My Popular-as-Hell Best Friend Is Annoying, So I Want to Get Him a Girlfriend and Shut Him Up - Chapter 8: The Spirit of Wabi-sabi

Chapter 8: The Spirit of Wabi-sabi

“So to put it bluntly, you were so nervous you couldn’t even function on the date?”

“That’s… putting it way too bluntly, but yeah, that’s the gist.”

Watching Kirita Akari blush in embarrassment, I honestly wanted to clutch my head.

Here Uryu was finally interested in someone, and the date never even happened. What was the point of all this?

“Good grief… If you’d just consulted me before going, none of this would’ve happened…”

“I really didn’t think talking to you would make things any better…”

“Don’t be stupid. If it’s me, loosening you up is child’s play.”

I get the feeling this girl is seriously underestimating me, which is frankly insulting, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Looks like I’ll have to step up myself.

“…How long exactly do you plan to squat here like you own the place?”

The very instant I steeled my resolve to help Kirita Akari, a familiar, venomous voice rained down from above.

“And why are you here?”

“I’m in the tea ceremony club! This is the tea ceremony room! Of course I’m here!”

The one answering my innocent question with a shout was our class representative, Misono Izumo.

And just as she said, this was the tea ceremony room: a rare traditional Japanese space in a school otherwise filled with nothing but hardwood and linoleum floors.

“You’re loud. This is a tea ceremony room, you know? Can’t you enjoy the harmony in silence?”

“If you weren’t here, I’d be enjoying it plenty…!”

“If you let every little irregularity throw you off, you’ll never survive in the real world. The age of just reading the manual is long over.”

“You’re not even trying to have a conversation with me, are you!?”

Sharp as ever. Smart people really are helpful in situations like this.

“Anyway, calm down. How about you whisk some matcha while we talk? Give me a bowl.”

“Where does that terrifying shamelessness even come from…?”

“If there are tea sweets, bring those too. I’m low on sugar after lecturing Kirita Akari.”

“…Was I being lectured?”

“More importantly, just go home already. The underclassmen can’t come in because of you.”

Following Misono Izumo’s words, I glanced toward the entrance.

A group of younger girls who looked like club members were hovering near the door, too scared to step inside.

“Tea ceremony club members?”

“Yes. They’re afraid of you, so they won’t come in.”

Ah. That’s not good.

Club activities are where students cultivate possibilities beyond academics; places to discover new sides of themselves. I have no desire to hinder even a little of that.

“Very well. If you insist that much, I have no choice. I suppose I must steel my resolve as well.”

“???”

Misono Izumo and Kirita Akari both widened their eyes as I slowly stood up.

My legs were more numb than expected and standing was harder than I thought, but that’s irrelevant.

I extended my hands toward the clearly frightened underclassmen.

“Come, girls! There is nothing to fear!

As Japanese people, let us learn today as well, the spirit of wabi-sabi!!”

I was thrown out immediately afterward.

Why?

T/N: Wabi-sabi is a Japanese idea about finding beauty in simple, imperfect things—like old tea bowls or stuff that’s a bit worn-out. It’s tied to the tea ceremony, so he says it like he’s teaching some deep cultural lesson. The joke is that it has nothing to do with the situation. He just needed to move, but instead he goes full “wise old sensei” and starts preaching wabi-sabi, so of course they kick him out. Goofy ass protagonist ngl, I like him.