My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 120

Looking out from the kitchen, I saw Komachi leaning against the sofa, looking rather listless, letting out a long sigh. I took some barley tea from the refrigerator and poured a cup for Komachi.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Komachi took the barley tea, drank it all in one gulp, and let out a satisfied "Ha..." before handing the glass back to me.

"Yeah, I'm exhausted... It feels like I'm giving my own child away."

"Is it really that exaggerated...?"

At this moment, she resembled an elderly woman lost in thought on the outer corridor, her expression quite serene.

"However, I think I can rest assured leaving it with Yui-neechan..."

"That wasn't even yours to begin with... Just how thick-skinned do you think you are..."

I couldn't help but sigh. Komachi looked up at me, puzzled.

"Huh... Ah, is brother talking about shortbread?"

"Huh? Isn't that right? Otherwise, what are you talking about?"

"Nothing~"

Komachi lay lazily on the sofa, reaching out to pull the cushion over, while Koyuki slept soundly there.

It's no joke how relieved Xiaoxue looks right now. She usually sleeps curled up, but now she's stretched out, striking a "Cheir!" pose. With Su Bing gone, she can finally relax.

Its belly fur was completely exposed, leaving it utterly unguarded. Faced with this tactic, even Ray Cypher, known as the "South Sea Panther" (Note 52, a mixed martial artist from New Zealand who habitually lowers his hands and doesn't defend during matches), would instinctively adopt a defensive stance.

Upon seeing this, Komachi's eyes immediately lit up.

"Little Snow~~~~~"

She pounced over, buried her face in Xiaoxue's belly, and squeezed its paws almost to pieces, making purring noises along with them.

"Ah! Now we might be able to find out what Xiaoxue is thinking! Brother, cat language translator! Hurry, hurry!"

"Okay..."

I quickly took out my phone, turned on the cat language translator, and handed it to Komachi. Komachi immediately put the phone to Yuki's throat.

"Purr, purr, purr." (Painful, relieved... itchy and delicious (Note 53 is from the zookeeper's log in the game "Resident Evil".))

"Xue-yuki!"

Hey, is this cat really okay? Or rather, is the guy who wrote this app really alright? Could he have been infected with a virus?

But Komachi didn't stop, and continued to play with the cat for a while to relieve her loneliness. After all, despite not having spent much time together, she still adored the Yuihama family's shortbread.

Just as I was admiring this heartwarming scene, Komachi looked at my phone and said:

"Oh no, brother, my phone is about to die."

"Hmm? Oh."

I took the phone from her and found that the battery was really low and could run out at any moment.

Then, my gaze fell on the small clock at the top of the screen. Hmm, the timing was perfect.

"That's perfect, it's about time you went back to school anyway."

Yes~~

Komachi gave Koyuki one last pat before getting up from the sofa and leaving the living room. It seemed she was going back to her room to study.

Finally free, Xiaoxue, just like when Subing was still around, dragged her exhausted body slowly to me. "You've worked hard too."

I had to find a charger to charge my phone. When I was halfway through finding it, Xiaoxue suddenly made a "meow" sound.

The cat language translator, which was still running, detected the sound and then displayed a message on the screen.

When I saw the message, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, that's absolutely right."

Xiaoxue heard me speak and responded again. Unfortunately, this time the message didn't display in time; the screen had already disappeared.

FROM Komachi00:00

TITLE nontitle

Happy birthday!

FROM Hachiman03:19

TITLE Re

Thank you.

FROM Komachi03:20

TITLE Re2

Using time difference to attack is too cunning!

FROM Hachiman03:21

TITLE Re3

Are you still awake? Go to sleep.

FROM Komachi03:21

TITLE Re4

((_ _))zzzZZ

FROM Hachiman03:22

TITLE Re5

good night.

In the final chapter of Volume 5, Yui Yuigahama disappears into the crowd.

Nowadays, we often hear people say that the connection between people and places is becoming increasingly thin, and the relationship between neighbors is becoming more and more distant.

This is an absolute truth. I'm not only distant from my neighbors, but also from my classmates at school. Since even I say this, it means it's absolutely true.

I don't know what things were like in the distant past, but at least I've never felt that the concept of "place" is particularly relevant to me. The reason for this is probably that every time I hear the word "place," I have absolutely no idea what kind of person or place that "place" refers to. Even if it's a neighborhood council president or a mayor, I don't recognize what they look like.

In junior high, under the slogan "Let's all clean up the trash for the place we live in," students were assigned to clean up the environment for the entire afternoon. However, the activity was so absurd that it was impossible for everyone to clean properly, and it ended up as a group walk.

That being said, we also experience the concept of "place" at certain times.

For example, today.

From broad daylight, a crisp thumping sound could be heard in the distance. Then, as if awakening from a long slumber, the entire city began to tremble slightly.

As soon as I stepped out of my house, I felt the noise and enthusiasm that echoed the strong summer sun.

