My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 264

As a result, Isshiki, looking rather unhappy, bent over and leaned forward to say to me:

"People often say I'm slow and a bit slow, so I'm very clear-headed~"

Oh no, this woman is not good.

Despite giving off a light and airy impression, she was actually a young girl in the prime of her youth, and she knew all too well what a high school girl should look like these days. Her skirt was shorter than knee-length, her makeup was light and natural, and the sleeves of her cream-colored cardigan slightly covered her wrists. The bow at the neckline was loosely tied, and the gaps revealed her collarbone.

Despite her gentle appearance, she acted as if she were quite familiar with Yui, who was a year older than her.

...This person is indeed very dangerous.

She is the kind of "high school girl" who is used to being in the spotlight and fulfilling the expectations people have of her. There is a sense that she deliberately reveals her composed personality and feminine gentleness, preventing others from seeing her inner world.

Based on past experience, this kind of person is very likely a landmine.

People who consider themselves straightforward and blunt, or who claim to have a sharp tongue, are actually just scumbags lacking in sensitivity. Similarly, those who eagerly introduce themselves and define themselves before anyone asks are, nine times out of ten, not good people. The same goes for those who consider themselves naive.

Since we're on the topic, I'll mention something else. Idiots who say things like, "I'm just a comedian," also fall into this category. These self-proclaimed comedians love to yell "Hey—" and tap someone on the head, or they're just having a simple conversation but constantly interrupt with "So~ then~" and a sly smile. Every time I see this, I feel nauseous. These self-proclaimed comedians inexplicably infuriate me. They also have another characteristic: a deeply ingrained misconception that "I'm super funny because I can prank others," but when they're the ones being pranked, they turn their backs on everyone. This last addition is arguably unnecessary.

In short, my impression of Isshiki Iroha is that she is both somewhat hypocritical and somewhat disgusting.

However, others didn't seem to have any issues with her. Oh well, maybe I'm just overreacting.

"...So, what's your question?"

Yukinoshita, who had been listening silently, loosened her crossed hands and slowly placed them on the table. She was probably losing patience, and her tone became somewhat agitated.

The senior student then realized that they hadn't gotten to the main point yet, and quickly added some details.

"Isshiki is running for student council president... but, how should I put it... I hope you can help her prevent her from being elected."

She was probably hesitant about how to express herself, her choice of words was somewhat ambiguous. "Iroha registered to run for student council president, but doesn't want to be elected"—I started to ponder the meaning of that sentence.

"Hmm... to put it simply, you want us to make her lose this election?"

Based on the existing facts, I naturally came to this conclusion. Senior Xun nodded in agreement. Yui, standing nearby, looked on with a head full of question marks.

"So... you actually don't want to be the student council president?"

"Ah, yes, that's right."

Isshiki felt less pressured talking to Yuihama because she knew her well. She answered casually, completely oblivious to the fact that she hadn't done anything wrong.

However, from an outsider's perspective, it's hard to agree with that statement. Regardless of the reasons behind it, it's certainly not the attitude a student council president candidate should have.

"...Then why even bother running for office?"

Faced with Yukinoshita's questioning, Isshiki was at a loss for words.

"Actually, I didn't register to run for office; someone else used my name..."

What? You wouldn't happen to be an idol from somewhere, would you?

As Yise got to this point, she suddenly became shy for some reason, and I couldn't help but stare at her with deadpan eyes. However, she didn't seem to care about my gaze, or perhaps she simply ignored my presence, poking her cheek as she pondered.

"Hmm... I wonder if it's because I attract attention? This kind of thing happens quite often. I'm also the manager of the soccer club, and I'm very close to Hayama-senpai and other upperclassmen. They probably think I'm very suitable to be the student council president because of my personality."

I don't quite understand what she's trying to say, but I'll try to understand it anyway. Something she just said has caught my attention.

"...Were you being bullied?"

"It wasn't exactly bullying, more like getting carried away—a few friends in my class teamed up to play a trick on me."

Isshiki raised her index finger to her chin, speaking as she pondered. Her slow, deliberate manner of speaking began to give me a headache.

What exactly is this person trying to express...?

"So, I think it'll be the same this time too~"

Oh, I see. I didn't understand at all.

Although I don't understand it at all, I can still roughly summarize it as, "I was always being teased, and before I knew it, I was the student council president." Aren't long, tedious titles out of fashion these days? Please, stop with this...

People are easily swayed by the clamor of the crowd, and without thinking things through, they can lead to unforeseen consequences. It seems that Isshiki has made the same mistake that only young people make.

anyway--

She is indeed the type of girl who is easily disliked by girls.

