Chapter 3 - As expected, Hikigaya Komachi is seeing through.
(T/N: This monologue does not make any sense so you can skip it.))
In the terminology of the industry, there is the term teppan.
The etymology is literally teppan (*note teppan=iron plate) (there are several theories about its origin). It is a word connected with the rigidity and solidity of the iron plate, and if you bring up that story, song, or topic, it will definitely work, and the atmosphere will heat up.
It's a word often used by comedians in the entertainment industry, especially, but these days, it's commonly used in everyday life, so you'll probably hear it in person on a regular basis too.
As a specific example, it is used when chatting at a dinner party, joint meeting, etc., when you see even the slightest laughter, immediately, “That story, isn't it an iron plate?” “That episode talk, because it's my iron plate.” According to this usage example, no matter how funny a story is, it has a wonderful effect that it quickly turns out to be a self-gag of a college student who is just hilarious and uninteresting. It's ideal that the guy who talks about iron plates or episode talk in his usual conversations isn't interesting.
(T/N: Teppan is probably a Japanese metaphor.)
In the first place, there is no such thing as a topic of discussion, a song, a topic, or against anyone. Even if a beginner makes sure that Neta, who won the Gag Award race, does not make a single mistake, it cannot be guaranteed that it will be fun. Even if it's a song that heats up the atmosphere in a karaoke room, if an unfamiliar guy is singing it, you'll just smirk and clap. Even if it is a topic that anyone rushes to, if you face it for the first time, there will be no good reaction.
When you need to talk, to the person you need to talk to, tell the story you need to talk to.
The sense of being able to make that choice appropriately is connected with humor. For example, if an old man starts talking to an elderly person in the waiting room of a hospital, such as, “These days, yosanchi is the same~.”
In other words, the true nature of the teppan can be said to be the sense of the speaker.
A person with that sense does not need to rely on fixed and established boilerplate words on purpose, and he gets excited just by having a normal conversation, so as a result, he can talk about all his communicative powers. What is that, a guy with no communication history is an outsider no matter what he says.
However, there are things you can do even if you lack sense or communication skills.
It takes a long time to create relationships as they are.
We look at each other's positions and the environment in which they are placed, find commonalities, and match the signs we put on each other. For classmates, study and talk about cats, for co-workers about work and cats, and for relatives, talk about old age or cats. Isn't the cat story so versatile?
In any case, if you have a certain degree of understanding about the person you are talking to, the selection of topics will be smoother, and it will heat you up quite a bit. Conversely, if a relationship has not yet been established, any iron-clad discussion will cool down.
Talking about Destiny Land can be said to be a hot topic on the iron plate in a sense for the people of Chiba Prefecture, but nevertheless, depending on the person talking to it, “That mouse has a high tone of voice...” “Well, really., the tone is high...”, and the tension becomes as if staying up all night at the funeral home and missing the deceased.
With that in mind, the ongoing conversations in the poor service club can be said to be evidence that our relationship has been built up somewhat.
After talking for a while about Destiny Land, we had a tea break for a while.
As she exhaled with a sigh of satisfaction and was savouring the beautifully coloured black tea and sweet-smelling sweets, Isshiki, who was breathing in the same moment, murmured a little.
“You really know a lot about Destiny, Senpai.”
“It's just a matter of experience, though.”
It's not something to brag about, so I shrugged my shoulders slightly with that attitude.
Actually, I only know about theme parks and attractions, and I do not have knowledge of Destiny Land itself. It is knowledge that has been pulled out from the Chiba-related work and experience and then glued together as if it were connected to each other. I think I understand it at the level of common sense, but I don't know anything about core movies or characters, so if it's “99 people's wall” something to do.
(Annotation: 1vs99 Quiz Broadcast. One player competing against 99 others. The 1 earns prize money depending on how many other members he has eliminated from the game, but loses all winnings with an incorrect answer at any point)
As for the knowledge about Destiny Land as a content, Yukinoshita would be much richer. Thinking about it, I glanced at my side, and Yukinoshita grinned as she twirled the bang on her cheek with her fingers.
“It's not something to be demeaned so much. You're amazing when it comes to useless knowledge, Hikipedia-kun.”
“Hahaha, that's right…...Yukipedia generally doesn't seem to help much, it only helps when it comes to cats and Pan-san.”
When I answered that with a dry smile, Yukinoshita grunted and pursed her lips bluntly.
“I don’t want to hear from person who only knows about Chiba and anime.”
“That's what Wikipedia is all about, isn't it? The number of times information about anime and manga is edited is at the top of the list.”
It is even a tool for investigating information related to anime. Well, there are dozens of works going on, and they are updated every week, so it is natural for the number of edits to increase.
When I said that, Yuigahama sighed and said.
“Hey—that's it.
“There are many ways of saying it. In a nutshell, it's like this.”
“Most of the things Senpai say are general. It's too much to deal with”
As Komachi commented, Isshiki added useless comments to it, and Hikipedia's editorial battle was about to begin. No, I'm sure I always just say the right words.
“Really, he's full of useless knowledge...”