Along the way, there were many people like me heading to the station, and some girls wearing yukatas were particularly eye-catching.

After boarding the tram, I was surrounded by couples deeply in love and a family with an ice bucket. I took out my earphones, put them in, and stood there blankly, but the pressure emanating from those around me gradually pushed me back into a corner. It seems that it's only a matter of time before my spiritual pressure completely disappears.

I maintained my breathing for several minutes without anyone noticing. After the tram stopped at several stations along the way, the next stop was finally my destination.

The tram doors slid open with a "whoosh," and I was the only one getting off at this station, while many others boarded. After watching the tram doors close, I walked heavily toward the ticket gate.

I can't stand it. I feel like the whole trip was a waste of time... and the thought of having to squeeze onto the tram with so many people again on the way back makes me feel annoyed.

I brewed my dissatisfaction in my heart, thinking that I would definitely complain to her when we met later, and then I walked against the large crowd and passed through the ticket gate.

It's been just one minute past our agreed time.

She must have arrived first, right? I looked around, but I didn't see a single resembling figure, nor did I see Bulbasaur or Squirtle (Note 54: In Japanese, "figure" and "Charmander" in Pokémon are pronounced the same).

I was waiting, leaning against a pillar in the station hall, when a group of people I vaguely remembered seeing on campus passed by. Since we didn't know each other, we didn't greet each other.

The group of men and women were all dressed in yukatas, just like Jinbe (Note 55: traditional Japanese clothing, now mostly worn as loungewear by men and children). After watching them leave, I noticed a girl walking towards the north exit, clattering along in wooden clogs.

Her pale red yukata was adorned with small flowers, and her crimson sash was very eye-catching; her brown hair, decorated with pink, was not tied up in a bun today, but combed upwards.

She didn't seem used to wearing clogs, and she walked unsteadily, so I instinctively ran a few steps over to her.

"Ah, the introverted guy... I'm sorry, I'm late. I was in a bit of a rush to prepare..."

She gave me a slightly embarrassed, shy smile as she apologized.

"It doesn't matter to me."

We looked at each other and fell silent for some reason. Yuihama even lowered her head and started fiddling with her hair. "Are you Hamtaro?"

"Hmm... your yukata is really nice."

Strange, why would I praise a yukata? Shouldn't I be praising the person wearing it? Luckily, I didn't need to explain again; Yui understood what I meant and answered while shifting her gaze:

"Thank...thank you."

Then, the two fell silent again. So what to do now? I can't think of anything that could be so silent except for a Stephen Seager film (Note 56: Many of Stephen Seager's works have Japanese titles that begin with "Silence," such as "The Silent Battleship" and "The Silent Fortress").

To ease the awkward atmosphere, I forced out a sentence.

"...Anyway, let's go."

"……Um."

I took a step, and the clattering sound of my wooden clogs followed behind me.

We walked through the ticket gates, ready to board the train bound for Chiba. Throughout this time, Yuihama remained silent with her head down.

Silence is a trivial matter to me.

But if Yui falls silent, I start to worry. She can chatter on and on about even trivial things, and now she's so quiet; it makes me wonder if she's angry. Anyway, I'll try to probe with some random questions.

"Why didn't we just meet in person, instead of choosing this in-between place?"

"Well... there are so many people here, it must be very difficult to find someone."

"Don't we have cell phones?"

"The reception there is very bad."

Oh right, now that you mention it, I have heard that it's hard to get a cell phone signal in crowded places. But I never use my cell phone in those kinds of places, so I always thought it was just an urban legend. However, even in sparsely populated areas, I almost never use my cell phone.

"Besides... wouldn't it be boring to arrange a meeting in person...?"

"What does it matter if it's boring? It's not like it's seaweed."

"No, is that not allowed? What's wrong with you?"

"Report: No..."

She's angry...

And so silence fell between them again. It was broad daylight, yet it felt like walking in the dark; we only knew that the other was right beside us.

"Fireworks Show—"

"Fireworks Show—"

This time, we both spoke up without prior arrangement.

Yuihama panicked and gestured for me to speak first.

"...Do you often attend fireworks displays?"

"Yes, I go with my friends every year."

"oh……"

At that moment, the tram pulled into the station.

The carriage was very crowded, and most of the passengers seemed to be going to a fireworks display. They were not only wearing yukatas, but some also had waterproof mats and sun umbrellas.

We only needed to ride one stop, so we stood directly by the door. After the doors clicked shut, the tram began to move forward.

"By the way, what were you originally going to say?"

"Ah, um... I was going to ask you if you've ever been to a fireworks display."

"So we were thinking the same thing," Yuihama told me, a ridiculously insignificant fact, with a shy smile. Stop smiling! You're contagious! This is sure to cause a pandemic.

I looked up at my watch; it was only four in the afternoon…

"I only went there with my family when I was in elementary school."

"That's it."