I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

The class president, Ayase Satsuki, hesitated before the Chinese rice bowl set before her.
She normally couldn’t handle spicy food.
However, unable to ignore the hopeful gazes pouring in from those around her, Ayase finally made up her mind to eat the dish.

Gulp—
The sauce itself was so red that it looked spicy at first glance.
Before taking a bite of the large [N O V E L I G H T] spoonful of rice and sauce, she first gave it a sniff.

‘The green onion scent masks the pork well. And there’s a faint spice with a hint of smokiness.’
Contrary to the bright red color of the sauce, it didn’t seem like it would be overwhelmingly spicy.
‘If it’s like this…’

Having gained some courage, she put the spoon in her mouth.
Ahp!
Her first impression upon tasting it was, “It’s delicious.”

That may sound like a dull reaction, but to be precise, it was “deliciously spicy.”
Even Ayase, who struggled with spicy food, found the level of spice just right—perfectly balanced.
Though a hefty amount of chili powder had turned the sauce crimson during cooking, its aftertaste was surprisingly clean.

It had a slight kick, but the overall balance between saltiness and sweetness was excellent.
The crunch of the vegetables gave it a pleasant texture, and the tender pork, chewed together with the rice, had a savory depth.
Pop! Pop!

Occasional bites of shrimp mixed in with the vegetables made her unconsciously eager for the next mouthful.
Unaware that large drops of sweat had formed on the bridge of her nose, she was soon shoveling spoonful after spoonful into her mouth.
Watching her quietly, Kim Yu-seong offered a small suggestion.
"You can pop the yolk of the fried egg on the side and eat it together. It’s really good."

Fried egg?
As if coming out of a trance, Ayase’s eyes finally noticed the sunny-side-up egg placed on one edge of the plate.
The egg had been cooked until the edges were crisp and browned.

Tap!
With a light touch of her spoon, the yolk—trapped beneath a thin membrane—burst and spilled like molten lava.
She mixed it into the red sauce-stained rice and took a bite.

“Mmgh!”
It was unfair.
Unfairly delicious.

That such a perfectly balanced dish could be created with limited ingredients in a camping setting—it was mind-blowing.
Perhaps as a consideration for people like her who couldn’t handle spice, the addition of the rich egg yolk transformed the Chinese rice bowl into something completely non-spicy while preserving all of its original umami.
The creamy flavor of the egg soothed her tongue, which had begun to burn from the heat of the sauce.

One bite, then two… and before long, her bowl was completely empty.
As she scraped up the final spoonful and put it in her mouth, she swept back her sweat-drenched bangs behind her ear and murmured with satisfaction:
"Thank you for the meal…♡"

That expression on her face was oddly seductive.
***
And so, after the class president’s fair and impartial judging, the winner of the cooking contest was the Chinese rice bowl.

Sasha and Rika, who had stepped forward with confidence and suffered crushing defeats, wiped away their tears. But since the whole thing had started as half a joke anyway, we all sat down on the wooden terrace and began dinner.
"There’s plenty of rice, so if anyone wants seconds, just ask."
"Oooh! Yaguchi, you’re the best! You’ve got a generous spirit!"

We placed all our dishes in the center of the table and shared everything with each other.
As for Rika’s omurice, the eggs had been a bit undercooked, so we heated it up more, but aside from that, it was decently edible—it was just standard chicken rice inside, after all.
Sasha’s beef stroganoff, as the class president had judged, felt a bit too bland when poured over rice, but with some quick emergency seasoning using salt and pepper, it became quite enjoyable.

Exotic food brings a sense of travel even by itself, so honestly, if I had been the one judging, I might have given my vote to the stroganoff.
As for my Chinese rice bowl sauce, I divided the sunny-side-up eggs—made exactly for the number of people present—and portioned out the sauce as much as each person wanted.
Since I had made a generous amount from the start, we ended up trading the leftovers for curry from another group—and it was a massive hit.

