My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 393

"If we can establish a method to restore incentives, we might be able to stimulate early adopters."

"Americans let their kids sell lemonade at flea markets to cultivate their economic awareness. It must feel very close to that."

"That's right, that's also a case study."

Listening to their conversation, I started to think that lemonade was some kind of elite drink, which was unbelievable. Could it be that just by coming out of their mouths, even Calpis and Apple Sidra would become prestigious and extraordinary?

"I still can't understand what they're saying at all..."

I couldn't help but complain under my breath, and Yukino sighed softly.

"Because your elite index is too low. Not only are your pupils dilated and your lips purple, but you also don't respond when called..."

"That's because the Glasgow Coma Scale score is too low."

Besides, if my pupils were really dilated, I'd be dead already... But those guys really haven't changed at all... After all, humans aren't that easy to change. If they got discouraged after one or two failures, they wouldn't be the way they are today. Thinking that these people are actually upholding their beliefs, I've developed a liking for them.

Very good, very good. I hope that Yu Sheng and his cheerful companions can stay like this forever. As I silently prayed this, someone popped out from behind them.

"Ah, it's Hachiman. You're here too!"

"Hmm...yes..."

Kaori Orimoto was still the same as always, striking up a conversation with me in a completely relaxed tone, ignoring any sense of distance. She left the group from Seaside High School behind and strode over to me.

Then, Zheben shifted his gaze to what was behind me.

"Ah, hello."

"Hello..."

After Orimoto turned his head slightly to greet her, Yuihama responded with a slightly flustered air. Yukinoshita simply folded her hands and returned the greeting with her eyes.

What's causing this inexplicably tense atmosphere...?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems the three of them have never really had a chance to talk properly; at most, they're aware of each other's existence. While I don't expect them to become best friends immediately, couldn't they at least avoid making things this awkward...?

I looked at Isshiki with my eyes, who was more talkative than Zheben and quite adept at putting on a good show, and asked for help, but all I got in return was a cough.

Hmm, cough cough—the cough was rather low. Just as I was wondering why, for Isshiki, the voice was so unpleasant, I realized that the voice belonged to Tamaki. Tamaki seemed to have only noticed me after Orimoto took the initiative to talk to him, and he looked rather unhappy.

"You guys are here too..."

"Oh, didn't I say that?"

Isshiki lightly touched her soft, moist lips with her slender fingers, then gently turned her head to one side. This guy's ability to play dumb is truly impressive…

"Hmm... well, it seems like there are no logs in my MailBase..."

Ignoring Yu Sheng's low murmur, Yi Se turned to me, playfully sticking out her tongue. "What's with that expression? It's so cute."

Yise was adept at feigning ignorance, and Yusheng seemed to give up on pursuing the matter. He continued to mutter to himself and walked towards another corner of the cooking room, far away from us. The students from the Seaside Comprehensive High School quickly followed.

"Let's talk later!"

Zheben gently raised his hand to say goodbye and quickly caught up with the group of people.

I watched her leave, and quietly asked Isshiki, who had a fake smile on his face.

"...Why are those guys here too?"

"Wouldn't it be great if we could get some funding from Seaside Comprehensive High School under the guise of a joint venture? That way I could save on the cost of those chocolates for social obligations—super lucky!"

“I-I see…”

As expected of Isshiki Iroha, she far exceeded my expectations... This girl will really get stabbed one day... I couldn't help but worry about her safety and cast a contemptuous glance at her. Isshiki seemed a little embarrassed, and coughed dryly with a flushed face.

"Furthermore, we still charge participation fees, so from a budget perspective, the event itself generates a surplus. However, after adding and subtracting various expenses, it's actually just a break-even situation, with revenue and expenditure balancing out."

"I'm starting to not even understand what Iroha is saying..."

Yuihama looked like she had a headache.

I think so too, after all, fake elites and fake experts are somewhat similar... By the way, breaking even and offsetting income and expenditure both mean that the profit and loss are balanced!

However, Isshiki must have put a lot of thought into allocating the student council budget. Making those posters was probably just to prove that an event actually took place; as long as there were actual expenses, it would be easy to request reimbursement! She's actually developed this unnecessary business acumen. The participation fee is quite low, yet she still makes a fortune—it's practically commercial rock and roll! (Note 21: The original text is "商壳口ツクぴゅる". "商壳ツク" is an alternate name for the Japanese mobile game and anime *SHOW BY ROCK!!*, and "ぴゅる" is the catchphrase of one of the characters, voiced by the same person as Isshiki Iroha.)