I am very clear about this.

She was gentle and mild-mannered, seemingly innocent yet secretly promiscuous. I met someone like that when I was in junior high. She manipulated boys like puppeteers; I even thought she was a juggler.

Even Kazama Musashi (Note 7 refers to the protagonist of the anime and manga series "Tsurishima Musashi") couldn't catch that many fish, so what kind of bait did she use?

Regardless of whether Isse caused trouble due to his overconfidence, the person who orchestrated it behind the scenes must have harbored considerable malice.

"But can a student register to run for office on behalf of someone else?"

Yuihama raised her hand slightly to ask a question. Hiratsuka-sensei crossed her arms and sighed.

"When submitting the application documents, it was not confirmed that it was the person in question."

"Waaah... It's all our election committee's fault for being so negligent..."

The senior student lowered her head and groaned in guilt. Incidentally, the "Election Commission" is, of course, an abbreviation for "Election Management Commission," and has no connection whatsoever with battleships like Mutsu, Nagato, and Kongo (Note 8: The original text for "Election Commission" is "选管," pronounced the same as "battleship").

Hiratsuka-sensei patted her on the shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do. Nobody would have expected someone to play a prank and impersonate someone else to register for the election. To say it was your fault is too harsh."

"We carefully checked the list of signatories..."

The senior student still hadn't recovered her spirits. There was an unfamiliar word in her sentence, so I asked her about it.

"List of signatories?"

"That's right, candidates must obtain a certain number of signatures. We have indeed verified this part."

Oh—so you need someone to sign your name before you can run for office.

Well, that's understandable. If some completely unpopular guy ran for office, everyone would just laugh at him. Besides, a large number of such guys would only create more trouble, so this initial hurdle needs to be set up.

Thinking this way, the number of signatures is data that the Election Commission will definitely check. Conversely, as long as the signature threshold is met, registration can be completed.

The current student council officers are all very ambitious, so they didn't expect that someone would impersonate a classmate to register in order to play a prank on them.

This society is terrifying precisely because it occasionally produces idiots beyond our imagination.

"However, they were really well prepared. If I remember correctly, the threshold for a petition was thirty signatures."

I wasn't the only one feeling a chill; Yukinoshita's voice was also somewhat low.

"So many? They're amazing..."

Yuihama said, half stunned and half terrified.

However, this is not surprising at all.

It's far easier to gather malice than goodwill, that's all. If those people feel that Isshiki is getting cocky and have a slight intention to "teach her a lesson," it's even easier. I think their attitude towards signing the register is as casual as clicking "retweet" on Twitter. This is like a malicious version of lazy activism (Note 9: Slacktivism, a portmanteau of laziness and activism, referring to social movements carried out in a way that requires no effort).

"I can't stand it, I really don't know what to say..." Hiratsuka-sensei also looked troubled.

"Of course, I'll handle those pranksters. Fortunately, all thirty names on the signatory list are real, which is a blessing in disguise."

"Write their real names on the roster? Are they idiots...?"

"Those people lack critical thinking skills and can't grasp the seriousness of the situation."

"Mr. Hiratsuka said with a wry smile."

Okay, that makes sense. Lately, I've been hearing a lot of stories about supermarket part-timers locking themselves in refrigerated lockers, or restaurant staff messing around in the back of the restaurant, happily taking pictures and uploading them to Twitter. Daring to publicize their stupid deeds online without even bothering to hide their real names or faces—isn't that practically announcing to the world, "Come and arrest me!"?

"Excuse me, is it not possible to disqualify Iroha from the election? Is there a way to withdraw from the election?"

Upon hearing Yuihama's question, Isshiki took a step forward and solemnly told her:

"Oh, our homeroom teacher was super excited and even generously supported me. I told him I wanted to withdraw from the election, but he encouraged me instead... However, just by looking at how no one in the class was willing to help with the campaign speeches, I could guess what the outcome would be... And don't you think getting the teacher's support is completely useless?"

Ah, I understand, I understand. It's like telling your boss you're quitting your part-time job. The boss will definitely activate "Shuzo Mode" (Note 10 refers to former Japanese tennis player Shuzo Matsuoka, widely known for his passionate and energetic image in online videos), using a passionate yet gentle approach to persuade you to "stay! Don't give up! Let's work hard together!" They'll strongly encourage you to stay, fearing that if you leave too, the staff will be on high alert. If you insist on quitting, the boss will become half-angry and turn to scold you: "How can you do this? If you can't even handle this much hardship, how will you survive in society?"

