My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

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"Is it inconvenient to discuss this at this time?"

"Whoa whoa……"

You're talking about that right now, aren't you? Is this guy... the king's personal barber? I'm not some cave where you can confide your secrets...

"Even knowing it's impossible, hearing those rumors still scares you, doesn't it?"

I reflexively and correctly understood what the Ministry of Revenue wanted to express.

"...Hmm, impossible."

While I verbally agreed with the Ministry of Revenue, I was secretly worried that we were talking about completely different things.

He went straight to the heart of the matter, which surprised me a bit, but from another perspective, it was just right.

"After that rumor spread, what was Hayama's reaction?"

"Well... there's not much difference, is there?"

The Ministry of Revenue made surprised sounds, "Oh..." and "Hmm..." with a puzzled look. He kept tilting his head while jogging, swaying left and right, which was quite dangerous. Finally, as if he had thought of something, he slapped his fist into his palm.

"If I had to say, it would be this: compared to Hayato himself, the people around him have changed more?"

"What?"

From the perspective of someone in the Ministry of Revenue, this answer was extremely serious, which made me inadvertently ask a question back. The Ministry of Revenue should be more like the Ministry of Revenue; to actually offer such a pertinent opinion, what are you being so arrogant about! The Ministry of Revenue should be more aware of its role. When speaking, remember to include words like "hey," "wow," and "bad," and be incredibly loud, otherwise I won't understand that it's the Ministry of Revenue's language, which is very troublesome.

Unfortunately, my prayers failed to reach the heavens, and the Minister of Revenue continued speaking seriously. Not only that, but because of my follow-up questions, he explained in even greater detail. The Minister of Revenue was basically incredibly annoyed, but he was surprisingly kind even in this situation…

"Oh dear, even though Hayato is acting the same as usual, everyone's still a little hesitant. Didn't someone confess to him before? Once something like that happens, everyone starts talking about it out of curiosity. Yumiko's a little annoyed too."

The Ministry of Revenue sighed deeply; it seemed he was quite worried too. It was none of my business, but it was a matter of great importance to the person involved. He must have been longing to confide in someone. Having no direct connection to Ye Shan's social circle, yet being somewhat involved, I was perfectly suited to be the listener.

The Ministry of Revenue seemed to have accumulated a lot of fatigue. Like a parrot that was about to go bald from excessive pressure, it scratched the back of its neck in frustration and sighed deeply again.

"And Yui too."

"After all, Yuihama is quite good at reading the mood."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

"Which one is that?" I looked towards the Ministry of Revenue next to me, where he was waving his hands frantically.

"She's very popular, so people who like her can't stay still."

“…I see.”

Breathing stopped for a brief moment.

However, there's nothing surprising about it. I already knew that Yui was very popular with boys. In fact, when we were preparing for the sports meet, I saw male students I didn't know trying to chat her up, hoping to get closer to her.

Therefore, the reason I stopped breathing was something else, not because Yuihama was popular.

My feelings right now are probably the same as when I heard that boring gossip. There's an uncomfortable feeling, like a green-eyed monster wriggling inside me.

There were several monsters running rampant inside my stomach, and it felt awful. Besides, each of those monsters was extremely ugly and troublesome.

At times like these, running is the thing to do. The surge of endorphins, coupled with a smile and a V-sign with both hands as you cross the finish line, should make you feel much better.

I slightly quickened my sluggish pace. The Ministry of Revenue followed suit, increasing its speed accordingly.

I said—compared to penguins.

He caught up with me and started talking to me.

So? Did you also release endorphins from running? Don't talk to me casually, or I'll think we're friends.

"And what about you?"

"Huh? I don't understand what you're asking."

I coldly answered the sudden question, and the Minister of Revenue gave me a strangely gentle, half-smiling smile and patted my shoulder... Ugh, so annoying.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me. I understand. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"What is that...?"

I was clearly impatient, but the Minister of Revenue wasn't listening at all; he just kept saying what he wanted to say. And he seemed shy, speaking in a roundabout, hesitant way, which was incredibly annoying.

