My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 202

I tried to avoid eye contact and not pay too much attention to the other person, conveying my meaning briefly. Yui listened with her head down the whole time. Her ears, covered by brown hair, were slightly tinged with crimson, probably because of the light filtering through.

As soon as I finished speaking, Yuihama looked up.

"I understand. Okay, I'll go get someone."

Yuihama stood up with her phone in one hand, left the meeting room, and went outside to make a call.

After watching the other person leave, I slumped my weary body deep into the chair.

× × ×

Soon after, the consultant arrived at the scene.

"Are they the consultants?"

Yukino glanced at the two figures standing in front of the door.

"Why were you called here?"

"Not drinking?"

The two who were dumbfounded were Ebina and... Zaimokuza.

Rather, it was the appearance of the "material-based" person that truly astonished me... Oh well, it doesn't matter. Since the other person is a material-based person anyway, it's best not to overthink it.

Ebina, with her usual surprised expression, struck up a conversation with Yuihama.

"Eh, Yui. Why was I called here?"

"There are some things I'd like to discuss."

"discuss?"

Ebi Meishou glanced around the conference room and tilted her head. Indeed, the sports meet operations committee had no connection to her. She probably couldn't even begin to guess why she'd been summoned.

"That's how it is..."

"The school sports meet holds a different grand finale event every year. However, we don't have any good ideas this year... so we'd like to ask Ebina for her opinion."

Before I began to explain, Yukinoshita had already organized all the key points and conveyed them to the other party.

"Anyway, I'm pretty free, so it doesn't matter... but why me?"

"Ah, it was recommended by the autistic guy."

When Yuihama answered, Ebina looked at me with great interest.

"It's Hachiman Hikigaya... Oh—"

Ebina exclaimed in surprise, staring at me with wide eyes.

"...Wasn't Wang Yin and the like quite popular during the school anniversary celebration? If you have any other unique ideas, I'd like to trouble you for help."

Actually, I admire Ebina's production abilities. Ebina excels at scriptwriting and directing; in other words, he's a producer who can turn one into ten. Furthermore, judging from his performance during the school festival, his planning and management are reliable. He even has a good relationship with Hayama's group, who are at the very top of the school's hierarchy.

In Soubu High School, you probably won't find a producer better than her.

"Hmph~ Since you're counting on me so much, then I'll give it my best."

Ebina chuckled lightly.

Seeing this, the woodworker next to him glared at Ebina with a sidelong glance.

"Hachiman! I can do it too! I'll try my best too!"

"Alright, alright."

The woodworker tugged at my sleeve and started talking to me, but because it was so annoying and disgusting, I just gave him a few perfunctory replies.

"Then I'll have to trouble you. Help me think of some events that could be highlights of the sports meet."

As soon as I finished speaking, Ebina pushed up his glasses.

"To be a highlight...does that mean a competition that generates buzz and creates excitement?"

"Yes, that's the simplest way to put it."

"As long as it generates buzz and creates a buzz, that's good, right... It's okay to create buzz in that area too, right?"

Ebina, who had been deep in thought, suddenly broke into a sinister grin before returning to his usual expression. "What...what kind of atmosphere are you trying to stir up...? Terrifying, so terrifying..."

I felt scared, and then I heard the sound of a fist being clenched and the palm facing out.

"Hmm, very reliable. Well then, I'll trouble you two to help me come up with ideas for the men's final competition."

After observing the situation closely, Senior Xun drew a conclusion, and Ebina and Zaimokuza nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll think about it~"

"Leave it to Yoshiteru~☆"

They both spoke at the same time, then turned to look at each other.

"Let's do our best together, um... Tsui... Tsui-mushi-kun?"

That's mostly right. However, Yoshiteru Zaimu seemed dissatisfied, his fists clenched and trembling.

"Ridiculous! I will win this proposal showdown! And, and don't call me a... a woodworm! You... you shrimp! (Note 29: In Japanese, "ebi" means shrimp.)"

After uttering a remark so offensive it sounded like something a primary school student would say, Cai Muzu ran away from the scene.

What's wrong with this guy? Has he suddenly developed a competitive spirit towards Ebina...? Probably some kind of pride that comes with being a typical otaku, preventing him from losing to a fujoshi (female fan of BL). Wow, he's really nonchalant.

"How did it suddenly turn into a duel...?"

Yukinoshita said in disbelief.

"Who knows? But competition policy should yield better results."

"Right."

As expected of Yukinoshita, with her black-and-white personality, I completely understand why she wants to settle things with a fight this time. So that's why you like Johnny the panda? That guy's black-and-white too.

Thus began the debate between the insects and the shrimp over their proposals...

Volume 6.5, Chapter 4: Yukino Yukinoshita Persists in Testing the Waters

Some time had passed since the declaration of war by Zicai Muzuo, and one day after school...

The meeting room of the sports meet operations committee was filled with an unusual atmosphere.

The moment of decisive battle has finally arrived.

To the east, there is Yi Hui, who is in charge of timber.

To the west, Ebina is named Hina.

A writer-aspiring otaku versus a high-performance yaoi fangirl—a nightmarish, dreamlike showdown has officially begun.

