My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 84

When I was in junior high school, I thought everyone would prepare a surprise party for me, and I even practiced my surprised expression. But after I realized that such a thing was impossible, I stopped practicing.

"Hmm... If you don't like birthday parties, how about you go and have fun with everyone?"

Who are you referring to as "everyone"?

If you don't ask beforehand, the consequences could be disastrous. Especially when you first enter a new school, you might be invited out by classmates you chat with often, only to find that you hardly know anyone when you get there. Plus, since this is the first activity after starting school, if you don't interact with everyone much, you'll quickly become a loner. Therefore, "going out together" during your student days is actually a test; whether you receive an invitation is the first hurdle, and your actual performance during the activity will also be graded.

"Yukino, Komachi, and Aya, right?"

Oh dear~ the timber stand was eliminated in the first round!

However, this is only natural. If it were me, I would also eliminate him first.

I remained silent for a few seconds without answering.

"No, if you don't like it... two people are fine too..."

Yui touched her index finger to mine and looked me up. As I looked into her eyes, I felt my heart race, so I immediately looked away and tilted my head back.

"I don't dislike it at all; on the contrary, I think it's quite good—especially the Totsuka part!"

"Just how much do you like Xiao Cai?"

"I...I don't like him! I'm just a little interested!"

"Isn't that almost the same as liking someone?"

Yuihama clutched her head and wailed.

Sigh... It's so hard to keep my distance from her without even realizing it, and it's exhausting to deliberately keep my distance to avoid misunderstandings.

However, going out with Totsuka is a good suggestion. Besides, it's rare to run into him today, yet I didn't have a chance to say hello. Damn it! Hachiman, you useless thing! Maggot! Mizutsuba!

"Okay, what are we going to do?"

Upon hearing my question, Yuihama excitedly replied:

"Fireworks festival! Let's all go watch the fireworks!"

"I can see the Rod Marines' fireworks from my house, so I don't want to go out of my way to do it."

"Too self-centered!"

She pointed at me forcefully, and with a thoughtful sound, she began to rack her brains.

"Otherwise, a test of courage!"

"Ghosts are scary, I don't want to."

"Is that your reason?"

The haunted sites in Chiba are no joke. If you saw those things online late at night, you'd be scared out of your sleep. The Snake Pond, the Kannon statue in Tokyo Bay, the Eight Pillars Cemetery, and the execution ground ruins in front of a university nearby, the ruins of a radio factory... Even if something as good as Totsuka hugging you tightly happened, I'd probably be scared out of my wits.

Yuihama persevered and was not discouraged at all.

"Then...the beach or the swimming pool?"

"No, no, I feel... a little embarrassed."

"Um...actually, I'm a little embarrassed myself..."

She fidgeted and lowered her gaze shyly. I said, "Hey, if you're going to be shy, why don't you just say it? Even I'm getting shy."

"Aren't there any other options?"

"I've got it! Let's go camping!"

"Absolutely not, there are bugs everywhere there. I really can't handle the bugs, I'm sorry."

"How can you be so willful! You're so useless! Fine, I'm ignoring you! You big... idiot..."

Yuihama brought out her pitifully small vocabulary and berated me before angrily turning and leaving.

"...Actually, it doesn't have to be related to summer."

At this moment, Yui stopped and turned back. Her anger had dissipated, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"I see...that makes sense. We'll keep in touch then!"

"Okay, contact me again later."

After the conversation ended, she turned and ran back to Miura. Miura seemed impatient and unhappy, but after Yui clasped her hands together and apologized profusely, her mood improved. She jokingly tapped Yui on the head, and then the two of them started walking together.

I watched them leave, and then I started my journey home.

The cumulonimbus clouds piled up very high in the sky, presenting a crimson red color.

A cool breeze blew up, just in time to cool down my feverish head. I decided to take a leisurely walk home and cool off along the way.

The sky at dusk was a mix of indigo and crimson, and it seemed that it would be quite a while before the two colors completely separated.

Volume 4, Part 2: No matter what, they couldn't escape Hiratsuka Shizuka's clutches.

The cicadas have been chirping non-stop since early morning.

