My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 254

"By the way, do you guys know that the judo club is going to hold a competition?"

"oh……"

Miura munched on her bread, looking rather uninterested. Even if she wasn't interested, she would still at least respond; perhaps she was actually a nice person.

However, seeing Miura holding bread in one hand and playing on her phone with the other, I couldn't help but feel a chill for her, worried she might accidentally bite the phone. I suggest you don't get distracted by your phone while eating, especially since you're with others. Only loners can use their phones while eating!

Miura's attitude did not disappoint Yuihama, and she continued speaking.

"Doesn't it feel a lot like a battle to become the strongest student in school?"

"Yes, I saw the flyers too."

Hayama quickly chimed in, proving himself a man who knew how to listen, adapt to the conversation, and manage the atmosphere. Yuihama, seemingly waiting for this moment, immediately asked Hayama:

"Hayato-kun, you seem to really enjoy this kind of activity. Would you like to join?"

This invitation method is far too casual... I have absolutely no idea he would like that kind of activity...

"Huh? Me... do I look like that kind of person?"

See? I hit the nail on the head! You left him completely stunned. Hayama is a universally acknowledged sunny and cheerful boy, the complete opposite of judo.

Moreover, I'm not the only one who holds this view.

"Hahaha! That doesn't match at all! Hayato and judo don't go together at all!"

The Ministry of Revenue burst into laughter first, followed by Yamato and Ooka.

Seeing this, Yuhihama took action.

"Ah, Tobe, do you want to participate too? You seem pretty good, although I don't know how good you really are. This is a three-person team competition, you can team up with Hayato."

"Eh... um... actually I'm a little..."

Hmm, is Yui planning to surround Hayama from the outside? So her abruptly starting the conversation wasn't unplanned, but rather a way to set up a trap for Tobe… I guess that's it, but maybe not. I have a feeling that she didn't really think things through before saying those words.

I couldn't tell how much of Yuihama's words were pre-planned. At that moment, another, even more enigmatic person suddenly trembled.

"...Attack together? Judo... is excellent!"

Ebina seemed to be processing the words she had just heard, taking several beats to react.

Here, take it.

Miura tossed her a pack of tissues in case Ebina suddenly had a nosebleed. Ebina thanked him and accepted it, pulling out a tissue to press against her nose before excitedly saying:

"Great! Judo is amazing!"

"Hmm...actually, I'm a little...a little confident..."

Ebina gave a thumbs-up, and for some reason, the Ministry of Revenue immediately changed its attitude, now offering positive affirmation. The tone of that sentence was slightly different from the previous one; Japanese is truly difficult…

"So the boys get tangled up together, resulting in a falling-back motion? Who! Who's falling back? Is it the penguin?"

Please don't look at me... I felt a sharp gaze and quickly turned my head away.

The group continued discussing whether to participate or not. I cautiously glanced back and saw Hubu, who was getting excited, patting Yeshan on the back.

"Hayato, you should join too!"

"Hmm... we don't usually have that opportunity..."

Under the repeated encouragement of Yuihama and Tobe, Hayama felt embarrassed to refuse any longer and his attitude gradually softened.

This is the fate of those who possess the "Saint's Domain"—once a trend takes shape, they cannot act against the expectations of the masses.

Then, Miura added the finishing touch.

"If Hayato participates, I'll go watch."

Even those who had previously shown no interest were saying this, so Hayama finally made up his mind.

"Then, let's go!"

He laughed heartily.

Okay, goal achieved. Now, spread the word about Hayama's participation, and we can attract a large audience. If the event expands as a result, it might even encourage more people to sign up.

"Let's join too."

"Um."

After Hayama nodded, a chain reaction ensued, with Yamato and Ooka also deciding to join.

Basically, boys like martial arts.

That doesn't seem quite right. It should be said that most boys are interested in martial arts, and everyone has certainly aspired to the title of "strongest".

Therefore, given the right opportunity, it's not hard to evoke everyone's memories from back then.

All four members of the Hayama Group have confirmed their participation in the competition, and Miura has also indicated that he will be there to watch. For Soubu High School, this lineup is already quite impressive.

At that moment, Ye Shan suddenly thought of something and murmured to himself:

"However, the competition is in groups of three..."

He suddenly stood up and strode away. My gaze involuntarily followed him, wondering where he was going... Wait, why is he walking towards me? Is he looking for someone nearby?

In the few seconds it took to think, Hayama had already walked up to me.

He stopped, smiled, revealing his white teeth, and asked:

"Want to team up with me for the penguin competition?"

Does this guy even know what he's saying...?

Although I understood what he meant, I couldn't figure out his intention. However, since he had extended the invitation, I had to give an appropriate response.

"Uh, no need. Look at me, it would be really difficult for me to participate in a competition."

Regardless of the consequences, refuse first—that's the correct etiquette.

However, Ye Shan did not give up. He continued to persuade me with a smile.

"Well... but those three people from the Ministry of Revenue formed their own team, and I was kicked out."

"Huh? I see. Hmm..."

Under Hayama's direct gaze, I gave a noncommittal answer. Seeing my reaction, he shrugged and said:

"So, what do you think? You're the one who suggested I do that."