Having inadvertently thrust the two into the spotlight, we were preparing for the meeting. We lowered the projection screen at the front of the conference room, turned on the projector to warm it up, confirmed it was connected to the computer, and tested whether it could project correctly, before everyone went about their tasks.

Finally, after checking the laser pointer, Yukinoshita spoke to Senior Megure.

"Senior Cheng Hui, everything is ready here."

"Thanks."

After returning the smile, Senior Xun glanced at Sagami sitting next to her.

"Then let's begin... Sagami-kun?"

"Okay, yes, that's right..."

Sagami's voice trembled. From this meeting onward, Sagami would be in charge of chairing everything. Judging from her expression, it was less nervousness and more fear.

However, what Sagami fears is less the heavy responsibility of being the chairman and host, and more the energetic Ebina beside him.

"Well then, Himeko and... classmate, I'm counting on you..."

"Leave it to me!"

"Cough..."

Extremely excited and extremely nervous, the two stood up from their seats and moved to the projection screen. As soon as they faced each other, they exchanged cold smiles.

Finally, the debate over the proposals is about to begin...

Surprisingly, the first to attack was the wood-carrying seat.

Generally speaking, in this type of duel, the person who attacks first usually feels like they'll lose... Just look at those cooking comics, it's all like that.

"Cough cough."

Cai Muzuo stood in front of the screen and cleared his throat.

He nodded and bowed, then began operating the computer to project a PowerPoint presentation.

The abstract is titled "Sports Meet Competition Proposal," which is surprisingly formal. The font used looks like calligraphy, but there's nothing particularly special about it.

The phrase "simplicity is beauty" is often used as an excuse for cutting corners. I often say this myself.

With such a concise title, everyone held their breath, wondering what kind of proposal it could possibly contain.

The meeting room was completely silent, save for the occasional flutter of a mosquito's wings. Everyone sat upright, ready to listen to the proposal.

However, the timber stand remained silent for a long time.

"……,………….……………….…….…………Thanks."

The woodcutter sighed, then bowed again and turned to leave.

What? It's over?

Could it be that the mosquito-like sound just now was actually the woodworker talking?

"The inability to make a sound is due to excessive tension."

Yukinoshita calmly analyzed the situation.

Yes, that's true if you don't have experience... In reality, opportunities to speak in front of an audience are rare in campus life. The actual situation is that a presentation is also a chance to be ridiculed by the audience. And the audience is simply a group of people who can unconditionally criticize the person standing on the stage; that's just how the times are.

"An autistic man..."

I know what Yuihama is trying to say. They've already come to our aid, and even someone like Zaimokuza should be grateful. "To see what is right and not do it is cowardice"—the ancients were truly right.

"Me? Well, only I can do it..."

Sadly, I was the only one there who could communicate normally with the lumber carrier. It felt like I was supposed to be communicating with an ogre...

I sighed, got up from my seat, and struck up a conversation with the wooden seat that stood frozen like a statue.

"I'll help with the lumber base too. Let's start over."

Squeak...squeak...The wood stand made a sound like that of Katsuji (Note 30, a character from the manga "Barefoot Gen," who later became mentally unstable due to drug addiction). He turned his head and looked at me. Then, his stiff expression softened like melting snow.

"...Um, uh-huh. Is that so?"

The other party seemed relieved and gradually reverted to their original tone. It's infuriating...

I gave a slight bow and then began playing the slides.

"Here's the proposal: Chiba citizens versus mounted combat. Huh? What the heck is this?"

I unconsciously turned my head to look at the Zaimokuza. The resurrected Zaimokuza was facing me, making exaggerated gestures and speaking loudly.

"Chiba Citizens vs. Mounted Battle! In short—The Battle of a Thousand Horses!"

You should have just explained it to everyone from the beginning...

"And then, what exactly is this?"

"Ahem. Long ago, a war took place in the Chiba area between the Hojo clan and the Satomi clan. The Senba Tournament is an excellent competition that takes this historical element into account."

"Back then, the area around the school was probably all sea. And then, what were the rules?"

Facing the timber expert who was talking incessantly to me, I responded while pressing the ENTER key to switch to the next page of the presentation. Just then, the timber expert stopped what I was doing.

"Ah, no, wait, Hachiman! That's a bit embarrassing! That briefing page isn't even finished yet! It's only half done, it's just a scribble! Just a scribble! I haven't seriously finished it!"

While the other person was desperately trying to find an excuse, they grabbed my hand tightly, which resulted in me pressing the ENTER key instead.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

Accompanied by the pitiful scream of the timber frame, something resembling a composite image appeared on the projection screen. In an ordinary photograph of horseback riding and battle, a separately pieced-on armored warrior sat in the center of the image, the technique of which could only be described as crude. It looked like it had been edited by a novice artist; the quality was extremely poor.

Such a rough drawing was shown to everyone, and the lumber mill stalled again. I took this opportunity to continue explaining:

"The rules are to select multiple generals dressed in armor to role-play, and then determine the winner by the number of generals defeated. The rest is roughly the same as ordinary horseback battles. Compared to ordinary horseback battles, this rule is more strategic and can give the audience a visual impact... Hey, the rules are pretty good."