My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 146

The senior student silently left her seat and walked towards me. Her face lacked its usual gentle smile.

"What a pity... I thought you were a serious person..."

"..."

She whispered sadly, but unfortunately I had nothing to say about it.

That's precisely why I don't want to work. Putting in the effort will only lead to higher expectations, and if I reveal my true colors one day, I'll only end up disappointing them.

I sighed, letting go of all the regret in my heart.

Then, I rallied my spirits and stood up from my seat.

Just as I was about to leave the meeting room, Yukinoshita appeared at the door first.

"Is that alright?"

"What?"

I asked her a question in return, but Yukinoshita didn't answer directly.

You'd better clarify the misunderstandings people have about you.

"How can misunderstandings be clarified? The problem disappears the moment they interpret it, and I can't clarify it even if I want to."

Whether it's the correct answer or a misunderstanding, it's already the final answer.

We cannot undo the mistakes we have made, nor can we erase the marks they have left behind.

Yukinoshita squinted and glared at me.

"...You always make excuses for trivial matters, but when it comes to truly important things, you shut up and don't say a word, leaving the other party with no excuses. Don't you think that's a bit despicable?"

"Excuses are meaningless. People are more likely to act on their own when faced with something important."

"...Okay, maybe you're right. Excuses really don't make any sense."

Yukinoshita gritted her teeth and said.

A spoken answer cannot be taken back; spilled water cannot be retrieved; a broken egg cannot be put back into its original state; even if the king sends out all his troops, he cannot mend a broken mirror (Note 66: This allusion comes from Mother Goose's nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty").

Regardless of the interpretation, it's difficult to shake off the negative impression.

Conversely, it's incredibly easy to create a bad impression. A single word or action from someone can label them a "bad person."

Therefore, no amount of explanation will make a difference; it will only deepen others' negative impression of you.

Yukinoshita stood there with her arms crossed, but she didn't lean against the wall. She straightened up as usual and slowly raised her face.

"...Then I'll have to confirm with you one more time."

She looked me straight in the eye, her gaze revealing a strong will, even hostility, like a twinkling star in the night sky.

I could feel that she was speaking to me with her eyes.

—I won't make excuses, so please keep a close eye on me.

The next second, a warmth appeared in her serious gaze.

"Tell me, what exactly happened just now?"

"what?"

"Your hopeless slogan has absolutely no taste."

"At least it's better than yours... Did you come up with something like that, a dictionary of related terms?"

After I finished speaking, Yukino deliberately let out a long sigh.

"You haven't changed at all, I'm really exasperated..."

"How can humans change so easily?"

"Besides, you're a weirdo to begin with."

"Hey, that's redundant."

Yukino chuckled softly.

"Every time I see you like this, I feel it's really foolish to force myself to change..."

Before she could finish speaking, she turned around, jogged back to her seat to get her bag, and then gestured outside with her finger. She probably meant for me to leave.

After leaving the meeting room, Yukinoshita locked the door.

"Then, I'll go return the key."

"Oh, goodbye."

"Well, bye."

After we said goodbye, Yukinoshita rested her hand on her chin, hesitated for a moment, and finally added:

"……See you tomorrow."

She slightly moved her hand, which was resting on her chin, to her chest, but hesitated whether to open her palm or clench her fist. In the end, she simply kept her hand half-open and waved to me gently.

"...See you tomorrow."

After I finished speaking, we each turned around and took a step away.

After taking a few steps, I suddenly felt an urge to turn around. But the sound of footsteps beneath the snow did not stop, so I probably didn't need to turn back.

Is there really a way for me to never look back?

Do I really have the courage to confirm it one more time?

Life can never be rewound and restarted.

A wrong answer will only perpetuate the error.

The only way to overturn a wrong answer is to find a new one.

Therefore, in order to find out the correct answer, I decided to check it again.

× × ×

The following day, at the executive committee meeting, a slogan for the school anniversary celebration was finally decided.

After everyone spoke enthusiastically, brainstormed, and engaged in heated debates, a consensus was finally reached after a long discussion, when everyone was dizzy and unable to think anymore.

The slogans for this year's school anniversary celebration have been finalized as follows:

"Chiba's famous scenic spots, festival dances! Since everyone's a fool, if you're not dancing, at least sing a song! (Note 67: There's a song in Tokushima's Awa Odori festival, one part of which goes like this: 'Those who dance are fools, and those who watch are fools too. Since everyone's a fool, wouldn't it be a huge loss not to dance?')!"

Is this really okay?

Despite some unease, that was the conclusion reached by the executive committee. Oh well, I don't dislike it anyway, and Chiba Oto (Note 68 "Chiba famous scenic spot, festival dance" in the original text) is a famous song.

