My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 127

After reading the proposal, I silently put the stack of papers back on the table.

This stack of things was quite thick, exuding a unique, indescribable aura. If the Book of the Dead (Note 1: The Necronomicon, a fictional magical book by American author H.P. Lovecraft) really existed, it would probably look something like this.

The cover of the proposal reads "The Little Prince Musical." Judging from this title, it sounds like a thrilling tennis tournament is about to unfold.

Autumn is here. And when it comes to autumn, school anniversaries are a must; and school anniversaries mean the class will unite to plan activities. For those of us with a proud and aloof nature, another somewhat boring season is approaching.

My class—well, that's not quite right, I'm not that close to my classmates, and I don't feel any attachment to them… Anyway, starting today, my class, Class 2F, will also begin preparing for the school anniversary celebration.

After some commotion, the class finally decided to put on a theatrical performance for the school anniversary. This was a decision reached by majority vote, meaning I wasn't part of it. No matter when or where, I always stand on the side of the minority.

After deciding to act, and following a series of consultations, the current script candidate was developed.

—The Little Prince.

"The Little Prince" is a famous novel written by the French author Jean-Exupéry. Even those who haven't read it are mostly familiar with the work. Some people may think that "Curry Prince" (Note 2: a curry packet launched by the Japanese food company SB Foods, targeting children as its main customer base) is a related product derived from it, but the two pronunciations are actually completely unrelated. Please be aware of this.

The story outline is as follows: The protagonist, "I," is a pilot. My plane malfunctions and crash-lands in the Sahara Desert, where I meet "The Little Prince." The two talk about many things and gradually come to understand what is truly important.

This is a world-renowned work, making it perfect for a high school drama script.

Unfortunately, the only problem is that the scriptwriter is Hina Ebina...

In Ebina's script, the beginning is full of character settings and plot outlines that make you despair. If you try to read on, you will see words like "I have been to 108 planets" and "a certain pilot and a perverted prince". I simply raised my hands in surrender.

What on earth is that woman thinking...? I looked at Ebina with fear in my eyes. She herself was fidgeting and seemed very embarrassed.

"I feel a little embarrassed..."

No, no, no, this is not "a little" at all, it's really embarrassing!

I silently folded up the proposal and decided not to get involved in the event.

It's class meeting time, and the entire classroom is shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere.

"It should be about time, right?"

After most of the people had finished reading the materials, Hayama looked around and asked a question. This was something the class monitor should have done, but because he was a rather innocent boy, he couldn't handle the shocking educational impact of this subject matter and froze in place.

"Well then... what do you all think? If there are any problems, or areas for improvement..."

I only see areas that need improvement.

At this moment, a girl raised her hand and asked a question.

"Aren't there any female actors?"

"Huh, what do you need girls for?"

Ebina tilted her head to one side, puzzled. "But wait a minute, Miss Fujoshi. There are indeed no female characters in the original *The Little Prince*, but the author portrays the rose as a woman, so I think it's still possible to act her out. And it's not just the rose; how to handle the fox and the snake should also be reconsidered. Perhaps we could use anthropomorphism, like the Four Seasons' production of *The Lion King*."

Then another person raised their hand.

"Isn't this a problem in terms of public order and good morals?"

"This is suitable for all ages, no problem!"

Who asked you about rating systems...?

Most of the class seemed equally perplexed, unsure how to react. Oda and a few others, understanding the fujoshi's (female fans of male-male romance) tastes to some extent, could even manage a wry smile; as for the other girls, aside from a few who could understand, the rest wore troubled expressions.

"Me! Me! Me!" Among them, one guy raised his hand and made a sound that clearly showed his displeasure. "But I think it's not bad."

Oh dear, is the Ministry of Revenue planning to go all out to boost its own image? Teenagers' judgment really does drop drastically when they're in love, or should we call that "cute"? Anyway, everyone's been there. Even I went to great lengths in junior high just to walk home at the same time as the girl I liked, but then I was secretly called a "stalker," which almost made me cry… Um, everyone's done something like that, right? No, I can't be the only one…

Seeing that the surrounding students' reactions were not very enthusiastic, the Ministry of Revenue continued to emphasize:

"Don't you all think this is interesting? Compared to regular dramas, this might be more popular!"

When the other students heard this idea, they looked at each other and fell into deep thought.

...Okay, that makes sense. After all, this is a musical, not a BL novel. When it's officially adapted for the stage, it might be quite different from the written outline we're seeing now. Seeing a group of masculine high school boys dressed in outlandish costumes talking about love is indeed a humorous short play.