Yukinoshita placed her hand on her temple and took a deep breath. Then, she gently lowered her hand to the cheek, covering her side face, looking at the other side of her and muttering a little. “....... However, the tour route mentioned earlier can still be used as a reference.” “Uh, is that so......”
The childish whisper was like a sudden attack. I couldn't help but think about the meaning of the sweet words, but as a result, I gave her a meaningless reply....is it...... now? Do you want to invite her now?
I'd like to say that I've already thrown out the topic of Destiny in order to invite her, so if I want to carry out the battle of "intervene strongly in the topic and then leave it to the topic," is now the opportunity?
I thought over and over again, and opened my mouth.
“Well, there are many ways to go around... Have you already decided roughly what to do?
Let's dig a little deeper. Yukinoshita probably was worried about how to respond, she pondered for a while.
“No... Specifically, ... for the time being, I have talked to my classmates about going shopping together.”
“That's right.”
I would like to compliment myself for nodding my head without thinking about it.
On the inside, yes-! Even if you think about it in a normal way, everything like a plan has already been talked about! That's because it's tomorrow! Beep! I made a mistake! Shouldn't you have said this sooner? Beep-!
In this way, I realized that I was excited like an idiot. I didn't check her arrangements beforehand and wishfully thought that things would go as I expected. How disgusting. I was a jubilant clown. I wanted to react calmly, but I messed it up. ...... Therefore, my mind was filled with thoughts of how to I should invite her now, that it was irreversible, and that I should just go to hell.
The black tea I was sipping was so bitter as I tried to suppress my trembling hands.
However, I was able to calm down.
According to Yukinoshita, she doesn't seem to have made a decision yet. That said, there is still room for change. In other words, I still have a chance.
As I was sipping tea and thinking about my next move, Yuigahama suddenly smiled bitterly.
“Well, we are all going by bus. At first, I'll be with my class.”
Upon hearing this, Isshiki said, “Uh-huh,” and made a disapproving face.
“Ah... a troublesome situation.”
“Trouble? It's hard to say... I don't think people who are integrated into the class should say that...Sure enough, this person hasn't made friends in the class, right?"
“Yes, yes... I mean, since the opportunity is rare, I still want to go with someone I have a better relationship with. “
“It’s strange… After all, this person doesn’t have any friends in the class, right?”
Detective Komachi tilted her head at Isshiki's statement. Isshiki's friendship is also a concern, but lets it for now.
As Yuigahama says, as long as there is an aspect of the event called an outing, there are bound to be restrictions. If we were to meet at the destination, then we would be able to move freely from the beginning but if we were to leave together on a bus, we would decide on the members on the bus. It's a little bit difficult to say, “Well, I’ll go that way” as soon as you arrive. The purpose of the excursion is not only to breathe a sigh of relief before the exam, but also as a place to strengthen friendship with the class. Friend part might be quite difficult.
In response to Isshiki's confession and Komachi's reasoning, I nodded my head and pretended to be listening, and in the same way, Yuigahama responded and nodded, making a slightly troubled face.
“It's not that it's bothersome, but we've just been in separate classes. I'm still thinking about hanging out with Yumiko after lunch.”
Hearing this, Iroha groaned and made an understandable face.
“I'm sure it's a good idea. ...... However, since it's a rare opportunity, I want to go with a good friend.”
“It's strange... the conclusion hasn't changed... Does it mean that this person simply has no friends?”
Detective Komachi tilted her head at Isshiki's confession. Isshiki's friendship is also a concern, but let’s leave it for now. Yeah, let's believe that both of them are just arguing like they're having fun.
However, indeed. In that way, it feels like there is no problem. I put the empty teacup on the table, and made a muffled sound.
“It's true. But wouldn't it be unreasonable to break away from the group in the middle of the outing......”?
“That's right......”
The voices that Yukinoshita and I were muttering overlapped. Looking at her with a slightly sideways glance, Yukinoshita was also looking at me. She was restless with her eyes wanting to say something.
...... right now? Do you want to make an invitation now?
Since the biggest issue is resolved, the difficulty of inviting has dropped, right? No, it won't work, will it? No, it won't work, will it? Not in this atmosphere, right? It's embarrassing to say such things in front of everyone, isn't it?
In fact, because our muttering voices were quite heavy, it strangely drew attention. It would be quite difficult to bring this up in this place. “...Well, let's think about it slowly.”
As soon as it took the form of a muffled self-talk, Yukinoshita nodded.
Well, even if we talk about it later, I'm quite reluctant to talk in this strangely heavy atmosphere... but let's think slowly, including how to deal with it.
If possible, like when I went to eat ramen on the way home a while ago, I would like to be able to say in a light flow like “Is that so-. Then, shall we go together?”. Especially now that I have a vague feeling of both of us going together, is it embarrassing or shameful to ask? ...... My selfconsciousness can't help but cry out.
With the above, the operation “intervene strongly in the topic and then leave it to the topic” is over.
However, in an environment without manuals or how-to guide, everything has to be found one by one, and it takes a lot of effort.
...well, it's not that I hate the effort.
XXX
In the first place, it was wrong for a sarcastic and troublesome human like me to be smart. If I had succeeded in doing a good job, a guy like me, who thinks afterwards, "Was this really smart enough?
