My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 653

I asked Yuihama:

"Have you overcome your aversion to cats?"

"Hmm... I don't know. To be honest, I might even be a little resistant..."

"I think so."

Yukinoshita answered.

"You can't overcome things you don't like overnight. You'll get used to it gradually... If you don't mind, I can go with you again."

"You just really want to go to the cat cafe, don't you...?"

"Hachiman, what are you saying?"

She glared at me fiercely, and I quickly looked away. So...so scary...

"Let's go together as a group of three next time!"

"I can't believe it," Yui said energetically.

Then, in an almost inaudible voice, he added:

"...So, please don't suddenly disappear."

"No way, it's not a cat."

"Yes."

Yukino and I answered immediately.

Upon hearing this, Yuihama smiled the brightest she had that day.

Note 15: The Japanese word for cat also means "to be received" or "to be slept in".

Note 16 is from Natsume Soseki's novel "I Am a Cat".

Short Story Collection 3: Yui Side. Today, Yui Yuigahama also poured her heart into that sentence.

Author: Mizusawa Yume / Illustration: Kasuga Ayumi

"Hi-lo-lo-lo!"

It was just me and Yukinoshita, the two of us in the silent service club office, when the volume suddenly increased.

Yui Yuigahama raised her right hand energetically and walked into the clubhouse.

This guy's high spirits aren't new, but today's high is three times more excited than usual.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the dumpling on Yuihama's head seems to be about one to three times bigger than usual... No, I must be seeing things.

"Hi-lo—!"

Another person energetically raised their right hand and followed Yuihama into the office.

...It's Hiratsuka-sensei.

"..."

"..."

"..."

I, Yukinoshita, and Yuihama forgot to blink and breathe, and froze on the spot.

During the frozen time, Hiratsuka-sensei swaggered over to the long table and sat down.

She rested her elbows on the table, clasped her hands together, and made a heartfelt request.

"...For the sake of my all-out effort, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Yukinoshita, who restarted filming because of that sentence, calmly took a sip of black tea.

"Please speak."

Then, prepare yourself, exhale, and look sincerely at Hiratsuka-sensei.

When Hiratsuka-sensei asks for a favor, it usually triggers a series of complaints from us, including Yukinoshita. In the end, seeing Hiratsuka-sensei at a disadvantage and about to cry, Sheramon will say, "Honestly, there's nothing I can do with Shizuka," and obediently give in. This is the usual pattern.

However, the young female teacher preemptively shouted "Hi-lo!", a rare and aggressive move that forced Yukinoshita to surrender from the start. Hiratsuka-sensei is serious today.

"Hey, you autistic guy, where are you going, 'Hi-lo'...?"

Unbeknownst to her, she had stepped into the stratosphere alone, her own greeting echoing in her voice, which trembled with unease.

"Perhaps the reason we live is to find that answer."

All I can offer is a paltry amount of comfort.

Hiratsuka-sensei's gaze fell on me, Yukinoshita, and Yuihama in that order.

"You guys are the kind of young people who are at the forefront of trends, so you must watch YouTube a lot, right?"

Then, she started a shallow topic that contrasted sharply with the serious atmosphere just now.

"I'll be frank. I'd like to ask you to create an official YouTube channel for the Service Society."

"I'd rather die than do that."

I mustered my quadriceps and stood up in one breath. Just as I turned around, Ms. Hiratsuka grabbed my arm.

She looked up at me with the pitiful, abandoned kitten-like eyes, making me gasp. The cardboard box that held the kitten must have read, "Please marry me."

Hmm... if this keeps up, I might not be able to resist marrying her...‼

"Please explain your reasoning, Hiratsuka-sensei. This is all too sudden."

Yukinoshita tried to remain calm, speaking as if she were advising her.

"Yes. Actually... this was requested by the school."

I knew it. In fact, that's true most of the time.

"A while ago... a student from another school in the city uploaded a video to YouTube, which resulted in a lot of criticism online. As a countermeasure, the school seems to be encouraging various units to set up official channels."

Professor Hiratsuka looked at the company laptop on the table, which was used to receive inquiries, with a worried expression.

After hearing her explanation, I understood.

"Huh? A countermeasure? So, the school only..."

Several question marks appeared above Yuihama's head, and I explained to her word by word:

"In this day and age, it's difficult for schools to prevent students from uploading videos to video websites. In that case, schools might as well just let students create their own channels and upload videos, and actively get involved."

"They probably thought this would at least help control the students' behavior."

Yukinoshita drew her conclusion in a very characteristic way.

"Ah, right! We can tell the students, 'The school is watching you too!'"

Yui clapped her hands. It seemed she understood.

Simply put, the school is trying to subtly emphasize that "the school also monitors the websites you use," thus putting psychological pressure on students to prevent them from uploading inappropriate videos without thinking. The extent of its effectiveness remains to be seen.

Thinking about it this way, schools these days are really tough. Not only do they have to keep an eye on what students do at school, but also at home, outside, and online.

