My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 286

"Then what are you hesitating for, brother?"

"But a commission is a commission..."

After she finished speaking, Komachi pinched my face between her hands.

"Which is more important, your job or Komachi?"

"Of course it's you, I don't want to work at all."

I waved her hand away and answered her with the utmost sincerity, expressing my love for my sister.

"Use elimination..."

Totsuka was quite taken aback by our conversation, a complex smile spreading across his face. Ah, if it were Totsuka, I would definitely answer him unconditionally.

Komachi hadn't completely stopped staring at me, but at least a smile appeared on her lips.

"Although it's not something to be happy about at all... well, never mind. So what does my brother plan to do?"

"I know what you're trying to say. But I won't force Isshiki to be the student council president."

This is true sacrifice. I will not allow this to happen. Even if there are reasons, they are only my own and have nothing to do with Isshiki. No one has the right to force or coerce another into making a sacrifice.

"...Okay, Komachi understands. That's just how my brother is."

Komachi lowered her gaze somewhat forlornly, then gave a helpless smile.

"Yes, Hachiman is indeed Hachiman."

Totsuka smiled.

"oh--"

Kawasaki looked slightly surprised, then smiled with great interest. But as soon as I glanced over, she immediately looked away and started biting the straw in her cup. Later, she glanced back and asked:

"It doesn't matter what you do... So, what do you want to do?"

"Let me think about it."

I quietly closed my eyes.

The top priority this time is to fulfill Komachi's wish, which is to keep Yukinoshita and Yuigahama in the Service Club. Therefore, Iroha Isshiki is the only candidate for student council president. The chances of finding other candidates are extremely slim, so they are not considered at all.

Then, this time there was an additional condition—that no one be harmed.

So, what problems remain unsolved?

The only problem is Isshiki's own opinion.

Since that's the case, we can only start by changing the meaning of the uniform color.

In other words, we can simply break down each of Isshiki's reasons for not wanting to be the student council president.

Having reached this conclusion, I opened my eyes.

"Simply put, we went in the wrong direction from the very first step..."

Not only me, but Yukinoshita and Yuihama also got it wrong.

"So, the only thing we can do is try to communicate with Isshiki."

"It would be best if she were willing to communicate... but she's a girl, you know, is she really likely to listen to you properly?"

The lumber carrier murmured to himself. Although his reasoning was a bit strange, his concerns were largely valid, leaving me with no room for argument. Dazhi, sitting next to him, nodded and asked curiously:

"What kind of person is that Isshiki-senpai?"

“Well…”

Isshiki Iroha gives off a gentle and mild impression, but that's a facade she deliberately cultivates. Her attitude towards Hayama is completely different from her attitude towards me or people like Hobe who she looks down upon.

This feeling is hard to put into words. If I had to describe it, it would probably be something like this:

"Imagine Komachi, who is neither cute nor likable, and you'll be pretty much right."

"Oh, that's terrible."

Dazhi couldn't help but say.

"Brother, what does this mean?"

Komachi's smile is terrifying.

"Of course I'm saying you're cute."

I casually coaxed Komachi by patting her head.

"Hmm, she should listen. There won't be any problems."

I'm that certain. If Isshiki Iroha is scheming and deliberately putting on that persona, it's the best proof that she's willing to communicate. As long as she understands the risks and benefits, and our offers are tempting enough, she has a good chance of changing her mind.

Therefore, what needs to be done now is to gather leverage in negotiating with her.

No. To be precise, it should be "creating" bargaining chips.

Whether it's collecting or manufacturing, at least we have a general direction; the next step is to apply it to specific methods. For this, I need more information.

"Kawasaki, name a few people you think would be suitable to be student council president."

"what?"

Kawasaki, caught off guard by being called out, pointed at himself, blinked several times, and stammered, "..."

"I can't answer this question right away..."

"It's okay to take your time to think about it."

I also need time to sort out my thoughts.

"Since you put it that way... um..."

She started to think and began to say the names of the people that came to mind.

"Yukinoshita and Yuigahama have no problem, and so does Hayama. I get annoyed every time I see him all sparkly."

Hmm, all these candidates are reasonable. Yukinoshita and Yuigahama have probably already started their petition, so they're not included in my plan. Speaking of which, what kind of person is Hayama in Kawasaki's eyes...?

She continued to think.

"Ebina... she's certainly very capable at work, but I just don't think she's quite right for the job."

I agree with that. Ebina needs to be in an unconstrained position to realize her true value. But Kawasaki mentioned Ebina so quickly; it seems they're quite close now. Why am I suddenly feeling sentimental…?

Then, Kawasaki let out an "Ah".

"And then, Miura is absolutely out of the question."

You and Miura are still like oil and water... But, the fact that you specifically mentioned Miura's name means that you actually care about her.

So far, several of Kawasaki's students have stood out in the second year and have considerable fame, making them a very standard answer.

