Marin Hayama, a 17-year-old girl born and raised in a seaside town, wakes up one morning to find herself in a classroom at an unfamiliar school. The building looks just like her old school, but every student is a stranger. She learns from Kai Aoi, a nosy boy in the next seat, that she has been reincarnated into another world. Panicking, Marin survives the day and goes to the beach, where she finds an old shack called a beach house. There, a classmate named Sango Shiozaki greets her: 'So you fina
Marine Scramble! - Rival Appears! Sparks of Love and Sour Strawberry Syrup
A week had passed since the beach house Naminone reopened.
Against the white sand, a blue noren curtain swayed in the wind.
"Here you go, one strawberry shaved ice. Sorry for the wait."
Marin handed a towering shaved ice to a regular fisherman sitting on the terrace.
The top of the ice was drenched in bright red syrup.
"Oh, thanks. …Hm?"
The fisherman took a bite and tilted his head.
"Is this strawberry? It tastes kinda… like melon."
"Huh?"
Marin looked at the syrup container in her hand.
The label said "Melon."
"Umyaa!? I-I'm so sorry! I must have grabbed the wrong syrup container…!"
Marin turned bright red and bowed over and over.
"Hahaha, don't worry about it. Think of it as a new flavor. Melon-flavored strawberry—not bad at all."
"But still, let me remake it…!"
"I said it's fine. Don't worry about it. It's hot today, so this hits the spot."
The fisherman laughed heartily and kept eating his shaved ice.
Marin hung her head for a while, full of guilt.
(I messed up again…)
"You never change, do you. But that old guy just laughed it off, didn't he?"
Sango called out from behind the counter, giggling.
The bright red coral necklace at her neck sparkled in the sunlight.
"Sango… I can't even restock shaved ice syrup properly."
"It's fine. Your clam butter rice bowl is the best in this town, bar none."
Sango pointed at a photo of the rice bowl sitting on the counter.
A week since reopening.
Marin's clam butter rice bowl had already become a hit among the regulars.
"Besides, your clumsiness is part of your charm. It makes all the customers smile."
"Geez, Sango… thank you."
Marin managed a small smile.
A gentle warmth spread through her chest.
(Sango always cheers me up.)
(The reason I can truly feel glad I came to this world is because Sango is here.)
"Come to think of it, Aoi still hasn't come back from shopping."
Marin glanced toward the shop entrance.
"That guy takes the long way every time he goes shopping. He probably just wants an excuse to see you."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You're so dense. Well, you'll figure it out eventually."
Marin tilted her head.
(Aoi wants to see me?)
(But he could just come to the beach house and see me anytime.)
In Marin's mind, she pictured Aoi insisting every day that he was "only drawn here by the smell of Marin's clam butter rice."
(Is he coming today too? If he does, I want him to eat my clam butter rice bowl.)
Something in her chest gave a tiny leap.
But Marin didn't yet know the name of that feeling.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the beach house terrace.
Marin swept the sand in front of the shop with a bamboo broom.
The soft rustle of sand shifting.
The sea breeze stirred her bangs, and the scent of the shore tickled her nose.
(Ah, it smells like the sea again today.)
Marin narrowed her eyes.
It was something she'd thought countless times since coming to this world.
The smell of the sea—no matter where she was, it always calmed her heart.
"…Hm?"
Marin looked up.
Someone was standing in front of the beach house.
A boy she'd never seen before.
His black hair fluttered in the wind as he stared intently at Marin.
His uniform was different from Shione High's.
A navy blazer with silver buttons.
The uniform of a sister school.
(Who…?)
Marin froze, gripping the bamboo broom.
The boy's eyes were the color of the deep sea.
Quiet, cold, yet burning somewhere within.
With those eyes, he stared straight at Marin and no one else.
"…Finally, I found you."
The boy murmured under his breath.
"Huh…?"
That instant.
The boy suddenly broke into a run toward Marin.
"Wha—wait, what!?"
Marin stumbled backward.
But the boy was fast.
The distance closed in an instant.
"Marin! I've wanted to see you!"
