Chapter 166 Everyone Loves Shirou
In the open space outside the Bristol Branch School archery hall, tables and chairs were set up. Charcoal was burning with blue flames beneath the barbecue racks on one side, and on the other, white smoke was rising from the earth oven, where fruit wood was burning underneath, making the surroundings slightly warmer.
"It smells so good," an accompanying teacher sitting nearby, watching the busy young man, exclaimed.
"He truly lives up to the Head Maid's recommendation. He definitely has a knack for it, and his movements are very methodical," the male teacher sitting next to him observed and commented on the boy.
"So, regarding the culinary exchange event the Head Maid mentioned, should we hold it?" the girls' dormitory supervisor asked.
"Let's wait and decide after we've tasted it," the principal announced.
Although the unbeatable Head Maid was involved, and they could be completely at ease, if some strict and rigid parents found out that a boy was entering the female students' dormitory, they might be furious.
Therefore, the teachers decided to observe the boy during this outdoor barbecue event to see if he possessed the necessary qualities.
When the roasting time arrived, the boy unveiled the steel plate door—which had a thermometer attached—sealing the earth oven. From inside, he used tongs to pull out perfectly smoked and cooked beef and pork the size of a rugby ball.
The crispy outer layer connected to a beautiful light red layer, and the carbon smoke from the burning fruit wood continuously permeated the surface of the meat, allowing the meat block to retain some of its original myoglobin color.
He placed the large piece of roast meat onto the countertop, brushing it with the final layer of sauce. With a long carving knife, he sliced the roast meat into pieces the size of bread slices.
At this point, everyone around was already captivated by the aroma of the meat, their eyes gleaming with the fierce, wild intensity of carnivores.
Shirou quickly sped up, slicing the smoked meat and putting it into large platters, which were then placed on the big table, immediately to be swept clean by the surging crowd. He refilled the oven space and began the second round of smoking.
Shirou's hands didn't stop. The grill on one side was filled with various cuts of meat and skewers, while the other grill was covered with enoki mushrooms, corn, and chive skewers. He expertly flipped them and brushed them with sesame oil.
A large cut was made into a roasted eggplant, which was then filled with beef mince sautéed with garlic on a hot plate, finely chopped green and red peppers, and seasonings like pepper. Once the eggplant was roasted, cumin and chopped green onions were sprinkled on top.
The muscular men, led by the principal, feasted, taking large, chewy bites of meat, and spicy juices splattered. It was also approaching lunchtime, and the female teachers, drawn by the fragrance, naturally wouldn't miss out on this delicious food. 1zoxK
They held large, fragrant, golden-brown skewers in one hand and golden corn brushed with red sauce in the other, instantly biting a ring out of it, exhaling hot air.
"This is so delicious! The sauce drizzled on it is great too, a type I've never tasted before."
"This flavor! It tastes just like the lamb I had when I traveled to Australia with my family!"
"Does that mean the girls in the dormitory have been eating such delicious breakfast before coming to school for the past two days? Suddenly, I feel like that's so sneaky!"
"Exactly! If Shirou is going to have a culinary exchange, he should come to the boys' dormitory too," the male dormitory supervisor suggested.
"Hehe, what are you saying? This young man accepted our Head Maid's invitation and is willing to go to the trouble of getting up early every day to make breakfast at our dormitory," the female dormitory supervisor said with a smile.
"At least let him cook in the school's central cafeteria!" the blonde, flat-topped P.E. teacher said.
"Shirou is here for an exchange activity. How can we let him do such work?" the female dormitory teacher replied with a smile.
"Principal, say something! Ahh! The meat on the platter is about to be snatched up!" the P.E. teacher cried out tragically.
The other teachers instantly got up and rushed toward the last few pieces of meat on the table reserved for teachers, which was covered with a white cloth.
The principal relied on his proud muscles, came from behind, and snatched the last piece of roast pork, swallowing it and saying with a laugh, "Hahaha, if this were in the military, such delicious meat would be gone in under three minutes. Don't talk while eating, the Armstrong family's healthy eating method, passed down through generations."
"Duly noted! But I'll go line up over there!" As the P.E. teacher with the lowest muscle mass in the school, he knew he was no match for the muscular beasts—the year head, history teacher, and English teacher—and ran towards the barbecue queue again.
As for the 'observation' they spoke of initially, it had been completely forgotten the moment the teachers took their first bite of Shirou's cooking.
Meanwhile, Shirou, who was doing the barbecuing, was simultaneously facing the students lining up for food and catering to the teachers. He was now operating three grills back and forth. Only this way could he keep up with the speed.
Shirou's hands fluttered like butterflies among flowers, skillfully and lightly flipping various foods on the grill, brushing them with sesame oil, and sprinkling spices.
The aroma was overwhelming. Watching the boy's performance, the female students around him had eyes wide with delight, while the teachers were fiercely competing around a table, continuously employing exquisite wrestling techniques and powerful, direct military grappling moves.
The other table, serving the female teachers, proceeded in an orderly manner, but the speed at which the ingredients were consumed was in no way inferior to the men's table.
Shirou took a moment to observe this, internally commenting:
'Didn't they say the British only focus on practicality and not on culinary culture? What is with this ferocious, wolf-like intensity?'
Seemingly noticing the boy's gaze, the muscular teachers all showed friendly smiles.
'Why are they all smiling like carnivores?'
Even the girls eating the roast meat had glazed eyes, their cheeks flushed with a captivating pink. However, their focus was not on the boy who cooked the roast meat, but on the meat in the boy's hands.
They were truly meat-eating girls.
The area around the school's archery hall was filled with a rich, meaty aroma, stirring up the primal craving for meat hidden within humans since ancient times. Students having P.E. class held their rumbling stomachs and ran outside, trying to get away from this hell where they could only smell but not eat.
As the saying goes, the timid starve, and the bold overeat. At this moment, another large group of people rushed over, having smelled the aroma.
"Oh, lads from the football and rugby teams! What are you doing here?" the male dormitory supervisor stood up and asked the familiar students.
"Principal Armstrong! Teacher! Let us have some too!" a group of strong men shouted.
"Principal, what do you think? These lads will be participating in the quarterly matches soon," the male dormitory supervisor turned and asked the principal, who was in charge.
"Hmm. The ingredients are certainly sufficient! After all, we bought two pigs, one cow, three lambs, and five or six chickens and ducks to begin with! And we have three full boxes of vegetables! If our chef is willing, why not?" the principal readily agreed.
"Really? Thank you! Principal Armstrong! We knew you were the best, a man among men!" the athletes shouted excitedly.
"Hehe, no need to flatter me. This is the characteristic generosity passed down through the Armstrong family for generations!" The principal raised both arms, showing off his muscles, and laughed heartily.
"Then we'll go line up now!" So, the members of the football and rugby teams joined the line of exchange students.
"Ugh, no! Don't come over! There are so many of you boys, there won't be enough for us!" the girls complained.
"Shut up! In the face of meat, everyone is equal!" a rugby player retorted.
"This is an arts exchange event. You guys are totally outsiders," the girls insisted, unwilling to back down.
"Are you looking down on team sports? Are you looking down on the Olympics and the World Cup?!"
"Hey, stop arguing. Ask the chef himself what he thinks," the P.E. teacher, who was also queuing, shouted.
"Right, right. Chef, is your name 'Shirou'? Let us have some too, is that okay?"
"Please!" the sports boys pleaded.
"Hmm, yes, that's fine." Shirou agreed. Since they had already come, it would be too heartless to refuse. At his speed, he should be able to handle the addition of these two sports teams, about 20 people.
"Ah, ah... I knew this would happen." Shizuka Hiratsuka covered her face nearby.
"Haha, after all, Shirou is famous at school as the man who can't refuse a request," Sawako said with a smile.
"The man who can't refuse? That's a little cool," the fiancé said with a smile.
"It is, but you mustn't become a man who doesn't know how to refuse, the kind without integrity. Here~ Ah~!" Sawako smiled, picking up a piece of tenderloin and holding it to her fiancé's mouth, speaking sweetly.
The male teacher bit into the meat, wiping cold sweat and thinking, 'Why does a change in wording seem to change the evaluation completely?'
Finally, after the exchange students walked away satisfied with platters of barbecue and smoked meat, it was the turn of the sports boys. They discussed it, and then the tallest rugby captain raised his hand and said, "Alright, three pounds of each type of meat for every person on the football and rugby teams, to start!"
"Three pounds?! Over 1.2 kg?" Shirou exclaimed in surprise. Since when did Great Britain's barbecue shops start calculating by weight?
"Just give me that brisket that's half lean and half fat!!"
"Can we eat the grilled wings now? Hurry, hurry! Chef!"
"Give us ten ears of grilled corn each!!!"
The sports boys' eyes glowed green, like a pack of hungry wolves, emitting a terrifying aura that prevented the students who wanted to queue up again from approaching.
Seeing this, Shirou frowned, unleashing the authority of a head chef, and roared back, "You! If you want to eat, keep quiet and wait! Line up properly!"
"Yes!" The members of the football and rugby teams were startled into standing still and replied in unison. For some reason, they momentarily felt that the person standing opposite them was not a young man whose foreign barbecue was delicious, but their coach who trained them every day.
Even though they realized their mistake, they still dared not disobey the young man's order. So, the now-obedient sports boys lined up quietly, allowing the students behind them to catch up.
"That's better," Shirou nodded and continued cooking. He was not without experience cooking for people who were like fierce, hungry beasts. It was fine if they messed around themselves, but causing trouble for others was unacceptable.
The young man with the cooking utensils had an aura of authority more than three times stronger than the harmless kindness he usually showed in his easygoing dealings with others.
"Shirou... so handsome~!" A girl biting a grilled chicken wing sighed, clasping her hands.
"Shirou... so cool~!" A girl bit a large piece of smoked beef, crispy outside and tender inside, and said with a look of ecstasy.
"Shirou... so delicious." A girl stared at the barbecue being flipped in the boy's hands, and an unidentifiable liquid involuntarily flowed from her mouth.
"Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat! Meat!!!" The meat-eating boys held chunks of meat and ravenously bit into the skewers.
"Now I finally understand why Shirou is so popular," the boy with the side-swept bangs said.
"No, I think everyone here understands," the piano boy said.
"Sigh... we can't compare," the lone boy sighed. 1zoxK
"Rather, let's figure out a way to snatch him over to the boys' dormitory to make breakfast!!!" the boys shouted in unison.
"Yes! Yes! That's it!!!"
"What are you guys talking about?" The boys from Bristol Branch School nearby looked over curiously.
"We're talking about inviting Shirou to the boys' dormitory," the boy with the side-swept bangs repeated the plan in English.
"Ooh! Ooh! You guys are geniuses!" the Bristol Branch School boys exclaimed in surprise.
"Let's join hands and achieve this wish!" The boys high-fived and shook hands enthusiastically. The camaraderie between the exchange students from Eurasia seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap during this outdoor barbecue!
From 10:30 a.m. to just past 12:00 p.m., the meat—beef, pork, lamb, and other meats—and vegetables were completely devoured by the teachers and students. 1zoK
In terms of gaining the approval of the Bristol teachers and students, the event was indeed a great success. Not only the teachers, but even those troublesome male high school students looked at him with much friendlier expressions.
But... but, the overly busy boy forgot one crucial thing.
"Shirou~!" A clear, ethereal voice came from behind. The cool girl's voice didn't have much fluctuation, but Shirou could still hear a hint of expectation and joy within it.
Turning around, it was indeed the petite and cute, but surprisingly ravenous, Dragon Head Maid, Artoria, who had arrived.
"Ah..." Shirou suddenly remembered something, then looked around. The iron plates were slick with grease, the iron racks were empty, reflecting brightly in the sun. Forget the meat, even the three boxes of vegetables, corn, and potatoes were completely eaten.
"Shirou? Has lunch here already finished?" Artoria looked around in confusion, then her eyes showed a look of being completely shattered, her golden pupils turning dim, as she looked at the boy numbly and asked.
"Wait, Artoria, calm down! Calm down!" He could already feel Artoria's grievance. Dissatisfaction was rapidly building up in the girl's heart. If left unchecked, it would soon erupt like a giant dragon breathing fire!
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