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 28: Who the hell wants to exercise on a scorching hot day like this!?

Our final grades are determined by a combination of written exams and P.E. test scores.

That’s why, after finishing warm-ups, everyone started practicing for the upcoming P.E. test.

…That is, everyone except me.

Thanks to the coffee I drank last night, I couldn’t fall asleep even after getting into bed, and I only managed to doze off well past midnight.

And to top it off, I woke up even earlier than usual this morning to prepare breakfast for Umika.

My energy gauge? Completely drained.

So, I sat myself down under the shade of a big tree, on the verge of blacking out.

…Come to think of it, Umika was oddly energetic this morning. So why the hell am I like this?

“Yahhoo~, Misaki-kun~!”

Just as I was nodding off, a voice suddenly called out to me.

Startled, I lifted my head, and there was Nakano, waving energetically as she approached.

Oh, right. Nakano’s class has P.E. today too. That means our classes overlap.

“Ughhh, it’s so hot! Seriously, it’s way too hot!”

Saying that, Nakano plopped down beside me, leaning back against the tree.

…So she’s planning to slack off with me, huh?

But what caught me off guard was what happened next.

Nakano loosened her tie and unbuttoned the top of her shirt…!

…Wait. Wait, wait, wait!?

H-hold up!!

T-the angle from where I’m sitting is dangerous!!!

Just catching a glimpse of her sun-kissed skin is already lethal, but beyond that—those two mountains…!!!

Stop!!! Don’t be so defenseless in front of me!!!

N-no, wait! It’s not like I’m looking on purpose! This is just a physiological reaction! Human instinct!

That’s right! This isn’t my fault!!!

You get it, right!? This is completely out of my control!!!

But hey! It’s fine! I’m still a guy who can barely hold onto his self-control!!!

Don’t give me that “Wow, this dude is a total perv” look! I’m innocent!!!

Okay, maybe not completely innocent, but it’s not like I did this on purpose!!!

But yeah… Out of the three of them, Nakano definitely has the most volume.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna practice? The test’s coming up, you know?”

“It’s way too hot~! I don’t wanna move! Besides, I suck at sports and I don’t even like them, so I’m definitely getting last place again…”

“Wait, so you’re aware you’re gonna be in last place? If you were in Sasaki-sensei’s class, you’d be wiped out before you even realized what happened…”

“Hah? What are you talking about? Sasaki-sensei isn’t that scary, right? You’re just exaggerating, Misaki-kun.”

…Huh?

Is she seriously saying that?

No, no, no! That’s just because she’s not in Sasaki-sensei’s class!!

If she were, she’d know exactly what it feels like to be under that oppressive aura!

At least I have already been thoroughly traumatized.

“No, seriously! She’s terrifying!! You only think she’s fine because you haven’t seen the real Sasaki-sensei! She’s a freaking trauma factory for me!!”

“Come on, you’re just being dramatic.”

“No, I’m not!!!”

I shot back immediately.

I don’t know what other students think, but for me, Sasaki-sensei is the very embodiment of a demon.

I’m sure every single student in her class feels the same way.

“I mean, yeah, I’ve heard rumors that Sasaki-sensei is scary, but she can’t be that bad, right? Besides, she’s super nice when she’s working at the café.”

“…Well, yeah, but I’m talking about her school persona, not her café persona!”

“Wait, so she’s like… a completely different person? Don’t tell me… she has a clone!?”

Nakano suddenly looked at me, eyes wide with fear.

“Hah? You’ve been watching too many movies…”

“Ehh~ I was just joking! Man, you’re no fun. At least play along a little!”

She looked genuinely scared just a second ago, and now she’s back to normal.

…Wait, that was a joke? It wasn’t funny at all!!!

“Nakano-san, that wasn’t funny. Seriously, don’t make a joke out of my trauma.”

One Sasaki-sensei is already scary enough. If there were two or three—or God forbid, more—I’d completely lose my will to live…

“Tch! What a scaredy-cat!”

Nakano clicked her tongue in boredom and started fiddling with her phone.

As time passed, the temperature just kept rising.

Even the wind blowing past us felt like a heatwave. Most of the students had already given up and retreated into the shade, and almost nobody was practicing anymore.

…Actually, Nakano and I weren’t even moving in the first place, and yet we were still being roasted alive.

