I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School! - Chapter 24

24.  Say ‘Thank You’ to those who have made a difference.

　As the sun was starting to set and the evening hours were drawing near, the lively cultural festival was coming to an end.

However, the real show for the students starts after the festival.

“Well, we had some troubles along the way, but …… our class came out on top among all the class stalls! We made a big profit!”

『Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!』

The scene was inside the classroom.

When Kazamihara, a member of the festival committee, announced our achievement on the podium, the classmates who were gathered there cheered loudly.

“Whoo-hoo! Seriously?”

“We did it! We’re awesome!”

“All that hard work was worth it! I’m so happy!”

Everyone was overjoyed and really uplifted.

“So I used the profits to buy some snacks and juice! I hope you enjoy the rest of the after-party to the fullest! Thank you so much for your hard work ……!”

Kazamihara, who was most likely feeling elevated by the post-festival atmosphere, had shed her usual easy-going mood, and her voice sounded hoarse.

(I learned from our conversation that …… she was really concerned about the fact that the class’s stall was almost ruined due to her incompetence. I’m sure she’s happy that it ended up being such a huge success.)

“Hey, ……, Nihama-kun. Are you okay ……?”

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the infirmary? You look like you lost a lot of weight. ……”

“I’d like to say I’m fine, but this is really a little painful …….”

The short-cut girl, Fumihashi, and the long black-haired Shijoin-san looked anxiously at me.

Normally, the sight of these two beautiful girls’ faces so close to mine would make me nervous, but I don’t have the energy for that right now.

While my classmates are enjoying themselves with juice and sweets in their hands, I’m sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, as fragile as a jellyfish.

Obviously, the reason for this is that I overworked my body and brain and kept making takoyaki almost three times faster than normal. I’ve got absolutely no physical strength left, and my arms, back, and rest of my body aches like a sore thumb.

“I’m sure you will be, …… you’re working like a runaway lawnmower and I thought you were going to crash and burn.”

“Ugh……”

It is hard to hear as someone who has actually worked too hard and died in mid-air (sudden death).

But it was worth the effort.

We used up all the ingredients and sold out without any complaints from the customers.

I had hoped that some of the classmates who were free during the festival would come back to the classroom to help out, but unfortunately that didn’t happen, and the four of us worked together without reinforcements until the end.

The stupid Akasaki insisted, “Let’s buy as many ingredients as our budget allows, and if there are any left over, let’s eat them together!” But the effect of the beautiful girls in yukata brought in more customers than we’re expecting.

”I’m sorry I made you all go along with my decision. I’m really sorry.”

“Why are you talking about, Nihama?”

The one who answered my voice was Kazamihara, the bespectacled beauty who had approached me before I knew it.

“It was our decision to agree not to call anyone for help and to work with just the four of us. Of course, we also understood that this would put a lot of strain on us, to the point where our heads would explode. Besides, we’re not children anymore, okay?”

“Yes, yes! I also thought it would be a shame to call out a classmate who was enjoying the festival! And as a result, we were able to finish the festival in a good mood!”

“It was the same for me! The four of us decided to take it as far as we could, and we worked very hard together to get the best result! It may be a matter of opinion, but because of the choice we made, no one was left unhappy!”

When I said something like it was my responsibility, the three girls immediately denied it.

And they were indeed right.

“I see. …… Yeah, …….”

It was not my decision alone, the four of us decided to do so together.

I was about to make a selfish assumption.

“Oh, by the way, did the three guys who ate the undercooked takoyaki and had upset stomachs buy the snacks and juice for this party?”

“Yes, I was supposed to be the one to go, but they wanted me to leave it to them, so I let them do so.”

Later on, when we sold all the takoyaki and collapsed from exhaustion, the three guys who were originally on the shift came back rubbing their stomachs after being liberated from the toilet.

Naturally, as we were extremely exhausted, our mouths were full of complaints.

