My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 40

"Brother, your eyes are terrifying..."

Komachi stepped back slightly, clearly taken aback by my serious expression. Well, what can I do? She's my silly little sister; if I don't keep a close eye on her, who knows what might happen? As her family, it's only natural to worry about her. What if she gets kidnapped by some strange man? That would be a disaster! Her brother won't allow that to happen!

"Anyway, just tell me what's bothering you. I mentioned before that I joined this weird 'Service Club,' so maybe I can be of some help."

After I finished speaking, Komachi chuckled.

"My brother is really serious!"

× × ×

Daylight broke. The chirping of sparrows came from outside, signaling the end of the night spent with my sister.

I suddenly opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling—actually, it was the ceiling of my living room. It seems I fell asleep halfway through reading last night. I only remember asking Komachi about her friendships; after that, my memory is completely blank.

"It's dawn, Komachi."

I called out before realizing my sister wasn't there. I looked around, searching for her for two seconds, then glanced out the window, taking three seconds to confirm the sun was high in the sky. Finally, dripping with cold sweat, I looked at the clock with a bad feeling—9:30. No matter how I looked, the hour hand was always pointing to 9:30. That confirmation took another five seconds.

I spent a total of ten seconds confronting this extremely shocking fact.

"So late..."

I hung my head dejectedly, only then noticing a ham and egg toast and a note on the table.

"Brother, Komachi doesn't want to be late, so she's going to school first. There should be a limit to staying up late!"

SP, remember to eat a good breakfast!

Below, there's a drawing of a girl glaring at me with a fierce look. This must be Komachi's self-portrait.

"Idiot...do you think you're a security guard...?"

The correct word is PS, which should be written as "PS" and pronounced as "Play Station".

There's no point in rushing now, so I leisurely enjoyed my breakfast before getting ready for school. My parents seemed to have already left for work. We're a dual-income family, so someone gets up early every morning. My mother makes breakfast, and Komachi is almost always responsible for dinner.

However, no one woke me up in the morning. Could it be that I am not liked by them? Although I am a little worried about this, I still want to believe that they decided to let me continue sleeping out of kindness.

I put the empty plate on the counter, changed into my uniform, made sure the door was closed, and then headed to school.

The bicycle glided leisurely along the road built along the riverbank, while the rain clouds in the sky seemed eager to stretch out.

The road to school was unusually quiet today.

Under normal circumstances, this bicycle path would definitely become a street race track for Soubu High School and other schools.

The feeling of a racer shouting "Go! Charge!" and overtaking others is incredibly exhilarating. And if someone else, not to be outdone, yells "Don't lose! Sonic!" it gets even more exciting (Note 22: from the mini 4WD car names of the Seiba brothers, Go and Retsu, in the manga *Bakusou Kyoudai Let's Go!*).

However, today the people on the streets were mostly middle-aged women trying to lose weight, middle-aged men walking their dogs, and some anglers. It's nice to see different scenery once in a while.

Actually, just thinking about riding a bicycle under the blue sky makes me feel quite cheerful. It's like skipping class to watch "It's Okay to Laugh" (Note 23: This is a program that started airing on Fuji TV in Japan in 1982, and aired from 12 noon to 1 pm on weekdays). It makes the program 50% more interesting than usual.

However, as I approached school, why did I suddenly feel depressed...?

That being said, I still entered the school gate openly, instead of sneaking in. That's right, because all the teachers were in class at that time, so no one would notice my lateness and get angry; that worry was unnecessary. This is something I learned from being late seventy-two times last year. Today is my eighth time being late this year, and if I continue at this pace, I might break the record. I hope to achieve my goal of 200 late arrivals within my three years of high school.

Everything went smoothly until we entered the school gate, but the next hurdle—the classroom—was where the real problem lay.

After parking my bicycle, I slowly walked towards the stairs. The moment I stepped into the school building, I felt an immediate increase in pressure. Was this Planet Vegeta (Note 24 is from the manga *Dragon Ball*, where gravity is ten times that of Earth)?

I climbed the stairs to the second floor, walked down the deserted corridor, and finally arrived at my classroom. I took a deep breath before placing my hand on the doorknob. The tense moment was about to begin.