No, this isn’t just hot… it’s humid.

Every summer, it’s always like this. I’d much rather be in an air-conditioned classroom right now…

Normally, on days like this, P.E. would be held in the gym. Since the gym has air conditioning, it’d be way more bearable.

…But the gym is under renovation.

Which means we’re stuck out here in this hellscape, forced to endure this brutal training session.

At this rate, someone’s gonna pass out from heatstroke!!

Do the teachers even think before making us do this!? At least let us practice somewhere cooler…

“Ugh… I’m gonna melt… Even my underwear is soaked…”

“Same… It’s way too hot…”

At some point, Satohama and Tsunekawa had collapsed into the shade, drenched in sweat.

…Hold on.

Satohama, what did you just say?

“Even my underwear is soaked”—??

You can’t just say that in front of me!!!

It might be normal between you three, but I’m a guy, damn it!!! You don’t just say stuff like that in front of a guy!!!

Then again, she’s an idiot… No, because she’s an idiot, she probably doesn’t even think twice about it…

“Misaki-kun, aren’t you gonna practice?”

“How the hell am I supposed to move in this heat?”

“But the P.E. test is coming up. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Don’t care! I refuse to move! It’s way too hot!”

I rejected the idea immediately.

Last time, I ended up drenched from the rain. I refuse to end up drenched in sweat this time!

Right now, this field is basically a giant oven, and we’re the meat inside.

Our gym clothes? They’re the aluminum foil wrapping us up…

If I start moving around, the heat will slow-cook me into a perfectly roasted chicken…

Hell no!!! There’s no way I can practice in this heat!!!

There’s no way I’ll make it out of this alive!

“Actually, you can practice right here!”

“Huh? Here?”

Tsunekawa looked at Satohama, confused.

“Yep! The P.E. test is just about measuring strength and stamina, right? So we can train here just fine!”

And then, without warning, Satohama suddenly dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups.

…”Why the hell are you doing push-ups all of a sudden?”

“This is the simplest training ever! If you do it every day, your upper body strength will improve like crazy! Guys get cool pecs, and girls get a beautiful bust line!”

“Huh? For real? It’s got effects like magic!? I gotta try this!”

“Haa? You too?”

Tsunekawa immediately placed his hands on the floor and started doing push-ups alongside Satohama.

…Well, I mean, sure, push-ups are an excellent workout.

But do you really need to do them here!? Just a second ago, you guys were saying, ‘Ugh, I’m dying from the heat!’

Wasn’t this place meant for taking a break in the first place!?

And besides, Tsunekawa, you…

Your chest is gonna stay flat no matter what, so there’s no need to worry about its shape, right? If anything, wouldn’t this exercise be more useful for Nakano?

I mean, just a moment ago, she nearly shattered my sanity just by unbuttoning a little…

No, no, no!! Stop!! I can’t be thinking about that!!!

“If these two are doing it… are you joining in too?”

“Me? Nah, I don’t wanna.”

“Come on, Ouka-san, you should do it too!”

“No thanks, I hate exercise…”

“That’s no good, Ouka-san! Some exercise is important for your health!”

“Ugh… But it’s so freaking hot right now…”

As she said that, Nakano fanned herself lazily, clearly having zero motivation.

“But if you don’t practice, you might fail the PE test! C’mon, let’s do it together!”

Satohama stood up energetically and grabbed Nakano’s hand, trying to pull her along.

Meanwhile, I was sitting back, thinking, ‘Ohhh, is this one of those golden moments where the popular girls get all sweaty and athletic!?’, watching with great interest—

—when Satohama’s free hand suddenly reached toward me.

“Come on, Nagisa-chan, you too!”

…Eh!?

“Me too!?”

“Yeah! The test is coming up, so we should all train together!”

“Nah, I don’t need to. I’ll pass just fine without it… I just wanna rest right now…”

“Ouka-san’s doing it too, so you should join in, Nagisa-chan!”

“That’s just because you dragged Nakano-san into this! And unlike her, I don’t even need practice.”

“I don’t care about grades in the first place, so I’m not doing it,” Nakano cut in.

With that, she smoothly slipped out of Satohama’s grip, returned to my side, pulled out her phone, and started gaming.

…Nice, Nakano! That’s the right call!!!

I followed her lead and pulled out my phone, flipping through a manga.