"So it seems our school has decided to create an official channel... but aren't many of the older teachers unfamiliar with this? So everyone wants to take inspiration from other schools and create channels for each club, not in the name of the school."

Wow, they're basically trying to delegate the work to the students. But considering the root of the problem, don't you think they're putting the cart before the horse?

"Then they said to me, 'Hiratsuka-sensei is so young, your club could easily create a channel. In that case, we'll leave the school's channel to you, haha.' They think they can just push everything onto me... Does labor system reform really work...? ⁉"

Hiratsuka-sensei was so angry that her shoulders were shaking, and she let out a deep sigh.

"When I was at a loss, Yuihama, I thought of you."

"Huh, me...?"

"I don't understand YouTube or YouTubers, but I do know that YouTubers get excited and use weird greetings."

Hiratsuka-sensei rested her chin on her hand, her tone full of confidence.

Unfortunately, your only knowledge... I shook my head helplessly.

"I think 'Hi' sounds like a YouTuber's greeting... Yuihama, you can become a YouTuber!!"

"Huh? I didn't mean that! ⁉"

Ms. Hiratsuka grabbed her shoulder tightly, and Yuihama looked at us with confusion.

Hilo is a product of a female high school student's vitality, unaffected by the trends of the times.

It's not like YouTubers' greetings; YouTubers' greetings are more likely influenced by Hi-Roh.

Perhaps sensing our lukewarm reaction, Hiratsuka-sensei's tone carried a hint of flattery.

"Hachiman, didn't you have some complaints about the email service before?"

I don't have a problem with the email inquiry service itself, but the inquiries I received were all overly unusual, which I think is problematic. It seems I failed to convey my intended message to her.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that too... In this day and age, isn't it a bit outdated to still be receiving inquiries via email?"

With a melancholy expression, she gazed into the air and suddenly uttered this suggestion.

"Should we take this opportunity to shut down the email service and switch to handling inquiries via LINE or YouTube?"

"No, no, no, this gives me a headache. No, no, no."

I slowly stood up and firmly opposed Professor Hiratsuka's opinion. My tone was also a little stiff because I was in such a hurry.

"Previously, because we used email, we were able to control the volume while still having a way to process it. Although we received a lot of random emails, we rarely received any truly problematic ones. What if we switched to using social media to solicit donations online..."

"The number of letters written with sarcasm or pranks will likely increase significantly."

Yukinoshita followed up, gently shaking her head.

"Ignoring it will also drain your energy. If the purpose of creating a YouTube channel is to collect inquiries online, I object."

Rather, we should have already made it clear to Professor Hiratsuka how much pressure it would put on people by having their personal phones used to read consultation emails.

"Really? That's a trend of the times. The media for sending and receiving information changes with the times. From pagers to smartphones, from smartphones to mobile phones—"

Is this a history of changes in gadgets within a year in the Conan world?

"Okay, then we won't do a public fundraising campaign. But could you please help us with this official channel matter...?"

"Hiratsuka-sensei, I'd like to confirm something first... There's no problem with creating a channel for the club. But promotional videos for people within the school are one thing, but I can't appear in a video that I know will be seen by the whole world."

"Hmm... I've always had a resistance to that kind of thing..."

After hearing Yukinoshita and the others' concerns, Hiratsuka-sensei's shoulders slumped.

"Waaah, I thought so too... I've also filmed videos for the school's official channel with other teachers, and that alone is difficult enough..."

High difficulty.

In that case, don't go beyond that level of difficulty; relax a bit and fly low over it.

"It depends on the approach. We don't need to be on camera. We can design a mascot as a substitute, have it appear in the video, and have one of us voice it."

I made this suggestion, and Bibin looked over with great interest.

This is a common practice for businesses. Instead of sending an employee to film a video, they create a mascot or virtual character to act as a spokesperson. This avoids attracting unnecessary attention and, in other words, avoids taking on responsibility.

"The Service Club's mascot! It looks really interesting!!"

Yuihama suddenly became interested. Hiratsuka-sensei probably breathed a sigh of relief, revealing a calm smile, and crossed her arms.

"Speaking of which, what kind of videos do you guys usually watch? I mostly watch videos that teach people how to find a partner or self-help videos..."

"Yukinoshita doesn't seem interested in that kind of thing."

The specific examples that Hiratsuka-sensei gave were so realistic that they brought tears to my eyes. I deliberately didn't ask any more questions and instead turned the conversation to Yukinoshita.

"That's rude. I also know how to make good use of video websites."

Oh yeah, this guy watches cat videos online. Conversely, it seems like all she ever watches are cat videos.

"What about the autistic guy? Do you have a favorite YouTuber or subscribe to any channel?"

"I... well, I have subscribed to the official channel of Chiba Prefecture."

"Well, as I expected..."

Huh, why is Yukino looking at me with that "I can't do anything with you" look? As a resident of Chiba Prefecture, shouldn't I be the one being praised?

"And there's Pony Canyon's official channel."