My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

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Postscript to Volume 7.5

Hello everyone, I'm Watari.

The world is already in full summer break. Where exactly will my summer break be?

So, summer vacation is supposed to be a wonderful season for creating many memories. But when we look back on it as adults, we find that the memories are not necessarily about any special activities. Instead, the unchanging scenes of daily life remain in our memories.

That must be because the so-called daily life is just what people feel that way after it's been labeled as "daily life." Perhaps it's because the daily life is something even more wonderful for the person living in it.

For example, rumors about love, interpersonal relationships, or how delicious the food was today. To outsiders, these are just trivial matters, simply part of the natural life. But for the person in question, they can be a major turning point that changes their life. Such things happen frequently.

That's the feeling behind this collection of short stories.

So, speaking of the everyday and the extraordinary, the extraordinary has recently become my daily routine. Living like this, what is this protagonist from which light novel? However, I haven't encountered him yet.

The following is an acknowledgment.

Punkan8 God-sama. Hey? Why does Miura look like the female lead to me? The cover featuring Miura, which I requested, is so cute it scared me! This is the best one yet! Thank you for your hard work. Thank you so much for your help.

Dear editor Hoshino-sama, you were not only the editor for this work, but also a great help with MediaMix. Keep going, march into hell! Keep advancing, parade into hell! Well then, thank you for your hard work. Thank you very much for your help.

To the animation staff, and everyone involved in the casting and MediaMix teams, thanks to you all, the anime successfully concluded its run. While I apologize for the inconvenience caused, I want to express my sincere gratitude in this way. Thank you.

Next, dear readers. I am truly grateful to everyone who has shown such strong support for this work, including for the Mediamix TV anime. I am incredibly happy to see the various works that have emerged as a result of your support. I will continue to accumulate them one by one from now on. I hope you will continue to be with me from this day forward.

I seem to have almost reached the word limit of the paper. So please allow me to put down my pen here.

See you again in Volume 8!

Written late at night in Chiba Prefecture on a certain day in July, while I was preparing to go buy MAX coffee.

Travel

Illustrations for Volume 7.5

Volume 8, Chapter 1: Needless to say, this is precisely where Komachi Hikigaya's Achilles' heel lies.

The Taiwanese version is from the Kingdom of Light

Scanned image: Ren Leipi

Input by: Ren Leipi

First proofreading: Ren Leipi

Photo editing: A-Chuan

if--

I mean, if—

If we could go back to the last save point like in a game and make choices again, would our lives be completely different?

the answer is negative.

That's the path only those with choices can take. For those who have no choice from the start, this assumption is meaningless.

Therefore, I will not regret it.

To be more precise, I regret almost everything I've done in my life so far.

After all, once something happens, saying anything afterward is superfluous.

Regret about "what ifs" will only lead to endless suffering; even if you say it, you can't change the facts. The moment a decision is made, there's no going back.

Whether it's "what if," parallel universes, or time loops, none of them exist. Ultimately, life's script is just a single, linear path. Discussing "possibilities" is itself an empty concept.

I am well aware that my life is full of mistakes. But the world is even more absurdly wrong.

Look at what this world has become. From war, poverty, and discrimination, to participating in company recruitment drives only to fail to secure a pre-selected job, or having to make up the shortfall with one's own money when working... people have long since become accustomed to these things.

How can such a world be considered correct? Correctness in a flawed world is definitely not true correctness.

In that case, the wrong attitude might actually be the right one.

If you know perfectly well that you are destined to lose it, what is the point of trying every means to prolong its existence?

We will eventually lose everything we have. This is an unchanging truth.

despite this--

Its beauty is revealed only because it will eventually be lost.

It is only because there is an end that things become meaningful. Whether it is stagnation, blockage, or even temporary peace, none of these are things we can ignore or willingly endure.

Everything has a moment of loss. Always remember this.

To recall something lost unexpectedly, and to cherish it as if it were a treasure, to drink that memory down along with the wine in your glass—that must be a kind of happiness.

× × ×

Annoying dry morning.

The sky was clear and cloudless, and gusts of cold wind made the windows vibrate rhythmically. Staying in a warm room only made one want to take a nap.

I absolutely hate mornings like this.

After the graduation trip ended and a weekend passed, Monday arrived again.

Every Monday, I am deeply mired in a heavy mood of depression. I slowly propped myself up, my body half-dead, and barely managed to drag myself to the bathroom.

I stood in front of the sink, staring at the mirror with sleepy eyes. The person reflected there was still someone all too familiar.

...Well, it's the same as usual.

To be honest, it's exactly the same as usual. The similarity is frighteningly high.

From not wanting to go to school at all and only wanting to sleep all day, to having the urge to go home before even stepping out of the house, it's all the same old me.

The only difference was that the water for washing my face seemed a bit colder than usual.

Autumn is gone, and winter is already lingering at the door. November is coming to an end, and only one month and a few days remain in the year.

To avoid rush hour, my parents leave for work very early. Every year at this time of year, if they leave just a few minutes late, the roads become even more congested. It seems that wanting to stay in bed until late in winter, unable to get out of bed, is truly an adult's nature, and it doesn't change with age.

Even so, they still have no choice but to go to work.

Of course, some people act out of genuine initiative. However, many others do so because society demands it, everyone is doing it, and they don't want to be left behind by societal trends.

In short, people act in order to gain something and not lose something.

Even by conservative standards, the face reflected in the mirror was still quite handsome, above average. However, those super-high-level dead fish eyes (Note 1: "super-high-level ○○" is a setting from the game "Danganronpa: Hope and Despair") were also beyond the reach of ordinary people.

