My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 96

"Where's Hayato?"

"I... never mind, don't ask me."

"Hey! Hayato, that won't do! There must be one, right? Tell me already!"

“…………”

"The first letter is also acceptable!"

Ye Shan couldn't persuade him otherwise, so he sighed and replied:

"...Y".

"Y, Y..."

"That's enough, go to sleep."

Ye Shan was unusually annoyed and stopped the Ministry of Revenue from pressing him further. He was usually very amiable, and I don't think I'd ever seen him so agitated. In other words, his frankness now reflected his level of trust in the Ministry of Revenue.

"How curious~ I can't sleep! If I die from insomnia, it'll definitely be Hayato's fault!"

Faced with Ye Shan's anger, the Ministry of Revenue chose to deflect the attack with a light touch. That was their way of avoiding a tense atmosphere; a little joke could indeed prevent the relationship between them and the atmosphere at the scene from deteriorating.

I stared blankly into the void for a long time in the silent darkness.

Who exactly is the "Y" that Hayama mentioned?

Several possibilities flashed through my mind.

An indescribable sense of complexity lingered in my heart, and even though everyone had stopped talking, I still couldn't fall asleep.

I turned around and saw Totsuka's face appear before me.

“Huh…Huh…”

He made regular, deep sleeping sounds.

"Um……"

Then came a faint sound of exhalation.

The moonlight gently illuminated Totsuka's face, his charming lips moved slightly as if he were murmuring someone's name, and a soft, happy smile appeared on his face.

The complex emotions that had been weighing on my mind before have now taken on a different form, spreading throughout my chest.

Once I noticed Totsuka's lips, I could never remove them from my mind; the rustling sounds of him turning over and his faint breathing also lingered in my mind.

"I can't sleep like this..."

I glanced at my phone; it wasn't even 11 PM yet. Away from the city, time seemed to slow down. The nights here were incredibly peaceful, without the clamor of trams or the glaring streetlights.

Perhaps a night breeze can calm me down.

So I tiptoed out of the house, being careful not to wake the three sleeping people.

The nights on the plateau were quiet and cool, which calmed my mind—this was my original expectation, but it wasn't like that at all. It was terrifying here; the howling wind swept by, and just hearing the rustling of leaves made me scream in fright.

I looked around nervously.

There's a figure vaguely visible in the woods... Is it a forest sprite? It feels even scarier now, but I hope I'm just overthinking it.

Let me state my conclusion first: it wasn't a forest fairy, that is, the English word "dryad." But I don't know if the word "dryad" comes from English.

It was a woman with long hair standing in the woods.

The surreal scene gave me the illusion of seeing elves or fairies.

Bathed in the soft moonlight, her snow-white skin shimmered. Whenever a gentle breeze stirred, her long hair danced in the air. The fairy-like girl, basking in the moonlight, sang very, very softly. Surrounded by a chilly, dark forest, her delicate voice sounded especially melodious.

I stood at a distance, admiring her. If I were to take even one step closer, the perfect world she had created for herself might be destroyed. The thought made me afraid to make a sound.

Let's go back...

I slowly turned around, intending to go back the way I came, but as soon as I took a step, I heard a crackling sound as I stepped on a tree branch.

The singing stopped abruptly.

“…………”

“…………”

One second, two seconds, three seconds—both of them stopped what they were doing and observed each other's actions.

"...Who is it?"

Yukino spoke in her usual voice. If it were anyone else, and I made a "meow" sound, they might think, "Oh, it's a cat." But with Yukino, it would likely turn into "Oh, it's trash." So I gave up on that idea and stood in front of her.

“…It’s me.”

"……Who are you?"

"Why did you ask a second time? At least recognize me, right?"

Don't tilt your head! Such a cute face only makes people angrier!

"What are you doing out here at a time like this? You should be enjoying a peaceful long sleep."

"Could you please not be so gentle in sentencing me to death?"

Yukino looked away, seemingly too lazy to continue my nonsense. She looked up at the night sky, and I followed suit. Tonight, the sky was filled with stars.

"Did you come out to see the stars?"

In areas with less light pollution, stars appear brighter, so there are far more stars to see here than in cities. From this perspective, a lone traveler surrounded by few people must be incredibly dazzling. Wow! My future is absolutely brilliant!

"That's not the case."

Oh, so it's not a romantic fan club after all. So, is she looking for some kind of unexpected gift?

At that moment, Yukino sighed with a hint of melancholy.

"I had a little argument with Miura-kun..."

She lowered her head dejectedly. Oh, I never thought this guy would be defeated. How strange, no wonder it's Miura, the title of "Queen of Flames" is well-deserved.

"I spent thirty minutes completely refuting her, and ended up making her cry. I'm so immature..."

The "Ice Queen" is far too powerful! This person is practically the Sixth Heaven Demon King.

"So you felt you couldn't stay there any longer, which is why you ran away?"

"That's right, I didn't expect her to cry... Anyway, Yuihama is comforting her right now."

