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 37: A Self-Introduction Gathering Before the Trip... Oi! Once is Enough!

Chapter 37: A Self-Introduction Gathering Before the Trip… Oi! Once is Enough!

The next day, after lunch.

Pressed by Umika’s excitement and impatience, I took her along to the café.

At first, I thought we were the first ones to arrive, but the moment I opened the door, I saw Nakano already helping Kouji-san.

Tsunekawa was near the counter, reading a book, while Satohama was sprawled across a table, fast asleep.

Looking around, aside from a few other customers, I didn’t see the Sasaki-sensei sisters anywhere. Meaning, these three had arrived before the teacher…

“Oh, Misaki-kun~!”

At that moment, Nakano noticed me and waved with a bright smile.

“Yo, hey there.”

“My, Misaki-kun, you’re here already.”

Tsunekawa glanced up at me in mild surprise.

“Well… my little sister was eager to get here early, so, you know, I didn’t have much choice.”

“Fufu, you’re such a caring big brother.”

Tsunekawa chuckled, snapping her book shut, and started heading towards the restroom.

Meanwhile, Nakano also stepped out from behind the counter, holding an iced coffee. Was she planning to give that to me?

Just in time, too—this heat was really getting to me.

Standing in front of me, Nakano suddenly stopped moving and stared at my face. She was probably wondering about the scratch on it.

If I had to guess, the next thing she’d say would be: “Did you get hurt?”

“Oh no! Misaki-kun, your face—did you get injured?!”

Bingo! Spot on! Now, what’s my prize? I’d love the latest model laptop!

“Yeah… I kinda fell off my bike yesterday.”

No way in hell I could tell her the truth—that it was from a fight. After all, I transferred here to completely cut ties with my past life. Besides, my sister still thinks my injury was from a car accident, so I have to stick to that excuse.

“I-I see… Be more careful next time, okay?”

“O-Oh… yeah, got it…”

After that, Nakano turned to Umika and spoke.

“You must be Misaki-kun’s little sister, right? I’ll treat you to a coffee! It’s so hot outside—cool off with an iced coffee!”

…Wait, it’s not for me?

That iced coffee I was looking forward to… turns out, it was for my sister instead…

“Ah, thanks a bunch, onee-san!”

Umika took the coffee from Nakano, but just as she was about to take a sip, she suddenly stopped as if something had just crossed her mind.

“Oh, right! I’m Misaki Umika, nice to meet you!”

Umika cheerfully introduced herself, prompting Nakano to do the same.

“Hello~ I’m Nakano Ouka. Misaki-kun’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Ouka-neesan! You’re so pretty! It’s like a cherry blossom is blooming right in front of me!”

Umika stared at Nakano’s face and started showering her with compliments. Whether she was doing it on purpose or genuinely thought so, I had no idea—but Nakano’s face immediately turned bright red.

“E-Eh?! T-That’s not true at all! Umika-chan, you’re way cuter… Huh? Wait a second—Umika-chan, I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before?”

“Eh? We’ve met before?”

“Not exactly, but… you look really familiar for some reason.”

“You probably saw her on TV, right?”

Before Nakano could fully process her thoughts, Tsunekawa cut in—Oi! Since when were you back?! Weren’t you in the restroom just a second ago?! How the hell did you come back so fast?!

Tsunekawa’s words made Nakano’s eyes widen in shock.

“Eh? R-Really?”

“Don’t you think Umika-chan looks just like Chise?”

This was a first. I had never seen someone look at Umika and stay this calm. Usually, when people recognized her, they got overly excited and started asking for autographs.

By the way, ‘Chise’ is actually Umika’s stage name.

“Eh? No way! Now that you mention it, Umika-chan really does look like Chise!”

“She doesn’t just look like her—Umika is Chise. That’s her stage name.”

“EEHHH?! F-For real?! Umika-chan is Chise?! I can’t believe it! So that means… Misaki-kun’s little sister is that famous idol?!”

“Well, the answer should be obvious by now…”

“T-That’s amazing! Misaki-kun’s little sister is an idol?!”

“Eh, it’s not that big of a deal. If Ouka-neesan became an idol, I bet you’d be even more popular than me!”

This brat… throwing around flattery at a time like this. Would it kill her to say something nice about me once in a while? I’ve been taking care of her all this time, so maybe I should start expecting some ‘amazing big brother’ points.

“A-Ahh, no way, that’s not true~ Besides, I don’t think I’m cut out for it.”

“Nah, you never know until you try! If you’re interested, I could even recommend you to my agency!”

“Thanks~ but I think I’ll pass, ahaha…”

“Well~ I was surprised to find out Umika-chan is an idol, but honestly, even knowing that, it still doesn’t feel real that you two are siblings.”

…Oi, you could’ve worded that way better. That one kinda stung. But yeah, I guess I can’t exactly deny it…

“Hahaha…”

“Don’t laugh! You’re my little sister, aren’t you?! At least say something to back me up as my sister!”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Tsunekawa Momiji. I’m Misaki-kun’s classmate.”

“Hello, Momiji-neesan~”

At that moment, Satohama, who had been sleeping, suddenly jolted awake, drawing everyone’s attention. Ah, come to think of it, we had been ignoring her for a while now.

She probably had a dream about falling off a cliff or something and woke up in shock.