"I just wanted to get your opinion. How can we develop that kind of relationship? No, I know our situations are different. But you and Yui are in the same club, right? There are always a lot of...wait, wait. Aren't you and Yukinoshita in the same club too?...wait, Yui? Ah, uh, Yukinoshita? Yeah..."

It seems that the mystery hunter, Tobe, has hit a roadblock here, hence the question mark above his head.

Alright, hunter's opportunity!

Note: In the quiz show "One Million Yen Quiz Hunter", host Hirokazu Yagyu shouted "Hunter's Opportunity" at the end.

"Yeah, we're in the same club, that's all."

Before he could say anything out of line, I quickly answered, echoing what the user department had just said. The user department looked completely taken aback.

"Huh, that's all? Really? Uh, but weren't you two together this morning...?"

"Aren't you in the same club as Isshiki? Just because we met in the morning doesn't mean we're related."

The Ministry of Revenue clapped his hands and pointed his index fingers at me forcefully... Ugh, so annoying.

"That's right! It really makes sense—compared to penguins, you're actually teaching perverts, squeezing dogs and sucking on Yester, aren't you?"

He's a negotiator... How come this person can't speak Japanese or English well...?

"Ah, but there are also people like Iroha who frantically cling to the same group."

"oh……"

I couldn't help but think about what happened at Christmas.

Isshiki Iroha's attempt to close the distance may have influenced Hayama Hayato's current way of doing things.

While I was pondering this, the Ministry of Revenue, who had been incredibly excited and talking nonstop just a second ago, suddenly fell silent.

"Ah—sorry. Never mind. This is not something we should talk about."

"...I never expected that."

The Minister of Revenue put on a stern face, seemingly lost in self-loathing, and averted his gaze from me. His apology wasn't directed at me, but rather at someone who wasn't present. Such an honest demeanor was hard to reconcile with the Minister of Revenue who was usually so argumentative.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue, probably reflecting on his earlier inappropriate jokes, scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"After all, Iroha was serious... and Hayato must have seriously considered it before giving her his answer, right?"

Have you seriously considered it?

Hayama has probably been seriously thinking about this. It involves many things, not just his own problems, not just Isshiki's problems. It started during the graduation trip—no, it started even earlier, and it hasn't changed since. He uses this to maintain various relationships, while at the same time being bound by them.

The man next to me, proudly talking about his friend, is probably also part of the relationship he's maintaining.

"Of course! Because he's Hayato, you know. He wouldn't just say anything and leave people with bad memories."

"...You really trust him."

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue's eyes widened.

"Hey, what are you saying? It's not really like that, is it? Well, oh my, Hayato is reliable, isn't he?"

Perhaps it was the word "trust" that embarrassed him; the Minister of Revenue's cheeks flushed from the cold air and his shyness, and he tried to rephrase it. "Hey, don't do that! Wouldn't I be the one most embarrassed saying that word?"

To dispel his shyness, the Minister of Revenue patted his chest and continued:

"I've received so much help from Hayato. I'm really confident about that."

"There's nothing to be proud of..."

The Minister of Revenue was not ashamed; he muttered something and scratched at the back of his neck.

Wow, I really owe him a ton of favors.

"Remember to pay it back later."

"That's right! You're right... although it doesn't seem necessary."

At first, his tone was as frivolous as usual, but it lost its momentum as he spoke. For someone like the Minister of Revenue, his expression was now remarkably serious, which piqued my curiosity, so I urged him to continue with my gaze. The Minister of Revenue lightly scratched his cheek.

"I often consult him about things... but Hayato has never complained to me, so even if he needs help, I probably wouldn't know."

The Minister of Revenue raised the corners of his mouth. It was like a cold wind that had been blowing on him. Dull, yet carrying a hint of loneliness.

It was too awkward to stay silent, so I thought about what to say and then a brilliant idea struck me.

