My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 387

"No, she didn't say it was impossible directly, which is already quite lenient of her to say."

"Just how clumsy am I?!"

This girl is so oblivious… In Yuigahama's case, the real problem isn't the choice of ingredients or the cooking process, but rather her tendency to overcomplicate things. I remember when she and Yukinoshita made cookies together before, they ended up with something that was passable. However, Yukinoshita's teaching methods aren't entirely without flaws either…

"Hey, you guys haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

"Yeah, let us join in!"

Miura and Ebina, probably tired of Kawasaki's complaints, pouted in protest. Isshiki also slightly raised his hand.

"Oh, I'd like to take a look too."

Seeing this, Yukino sighed softly.

"I don't care..."

She said this while glancing over to ask for my opinion.

"...Giving them some ideas shouldn't hurt, right? Anyway, we can let them do it themselves."

"That's right... I understand. I'll organize the information a bit, could you give me some time...?"

Yukino looked at Miura, Ebina, and Kawasaki in turn, and all three nodded in agreement.

× × ×

Shortly after Miura and the others left, the club office finally returned to calm, and Yukino sighed softly.

"I feel a bit tired today..."

We rested while sipping freshly brewed black tea. It's rare to have three guests today—no, four including Yise, which might have broken a record.

Thinking back to how deserted the place used to be, today business is booming.

This once empty office, devoid of anything and resembling a warehouse, has now come alive. The chairs, which were previously placed haphazardly and facing different directions, have unknowingly formed a somewhat distorted circle around the long table where the tea set is placed.

The situation in the community office has changed a lot compared to before.

The heating wasn't very hot; there were tea sets, blankets, and piles of paperbacks; the number of chairs and the arrangement of things; the intensity of the sunlight streaming into the room; and the coats hanging on the walls.

This room, which had been tinged with cold hues at the end of spring, is now filled with warm colors.

I'm not sure if this is a result of the changing seasons or some other factor. The drowsy atmosphere made me restless, and I couldn't help but turn my gaze to the window.

According to the weather forecast, a strong cold front will arrive in a few days, so the wind is quite strong today.

I could still clearly hear the rattling of the glass amidst the girls' conversation. Then, a loud bang of the door suddenly opening interrupted the noise, followed by a roar.

"All colors!"

"Ah ah!"

Isshiki's shoulders jolted violently. She looked timidly toward the door, where she saw Hiratsuka-sensei, her brow furrowed and face contorted with anger.

"Teacher, please knock on the door..."

"Ah, sorry, I was in a bit of a rush... Isshiki."

Yukinoshita sighed, pressing her temple, in protest. Hiratsuka-sensei smiled gently, apologized, and strode into the clubroom.

The teacher stopped beside Ise, crossed his arms, and looked down at her.

"What about your work?"

“Well…”

Yise remained silent, her eyes darting around, while I met her panicked gaze.

"Didn't you say you had a lot of free time?"

"...I have plenty of free time."

When I asked him that, Isshiki turned his head away unhappily and answered in a petulant tone. Hearing this, Hiratsuka-sensei sighed heavily.

"While the student council is indeed operating smoothly, you still have other tasks. Didn't I ask you to draft a farewell speech for the graduation ceremony and show it to me?"

Graduation ceremony... It's already this time? If I remember correctly, graduation ceremony is usually in the first few days of the second week of March, so there should still be plenty of time... Isshiki seemed to share the same thought as me, and put on a cute smile in an attempt to get away with it.

"But there's still a month left..."

"That's so naive! That kind of naive thinking is the worst thing you can do!"

When Hiratsuka-sensei reprimanded him in a stern tone, Isshiki immediately shrank back.

Well said. One month... Don't think you have another month left.

Whether it's work or summer vacation, the moment you think you still have time, you've already almost run out of time.