However, the next name she mentioned took me by surprise.

"And Sagami, right...?"

"Huh? Sagami?"

I frowned, trying to make sure I had heard correctly. Seeing my reaction, Kawasaki said, displeased:

"What does that expression mean? You're the one asking."

"Sorry, I wasn't saying anything about you... but why did you think of Sagami?"

"She has served as the chairperson of the school anniversary celebration and sports meet, so it's not surprising that she will become the student council president again."

"I see……"

I had already concluded that Sagami was completely incompetent, so I never even considered her. But to someone unaware of the situation, that person certainly seemed very experienced. Even setting aside the second-year students, first- and second-year students who weren't fully aware of the facts might fall for this.

Sagami might be an unexpected dark horse, and I wouldn't feel guilty simply using her. Speaking of people I could use without restraint, that also includes Revenue Minister. I'll add him to my shortlist now. Ah, Revenue Minister is such a good person!

Kawasaki should have listed most of the names; now it's time to think about how to apply them. But before that, of course, I can't forget to thank Kawasaki. I turned to her, only to see her suddenly staring at me, pouting as if she wanted to say something. I looked at her, asking if there was anyone else she hadn't mentioned, and she added in a barely audible voice:

"And...you too."

"Yeah, that's pretty interesting. But I'm having trouble even getting thirty people to sign the petition."

"Of course I know, I'm just saying."

Kawasaki finished speaking and then turned his face away. "Since you knew it was impossible, why did you even say it? Can you please give me back the feeling of my heart fluttering?"

In short, the puzzle is gradually taking shape. I examine each piece I currently have.

"Let's have Hayama, Ebina, Miura, Sagami, and by the way, Hobe, and Isshiki... Let these people run for office."

Upon hearing this, Komachi asked in surprise:

"Huh? Isn't the plan to have Isshiki-senpai run for election now?"

"In terms of the outcome, that's the case. So these people were just a figurehead to test Isshiki, you could say they were props."

Actually, my purpose is not just that. But seeing Komachi's puzzled look, it's better to explain in order now.

"Just a hypothetical scenario... Would anyone actually be willing to do that kind of thing... And does my brother have a way to get them out of it?"

"Haha, how could that be? Of course I just borrowed their names and then collected a list of signatories from all over the place."

Therefore, I need to rely on the help of one person.

"Totsuka, may I borrow your name?"

Totsuka was taken aback when I called him.

"Huh... my name? But I don't know what you want to do..."

He shifted uncomfortably, looked down at the ground, pondered silently for a moment, and then looked up at us.

"...Wouldn't he do something strange?"

"I promise I won't."

I promise nothing strange will happen, but I can't guarantee a romance won't blossom. Wait, this romance might already be in progress.

With my assurance, Totsuka smiled and replied:

"...Okay, no problem. You can use my name too."

"Thank you."

Okay, I'll borrow it for a bit... Totsuka Hachiman sounds good! It sounds a bit like a shrine (Note 31: There are many shrines named after Hachiman in Totsuka Ward, Yokohama).

Back to the main point. With that, the puzzle pieces are complete. Thanks to Totsuka, the missing corner in my heart has finally been filled. I feel like the whole world is LOVE & PEACE.

Just as I was immersed in joy, Komachi let out a soft "hmm."

"But even if we use their names now, it won't be recognized later, so we still can't run for office, right?"

Komachi is right. His candidacy registration cannot be valid unless the other party agrees. Given Ishiki's precedent, it will be very difficult for anyone to successfully impersonate another person and run for office.

"They don't actually need to run for office. No, they don't need to at all. I just need their signatories."

"?"

Everyone, including Komachi, had a question mark appear above their heads.

"Suppose I collect signatures from all the students in the school, what do you think would happen?"

"Of course we'll win."

Komachi answered quickly, and I nodded.

"That's right. And because each person can only submit one signature, other candidates will not be able to run."

"Oh... so there's such a regulation. Is this what they call a legal blind spot...?"

"I don't really know what the regulations are," Zai Muza said admiringly. "Incidentally, this has nothing to do with Stephen Seager's films (Note 32: Stephen Seager's debut film, *The Dead End*, is translated as *The Dead End* in Japan)."

"I don't know if this clause is in the election regulations. In any case, most students have never even heard of election regulations. But logically speaking, once people have signed a petition for one person, they won't sign one for another person, right?"

Because people are unaware of the existence of election regulations, they tend to rely on common sense to make judgments.

If each person can only sign the petition once, the "signing" step takes on a new meaning.

Besides serving as the initial screening threshold, this will also be a preliminary battleground for the formal election. The requirement of "at least thirty signatures" also makes sense; as long as the threshold of at least thirty signatures is met, it doesn't matter how many signatures are collected.

"Therefore, we need to establish a wide range of candidates and get as many people as possible to sign the petition."

"If they collect all the signatures before their opponents, they won't be able to run, right?"