Chapter 39: My Teacher Has a Secret
Walking out of the cabin, Hikigaya felt both physically and mentally liberated.
These people are really noisy.
But pretending to act cool like that was actually kind of satisfying. Apparently, pretending to be cool every now and then can improve the quality of life.
Of course, if he hadn't spent half the night out here searching for a nearly thirty-year-old female teacher who'd gone off in a nicotine frenzy, his quality of life would've been even higher today.
This volunteer activity was being held at a resort owned by Chiba Village, nestled in the mountains. After exiting the cabin, one could see the distant rolling mountains like sleeping beasts under the night's shroud. It was completely silent, and the stars were spread across the sky like a grand Milky Way. It was a beautiful scene.
Though it was a resort, to preserve the natural landscape, there weren't many lights installed in the mountains. Most of the forest was hidden in shadows. The wind rustling through the trees made the branches sway like living creatures—pretty creepy for people with weak nerves.
In fact, every night here, people would play courage-testing games. The resort even provided props and support for these activities.
Hikigaya's figure flitted through the trees like a ghost. Honestly, compared to the forest, he was probably more likely to scare someone.
But as he kept searching, something started to feel off.
It's just a smoke break, no need to go this far, right?
Following the traces left by Hiratsuka Shizuka, Hikigaya searched while growing increasingly confused.
Also, the footprints were weird—too spaced out—no way an ordinary person could manage that.
Rustling sounds continued in his ears, all just the wind moving through the leaves.
This was a different kind of experience for Hikigaya.
Unlike the time in the Aokigahara Forest at Mt. Fuji, where nerves were constantly on edge and he had no mood to appreciate the natural beauty.
But just because the scenery was nice doesn't mean it's easy to survive. If all human-made traces were removed, this place would be much less hospitable than Aokigahara—even though the latter is far more dangerous.
The flip side is, where food resources are rich, life thrives—and thus danger increases.
In terms of resources, Chiba Village can't compare to Aokigahara. This place is limited in resources and has fewer plant species. With the same forest area, the amount of life it can support is much less, and there are hardly any large animals.
But it's precisely a place like this that suits modern human life—those literary types wanting to "get close to nature." Advancements in technology have truly caused people to lose many of their original abilities.
The Yomi martial artists may have countless flaws, but you can't deny that they're preserving things most modern people have already lost—precious traditions passed down by humanity's ancestors.
That's one of the few contributions these antisocial folks have made to humanity.
Following Hiratsuka Shizuka's footprints, Hikigaya had already come quite far from the cabin. By now, he could be fairly certain—
Hiratsuka Shizuka is definitely not a normal person.
No matter what kind of person she is, she clearly has martial arts skills.
No wonder she was so smooth and precise when throwing punches back then…
Hikigaya felt his curiosity bubbling up. He hadn't realized before that Hiratsuka was a martial artist.
Sure, that was partly because of his own preconceived notions, but on the flip side, it also showed just how well Hiratsuka had hidden it.
But if that's the case, Hiratsuka must've already seen through him as a martial artist too.
Suddenly, the sound of flowing water came from ahead.
Hiratsuka's footprints also disappeared there, so Hikigaya slowed down and walked toward the sound.
After passing through a thicket, a stream appeared before him.
Under the starlight and moonlight, the shimmering stream flowed gently. Hiratsuka Shizuka, dressed in casual clothes, sat on a rock by the water, exhaling smoke as she stared intently at the flowing stream.
Honestly, if she weren't smoking, she'd look downright goddess-like right now.
Still, it was beautiful—a mature woman's charm. She wore a shirt on top and jeans on the bottom, which accentuated her graceful figure.
Though he always joked about her nearing thirty, truthfully, Hiratsuka Shizuka was a stunning beauty in both figure and appearance. It was just that her personality and behavior were too much for most people. Otherwise, the men chasing her would probably fill up the whole resort.
"Just going for a smoke—you didn't have to come this far, right?" Hikigaya walked over and said.
Hiratsuka looked a bit surprised, but once she saw it was Hikigaya, she clicked her tongue. Then...
From the spot where her shirt stretched tightly over her chest, she roughly pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and flicked it toward him.
The flick was stylish—accurate and forceful. But...
What the hell, you're a teacher! And you're offering your student a smoke!?
Hikigaya caught the flying cigarette with two fingers and felt a pang in his stomach.
"Mr. Harem Protagonist, out hunting new prey already?" Hiratsuka said.
Harem... who's that referring to?
"So annoying. Why are the people around me always idiots who know nothing but still dare to learn martial arts?" she sighed.
"Those dumb couple over there—out this late to do shameless things? Teacher isn't going to pretend she didn't see it." Hiratsuka glanced at the woods behind Hikigaya.
From there, startled voices rang out, and then two people came out—Shirahama Kenichi and Furinji Miu.
Hikigaya had noticed those two trailing them the whole time—he just didn't bother calling them out.
The strange thing was, why did Hiratsuka only mention them?
"You guys come out too," Hikigaya called toward the other side of the woods.
Soon, five Yomi disciples also emerged.
"Ugh, being a teacher is tough. The students are all so disobedient," Hiratsuka pouted, reaching for her cigarettes again. "Hey, foreign delinquents over there—want one too?"
Gross, no one here wants one, okay!?
"I never expected it either… my teacher turned out to be a martial artist," Hikigaya twirled the cigarette. "Smoking's bad for your health, you know? Isn't it a problem for a martial artist to be puffing away all the time?"
In his mind, martial artists were super health-conscious. Aside from a few exceptions, they were careful about their diets.
They didn't necessarily chase after gourmet food, but they paid a lot of attention to nutrition.
"Hah? What kind of stupid thing are you saying?" Hiratsuka weakly rolled her eyes. "You little brats have no idea about the adult world."
Adult world, my ass. The whole world's preaching about quitting smoking now, okay!?
Hikigaya casually crushed the cigarette in his hand into crumbs, letting them scatter in the wind.
"What a waste..." Hiratsuka watched the scene with a pained expression.
"Lord Hachiman," Rachel Stanley said, looking at Furinji Miu and Shirahama Kenichi, eager to act.
But before she could say more, she was interrupted.
"You killing-fist people are always like this," Hiratsuka said. "No matter where you go, you just want to fight. It's because of you guys that martial arts have such a bad reputation now."
"Sounds like you're from the 'life-fist' camp," Tirawit Kokin said coldly.
"What an idiot. Life fist, killer fist—what does it matter?" Hiratsuka didn't even look at Kokin. "Once you're dead, it's all meaningless anyway."
"It's not meaningless—because we, Yomi, are the true path of martial arts," said Boris Ivanov, the bear-like one, looking at Shirahama Kenichi. "And over there is the man who accepted my challenge."
"You bastard, you want to fight here?" Kenichi instantly tensed up and struck a stance, but Miu quickly pulled him back.
As Tirawit Kokin had said, it really did look pretty unseemly—too impulsive.
Regardless of whether Boris actually intended to fight, there was no need to overreact like that...
"In the end, you're all like this... just for reasons like that..." Watching all of this, Hiratsuka suddenly sighed, her expression becoming very sorrowful. "You'll die, you know. In the end, everyone will die."
"Teacher, you..." Hikigaya was stunned. Hiratsuka had been full of surprises tonight. "Did something happen?"
"Nothing happened. I just don't want to keep watching anymore."
Hiratsuka stood up from the rock and patted her pants.
"Let's go back."