As the saying goes, "Time flies like an arrow, and years pass like a shuttle." When we think, "There's still hope, there's still hope, there's still hope for the Tasmanian devil (Note 9: another name for the Tasmanian devil, which is now on the verge of extinction)," we are actually not yet aware that everything is already beyond saving.

Deadline... Why do you always arrive so quickly?

"Besides, February can hardly be considered a month. Not only are there fewer days to begin with, but we also have entrance exams to deal with, so we don't have much time available. February is a month that's always busy."

Professor Hiratsuka asserted this.

"Yes, ma'am! I'll work hard and do my job well! That's why I came here to discuss this with someone! I'm here to inquire about last year's situation!"

Unique and energetic answers are commendable. However, if I remember correctly, you came here to discuss the matter of gift chocolates, right...?

Although it's not very important, nothing is less trustworthy than "do your best and complete your task."

Never believe a white-collar worker's promise to "do their best"... That's a lesson I learned from my dad. Whenever he gets a work call at home, he always assures the caller he'll "do his best," but as soon as he hangs up, he immediately snaps, "Who cares about you, you idiot!" That guy is just...

Of course, Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to see through Isshiki's superficial answer, and with a troubled expression, she tossed her long hair and showed a headache.

"I'm telling you... you can't go on like this. You'll have to learn to be independent next year. You can't keep relying on your seniors for help, can you?"

Yukinoshita held her teacup and nodded repeatedly at Hiratsuka-sensei's words.

"That's absolutely right."

"Hmm... It will be tough... but Iroha is the guild leader after all..."

Yui Hama also gave Isshiki a somewhat helpless smile.

Finally, Isshiki slowly moved her chair, looked at me with her big, teary eyes, and tugged at my sleeve, seeking my help.

I'm just not good at dealing with this kind of tearful onslaught.

When Komachi encounters difficulties, she often cries and begs me for help. And as the eldest brother among brothers, I almost always stand by my sister's side unconditionally. If it's for my sister's sake, even if it means destroying one or two worlds, I, as her older brother, won't hesitate for a moment.

There was no other way. I'd just say a few kind words to help her through this difficult time... Before I could speak, Yukinoshita interrupted me:

"Hachiman, you can't spoil her too much."

"But at least she said she came to discuss it with us..."

No sooner had I finished speaking than Isshiki leaned out.

"So, you're saying you also accepted commissions from other people?"

"But your situation is a little different from Yumiko's and Saki's..."

Yuihama fell into deep thought. Hiratsuka-sensei blinked upon hearing this.

"What? Other people are coming to you for consultation?"

"Yes! There are! And a huge number of them came! So I helped out too—"

"That's not your job."

After being rejected without a word by Hiratsuka-sensei, Isshiki muttered to himself, feeling unwilling to accept it.

You're too naive, Isshiki. Even if you sound perfectly reasonable, you can't escape Hiratsuka-sensei's scrutiny, because no matter how you look at it, the truth is on Hiratsuka-sensei's side. Isshiki's rebuttal has almost no legitimacy; you could only say she's glib, or flat-chested… well, not quite flat-chested to that extent, she's got some substance, um. After all, the one who's truly flat-chested is that other Miss Yuki-something!

Moreover, reasoning is meant to be used to attack people, not to be listened to, so letting it go in one ear and out the other is the correct way to deal with it.

I'll demonstrate it for you once...

"Um... this consultation mainly focuses on girls' problems, so having more girls involved should make things easier... although I'm not entirely sure. Teacher, Valentine's Day is coming up soon, isn't it?"

Valentine's Day—the moment I uttered those words, which sounded like a spell, Ms. Hiratsuka immediately stopped what she was doing. Then, with a dreamy gaze, she looked out the window.

"Oh yeah, Valentine's Day is coming soon... I really miss it..."

Ms. Hiratsuka sighed softly, as if mocking herself, before finally turning her gaze back to us. She stared at us silently, then murmured again, "Valentine's Day..." The half-joking feeling in her eyes was gone; instead, a faint sadness lingered.

