My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 727

"Although Komachi is interested in this too~ But Komachi, I still have to cook."

Komachi chuckled shyly as she brushed it off. However, Isshiki and Yuihama reacted strongly to Komachi's statement.

"...I can cook a little bit too, you know?"

"Oh, right. Don't worry too much about a nice manicure..."

It seemed Komachi's indirect remark hit home; Isshiki glanced at Komachi for a fleeting moment, while Yui's gaze kept drifting elsewhere. Yukinoshita, meanwhile, nodded, muttering something like, "I see."

"Each has its own circumstances~"

Komachi nodded thoughtfully, then seemed to realize something and suddenly stopped what she was doing. Then, she deliberately exaggerated her words.

"Hey~ But this must be expensive, right?"

"That's correct."

"Um."

Isshiki and Yui answered this cliché, a line often heard on TV shopping programs, with a calm, immediate response. Their unusually serious expressions revealed the dire financial situation of high school students.

"Oh, oh...you're all taking this way too seriously..."

Komachi was also flustered in this situation. Yuihama, however, smiled easily in an attempt to ease the tension.

"You can do your own nails now!"

"You can start getting into nail art at a 100-yen shop."

“Eh——”

Then Isshiki spoke in a nonchalant tone, which gave off an air of older sisterly composure. Komachi looked at her with a gaze that seemed to hold longing.

Seeing that dreamy, girlish reaction, I, as her older brother, felt a mix of emotions. Like this, Komachi will gradually grow into an adult… Am I happy or lonely…?

So, Komachi put me aside with my teary eyes, nodded, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"A 100-yen store would probably work too..."

As Komachi spoke, she glanced at me. She simply looked at me and asked, "What do you think?"

Having always prayed for my sister's growth and always been by her side, my answer would undoubtedly be...

"Even without this nail art, Komachi is still adorable. So cute, so incredibly cute, the cutest in the world!"

"Whoa, here he is. This person is so perfunctory."

Komachi said with an impatient expression, while Yuihama and Isshiki smiled wryly.

No, I'm not against Komachi getting her nails done. I think it's only natural to be interested in fashion... Hmm—but isn't it a bit too early?

Thus, after the troublesome guardian's opinion was settled, a seemingly understanding "hmm" sounded beside him.

"bǎi yuán diàn, I see."

...Isn't it too early for someone else to get involved in these things?

DB Bonus High School Chapter 6 3. As expected, Komachi Hikigaya saw through it.

In industry terminology, there is a term called "iron plate".

The etymology of the word is simply "iron plate" (although there are many other theories about its origin). It is a word related to the hardness of an iron plate, referring to a joke or song that, when brought up, can indeed make people laugh and liven up the atmosphere.

In the entertainment industry, although this word is particularly favored by comedians, it has also found common use in everyday life recently, so you'll often hear this word in daily life.

Specific examples of its use include casual conversations at parties or social gatherings. Even a slightly humorous remark will immediately elicit a response like, "That joke you made is spot on (laughs)." or "That anecdote is definitely my 'spot on'!"—using the phrase with a half-smile. If this usage is followed, even a very interesting topic can instantly transform into a lively and playful scene among a small group of college students. That's how effective it is. People who use such phrases as "spot on" or "anecdotes" in everyday conversation are incredibly bored.

Ultimately, nothing, whether it's a joke, a song, or a topic, can make everyone laugh. Even if a complete novice repeats a winning joke from a comedy competition verbatim, it might not be funny. The same applies to singing enthusiastically at karaoke; if an unfamiliar older man is singing, you can only offer a polite smile and clap along perfunctorily. Even if you present a topic that would interest everyone, you can't expand upon it in front of someone you've just met.

Speak at the right time, to the right person, and say the right thing.

The feeling of making these choices appropriately is related to a person's sense of humor. For example, if an elderly person starts a conversation with another elderly person in a hospital waiting room by saying, "My uric acid level has been rising lately," they will probably then enthusiastically boast about their own health problems.

Ultimately, the essence of what makes something truly solid is the speaker's perception.

People with this kind of ability don't need to deliberately use certain fixed phrases; they can create a lively atmosphere simply by chatting casually. In the end, you could say that communication skills are everything. On the other hand, when talking to someone with absolutely no communication skills, no matter what the topic, it will only result in awkward silences.

However, there are things one can do even when lacking in personal feeling and communication skills.

That is, it takes a long time to build the corresponding relationship.

By taking each other's positions and environments as a reference, we can find common ground and continuously work together to adapt to the labels attached to each other.