The boy spread his arms wide, moving to embrace her.
Something snapped in Marin's head.
"N-no no no no no—!!"
Marin threw the broom aside and fled behind the shop.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest.
(Who is that person!? How does he know my name!? Why is he trying to hug me!?)
Marin dove into the storage shed behind the shop.
Old fishing gear and empty beer crates were piled up.
She hid in their shadow and hugged her knees.
"Hah… hah… what was that…"
Her heart was still racing.
For Marin, who was shy around strangers, nearly being embraced by a boy she'd never met was enough to stop her heart.
Meanwhile, in front of the beach house.
Mizuhara Ren had dropped to his knees on the sand.
"…She ran away."
Ren clenched the sand.
He'd wanted to see her, wanted to see her so badly, had been searching all this time.
The girl who'd lived next door in the previous world.
He'd finally found her.
"What am I… doing."
Ren let out a deep sigh at his own clumsiness.
"Hey, you."
A voice suddenly came from behind.
Ren turned to see a boy with spiky brown hair standing there, shopping bags in both hands.
Sharp eyes.
A small fish pendant at his neck.
"Who are you. What were you doing to Marin."
Aoi's voice was low and cold.
"…Who are you."
Ren stood up and glared back at Aoi.
Their gazes clashed violently in the air.
They'd supposedly never met, yet the air between them crackled with sparks.
"I'm Kaidou Aoi. I'm… well, someone who looks after Marin."
"Mizuhara Ren. Marin's childhood friend."
"What? Childhood friend?"
Aoi's eyebrow twitched.
"That's right. I lived next door to Marin in the previous world. I've known her far longer than you ever have."
"Don't give me that. Marin doesn't remember anything about the previous world. I'm the one who knows the Marin of now."
"You only know Marin in this world. I know everything about her."
"Everything? Don't make me laugh. Do you even know what Marin's struggling with right now, or what she wants to eat?"
"…Go on, then. What's Marin's favorite food?"
"Huh? That's obviously clam butter rice bowl."
"Wrong. Marin's favorite is wakame miso soup with extra chopped green onions. And grilled mackerel with the skin cooked extra crispy."
Aoi was momentarily at a loss for words.
"H-how do you know that…"
"I told you. Childhood friend."
"Tch…"
Aoi gritted his teeth in frustration.
(Does this guy really know Marin…?)
(But I'm not losing. I've worked alongside Marin at the beach house for a whole week.)
"Then there's something you don't know. Marin often mixes up the shaved ice syrups. But even with her clumsiness, Marin is the best person there is."
"…I know that too. Marin's always been like that."
The two glared at each other again.
"Um… you two."
Marin timidly peeked out from the storage shed and hesitantly called out.
"Marin!"
Their voices overlapped.
"Umyaa!?"
Marin let out another strange sound and nearly hid back behind the shed.
"Marin, are you okay? Did this guy do something to you?"
Aoi stepped forward, as if to shield Marin.
"I didn't do anything. I just came to see Marin."
"Who tries to hug someone just because they came to see them?"
"…That was… I couldn't help it."
Ren lowered his gaze slightly.
"Um, Aoi. This person says he's Mizuhara Ren? My childhood friend… but I don't have any memory of meeting him."
Marin peeked out from behind Aoi's back.
"Marin. I lived next door to you in the previous world. You lived in a town overlooking the sea, and every day you'd look at the ocean and smile. I watched that smile the whole time."
Ren looked straight at Marin as he spoke.
"In the previous world… next door…?"
Marin's chest stirred restlessly.
(The previous world. The original world where I supposedly lived.)
(This person… knows about me?)
"When I learned you'd come to this world, I… came here too. I came to bring you back."
"Bring me back… but I just got to this world, and I don't understand anything…"
Marin, flustered, began twirling her hair around her finger.
"Hey, don't say whatever you want. Marin is running a beach house here right now. I won't let you drag her away for your own convenience."
Aoi stepped in front of Ren.
"This has nothing to do with you. I'm talking to Marin."
"It does have to do with me. I'm Marin's… comrade."