Hiratsuka-sensei cleared her throat, steer the conversation back to the original topic:

"Since there are so many inquiries to handle, I'll postpone the farewell speech. It's nice to have Isshiki help you out occasionally."

"Ah, actually we don't really need her..."

"You're really going too far, senior!"

Isshiki suddenly turned around, protesting to me with an indignant expression. "Don't blame me, it's all your fault for making other people's work harder..." I returned her cold gaze, and Yui quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

"No...don't say that...isn't this a good thing? If Iroboken helps, things will be easier for us..."

"Really?"

"Senior, what kind of person do you think I am...?"

Isshiki grumbled sullenly. I ignored him and turned to look at Yukinoshita.

"Since Yuihama-san has said so, I have no objection..."

Then, Hiratsuka-sensei tapped her hand and announced:

"Then it's decided. As for the farewell speech, Isshiki can handle it himself. Speaking of which, I think the fact that everyone is starting to ask you for help is a positive evaluation of everything you've done so far."

"Isn't it just being used as a tool...?"

There are definitely more people coming here to discuss things than before, and as a result, our workload has skyrocketed. More importantly—we're not getting any compensation whatsoever. Think about it, this is even worse than unpaid overtime! What's going on now? Using accountability as an excuse for employees to work fixed overtime hours? I've practically become fit to work for a heartless company!

I gave her a resentful look and said, and Hiratsuka-sensei immediately blinked:

"Even so, you ultimately helped others. It's very important to have someone give you a push from behind. It's not a bad thing for Isshiki to inherit the role you played."

"Yes, sir! I will strive to emulate my seniors!"

Although everyone's answers were full of energy, it was clearly a smile that said, "Hooray! The deadline has been postponed."

"...However, she's slowly picking up your bad habits too, which isn't a good thing. Anyway, keep up the good work."

After Hiratsuka finished speaking, he gave a wry smile, patted Isshiki's head lightly, then gently raised his hand and waved it twice before leaving the club office with a flourish.

After watching her departing figure, we couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"This is going to be a headache..."

Yuki, arms crossed, murmured to herself, while Isshiki, also arms crossed, sighed with a sorrowful expression:

"Yes, Miura-senpai is getting more and more serious, which is giving me a bit of a headache."

"I was referring to the number of commissions..."

Listening to their nonsensical conversation, Yuihama smiled wryly and muttered softly:

"However, I feel like I can understand Hayato's feelings..."

Hayama's feelings... no, I can't possibly understand. I looked at Yuihama with a questioning gaze, and she slowly replied while pondering:

"Think about it... how should I put it... even if you wanted to give chocolates openly, it would be difficult; there are so many things to consider, aren't there?"

This overthinking is very much like hers. Isshiki nodded, sharing the same opinion:

"Ah... I feel like it's very much like Yui-senpai's style, that kind of considerate quality."

"Is that so...? Haha... That's my style..."

Isshiki's words made Yui Hama smile with a troubled expression, revealing a somewhat disappointed look.

That wasn't a reaction of embarrassment from being praised. Perhaps it was because, like Hayato Hayama, she was always so gentle and considerate to others that she felt breathless, that she had that expression. Thinking about it carefully, Yuihama is very close to Hayama, Miura, and Isshiki. She had experienced being sandwiched in the middle when they went to Disneyland before, and now she was facing the same problem again.

It's really tough... It would be easy to say that if it didn't concern me, but I can't do that.

I can't understand this idea of ​​constantly accommodating the relationships around them. But I can understand their desire to reach that conclusion.

Yukinoshita is probably the same. You can tell from the worried look on her face as she looks at the troubled Yuihama.

If I reach the same conclusion as Hayama, I might be able to let go of all this.

He chose to become the Hayato Hayama that everyone hoped for, and strived to achieve perfection, making the greatest compromises without any compromise, and using all his strength to implement measures to prolong his life.

There is no more sincere dishonesty in this world than his.