Huh? How do I know? Well, it’s because I’ve experienced the same thing before. And it just so happened to be during class. I got scolded like crazy by the teacher afterward…

Oh yeah, and then there was that time the other day, in the afternoon after I was late to school. During self-study, I had a dream where I was being chased by a vicious dog, and in the end, I fell off a cliff…

“Ugh… Huh? Where’s Momiji-san?”

Satohama stretched, then looked around, realizing that Tsunekawa, who had been sitting in front of her, was no longer there.

“I’m over here.”

Hearing Tsunekawa’s voice, Satohama quickly turned around.

“Oh, Momiji-san, why are you standing? Huh? Nagisa-chan is here too!”

“I’ve been here for about ten minutes already…”

“Really? I must’ve slept too much to notice! Tehehe~”

Satohama laughed sheepishly, stood up, fixed her hair, and walked toward us. At that moment, Nakano started introducing Umika to her.

“Ayana-chan, let me introduce you. This is Misaki-kun’s little sister, Umika-chan.”

“Huh? So this is Nagisa-chan’s little sister!”

“Hello~ I’m Misaki Umika!”

“Whoa, nice to meet you! I’m Satohama Ayana! Nagisa-chan’s little sister is way too cute~!”

“U-Uh… I wouldn’t say that…”

“They’re really getting into it, huh?”

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind me. There was no mistaking it! That was Sasaki-sensei!

I turned around to see Sasaki-sensei standing behind me. She was wearing a white one-piece dress today, and maybe it was because of her different makeup, but she looked even more mature than usual.

As expected, Sensei is really beautiful. Just… a bit too scary, though…

“Oh, Sensei.”

“Misaki, has your little sister arrived?”

“Yeah, she’s right here.”

I lightly pulled Umika closer and introduced her to Sensei.

“Umika, this is Sasaki-sensei. And next to her is Sensei’s younger sister, Sasaki Yuki.”

“Ah, Sasaki-sensei, Yuki-neesan, nice to meet you!”

“Oh, hello there. You’re much calmer and cuter than Misaki.”

Oi, oi, what the hell?

What do you mean, “much calmer” than me?! At home, I’m always getting pushed around by my little sister! Don’t be fooled by her innocent act! It’s all an act!

“Ahaha… That’s not true at all! But my idiot Onii-chan must always be causing Sensei trouble, right? I’m really sorry!”

Me? Causing trouble for Sensei? Isn’t it the other way around? She’s always robbing me of my free time…

“Indeed. Your brother is always clumsy, slow-moving, and completely unreliable.”

Sensei… that hurt a little, you know… I feel like crying now.

“I’m really sorry! Onii-chan is a total idiot, but please take care of him!”

Why am I the only one getting absolutely trashed here…? Isn’t a simple “Nice to meet you” enough for an introduction?! Why am I being sacrificed for no reason?!

“Hahaha~ He’s nothing like you, huh?”

“Haha… I guess not…”

“Alright, my turn next. Umika-chan, nice to meet you. I’m Sasaki Yuki. Looking forward to getting along.”

“Hello, Yuki-neesan~ Looking forward to it!”

We’ve been doing nothing but self-introductions for a while now. Are we doing some kind of comedy routine?

Now that I think about it, Kotone still hasn’t shown up. Did she get lost or something?

Just then, the café door opened again.

“Excuse me… Is this LIBRE Café?”

“She’s here, Kotone! You’re way too late!”

Kotone looked at me, sighed deeply, and said:

“Well, it can’t be helped… This shopping district is way too big, so I had to wander around for a while.”

“Misaki, who’s this?”

Sasaki-sensei gave me a questioning look, so I had no choice but to start another round of introductions… Again?! This is so tedious!

“Ah, we had one extra ticket for the trip, so I invited her to come along.”

“I see. Well then, welcome aboard.”

Sasaki-sensei smiled gently at Kotone. Why is she so strict with me but so nice to everyone else?

“Hello~ I’m Nakano Ouka, Misaki-kun’s friend!”

“I’m Satohama Ayana! Also Nagisa-chan’s friend~”

“Tsunekawa Momiji.”

“U-Uh, I’m Sasaki Yuki.”

Great, another round of self-introductions! Why don’t we just turn today into a short film titled “A Day Full of Self-Introductions”?

We could even sell it as an educational video for teaching kids how to introduce themselves. That’d be killing two birds with one stone!

“Hello! I’m Mashiro Kotone, Nagisa-chan’s older sister, and his fiancée!”

“Fiancée?!”

“A cousin marriage?!”

“W-What does that mean?!”

In that instant, everyone’s smiling faces twisted into expressions of shock, as if they were looking at something utterly bizarre!

“You… You idiot! What the hell are you saying?!”

This girl! She’s joking at the worst possible moment!

“J-Just kidding! It’s a joke!”

“This isn’t the time for jokes, you idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot!”

“Misaki-kun… W-What’s going on here? Fiancée?”

Nakano looked at me, clearly bewildered. I let out a big sigh and explained to everyone.

“Don’t believe a word she says! We’re just siblings, she’s always joking around. And by the way, we’re not cousins. Our parents got divorced, so she just has a different last name now.”

“S-So that’s how it is… That gave me such a scare…”

“Same here… I don’t even have a fiancé yet…”

Yeah, probably because you’re terrifying.

“Well, whatever, let’s grab our stuff and head out already!”

Sasaki-sensei cut the conversation short, picked up her luggage, and stepped out of the café.

Since Sensei had gone ahead, we all grabbed our bags and followed after her, heading to the nearby station before boarding the train bound for our destination.