In addition, inviting other schools to co-organize can double the budget, and if you charge these people participation fees... it's a small investment that gives you a big return.

I always felt that if Ise were accused of misusing public funds or embezzling student union money, she would have no way to refute it… Since I'm not very familiar with financial management, I'll just pretend I didn't see it this time. Anyway, as long as it's not my money, it's fine. The spirit of being a corporate slave is already deeply ingrained in my heart.

Isshiki's remarks gave me a headache, but in fact, this event was only established because of that, so Isshiki's attempt was not entirely wrong.

Moreover, it seems I'm not the only one with a headache. Yukinoshita pressed her temples and sighed deeply.

"Regardless of whether that idea is correct... you're even more outstanding than I thought, Isshiki-kun..."

"That's right, that's right, Isshiki-kun is very capable! Although he can be a little eccentric at times..."

"Ah... I think I can understand that..."

Someone said this in a gentle voice, and Yuihama gave a wry smile in agreement. "Yes, you're right."

...a gentle voice?

That voice was different from Yukinoshita's, Yuihama's, or Isshiki's; it possessed a certain magical quality that made people drowsy. I realized this and turned around abruptly.

Bangs held in place with hairpins, a smooth forehead, braids that exude a serene aura with every sway, and a radiant, signature smile—

"Ah! Senior Cheng Hui!"

"Hello...you..."

Yui's surprised exclamation and Yukino's slightly confused greeting rang out simultaneously. Both of them blinked.

"Hello everyone~"

The former student council president, Senior Sister Cheng Huixun, waved gently in response to our greeting, her slightly protruding chest visible.

"Excuse me... why did you come here...?"

The senior's sudden appearance created a mini-patrol effect on us (mainly healing, relaxing, and giving us an older sister vibe, etc.), but I still managed to ask her the question. The senior clapped her hands and tilted her head slightly, saying happily:

"I came because I received an invitation!"

The senior student chuckled softly, and the surroundings immediately filled with a light, airy atmosphere. This was the Super Little Patrol Effect (its main effects are resurrection, detoxification, adding older sister attributes, and occasionally displaying a mature aura while adding innocent and carefree behavior. As a result, the opponent vanished into thin air).

Senior Xun maintained her gentle tone, took a step forward, and grasped Isshiki's hand.

"I was in charge of giving the graduation speech. When I arrived at school, I ran into Isshiki, and she invited me to come along~"

Oh—was it Isshiki who invited the upperclassman? I thought she wasn't very good at dealing with patrolling upperclassmen… I looked at Isshiki, but she quickly turned her head away and muttered in a very low voice:

"...because when there are a certain number of people, the cost per person can be reduced."

Xun-senpai seemed oblivious to Isshiki's rambling; instead, she was overjoyed at being invited and kept shaking Isshiki's hand. Isshiki himself, on the other hand, turned away with a troubled expression.

"I've already been admitted through a recommendation, so I have plenty of time now. But my friends are all busy preparing for exams... so I only invited members who had time to come."

"Oh...I see..."

Halfway through my sentence, I suddenly realized something was off. "Member?" That term "member" sounded strange… It felt like I was forced to use this odd word under some kind of pressure, referring to someone who should have been called a suspect. I looked at Senior Xun, asking with my eyes what that sentence meant, and she turned to look behind her and asked:

"Right?"

The next second, several students appeared almost out of thin air. What was going on? Were they a ninja team? I rummaged through my hazy memory for a while before realizing that these people did look familiar. Judging from the appearance and demeanor of those bespectacled boys, they should be former members of the bespectacled student council.

They clearly had a lot of opinions about the new student council. After all, there were quite a few problems in the process of Isshiki becoming student council president. More importantly, for Xun-senpai, the student council must have been a very special place.

Finally, Senior Xun let go of Isshiki's hand and gently placed her hands on Yukinoshita and Yuihama's shoulders, looking around at our faces with a somewhat nostalgic expression.

"Although it's not quite what I imagined, I'm really happy to be able to participate in student council work again like this, and to talk to Yukinoshita, Yuigahama... and Hikigaya."

"I...I'm happy too!"

Yuihama seemed to be affected by the Little Patrol effect as well, replying with a smile that was almost melting. Yukinoshita didn't respond, but she lowered her head slightly, her ears turning slightly red.

Thinking about it carefully, the only senior we know in our service club is Senior Sister Xun.

