I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life After Transferring, but I Fell into a Rom-Com Trap and a Hidden Battlefield No One Knows About - Chapter 25: When the truth was revealed, all I wanted to do was run away...

Chapter 25: When the truth was revealed, all I wanted to do was run away…

The next afternoon, after school.

I was getting ready to head to my part-time job at the café. But just as I stepped out of the classroom with Tsunekawa and was about to meet up with Nakano, Satohama, and Sasaki, I suddenly bumped into Sasaki-sensei.

“You guys, head to the clubroom and wait there first.”

Leaving only those words behind, Sasaki-sensei quickly hurried away.

Being suddenly told to go to the clubroom—what’s that about? Did something new come up from what we heard from Hiroji-san yesterday?

With that question lingering in my mind, I walked with Tsunekawa to the clubroom, where Nakano and Satohama were already chatting inside.

“Ah, Momiji-chan, Misaki-kun, you’re here~”

“Yohoo, Momiji-san, Nagisa-chan~”

“O-O… Hello.”

“Did Sensei call you too?”

“Yeah, Ayana-chan and I ran into Sasaki-sensei just as we were leaving the classroom, and she told us to wait in the clubroom. Apparently, it’s something important.”

“Could it be about yesterday?”

Tsunekawa tilted her head in curiosity and looked at me questioningly.

“Don’t ask me… Who knows? Maybe she found out something from Hiroji-san.”

I said that, but in the end, it was just speculation. Sensei hadn’t told us anything yet.

Still, judging from yesterday’s situation and how flustered she seemed just now, I figured she must have gotten some information from Hiroji-san.

Thinking that, I sat down in my usual seat after a week, casually flipping open a book.

Tsunekawa picked up a literature book, Nakano was fiddling with her phone, and Satohama, as always, was practicing karate.

It felt like things had returned to how they were before.

After a while, the classroom door creaked open, and Sasaki-sensei entered, followed by another person—Sasaki.

“Senpai-tachi, hallo~”

“Yahoo, Yuki~”

“Hallo, Yuki~”

“Hallo, you finally made it.”

“Alright, looks like we’re all here. Now then…”

Sasaki-sensei pulled out a folded piece of paper from her large coat.

It was quite thick, and judging from its size, it was clearly no ordinary sheet of paper. It looked big, even at a glance.

She walked over to the clubroom table and slowly unfolded it. The moment it was fully spread out, it almost covered the entire tabletop!

As expected… this thing is huge.

Moreover, it was covered with strange diagrams—it looked like a flowchart, or maybe even a map?

I was curious about what exactly it was analyzing. It was almost like the kind of strategy diagram you’d see in a Ultraman squad’s battle meeting.

“Last night, I figured out the truth.”

As expected of Sasaki-sensei.

“I see, so you called us here to tell us that truth?”

Tsunekawa immediately asked.

“Well, you could say that… But to be honest, I wasn’t planning on telling you at first. Just like my old man said, this is a problem that’s beyond what you all can handle.”

“Then why…?”

“I’m only here to answer your questions. Beyond that, I don’t intend for you all to get further involved in this. Once I finish explaining, whether you continue working at the café or not is up to you.”

“Oh, really? Then, what exactly do you know, Sensei?”

“Look at this.”

Sasaki-sensei moved her hand over the paper and began explaining.

“First of all, this area—where we are right now—is generally called the ‘Alcatraz District.’ No need to explain that, since everyone knows it. At the heart of this area is a commercial group called ‘GENIUS,’ and they’ve set their sights on the land where the café stands. For years, they’ve been trying every possible method to get my old man to sell it. But he never did. So, these scumbags started deliberately causing trouble, scaring off innocent passersby. And with the café’s outdated management style, it’s now on the verge of collapse.”

After hearing that, Nakano suddenly slammed the table, glaring at the paper as she shouted.

“This is awful! This is straight-up bullying!”

Then, Satohama, just as enraged, yelled out.

“Bastards! I wanna beat the hell out of them!”

“A deal is supposed to be made with mutual consent! Using such despicable methods…!”

Seeing their furious reactions, it was clear how disgusted they were by GENIUS’s tactics to force the café out.

“Then why didn’t you report them to the police?”

I blurted out, but Sasaki-sensei shook her head.

“Even if we did, it wouldn’t matter. When the police come, those guys will lay low for a while, but the cops won’t stay at the café forever.”

Hearing that, I realized how much of a pain this situation really was…

“Anyway, that’s the situation. If you want to quit helping the café, I won’t stop you. This isn’t a problem that can be solved so easily. Even if you drive them out now, that alone won’t fix anything. But at this stage, whether you stay or leave is entirely up to you.”

Sasaki-sensei spoke with a heavy expression. The room fell silent as everyone processed her words.

Even the usually hot-tempered Sasaki-sensei looked so serious. That alone showed just how deep this problem ran—far beyond anything we had imagined.

“It’s definitely a tough situation… But we can’t just ignore it. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I walked away. I’m staying.”

After a brief silence, Tsunekawa was the first to declare her decision. Her words set off a chain reaction—Nakano and Satohama soon followed.

“Hiroji-san was always so kind to us. Leaving so easily feels wrong. I’ll stay! There must be something we can do—let’s think of a way together!”

“If Momiji-san and Ouka-san are staying, then I’m in too! I’m gonna beat the crap out of those bastards!!”

Wait, wait, huh?! Why are they staying?! Even if we do, we can’t actually fix this, right?! Not to mention, those guys probably won’t hesitate to use any means necessary to get what they want!

“Misaki-kun, what about you?”

“Will you stay with us?”

Nakano and Tsunekawa looked at me at the same time, their eyes filled with expectation. No—more like they were hoping I’d stay.

Honestly, I didn’t want to. If I stayed, I’d be working late every day, losing all my free time.

But… as they said, leaving like this just didn’t sit right. Hiroji-san was a genuinely good person, and abandoning him now felt way too heartless.

“Alright, alright… I’ll stay.”

In the end, I let out a sigh and reluctantly gave in.

I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but… at the very least, I could endure it long enough to show my gratitude to Hiroji-san.