When it comes to performances presented at school anniversaries, the most important criteria are "fun" and "uniqueness." Regardless of whether the BL content is good or bad, or what beliefs Ebina, the writer, holds, this script satisfies both of these conditions, so it's basically without any problems.

"Hmm, I think that's one direction too, and school anniversaries aren't suitable for overly serious themes... I can tell the difference!"

Ebina is a discerning person. Perhaps it was precisely because she is discerning that she decided to write such a script. Thinking about this makes me even more terrified.

"Anyway, let's ignore the character settings for now and focus on enhancing the humor in the story. Is that alright?"

Once Hayama reached a conclusion, no one else objected.

Well, since we're going to perform at the school anniversary celebration, instead of everyone taking it too seriously, turning the story into a comedy is the right decision. Taking it too seriously will only make us feel embarrassed. Besides, even if the performance isn't successful, we can just say, "Well, we were just doing a comedy anyway."

Inserting all sorts of jokes and performing with a lighthearted attitude is undoubtedly a better choice.

"Then, it's decided."

After Ye Shan finished speaking, the students below applauded. Just then, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

After spending the entire class meeting, everyone finally reached a consensus. Although many things still need to be decided, at least we need to start taking action now.

With about a month to go until the school anniversary celebration, all the boring activities will be staged again.

I rose from my seat with a touch of gloom.

Volume 6, Part 1: In the midst of the storm, Hachiman Hikigaya continued to slip.

The autumn wind rustled the curtains.

A breeze blew in through the slightly ajar window, causing the curtains to flutter and revealing the reddish cirrus clouds outside.

After this scene repeated itself two or three times, I stopped turning the pages of my book. The subtle movements that kept flitting past the edge of my field of vision were distracting and kept me from concentrating on reading.

In contrast, the girl sitting at the other end of the long table, diagonally opposite me, Yukino Yukinoshita, has not moved an inch since the beginning.

Her gaze fell on the paperback in her hands, silently scanning line after line of text. She was probably able to concentrate so well because she had her back to the window and couldn't see the curtains.

If I had known, I should have sat across from them... Despite thinking this, everyone's seats are now fixed, and changing them would only make me feel uneasy (literally).

I usually sit in a place far from the window and out of the sun, while Xuexia prefers a spot facing away from the warm sunlight. However, now that it is early autumn, the daylight hours are gradually shortening, and the setting sun is getting dimmer.

Summer vacation is over, and several days of September have passed. During the day, the summer atmosphere is still strong, but now, as evening approaches, a cool breeze will unexpectedly blow.

Life in the second semester was no different. Yukinoshita and I attended club activities on time, just like always. Even when we arrived at the club office, we were only focused on our books, while Yuihama was responsible for interrupting us by playing with her incredibly tasteless cell phone.

Just then, a stronger gust of wind blew in, making the window rattle and tremble. The curtains were blown up by the wind, rustling and playing with the pages of my half-read book. Are you ever going to stop?! You've been standing there like a steel ball since just now, could it be Pang Qiu (Note 3: a character from the manga *Chronicles of the End of the Century*, whose defensive technique "Steel Ball" (カㄧテン) sounds like "curtain")?

My patience was wearing thin, so I clicked my tongue and glared at the window.

The wind blowing in is certainly annoying, but aren't the curtains a bit too easily affected? Don't they have any self-control? The only things that can be blown away by the wind are balls hit at Chiba Ocean Stadium (Note 4: Ocean Stadium is very close to the sea, and winds exceeding ten meters per second are common, so balls hit by players here are easily affected by the wind.), and cute little girls' skirts.

Just as I was talking about skirts, a skirt appeared in the corner of my eye, fluttering lightly in the breeze. The owner of that skirt, Yui, stood up from the seat next to me, about a chair's width away, and slammed the window shut. The daring sway of her skirt made me wonder if there were any Pokémon hidden inside, and I almost had the urge to go over and capture her.

Phew... even the Pokémon in my zipper almost got excited...

"The wind is getting stronger."

Yuihama spoke, but no one answered; only the window continued to rattle.

Undeterred, she continued speaking.

"I heard a typhoon is coming."

Now that she had spoken a second time, Yukinoshita and I could no longer pretend to be ignorant, so we looked up from our books. Yuihama, seeing this, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"The weather was always nice during the holidays."

"Really? I remember it being cloudy every day."

I remained skeptical, searching my memory, but I couldn't recall a day when the sun was particularly bright. Although it was certainly sunny and warm during the days I was out…

"That's because you never go out, that's why you don't know, right?"

Yui took the opportunity to mock me. Yes, you're right.

"...Nonsense, it's because the blackout curtains have been working so well lately that the room has become darker."

