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 42: What an unexpected meeting…

The next afternoon, Sasaki-sensei gathered all of us and set off toward the sea.

“Hey… What the hell happened to you two?”

Kotone and Satohama were both leaning against Nakano and me, looking completely drained, as if their energy had been completely depleted.

“Wait, don’t tell me you were fighting last night!?”

Nakano asked with a “this is bad” expression. The two girls didn’t say a word—just gave a small nod.

So it was true.

“Ugh! I told you, no fighting in the hotel!”

Nakano’s voice had a mix of anger and resignation.

“It was just sparring! Not a fight!”

Satohama immediately refuted, and Kotone backed her up.

“That’s right!”

“Fufun~ Kotone-chan, we didn’t settle it yesterday, so let’s go again later!”

“Anytime you want!”

“Oi, oi, you were just half-dead a second ago, and now you’re suddenly fired up again?”

I couldn’t help but call them out on it. Sasaki-sensei, seemingly amused, clapped his hands and interrupted.

“Alright, alright. You can fight later. For now, let’s go.”

With that, he started walking ahead.

“Come on, Ayana-chan! No fighting today, got it?”

“Ouch, ouch… Ouka-san, stop pulling my ear…”

Nakano, still pulling Satohama’s ear, hurried after the teacher. The rest of us quickly followed.

The sea wasn’t far from here. In fact, we could already see it from our hotel room window. Judging by the distance, it was probably just a few hundred meters away.

Today, we planned to catch seafood and have a barbecue by the shore. Along with our change of clothes, we also brought seasonings and a few cooking tools.

…But what’s this egg for?

“Sensei, this egg… what exactly are we using it for?”

“The egg? Ah, that’s just an experiment. I thought I’d see if seafood tastes better when grilled with it.”

“We’re grilling an egg…?”

“No, no. We’ll beat the egg and coat the seafood before grilling it. It might be unexpectedly delicious.”

“I-I see…”

I had heard of this kind of barbecue technique before, but I’d never actually seen it done.

Everyone chatted excitedly as we walked, eager to reach the shore—especially Satohama, who was practically bouncing with anticipation.

“Mi… Misaki…?”

Just as we were about to reach the beach, I heard a familiar voice from up ahead while absentmindedly scrolling through my phone. Lifting my head, I froze on the spot.

“Asakawa Makoto…”

That’s right. Standing just a little ahead of us was Asakawa.

As always, he had his hands stuffed in his pockets, striding forward with that arrogant swagger. Thanks to his massive frame, he was impossible to miss.

We walked toward each other until we stopped, standing about half a meter apart.

Once, we had been evenly matched rivals.

But after our rematch the day before yesterday, I realized the truth—there was no way I could win against him anymore. If we fought now, I would lose.

“Thanks for the other day!”

“…Hah?”

…This bastard…

He already won, and now he’s acting all polite like I did him some kind of favor? He’s clearly looking down on me!

“Get out of my way! I’m heading to the beach!”

“Tch. I was just about to head back to the hotel. Why are you blocking me?”

“Hah? That’s got nothing to do with me! Just move already!”

“I was gonna move without you saying anything! Why the hell should I move first!? You move!”

“Screw this! Just get outta my sight!”

“Later, shorty!”

“Don’t get cocky, you damn Franken-gorilla!”

“Hmph!”

With that, we ignored each other and walked off in opposite directions.

“Wh-what was that?! Wait, onii-chan, hold on!”

Mika called out from behind me, but my feet kept moving forward on their own.

Once I turned a corner, I ducked into hiding, taking deep breaths to calm my nerves. The others soon caught up.

“Haa… haa… That was close… My heart nearly stopped! I can’t believe I ran into him here…!”

“Misaki-kun, what was that all about? Who was that guy? It seemed like you two really didn’t get along…”

Nakano, looking concerned, asked me hesitantly. I had no choice but to brush it off.

“I-it’s nothing… Just some annoying guy.”

There was no way I could tell them the truth. That was the only answer I could give.

But still… that damn Asakawa! He won, and yet he dares to say ‘Thanks for the other day’? What the hell is his problem?!

“Screw you, you bastard!!!”

Unable to hold back my frustration, I hurled the egg in my hand as hard as I could—

And immediately regretted it.

“Ah! The egg! The egg!!”

“MISAKI!!! YOU WANNA DIE?!”

Sasaki-sensei grabbed me by the collar and shouted furiously. Her eyes were filled with a terrifying killing intent, like that of a demon.

H-Hiiieee…! Th-This woman is scary! Way too scary!

“I-I’m sorry, Sensei! I’ll go buy new eggs right away!”

Panicking, I quickly apologized. But Sensei didn’t let go of me and warned in a low, menacing voice.

“I don’t know what just happened, but if I don’t see new eggs in the next ten minutes… you know what’s coming, don’t you?”

“Y-Yes! I’ll go get them right now!”

The moment she finally let go of my collar, I bolted toward the nearest supermarket. But then, I noticed Kotone following after me.

“Nagisa-chan… W-Wait up a sec…!”

“Why are you coming along?! I need to get those eggs, or I’m dead!”

“But… you dropped your wallet!”

…Huh? My wallet?

I patted my pockets and realized—it was gone. I had been in such a panic that I hadn’t even noticed!

If Kotone hadn’t pointed it out, I wouldn’t just have failed to buy the eggs—I would’ve lost my wallet too!

“…Jeez, why are you so freaked out? That’s not like you, Nagisa-chan.”

Kotone caught up to me, handing over my wallet while teasing me.

“Shut up! That woman is the scariest person in my life! Didn’t you see the way she was looking at me just now, with murder in her eyes?!”

“I’m not talking about Sasaki-sensei. I meant Asakawa! Asakawa! Why are you so scared of him? You two are rivals, aren’t you? Just because you lost once doesn’t mean you should be acting like this…”

…Wait. She was talking about Asakawa? I thought she meant Sensei…

“I’m not scared! Why the hell would I be?!”

“Not scared, huh? Then who was it just now who said, ‘I thought my heart was gonna stop’?”

Kotone put her hands on her hips, smirking as she pressed the issue.

“T-That was just…”

…Wait a second.

Back then, I really did feel like my heart was about to stop. My legs had moved on their own.

I had wanted to run from that place… Could it be that after losing to him, I was actually scared?

No way! That’s impossible! There’s no way in hell I… I would ever—

“I’M NOT SCARED, DAMMIT!!”

I kicked an empty can on the ground, trying to shake myself back to reality. There’s no way I’d ever be afraid of that bastard!

CLANG!