“Well, well, well. …… The denizens of the toilet kingdom have finally returned. ……”

“You …… dumbasses ……!”

“Is your stomach okay? Don’t eat raw takoyaki again. ……”

“I don’t mean to blame you, but I just want to say one thing! I had a really hard time!”

And when they learned that the four of us had been working recklessly to get the job done, they turned pale and said, “We’re really sorry, ……!”

They were originally going to be clerks, so they must have understood how hard it was for us to have three people missing.

“I won’t blame you any more if you clean up afterwards to make up for it, and even go out to buy snacks and stuff.”

“That’s right! As for the cause of the …… stomach ache, I also think it’s …… yeah ……, but I don’t think it was out of malice.”[TN:Haruka-chan can’t tell them that it was stupid]

“It was really hard, so I complained about it. Thanks to them, Nihama-kun looks like a dead fish that got washed up on the beach. …… It was way too crazy.”

Yeah, I really recalled my days as a company slave and was too crazy.

This thing lasted a little over an hour at most, but when I think about it now that I used to do it from morning till midnight every day for 12 years when I was a company slave, I shudder at my own stupidity.

No wonder my organs become tattered and I died

“I thought there would be some secret plan, but it was just a brute force effort. It was a bit of a gutsy move, with Nihama working his ass off to cover the shortage. But, well ……”

Kazamihara chuckled and pushed her glasses up.

“You were pretty cool. Before the cultural festival, I thought you were a shy guy, but you turned out to be very dependable and a mass of energy.”

“Yeah, yeah! You worked so hard that it was almost unpleasant to watch, but you were so cool! I’m glad that we got to work together!”

“Oh, oh, it’s kind of embarrassing to hear you say that, but thanks …….”

I never imagined that Kazamihara and Fumihashi, with whom I had no contact in my previous life, would say that to me, and I couldn’t help but blush and reply in a shy manner.

“I’ll see you later, I’ve got other things to do. I’ll leave the rest to you, Shijoin-san.”

“I’m going to go talk to the others too! See you both later!”

After saying that, the two classmates who had become friends with me during this festival left.

Only Shijoin-san and I remain in that place.

“Ah, um!”

“Eh?”

“I also thought you were cool! I really did!”

“Ah, uh, ……? Yeah, thanks. ……”

As if she had thought that it would be awkward if the two praised me and she didn’t do the same, Shijoin-san praised me in a somewhat panicked voice. You don’t have to force yourself. ……

“Yotto ……”

“Oh, ……, is it okay to get up? You were looking really dizzy. …”

“Yeah, I’m feeling a little better, so it’s fine.”

I smiled at Shijoin-san and leaned my back against the wall.

My muscles will be hurting tomorrow, that’s for sure, but for now I can manage to move my body.

“You really pushed yourself …….”

‘Yeah, but it was …… fun. I guess working can sometimes be enjoyable.”

For me, all labor was a struggle.

I’ve worked for a trash company that used me like a rag.

But today, for the sake of Shijoin-san, Kazamihara, Fumihashi …… and the rest of the class, I burned myself in order to regain my youth.

At that moment, I had a feeling of elation in my chest that went beyond the exhaustion I felt.

“But it would be impossible if I was asked to do the same thing again though. ……”

“Yes, I also enjoyed doing a kind of performance that everyone could enjoy, like what I had envisioned. …… Hmmm, I think we were able to pull it off because of the momentum.”

With the hustle and bustle of classmates having a lot of fun in the background, we laughed at each other.

“Somehow, it’s kind of …… strange.”

“Hmm?”

“To be honest, …… I wasn’t thinking about the class. I wasn’t even thinking about doing something for the class. ……”

Even in this life, my only connections at school are Shijoin-san and Ginji.

“But now I’m glad to see everyone having fun at the after-party like this ……”

“Nihama-kun ……”

For some reason, Shijoin-san smiled happily at my muttering.

