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 46: Making food for more than ten people with just the two of us… what a hassle.

Chapter 46: Making food for more than ten people with just the two of us… what a hassle.

With all the ingredients prepped, we finally moved on to the actual cooking.

“Alright, Misaki-kun. Ready?”

“All set! I can start anytime… wait, why do I have to take orders from you!?”

Hold on, wasn’t this supposed to be a “make whatever you want” kind of deal? Since when did I end up waiting on Tsunekawa’s commands?

Besides, I know my cooking skills are kinda questionable—my sister’s made sure to remind me of that—but no one’s even seen how good or bad Tsunekawa is at cooking! Why is she automatically assuming she’s better than me!?

Come to think of it, Sasaki is pretty good at cooking, too. Wouldn’t it be better to have her help instead?

“I’m not trying to boss you around? I was just asking if you were ready.”

“Oh… uh, right.”

…Man, that was embarrassing! I wish I could just disappear!

“Sigh… Alright, let’s just start. You can cook however you want, Misaki-kun.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it. By the way, Sasaki’s pretty good at cooking, right? Wouldn’t it be more efficient if she helped us out?”

“Yuki’s playing with Minatsu right now. What, are you planning to leave your little sister all alone?”

“No, that’s not what I meant… I just thought more people helping would make things go faster, that’s all.”

“Well, too bad. Let’s just get started. Everyone’s hungry. You are too, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

And so, Tsunekawa and I started cooking in our own ways.

The rule this time was simple: pick whatever ingredients you want and cook freely.

Without hesitation, I immediately ruled out the crab.

For two reasons:

First, I just can’t deal with touching crabs. Even if they’re already dead, it’s just… nope. The sight alone makes my skin crawl.

Second, yesterday, Tsunekawa mentioned that she “used to grill crabs in her backyard all the time.” So she’s probably better suited for it anyway.

I can handle fish—barely—but yeah, the crab is all yours, Tsunekawa-san!

With the crab off the table, I took another look at our ingredients. The beef, fish, chicken wings, and chicken thighs all seemed like they’d take a while to cook.

Since Tsunekawa was already grilling the wings and thighs, I decided to take on the beef and the fish everyone caught earlier.

I started by placing them on the barbecue grill to cook.

Then, I grabbed some eggs we bought earlier and cracked them into a bowl, whisking them together.

Apparently, our teacher had suggested, “Try coating the seafood with egg before grilling it.”

But would that actually taste good? Honestly, I feel like just making a regular grilled egg, seasoning it with cumin powder and chili, would be way better… But hey, might as well give it a shot.

“Misaki-kun, could you pass me the crab?”

“But your chicken wings and thighs aren’t even done yet, right?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll do them all at once. Just hand it over.”

…Is she really that good at multitasking? If I tried handling that much at the same time, I’d definitely panic and burn everything.

Still, she was pushing for it, so I reluctantly handed her the crab.

While Tsunekawa and I continued cooking in silence, the rest of the group had pretty much finished their tasks. Some were on their phones, others were chatting, and a few had even gone off to play in the sea.

But then—one exception appeared.

“Tsunekawa-san, Misaki-kun, anything I can help with?”

Bored out of her mind, Kiritani came over to us.

“That’d be great. Honestly, just the two of us is kinda tough. Especially since Misaki-kun’s cooking skills are… questionable, so everything takes longer.”

“Hey, why’d you have to throw shade at me right now!?”

…Damn it, that stung! She doesn’t hit as hard as Takanashi, but it still hurts to hear it!

“I mean, I’m just stating a fact? No need to take it so personally.”

“You’re just like Takanashi… You really should work on that whole ‘no filter’ thing.”

“Nah, it’s different. I’m not as bad as Takanashi. In fact, I actually hold back quite a bit, you know?”

…I mean, I’ll give her that. But still, being blunt with no regard for the mood is kinda messed up, you know?

“Alright, fine… I’ll admit that much.”

“Haha… So, what do you need me to do?”

“Could you grab a bottle of beer for us?”

…Huh? Beer? What for? You better not be planning to drink it!

That’s illegal! Underage drinking is against the law, Tsunekawa-san!!

“Tsunekawa-san! Drinking underage is against the law!!”

“Whoa, whoa, relax. We’re not drinking it. It’s for the beef. Didn’t you know? Adding a little beer makes the meat taste better.”

“Wait, really? I thought beer was just for getting rid of the smell? I already handled that during prep…”

“That’s just a side effect. The main point is to enhance the flavor. And besides, you did a proper job with the prep, right?”

…Alright, fine. I give up. I admit defeat.

When it comes to cooking knowledge and technique, she’s leagues ahead of me. I have no choice but to concede…

“Got it…”

“Minatsu told me, ‘My brother’s cooking tastes normal.’ But now I see—yeah, you don’t even have the basics down.”

“…Can’t argue with that.”

Lost to Asakawa in a fight, lost to Tsunekawa in cooking… My life is just one defeat after another.

No, wait! My grades aren’t bad! Well… my Japanese and English are still a disaster, but at least I’ve improved a lot from before!

Yeah, I refuse to be labeled as a loser! No way I’m letting that happen!!

“Alright, Kiritani-san, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Got it! I’ll be back in a bit.”

Kiritani gave a light reply and started walking toward the edge of the beach.

But after just a few steps, Sasaki-sensei, who had been sitting on the ground fiddling with her smartphone, suddenly called out to him.

“Kiritani, hold up a second!”

At the sound of the teacher’s voice, Kiritani immediately stopped and turned back toward us.

“Huh? Sensei, what’s up?”

“You’re going to buy beer, right? I’ll come with you.”

Saying that, Sasaki-sensei got to her feet and walked over to Kiritani.

“Eh? You, Sensei? Why?”

Her words made me raise an eyebrow, and I couldn’t help but interject.

“Well, obviously, to buy alcohol. A barbecue without beer is only half as fun, don’t you think?”

“Wait, Sensei, you drinking is fine and all, but we’re still underage! There’s no way we can drink with you!”

A teacher drinking with students… No, no, that’s definitely not okay!

Besides, I hate alcohol! It’s bitter, it tastes awful, and I don’t see the point of drinking it!

…I-I mean, not that I’ve ever actually tried it before or anything, okay!?

It was just… curiosity! That’s all! It’s not like I wanted to drink it or anything!!

“Relax, I’ll get you guys some juice. And besides, didn’t Takanashi bring drinks too? Now, let’s go, Kiritani. Time to get some beverages.”

“Uh… ah, okay.”

Sasaki-sensei looked absolutely delighted, as if she was genuinely excited about having beer with her barbecue.

She must really be looking forward to this…

After they left, Tsunekawa and I resumed grilling.

Just then, Minatsu came back from the ocean and trotted over to my side.

“Onii-chan, is it ready yet? I’m starving!”

“Hah? Didn’t you just have takoyaki? You’re hungry again?”

“I only had a few! Of course, it’d be gone in no time!”

“But we haven’t even grilled the meat yet, so there’s nothing to eat right now.”

“Then why not cook the potatoes and carrots first? Those should be done pretty quick!”

Tsunekawa suggested this while handing me a plate piled with sliced potatoes and carrots.

…Huh, that’s actually not a bad idea. Those will cook faster, and if Minatsu’s hungry already, the others are probably starting to get hungry too.

Alright, let’s start with these.

“Alright, just hang on a bit. I’ll grill them now.”

“Yay~!”

Grinning from ear to ear, Minatsu immediately ran off again—this time heading toward Sasaki.

Tch… she sure is carefree for someone who’s just waiting to be served food…

Cooking for a whole group is seriously a pain…