My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 103

"Roar~~ I'm going to eat you all~~" (Note 46: A famous line from the dinosaur character "Gachiyapin" in the children's program "Hirake! Ponkatsuki".)

...What kind of scary method is that? Are you a monster that escaped from a children's show?

When the elementary school students saw a seemingly brainless older sister suddenly appear, they were not scared at all; instead, they burst into laughter and ran away.

After they ran far away, Yuihama slumped her shoulders in disappointment and sniffled sadly.

I always feel...like a complete idiot...

How pitiful...

I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether I should call out to her, but in the end I decided to give up and continue taking shortcuts through the woods.

Along the way, I frequently heard children talking loudly.

They chatted loudly, sometimes complaining about how shabby the design was, sometimes saying it wasn't scary at all. And indeed, it wasn't scary at all, but when I made a rustling sound, the group instantly fell silent, exclaiming, "What was that sound?", "There seems to be something there," and "There's nothing there..."

What's most terrifying is the unknown truth. I quickly left before they noticed me.

The forest was deep and dark, and just that made my hair stand on end. It was summer, yet the nights on the plateau were chilly. Thankfully, I couldn't tell if my fear stemmed simply from the cold or from noticing some unidentified object.

I could only see the road by the faint moonlight and starlight. After rounding a bend, a white figure appeared ahead.

The moonlight filtering through the branches illuminated her fair skin, and in the night breeze, her figure appeared exceptionally ethereal.

I was speechless.

It wasn't because of the horror, but because her strikingly beautiful figure, so vivid it was almost terrifying, captivated me. That beauty was like a taboo; not only was touching her forbidden, but even getting close to her or speaking to her was not allowed.

There must have been many such things in this world. As people passed down their knowledge through language from generation to generation, they gradually evolved into monstrous beings—these strange thoughts popped into my head.

Yukino Yukinoshita stood there, bathed in the bright moonlight and facing the biting wind, like a real ghost.

This period of stillness actually lasted less than a few seconds.

She noticed someone behind her and turned around, meeting my gaze as I hid in the shade of a tree.

"Ah ah!"

When Yukino saw me suddenly appear, she jumped back two meters in fright.

"...Hikigaya...classmate?"

She blinked several times before gently patting her chest in relief.

What was that reaction just now... it startled me!

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Seeing your dead fish eyes, I thought you were a ghost..."

Her reaction was so unlovable that I couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Didn't you say there are no ghosts in the world?"

"That's right, there isn't."

"But you seem to have been quite startled."

Upon hearing this, Yukino glared at me unhappily, then launched into a long, uninterrupted speech:

"How could I possibly be scared? People project these images onto their visual cortex precisely because they believe in such things. Medical science has long proven that what humans firmly believe in does indeed affect the body. Ghosts simply don't exist; conversely, if you believe something doesn't exist, it doesn't exist. Absolutely!"

No matter how I listened, I felt that her words were just an excuse... especially the last "absolutely," which was completely superfluous.

"By the way, how long will this test of courage last?"

"It's about 70% complete, almost finished."

"I see... It seems we'll have to stay here a little longer."

A soft sigh escaped from beneath the snow.

Suddenly, the grass rustled, and Xuexia's shoulders trembled. You were afraid, weren't you?

Oh no! Have the elementary school students already gotten this far? If I stand here, they'll definitely see me! Just as I was about to hide back under the shade of a tree, my clothes suddenly got caught. I turned around and saw that it was Yukinoshita grabbing the hem of my clothes.

"What's up?"

“Eh? Ah…”

Hearing my question, Yukinoshita looked surprised. She seemed to instinctively grab my clothes, but quickly let go and turned her face away when she came to her senses.

"...It's nothing, but you'd better hide quickly, wouldn't you?"

"I'm very sorry, it's too late."

Before I moved, the elementary school students had already circled around the bend and appeared, with the one in front making eye contact with me.

If a test of courage were held and a plainly dressed man appeared, it certainly wouldn't be scary. Looks like I messed up the event…

Although that's what I thought, the elementary school student opened his eyes wide in astonishment.

"Zombie!"

"No, they're ghouls!"

"His eyes are terrifying, run away!"

They fled in terror. I looked up at the starry sky, and a surge of emotion welled up inside me, making me want to cry.

Yukinoshita smiled and patted my shoulder.

"Isn't it great that the kids had fun? Thanks to your deadpan eyes, they've created unforgettable memories."

"You really don't know how to comfort people..."

Why did you have to finish me off...?

"Alright, I should be going now."

"Okay, see you later."

I said goodbye to Yukino and continued on my way. The elementary school students had already gone far ahead, but I could still overtake them by crossing the woods.

I almost ignored the rest of the journey and headed straight for the campfire at the end.

The last shrine was guarded by Ebina. She held a green branch and waved it, probably to serve as a paulownia branch in the shrine.

"With reverence, I pray to Takamagahara."

