My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 376

"I think it's great too! So, what about the campus introduction?"

She exchanged expectant glances with me and Yukinoshita. However, Yukinoshita only gave her a cold look, indicating that she should think about it herself. Wow, how strict…

Faced with Yukinoshita's gaze, Isshiki seemed somewhat timid and answered hesitantly:

"...An introduction to club/organization activities, or something like that...?"

Isshiki didn't seem very confident, shrinking his body and clenching his hands tightly in front of his chest.

As for Yukinoshita, she remained silent, giving Issei a look that seemed to ask, "Is that really okay?" Yuihama watched the two of them nervously.

Silence fell over the office. In the tense atmosphere, it was as if a storm was brewing. Ishigaki couldn't utter a single word, only able to groan softly. Enough! Enough! I can't stand it anymore. Just tell them the answer already!

I wonder if Yukinoshita heard my wish; she finally smiled.

"...Hmm, isn't it good?"

Yukinoshita brushed aside the long hair that had fallen over her shoulder and nodded. Isshiki also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's do the 'Club Introduction' then. Clubs, clubs..."

Yuihama nodded happily and wrote down the names of each club in the record. Yukinoshita also peeked at her record.

"There are quite a lot of them; I think they should fill two pages."

"I hope to fill at least three pages."

"Eight pages" may sound like a small number, but it's actually surprisingly long. From a reader's perspective, "eight pages" might seem like a piece of cake, but once you start producing them yourself, you'll find that it takes much longer than you imagined. Just producing a single page for a local history almost drove us crazy.

"Hmm...how about we pick one club and do a large-scale feature report on it?"

"That's the tennis club!"

"That's the soccer club!"

Ise and I answered loudly in unison. The next second, we stared at each other blankly.

"It should be the tennis club, right? Everyone's scrambling to join that club."

The popularity of "The Prince of Tennis" lately shows just how hot tennis is. However, Isshiki shows no sign of backing down.

"No matter how you look at it, it's the soccer club, okay? Everyone wants to watch soccer, and Hayama-senpai is there too."

Isshiki tried her best to persuade me. "Hmm, hmm... if we bring up Hayama, things might get a little complicated... I can imagine just putting Hayama's picture on the newsletter would elicit cheers from many classmates... Sagami Minami would probably happily grab several copies. Miura would secretly take one when no one's looking. However, if we replaced Hayama's picture with Totsuka's, I believe everyone would be very—no, that won't do. Totsuka's picture is for my exclusive enjoyment!"

I let out a groan, torn between my inner turmoil and my own mind. Yuihama, standing beside me, looked troubled.

"Hmm... if we give a certain club special treatment, some students might complain..."

"Ah, you're right, there will probably be some complaints."

As expected of Yuihama, her concerns are quite valid. In fact, even if we didn't mean it that way, we can't guarantee that everyone won't misunderstand or misinterpret it. To avoid unnecessary trouble, let's follow the rules.

However, Isshiki didn't seem to think that way. Her brows furrowed, and the corners of her mouth turned down dramatically, showing extreme dissatisfaction.

"Huh? Just ignore those kinds of people?"

Wow, this guy has a really strong mind... But Isshiki's attitude of "no matter what you do, there will always be someone who is not satisfied, so just let them be" is actually correct.

Yukino sighed and turned to Isshiki again.

"You can't do that. This is, after all, a publication issued in the name of the student council, and to some extent, we still have to consider all the students... After all, if something goes wrong, everyone will blame you."

Although Yukino's words were cold, they carried a gentle warmth that showed her concern for Isshiki.

"...That's right."

It seems that Yukinoshita's good intentions for Isshiki's sake were successfully conveyed, and Isshiki reluctantly nodded. Although it was not easy to notice, Yukinoshita still played the role of a good upperclassman.

"By the way, Hayato-kun is also the president of the club committee. If he gives the interview as the club president, everyone will be more accepting, right?"

Another of Isshiki's good senior classmates, Yuihama, spoke in a bright tone. Isshiki immediately looked up and smiled radiantly.

"That's a great idea! I'll take charge of the interviews!"

"Then let's allocate a page to the feature article."

The general direction has been determined; the next step is to further discuss specific projects.

Yukino wrote down the president's name, photo, comments, and other information in the logbook, instructing Isshiki to conduct the interview according to the list. Isshiki stared at the list for a while, then suddenly asked:

"The senior didn't list the Service Club, is that okay?"

Hearing Isshiki's question, Yukinoshita and Yui looked up at each other. Whether they were confirming each other's meaning or simply at a loss, a silence fell over the clubroom. I broke the silence.

"Let's skip it, our club."

"why?"

"No, you ask me why, I also..."

Isshiki tilted her head, asking incredulously. Her gaze was so direct that I was momentarily speechless. To get away with it, I forced myself to say something against my conscience.

"Because it's a little embarrassing for our own people to interview each other and write it as a profile..."

As soon as I finished speaking, Yui nodded in sudden understanding.

"Ah, indeed..."

"Besides, nobody knows this club exists, so no one would want to read it even if I wrote about it."

As I continued speaking, Yukinoshita placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

"We're not recruiting any new members either..."

"Right? Besides, it's more reassuring to minimize the workload so that editing can begin as early as possible."

Although I say this, I know very well in my heart that these are not the real reasons.

It's simply that we don't know what to write. We still don't know how to name or define this group of three.

Just as I was about to come up with another excuse to get away with it, a chorus of sighs interrupted me.