If the other person is a classmate, you can talk about studying and cats; if they are a colleague, you can talk about work and cats; if they are a relative, you can talk about retirement and cats. Cats are such a versatile topic!

In any case, if you have some understanding of the person you're chatting with, you can choose topics more easily and make the conversation more lively. Conversely, if you haven't established a good relationship, no matter how compelling the topics you bring up, the conversation will only become awkward and unpleasant.

Although the topic of Disneyland is a staple for Chiba residents, depending on who you're talking to, you might still feel a sense of nostalgia, like reminiscing about a loved one all night long, saying things like, "That mouse has a really loud voice..." or "Yeah, it really does have a really loud voice..."

Thinking about this, the fact that we chatted about random things in the Service Club's classroom is, to some extent, proof that our relationship is deepening.

To say how our Disneyland discussion is going, we've now entered a short tea break.

I let out a satisfied sigh, savoring the brightly colored black tea and the fragrant fried snacks. Isshiki, sitting next to me, also relaxed and murmured something.

"Seriously, you really know a lot about Disney, senior."

"It's just some experience to share."

It's not something to brag about, I shrugged slightly with that attitude.

In reality, my knowledge is limited to its theme parks and rides; Disney itself is not within my purview. My understanding comes from my experiences and observations about Chiba. While I possess general knowledge, I have absolutely no grasp of the core movies and characters, which is why I would be instantly defeated in a quiz show like "The 99-Person Barrier" (a Japanese quiz show on Fuji TV).

Yukinoshita must know a lot about Disney characters. Thinking this, I glanced to the side and saw Yukinoshita twirling a strand of hair that clung to her cheek with her fingers, smiling gently.

"There's no need to belittle yourself like that. You're really good at trivia, aren't you, Hachiman Encyclopedia?"

"Haha, I guess so... although I think Xue Baike is mostly useless. I only have a special enthusiasm for the entries about cats and Mr. Pan."

I answered with a dry laugh, and Yukino pouted in dissatisfaction.

"I don't want to be talked about by people who only know Chiba and anime-related terms."

"Isn't that how Wikipedia works in essence? It tops the list for the number of edits to information about anime and comics."

It's fair to say that Wikipedia has long been a tool for searching anime information. Well, not only are there dozens of works in a single broadcast section, but information related to the anime is also updated weekly after each broadcast, so it's only natural that the information is edited more frequently.

After I finished speaking, Yuihama sighed.

"Hey—I see."

There are many versions of the story. In general, it goes like this:

"Most of what the seniors said was just a general overview. It was too perfunctory."

After Komachi added her explanation, Isshiki added even more, seemingly determined to start an editing battle on Hikigami Encyclopedia. However, I do usually explain things quite casually.

"It's all just useless knowledge..."

Yukinoshita touched her temple and sighed deeply. Then, the hand slid down to cover her cheek, and she turned away to mutter softly.

"...However, the itinerary I just mentioned can still be used as a reference."

"Oh, really...?"

This childish whisper, as if struck by a sudden attack, made me ponder the meaning behind these sweet words. In the end, I gave her a meaningless reply.

...Now? Should we invite her now?

Rather, since the invitation has already brought up Disney-related topics, and the strategy is to "forcefully intervene in the topic and then leave the direction of the topic to the audience," is now the opportunity?

After some consideration, I spoke.

"Well, it's just a travel route; there are countless variations... Have you decided yet?"

After I added a clear probing element to the opening, Yukinoshita was probably wondering how to respond, and she pondered for a while.

"No...it's not decided yet...but I've talked to some classmates about whether we should go shopping together."

"Is that so? But that makes sense."

I really want to praise myself for being able to nod so readily without hesitation.

Deep down, I was thinking, "Yeah, right!! We should have made plans a long time ago! After all, it's tomorrow! Oh no! What a blunder~ I shouldn't have let this invitation slip by... Everything's in chaos now. Oh no—!" (Translator's note: This is imitating Tobe Sho's tone)

This way, people will see me as a fool who got all excited for nothing. I didn't confirm her arrangements beforehand, naively assuming things would go as I expected. How disgusting. I'm just a gleeful buffoon. I wanted to handle it calmly, but I messed it up... So, my mind is filled with thoughts like how to cleverly extend an invitation now, that it's too late to turn back, and that I should just die.

I tried my best to calm my trembling hands, and the black tea I was sipping tasted so bitter.

However, I was able to calm down.

According to Yukinoshita, she doesn't seem to have made a decision yet. So, there's still a chance. In other words, I can still struggle a little longer! ...Hmm—I'm very calm. Calm where?