She even prepared a prayer and seemed to be enjoying it (Note 47: The Japanese word for "prayer" is "祝词（のりと）", which has the same first two syllables as "乐其中（のりのり）"). Wow, I'm such an idiot!

However, when everyone relaxed upon arriving at the shrine, they suddenly discovered that a witch could be quite terrifying. Moreover, she could recite prayers, which felt rather eerie.

Ebina noticed me approaching and turned to greet me.

"Ah, better than Penguin."

"Hey, aren't you taking this too seriously?"

"Because I also like the pairings in Onmyoji."

"Is that so..."

The pairings in Onmyoji... could it be Seimei x Dōman? This part is too profound; I can't understand it at all. Honestly, Ebina's usual appearance is far more terrifying than her shrine maiden attire.

I felt a wave of fear, and after a brief farewell to Ebina, I immediately fled.

× × ×

After I finished my rounds and returned to the starting point, only three teams remained.

Komachi then chose one of the teams to set off.

Then, Hayama and his group began their operation.

"Okay, let's go over to the penguins. We'll leave the rest to you."

"learn."

After a brief discussion, the three-person group from Hayama set off first, while I stayed behind to wait for the group that was going to study in the US.

The campfire continued to crackle, and ashes drifted into the wind.

From the distant woods, shouts that were indistinguishable as either wails or cheers could be heard intermittently.

During this waiting period, I kept an eye on Liu Mei's situation.

Everyone around Liu Mei was chatting excitedly, but she remained silent. Because the teacher was nearby, the others didn't openly ostracize Liu Mei, but they still clearly kept their distance from her, isolating her.

Liu Mei herself was well aware of this, so she automatically stayed a step away. Seeing that she had to consider such things, a complex emotion welled up in my chest.

Komachi took out her phone from her pocket to check the time.

"...Alright! Next up is this team!"

The team whose names were called stirred up a commotion, while the last remaining team breathed a sigh of relief, whether out of disappointment or relief. The penultimate team entered the forest under the instructions of Komachi and Totsuka.

I'm sure that after they set off, they tiptoed away from the scene again.

The place we're going to is a fork in the mountain road, where one of the roads is blocked off with cones.

As with my previous patrols, I chose to walk through the woods to avoid encountering elementary school students. The leaves, glistening with dew, were cold at night, and the outdoor temperature gradually dropped as the night wore on.

I quickly passed through the area that Yuihama and Yukinoshita were in charge of, and arrived near the shrine, where the road split into a route that circled the forest and a fork leading into the mountain trail.

I was a little out of breath from jogging the whole way. Once my breathing returned to normal, I took shelter in the shade of a nearby tree. But I didn't do this to scare anyone; I just wanted to hide there.

The second-to-last group crossed the fork in the road, and the noise faded into the distance. Next, I moved the cones to block the path leading to the ancestral hall, preventing the last group from reaching the finish line.

Hayama, Miura, and Tobe were waiting on the way to the mountain trail. I went over to tell them, "They'll be here soon, please."

"learn."

Hayama gave a brief reply and sat down on the rock beside him, with Miura and Tobe following suit.

Once I was sure they were all ready, I hid again in the shade of the trees near the divergence point.

One minute, two minutes... I waited here for the group going to the US to appear. Judging from the time, they should have left soon.

As night fell, the woods grew even darker. I closed my eyes in the darkness and strained my ears to listen. Owls hooted, and the branches rustled.

At that moment, my ears caught the sound.

A cheerful chatter approached from afar, but Rumi's voice was not among them. However, when they came within eye level, I realized Rumi was indeed there. She was the only one in the group with her lips tightly pressed together.

All of this will come to an end tonight.

When the group reached the fork in the road, the person in the lead glanced curiously at the cones blocking the way, then walked onto the bend. The students behind followed, and no one noticed anything amiss.

I kept a safe distance and carefully followed behind them.

Just then, someone called my name softly.

"How's it going, Hachiman?"

When I returned to the beginning of the week, I saw that Yukinoshita and Yuihama had also arrived. Since the group that went to America was the last one, their job of dressing up as ghosts to scare people had already ended.

"They're on their way to Hayama, and I'm planning to go with them. What about you?"

"Of course I'll go."

"Me too."

Yukinoshita nodded to Yuihama, and I nodded in response. Then, the three of us moved stealthily.

The group of students who had studied in the US chatted particularly loudly, as if trying to dispel their fear of the dark. Halfway there, amidst their noisy chatter, one of them suddenly let out an "Ah!"

A figure appeared at the front of the group.

"Ah, it's my older brothers and the others!"

As soon as the elementary school students spotted Ye Shan and his group, they immediately ran over.

"Isn't your outfit too plain?"

"How cheesy!"

"Can you please be serious?"

"This kind of courage test isn't scary at all anymore!"

"You're high school students, how can your brains be so bad?"

They had seen Ye Shan and the others before, and since they were dressed as usual, their tension vanished instantly, and they all gathered around him affectionately.

However, the Minister of Revenue rudely pushed away the elementary school student who approached him and shouted in a low, hostile voice: