Chapter 421: The Battlefield Called Barbecue
When they reached the town near their destination, the student council group first went to a restaurant to have a simple meal.
While waiting for the dishes at the barbecue place—
"On the way here, I saw a lot of rice fields. The rural scenery looks quite nice." This was Shinomiya Kaguya's first time coming to a place without any trace of urban atmosphere.
Since she was young, she had lived in bustling places like Kyoto or Tokyo; she had never experienced countryside scenery like this.
The air was also fresher than in the city.
"If you had to live here long term, would you be okay with it?" Sakurai Saki looked at Kaguya sitting opposite him.
Since there were many people, they split into two tables.
Sakurai Saki, Kaguya, Chika, and Hayasaka Ai sat at one table.
Kouhai-chan, Kouhai-kun, and the Shirogane siblings sat at another.
"I would, if I could live here with everyone." Shinomiya Kaguya said this with a slightly hopeful expression.
"From the place you're familiar with to the place others are familiar with—that's called traveling. After staying long enough, Kaguya, you probably won't find this place beautiful anymore."
Sakurai Saki glanced at Shirogane Miyuki's side; they had already started eating.
Shirogane Miyuki was in charge of grilling the meat. Honestly, Sakurai Saki wanted to go over there.
Going to eat barbecue with Shirogane Miyuki had one advantage: you didn't have to grill anything yourself—just eat. Shirogane Miyuki would be like a mother, taking care of everyone meticulously.
He was truly too gentle.
But now, Sakurai Saki had become the only man at this table; naturally, all the serving duties fell onto him.
"Speaking of which, kids outside Tokyo all think about going to Tokyo for work when they grow up. This causes a severe population loss in rural areas. Now only children and the elderly remain in the countryside." Hayasaka Ai suddenly raised the topic to a completely unrelated level.
"Anyway, everything outside Tokyo is countryside." Fujiwara Chika casually dropped a high-level meaningless statement.
"Hey! Fujiwara-senpai, you're being regionally discriminatory again!?" From the next table, Ishigami Yuu, as if receiving a signal from Trisolaris, immediately sent his "fleet" over:
"Obviously, the place you live isn't even a high-class area of Tokyo. Hmph, can Shinjuku compare to Minato? … Fujiwara-senpai, compared to people from Minato, you're basically a country bumpkin yourself."
This guy seriously spouted a regionally discriminatory argument no less than Fujiwara Chika's.
"U~ I…" Fujiwara Chika looked at Sakurai Saki with teary eyes: "Saki-kun, he's bullying me."
"Hmph, when you can't win an argument you start calling Sakurai-senpai for help. Fujiwara-senpai, can you have some self-awareness? You trouble him every single time—have you ever considered Sakurai-senpai's feelings? He's usually very busy; he was even filming recently! You're completely a parasite living off Sakurai-senpai's blood."
At that moment, Shirogane Miyuki, who was grilling meat, suddenly became distracted and got splashed by oil.
"Ouch— that hurts…"
"What's wrong, Myuu-senpai/Aniki?" ×2
Ishigami Yuu and Shirogane Kei simultaneously spoke with concern.
Shirogane Miyuki shook his head. "It's nothing."
Ishigami's words had just stabbed him right in the heart.
Always relying on Sakurai Saki, like a parasite sucking his blood]? Damn it, isn't that exactly me?
Singing, volleyball, swimming, cleaning fish, dancing… and so on—haven't I relied on him too much?
Once school starts he'll fly to America; without Sakurai, will I run into problems? Shirogane Miyuki suddenly began to consider that possibility.
At the same time.
Sakurai Saki raised a hand to his forehead.
[U u u~ Hit him already!! He insulted me!!]
Too noisy, Shinobu, stop shouting, I already have a headache.
Is there any parasite as cute as you?
Anyway, don't yell anymore.
Truly, the nuclear weapon named Ishigami Yuu was terrifying—one attack, and the damage radius spread to three people! Even Sakurai Saki didn't escape!
"But I heard many places really hate Tokyo."
"… Honestly, regional discrimination is boring right from the root. If you think about it, actual native Tokyo locals only make up about fifty percent; the rest are all people from elsewhere. They wear neat suits, tie their ties nicely, then call themselves Tokyo people and even feel proud of it. Don't you think that's pointless?" Sakurai Saki continued after Hayasaka Ai.
"True."
"Alright, enough of that. Our barbecue has arrived." Shinomiya Kaguya thanked the waiter, then picked up the tongs, preparing to place meat on the grill.
She wanted to grill with her own hands!
Seeing her start grilling, Sakurai Saki asked, "Kaguya, have you grilled before?"
Just as he finished, Fujiwara Chika glared at him, her expression saying: 'How dare you crush a child's enthusiasm?'
"No. But something this simple doesn't need practice, right?"
The moment she said that, Sakurai Saki, Hayasaka Ai, Fujiwara Chika, and even the people at the next table all fell silent.
A few seconds later, Sakurai Saki spoke: "Kaguya, grilling meat isn't as simple as you think!"
"Eh? Isn't it just cooking it through without burning it? Everyone mixes their own sauce… what's hard about that?"
Fujiwara Chika propped her chin on both hands and spoke in a tone full of disappointment: "Yare yare, Kaguya-kun, you're still too young."
"… Shinomiya-senpai, beef has doneness levels." Miko-chan reminded her.
"I know, but…" Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly reacted.
Right, beef has doneness levels, and everyone likes theirs differently. If only one person is eating, then it's fine to follow your personal preference, but if it's a whole group…
How are you supposed to control the heat?
Kaguya shot up, turning to look at Shirogane Miyuki at the next table.
Too strong!
Too strong!!! President Shirogane was adjusting the position of each piece of meat on the grill, cooking each type of food differently! Not only beef—there was lamb and… pork!?
Wait, why was that piece of pork burnt?
"President Shirogane, that piece of meat seems…"
"You mean this one?" Shirogane Miyuki used his chopsticks to pick up the burnt piece of pork. He dipped it in sauce and put it into his mouth. "I like pork slightly burnt; it tastes better that way. If it's only just cooked, I can't get used to it."
So that's why! Burnt meat!!
How could this be!?
This completely exceeded Shinomiya Kaguya's understanding. Someone actually liked pork slightly burnt! That slightly dry, chewy texture—Kaguya disliked it, so she instinctively assumed no one would like it!
But… here was an exception!
"I actually like pork cooked that way too." Sakurai Saki stated his preference.
"I like beef grilled until it has a brown char." Fujiwara Chika voiced her request.
"Kaguya, I prefer medium." Hayasaka Ai added.
Shinomiya Kaguya slowly sat down, staring at the grill before her as if she were a hero receiving a world-saving mission!
She thought, she struggled internally—should she continue?
Here, in this battlefield full of hardships, she could fail at any moment! She! Shinomiya Kaguya! Should she really continue?!
Kaguya took a deep breath.
Then handed the grilling rack to Sakurai Saki, saying each word clearly: "I'll entrust it to you, my prince."
"…?" Sakurai Saki's face was full of question marks.
How did this end with me doing it again? Didn't she say she wanted to try it herself?
[Today's barbecue battle: Kaguya wins! (By using Sakurai Saki as her fallback, successfully counterattacking)]
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