I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Systema (Система)
A Russian military martial art. What Alexandra Ivanovna Romanova, the daughter of Destruction God Ivan, trained in was the Kadochnikov school of Systema.
The Kadochnikov school was notable for being heavily influenced by another military martial art, Combat Sambo, and, unlike typical fighting styles, included training in armed techniques and tactics designed for a variety of real-world scenarios.

In other words, whatever she held in her hands—whether it was a pen or a book—could be turned into a deadly weapon.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Aaaargh!"

Sasha twisted one boy’s arm and simultaneously aimed her weapon at his leg, firing three times in rapid succession.
Even though the bullets were rubber, the model gun was designed to closely resemble a real firearm—getting hit hurt like hell.
As the boy collapsed, clutching his thigh that was already swelling with a dark bruise, Sasha calmly searched for her next target.

"You crazy bitch!"
This time, a pretty large guy charged at her.
Perhaps cautious of the gun, he had taken off his coat and was using it as a shield.

Then he rushed at Sasha without any real plan.
He looked like a bull in a bullring—tragically, he also shared the bull’s lack of peripheral awareness.
Sasha aimed mercilessly at his thighs and fired.

"Grgh!"
Hit in both thighs by rubber bullets, the thug crumpled in pain, and Sasha didn’t miss the opening.
She took advantage of the coat he was holding, wrapped it around his neck and arm, then slipped behind him and yanked down with all her weight.

"Rgh! Ghhk!"
The bulky guy struggled to escape the hold, but with his muscles unable to exert proper force and Sasha’s full weight added to the chokehold, there was no way he could break free on his own.
Just before he passed out, foaming at the mouth, Sasha released the hold.
Then she finished off with a kick between his legs.

"!!"
In agony all men would understand, the boy dropped with a silent scream, and Sasha spat the gun from her mouth and returned to her ready stance.
Her overwhelming combat ability had been forged through endless sparring with Boris and the other subordinates of Ivan.

Seeing her like this, no one could deny that she was indeed the daughter of Destruction God Ivan.
Tojo Karen had also displayed fighting prowess far beyond what a normal high school girl should be capable of, but even so, she couldn't compare to Sasha.
In an instant, Sasha had taken down nearly ten thugs, and now pointed her gun at the leader, who was visibly rattled compared to his earlier smug confidence.

"You want to keep going?"
The blond, pierced delinquent clicked his tongue and ran off alone, abandoning his fallen underlings.
"Pathetic to the very end."

Muttering to herself, Sasha picked up the black model gun and slipped it back into the handbag lying on the ground.
Karen approached a moment later, peeling off her blood-stained knuckle duster and said,
"Not bad. You’ve got moves."

Sasha casually brushed her disheveled silver-blue hair back over her shoulder and replied,
"I’m perfect."
"……."

If anyone else had said that, you’d call them a narcissist. But Sasha was truly a flawless warrior-scholar, and Karen had no comeback.
Instead, she stuck out her lips and grumbled,
"Stuck-up bitch."

***
Rika couldn’t help but be amazed after witnessing the brawl that had just taken place.
Unlike her, who had been unable to do anything, Sasha and Karen had stood their ground and fought a dozen thugs head-on.

"You okay, Class Rep?"
As Sasha walked over and asked, the class rep—who had been hiding behind Rika—awkwardly nodded.
"Y-yeah. Thanks for the help, Sasha."

"Helping a friend is a matter of course in Russia."
After saying that, Sasha turned her gaze to Rika, who had been shielding the class rep.
"And you did well too, Rika."

The one most flustered by that statement was, naturally, Rika.
"Huh? I didn’t really do anything… not like you two…"
But Sasha shook her head.

"You showed me a radiance that only humans can. And I pay my respects to that."
"A radiance… only humans can show?"
Sasha nodded.

"To know justice and righteousness, to not run away even when the odds are against you in order to protect your friends… In Japan, you call that courage, yes? I was moved by the courage you showed today."
Sasha said this, then poked Rika in the chest with her finger.
"Hii!"