Curry, after all, is something you can make at any ordinary household, not just at a camping ground.
And since most of the curry flavor comes from store-bought curry roux—often big-brand—it’s rare to find a curry that actually stands out in taste.
In contrast, the unique flavor of the Chinese rice bowl, making its first appearance at this camping site, naturally made people go wild.

Eventually, not just the other group, but kids from other classes drawn by the smell came to trade for it too, and we ended up getting loads of curry in return.
Truly, it was a fulfilling dinner.
***

After dinner, I headed to the storage shed in a corner of the campground.
The reason was simple—I had been assigned the role of ghost for tonight’s test of courage, and I needed to prepare.
Clatter!

"Ah."
"It’s Kim Yu-seong."
"Oh no, oh no."

Inside the storage shed, it looked like one student from each class—selected as ghost actors—had gathered and were discussing how they’d dress up and scare the participants.
It had been around three months since the new school year started, so most of the misunderstandings or preconceptions about me had been cleared up by now. But the kids from other classes, with whom I hadn’t had much interaction, were still visibly scared of me.
That said, I couldn’t just stand here and not say a word. So I mustered my courage and spoke up.

"Hey. I’m here too since I’m playing a ghost."
One of the trembling students cautiously asked me:
"You were chosen as the rep for Class 2-B?"

"Yeah, that’s right. And no need to be scared—I’m not nearly as scary as you might think."
The boy who had spoken to me nodded with an awkward, reluctant expression.
"R-right."

Didn’t seem like he was convinced at all, but… well, I’ll take that as a win for now.
I turned to the seven other students sitting in the shed and asked:
"Did you guys hear how the test of courage is going to be done?"

The girl next to me hesitated a bit, then replied:
"According to the sheet Matsuda-sensei gave us, we’re supposed to walk along a marked path, turn around at a handkerchief-tied marker, and come back to the campsite. It’s about 1 km round trip, so not too far."
I looked at the printout she offered—it was indeed a simple, straight route.

At the very least, it didn’t seem like students would be getting lost along the way.
"So are the eight of us taking turns playing ghosts?"
"…Yeah. Since we don’t need that many at once, we’ll split into two shifts of four each."

As I listened and nodded, I noticed the others had already started putting on their costumes.
"Uh, what kind of costume should I wear?"
The boy who had first spoken to me thought for a moment and then pointed toward a corner of the shed.

"How about that?"
A white hockey mask. Denim overalls. An orange chainsaw.
It was an infamous horror movie killer costume.

“Whatever you do, don’t play the ghost. Someone’s definitely gonna faint.”
Satoru’s warning flashed through my mind, but… I really wanted to do this properly.
Sorry, Satoru.

I mumbled an apology internally and had the others help me put together a simple killer costume.
"What do you think?"
The kids stared at me with dead-serious expressions.

"……"
"……"
No one dared speak right away.

Just in case, I lightly lifted the chainsaw—then the most timid-looking student flinched and stepped back several paces.
"This is way too scary."
"…That bad?"

"If someone sees you like that in the woods at night, someone’s gonna have a heart attack."
The brutally honest review made me quietly take off the hockey mask.
"Then what should I wear?"

Another boy from a different class, rubbing his temples tiredly, spotted a red ogre mask in the shed’s corner and pointed it out.
"Let’s just go with that."
And so, my ghost role was decided: a plastic oni mask.

***
Test of Courage.
A classic forest school event, usually done in boy-girl pairs.

In romantic comedies, it’s often used when the relationship between a boy and girl is ambiguous—to let the guy show his cool side.
But since I was playing the ghost this time, none of that had anything to do with me.
"How resentful I ammm~"

Hidden in a designated location, I let out one of the classic ghost lines.
The line itself didn’t really match the atmosphere, but thanks to my deep voice, it actually came off pretty well.
I pulled out my smartphone and checked the time.

7:58 PM.
The sun had completely set, and the forest was engulfed in total darkness.
Honestly, even someone with nerves of steel would feel scared in this kind of pitch-black environment.

I was no exception, so I just hoped time would pass quickly.
At this point, scaring passing students felt like it’d be less frightening than just sitting here waiting.