The committee members continued their discussion, their enthusiasm still high.

To channel this morale into work, Yukinoshita quietly reminded Sagami:

"Sagami-kun, next you need to replace the posted signs in order."

"Ah, okay... Well then, please replace the posted signs with new ones."

Under Sagami's instructions, the school anniversary executive committee finally resumed operations.

With the release of the new slogan, everyone united and showed great enthusiasm.

"You bunch of bastards! Redo the poster right now!"

The head of the media publicity team shouted excitedly.

"Wait! The budget hasn't been approved yet!"

The accounting audit team immediately slammed on the brakes.

"Fools! All you abacus-wielding fools, step back! My most glorious moment is right now!" (Note 69: A famous line from Sakuragi Hanamichi in *Slam Dunk*)

"Also, if we're going to re-post the posters, every single thumbtack must be collected! Those all have receptacles!"

Oh dear, even the items management team couldn't resist joining in.

Each group was engaged in a lively discussion, and it was hard to believe that this was the same group of people as they had been not long ago.

As for me? I was secretly subjected to insults and accusations, as well as being ignored and ostracized. However, please allow me to emphasize: there was absolutely no bullying! There is absolutely no bullying at our school!

Everyone just dumped work on me without saying a word. Under these circumstances, it's truly admirable that they didn't give up on assigning me tasks—I'm referring to my superiors.

Without saying a word, I opened the Word document and started writing meeting minutes. Just then, a cheerful voice suddenly popped up above me.

"Wow, you work so hard!"

The executive committee started working seriously, which gave Yang Nai some free time. She probably came to visit me during a break from the orchestra practice, and patted my head as she did so.

"...As you can see."

Yang looked at the computer screen from behind me.

Um, I mean... you're a bit too close. I smell a strange fragrance. Are you wearing perfume? And I hope you won't come any closer...

"Hmm...it seems you haven't been working seriously."

Why do you think that way? I'm being super serious, okay?!

I gave Yang Nai a dead fish-like look, and Yang Nai pretended to be startled.

"Oh dear, aren't you happy? But this meeting record doesn't mention your contributions at all."

"..."

Seeing that I remained silent, she smiled brightly and asked:

"Come on, Hachiman, let me test you with a question: What kind of person is best able to unite a group?"

"A ruthless leader?"

"Here we go again~ You clearly know the correct answer~ Although I don't dislike this answer."

Yang Nai maintained a smile on her face, but her gaze turned cold.

"The correct answer is actually... an enemy with a clear objective."

I could read her true intentions from her slightly chilly smile.

It has been said in the past that "the highest leader who governs the people is the enemy."

It is important to note that this does not mean that an object that simply incites hostility can change everyone's attitude in an instant.

However, if the number increases to four or five, the number will increase rapidly using a rat-like counting method (Note 70: Edo-period mathematics, from Yoshida Mitsuyoshi's *Dust and Calamity Record*, a type of geometric sequence). As the number increases, the thinking speed will also gradually accelerate.

It is said that humans are empathetic beings; for example, if you see someone yawning, you might be infected and want to yawn too.

Among these shared feelings, fanaticism, delusion, and hatred are particularly easy to spread.

Multi-level marketing (Note 71: Compared to single-level marketing where profits are earned directly, multi-level marketing allows you to train other distributors (i.e., downlines) to earn additional commissions.) and proselytizing are based on the same principle.

Everyone wants to be like everyone else.

Therefore, all we need to do is imitate the doctrines and preaching methods to create an atmosphere where "working hard and relentlessly is the coolest thing to do."

Quantity determines the trend of the times.

Quantity determines public opinion.

Quantity determines the success or failure of a war.

Gathering a large enough number of people to create an atmosphere in which we have the best chance of winning is almost equivalent to victory. It is this "atmosphere" that drives the world. The key to victory or defeat lies not in a dictator with charismatic appeal, but in the absolute majority, or the conviction generated by the absolute majority.

Since that's the case, things will be much easier from now on.

By bringing out absolute losers like "Compared to Penguin @NotWorkingHard," public opinion will naturally tilt in the other direction.

People who are serious are the most handsome; those who aren't serious will look like penguins.

With such a label, people have no choice but to work hard, even if they don't want to.

"Hehe." Yang Nai chuckled softly, looking down at me. "Hmm... this kind of enemy seems a bit weak."

I want you to take care of it!

"However, everyone's in anniversary celebration mode now, all so excited. Is this really a good thing?"

"So I have even more work now."

Please stop bothering me"—this was the unspoken meaning in my words, but Yang Nai simply ignored it.