"Very sociable (Note 5: The Japanese pronunciations of 'shading away' and 'socializing' are the same.) Yet so gloomy?"

Yuihama asked with a puzzled look, and I retorted with the same question, "Huh?"

"what?"

Yui and I exchanged puzzled glances, only realizing a few seconds later that we were talking at cross purposes. Hey, was she serious about that question? Ugh, this woman is terrifying!

Seeing that our conversation had reached a dead end, Yukinoshita, who was standing to the side, slammed her book shut and spoke with a slight hesitation.

"...Just to be on the safe side, let me explain. Blackout curtains are curtains that can block out sunlight."

"Huh... Ah, right, that's right! I... I knew it all along..."

The brief pause before Yuihama finished speaking indicated she was startled. And although she said she knew, she clearly looked away at the end. I looked at her with sympathy, trying to smooth things over for her.

"Yes, that's right. For the Japanese, the history of light-blocking is very long. In the past Jomon period, there were even clay figurines for light-blocking, which shows that we are a people who are very fond of light-blocking."

The Japanese people are burdened with a destiny that favors darkness and abhors light. Wow, good heavens! Saying something like that sounds just like something out of a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) persona!

"Oh, I see! Ah, but now that you mention it, it really makes sense. Back then, pit dwellings didn't have windows either."

Yuihama's tone was full of admiration, while Yukinoshita pressed her forehead as if she had a headache and sighed softly.

"The sunshade figurines only resemble the sunshades worn by Inuit people (Note 6: indigenous people of the Americas, distributed around the Arctic Circle) to prevent glare from snow, but they have nothing to do with blocking light..."

She muttered to herself, her voice low and unspoken. No other sound could be heard until she finished her long string of words in a clear, unambiguous tone.

"Oh, I see. So that's how it is..."

After smugly showing off, I felt incredibly embarrassed when I realized I knew the wrong information. At that point, the conversation stalled. Moreover, this situation was different; I couldn't even offer a reasoned rebuttal.

"..."

"..."

Yukinoshita probably understood my situation and didn't say anything more.

She buried herself in her book again, while I rested my cheek on one hand and flipped through the paperback pages with the other.

The sound of whistling wind came from afar, as if advertising for JR East Japan Railway (Note 7: The Japanese word "びゅうびゅう" is often used to describe the sound of wind, and "びゅう" is also the name of the East Japan Railway package tour service website (VIEW)).

Inside the office, someone's cough was particularly loud.

When I noticed, I could even hear the faint ticking of the second hand.

Most humans notice dullness around the same time. Yui suddenly seemed to remember something, took a deep breath, and spoke:

"For autistic guys, going out more will definitely be better for you. I've heard that the body produces something called... Vitamin C."

"It should be Vitamin D, right? Making Vitamin C? Are you a lemon? Humans can't produce that stuff on their own."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. By the way, just getting some sun twice a week for 30 minutes each time will produce enough vitamin D, so there's no need to go out of the house."

With a "Hmph~ how about that?" expression, I helped her fill in the gaps in her knowledge. My goal is to attend a humanities department at a private university, and I'm also quite good at miscellaneous academic subjects. Maybe that's a characteristic of humanities students at private universities.

Yuihama was probably intimidated by my knowledge, and a trembling expression appeared on her face.

"How do you know so much detail...? Are you a health fanatic? It's so unsettling..."

What I heard were such outrageous words.

"...My family had said the same thing to me before, which is why I specifically looked up the information."

"You even went to look up information, are you that reluctant to go out...?"

"As expected, he's a shut-in."

"It's none of your business..."

Why do you know my nickname from middle school?

I had originally planned to ask that question back, but I decided against it in the end. Anyway, it's better not to say anything, yeah, that's right. Thinking about it carefully, it's not even a funny complaint; saying it would be a waste of breath. And in this situation, choosing to remain silent is probably the right thing to do, right? When others say something to us, we easily get carried away and try to say something to complain, only to be met with cold silence from everyone present… Those past memories suddenly resurfaced in my mind, making me feel depressed.

That being said, even if I had chosen not to speak at the time, no one would have reacted.

"..."

"..."

Yukinoshita stared blankly at the paperback, her eyebrows remaining completely still. Yuihama noticed her cold attitude and deliberately filled the silence with laughter.

"Ah, haha...you really are autistic, aren't you~"

"Hey, hey, hey, this is the correct attitude towards life that has been worshipped since the age of mythology. Even the main goddess of Japanese mythology, Amaterasu, is a shut-in."

I followed the example of ancient myths and insisted on staying at home and not going out. In other words, by acting in the same way as the gods, I became the god of the new world.