—Click.

Dozens of eyes silently turned to look at them, and the classroom fell silent. The whispers of the students and the voices of the teacher on the stage all disappeared.

I don't hate being late, I hate the atmosphere.

For example, suppose it was Hayama who was late today, how would everyone react?

"Hey, Hayato~ Why are you late?"

"Hayama-kun, you're too slow!"

"Haha, Hayama is really something else."

It's obvious without even thinking about it; that must be the case.

But if it were me, everyone would just remain silent, and for a moment they might even give me a "who are you?" look. I dragged my heavy steps into the silent classroom, and the moment I sat down, a strong sense of exhaustion washed over me.

Sigh... I couldn't help but sigh, and then someone added insult to injury.

"Hachiman, come find me after class."

"Teacher Hiratsuka said, tapping the lectern."

"Yes……"

...It's terrible.

After I bowed my head in response, the teacher nodded slightly, lifted his white robe, and turned back to continue writing on the blackboard.

Anyway, there are only fifteen minutes left until get out of class ends.

The time before get out of class ended flew by mercilessly. I put the teacher's lecture aside and started brainstorming "100 excuses for being late," but I was only halfway through when the bell rang.

"That's all for today. Hachiman, remember to come find me."

Ms. Hiratsuka waved to me, and I barely managed to suppress the urge to run away as I walked toward the podium in front of the classroom.

When I arrived at the podium, I was first glared at by the teacher.

"Well then, before I hit you, let me hear your reason for being late."

I've decided to beat someone up!

"No, teacher, you've misunderstood. Please let me explain. Don't big bosses usually come to their offices very late? So, future elites like me should start practicing now."

"Weren't you going to be a stay-at-home dad?"

"Hmm! That, that's... It's completely wrong to consider being late a sin! Isn't it? The police only respond when something happens, and heroes only appear at the very end; they're all late! But does anyone blame them? No, right? So we can deduce that being late is justice!"

After listening to my heartfelt cry, the teacher's gaze drifted into the distance for some reason.

"...Hachiman, let me tell you something: justice without power is no different from evil."

"The lack of, the absence of, forces of justice is even more evil... Wait! Don't hit me!"

Evil is annihilated! Hiratsuka-sensei's fist struck my internal organs squarely, causing damage throughout my body, and I collapsed to the ground coughing uncontrollably.

Ms. Hiratsuka looked at me lying on the ground in great pain and sighed helplessly.

"I can't stand it... How come there are so many problem students in this class..."

However, her tone wasn't one of disgust; rather, it conveyed a sense of delight.

"Then another one came."

The teacher left me there and walked towards the back door of the classroom in her high heels. I turned in that direction and saw a girl carrying a backpack who was only now arriving for class.

"Kawasaki Saki, are you a big boss too?"

The teacher asked with a smile, but the girl named Kawasaki only paused for a moment, silently bowed to her, and then walked past me to her seat.

The girl's hair was black with a bluish tinge, almost as long as her height; the excess fabric at the hem of her dress was tied in a loose knot; her long, slender legs seemed agile, and her eyes appeared to be gazing casually into the distance, devoid of any vitality. Beneath her skirt, she wore black embroidered lace panties, their exquisite detail resembling the work of a master craftsman.

I feel like I've seen that girl somewhere before... Come to think of it, we're in the same class, so it's only natural that we'd recognize her, right?

If I continued to lie on the ground and was suspected of peeping under girls' skirts, that would be troublesome, so I immediately got up.

At that moment, something suddenly came to mind.

"...Black lace?"

The next moment, the doubts that had been lingering in my mind were answered.

A scene from not long ago flashed through my mind. She was the girl I bumped into on the rooftop that day, the one who inexplicably called me an "idiot." So we were in the same class?

I was just about to confirm with Saki Kawasaki herself again when she stopped and turned to look at me.

"...Are you an idiot?"

She only said that one sentence; she didn't kick me, didn't hit me, and her cheeks didn't turn red with shame or anger. She just had a completely uninteresting and bored expression.

If Yukino Yukinoshita is described as cold, then Saki Kawasaki is described as icy cold. Dry ice is quite different from regular ice; touching Yukinoshita can cause frostbite.

