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 31: Tsunekawa Momiji is Actually a Singer!? The Shocking Truth—She’s the Vocalist of LineKiller!? Too Unbelievable!

Chapter 31: Tsunekawa Momiji is Actually a Singer!? The Shocking Truth—She’s the Vocalist of LineKiller!? Too Unbelievable!

“Thoughts on Life”

By Misaki Nagisa, Class 2-B

Someone once said:

“Every person is born into this world for a reason.”

The righteous are born to do good, while the wicked are born to do evil. Good and evil restrict each other, maintaining the delicate balance of the world.

Someone else said:

“We are all born to experience the beauty of the world and, in doing so, discover the meaning of life.”

However, I cannot agree with either of these perspectives.

No matter how much beauty one experiences, no matter how much good or evil one commits, in the end, we are all destined for death.

Life and death repeat in an endless cycle, spinning within the void. Everything is emptiness. Life itself is nothing more than a coincidence within the vast cosmos—our existence holds no significance in the grand scheme of the universe.

If anything, even the concept of “life” is but an abstraction. This world is empty, nonexistent, and filled with contradictions. Life only holds meaning within the abstract perception of living beings, making it impossible to provide a perfect explanation for its purpose.

Everything is void. Everything is emptiness.

Emptiness, by lacking everything, can encompass all. It exists within everything and contains all within itself.

***

“Misaki-kun, do you still need tutoring today?”

Earlier today, Sasaki-sensei gave us an assignment.

The theme: “Thoughts on Life.”

No word limit—just write down your honest thoughts. Simple enough.

After school, I sat at my desk and began writing. I was about halfway through when Tsunekawa suddenly spoke up.

Only a few days left until final exams. The PE test was already over, and everyone had switched into full-on review mode for academic subjects. Naturally, I was one of them.

Still, with only two days left, once Monday came, the exams would begin—and then, summer break would follow immediately after. It’s hard to stay motivated when the results are practically set in stone.

That said, thanks to Tsunekawa’s help, my tutoring sessions had been paying off. I was grateful for that.

“Well… at this point, there’s not much point in extra tutoring. But I’ll be counting on you next semester too!”

“I see. Then that’s fine. Actually, I’ve been pretty busy these past two days, so I wouldn’t have had time for tutoring anyway.”

“Huh? You’re busy right before the exams? Studying for other subjects?”

Tsunekawa gave a small, wry smile. “Well, various things,” she said before slinging her bag over her shoulder and heading for the door.

“Alright, I’ll be going first.”

As I watched her leave, a thought crossed my mind.

“Wait… Nakano and Satohama aren’t here yet, are they?”

“I already told them not to come, so you should just head home too.”

It was strange for her to be this busy right before the exams. Tsunekawa had already finished most of her studying, so what could possibly be keeping her too busy for even tutoring? I couldn’t understand it at all.

Still, I packed up my things and made my way to the stone bench near the school gate to continue my assignment.

Why there? Well, for some reason, ideas always seemed to flow better in that spot.

But when I arrived at the bench, I found Nakano and Satohama already sitting there.

What the hell…?

I was genuinely surprised. Running into them here was completely unexpected.

Way too much of a coincidence…

“Huh? Nakano, Satohama? What are you guys doing here?”

As I approached, the two of them immediately looked up at me.

“Huh? Misaki-kun? You haven’t gone home yet? Didn’t Momiji-chan say she didn’t have time today?”

“Ooooooh! No way! No way! Nagisa-chan, did Sasaki-sensei scold you again!?”

“No, you idiot! And what do you mean again!? It only happened once! Don’t jinx me, dammit! That woman is seriously terrifying! Don’t even joke about that!”

Damn it, Satohama! Why would you say something like that!? If your stupid joke actually comes true, what the hell am I supposed to do!?

“C’mon, Misaki-kun. I told you before—Sensei isn’t that scary.”

“Easy for you to say! She’s not your teacher…”

You don’t understand. You haven’t been through it.

That kind of fear stays with you long after it happens.

Nakano would never get it.

Sasaki-sensei is also their class’s English teacher, but since she’s not their homeroom teacher, she doesn’t know how terrifying she can be.

Well, anyway, she’s really scary… Maybe Sasaki-sensei acts differently inside and outside of school, but to me, her strict and frightening side is deeply ingrained. That’s why I’m scared of her.

“Speaking of which, the exams are coming up soon, right? So, that ‘busy thing’ you mentioned earlier—what is it, exactly? Is it something so important that you don’t even have time to help me with remedial lessons?”

“If it’s something important enough to put everything else on hold, then I think it must be that.”

“Huh? That?”

“Actually, Momiji-san is in a band.”

Satohama quickly explained.

“A band?”

I froze in shock. Huh? Huh? Huh? Hold on a second! So you’re telling me Tsunekawa is a singer?

“Yeah! Momiji-chan has always dreamed of becoming a singer. And that band of hers has been active for quite a while now! Have you heard of ‘LineKiller’?”

LineKiller… Oh! I know them!

“Ah… That two-person online band, right?”

“Yep, that’s the one! Actually, Momiji-chan is in that band. And not only that, she’s the vocalist!”

What? No way. Did I mishear that, or did Satohama get it wrong? I can’t believe Tsunekawa is involved in music. And she’s a member of that LineKiller!?

Even in DEATH District, I often hear people talking about that band. Back in the day, a lot of people on our team were huge fans of LineKiller.

They’re seriously well-known. Even if you’ve never seen their faces, you’ve probably heard their name before. They’re almost as famous as Umika.

Hearing this from Satohama, I just couldn’t believe it. Tsunekawa, involved in music… And on top of that, she was part of that band? Seriously…?

“She’s probably been busy practicing for an upcoming live show. That’s why, when Ayana-chan and I invited her out the past two days, she turned us down.”

“So, are you planning to go cheer her on at the live show?”

“I want to, but she keeps refusing to let us go, so there’s nothing we can do…”

“Then why not just sneak in? I mean, it’s not like she’d find out, right?”

There are bound to be tons of people at the venue, so if we just go quietly, there’s no way she’d notice, right?

“Well, I guess we could… But if she doesn’t want us there, she probably has a reason. And we’re her friends, so doing something like that feels kinda wrong…”

Jeez… Nakano and her strong sense of justice…

“Well, whatever. Do what you want. I’m heading home first.”

Honestly, I wanted to finish my homework here, but Nakano and Satohama had completely taken over the place. Even if they gave me some space, just having them sitting next to me made it impossible to focus.

I really hate being watched while I’m writing. Just the thought of someone laughing at what I wrote makes me feel like my heart’s going to get crushed.

“I’m thinking of grabbing something to eat. Wanna come?”

Just as I was about to leave, Nakano suddenly made that suggestion.

If it were Kotone inviting me, I’d say yes in a heartbeat, but with these two… I’d rather not. Even putting money aside, it just feels kind of weird…

Not to mention, I still haven’t forgotten how much that rumor from before hurt me.

Sure, with Sasaki-sensei and the literature club president around, I should be fine, but last time, just preparing for a PE exam together ended up making a few of Nakano’s fans mad at me.

Besides, apart from the times when Hiroji-san treats everyone to snacks after work, I’ve never really eaten out with girls before…

Oh, except for Kotone and Umika, but we’re siblings, so that doesn’t count.

If I went out with Nakano and the others, it’d feel way too much like a date, and there’s just no way…

“Nah, I’m good… I’ve got homework to do when I get home.”

With that, I ignored the two of them and started walking northwest—toward my house.