This is me, Hachiman Hikigaya.

I felt exactly the same as before, which was great—I left the bathroom and walked into the living room.

Upon entering the living room, I saw my younger sister, Komachi, standing in the kitchen waiting for the water to boil.

Our parents had already eaten breakfast, so our food was already taken care of. Now we just had to wait for Komachi to brew the tea, and everything would be ready.

Just as I pulled out the chair, the kettle began to boil. Komachi poured boiling water into the teapot and then looked up at me.

"Ah, good morning, brother."

"Well, good morning."

Komachi looked slightly surprised when she heard my answer.

"Hmm... I feel like my brother is unusually clear-headed today."

After she mentioned it, I couldn't help but wonder, am I really that listless in the mornings? Well, it's obvious I'm terrible in the mornings. Although it's not quite to the point of low blood pressure, my energy is definitely quite low. So, what Komachi said is absolutely right. Today I am indeed very awake.

"...Yeah, because the water I used to wash my face was especially cold today."

I made up a reason on the spot, but Komachi still looked puzzled.

"Hmm... but Komachi thinks the water temperature is the same as usual today."

"Don't you feel the sudden chill? Never mind that, hurry up and finish your breakfast so you can go to school."

"Ah, um."

Komachi, shuffling through her slippers, brought over the tea with a clattering sound. It seemed the Hikigaya family had opted for tea brewed in a teapot; Ayaka had lost this time. (Note 2: This is from an advertisement for the Japanese canned green tea brand "Ayaka," which claims its green tea tastes just as good as tea brewed in a teapot.)

After she took her seat, we put our hands together and whispered, "Let's eat."

In winter, hot white rice and miso soup are frequent guests on the Hikigaya family's breakfast table. The intention behind preparing these dishes is surely to keep us warm before heading off to school. That's a mother's love.

My tongue is sensitive to heat, so I blew on the miso soup to cool it down before drinking it. I looked up at the other side and saw Komachi blowing on her bowl as well.

She noticed my gaze, gently put down the bowl in her hand, and slowly began to speak.

"……elder brother."

"Um?"

I gave a brief reply, urging her to continue with my gaze. So, she tentatively asked:

"Has something happened?"

"I have nothing... My life so far has been a complete blank, utterly empty. As the saying goes, 'a loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise,' and logically speaking, experiencing a little bit of trouble might actually make things go more smoothly. For example, if you get a chronic illness, frequent hospital visits might actually make you healthier. So, in a sense, a life with nothing might actually be a life full of turbulent waves."

I rattled off this long string of words in one breath, and Komachi blinked repeatedly as she listened.

"Brother, what happened?"

That's too direct.

Komachi pressed him directly. I admit that what I just said was all nonsense, but why didn't you just pick a random spot to complain about and shift the focus?

My brother racked his brains to squeeze out those nonsense words...

It was Monday after all; no wonder I'd been feeling something was off.

No... there really is nothing.

I picked up a fried egg and put it in my mouth. Speaking of fried eggs, are they considered Japanese or Western?

"Hmm—" Komachi murmured after hearing my answer, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Then, she pushed the soup pot slightly to the side and leaned out to stare at my face.

"Brother, do you know?"

"What? Are you Shiba Inu (Note 3: The original text is "Mameshiba". A character created by Dentsu Japan, who appears unexpectedly and starts with 'Did you know?' to say some jarring trivia)?"

If it's not Komachi, could it be Hakoiri Reko? After all, Komachi is the apple of her family's eye (Note 4: Hakoiri Reko is an advertising character created by the portal site DOGATCH. "Pearl of the family" is "箱入り娘," which is similar to Hakoiri Reko). No, it's breakfast time now, so it could also be a food monster. It can't possibly be that chubby panda from the same company (Note 5: Food monster is "ごはんかいじゅうパップ," and chubby panda is "パンダのたぷたぷ," both being anime broadcast on TOKYO MX). Komachi doesn't look chubby at all. And it's all because Komachi leaned in so close that I started to think she really should have more breasts... No, I guess I should just forget it. She's already super cute as she is.

I reached this conclusion on my own, and Komachi sighed softly.

"Although my brother usually likes to say a lot of pointless things, it gets even worse when he's not feeling well..."

"Oh, I see..."

Komachi was still the same as always, her scoring criteria were extremely strict. When she said what I said was pointless, I couldn't refute her; after all, all I could say was pointless stuff. Speaking of which, Komachi actually knew how to analyze me from subtle words and actions—was she a psychological investigator? And what's with that criminal profiling thing?

"Yes or no……"

Komachi stuck her chopsticks into the salad, remained silent for a long while, hesitating whether to continue. The cherry tomatoes in the plate rolled around.

Perhaps because we are siblings, or perhaps because we are thinking about the same thing, I can deduce something about what Komachi is thinking.

Finally, she put down her chopsticks and peered at my expression.

"...What happened with Yui-neechan and Yukino-neechan?"

As I listened, I silently put the food into my mouth. My parents had taught us not to talk while eating. I swallowed the food, then drank a mouthful of miso soup, washing away all my emotions.

"...Did they say anything to you?"

"no."

Komachi slowly shook her head.

"My brother should also know very well that they won't deliberately say these things out loud."

That makes a lot of sense, so I have nothing to say.

Although Yukinoshita and Yuihama are both quite talkative about trivial matters, they wouldn't suddenly say anything to someone else's younger sister.

"That's just what Komachi thinks."

She then peered at my reaction.

We spend so much time together, so it's inevitable that we'll notice things, whether they're good or bad.