My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 536

"It's amazing she was willing to come after hearing such an explanation... Miura is such a kind person..."

"You didn't tell the chuunibyou kids either..."

"Because if you tell them, they won't come."

In fact, Zaimokuza, Sagami-nii, and Qinye were glaring at me resentfully at that moment.

However, things can't go on like this forever.

In short, I reached for the jukebox so I could punch the wooden stand at any moment. Just then, someone grabbed my hand from the other side and pulled up my sleeve.

Turning my head, I saw that the wood-carrying dog's eyes were filled with tears, and it was giving me the look of an abandoned large dog.

"Hachiman..."

"Shut up, Zaimokuza! Be quiet!"

"Do you want me to be even quieter?! I haven't said a single word! Don't you think the atmosphere is incredibly awkward?"

The woodwork stand had already lowered its volume, but because the sound quality was inexplicably good, it was still very clear. Qin Ye and Sagami's younger brother, who had nothing to do, also turned to face me.

"...Really. If you asked a hundred people, 'Is this a night watch?', probably 108 would agree."

Does it include tax...?

"It looks like it'll go even higher..."

Qin Ye and Sagami's younger brother both looked worried and echoed in very low voices. "Look, there are two more people now, making it 110! Ladies and gentlemen, 10%!" (Note)

Note: Japan's consumption tax is 8%, which increased to 10% in October 2019.

The whispers didn't last long. The heavy atmosphere that enveloped the entire room gradually silenced the giggles.

After the dry laugh turned into a melancholy sigh, we boys secretly observed the appearance of the others.

Upon closer inspection, Miura was swinging his legs back and forth, playing with his curls with his fingers, making no attempt to hide his boredom. Thanks to him, the boys were all terrified.

Miura's attitude might seem intimidating at first glance, but from another perspective, it could actually be considered quite friendly. She expresses her dissatisfaction through her entire being, radiating an "don't talk to me" vibe, so she's not difficult to deal with. We just shouldn't force a conversation with her.

However, Yuihama probably couldn't let her go, so she moved over to her side and started operating the jukebox.

"Yumiko, what do you want to sing?"

"Um--"

Yui affectionately tapped Miura on the shoulder, and Miura, probably unable to bear ignoring it any longer, reluctantly looked at the jukebox that Yui handed him, despite his lack of interest.

They huddled together whispering, and as they talked, Miura's mood seemed to improve. She would occasionally burst into laughter and pat Yuihama's thigh.

To onlookers, it looked like two young girls playing, a very dignified scene.

Miura is left to Yuihama... but there's another problem on the other side. I glanced furtively at Ebina.

Although Ebina always wore a smile, it was a polite, insincere smile that betrayed no emotion in her eyes. That was the most terrifying thing... It was hard to tell what someone who handled things so maturely was really thinking, which left people bewildered.

I anxiously wondered, "Is everything alright?" Just then, Ebina suddenly spoke up.

"A game club is a club that plays games, right?"

"Ah, yes."

Qin Ye, who was sitting on pins and needles, was startled and answered hastily. Sagami's younger brother, though silent, nodded at lightning speed. Seeing their reaction, Ebina raised the corners of his mouth and then asked:

"Oh, what kind of games do you guys play?"

"Ah, board games, and things like that..."

"Oh, board games? I play them quite often too."

"Oh, I see."

"It's quite popular~"

"yes."

"Werewolves or something like that."

"yes……"

"There are escape room games too?"

"……yes."

Qin Ye and Sagami brother took turns responding to Ebina.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," the lyrics repeat several times before gradually fading away. Is this the ending of a 1990s pop song?

Ebina's thoughtful gesture made the exchange appear legitimate, barely qualifying as a dialogue. However, the atmosphere remained tense.

I could feel the air gradually becoming thicker, even though the movement was slow, and I exhaled a long, thin breath. Glancing casually to the side, the timber pedestal resembled a goldfish, its mouth opening and closing. I understand. There's a feeling of thin air, isn't there?

I glanced at the woodworker and I, nodded slightly, and our eyes met for a fleeting moment.