...Oh no, if I see Senior Xun reading her thank-you speech at the graduation ceremony, I might burst into tears. Actually, I already have tears welling up in my eyes. Everyone knows I'm completely helpless against girls younger than me, and older girls are just as much of a weakness for me.

This person is my senior, how wonderful. As I was immersed in a gentle state of mind, Senior Xun looked around at our faces and nodded repeatedly.

Then, she clenched her fist, as if to encourage everyone.

"Okay, everyone, let's do our best today! Okay—"

No one raised their fists or shouted. Even Iroha abandoned her earlier respectful attitude and looked at the senior student with icy eyes.

But Senior Sister Xun didn't care at all and raised her fist again on her own.

"oh--"

"……Whoa whoa--"

If I didn't cooperate, she would definitely keep repeating herself... More importantly, the pressure emanating from the former student council members behind her was terrifying beyond belief... In the end, I decided to obediently raise my hand slightly, mimicking a cat's punch. This time, Senior Xun finally let out a satisfied sigh.

Then, she glanced at the clock on the wall, and I followed suit. Almost everyone had arrived, and the ingredients and cooking utensils were ready. Kawasaki and the others hadn't arrived yet, but they should be here soon.

The event should be starting soon—just as I was thinking this, the senior student tilted her head and said:

"Yono-senpai is a bit slow."

"That's what I mean, this location shouldn't be hard to find."

Isshiki nodded, agreeing with what Senior Xun said, while I froze completely, unable to nod. Did she just mention a dangerous name?

The name that Senior Xun mentioned couldn't possibly refer to a waitress working at a hot spring inn (Note 22: Xun's original form of addressing Haru-san is "はるさん," referring to the character "Inamori Haru" from the visual novel *Bishoujo Mangekyou*). There's only one person she would call that.

I glanced to the side and saw Yukinoshita frown slightly. Yuihama seemed to have guessed something as well, staring intently at the doorway.

Not long after...

The loose door creaked and shifted slightly, and slender fingers slipped through the crack, forcefully opening the door.

Click, click—with the crisp sound of high heels, the person outside the door walked into the room step by step and came to us.

"Hey—Hi! Sorry I'm late?"

"As you can see, this is today's special lecturer, Senior Haruno!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Yang Nai-senpai."

After Isshiki introduced herself in a cute, coquettish voice, Yukinoshita Haruno played along, half-jokingly saying, "Isshiki is introducing herself." She raised her hand in greeting, causing her bright red coat to flutter gently.

"Ah, Haruno-senpai. Long time no see."

"...Xun, didn't we just meet not long ago?"

Xun-senpai walked over quickly, and Yang-nai poked her forehead, giving her a "don't be silly~" look.

"Yono-senpai's desserts are so delicious, so I'm really looking forward to them~"

"Well, since you've asked me to, I'll do it. As a kind senior, I can't refuse a junior's request!"

Rather than gentle, she gives off a feeling more like "Assault!" (Note 23: The original text uses "ヤシャシーン," a shout used by the army during an assault in *The Heroic Legend of Arslan*, which sounds similar to "gentleness"). She inspires only fear...

Taking advantage of a brief lull in their conversation, I beckoned to Isshiki and whispered:

"Hey, why did you call her over here?"

"Because she looks like she's been through a lot!"

Isshiki tilted her head in confusion, then answered with an air of self-assurance. Yes, her judgment was entirely correct. Yang was not just a seasoned warrior, he was undefeated in every battle, and utterly ruthless.

"Actually, I'm enough on my own..."

Yukino crossed her arms and looked away from Haruno.

"Yes, putting aside the teaching method, your cooking is indeed super delicious."

"...This is no big deal."

Yukinoshita seemed surprised to be praised and was speechless for a moment before quickly turning her head away. However, I'm not praising you; I'm indirectly saying your teaching methods are terrible.

"However, I'm really looking forward to Yukino teaching me!"

Yui jumped up and hugged Yukino to calm her down a bit, and coughed twice to cover up her embarrassment... That makes sense, since there are other instructors besides Yukino, Yukino will have more time to guide Yui, which is not a bad thing.

But I'm still a little concerned about why Isshiki specifically sought out Haruno.

To be honest, the number of participants in this event wasn't very large, and Iroha herself mentioned that her skills were quite good. Besides her, there were probably a few other girls with experience in making desserts.

"Even if we don't invite that person over, it's fine, right? Yukinoshita's cooking skills are already far superior to most people's."

I quietly asked Isshiki why she did that.

"Yes, I know that Yukinoshita-senpai is really good at cooking, so I asked her to be the instructor."