I lifted the teacup and sipped the black tea slowly. Before finishing the tea, I pondered my next move. At that moment, Yui suddenly gave a bitter smile.

"Well, everyone went by bus. At first, I thought we'd all be with classmates."

Upon hearing this, Isshiki looked disgusted.

"Ah—a troublesome situation."

"Trouble? Hard to say... I don't think someone who's integrated into the class should say that... I guess this person hasn't made any friends in class, right?"

"Yes, there is... I mean, since this is a rare opportunity, I'd like to go with someone I'm closer to."

"Strange... I guess this person didn't make any friends in class after all?"

After listening to Isshiki's confession, Detective Komachi tilted her head in confusion. Although she should be concerned about Isshiki's friendships right now, she decided to leave that aside for the time being.

As Yuihama said, since hiking trips have their pros and cons, there will always be some constraints. If you meet at the destination, you can move freely from the beginning. But if everyone travels by bus, the members are decided on the bus. It's a bit difficult to just say "Well, I'll go that way" as soon as you arrive at the destination. This hike was not only a way to relax before exams, but also to promote harmony among classmates. It might be quite difficult to suddenly disappear at the beginning of the trip.

During Isshiki's confession and Komachi's reasoning, I pretended to listen and ponder while nodding. Yuihama also nodded, her face showing a hint of confusion.

"It's not exactly troublesome for me... My current class is great, but we just got separated into different classes. I'm still thinking about whether to go shopping with Yumiko this afternoon."

After hearing all this, Isshiki made an understanding expression.

"Ah, that's certainly a good idea... But since it's a rare opportunity, I'd rather shop with people I'm closer to, right—"

"That's strange... The conclusion hasn't changed... Could it be that this person simply doesn't have any friends?"

Upon hearing this confession, Detective Komachi tilted her head. While she should be worried about Isshiki's friendships right now, she'd leave that aside for now. Hmm, she believed the two were just teasing each other.

But, I see. This method seems to work fine. I slammed down the empty teacup, muttering to myself.

"Indeed. Wouldn't it be unreasonable to leave the group midway through a trip...?"

"Yeah..."

My whispers overlapped with Yukino's. Glancing sideways, I saw Yukino also casting a probing gaze at me. Seeing that knowing look in her eyes, I felt uneasy.

...Right now? Should we extend an invitation now?

Now that everyone knows the unresolved issues have been resolved, inviting people should be easier, right? No, that won't work, will it? It won't work in this atmosphere, will it? Saying this in front of everyone must be quite painful, right?

In fact, because those two mutterings were so heavy, we were attracting a lot of attention. Speaking in that situation would be incredibly embarrassing.

"...Well, let me think about it some more."

He muttered to himself and nodded slightly beneath the snow at the edge of his field of vision.

Well, I wanted to talk about it later, but the unusually heavy atmosphere makes it hard to speak... I'll think about it some more, including the various methods and matters for handling this situation.

If it were possible, I could just casually mention it, like when I went to eat ramen on my way home a few days ago, or say it in a nonchalant tone like, "Oh, really? Well, let's go home together?" But that feels rather difficult. Especially now that I have a vague feeling that we both would do that, should I say that inviting them is embarrassing, or even shameful...? My self-awareness can't help but cry out.

Thus concludes the operation of "forcefully intervening in the topic and then entrusting the direction of the topic to others."

Upon careful review, the seemingly irrelevant part of "entrusting the direction of the conversation" is what I'm worst at. Ultimately, what exactly is this so-called direction? Is it the awful redo order from that stupid client who says, "Something doesn't feel right"?

However, instructions alone are perhaps better. In an environment where there are no manuals or technical tips, doing anything requires trial and error, which is extremely time-consuming and laborious.

Well, I don't dislike spending time on this.

Ultimately, it's a mistake for someone as awkward and troublesome as me to try to be clever. If I were to succeed, someone like me, who afterwards wonders, "Was this really a wise move?", wouldn't be considered clever at all.

The item we already possessed was of little use, and forcibly squeezing it out now will not create a good situation.

So, what should we do?

This is where smartphones come in. Since they lack their own intelligence, they can simply borrow the intelligence of third parties.

This is a fantastic tool for civilization! Even things that are difficult to say aloud can be conveyed through it. Yes, that's right, a smartphone can do it!

...I also had this thought.

We lingered in the awkward atmosphere of the club room until the very end, and remained silent until it was time to go home.

I sank into the living room sofa, still in my school uniform. I rolled over and lay down, staring blankly at my phone, but unable to muster the energy to switch screens. LINE was open, but the blue cursor just kept flashing, not moving an inch.