It turns out Yukinoshita is helpless when it comes to tears; I can tell she's somewhat remorseful. In that case, next time I'll just cry my eyes out without caring about my image, though that would be really unsightly.

Yukino smoothed her hair and changed the subject.

"We must find a way to deal with that child's situation."

"You're really enthusiastic about that stranger."

"The people I've helped before were all strangers; it wasn't because they were friends that I offered my assistance. Besides... don't you think she's a bit similar to Yuigahama-san?"

"Yeah?"

I never thought of it that way, and if I had to say, she's more like someone else.

It looked somewhat lonely under the snow, and looked up at me.

"I think... Yuihama-san probably went through something like that too."

Oh, if that's what you mean, then I understand.

Yuihama is more concerned about the rights and wrongs of the class than anyone else. Although I don't really want to have this thought... she must have done something like that once or twice, going along with the situation in the class.

That's why she understood that sense of guilt. Yui's gentleness was different from a loving mother's. Ugly, cold, and prone to escapism—she was aware of the dark side of human nature, which gave rise to that kind of gentleness. Even so, her gentleness remained quite resilient, able to reach out to everyone without running away.

"and……"

As Yukinoshita finished speaking, she lowered her head and kicked at the pebbles at her feet.

"...I think Hayama-san has always kept it in mind."

"Hmm... I guess I'll keep it in mind to some extent."

I think that's what's called leadership qualities, or heroic qualities, like in "The Last Leader of the Century." Hayama probably grew up reading "Weekly Shonen Jump," unlike me, who grew up reading another monthly magazine, "BomBom" (Note 35: its readership is set at elementary school students, but the serialized works contain a lot of violence, philosophy, and erotic content).

"I did not mean that……"

He hesitated to speak under the snow, the words he was about to say were drowned out by the sounds of the woods, and then fell silent.

"I'm asking you... what exactly happened between you and Hayama?"

No matter how I look at it, her attitude towards Hayama is always exceptionally cold, never kind. I've thought so ever since Hayama first entered the Service Club office; this feeling became even more pronounced during this training camp.

I was somewhat concerned about this, but Yukinoshita answered naturally:

"We just went to the same primary school, and our families know each other. His father is a consultant lawyer for our family company, and his mother is a doctor."

"What?"

Born into an elite family, with excellent grades, all-around athletic ability, and a real-life heartthrob, plus a beautiful childhood sweetheart? Hmm... I don't really want to say this, but can't this kind of person just go die already?

I'm reasonably good-looking, excel in humanities, hate team competitions, and have a super cute younger sister. Great, a tie! I really want to taste defeat.

If he had another sister, it would be really dangerous... He almost got a crushing defeat, thank goodness.

"However, there are also problems with the two families knowing each other."

"yes."

"Why do you talk like it's none of your business..."

"My older sister is in charge of all external affairs, and I only occasionally stand in for her."

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and the leaves rustled and swayed. In the quiet night, the sound of the leaves rubbing together carried especially far, like water droplets falling onto the surface of water and creating ripples.

I heard a sound beneath the snow amidst a rustling sound.

"But... it's so good that you could come today. I didn't think I would be able to."

"Huh? Why?"

I couldn't understand what she meant, so I turned to look at Yukino, but she was still gazing at the starry sky, as if she hadn't said anything at all.

But I continued to wait for her reply.

The insects of early autumn are already chirping impatiently. The night grows deeper, the chill becomes more pronounced, and the autumnal wind blows past us.

As the wind blew by, Xuexia looked at me. She simply smiled gently and said nothing.

She didn't answer my question, and I didn't press her for an answer.

The silence lasted only a moment before she suddenly stood up.

"It's about time to go back."

"...Yeah, goodbye."

"Okay, goodnight."

As a result, my questions stopped there, and I didn't delve any deeper. After all, I wasn't interested in pressing people for details they didn't want to discuss. Sometimes, not knowing too much can help maintain a comfortable relationship between both parties.

There were no lights along the way, but Xuexia's footsteps did not falter at all, and I watched her gradually disappear into the darkness.

I was the only one left on the scene, and I looked up at the starry sky that I had been gazing at earlier under the snow.

The stars we see today actually come from the distant past. It took them countless years to transmit their light from the past to us.

Everyone is haunted by the past. No matter how far we think we've moved forward, the moment we look up, the past descends like starlight. We can't simply laugh it off, nor can we erase it. Those things will forever remain in a corner of our hearts, suddenly awakening at some point.

Yui Yuigahama is like that, Hayato Hayama is like that, and perhaps Yukino Yukinoshita is like that too.

Volume 4, dialogue inside the train, third row of seats

Hikigaya Komachi

What does Totsuka-nii-san do during summer vacation?

Totsuka Saika

Club activities, I guess. I play tennis. Does Komachi participate in any club activities?

Hikigaya Komachi

Komachi has already joined the student council, so she doesn't participate in any clubs.

Totsuka Saika