinoshita nodded and crossed her arms over her chest.

"So, what should we do?"

"Ah, this one?"

Yukinoshita lowered her head in thought, while Yuihama muttered to herself beside her. It seemed they were both troubled by that new event, the "Cross-Chiba Prefecture Troubleshooting Email."

To see what kind of letter had arrived, I left my seat and peeked from behind the two of them.

Letters from Mr./Ms. Xun☆Xun (pen name)

I'm brainstorming great ideas to liven up the atmosphere of the Games. And, since this is the last time, I absolutely have to win!

I took a bite of the sour pancake while reading the letter, and was slightly surprised.

...This is the first time someone has sent a serious inquiry letter. Well, to say the least, the fact that they're surprised by this means our club activities are truly speechless.

"The sports meet, huh?"

Yukino sighed dejectedly.

"Sigh, it's already this time of year."

So it seems that the mentorship sessions before going home have already been divided into red and white groups.

The sports meets seem to be held more often in spring or early summer these days, but our school's sports meet is held in autumn. After the sports meet, it's already winter. That being said, only we second-year students have a graduation trip waiting for us after the sports meet.

The sports meet is a major event for students, and for those who celebrate youth, it's a time of eagerly anticipated youth. Especially for boys in sports clubs, it's a chance to show off their skills and impress the girls. "If I can win a game here in style, I can get a girlfriend..." There are definitely more than just a handful of boys who have this kind of wishful thinking.

However, the female classmates—especially Yukinoshita—did not seem to think so, and frowned in disgust.

"Class relay races are awful."

Ah, yes, yes, yes. I was forced to participate in it when I was in junior high school.