"...Maybe he has no worries, which is why he didn't come to you to complain."

"That's true! Hayato is so handsome!"

"Well, it has nothing to do with looks... Besides, didn't you help him out at Tesco? He was very grateful to you, wasn't he? I'm just guessing."

"That's true! Hayato is so handsome!"

This time it's related to appearance...

After talking with me, Hubu seemed a little more relaxed, and his running speed improved slightly. Whenever the cold wind blew, he would excitedly shout to himself, "It's freezing! It's freezing!"

Soon after, we spotted Ooka and Yamato ahead. They were worried about Tobe, who hadn't caught up yet, and deliberately slowed down.

"I need to go find them, I'm off!"

"oh."

I gave a brief reply, and Hobu raised a hand to say goodbye before dashing off. He called out loudly to Ooka and Yamato, waving as he ran over. The two men exclaimed, "Oh no, he's here!" and "Run!" and disappeared in a flash.

The Ministry of Revenue, who's chasing after them, seems quite pleased. That's wonderful...

× × ×

After saying goodbye to the Ministry of Revenue, I continued running silently.

The boys' long-distance running route is a large loop around the outside of the school, while the girls run an inner loop. The two routes overlap exactly in the area where the main gate and side gate are located.

The girls only have to run half the distance as the boys, so by the time the boys reach that section, the girls have usually already passed through it.

Everyone's running speed is different, and their motivation varies from person to person. Therefore, some girls who run slower than a snail have been pursued by boys.

For example, right now, in front of me, there's a trio of people weakly waving their arms, just going through the motions...

"I said, we're running super slowly. Is this okay?"

"Is there a problem? Are you saying you don't think marathons are super troublesome?"

"I understand."

"Really, I have really bad stamina—"

These people were so engrossed in their conversation that they were completely oblivious to their surroundings. They were chattering incessantly, making an incessant, deafening noise. What's with this noisy trio of women? Are they performing a stand-up comedy routine with guitar and shamisen accompaniment?

Having a good relationship is a wonderful thing, but I don't think the three of them need to line up so affectionately. It's awkward for me to get close. If I just move in, they seem to think I'm disgusting, so I always carefully maintain a proper distance. Hehehe…

Seriously, please stop blocking the way. It's really bothering me. Especially that guy in the middle. The one with the short red hair, yeah, you...

I stared at the back of that guy's head, feeling like I'd seen that person before.

Who is it...? Not a classmate of someone named Kawa. I remember it's a surname that's easy to get wrong... Aii? No, it's Aiki... no, that's not right either... Sagami?

Oh, right, it's Sagami.

My classmate, who previously served as the executive chairman of the school anniversary celebration and the chairman of the sports meet, is a highly respected figure, nicknamed "Little Model".

I don't quite remember the other two. The PE class was held together by several classes, so I guess it was students from other classes.

At first glance, these two passersby A and B seem to have a good relationship with Sagami.

Unlike Miura or Kawasaki, she doesn't have an eye-catching appearance, nor is she particularly cute. She's probably around the eighth or ninth cutest in the class... Okay, the eighth cutest girl, from today onwards you'll be called Passerby A! The other one will be called Passerby B.

Passerby A had lost all motivation and was just walking while swinging his arms wildly, leaning towards Sagami and Passerby B.

"Have you heard? It's a complete bloodbath."

"Ah—Miura-san and Yui-hama-san, right—"

Sagami is truly one of our classmates; just hearing the term "battleground" tells you it refers to that rumor.

"Yes, yes, yes. I wonder what the actual situation is like—?"

Passerby A seemed eager to discuss this topic and tried to expand on it. Then, Passerby B, acting as if he knew the inside story, began to offer his insightful opinions.

"I think—the more innocent a girl seems, the more cunning she is. Is she the type who sends New Year's greetings to everyone?"

"It seems like Yuigahama-san is that kind of person!"

Passerby A stomped his feet and burst into laughter. This guy's sentences keep changing, like he's trying to show me Solomon's nightmare? (Note)