My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected

"That's right, that's the meaning."

"Then, we need to find out who did it first."

"Hmm, could you please... Huh? Wait a minute, why did it turn out like this?"

Hayama's face showed a flicker of surprise as his previous thoughts were completely ignored. However, in the next second, he put on a smile and calmly asked Yukino about her plan.

Yukino, with an icy expression completely opposite to Hayama's, carefully considered her words in her mind before slowly speaking:

"Chain letters trample on human dignity and are the worst kind of act. The sender doesn't leave a name, doesn't show their face, and goes to great lengths to slander and insult people just to hurt them. As for those who spread the malice, even if they don't do it out of malice, they are equally vile. They might do it out of curiosity or a momentary good intention, but it allows the malice to continue to spread... To stop this kind of behavior, it's essential to cut it out by the roots. The information above comes from my own experience."

"So it's your personal experience..."

Please don't bring up your own sensitive topic, okay? Even though her tone was calm, I could see black flames burning behind her. Rumble, rumble... Should I add sound effects for her?

"Honestly, is it fun to spread insulting messages about others everywhere? I don't think that would do any good for Sagawa and Shimoda."

"So you've already found the culprit..."

Yuihama's smile was a little stiff. This is why you absolutely cannot go against such a sharp person, it's too terrifying.

"Your junior high school seems to be at the forefront of trends; I never encountered anything like this back then."

"...I think it's just because no one exchanged phone numbers with you?"

"What? Hey, are you an idiot? I was just fulfilling my duty of confidentiality! Haven't you heard of personal information protection laws?"

"That's a novel legal interpretation..."

Yukino showed a helpless expression and pushed aside the hair falling onto her shoulders.

However, the reason I wasn't caught up in this kind of letter trouble was precisely because everyone didn't bother asking for my phone number. That's the difference between me and Yukino; she's hated by everyone, while me? People can't even be bothered to hate me. If I were in that situation, I definitely wouldn't be able to find the mastermind and would just go home and sigh deeply, crying until my pillow was soaked.

"In any case, those who do such disgusting things should be eliminated. My principle is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood."

Yuihama immediately reacted to the familiar phrase.

"Ah, I studied this in world history today! It's the Magna Carta, right?"

"It's the Code of Hammurabi."

Yukino corrected him concisely and then continued speaking to Hayama:

"I will find the person who sent those letters and talk to them so they won't do it again. As for what happens afterward, I'll leave the disposal up to you. Is that okay?"

"...Yeah, alright."

Thus, Hayama abandoned his original idea.

Actually, my thoughts were the same as Yukino's. The fact that they deliberately kept changing the sending location meant that the person didn't want to be found, or was even afraid of their identity being exposed. In that case, as long as that person was found, they would naturally stop. So the fastest method was to directly find that guy.

Yukino seriously looked at the phone Yuihama had placed on the table, her hand resting on her chin as she began to think.

"When did these letters start appearing?"

"Last weekend. Right, Yui?"

Hayama answered, and Yuihama nodded in agreement.

Hey Hayama, you've been calling Yuihama by her first name since earlier. How should I put it? People with high social status in school seem to naturally call girls by their first names. If it were me, I'd definitely stammer and bite my tongue. Seeing Hayama manage to do something so embarrassing so easily, I couldn't help but develop a little respect for him... but on the other hand, I felt a bit annoyed. What? Are you American or something?

"They suddenly started last weekend. Yuihama-san, Hayama-san, did anything happen in your class last weekend?"

"I don't recall anything special."

"Hmm... It was just like usual."

The two of them exchanged glances.

"I'll ask just in case. Hikigaya-kun, how about you?"

"What do you mean by 'just in case'..."

I'm in the same class as them, you know. Besides, my position is different from theirs, and my perspective is also different, so there might be something only I noticed.

Last weekend... so it only happened recently. Things that happened recently, things that happened recently... I thought back for a while, but still couldn't recall anything.

If I had to say, yesterday's headline was me calling Totsuka by his name for the first time.

"Summoned courage, called out Saika, truly cute, thus yesterday was designated, Saika's Day."

Come to think of it, why was I talking to Totsuka... Thinking more carefully, I remembered.

"Oh, right, yesterday the class was discussing the groupings for the workplace internship."

That's right, the conclusion that Totsuka was super cute stemmed from that.

Yuihama seemed to have thought of something when she heard me say that.

"Wow... Oh, right! It's because of the grouping!"

""Huh? You figured it out just like that?""

Hayama and I asked in unison. The next moment, Hayama smiled and said to me, "We're really in sync." Since that was a completely inconsequential remark, I could only respond with, "Oh, yeah..." However, the fact that I said the same thing as Hayama was enough to prove that I was also a normie heartthrob. QED, proof complete... Is that really a thing?

Hayama looked at Yuihama, who replied with a laugh:

"Oh dear~ Every time there's an activity that requires grouping, it affects everyone's relationships afterward. Some people are just too immature..."

Here, she spoke with a shadow of gloom clouding her expression, causing Hayama and Yukino to look at her in surprise.

This kind of thing would never happen to Hayama, and Yukino wasn't particularly interested, so they naturally couldn't understand.

However, I could understand. Yuihama was accustomed to reading people's expressions and had experienced all sorts of interpersonal relationship problems, so her words carried a high degree of credibility.

Yukino cleared her throat lightly, steering the conversation back.

"Hayama-kun, you said those letters were all about your friends, right? Who are your groupmates?"

"Um... come to think of it, I haven't decided yet. But, I'll probably pick from those three."