"Don't you feel a lot of pain?" "Yes." "Wouldn't it be better to broaden the topic?" "Wouldn't that only amplify the wound?" "You're right."

We exchanged a few words in a voice barely vibrating, then fell silent again, letting out soft sighs at each other.

Boring conversation is worse than silence. In matters of silence, Zai Muza and I are professionals on par with Stephen Seager (note). I entered a semi-meditative state, intending to wait for this tedious conversation, like an awkward social gathering, to end. Before long, the moment of truth arrived.

Note: Several of Stephen Seager's films have the word "silent" in their Japanese titles, such as "The Silent Battleship" (Taiwanese title: "Devil Warrior") and "The Silent Fortress" (Taiwanese title: "The Silent Warrior").

"That's great, board games are fun. What other games do you guys play?"

Ebina asked with a leisurely smile. Sagami and Qin Ye exchanged a glance, their glasses flashing.

"No, no!" Seeing this, Zaimokuza seemed to sense something and slightly raised his hand, speaking in a very low voice to stop them. Perhaps because his movement was so small, his voice did not reach the ears of the two game club members.

Sagami pushed his glasses back into place.

"Well, we don't just play mainstream games like Catan and Scottish Police Grounds... we also play classic games like chess, shogi, and Othello, as well as turtle soup that you can play without the game itself."

"We'll be at the board game expo and showcasing new titles. Other than that, there will probably be TRPGs. Right now, it's Call of Cthulhu. But our ultimate goal is to design our own game, so we plan to play them all. If you're interested, the club has many games available to play anytime."

Qin Ye adjusted his glasses, concluding with a mocking laugh. His answer was remarkably fluent, a stark contrast to his earlier stammering.

Why do we become so talkative when the conversation turns to our areas of expertise? The moment the other person shows interest, we immediately launch into a long, drawn-out monologue, seizing the opportunity to demonstrate our superiority. This is a bad habit of ours.

The two from the gaming club, nostrils flared and panting, looked quite satisfied. Meanwhile, Zaimokuza and I couldn't help but cover our heads in shame, wishing we could disappear into a hole.

However, as expected of Ebina, she understood people like us, so she didn't react in any particular way, just nodded and brushed it off.

"I see~"

Ebina gave a nonchalant yet polite response. However, Yuihama and Miura, who were sitting to the side, were dumbfounded.

"You spoke so fast..."

"Wow……"

Although they only spoke a few words, their tone and expressions revealed intense terror. Miura even visibly shrank back. Please, don't do that.

Sagami's younger brother and Qin Ye also noticed, and they gave stiff smiles that were hard to tell whether they were dry or bitter, and hung their heads dejectedly.

As a result, a heavy atmosphere filled the private room once again.

It seemed hopeless... Just as I was about to give up, there was a knock on the door.

"Has the food I ordered arrived?" I looked towards the door. The person outside didn't wait for our response and eagerly opened the door.

"Yay!"

"Yay!"

One is Tobe Sho, who greets you with an irritating voice, barging in as if it were his own backyard; the other is Totsuka Saika, who greets you with a heavenly voice, descending gracefully like a sparkling star. It's the same sentence, so why is there such a huge difference in cuteness? Why is Totsuka so adorable? She's so dazzling! ☆

As I was lost in thought, Hayato Hayama peeked out from behind the two of them. He was carrying a tray filled with drinks from the beverage bar.

"Hachiman, I've kept you waiting."

"Oh, Totsuka. You've come."

I pushed aside the wooden stool next to me, making room so that Totsuka could naturally sit next to me. This move was so brilliant that even I couldn't help but admire myself!

That said, Totsuka was indeed invited to the victory celebration. As for the other two… I gave Hayama and Tobe, who were sitting opposite Miura, questioning looks. Totsuka glanced at me, then explained with a wry smile:

"Ah, I ran into them on my way back... We mentioned going to karaoke, and my classmate Hubu said he wanted to come."

"Oh, I see..."

Upon closer inspection, the Ministry of Revenue seized the opportunity to sit next to Ebina, excitedly and shyly brushing the hair at the back of his neck.

"Eek! Yumiko and Ebina are here too! Wow! I didn't even know! What a coincidence!"