Finally, unable to resist your boss's insistence, you have no choice but to give up... (looking into the distance)

Hiratsuka-sensei scratched his cheek helplessly.

"I've also talked to Isshiki's mentor... but he's the kind of person who doesn't listen to others."

"Ah, I see..."

I nodded, indicating that I was somewhat aware of what was going on. Then, the teacher looked down at her feet, as if she couldn't take it anymore.

"He mentally crafted a touching story about 'a student insecure in class who, with the encouragement of his teacher and classmates, becomes the student council president,' and he recounted it to me in great detail..."

I get it now, so that's the kind of person they are... The most despicable people in the world are those who firmly believe that what they are doing is right.

"I was troubled for a long time, and finally decided to go back to the city to discuss it."

After the teacher finished speaking, Xun and Yise nodded together.

It seems that after learning about Isshiki's situation, Senior Xun racked her brains trying to figure out what to do. After further discussion with Professor Hiratsuka, she decided to bring the issue to the Service Club.

"Therefore, withdrawing from the race is not a viable option."

Even if she could withdraw from the competition, her mentor probably wouldn't accept it. And that's not all the problem; Xun nervously twirled her braid hanging down from her head with her fingers.

"Hmm...besides...how to withdraw from the race is also a problem..."

"Is that so..."

Just as I was wondering if there was some reason, Yukinoshita stroked her chin and slowly stated the conclusion she had reached.

"Is it because the election regulations do not include provisions for cancelling a candidacy?"

Upon hearing this, the senior student blinked several times in surprise.

"Yukinoshita-san, you know so much... That's right, there's no rule about withdrawing from the election..."

I see, that makes sense when you think about it. Under normal circumstances, people who run for student council positions are all very passionate and idealistic. The people who drafted the rules wouldn't have thought to prevent this situation from happening now, and wouldn't have specifically written the clauses. Xueji Encyclopedia is truly amazing; there's nothing she doesn't know.

"Ah, how about using the fact that Iroha is a first-year student and can't be the student council president as a reason?"

Yuihama raised her hand to offer her opinion, but Yukinoshita shook her head heavily.

"……no way."

"Huh? Why?"

Yuihama was puzzled by this, and the senior student smiled helplessly and told her the reason:

"Because the rules also don't specify a grade level, only second-year students are allowed to run for student council president..."

"In other words, the previous practice of having second-year students run for president was just an unwritten rule."

After Yukinoshita's explanation, Yui finally understood and looked troubled again.

Although this unspoken rule exists on campus, it is not sufficient to disqualify someone from running for election unless it is written down in black and white in the regulations.

Since we cannot exploit loopholes in the regulations to invalidate all candidates' eligibility, we can only seek other means during the election campaign.

"If you don't want to be student council president, just find a way to lose the election. To be honest, that's the only option we have left."

This is the most feasible method. No matter how much a candidate wants to be student council president, if they cannot get the highest number of votes, they will definitely not be elected. To put it simply, if you don't want to be student council president, losing the election is the most effective way.

Upon hearing this, Senior Sister Xun still lowered her gaze dejectedly.

"Hmm...but only Isshiki is running..."

Yukino helped her finish the sentence.

"In other words, this is a vote of confidence."

"Yes, so the outcome is almost certain..."

If there is only one candidate, a vote of confidence will be held. Unlike the majority vote used when there are multiple candidates, the ballot only has two options: "yes" and "no," allowing voters to indicate whether they want to hand over the student council president position to her.

In a vote of confidence, people usually don't think too much and simply circle "agree" on the ballot. Of course, there are always a few mischievous people who might deliberately circle "disagree." However, such people are only a minority. As long as the number of "agree" votes exceeds half, it means that the candidate is trusted and, unless something unexpected happens, is guaranteed to be elected.

That's true—

"Actually, there are still ways to lose..."

As soon as I voiced my thoughts, Isshiki immediately puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.

"Wait a minute~ If I lose the confidence vote, wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?! The confidence vote alone is already bad enough... and it's terribly embarrassing, I don't want to!"

Good heavens~ This person is so willful—it's precisely because of your personality that things have turned out this way, don't you have any self-awareness at all?

—That thought flashed through my mind. But thinking about it calmly, Isshiki was impersonated and registered as a candidate, so she can't be blamed. The current situation certainly stems from many past causes. But is it really reasonable for her to become student council president against her will, or for her to be hurt by the lack of a vote of confidence? Okay, I can understand her feelings. Being forced to compromise and swallow the unreasonable demands of a majority vote is itself unacceptable.