My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 253

For some reason, Yuihama stood up from her seat and answered with a smile:

"How about organizing events? Aren't there many intercollegiate clubs? I've heard they frequently organize events that attract a lot of participants."

She was very pleased with her idea and rattled it off in one breath. While understanding the rapid-fire delivery wasn't a problem, there was one unfamiliar word mixed in.

A question mark appeared above the snow.

"What...what did you say?"

At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.

"Is it short for Indian curry?"

Putting this word next to "CoCo Ichibanya" doesn't feel awkward at all. Hmm, I feel like a certain voice actor who likes curry would enjoy this topic.

Yuihama shook her head, denying our guess.

"No, it's just that... something word omission! Something like that."

She herself said she wasn't sure, but Yukinoshita knew perfectly well what was going on.

"I know what you're going to say. It's 'inter-university,' meaning exchanges between multiple universities."

As expected of Xueji Encyclopedia, it contains a large number of professional terms.

After Yukinoshita solved the mystery, Yuihama continued to explain with gestures.

"That's right, that's right. Some university clubs are made up of people from different schools. If they can't recruit enough members on campus, they'll hold a lot of events to attract people to participate. I heard they also often interact with high school students!"

Although she spoke so casually, I was nearly terrified after hearing what she said… What's going on? Are all college students like that? They're already having a blast themselves, and they're dragging high school students into it too… Ugh, this is horrifying! It seems inter-school clubs are a den of scumbags and promiscuous women (prejudice). Yui probably frequents those kinds of places quite often…

My face must be contorted with disgust right now, and I might even let out a groan of "Oh my God..."

Yui noticed my reaction and blushed as she hurriedly defended herself.

"I've never been to a place like that! I just heard about it from people at other schools!"

Even though Yuihama said that, I still couldn't believe it and stared at her with a skeptical look. Then, she secretly looked away and added in a voice barely audible:

"Besides, participating in those kinds of activities feels a bit scary..."

If you find it scary, you can choose not to participate. Besides, some people may have unnecessary worries when they hear about such activities.

After venting my disgust for inter-school clubs, I felt a little better. That said, if someone actually uses that method to recruit new members, it could certainly be a useful reference.

What kind of events will they organize?

Yui answered while recalling the events.

"Hmm... If it's a tennis club, we'll organize fun tennis matches, bowling tournaments, and barbecues together. Newcomers are welcome to join."

"Bowling competition...wait, what club did you just mention?"

"Tennis Club"

Why are they bowling when they're supposed to be a tennis club? Are they practicing wrist flicking specifically to hit a magic shot? Inter-school clubs are truly terrifying.

Yuihama left me aside and continued explaining.

"Therefore, we can also hold fun judo competitions, invite members of the judo club to participate, and have fun with everyone in the next round."

Want to have some fun? Oh, I see.

Since it's a fun, casual judo competition, boys might be more interested in participating. If the judo club members go easy on each other and play along, it won't give the impression of a significant skill gap between the participants. This might be an unexpectedly good solution.

At the same time, Yukinoshita also completed the mental simulation and nodded in agreement. However, she suddenly stopped halfway through her nod.

"Will the school approve this proposal...?"

She doesn't object to Yuihama's ideas themselves, but rather to the methods used. However, I don't think that's the problem.

"The school has very lenient regulations on club activities, so there's no reason to disagree."

Just look at this Service Club and you'll understand. Also, don't forget that inexplicable Game Club.

Moreover, there have been other legitimate clubs that have submitted activity applications and the school has readily agreed, such as the tea ceremony club, which often invites people from outside the club to attend their small tea parties.

Yukinoshita understood what I meant, but her expression remained unpleasant.

"Inviting everyone to participate in the event is indeed a solution... The problem is that people who come with a playful attitude will eventually leave the club."

“…Right.”

"What do you mean by 'that's right'...?"

Yuihama saw that I responded indifferently and didn't know how to react.

However, my answer was naturally calm, because it was expected. If even those who joined the club right after entering university want to quit, new members will be even more likely to quit. To avoid this situation, we must take preventative measures.

"Therefore, we must change the environment at the same time."

The meaning of this sentence is quite obvious, and Yukinoshita understands it as well.

"Make that senior disappear, right?"

I nodded to indicate "absolutely correct".

As long as the root cause of the problem isn't eradicated, the cycle will continue, and bad rumors may even spread. In that case, even fewer people will want to approach the judo club.

The answer was quite obvious, but Yuihama still had some concerns and looked troubled.

"But I don't think the judo club members, especially the president, are willing to help us..."

"Indeed, I can tell he really admires that senior."

"This isn't admiration; it's blind obedience."

What Shiroyama blindly followed was probably not the senior himself, but the hierarchical relationships and sense of camaraderie within the club. In his mind, it was perfectly natural for a senior to make unreasonable demands.

We've studied history and learned from countless true stories how difficult it is for a person to abandon their beliefs. Therefore, we'd better not expect Chengshan to offer any assistance. In fact, he showed no intention of driving that senior away.

"A way to make that senior disappear without the help of the judo club..."

Yukinoshita slowly closed her eyes, while Yuihama tilted her chair back and forth, staring at the ceiling in thought.

After a while, she returned to her original posture, raised her finger, and suggested:

"Go talk to other teachers or people on the education committee!"

"The school wouldn't want the problem to get out."

Our school is a college-preparatory high school, so the exposure of things like inappropriate guidance in club activities is a very serious matter. Even if we report it to the relevant authorities, the school might just go through the motions, conduct a cursory investigation, and then insist to the public that "nothing happened." In that case, the problem will be suppressed forever.

