My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 283

"Komachi has been listening to all this pointless talk for years, and it hasn't been for nothing."

I told Komachi to stop daydreaming, but she retorted without backing down, even poking my cheek with her finger.

"There's still a chance even if you start now! You know that!"

"Oh, yes..."

Komachi nodded in satisfaction after hearing my obedient answer, removing her finger from my cheek. Then, with a slightly forlorn expression, she spoke:

"...It's not just about my brother, it also concerns Komachi's future. Komachi really likes Yukino and Yui, so she doesn't want that club to disappear. If the club disappears, I feel like everyone's feelings will grow weaker and weaker."

Seeing each other every day doesn't necessarily mean a good relationship; however, if close friends no longer see each other often, their feelings will definitely fade. Human emotions cannot be simply explained by proportion or inverse proportion.

Komachi continued to lean on my shoulder, making a pleading request in a coquettish voice:

"So, is there anything we can do for Komachi and her friends?"

"...Since it's my sister's request, there's nothing I can do about it."

He'd do anything for his sister, even go to great lengths. I'm such an amazing older brother.

This is the answer Komachi found for me.

If it weren't for what she said today, I probably wouldn't have been motivated.

Actually, I've been searching for a reason.

I convinced myself to protect that place, and the reason for that period of time.

I mumbled a promise to Komachi. She chuckled softly and said in a flat tone:

"Yeah, it's all because of Komachi~ There's nothing we can do about it~ Who told Komachi to be so willful~"

Really?

I haphazardly patted Komachi's head a few times, and Komachi screamed in response, shaking her head back and forth in coordination with my touch.

Thanks.

"You're welcome~"

Komachi accepted my thanks with a smug look on her face. I then let go of her head and glanced at the clock.

"It's so late, it's about time to go to sleep."

"Okay. Goodnight then."

"Good night."

Komachi stood up and went back to her room.

I watched her leave, then leaned back on the sofa.

There are now clear questions and reasons.

But I still don't understand the true meaning behind Yukino, so I can't say anything right now.

Furthermore, while I understand Yuihama's approach, I still cannot accept it because it is too similar to my own.

My past actions were absolutely not a sacrifice, nor were they wrong.

Achieve maximum efficiency with the fewest cards, maximize value, and actually get results.

From my subjective perspective, this can be considered the perfect approach.

However, once an objective perspective emerges, this perfect approach will instantly crumble.

To those who pity or sympathize with me, my actions resembled stale self-indulgence. Pity and sympathy amount to belittling the other person, while self-pity amounts to despising oneself. Both are ugly behaviors and must be condemned.

However, there may be other forms of objectivity besides pity and sympathy.

I only realized this when I saw it with my own eyes.

She simply didn't want me to get hurt again.

This feeling is different from pity or sympathy.

Therefore, I would never call her actions a sacrifice, nor would I allow anyone to say so.

In order to prevent Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama from becoming student council presidents—

What can Hachiman Hikigaya do?

× × ×

The day after making up with Komachi.

I started thinking about what I could do early in the morning.

I thought about it for ages, but it felt like there wasn't anything I could do. I was really scared. Wait, that's strange... last night I felt like I could do anything...

Thinking about it carefully, given my current situation, I didn't have many choices to begin with.

Let's say I decide to run for student council president to compete with them. Then what? I won't even have enough signatures to reach the required threshold, I won't even be eligible to register.

Furthermore, assuming I were to interfere with their campaign, what impact could one person possibly have? Besides, sending smear campaign letters and making hate speech are not the right approaches. My purpose is not to smear or denigrate them.

I only have two options, and one of them is to disrupt the opponent... There's a frighteningly small amount of work I can do.

Student council elections are based on numbers; the side with the majority wins by a landslide. This kind of activity is just too much to my liking.

However, this is also my own fault. I have no one to ask for help from, and in the past, I have neglected to build relationships that allow others to tolerate me causing trouble.

The past self causes the present self to suffer, and the present self is probably the one who will cause the future self to suffer.

After arriving at school, I racked my brains, trying to think of a solution. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't come up with a feasible one. And yet, I finally had a purpose for taking action…

After lunch break, there was still no good news. Today is Tuesday, and election day is next Thursday; time is running out.

Although there's still more than a week to go, my only available fighting force is myself. And don't forget, I haven't figured out any way to contend with Yukinoshita and the others.

Even with extraordinary abilities, I don't think I can accomplish the task of preventing Isshiki Makoto from being elected, nor can I allow Yukinoshita and Yuigahama to be elected student council president.

The only possible solution is to find someone else to run. However, I myself am already voting against it.

Or should we postpone the election again, or simply abolish the student council election mechanism altogether?

But I had no idea what to do and was completely at a loss.

However, I cannot do nothing because of this.

I decided to go to the library to find something I could do alone.

The library is very quiet during lunch break.

Eating and drinking are prohibited here, and it's quite a distance from the classrooms, so people don't usually come here at lunchtime. It's only around the time of the midterm exams that crowds form here.

I scanned the bookshelves, searching for books that might contain information about the history of Citizen and Soubu High School, as well as a summary of the student council elections.

