My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 101

Totsuka turned his head to one side, puzzled.

To make it clear to him, I deliberately kept him in suspense before explaining.

"When it comes to things that are always included in a test of courage... you all understand, right?"

No one present reacted to my words; I even doubted whether Ebina was listening to me. Only Yuigahama pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands and said:

"Ah! Wouldn't it be better to use the 'thank you' effect (Note 39: the original text here uses 'spasibo,' a Russian expression of gratitude)? As long as everyone's heartbeats quicken, relationships will improve!"

"You mean the placebo effect, right?"

Hayama's lips curled up slightly, but he looked at Yuihama with a sympathetic gaze.

"...And what you're referring to is the suspension bridge effect."

Yukinoshita lowered her gaze, a sorrowful expression on her face. The atmosphere instantly shifted, as if in remembrance of Yuihama.

"Those things aren't important! The important thing is the content!"

Yuihama blushed and hurriedly said.

"The content is also incorrect. Think carefully about the most common occurrences in courage-testing competitions."

"...Was it death from fright? That would certainly leave no physical evidence and could be used to justify it as an accident, but going to that extent would be too cruel."

Yukino looked at me with a reproachful gaze.

"No, it would be even crueler if you had that kind of thought..."

Let me clear my throat and reveal the correct answer:

"Actually, when I was taking photos of ghosts, I encountered some delinquent teenagers who were testing their courage, and they chased me."

You're overthinking it.

"That's not true, is it?"

Neither Yukinoshita nor Hayama agreed.

"It's so noisy! It's clearly there!"

That's right. Back in my class, there was a girl who, to my dismay, said, "Actually, I have a supernatural constitution..." For some reason, I was influenced by her words and actually started to believe that I might have a supernatural constitution too. Wouldn't that be incredibly cool if I really did?

So, I got the idea to take ghost photos.

But I didn't find any ghosts, only a group of delinquents. They were also out testing their courage, and after being startled by me, they held a grudge and relentlessly pursued me.

However, let's not bring up this past event now.

Yukino sighed, a look of "I give up."

"...You're not going to tell us that cliché, 'Living people are the scariest,' are you?"

"But delinquents are really scary~"

Komachi nodded, "Mmm, mmm."

"Almost. It's true that humans are the most terrifying thing, but what we're afraid of isn't delinquents."

"What exactly is that?"

When Yukinoshita pressed me for an answer, I paused for a moment before replying:

"What's truly terrifying are those closest to us. We place complete trust in them and never even consider the possibility of their betrayal. Such things always happen unexpectedly, which is why they're so frightening. In their language, it would be, 'Friends are the most terrifying people.'"

I have explained it very clearly, but it seems that everyone still doesn't understand.

Let me explain in more detail.

Actually, this is not a difficult concept.

"Humans only reveal their true nature under extreme circumstances. When they experience genuine terror, they will protect themselves at any cost, having no time to consider others, and even sacrificing those around them to save themselves. If we expose our ugly side to the light of day, it's impossible for us to maintain friendly relations. So what we need to do is disrupt those relationships."

I calmly explained the plan, but the listeners' reactions were still not as expected. Everyone remained silent, their faces showing unease.

"If everyone becomes a lone wolf, there will be no more of that commotion."

So, I unleashed my final, ultimate move.

× × ×

"Oh my god..."

After I finished explaining, Yuihama's face turned pale; Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes into slits and glared at me.

"Compared to a penguin, you have such a bad personality..."

Even Hayama, who never speaks ill of others, said this, which made me want to cry. I haven't felt this way since I was the biology class monitor in elementary school, and the crayfish I was responsible for feeding all killed each other, leading to my being criticized in class.

Only Totsuka nodded in admiration.

"Hachiman always thinks about a lot of things."

If anyone else had said that, they would probably have meant no good; but coming from Totsuka, I can believe he was genuinely praising her. If he had meant something else by saying that, I might have destroyed the whole world.

"Anyway, we couldn't think of any other way... This time it was a last resort."

After some deliberation, Yukinoshita finally made a decision using the elimination method. That's exactly the situation now; we have no other choice.

However, Hayama still kept a sullen face.

"...But that won't solve the problem, will it?"

What Hayama said is quite right. This is not the correct answer, and I am well aware that it is full of errors.

"However, this will make the problem disappear."

I looked up and found Hayama staring straight into my eyes. His gaze was so direct that I quickly looked away.

However, this is the right thing to do.

If you're troubled by interpersonal relationships, breaking those relationships can make the trouble disappear. If it's a vicious cycle, we should break it from the start; in fact, that's all it takes. The idea that "you can't escape" is something only the strong have; it's problematic to impose that concept on everyone's world.

The statement "I am not wrong, the world is wrong" sounds like an excuse, but it is not entirely wrong. It is impossible for oneself to always be at fault; society, the world as a whole, and those around us often make mistakes.

If everyone else is unwilling to accept this fact, then I will be the one to accept it.

Ye Shan stared at me for a while, then suddenly broke the silence with a smile.

"So that's what you think... I can understand why she cares about you now."

I was about to ask who "she" was, but he cut me off and brought up the main topic first.

"Okay, let's do it this way... But I think those elementary school students will stick together. If we're talking about human nature, I choose to believe that they are actually very kind-hearted."

Hayama's smile was so bright that I was momentarily speechless. Even using the same method, we ultimately interpreted things from different perspectives.