Even if you're going to act, at least try to make it convincing... But right now, I want to wholeheartedly praise him, saying "So awesome!"

Thanks to Hayama and the others, Miura's mood improved considerably, and the atmosphere around them became more peaceful. Our game club duo was still a bit embarrassed, but compared to the frozen atmosphere earlier, it was much better.

Everyone gathered together to chat, and the atmosphere became slightly like a celebration party. Then, Yui patted me on the shoulder.

"Want to have a toast?"

"...Want it?"

"You look so unwilling..."

I twisted my lips to the extreme, and Totsuka next to me gave a wry smile.

"This kind of thing should be done by the right person."

I glanced at a suitable candidate. Hayama seemed to have overheard our conversation, winked in our direction, shrugged, and continued chatting with Miura. Hayama-senpai really isn't very considerate…

However, the reason for holding this celebration banquet, that is, the initiator of the fake dance plan, is myself. Since we are here to thank everyone, it is only right that I lead the toast and give a speech.

"...Okay, then I'll go say something."

Yuihama smiled and nodded, while Totsuka clapped her hands lightly in front of her chest. Their considerate reaction gave me a nudge, and I deliberately cleared my throat, picked up my cup, and stood up.

"Excuse my boldness, but I'd like to say a few words here..."

Yuihama and Totsuka clapped to liven up the atmosphere, and although the others looked at each other with confused expressions, they still joined in the clapping to match the atmosphere.

Feeling a little awkward because I wasn't used to it, I uttered my first words.

"Hmm... the banquet is coming to an end."

"That was said at the end, wasn't it?"

Hayama grumbled as I took a breath. "It's so noisy, mind your own business! I'm the one speaking now, and I was just about to say something!" I gestured to stop him, finishing my sentence briefly.

"Thank you all for your help. Thanks to everyone, everything went very smoothly. Thank you. Cheers!"

After giving a brief speech, I shouted "Cheers!" and the others joined in, toasting with those around them.

It finally looked like a victory celebration. I breathed a sigh of relief, slumped onto the sofa, and let everyone continue chatting.

× × ×

The celebratory banquet reached its climax.

At first, the game club and Miura and her friends seemed out of place, but thanks to Hayama's skillful mediation, they started chatting. After Tobe took the lead in singing, Totsuka shyly followed suit. Once the atmosphere warmed up, everyone took turns singing.

Since that's the case, it's naturally the turn of the Zaimokuza and the game club duo... but Hayama has to save the day again.

Hayama casually picked an anime song from a well-known Chiba band. After singing the opening chorus, he asked, "Can you sing this?" and handed over the microphone. Zaimokuza nervously took the microphone, and the two game club members joined in, creating an atmosphere where everyone could sing along.

While subtly setting the ball so that the two game club members could also have fun, he also implied that "we've heard this type of song before," which can be described as a high level of skill.

Hayama was still the same as ever, smooth and diplomatic. When it comes to this kind of superficial social skill, this guy is a genius…

I looked at Ye Shan with a mixture of respect and fear, and others looked at him just like me.

"Hayama-senpai is such a nice guy..."

"Finally, I've found someone willing to call me 'senior'..."

Qin Ye and Sagami stared at Hayama in a daze for a while, then looked at me and Zaimokuza, snorted, and looked down on me with disdain.

Even when compared to Hayama, I understand how big the gap is between us, so I'm not angry at all. But I mean, is it okay to show it so obviously? I don't think it's a good idea. Shouldn't I, as an upperclassman, give them a lecture a couple of times—as an upperclassman! That's what an upperclassman should do!

So I patted Sagami's younger brother on the shoulder, who happened to be sitting quite close to me.

"Oh—you like Hayama. That's the same taste as my sister. You two are so alike."

“Tsk!”

Sagami clicked his tongue loudly and put on a serious face. Yes, yes, that expression is just like it. Hmph, I wanted to see that kind of expression... Just as I was secretly chuckling, Zaimokuza made an "ouch" sound, shrugged his shoulders, and sighed helplessly.

"Hachiman, you're just like that, a pathetic sight."