As I gazed at her pretty face, which will always melt a man’s heart, I noticed that people were gathering around us.

“Eh, ……? What’s wrong with you guys?”

Most of the people in my class, both boys and girls, with the exception of a few, are gathered around me and Shijouin-san. Before I know it, and for some reason they all have a mischievous grin on their faces.

What is going on? What is the meaning of this?

“Now, Nihama. We have something important to tell you, so please listen carefully.”

Kazamihara, who is standing at the front of the group, smiles faintly and raises her glasses briefly.

“Hahaha, listen up properly, Nihama-kun!

Fumihashi, standing next to Kazamihara, gives a carefree smile.

“What ……? Listen? What do you mean by listen up……?”

While I was confused, they all took a deep breath and said…

『Nihama! Thank you! Thank you very much!』

They chanted these words together.

“………… huh?”

Thank you ……?

“You saved me a lot of work by changing the course of a meeting where nothing was decided and time was being wasted.”

“Thank you for listening to my shift requests even though you were so busy!”

“Thank you for allowing me to develop the menu for the cooking team!”

“Thanks for letting me make the sign! Also, you’re a very interesting guy!”

“Thanks for being prompt when I asked you about classroom decorations and stuff during the prep! I mean, why do you know so much about these kinds of things?”

“I was so happy to wear a yukata! Thank you for turning it into such a fun event!”

“Seriously, even on the last shift today, when we were down a couple of people due to complications, you did the work of three people by yourself! Thank you so much for picking up our slack!”

“No one thought that the class event would be this much fun! No, seriously, thank you Nihama! We have nothing but respect for you!”

My thoughts stagnated at this unexpected situation.

Thank you.

It’s a common phrase of gratitude.

It’s not even rare.

Even in my previous life, people from other companies had said that to me as a greeting, and it had frequently appeared at the end of my emails.

But this was different.

It’s not one of those socially accepted standard phrases.

It was a heartfelt and warm ‘thank you’.

They were pouring down on me like rain.

“To be honest, we all wanted to enjoy the precious cultural festival of our once-in-a-lifetime high school life.”

I was speechless, but Kazamihara continued.

“So they wanted to say a few words of thanks to the person who thought of the best way to put on the class event, brought everyone together, and made it all happen in such a great way.”

“Hahaha, no matter how you look at it, Nihama-kun worked the hardest!”

Fumuhashi laughs, and those around her have a soft smile on their faces.

No, it’s not like that …….

In the first place, I don’t care about the class,…… I just did it because Shijoin-san said that she was looking forward to it. …….

“Of course, I appreciate it too.”

I looked over and saw Shijoin-san smiling right next to me.

“Thank you, Nihama-kun. It was a wonderful festival from start to finish, even with all the troubles and challenges.”

I couldn’t move my mouth properly.

I’ve never experienced such a thing before, and my head is filled with the appreciation of my classmates.

“We were all watching you Nihama. So please accept our thanks. You’ve worked so hard to make us all want to say so.”

It was only after being told this much that I truly understood that everyone was sincerely thanking me. Everyone was really watching me.

(Haha. …… Come to think of it, in my previous life, no matter how hard I worked like a stagecoach, no one ever thanked me. But now, …… I can’t imagine so many people saying ‘thank you’ to me. ……)

“Oh, …… that, everyone …….”

It was so unexpected that my brain couldn’t work, and I fumbled with my words.

It’s no good. I can’t seem to find the right words to say.

“Well, thank you …… as well from me …….”

What finally came out was a simple and artless reply.

But I had a feeling that was all I could do …….

“Ahahaha! Nihama’s face is red!”

“Look! You’re so embarrassed!”

“Nihama, you’re like a maiden!”

“But I’m really grateful!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

In response to my words, everyone laughed as they pleased.

But the feeling was real.

My classmates were smiling unmistakably, showing their trust in me and saying thank you. They recognize me and appreciate what I did.

This was a scene I had never seen in my previous life.