Letting out a strange noise, Rika blushed and covered her chest with both hands. Sasha chuckled.
"Thanks for saving my friend, the Class Rep, Rika."
At the first genuine smile Sasha had shown, Rika found herself smiling back without even realizing it.

"Hehe, don’t mention it."
As the two of them stood in a warm atmosphere, Karen—watching with growing dissatisfaction—cut in.
"Hey! Where’s my compliment?"

Sasha looked at her and replied,
"You did well too, Redhead."
"Rrraaagh!!"

Driven mad by Sasha still refusing to say her name, Karen exploded, and the three of them burst into laughter at the sight.
***
We met back up with the girls about ten minutes later.

It had taken a bit of time to get that fleeing thug to promise never to mess with our school again.
"I’m so glad you’re safe, Class Rep."
"Yeah. If Rika and the others hadn’t helped, it could’ve been really bad."

The Class Rep nodded and looked over at Rika and Sasha.
Something about the way she looked at them felt like their friendship level had suddenly jumped several tiers.
After Satoru called them, Sakamoto and Yaguchi arrived late and, upon hearing what had happened, said they were glad the Class Rep was unharmed.

"Sorry for making everyone miss lunch because of me. You must be hungry."
"It’s not like we’ll die from skipping one meal. We can tough it out with spirit alone."
Satoru gave a bright smile as he said that, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Then the Class Rep hesitated, lowered her head again, and said,
"Thank you all so much."
"O-okay, if you keep saying that, it’s actually going to make us feel awkward, so maybe ease up?"

Rika gently patted her shoulder while saying that, and the Class Rep lifted her head.
I checked the time on my phone.
1:50 p.m.

Just ten minutes until we had to gather, so it was a bit too tight to go eat something proper.
Looking around, I spotted a convenience store on the first floor of the observation deck.
"It’d be a bit lame to eat nothing at all—why don’t we grab something and eat it in the bus?"

Everyone's eyes followed mine °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° to the store.
Grrrgle.
A growling stomach—whose, no one knew—sealed the deal. With unspoken agreement, we all headed for the convenience store.

Sure, eating gourmet food while traveling is great, but maybe what really matters is who you’re eating it with.
***
After touring the Marine Eco Park, we returned to the campsite—only to be swept up in the next activity with no time to rest.

A treasure hunt across the entire forest retreat.
It would last about an hour, and with a brand-new laptop as the first-place prize, a home game console for second, and a ¥10,000 voucher for the school store as third, everyone searched with fierce determination.
But with treasure hunts like these, the rule of the universe is that everyone but me wins, so even after nearly an hour of scouring, all Group D ended up with was a stack of “Sorry, try again” slips.

After the hunt ended, we worked together to prepare dinner again—this time, it wasn’t curry like yesterday, but barbecue.
We grilled pork belly, shoulder cuts, sausages, whatever we’d brought from home. By the time we were full, the sky had already darkened.
It was time for the long-awaited campfire.

The boys who’d already found partners scattered in search of them, while the ones who’d failed sat sulking in the shadows.
Normally, I would’ve been among them—but not today.
During dinner, someone had unexpectedly asked me to be their dance partner.

When I asked if the morning’s fight between the trio had been resolved, they said they’d been granted today’s turn.
Fwoosh!
"Oh, it’s starting."

Satoru, lucky enough to land a partner from another class, waved cheerfully and said, "Wish me luck!" before running off.
I rose as well, and walked toward ‘Rika’, who was already waiting in front of the high-piled bonfire.
"Did I keep you waiting?"

Rika shook her head.
"Nope, I just got here too."
"What about Sasha and Karen?"

"Neither of them had a partner, so they said they’d just watch from elsewhere."
That’s kind of a shame, especially on a night like this.
Thinking that, I held out my right hand and asked,

"This is my first time dancing. Will I be okay?"
Rika smiled brightly, just like she always did, and nodded.
"It’s fine! Folk dancing’s not that hard!"

Hearing her say that so confidently actually made me a bit nervous, but I said I’d be counting on her.
It’s not like I’ll die from a few stepped toes. No need to ruin the mood.

We danced quietly, face to face, in the flickering shadows of the bonfire.
Later, Satoru would say it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale—like Beauty and the Beast.