“Alright then, let’s toast to Abe-kun and Tachihara-kun’s third-place victory!”

“Cheers!”

As the sun set, the barbecue began in the garden of the inn, led by Kawabata-san. It looked like Abe’s nosebleed had already stopped, and he was walking around as usual.

“Still, I never thought you’d actually win from that situation. I was sure you’d just forfeit.”

“It was just two more points. If the gap had been wider, I probably would have forfeited. But I’m glad we managed to scrape by with a win.”

Secretly, if the score had been further apart, I might have switched to a strategy of targeting one of them with my serves to drag them down with me.

“Thanks to you two, this barbecue turned out to be really luxurious. Seriously, thank you!”

“Yeah, not only did you help with the live event, but now you’re treating us to this feast. Thank you so much!”

The third-place prize was a ¥5000 regional gift certificate usable at local supermarkets and shopping streets. After checking with Abe, we decided to spend it all on barbecue ingredients and fireworks. Honestly, I didn’t think we’d have another chance to come here, so I figured we might as well use it all up.

There was also an offer from Sayama-san and Mogi-san to cover all the barbecue and fireworks costs, but the guys unanimously rejected that. Sure, I knew that Sayama-san probably had the second-most money after Mogi-san, but as a man, I couldn’t accept that.

In the end, the eldest, Mogi-san, covered half, and the rest was split among everyone. Plus, with the ¥5000 voucher, we were able to get much better ingredients and fireworks than we had originally planned.

“Everyone cheered for us, so that really fired me up.”

This wasn’t just flattery—it was the truth. I can confidently say that no high school boy in existence wouldn’t get hyped up when cheered on by his female classmates.

“And Watanabe, you went with him to the hospital. Thanks, man.”

“I-It’s no big deal.”

Watanabe’s the kind of guy who can step up in situations like that. A solid dude.

“Abe-kun and Watanabe-kun are both really great guys. As expected from Aniki’s friends!”

“By the way, why does Mogi-san call Tachihara ‘Aniki’?”

“Well, well, well. Let’s not get into that now. Let’s eat! Look, the meat here is cooked perfectly.”

If anything, I’d like to ask that myself.

Despite all the trouble, Abe’s injury was minor, and in the end, this will probably become a good memory. I never knew having a barbecue with everyone could be this fun. I think I understand a little bit about what it means to be a "normie" now.

“…Oh, I need to use the restroom for a bit.”

“Got it.”

The barbecue was still in full swing, but I stepped away for a moment. I didn’t expect them to show up now.

“Oh, look who’s here all alone. How convenient.”

“Damn, you guys really got embarrassed by this kid? That’s pathetic.”

“Shut the hell up!”

…They told me to “remember this,” but I didn’t actually think they’d come after me. Ever since the volleyball tournament, I had noticed a guy trailing us while we were shopping and heading back to the inn.

Using the convex mirror at an intersection, I confirmed his presence. I didn’t recognize him, but his delinquent-like appearance made it obvious he was a friend of the blond guy and the nose-pierced guy.

Anticipating trouble, I had kept my detection skill active. Sure enough, I sensed that guy approaching the inn, along with five others. That’s why I used the restroom as an excuse to come outside and confront them.

But are they serious? It’s already dark, and if they attack the inn with this many people, it’ll definitely turn into a police matter. Are they really willing to go this far just because they got humiliated?

“We were just planning to mess with you a bit while you were having fun, but since you came out alone, that changes things.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna have you come along with us for a bit.”

…I see. They must have seen us buying supplies for the barbecue. Their plan was probably to crash the party, cause trouble, maybe even ruin the food, and destroy our good memories.

As long as they didn’t actually hurt anyone, the police wouldn’t get involved. And even if they were caught, they wouldn’t face any serious charges. Just like how they deliberately targeted Abe’s face with that attack, these guys are cunning.

“Alright, let’s move to a more secluded area. That’d be better for both of us, wouldn’t it?”

“Heh, you’ve got guts. Fine, out of respect for that, we’ll only hit you over your clothes.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll just rough you up a little—nothing bad enough to call the cops.”

“““We’re sorry!!”””

After moving to a secluded area, I did what I always do—used my intimidation skill to thoroughly scare them into never trying something like this again before letting them go.

Handing them over to the police crossed my mind, but after making them talk, it turned out they had a habit of doing things that just barely skirted legal trouble. It’d be hard to get them charged with anything.

At least now they’ve learned that messing with the wrong person can backfire. Plus, if I reported delinquents to the police two days in a row, I’d probably end up getting unwanted attention myself.

I’m just glad they didn’t ruin everyone’s fun memories. But honestly, between yesterday’s extortion attempt and today’s ambush, this area might not be the safest place. I know I just accepted that regional gift voucher, but to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever come back to this town again.