My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 438

However, if the atmosphere gets too heated, it can lead to complacency. As a result of conforming to the atmosphere, a group's will might emerge. While foolish, ignoring bullying and similar situations often stems from small acts of arrogance escalating to an irreversible point. The problem should be addressed as soon as possible.

Hurry, hurry up! I need to solve this problem.

In the cold wind, my palms had become completely cold. To warm them, I clenched my fists tightly.

Alone, Hayato Hayama disappeared into the night.

The temperature dropped by one degree after school.

Even inside the school, apart from the classrooms currently being heated, the rest of the place was lifeless. Cold air crept along the corridors, circling and circling. Near the entrance were the student council rooms, which were even colder thanks to the draft blowing in through the cracks in the door.

With no tall buildings to block the view, the school is constantly battered by sea breezes. Furthermore, Chiba Prefecture is one of the flattest prefectures in Japan. You could practically ride a horse at full speed. The roads from home to work are incredibly smooth; there's no need to worry about traffic jams or bad road conditions—wait, doesn't this sound like a job posting from some shady company…? It's unbelievable that Chiba, a commuter town near Tokyo, could so convincingly become a den of corporate slaves!

However, the bodies of the citizens of Chiba, who had lived there for seventeen years, had become accustomed to the cold wind. Thanks to this, I too have grown accustomed to the harshness of this world.

Just a moment ago, the clubroom was quite warm... but now it's a little different. Thinking this, I quickly found a warm place to curl up—and was about to knock on the door when a cat's paw grabbed my hand.

Like something out of a cartoon character's costume, fluffy, with pink soles.

"Take this... there's a share for Isshiki and the others too."

As she spoke, the cat paw handed me a plastic bag containing several cans of coffee. What's with this cat paw...? It's like those mothers of kindergarten children who give out little gifts every time they come over...

Looking up, Yukinoshita was holding a cat paw to her chest. She was actually using the glove… well, she looked quite pleased. And Yui behind her, too, was watching Yukinoshita happily using the gift she'd given her, a blissful expression on her face… What a chain reaction of happiness!

Let's ask... about these MAX-level celebrities and stuff—

"Hmm, we don't need that... We're just going into the student council room for a little while..."

"That won't do. It would take too long to disturb the student council room. We need to show this kind of obvious sincerity."

"Well, if you put it that way..."

I really don't know how long I'll be staying; if I wanted to talk to Hayama face-to-face, the best time would be when he leaves home in the morning, but as the captain of the soccer club, that's probably not very likely...

We'll have to wait until the club activities are over to discuss this further.

That being said, I don't know when their club activities will end.

Although our school's facilities aren't particularly large, the soccer, baseball, rugby, and track and field teams are all mixed together. Each team compromises and agrees on a time limit for use. However, I don't know exactly how they agreed on this.

Since we didn't know when the soccer club's activities would end, we decided to talk to Hayama when he went home. So, we chose the student council room, which was close to the stairs and wouldn't be a big problem even if it was late, as a potential ambush. For the student council, this request wasn't unreasonable, was it? Long live the student council president's power! Anyway, Isshiki comes to our room from time to time, so it's kind of fun to switch places occasionally.

"...Then I'll go talk to Hayama. You guys can go back now."

"Yes, it's a bit much to leave everything to you..."

Yuihama spoke somewhat hesitantly, glancing at Yukinoshita for her opinion.

But Yukinoshita gently shook her head. I agreed as well. I had originally wanted to have a private, one-on-one talk.

"It would be even more troublesome if any other rumors spread. Don't worry about me, you guys go have fun in places like Chiba or Aeon Mall, or meet up with your close friends—have fun!"

Yukinoshita rested her chin on her hand, thought for a moment, and then raised her head:

"Yes... I'm a little embarrassed, but let's do it this way."

"Well, it's a little embarrassing to put Xiaoqi in charge..."

"Don't worry about it. It's just work."

She answered lightly. Yukinoshita smiled and said:

"That's a line that doesn't suit you at all."

Blame me?

He gave a self-deprecating laugh and nodded.

Yuihama seemed to have made up her mind as well, and picked up her schoolbag.

See you tomorrow.

Ah, see you tomorrow.

After waving goodbye to the two of them, I reached out towards the door of the student council room.

He knocked a few times, stood still, and waited for a while.

"Ah, just a moment—"

A slightly surprised voice and hurried footsteps came from the other side of the door. A moment later, the door was opened a crack, revealing the face of a cute girl with glasses and pigtails.

"Oh, um... is there something you need?"

"Is this Secretary-chan?" she asked me somewhat flusteredly, her eyes seeming to say, "Ugh... I don't know her... I'm so scared..."

Or is it just my imagination?

However, with my strong will, I'll force myself to act like an acquaintance here. I handed over the bag I was holding.

"Ah, sorry to bother you, this is a small token of appreciation."

"Ah, ah, thank you..."

Um... I don't know what to say next...

The timid Secretary Jiang still seemed unsure of what to do, so she bowed and thanked them.

Oh no, that won't do! How can I accept things from strangers?

"Oh, um, President, someone's brought some gifts..."

The secretary, somewhat bewildered, called out "Issue!"

As soon as she heard the words "comfort gifts," Isshiki rushed out, her eyes shining as she stared at the bag—

"Wow, you're so thoughtful, senior. Thank you so much for the gift..."

"Wait? Don't use the past tense! Why is this kid just taking the things and planning to leave..."

After saying that, Isshiki tilted his head.

"Huh? Is there something wrong? I don't have anything here~"

No, why are your standards for me different from your standards for yourself? What, can't you come if there's nothing wrong? Well, if there's nothing wrong, you won't come.

"Isshiki, could I borrow the student council room?"

"what?"

This time, Isshiki tilted her head to the other side.

Act Two

The student council room has a window that overlooks the atrium.

The setting sun and the streetlights slowly coming on.

Sports clubs always pass by here after their events. That way, I can see Hayama right away.

Moreover, the student council room has a heater that they purchased – it's really perfect for standby.

……

The heater hummed, sending warm air to my ankles.

I was holding a Max can and leaning against the window, with Isshiki beside me in the same position, his hands tucked into his sleeves, only half of them showing, holding a can of cocoa tea, his pale fingers slightly red.

"Senior Hayama hasn't appeared yet..."

"yes"

I've already explained to Isshiki why I came to the student council room. At first, she said, "Eh, then I won't be able to go home until later..." with a troubled expression, but as soon as I mentioned Hayama's name, she reluctantly agreed.

The other student council members seemed to want to avoid disturbing us, so they all went back first. I was particularly struck by the sight of the vice president and the secretary walking away together—Vice president, can't you just focus on your work?! Even though I was the one interrupting your work!

Work—ah, it suddenly occurred to me:

"By the way, aren't you the manager of the football department? How's it going? Shouldn't football be done for the day?"

"spread"

Yise immediately turned his head and answered quickly.

"'spread'?……"

What? Guardian of the Heavenly Moon? You should also do a better job as manager...

Isn't it very cold right now?

Hehe☆~ She's got such a mischievous expression and such an adorable smile, this girl is just so incredibly cute... But, is it really okay...? Even though I was the one who advised her to use her position as student council president to avoid doing any work before...

However, this intelligence could also be considered a kind of charm or ability of hers.

Compared to him, I'm so stupid. If I had asked for Hayama's phone number before, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble. But I still wouldn't be willing to just ask anyone for their number—in the end, all I can do now is wait for Hayama here.

If Hayama and I were friends or something—

"Hachiman, want to come to my house?"

Never mind, let's leave it at that. Thank you.

Looking out the window, her gaze met the reflection of a pair of eyes in the glass. "Did she notice too?" she chuckled softly.

"It's quite surprising, though. I didn't expect you to go this far."

"is it?"

I turned around and glanced at her.

Isshiki nodded:

"Yeah, I thought they'd say something like 'Never mind, it's so boring and stupid' or something like that."

Wow! That sounds just like something I would say... By the way, Isshiki understands me so well. I could probably even pass the Hachiman Proficiency Test Level 3. It's decided! I'll give you 80,000 points~

But normally I probably would have said that. It's quite perceptive of Isshiki to notice the incongruity in this.

"However, I still made a special trip to the student council office and waited there..."

Isshiki seemed to be deep in thought, humming a song to herself as she looked this way. Her eyes were quite cute, yet they seemed to see right through me, which frightened me a little. So, I unconsciously looked away.

Then, as if sensing something, Isshiki suddenly jumped back a step:

"...Ah! Are you going to spread rumors about the two of us being in the student council room and make it a fait accompli before pursuing me? While there are many aspects of this tactic worth learning and I'd like to try it out, based on the result, it won't work. I'm sorry."

She finished speaking in one breath, as if flowing water, and then quickly bowed her head to apologize.

"Ah, yes, that's right... Please give it a try, and tell me your thoughts afterwards."

I gave a casual answer. Isshiki seemed to think my response wasn't good enough, and pouted in dissatisfaction.

Fortunately, Iroha kept me company, so the wait wasn't so boring. Look, the soccer team members and Hayama have appeared in the courtyard below.

"Isshiki, thank you!"

"Don't worry about it. This is all I can do to help."

After I thanked him, Ise smiled.

After saying a short goodbye,

As I turned to leave, a gentle voice came from behind me:

"Good luck, senior!"

Turning around, I saw Isshiki clenching his fist in front of his chest, as if cheering me on. He had a gentle expression and peaceful eyes.

What's there to cheer her on for? It's just talking—I wish I could have responded like that. But I didn't.

He simply waved and left the student council room.

Act III

I could hear hurried footsteps heading towards the courtyard from the entrance. Perhaps because the student council room was so warm earlier, I felt an unusual chill in the wind.

He adjusted the collar of his coat, covered his mouth with his scarf, and hurried forward.

Hayato Hayama is just ahead.

Hubu and Yeshan were noisily pushing each other along. At this time, aside from club activities, few people would walk this path, let alone come towards us. So Hubu immediately spotted me:

"Oh, isn't this a comparison with Penguin?"

Ye Shan waved his hand and noticed me, raising his hand with a "Yay!"

I stopped walking, and Ye Shan and the others stopped to look at me too.