Oh, I see. He's trying to convince me by bringing up his recent workplace internship, right?

At the time, I did suggest separating Hayama from the other three. If the same procedure is followed in this competition, Hayama won't be in the same group as them. Therefore, the responsibility of helping to gather enough participants naturally falls on me again.

At this point, I only had one option left: to agree. If Hayama had to withdraw from the competition because we couldn't gather enough participants, it would cause even greater losses.

"...However, we're still missing one person."

I'm using this method to indicate my agreement. Hearing this, Ye Shan smiled smugly and said:

"Then, could you please find someone else?"

"Come on, I don't have any friends I can ask out to."

No matter how I looked at it, it would definitely be much faster for Hayama to find someone else. I hinted to Hayama, "Go find someone yourself," but he easily dodged the suggestion.

"There is clearly 'him' there."

"Him"? Who could "he" be... Ah! I know, it's Totsuka, right!

"Ah, right..."

I suddenly realized what was going on and blurted out something.

"Hmm, Zaimokuza seems very capable; having him would be a good fit."

Huh? So you meant him...

Since Hayama personally requested it, I had no choice but to obediently invite Zaimokuza to participate. Hayama is key to completing this request, and to get him to participate willingly, we have to try our best to meet his demands. It's truly a last resort…

I slumped my shoulders in despair. Hayama took this as a nod and nodded at me.

"Well then, please!"

After he finished speaking, he returned to his seat.

Although I'm despairing about competing alongside Zaimokuza, from the Service Club's perspective, it's a good opportunity. I originally only saw Hayama as a figurehead to attract viewers, but if he can become a fighting force, it would be a good thing for us.

The plan is taking shape; the next step is to see how thoroughly it can be executed and whether the big gamble on the day of the event will succeed or fail.

× × ×

At first glance, this judo competition seemed like just a casual pastime, but it attracted far more participants and spectators than we expected.

This was just before the start of summer vacation, which might be one of the reasons.

For the next month, everyone will be temporarily away from campus life. Today's moderately sized entertainment event serves as the final climax.

The judo arena itself is not a large space, so many people stand outside to watch, creating the illusion of a huge crowd.

Shiroyama, who was waiting near the head of the table, surveyed the entire audience. Although he wasn't one to easily show his emotions, I could still see the myriad feelings swirling within him.

"I never expected so many people to come. Thank you so much, you've been a great help."

It's pointless to express gratitude now, because no problems have been resolved yet.

The real show is just beginning, and I don't think he'll be able to thank me after seeing what I did.

Therefore, I changed the subject.

"By the way, is my senior coming today?"

"Yes, I invited him as you said, he should be here soon."

It would be great if he could really come. The only thing we can't control is that senior student; we can only ask Shiroyama to invite him. This uncertainty is what we're most worried about.

Thanks to Shiroyama's help in coordinating, my senior agreed to come and watch from the start of the event. I wonder how he will react then; I have no idea what his opinion is on recreational judo.

"Did he say anything about the match?"

"...No. But he wasn't particularly angry either."

Shiroyama recalled his conversation with his senior and carefully answered each word after confirming the details. It seemed that the other party did not hold a negative attitude.

After all, he came back specifically to guide the club after graduating from this school. I was worried that he might prefer closed organizations, but fortunately, the actual situation was not that serious.

However, today's competition also serves the purpose of recruiting new members, so he might turn a blind eye to it.

"Okay, that's good. You guys need to make sure your seniors see that you're working hard to keep the club going."

"……yes."

Shiroyama seemed a little embarrassed, but because of his potato-shaped face, I couldn't tell what he actually felt.

"Anyway, I hope today's competition will be a great success. Let's talk again later."

I bid farewell to Shiroyama for the time being and headed towards the entrance.

There was a long table set up for participating teams to register, and Yuihama was sitting at the reception desk, lost in thought.

Yukinoshita stood behind her, writing the schedule on a model of paper.

There are a total of eight participating teams.

Besides my group, Hayama's group, Zaimokuza's group, and the group consisting of the judo club, the other six groups were selected according to the order of registration. After all, if there were too many teams, not only would we not be able to process them all, but the competition would also become too long.

Just as "happy times always pass too quickly," shortening the competition time can increase the intensity of activities, making everyone feel happier. This is the effect of doing the opposite.

Besides, think about it, if the atmosphere unfortunately gets extremely awkward, wouldn't it be better to finish the game quickly and call it a day?

"It's about time to begin."

Yuihama, who was passing the time by playing on her phone, looked up and replied when I said that:

"Yeah, everyone will probably come along once Hayato arrives."

Hayama did say he would temporarily leave the soccer club's practice session once the match started. However, since I'm on the same team, there's no need to worry about registration. I'll register for the Hobe team first; we just need to wait for them to arrive for the match.

Next, I glanced at the schedule.

Yukino filled in the forms with the teams that had registered. My group and the judo club group were on opposite ends of the table, so we wouldn't face each other before the finals.

"Hikigaya-san."

Yukino noticed me and spoke to me directly without turning around.