Kawasaki, looking utterly exasperated, tossed her hair back and this time actually walked to her seat. She pulled open...

After sitting down, he immediately stared blankly out the window.

She chose to look outside because she didn't want to see that class.

No one spoke to her, and she exuded an aura of "don't talk to me." However, this alone shows how inexperienced she is. If she were to reach my level, even if she emanated an aura of "please come talk to me," no one would pay her any attention.

"Kawasaki Saki..."

"Hachiman, don't look at what's under a girl's skirt and then say her name with a sigh."

Ms. Hiratsuka put her hand on my shoulder and said that her hand felt particularly cold.

"I need to talk to you about this. Come to the faculty office after school."

× × ×

After nearly an hour of lecture and punishment from Mr. Hiratsuka, I was finally able to go home. On my way back, I first went to the bookstore in MARINPIA (Note 25, a shopping center in Chiba City).

I glanced at the bookshelf, selected a book, and bought it. Having said goodbye to the thousand-yen note, all that was left in my wallet were clinking copper coins.

After buying the books, I planned to study at a coffee shop. However, everyone seemed to have the same idea as me; the coffee shop was already full of students.

I guess I should just go home... Just as I had this thought, I suddenly noticed a familiar face in the coffee shop.

I saw Totsuka Ayaka, dressed in a tracksuit, staring intently at the cakes in the display case. By the way, students at our school can choose to wear either uniforms or tracksuits to school.

That image was sweeter than whipped cream, instantly captivating my heart like an ant drawn to sugar. The nursery rhyme says, "The water here is sweeter," is that what it's about? Wait, those look like fireflies.

"Alright, it's Yukino's turn to ask the questions~"

Then, I saw two familiar faces—Yuigahama and Yukinoshita.

They didn't want to waste even the time queuing at the counter, and were diligently preparing for the upcoming exams.

"Alright, let's start with a question from Chinese. Please complete the second half of the common phrase I'm about to recite: 'The wind blows...'"

"...Will the Keiyo Line stop running?" (Note 26: The Keiyo Line frequently stops running due to strong winds. The original standard answer was "The barrel seller will get rich.")

Correction: That was just a quiz show on Chiba-dori, and Yuihama answered incorrectly. The correct answer should be, "There's unlikely to be any suspension of service recently, but slow traffic is increasing."

Upon hearing Yuihama's mistake, a dark cloud appeared above Yukinoshita's head.

"No... Next question, geography. Please name two famous products from Chiba Prefecture."

Tick-tock... Time ticked by, and Yui swallowed hard, her expression serious.

"Miso peanuts, and... boiled peanuts?"

"Hey, does Chiba Prefecture only sell peanuts?"

"Wow! It's an autistic guy. I thought I was being hit on by a weirdo..."

Oh no, I was planning to come another day, but I accidentally joined this long line because I was complaining about Yuihama's answer... Damn it! I really hate my love for Chiba!

Hearing Yuihama's excited reaction, Totsuka turned to look at us and then gave us a bright smile.

"Hachiman, were you also invited to the book club?"

He stood beside me with a smile, though of course I hadn't received any invitation. Yui, on the other hand, gave me an awkward look, as if to say, "Oh no~ an uninvited guest has arrived~". Hey, don't react like that; it reminds me of that unpleasant memory from my elementary school classmate's birthday party. I had even prepared a gift, only to find out there wasn't a chicken leg for me when I got there—I almost cried!

"I didn't invite Hachiman to the book club. What brings you here?"

"Yukinoshita, please don't repeat yourself just to break my heart again, okay?"

Seriously, if my heart were too fragile, you'd be in big trouble right now. To be specific, I'd be screaming and smashing a chair down. So you should thank me for my extraordinary willpower.

"No, we were going to look for you too, but you were called to the teacher's office first..."

"It doesn't matter, I don't care at all..."

I'm already used to this kind of thing.

"Is Hikigaya-kun here to study?"

"Hmm... I guess so. Are you the same?"

"Of course, there are less than two weeks left until the exam."

"Before you start studying, I think you should review the relevant information about Chiba Prefecture first. That question was a free point."