"Huh? Doesn't that mean they're at a huge disadvantage?"

"Yes, yes, it must be very hard for me too!"

Miura and Tobe protested loudly, and after Hayama finally managed to calm them down, he turned to me and said:

"Let's listen to Bi Penguin this time, you're in charge of the direction."

"……good."

The role that Hayama had to play was also very unlikable, but he was still willing to take it on.

Since that's the case, I naturally have to reciprocate his feelings.

That said, how do I translate "direction" into Japanese? What should I do?

× × ×

While we were busy preparing for the courage test, Mr. Hiratsuka suddenly gathered us together in a room at the visitor center.

"To create a sense of daring for the event, the organizers want you to tell a ghost story first."

This was the second task she assigned to us.

When it comes to tests of courage, ghost stories are indispensable. By first creating a terrifying atmosphere with ghost stories, people are more likely to believe they are seeing ghosts due to psychological effects.

The saying "The ghost reveals its true form, which is actually a withered flower" illustrates that people may experience hallucinations of seeing supernatural phenomena due to fear.

Nine times out of ten, paranormal phenomena are caused by suspicion and misunderstanding arising from this situation. Therefore, if you see a bowl full of boiling miso soup moving, or a can of corn chowder that seems to contain corn residue, it's just suspicion and misunderstanding. There's nothing truly incredible in this world.

Does anyone know any good ghost stories?

After Hiratsuka-sensei finished asking the question, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

We're not Tamori, the narrator of "Tales of the Unusual," so of course we wouldn't know anything about ghost stories. Only Toto and I raised our hands.

"Hmm, the Ministry of Revenue... and Hikigaya, this combination is completely unreliable. You two tell me about it."

Since we needed to create a spooky atmosphere before the event started, we had to tell ghost stories to two classes of thirty students each, which is sixty students in total. In this situation, failure was not an option.

We borrowed a room in the visitor center, sat in a circle inside, and prepared candles to create a better atmosphere.

The Minister of Revenue and I exchanged glances, signaling for the other to speak first. Whether the Minister understood me or not, he timidly raised his hand and said:

"Well then, let me go first..."

The lights in the room had been turned off, leaving only a few candles flickering and emitting a faint glow. A slightly cool breeze blew in through a cracked window, making the candlelight flicker even more and distorting the faint shadows it cast.

"This is a story about one of my senior classmates. This classmate loved racing, and one day, as usual, he drove alone to the top of a mountain, where he was stopped by a police car. He wasn't speeding, so he found it strange. At that moment, a policewoman got out of the car and said to him:"

"Neither of you are wearing helmets, how can you be on the road... Hey? What's wrong with the girl behind you?"

The senior student always rides his bike alone and never gives anyone a ride. What exactly did the policewoman see?

After a few days…

The Minister of Revenue wiped the sweat from his brow, swallowed hard, and continued speaking.

"My senior is actually dancing with 'hard luck'..." (Note 40: a line from the manga "Hurricane Squad".)

His last sentence ruined the entire story. What kind of weird pronunciation was that? He's been reading too many delinquent comics!

Everyone looked greatly disappointed upon hearing this. But the story of the Ministry of Revenue wasn't over yet; he had a truly strong heart.

"Now, that senior is a father of two. He stopped racing, started working a stable and serious job, and even married the policewoman who stopped him, forming a happy family. I only recently heard him mention that his wife is scarier than a ghost."

"Who asked you to share this heartwarming little skit..."

Even Hiratsuka-sensei was completely defeated by him.

Ha, if that kind of content is considered terrifying, wouldn't that be laughable? Let me show you what real terror is.

"Then, it's my turn."

I pulled the candle closer, making a "squeak" sound, and the fire shadow flickered. The horror story is about to begin!

"This is a true story..."

As is customary, I began with this sentence, and the rustling sounds in the room subsided, while the breathing of the audience noticeably increased.

"When I was in elementary school, I would participate in camping activities organized by the school, and every night there would be a test of courage that was held every year."

That's right... the weather that day was neither hot nor cold, exactly the same as today.

Everyone needs to split into small teams and head to the shrine deep in the woods to retrieve the talismans.

The teams ahead of us all went smoothly, and after a while, it was our turn to set off. Although it was supposed to be a test of courage, the traps were all designed by the teachers, and there were no real ghosts at all. We were scared along the way by things like teachers draped in sheets and scarecrows, but we still made it to the shrine to retrieve our talismans.

Everyone initially thought that nothing had happened, and that the task would be easily accomplished simply by letting out a few screams.

However, Yamashita, a classmate from the same team, then asked, "Who took this talisman?"

Upon hearing this, the other members instantly erupted into chaos. "Did you take it?" "No, not me, not me either... Then, who took it?"

No one in the squad remembered who took the talisman.

At that moment, I felt a deep, visceral fear; my body began to tremble, and tears were welling up in my eyes. Because…”

At this point, everyone present stared intently at me. However, they might not have been looking at me, but rather at the dark space further back.

"...I took that talisman, but no one noticed..."

After I finished speaking, I blew out the candle with a "whoosh".

The room fell silent until Yuihama sighed first.

"It's just a story about someone who's unpopular..."

"It would be much scarier if Hachiman participated in the test of courage with everyone else."

Even under the snow, she cast a cold glance. She was absolutely right, so I had no way to refute her.