If we want to win the election against Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, we will definitely have to present comparable political views and speeches. If I happen to have a flash of inspiration while researching and come up with a good idea, that would be good luck; if I discover any loopholes, that would be even more of a stroke of luck.

However, as I wandered back and forth between different bookshelves, pulling out any books that seemed potentially useful, all my hopes were dashed.

As I stretched out my arm to reach the top shelf, a book slid down.

"Wow!"

I reflexively turned my head away, but the heavy book still hit my chest. I couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, causing saliva to accidentally flow into my trachea, making me cough repeatedly.

The ordeal wasn't over yet. After that thick book fell, the book next to it lost its support and toppled over with a "thud," hitting the book next to it. A whole row of thin books fell to the ground like dominoes.

The once quiet library was suddenly filled with my coughing and the sound of books falling to the ground, drawing glares from the few students present. Fine, fine, I understand how you feel. After all, I give the same look when I encounter such noisy idiots in the library.

I could barely suppress my cough and quickly put the books back in their place.

Several books lay scattered at my feet, and the books on the shelf had also fallen over.

Ugh... Ugh... I can't take it anymore, what am I supposed to do?!

I exhaled deeply through my nose and squatted down to pick up the book. Just then, a piercing laugh rang out behind me.

"Hahaha! Look at you, how pathetic!"

I didn't even need to turn around to know that the person standing behind me was Yoshiteru Zaimokuza.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm always this miserable. What do you want from me?"

"Dumb question. I usually spend my lunch break here. I ran into you here today, so I thought I'd come and hang out!"

Ugh, this person is driving me crazy! I only exchanged two sentences with him and I already feel completely exhausted. Not only am I curled up, but my shoulders are also drooping limply.

Noticing my reaction, the wood carrier suddenly squatted down and looked at me.

"...Hmm? Hachiman, what's wrong...? Is something bothering you?"

"...No, it's just a small matter."

There's no point in talking about this with outsiders. But Zai Mu Zuo wouldn't give up, adjusting his glasses and saying:

Tell me about it.

"No need. This is not something worth talking about."

"Please~ Think about how much nonsense you've listened to me spout, and now it's my turn to listen to your nonsense, is that too much to ask? Heh. It's so cool of me to lend a helping hand to the weak."

He was lost in his own world again. And what's with all this talk about the weak... You wouldn't happen to be the type whose life's ambition is to take care of a sick, frail girl, would you? I kind of understand.

Well, regardless of what Timber's intentions are, I really didn't expect him to say something like that. Thinking about it, I couldn't help but smile.

"...Only the first half is cool. Tell me, whose line did you copy?"

The timber stand smiled smugly.

"Myself."

"Idiot. Stop saying things like that, trying to look cool for no reason."

I feel both admiration and helplessness towards him.

That said, Zaimuzusa... although until a minute ago I had completely forgotten about him, this person might be someone I could rely on.

There is indeed hope...

That's right. No matter how much trouble I cause Zaimokuza, I won't feel bad, and I don't need to worry about whether he'll get hurt, because he himself is the biggest fatal flaw. He's an incurable living example. In some ways, Zaimokuza is the human closest to me.

This guy is completely unreliable, but I can trust his ability to mess things up no matter the atmosphere. And don't forget, he's my forever PE class partner. Although, even together, we're a hopeless combination.

"...Zaimuzusa, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Okay, sure. What do you want me to do?"

I was surprised that Timber agreed without hesitation. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about what I wanted him to do.

"Hmm... First, help me clean this place up."

"Oh, oh... I shouldn't have agreed to that..."

The woodcutter was probably expecting some amazing development, but instead he heard this request. He immediately reverted to his original state, muttering to himself as he obediently began tidying the bookshelf.

I'm sorry, but I really can't bear to tell you that things will never go the way you want. The outcome will probably be disastrous. Actually, it's quite obvious without even thinking about it; I'm destined to act alongside Zaimokuza.

× × ×

I first gave Zai Muza a brief explanation of the student council election, and then left the specific details for after school.

I spent the entire afternoon in class thinking about how to best utilize the current situation and the "timber stand" (a strategic piece in the game). However, whether it's regrettable or not surprising, this piece doesn't seem to be of much use. What can we, and he, possibly do...?

When school was over, I still hadn't come up with a solution. But I had already arranged to meet with Zaimokuza, and I couldn't just break my promise. My personality is really terrible; I was the one who asked him for help, and then I started complaining about how troublesome it was.

After the class meeting, the students left the classroom one by one, preparing to participate in club activities, go home, or go out for fun. Everyone went to different places.

One group of people remained seated; some had blonde hair, some had brown hair, and some had black hair. The colorful combination naturally attracted attention.

Yuihama scratched her slightly pinkish-brown hair and pondered, looking troubled.

"Mmmmmmmmmm~~"

The mechanical pencil in her hand hadn't been touched at all.

Sitting next to him, Miura, who was fiddling with his long, golden curly hair, suddenly spoke up:

"Oh! How about we allow students to wear casual clothes to school?"

"Great idea!"

Yuihama excitedly pointed at Miura and hurriedly wrote the idea down on a piece of paper. But soon, her hand stopped, and she continued to ponder.

Across from him, Ebina combed his short black hair with his hand and suggested: