My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 459

Completely humiliated, Hobu was speechless. And then, why was Ayaha saying "That's right—" while leaning against Yukinoshita and acting all cute...?

Just as I was thinking, "This reaction is really pathetic," Yuihama grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"Hmm, umm... But, if the other person acts like they don't want it at all, that can be a bit of a problem..."

"right!?"

His mood suddenly changed, and the Minister of Revenue, having regained his energy, snapped his fingers. However, this was followed by another barrage of harsh comments.

"No, no, no, Yui-senpai was referring to those occasions where the gifts were originally intended to be given away, so it's different for Hobe-senpai."

"Yeah……"

The Ministry of Revenue was utterly disheartened by the repeated insistence on the "impossible, impossible" rhetoric.

However, it's not entirely impossible. Although there's no concrete evidence, Ebina's presence at this event making chocolates is already slightly different from before. Of course, perhaps he's just there to keep Miura company, but I don't really know.

It is precisely because of this ambiguous and vague situation that such activities seem to be effective.

"Well, if it's made with care, I'd be willing to let people try it, though I'm not sure. Anyway, let's move this over there first."

As he spoke, he forcefully pushed the remaining boxes towards the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue initially looked stunned, but upon realizing the implication, he clapped his hands sharply.

"Yes! That's it!"

With a cheerful expression, Tobe pointed at me, then hoisted the cardboard box onto his shoulder and hurried towards the kitchen counter where Ebina and the others were. This guy, even his reactions are annoying, though he's a good person.

But where exactly is the Ministry of Revenue's hometown...? The accent is a bit too much.

Act III

After that, preparations for the cooking activity continued, and gradually a wonderful time was formed.

Under Isshiki and Yuki, Yuihama was discussing what to do. I had nothing to say, nor anything else to do, so I just stood there listening to their conversation.

Just then, amidst the whispers of conversation, a noisy commotion arose from outside the door. Glancing at my watch, I saw that the others had arrived as well.

So, if that voice belongs to someone named Kawa... then there seem to be too many. Or maybe I just don't know, and there are actually several people named Kawa? If that's the case, then it's understandable that I can't remember their names...

So, who exactly is this "Kawa" classmate who's here? Kawashima, Kawaguchi, Kawagoe, Kawanakajima, Kawauchi, Sendai... In order to be able to deal with whichever "Kawa" classmate is here, I stared intently at the kitchen door.

Then, the door suddenly opened.

There, surprisingly, was Yu, a classmate.

"Oh, Aya-san. Ee-ya—that's great. The last event was indeed very well received. We were just thinking about continuing the alliance event so we could build our partnership in the future, and this offer came right up!"

"Yes—thank you for your hard work!"

Ignoring their lengthy explanations and not listening to a single word, they simply brushed them off.

Tamaki, the student council president of Kaihama Comprehensive High School... his jabs are still intact... If he had that golden left wrist that could make the pulley spin at high speed, he could probably become a world-class prodigy.

Moreover, it wasn't just Yu Sheng; his friends were there too. Perhaps they were members of the other party's student council; a group of them I'd seen at the Christmas joint event were gradually entering the kitchen. Those infuriating headbands and those infuriatingly draped cardigans seemed vaguely familiar.

"This opportunity is also a business opportunity. A scheme to raise funds through cloud funding and then proceed might also be possible."

"I agree."

"If we can build a merit that gradually restores incentive, it might be able to enter the early adaptor category."

"When there's a flea market in America, kids develop their business acumen by selling lemonade. Is that really that close?"

"Yes, this is also a case study."

It's unbelievable that even the word "lemon juice" sounds like a high-minded term in their conversation. Do they think even talking about lifeguards and gulping down coffee or milk sounds high-minded?

"As always, I can't understand a word they're saying..."

I muttered to myself unconsciously, while Yukinoshita let out a soft sigh.

"Your awareness is really low. Your pupils are dilated, your lips are turning purple, and even your response to being spoken to is very weak..."

"You're not thinking clearly."

Seriously, if the pupils are dilated, they're already dead... But those guys haven't really changed much... Well, humans aren't that easy to change. Or rather, if they hadn't been discouraged by one or two failures, things wouldn't have gotten this bad. Conversely, if you see him as someone who's stuck to his principles, you might be able to have a better impression of him.

Hmm, I hope Yu Sheng and the others can stay like this no matter what. Just as I was thinking this, someone popped their head out from behind that group of people.

"Ah, isn't this Hachiman? He's here after all!"

"Oh, oh oh."

As always, Zheben disregarded any sense of distance and greeted me with a flippant air. He slipped away from the group of guys at Kaihama Comprehensive and gradually approached me.

Then, Zheben's gaze turned to what was behind me.

"Ah, hello."

"Hello..."

After Orimoto nodded and greeted her, Yuihama, looking slightly flustered, responded. Yukinoshita simply crossed her arms and returned the greeting with a glance.

What's wrong? What's with this subtly chilling atmosphere...?

They'd met two or three times already, so by conventional standards they could be considered "acquaintances," right? But that's where the trouble lies. If this was their first meeting, a simple greeting or silence would suffice. But if they were already somewhat familiar, then not talking much would only lead to the situation escalating from "we've chatted" to "we haven't really spoken much," and eventually to "they're not very close," or even "they're not friends at all."

What's with this? It's like a game of telephone.

In the end, it won't be very pleasant; it will create a somewhat tense feeling.

Little Aya-ha—Save me, Little Aya-ha—! Compared to Isshiki, who was well-liked for being able to talk to Orimoto and create a superficially friendly atmosphere, I gave her a pleading look, only to be met with a dry cough.

A slightly low, somewhat pleasant cough came from behind me. Just as I was thinking, "This is not cute at all for Isshiki," I realized it was Tamaki. Tamaki seemed to have become aware of my presence because Orimoto greeted me, and her expression was a little bitter.

"You guys are here too..."

"Ah—didn't I say that?"

Isshiki placed her slender fingers against her smooth lips and tilted her head slightly. This guy's way of playing dumb is amazing…

"Hmm... really? I don't recall there being any record of that in the Mailbase emails..."

Ignoring the groaning Jade Rope, Isshiki turned to me and mischievously stuck out her tongue. "What? You're just too cute!"

Whether she had given up on pressing Isshiki for more information or was simply feigning ignorance, Tamaki groaned incoherently and walked in the opposite direction from us. The guys from Kaihama Comprehensive High School followed closely behind.

See you later!

Zheben gently raised his hand and quickly blended into the crowd.

Watching that departing figure, I quietly struck up a conversation with Isshiki, who was putting on a smiling face.

"Um, what's going on? What are they...?"

"We've decided to form a joint venture. It would be best if we could get some budget from Kaihama General, wouldn't it? I'm so lucky that I can save money for the obligatory chocolates—that's how it is."

"oh oh……"

"As expected of Isshiki Iroha... she far exceeded our expectations..." "I wonder if this guy will get stabbed one day? Are you okay?" After I gave her a disdainful look with such concern, Isshiki seemed a little embarrassed and coughed slightly with a blush on her face.

"Besides, since we're charging a participation fee, the event itself will be profitable from a budget perspective. Well, after deducting miscellaneous expenses, it'll break even."

"I feel like I'm increasingly confused about what Iroha is saying..."

Yuihama held her head in distress.

Well, after all, the high-awareness type and the industry fanatic have some similarities... By the way, "one-to-one" and "balanced income and expenditure" both mean that positive and negative are offset.

But Isshiki did all sorts of things to get the student council budget into it. Maybe making posters and such was to document the activities. Having physical evidence makes the application process easier! This guy has a natural business sense. He even got the participation fee through cheap buying and selling. By involving other schools, he doubled the budget, then multiplied it again by charging a higher participation fee, securing even more budget through a quiz-derby scheme.

No, no, if what Isshiki did is pointed out as misuse or embezzlement by the student council, I don't think I can find an excuse... I don't know much about money management in this area, so I'll just pretend I don't know this time. Besides, the "it's not my money, so it doesn't matter what I do with it" mentality is deeply ingrained in me.

Just hearing such words is a headache, but the activity was actually completed in the end, which shows that Isshiki's attempt did not deviate too much.

It seemed I wasn't the only one with a headache; Yukinoshita also pressed her hand to her temple and sighed deeply.

"Putting aside whether your idea is right or wrong... it's surprisingly excellent, Isshiki-kun."

"Yes, yes, Isshiki-kun, he's pretty reliable—though he's a bit unpredictable."

"Ah—I've come to understand that a little..."

Upon hearing that soothing voice, Yui Hama gave a wry smile. Ah, it really is as you said.

……cure?

Unlike Yui, Isshiki, and Yui, Isshiki had a gentle voice that was somewhat soothing and made me turn around involuntarily.

Her bangs, held in place by hairpins, shimmered with a glossy sheen, and a gentle, soothing breeze seemed to drift around her as they swayed. And then there was her radiant, ever-present smile.

"Ah! Shiromaru-senpai!"

"Hello..."

Yuihama's exclamation and Yukinoshita's confused greeting overlapped. Both of them blinked repeatedly.

"Hello everyone!"

The former student council member, Shiromaru, waved back and forth across her petite chest in greeting.

"Um, why are you here...?"

Having been caught off guard by the sudden appearance and activation of the patrol effect (whose main functions are healing and mana replenishment, and adding sister attributes, etc.), I finally managed to find out what was going on. Senior Patrol clapped his hands, bent his neck slightly, and said happily.

"I was invited, so... I ended up coming by accident."

After an embarrassed smile, a healing atmosphere filled the air, and the "Megumegumegurimin☆Megurishu" effect activated (its main effects are resurrection and detoxification, and in addition to adding the "older sister" attribute, it occasionally grants an additional effect of innocent and carefree behavior within her mature demeanor. The opponent is defeated).

With that leisurely tone, Senior Xun suddenly took a step forward and firmly grasped Isshiki's hand.

“I was invited—I came to the school because I was going to give a speech at the graduation ceremony, and then I met Isshiki, and she said I could come if I wanted.”

Oh, it was Isshiki who invited me. She doesn't seem to be very good at getting along with Jun-senpai... After I looked at her like that, Isshiki suddenly turned her face away unhappily and whispered in a very low voice.

"...Well, to some extent, the more people there are, the lower the unit price can be."

The words that were almost on her lips still couldn't be conveyed to Senior Xun. Instead, she seemed to be happy about being invited by Isshiki, waving Isshiki's hand back and forth. At the same time, Isshiki twisted his body as if in annoyance.

"I'm quite free since I've already decided on the universities I'm applying to—my friends seem very busy with their applications too... So, members with free time all come here."

"Oh, I see..."

After answering, I suddenly felt a sense of unease. Member? Member is such a strange way of putting it... I should feel a strange pressure when pointing out a suspect, but it's turned into this weird way of putting it. Although I didn't understand what it meant, after looking at Xun-senpai's expression, Xun-senpai suddenly turned around and looked behind him.

"Na?"

After finishing speaking to the person behind me, several students suddenly appeared. What's this? Trying to recall something vague, I managed to remember seeing it before. The image of the glasses, and the atmosphere permeated with them, suggested they were probably a former student council member with glasses.

It seems there are quite a few thoughts about the succession to the student council position. Isshiki's journey to becoming student council president involved some trials and tribulations. Moreover, perhaps for Xun-senpai, the student council is a special place.

Finally, Xun removed his hand from Isshiki's body, and this time gently placed it on Yukinoshita and Yuihama's shoulders. Then, he looked around at our faces with a hint of nostalgia.

"Although it's different from what I imagined, I'm still very happy to be able to show my face in student council work, and to talk to Yukinoshita, Yui, and Hikigaya."

"Me... me too!"

Whether Yuihama was also affected by the effects of the patrol, she answered with a gentle smile. Although Yukinoshita did not respond, her drooping ears were still slightly red.

Looking back, the only senior who knew anything about our Service Department was Senior Xun.

...Oh no, if I see Xun-senpai giving her graduation speech, I might burst into tears. Tears are probably already welling up in my eyes right now. Despite my reputation for being extremely vulnerable to those younger than me, my older sister is unsurprisingly a weakness in the same way.

It's so wonderful to be called a senior like this. Just as I was feeling this gentle, Senior Xun finished looking us over and began to nod.

Then, as if gathering his strength, Senior Xun clenched his fist tightly.

"Okay—then let's do our best today too! Oh—!"

However, no one followed the fist that shot into the sky and the shout that rang out. As for Isshiki, his previous serious attitude had completely vanished, and he glared at Senior Xun. But Senior Xun, unmoved by that cold gaze, once again went his own way and shot his fist into the sky.

"oh--!"

"……oh oh--"

If we didn't respond, it would take several more times... Besides, the pressure from the former student council members waiting behind Xun-senpai was especially intense... While observing their expressions, I raised my arm to the height of the cat's outstretched fist with restraint. Xun-senpai sighed with great satisfaction at our response.

Then she glanced at the clock on the wall. I looked up at the clock too. People started to gather one after another, and the preparation of ingredients and cooking utensils was finished. Kawasaki and the others seemed to be a little late; they should be here soon.

"It's about time to begin, isn't it?" Thinking this, Senior Xun tilted his head thoughtfully.

"Miss Yang is a little late."

"Yes, the location is quite easy to find—"

Isshiki nodded in response to Senior Inspector. However, I remained frozen in place, unable to nod. This was because I had just heard some ominous words.

"Miss Yang" does not refer to the female attendants working at the hot spring. Only one person addressed Xun-senpai as such.