My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 742

"To be more precise, it's because of that. Compared to my junior, he gives me more of the feeling of being the younger brother of someone from Chuan or something, or the older brother of someone from Jinghua."

Dazhi is indeed my junior, but I knew him before he enrolled, so I don't really feel like a junior to him now.

If I joined the same club as him, we would see each other regularly, and our intimacy level would probably increase, allowing me to treat him as a junior. But for now, I only see him as a bug trying to get close to Komachi.

...If I talk about that bug, Komachi will get annoyed, so I just won't say it.

With that in mind, I swallowed back what I was saying, but this decision didn't seem right, as Komachi was still looking at me with a puzzled expression.

However, upon hearing the clear sound of the metal bat hitting the ball and the off-key horn, she turned her gaze to the window.

"Sigh, Komachi thought about it too..."

Then he sighed softly.

It seems I don't need to worry; Komachi has already thought about the future. That's great... I had just breathed a sigh of relief when Komachi crossed her arms, her face serious and her brows furrowed.

"But even if you want to recruit members, it's hard to explain to people what this club does."

"Ah... really."

I couldn't help but agree.

In reality, to outsiders, the Service Society is probably a mysterious organization.

Despite its name, the Service Society doesn't actually serve anyone—that is, it doesn't volunteer. Its recent activities are essentially those of a student council contractor. The occasional requests or consultations it receives are all extremely private cases, which it's inconvenient to explain to third parties.

If clubs had clear goals like baseball, soccer, and rugby clubs, such as Koshien, National, or Hanazono (note: all three are venues for national tournaments), that would be fine. Unfortunately, I've never heard of a "World Championship for Troubleshooting."

"When I hear about the Service Society, I just think, 'What kind of club is that?'"

I remember when I was preparing for a Christmas event and met with Kaori Orimoto, she laughed so hard she just told me what she thought at the time.

"Hmm...besides the activities, there's a lot else..."

Komachi smiled wryly, nodded, and cheered herself up.

"Anyway, this is a problem—or rather, a special club. Komachi thinks it's okay not to force people to join. Think about it, if they can't handle it, they'll eventually leave anyway. Just like my brother's part-time job."

"Oh, oh... um, you're right..."

Komachi held up her index finger and waved it back and forth, saying, "Thanks to my example, this statement is very convincing. Someone like me, an expert at canceling interviews, can sense the work atmosphere just by calling to schedule an interview, and then I'll just stand them up."

Besides, even in paid part-time jobs, there are plenty of people who skip work without reason, so it's not surprising that they'd quit club activities that don't pay them in a second.

No matter how hard you try to recruit people, if they leave, all your efforts will be wasted. In fact, considering the costs of recruitment, you might even end up losing money.

This means that simply recruiting people randomly is not enough; we also need to work hard to prevent members from leaving the club.

Seriously, I've heard that even office workers are trying hard to keep new employees from quitting lately... During new employee training, HR even instructs, "Please don't scold new employees." Instead of that, shouldn't we first review the business system and salaries? Who would quit if they had a three-day weekend and an annual salary of ten million yen?

Now is not the time to imagine my future.

It concerns the future of the Service Society.

Whether an unrelated third party can adapt to this inexplicable club is highly uncertain.

In that case, it would be faster to find people who are adaptable to this place from the beginning, or people who have the means to adapt.

This refers to what is known as headhunting.

"How are your friends? Do you have anyone who wants to serve others?"

"Huh... This is a maid recruitment ad... Does that mean Komachi doesn't want to serve anyone...?"

Komachi let out a groaning sound.

What a coincidence, I have absolutely no interest in serving others either. If the president and members have absolutely no interest in serving, what kind of club is this anyway?

I paused for a moment to think, and Komachi also rested her chin on her hand in thought.

"However, there's probably not much hope for friends either. People who are close to Komachi are already in clubs, or they decided to go home from the start."

"Oh... nowadays, everyone has already joined clubs."

Komachi shrugged with a wry smile.

"Yes."

About a month has passed since I started school.

The period of experiencing joining clubs has gradually come to an end, and most of the motivated first-year students have moved on to clubs that interest them.

However, to date, no one has come to experience joining the Society or to visit.

Since we started organizing the joint dance, we've been so busy that we haven't made any preparations for recruiting new members, which is quite unfortunate. Frankly, we never expected that serving society would continue to exist, so how were we supposed to prepare?

Even though so much time has passed, shouldn't we do something? I racked my brains, but Komachi, the person in question, was completely unconcerned.

"Oh well, there's no use in rushing. Let's just maintain the status quo for now. We'll think about the staff issues later, Komachi."

"Yeah?"

"Is it really okay?" Komachi nodded in response to the question, which carried a strong sense of skepticism.

"Hmm...and it's not bad for Komachi to have this office all to herself."

Then he revealed a wicked smile.

"Oh... now that you mention it, I'm a little envious..."

"Right, right? I have a private room at school, it's VIP."

Komachi laughed smugly, joking as if she were about to dance with joy.

However, the image that had just flashed through my mind uncontrollably, making me see a touch of loneliness in her smile.

No one knows what Komachi is really thinking, despite saying those words.

But this new service club was founded by Komachi, and how she runs it is her prerogative. I, who will be leaving in less than a year, perhaps have no right to interfere.

But if you can.

I instinctively looked towards the door of the community office.