Yukinoshita frowned, thinking that this was not feasible.

"Well... the school will probably just give the advisor a verbal warning at most."

"The worst-case scenario is that the school believes the entire club has problems and suspends their activities."

Another possibility is that the problem isn't even being considered a problem. If the senior student's guidance methods are deemed within acceptable limits, it's tantamount to receiving impartial third-party certification. That would only have the opposite effect.

Participating in combat sports club activities inevitably carries the risk of injury. Whether instruction is conducted in a way that ensures the safety of members as much as possible is something we laypeople simply don't know the standards for judging, and our thoughts may differ slightly from those of the experts.

Therefore, it's best not to take this risky step.

"It seems the only solution is to persuade the senior to leave on his own..."

Aside from the uncertainties, this is the most ideal approach I can think of.

Yuihama and Yukinoshita still wore complicated expressions.

"However, he's unlikely to listen when we outsiders try to talk to him."

"Then we'll have to ask someone with more influence than the advisor and senior students to go along, provided we can find such a person."

Yukinoshita gave a helpless smile as she said this, while Yuihama gave a confused, bitter smile.

Although Yukinoshita's words contained a degree of self-deprecation, it was the only thing we could do.

"Okay, let's do it this way."

"what?"

Yuihama's eyes widened upon hearing this, and Yukinoshita took a step back, giving me a surprised look.

"Don't even mention friends, you don't even know anyone like that, where are you going to find someone like that?"

Do you realize that the first half of the sentence is redundant? Why did you have to go through such a long preamble? However, since what she said is true, I have nothing to refute.

I put my thoughts into words as I thought them through.

"I have the answer to that, and I'll show you right now. To be more precise, in order to achieve our goal, we need to hold events."

"Are you planning to invite people to the event? Have you finalized the list yet?"

Yuihama leaned closer and asked curiously. A mischievous smile crept across my face as I announced the conclusions I had drawn.

"The highest-ranking outsiders in the world are 'everyone'."

"oh……"

Yuihama responded with a sound of understanding that was somewhat ambiguous. Was it not so easy to understand after all?

Yukinoshita smiled understandingly.

"After all that mystification, it turns out they're not even people you know."

Yes, you're right. I'm the only one who knows the other person; they have no idea I exist.

× × ×

The next day, we immediately began planning the event.

The first step was to explain the plan to the judo club led by Shiroyama. This step was not difficult; they would easily understand if we simply explained that "holding a grand event to attract everyone's attention would help recruit new members."

However, we didn't mention the other plan we were secretly working on, since the club's opposition would be an obstacle; besides, whatever our views, we at least hoped that the senior would leave voluntarily. There's really no need to specifically explain this point.

The second step is to negotiate with the school.

We will open registration for the competition on campus, and the school will definitely be concerned. If the school suddenly intervenes halfway through, it will only spoil the fun, so informing us in advance can avoid all sorts of inconveniences later.

The initial contact was with the judo club's advisor. That being said, I wasn't the one in charge of the negotiations; the demonstration activity for recruiting new members was explained by Shiroyama.

Fortunately, this nominal consultant also noticed the recent member attrition issue and readily agreed to our plan, only requesting that safety be ensured. Regarding this, judo club members will be present throughout the activities, so there will be no problem.

The venue is not a problem either; we can simply use the martial arts arena in the gymnasium.

So far, things are going well, and all that's left is to recruit participants.

I also have to play in a match myself, so I need to gather a full team. However, more importantly, I need to recruit at least a minimum number of participants to ensure the competition can proceed smoothly.

In short, for now, Yukinoshita will produce event flyers, print several hundred copies and post them everywhere, and at the same time, the judo club will help distribute the flyers.

However, the effectiveness of this approach is quite limited. Orchestra clubs and tea ceremonies often produce billboards and flyers to promote their activities, but students generally don't participate very enthusiastically.

Nine times out of ten, these types of events rely on personal connections to get people to participate.

Since we're relying on connections, Yukinoshita and I are completely useless; the judo club's network isn't wide, so we can't expect any results; although Yuihama is still a hope, it's difficult to gather enough people to hold a competition by relying solely on her own connections.

Therefore, we must find a more efficient and effective way.

What is the most important factor in attracting people to participate in an event?

The answer is: the event lineup.

Normally, the content of the event is important, but this event is just a judo competition, and there's nothing particularly exciting about it. So, we need to shift everyone's attention to other events.

Fortunately, I know who the most influential person in our school is.

So, Yui and I went to negotiate with him—well, mainly Yui was in charge.

During lunch break, the classroom of Class 2-F was just as lively. With summer vacation just around the corner, everyone was bursting with excitement.

To achieve the dream lineup of "Hayama Hayato's lightning participation in the S1 Grand Prix (Sobu High School Judo Tournament)," I stayed in the classroom that day and didn't go outside. By the way, I came up with the name of the event myself.

A while ago, Hayama easily attracted a large audience just by participating in a hastily organized amateur tennis tournament. Given that, a well-announced match would naturally draw even more viewers. Therefore, Hayama is someone we absolutely must win over.

However, the person responsible for communicating with Hayama was not me, but Yuihama.

"Then, I'll go talk to him about it."

After I bought the bread and came back, I had a brief discussion with Yuihama, and she went back to her group in high spirits.

I sat back down in my seat, carefully observing the situation over there, listening intently as I enjoyed my lunch.

To prevent Yuihama from running out of things to say, I need to be prepared to provide covert support at any time. That said, providing covert support is actually quite difficult…

Once Yuihama arrived, they immediately got to the point.