The TV is reporting that today's temperature is the highest since the start of summer, but do you guys say the same thing every day? Also, why do geniuses who are supposed to appear only once every ten years seem to emerge every year?

I couldn't stand the heat any longer, so I turned off the TV, lay down on the sofa, and started playing handheld game consoles.

Today was another day spent staying home, touching and fiddling with things around the house. Komachi was studying diligently in her room, so I was the only one in the living room.

It's been less than two weeks since the start of summer vacation.

My summer vacation this year was no different from previous years. I slept until late morning every day, turned on the TV to watch "Pet Encyclopedia" and "Summer Children's Animation Exhibition," and then went to the bookstore on a whim. In the afternoons, I read, played video games, and studied hard. I was very satisfied with this kind of life.

For the Mavericks, summer vacation is a rare period of liberation. This has nothing to do with "Angel Sanctuary".

Even if I spend the whole day in a daze, it won't bother anyone. That being said, I don't usually interact with people, so I never cause any trouble. I'm so well-behaved.

In short, once summer vacation arrives, no one can control me.

That's right, I am Freedom, or as it's called in English, a Gundam. I—we are Gundams!

The idea of ​​"not having to do anything" is very appealing, as it means that you lack nothing in your world. However, when I hear people say to me while I'm working, "Um... you don't have to do anything," I feel unhappy. Why is that? In the end, I quit because I was too emotionally traumatized.

Speaking of working, I quit my job a while ago.

Before joining the Service Society, I actually worked quite often. However, in most of my part-time job experiences, I had already built up relationships with my colleagues, and I couldn't really connect with them, so I would leave after about three months. Returning the uniform after resigning was a hassle, so I always sent it back via a pay-per-shipping service.

Thinking about it that way, the Service Club really took away a lot of my time. But once summer vacation started, they couldn't do anything about it, waaaaaah!

Just as I was laughing triumphantly, my phone rang. Another text message from Amazon? Probably the items I ordered earlier had arrived from their warehouse in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture.

I picked up my phone, which I had previously tossed on the table, and saw an email on the screen.

The sender was Ms. Hiratsuka.

So I closed the email screen.

Phew...that's safe now. I can just reply late at night with "Sorry, my phone's dead" or "I can't get a signal." She probably won't be able to blame me for that. This is based on my own experience. In junior high, I mustered the courage to email a female classmate, and there was a 40% chance I'd get this kind of reply. Incidentally, there was a 30% chance I wouldn't get any reply, and the remaining 30% would receive an email from MAILER-DAE-MON (Note 16: an automatic system reply indicating email delivery failure). Effort really doesn't always pay off.

I lay back on the sofa, feeling a sense of satisfaction at having completed a major project, and turned off the game console's sleep mode.

The latest handheld game consoles all have a sleep mode, a very thoughtful design that allows us to make better use of our time. However, the advanced technology of these devices, coupled with a bunch of confusing features, can also be a hassle. I don't need to elaborate on the connectivity features, and then there's that model that boasts touch controls on the back panel—it's completely baffling, and all I can think of are some vulgar words.

My phone rang again.

It's so noisy! Is this some kind of burger sale announcement? I got up to get my phone, and it kept ringing the whole time. Looks like someone's calling me.

Judging from the time lag between receiving the previous text message and the call, it was most likely from Professor Hiratsuka. Students are usually not happy to receive a call from their teacher. I'm no exception.

Besides, I had already ignored the previous email, and answering the phone now would only get me yelled at, so I chose to continue ignoring it. A short while later, the ringing finally stopped; it seemed the teacher had given up.

However, the relief lasted only a moment, and my phone was flooded with emails in a very short time.

How terrifying! Could the teacher have done something like that to her boyfriend too?

Because there were so many emails, I had to open them with great caution.

The email at the top of the folder is the latest message.

Sender: Shizuka Hiratsuka

Title: I am Shizuka Hiratsuka. Please contact me after you see this email.

Text: Hikigaya, I need to inform you about the Service Club activities during the summer vacation as soon as possible. Please contact me immediately. Are you still sleeping (laughs)? I've already sent several emails and made several phone calls. You already know, right?