"Comrade, huh. …Then I'll start working here too, from today."
"What!?"
"If it means staying close to Marin, I'll do anything."
With that, Ren walked into the beach house.
"Hey, don't just walk in!"
"Oh my, things are getting interesting."
Sango watched the exchange from behind the counter with a grin.
"Sango, this isn't funny… why is this happening—!?"
Marin clutched her head.
After that, Ren really did plant himself in the beach house.
He sat at the edge of the counter, watching Marin work intently.
"Marin, those shaved ice syrups—the melon and strawberry containers are swapped."
"Umyaa!? Y-you're right… thank you, Ren."
"…Just Ren is fine."
"Um… Ren-kun."
"…Fine, whatever."
Ren smiled a little sadly.
(Marin doesn't remember me.)
(Of course she doesn't. Her memories must have become hazy when she came to this world.)
(But even so. Just being able to see her again like this is enough.)
Ren gazed at Marin's profile.
Marin working at the beach house was the same Marin he'd watched in the previous world.
Serious, giving her all, but sometimes clumsy.
And she loved the sea.
"Hey, Marin."
"What?"
"Do you remember anything about the previous world?"
Marin's hands stopped.
"…Honestly, I don't remember much. Just my name, and that I love the sea. School, family—it's all kind of hazy."
"I see. …Then you don't remember me either."
"I'm sorry. Even when you say you know me, it doesn't click at all."
Marin hung her head apologetically.
"Don't apologize. Even if you don't remember, I do. That's enough."
"But still…"
"Your favorite food is wakame miso soup with extra chopped green onions. In middle school, you used a blue pencil case. The one with the ocean drawn on it."
"How do you know that…!"
Marin's eyes widened.
(A blue pencil case. With the ocean on it.)
(…I remember. I really loved that thing.)
(How does this person know?)
"Because I watched you, from right beside you, the whole time."
Ren's voice was quiet.
But his eyes were as deep as the ocean floor, holding Marin's gaze directly.
"…Ren-kun, I still don't understand. What you're saying might be true, but there's nothing in my memories…"
Marin took a step back.
"Marin, I came to bring you back. I won't hand you over to anyone."
Ren stepped forward.
"Umyaa…!"
Marin hid behind Sango's back.
"Okay, okay, that's enough. Ren-kun, what are you doing scaring Marin like that?"
Sango stepped in front of Ren, shielding Marin.
"…Shiozaki Sango."
Ren looked at Sango properly for the first time.
Black hair, sun-tanned skin, a bright red coral necklace.
And strong eyes that protected Marin.
"I don't know who you are, but I can't just stand by while Marin's in trouble. If you have something to say, I'll listen."
"…No, it's fine. The only person I want to talk to is Marin."
With that, Ren returned to the edge of the counter.
Sango stared at Ren's back.
(This person is hiding something. He's deeply fixated on Marin.)
(…Well, he doesn't seem like a bad person, though.)
The next day, Ren's sabotage began.
First, vinegar was mixed into the strawberry syrup for the shaved ice.
"Bleh!? What is this, it's sour!"
"Mom, this isn't strawberry!"
"Hey, miss! What's going on here!?"
"I-I'm so sorry! I'll remake it right away!"
Marin apologized profusely.
"I messed up again… but I don't remember putting vinegar in the syrup…"
"Wait, Marin. This isn't your fault."
Aoi opened the syrup container and sniffed it.
"…Vinegar. Who did this."
Aoi's gaze turned toward Ren.
"…My bad. I mistook it for sugar."
Ren said it calmly.
But in his hand, a vinegar bottle was hidden.
"Ren-kun, that…!"
Marin had seen Ren's hand.
"Ren-kun! No being mean! You can't cause trouble for the customers!"
Marin confronted Ren.
"…But he's too close to you."
Ren said it sulkily.
"Huh? Aoi? Why?"
"…Never mind."
Ren turned his face away.
(Marin hasn't noticed. How that guy f
Novelia is an AI-powered platform to read original light novels and fan fiction, create your own in just a few taps, and chat with the characters. New, illustrated episodes arrive daily — free to start.