I don't have the slightest bit of resourcefulness, do I?
If so, what should be done?
In this case, it is the turn of the smartphone. You don't have smarts yourself, so you can borrow smarts from the third part.
The best tool of this civilization! You can also convey things that are difficult to say directly. That's right, if it's a smartphone, it will work!
......There was a time when I thought that way too.
In the embarrassing atmosphere of the club classroom, we dragged it to the end until we went home silently.
I was sunk in the sofa in the living room, in my school uniform and was lying on my back, and although I was staring dryly at my phone, I couldn't bring myself to turn on the screen, but there was no sign of the screen changing. I opened LINE, but the blue slash just blinked repeatedly.
What should I send...?
Just like before, I was stuck on the first move.
Having struggled with similar things not long ago, I couldn't help but feel that I had made no progress at all.
However, the situation is completely different from what it was before. Given our previous reflections, there is no guarantee that we can do the same.
In the end, there is no choice but to repeat trial and error.
In any case, nothing can be started without starting to do it, I whimpered and groaned as I tentatively started typing greetings, deleting and rewriting ...... so and so and so and so, but still failed to fill in the spaces.
In the midst of this, Komachi, who had changed into her home clothes, returned to the living room. Kamakura following behind meowed. Just as Kamakura changed from winter fur to summer fur, Komachi's clothes changed from sweatshirts to long T-shirts and short pants.
Komachi went around to the kitchen and turned on the electric kettle while a humming song. While waiting for the water to boil, she poured cat food into Kamakura's bowl and instant coffee powder into a mug.
In the meantime, there was a loud, boiling sound, and the rich coffee aroma began to spread.
With mugs in her hands, Komachi came up to the front of the sofa on which I was lying around, and little by little, she squeezed her buttocks over and sat down half forcibly.
“Come on, you are disturbing me. Move out of the way.”
“Huh-.”
I kept my eyes on the smartphone and slowly got up despite the insincere answer. I reached for the cup on the table. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Well, the timing is just right, so let's take a break.... I didn't even write a single word, but on the contrary, the timing is just right.
As I was sipping the freshly brewed while I blew on it, Komachi, who had been drinking the same motion, quickly lifted her head.
“Did you invite her?”
“To what.”
I asked the question suddenly, but I did everything to play dumb. However, if I went too far, I couldn't answer the question with the vague subject-object-predicate sentence. Komachi had a serious look on her face and kept flapping her hands from side to side in denial.
“No, no, you can't fool around with that. It's unreasonable.”
“It's not that much, but...”
That's exactly like waiting for someone to ask you, "What's wrong?”
“What’s going on?”
Komachi spoke quietly. Ummm, I can't object.... As a result of thinking about how to bring up the topic, I slightly wondered whether there was no one to ask me. If Isshiki hadn't taken it out by asking me, I might have continued to make wind and become a Royley Master.
(Annotation: making steam with a fan in a sauna)
“Iroha-senpai, who deliberately asked you, may she was being considerate...”
“Yeah, but Komachi who didn't ask even though she knew is a little too much...”
Komachi murmured with a difficult face, and her tone was clingy and sarcastic. However, Komachi slightly narrowed her eyes and shook her head quietly with an unusually warm smile. It's like an archaic smile like a high priest who has attained enlightenment. “I didn't ask because I knew, this is also a form of kindness.”
“I'm sure it's only because you find it troublesome to ask. .......”
“Hehe☆”
Komachi put a hand on her forehead and smiled making teehee☆. I'm annoyed because it's cute....
However, it's not a good idea for me to whine when I'm worrying about others. Don't just rely on Komachi or Isshiki. The only person in the world I can rely on unconditionally is Google-sensei.
I quickly sipped the coffee and looked at the smartphone again. Then, I listed the words that came to mind, such as LINE, dating, solicitation, etc. in the search bar, and I was immediately taken care of by the Google-sensei.
As I started typing similar articles started to appear.
“How are you doing? I'm not sure if I'm going to Desntiny Land, but I'm going to go with my friends, but they cancelled the plan. If you do not go, then I will go alone ......” After I wrote it all down, whoa, this is a reassuring result... and as I exhaled, Komachi glanced at me. I looked around the whole place, and applause was sent with a little bit of energy.
“Oh, it's sharp. It’s like putting a lock on your wallet.”
Komachi giggled and laughed for a while, but then the smile suddenly disappeared, and he came through and patted my shoulder.
“So, write carefully.”
“Yes, yes...”
No, I didn't mean to send this out seriously, so it's okay... It's embarrassing to think of a sincere sentence in front of my sister, so I blurted it out a bit without realizing it. Thanks to this, unnecessary stress was relieved from my shoulders, and I felt like I had returned to a neutral state.
“Well, I'm going to my room.
“Hmm.”
I stood up, Komachi nodded and gently waved her hand. As I was sent off with a slightly grown-up look, I left the living room behind.
Well then, what should I send?
I'm still not good at dealing with this kind of thing.
Perhaps many times in the future, perhaps for the rest of my life, I try to send it.
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