Everyone knows that, right?

Answer the phone quickly. (Note 17: The irregular spaces in this letter are a unique format, originally from an article on the Japanese 2ch discussion board titled "Going to a Hotel with a Strange Woman...".)

That was terrifying! It scared me to death! I think I've suffered a minor psychological trauma!

I think I can somewhat understand why Hiratsuka-sensei has been unable to get married. Seriously, just how much does that person like me? It's terrifying, so terrifying.

I looked back at the earlier emails, and every single one of them contained the same message: asking us to participate in summer volunteer activities.

This is no joke; we absolutely have to pretend we know nothing about it.

Without hesitation, I turned off my phone. At times like these, I felt it was a good thing that no one would call me!

After finally putting my mind at ease, I saw Komachi come down from her room on the second floor. She probably hadn't changed her clothes since waking up; she was only wearing the T-shirt I had given her over her underwear.

"Shall we take a break?"

"Yes, I've finished all the assignments except for the reading notes and independent research."

"You've worked hard. Would you like a drink? Coffee, barley tea, or MAX coffee?"

"So this coffee is different from MAX coffee... Komachi would like barley tea."

MAX coffee isn't coffee; that's basic common sense. Coffee au lait and MAX coffee are worlds apart. In my understanding, the former is coffee, while the latter is condensed milk.

MAX Coffee is a product of someone who mistakenly entered the coffee world. Similarly, Gagaga Bunko is a product of someone who mistakenly entered the light novel world.

I went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out some chilled barley tea, and poured a cup for Komachi.

"Come."

Hey~~

Komachi took the cup with both hands, gulped it down, and then let out a satisfied "whoosh~" before putting the cup down.

"Then, brother."

At this moment, her expression suddenly became serious.

"Komachi has been working very hard on her homework."

"Hmm...yes, although it's not all done yet."

She still has reading notes and independent research left, and as for studying... since it never ends, it can be considered the end. This is precisely the Gold Experience Requiem (Note 18: the protagonist's Stand appearing in Part 5 of *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*).

However, considering that Komachi has completed most of her homework in the past few days, let's acknowledge her efforts for now.

"Komachi has worked so hard, she should reward herself."

"Are you a 0L (Occupation Level) employee at Marunouchi?"

The phrase "treating yourself" has a certain air about it, especially for single women. What's going on here? For a fleeting moment, I vaguely saw Hiratsuka-sensei's face.

"In short, Komachi deserves a reward, so my brother is going to go to Chiba with her."

"Your logic is too jumpy, as far as the winner of the Birdman Contest."

Komachi puffed out her cheeks unhappily; it seemed I had no choice but to agree.

"Okay, I got it. What do you want to buy? Don't choose anything too expensive, okay? I only have four hundred dollars in my wallet."

"They can't even afford cheap things... But Komachi doesn't really want anything; she's just happy to go out with her brother. Ah, that earns Komachi a lot of points!"

"Are you ever going to stop...?"

However, it seems that Komachi doesn't want me to buy her anything; she just wants to go out and change her mood. In that case, she could easily go with friends, but it's not a good idea for a group of girls to be approached in Chiba. In fact, some areas near Chiba Station are known as "pickup lanes." I was once threatened there and haven't dared to go near it since.

Besides, if any weird uncles want to play with them, I'll inevitably have to get my hands stained with blood.

So it's safer to listen to Komachi.

"Going out is fine, but you should change your clothes first. If you go out dressed like that, I'll have to use a laser pointer to deal with the eyes of guys on the street. Oh, that should earn me a lot of points, right?"

"It's actually quite scary for an older brother to spoil his younger sister like this, and it's also against the rules."

My cute little sister took two steps back.

...Really? I thought my name was Hachiman, which would add 80,000 points in one go (Note 19: "Hachiman" and "80,000" are pronounced the same in Japanese). I silently kept this pun to myself, not expecting Komachi's standards to be so strict.

If you live in Chiba and have a younger sister, you're very likely to become a siscon (sister complex). There's no way around it, my sister is just so cute. I often hear people complain that their sisters aren't cute at all, and that's true, because she's their sister, of course she's not cute.