"...Okay, if that's the case, there's nothing we can do about it."

It seems she accepted what I said. Isshiki picked up the record on the table with a whoosh, swishing it around in her hand, and looked at Yukinoshita and Yuihama.

"So, is that alright with the interview content?"

"That's right. Next up is an introduction to local attractions..."

Upon hearing Yukinoshita's words, Isshiki took out his phone from his pocket.

"Ah, I've done my research on that~ Senior, look, these are the store's photos~"

"I want to see! I want to see!"

Isshiki started operating her phone, and Yui immediately leaned over to look at the screen. Naturally, Yukinoshita, sandwiched between them, had no choice but to strike an odd pose and look at Isshiki's phone.

Every time Ishiki's finger swipes across her phone, she hears sweet, girly conversations like "So cute!", "That's really nice~", and "Can I see that photo again? Yes, the one with the cat supplies."

Sitting a little further away, I listened to the three people's lively conversation while daydreaming and playing with my phone.

At that moment, the conversation abruptly stopped.

I sensed something was wrong and turned to look at them. Isshiki had a "this is bad~" look on her face, while Yuihama and Yukinoshita stared at me silently with dull, lifeless eyes.

"Huh, what's wrong with everyone...?"

"Ah, um, no, well—I, I wanted to say this place is really nice, I'll go there sometime..."

I asked, and Yuihama chuckled dryly in response. Yukinoshita, standing nearby, also smiled.

"...The person in the photo looks very happy, doesn't he?"

Why is this classroom suddenly so cold? Oh my god, it's freezing! Why isn't the electric heater fixed soon...?

× × ×

The mug made a crisp sound when it was placed on the tray.

"So, that should be fine regarding the shop's sourcing."

"Yes~"

As she answered, Isshiki put away her phone. She had already explained to Yukinoshita and Yui that the photo of us shopping together last time was taken as material for an intelligence magazine. Although I didn't know how Yukinoshita and Yui interpreted Isshiki's explanation, at least I was finally free from their cold gazes.

"Then, Isshiki will take charge of this area."

Yuihama made a large circle on the record. This determined the magazine's content, and the next step was work allocation. Needless to say, each page had to be assigned to someone, and various other tasks also needed to be decided who would do them.

Yukinoshita roughly organized her notes and then read them aloud:

"I will be responsible for the layout, schedule management, and graphic design. Yuihama will be responsible for interviewing and supervising the various clubs."

"As you command!"

Yukinoshita nodded to the energetic Yuihama, then looked at me.

"And Hachiman is—"

"Photography, right?"

Taking photos of the club's activities is equivalent to legally taking photos of Totsuka. Leave the photography to me! Although I was full of enthusiasm, Yukinoshita's reply was cruel.

"—Writing, researching, photography, planning, production, proofreading, liaison, accounting, and all sorts of miscellaneous tasks."

There's too much... and some of the work is completely unnecessary. Seeing my displeasure at my expression, Yukinoshita rolled her eyes at me in return.

"Is there anything you're unhappy about?"

What's wrong? I'm not wrong at all—just then, Yuihama reached out and patted Yukinoshita on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright, Yukino, the shop has already finished sourcing the ingredients, there's no need to be so..."

Under Yuihama's reassurance, Yukinoshita initially looked unconvinced, then sighed softly and brushed her hair aside.

"...That's true. In that case, Hikigaya-kun can take care of writing and miscellaneous tasks."

"……learn."

I nodded, and secretly made a V-sign over my right eye in my mind (Note 28: the signature move of "Manaka Lala," the protagonist of *PriPara*). It's definitely faster to write the article myself. If I were to hand it over to Yuigahama and Isshiki, I'd inevitably have to spend a lot of time proofreading; as for Yukinoshita, she'd probably end up with a bunch of awkward and difficult-to-understand content.

The work arrangements were now complete, and just as I was thinking, "Is it about time to get to work?", Isshiki cautiously raised his hand.

"Um... what are my responsibilities?"

"Of course, it's the editor-in-chief."

"Wow, that sounds really cool."

Yukinoshita answered immediately, and Yui clapped her hands beside her, as if congratulating Isshiki. It was she who suggested creating the information magazine, so the most important task naturally fell to her. However, the person in question seemed completely unaware of the responsibility she bore, tilting her head and asking:

"What is the editor-in-chief responsible for?"

Yukino sighed when she heard her question.

"Let me think... First, could you please get the store's permission to publish their information and photos?"

"Okay, I understand!"

Isshiki answered with great enthusiasm, seemingly still possessing some drive. Yukinoshita continued:

"We also need to secure the magazine's distribution channels. Have the distribution locations been decided yet?"

"Hmm, places like in front of the student council office, in front of the faculty offices, etc., places everyone passes by, is fine?"

"Then, I'll trouble you to apply for the site usage permit."

"Okay! I will report to Professor Hiratsuka."

"Please make a copy of this when you come back."

Isshiki took the record from Yukinoshita's hand, held it to his chest, and gave a gesture of respect.

"Yes, ma'am—you mean, isn't this just a chore?"

Isshiki slumped her shoulders in disappointment. Oh dear, he spotted her!

"Overall supervision and confirmation of the work, external liaison, final inspection, and timely support are all your responsibilities as editor-in-chief."

After listening to Yukino's explanation, Isshiki sighed with admiration and stood up from his seat.

"Well then, I'll go report to Professor Hiratsuka~"

"Thank you for your help."

As Isshiki passed by me, he casually grabbed my sleeve.