If possible, I hope it can be like that day. They appeared without knocking, just casually flung open the door.

This is an extremely selfish wish.

The door suddenly began to shake. Hearing the sound, Komachi looked over and saw the door slowly open.

A refreshing breeze blew from the window into the corridor. Her flaxen hair fluttered in the wind, and the bow tie at her chest swayed gently.

Without saying a word, Isshiki Iroha walked into the office as if she knew the way inside.

"Thanks for your hard work--"

She slammed the door shut behind her, and then, as if to say hello, raised two fingers and shook them.

Seeing this, Komachi gave a helpless smile.

× × ×

Iroha Isshiki is the student council president and manager of the soccer club.

To elaborate further, she was not a member of the Service Society.

But you keep showing up to visit all the time... Okay, it's fine. As long as you don't bring any super difficult landmine cases.

So, what brings this young lady here today? I looked at Isshiki, who had sat down in the chair that had somehow become her seat and looked around the office.

"...Um—where are Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai? Didn't they come today—?"

Their gazes were all fixed on the empty seat.

Normally, Yukinoshita and Yuihama would be sitting there, but unfortunately they took the day off.

"They were absent due to other commitments."

"Yes, yes, so today it's Komachi and her brother on duty."

I answered, and Komachi echoed, while Isshiki rested his chin on his hand and pondered.

"Oh yeah...that's a headache..."

"Huh, what's wrong... is there a problem?"

"Could this be another unreasonable request from the student council?" I asked nervously. Isshiki, flashing a bright smile, replied without batting an eye:

"No, I was just thinking that if I did that, no one would be making tea..."

"What do you take Yukinoshita for...?"

Does this guy think the Service Club is a coffee shop...? I put on a sour face, tapped my forehead, and winked at me while sticking out my tongue and laughing:

Just kidding♪

Ugh, this kid's so adorably affected! At this point, she can't fool me anymore. Okay, she is cute... she is cute, that's true, but that's another matter. I need to find out what Isshiki's purpose is. Oh my, she really is cute?

"Ah, then Komachi will make tea today."

"Thank you, Xiaomi~☆"

Isshiki laughed with satisfaction, and Komachi said "You're welcome" as she stood up from her seat.

Speaking of which, Komachi's nickname is now fixed as Mimi... I'll call her Mimi from now on! But our Mimi won't call me "Big Brother." (Note: This refers to the character Mimi from *Uma Musume Pretty Derby*. Mimi calls the player "Big Brother" or "Big Sister.")

While I was pondering, Xiaomi deftly brewed tea.

However, it wouldn't be good to just sit here and wait for tea to be brought up. I looked at Issei and urged her to explain why I came. She had just said she was having trouble, so she must have run into some trouble again.

Isshiki sensed my gaze and cleared his throat.

"I suppose I'm here for work. There's something I'd like to discuss with you..."

She raised her index finger to her chin, tilted her head, and sighed. Judging from her tone and actions, she was probably hesitating about whether or not to speak.

Isshiki then looked towards the empty seat.

Hmm. Although we don't know what she wants to discuss with us, Isshiki seems to hope that Yukinoshita and Yuihama can also be present.

Then I'll have to ask you to come another day... Before I could even speak, Komachi's interest was piqued.

"Oh, is it negotiable?"

Komachi's eyes shone with enthusiasm.

The Service Society is a place for people to discuss their troubles and ask for favors. Maybe she's so motivated because she finally has some decent work to do.

Komachi quickly prepared to make tea, pressed the switch on the kettle, and hurriedly returned to her original seat.

Then, facing Ikse, he used the back of his hand to brush aside the hair hanging over his shoulder.

Uh, your hair isn't long enough to need to be brushed aside with your hands... I thought to myself, as Komachi brushed her hair aside two or three more times, revealing a very calm smile.

"Then, I'd like to hear the details. Please have a seat."

Then, in the same deliberately calm tone, he gestured for Isshiki to sit down. Isshiki was dumbfounded.

"No, no, no, I'm already sitting down... I mean, is this an imitation of Yukino-senpai? Haha, it's not like her at all... no, it's a little bit like her."

Komachi brushed her hair aside, as if to brush away Isshiki's dry laughter, and placed her hand on the corner of her mouth.

"Komachi was just acting like a company president, okay? She wasn't imitating Yukino-neechan, okay?"

"Yes, yes, yes. She always says 'okay' to me."

The overly exaggerated Yukino Yukinoshita impersonation made Isshiki point at Komachi and burst out laughing.

Hey~? Don't do that~? That's not good~

I wanted to use the "hot girl" approach to advise them, but the so-called juniors are just people who use seniors or superiors as topics of conversation when they're not around.

Stopping them would be incredibly tactless, and stopping them from pursuing a sexy image would be equally absurd.

However, you should know when to stop... If the real person sees this impersonation, she'll be angry. No, wait, her sulking is kind of addictive...

While I was thinking, the two of them were still talking about the senior's impersonation show.

"Hmm—then I'll practice 'Hi-lo!'"

"Oh—! I really want to see Iroha-senpai's full-force 'Hi-ro!'~! Just that scene alone would make Komachi laugh a lot."

"...Wait a minute? Isn't it a bit strange to say you're laughing so hard? You're treating me like a joke, aren't you?"

"No, no, no, no pfft—! That's not true."

"They're completely treating me like a joke..."