"The culprit is probably already obvious..."

A hint of loneliness appeared on Yuihama's face again.

"Could you please explain?"

"Um. In short, for this workplace internship, one person has to be removed from this group of friends, right? Out of four people, only one is excluded, isn't that person pitiful?"

Her tone was filled with a sense of reality, and we all listened quietly.

If we want to find the culprit, we can start by thinking about their motives. If we find someone who can benefit from those actions, the answer will naturally become clear.

Applying this to the situation we encountered today, the culprit's motive is "avoiding being excluded."

Hayama has three close friends in his class, meaning if a group can only have three people, one person will inevitably be kicked out.

The culprit must not want to be that one person, and thus has no choice but to kick others out.

"...So, at least we can be sure now that the suspect is among those three."

After Yukino reached this conclusion, Hayama became flustered, which was rare for him.

"W-wait a minute! I don't think any of them would be the culprit. Besides, those letters insulted all three of them. So, something must be wrong."

"Huh? Are you an idiot? It's not New Year's, why are you so optimistic? If he did that, it's obviously to avoid suspicion himself! If it were me, I wouldn't just badmouth one person, I'd find a way to frame them."

"That's terrible, shut-in..."

Please say it's an intellectual crime! An intellectual crime!

Hayama bit his lip tightly, unwilling to accept it. He certainly hadn't expected things to turn out this way. The entanglement of love and hate was happening right beside him; behind the outwardly harmonious smiles, there was a vortex of dark emotions.

"Regardless, could you tell us about those people?"

Yukino requested information from Hayama.

Thus, Hayama raised his head as if making a decision. His eyes were filled with conviction, likely driven by the noble goal of clearing his friends' names.

"Tobe is in the Soccer Club with me. He dyes his hair blonde, so he looks a bit like a delinquent at first glance, but he's the best at livening things up. He actively helped out a lot during the school festival and sports day, he's a good person."

"Other than being noisy, he has no other skills and gets carried away easily. Right?"

"..."

Yukino's comment left Hayama speechless.

"What? Continue."

Seeing Hayama suddenly fall silent, Yukino asked, seemingly finding it strange.

So, Hayama composed himself slightly and continued describing the second person.

"Yamato is a member of the Rugby Club. He has a calm personality and is good at listening to others. His composed and steady demeanor is very reassuring. He doesn't talk much and is cautious, he's a good person."

"Slow to react and indecisive..."

"..."

Hayama fell silent again, his expression displeased, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He sighed in resignation and then described the third person.

"Ooka is in the Baseball Club. He's friendly and willing to stand with others. Also, he highly values the hierarchy and is very polite, he's a good person."

"Always reading others' expressions and changing sides with the wind. Right?"

"..."

Before long, it wasn't just Hayama who fell silent; Yuihama and I also gaped with our mouths open, not knowing what to say.

Amazing! Miss Yukino! You'd be perfect as a prosecutor.

However, the terrifying thing about this woman is that her comments about those people were absolutely not wrong. Depending on one's perspective, one naturally forms different impressions of the same person. Hayama always observed from the good side, so it was inevitable that he would have some biases; in contrast, Yukino excluded all emotional factors, naturally leading to more scathing comments. But this was too scathing, could it be a LEE curry with twenty times the spiciness?

Yukino studied the notes she had made, murmuring softly.

"No matter who the culprit is, it wouldn't be strange..."

"I think you're the most likely culprit. Is this just my imagination?"

In a sense, twisting a person's character to that extent is even worse than the person who sent those chain letters.

Hearing me say this, Yukino immediately put her hands on her hips, her expression extremely displeased, and said:

"There's no way I would do something like that! I would crush the opponent head-on."

Although her method was different from the culprit's, wasn't the goal still to "crush" others? As expected of Yukino, she never considered the idea of "getting along well with others."

As for Hayama, who was completely defeated by her, he could only wear a confused smile, unsure whether to be angry or sigh.

Actually, Yukino and Hayama are two of a kind. After all that, the information Hayama provided was nothing but superficial and useless. He might be a good person, but his perspective is too far removed from ours to help in finding the culprit. Yukino seemed to agree, turning to ask for our opinions.

"Hayama-kun's information doesn't have much reference value. Yuihama-san, Hachiman-kun, what do you think of those three people?"

"Huh? Asking me, I..."

"I don't know anything about them."

If I had to say, there aren't many people at school I know well. It's because I have no friends, and very few acquaintances.

"Then, could you please investigate? We won't decide the groups until the day after tomorrow, so there's still one day."

"...Mm, okay."

Yuihama looked troubled by Yukino's request. After all, she always wants to get along with her classmates, so she probably dislikes this kind of task.

While prying into others' faults, one's own faults must also be exposed to the sun. This is a high-risk action within a group.

Yukino probably understood this as well, and lowered her gaze.

"...I'm sorry, this isn't a pleasant task. Please forget what I just said."

If that's the case, then no one will do it? It seems the outcome is already quite obvious.

"Leave it to me. Anyway, I don't care what my classmates think of me."

Yukino glanced at me and then smiled faintly.

"...Alright, but I won't hold out much hope."

"Leave it to me, this is one of my eighteen skills."

If you asked me what else I can do, it's probably things like cat's cradle. Hey, am I some kind of weirdo?

"W, wait a minute! I want to join too! H-how can you leave all of this to a shut-in!"

Yuihama said, her face flushed and her voice trembling slightly at the end, but she immediately clenched her fists.

"A-and, since it's Yukino's request, how can I not listen!"