CH 25

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:

-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.

-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people. Can also mean Mr.

-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.

-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

T/N: The next chapter will be about Yuki and why she’s so rude toward the MC.

“Takasaki, the fire’s not burning.”

“Oh, that’s true.”

I put the charcoal in place and tried to light them on fire with a piece of newspaper they gave me, but it still didn’t work. But that’s where the wondrous advance of civilization comes into play—my phone. A quick googling of “newspaper charcoal” led me straight to the problem. Just by having one of these smart bad boys we can solve most problems, huh? Rambling aside, the fire now burned with vigor.

“I’ve finished chopping all the ingredients, and it looks like the fire is ready, so let’s get started.”

After all that prep, the BBQ could finally begin.

“I’d like to start off by saying thank you both for joining our club and I’m glad you’re going to be here. It brings me joy to have a nice barbecue with you guys. Let’s eat a lot today. Cheers!”

“Ay boss, the teacher is the only one with a drink. We can’t cheer.”

“Oh, really now.”

After pouring out the drinks and distributing them to everyone, she coughed in order to continue.

“Thanks to both of you for joining the club. In any case, let’s eat a lot today. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” We all answered though I chuckled to myself that it was a bit too early to toast since we hadn’t grilled anything yet.

Still, since I skipped breakfast today, my hunger started to catch up to me. Let’s grill something quick.

“Guys, I’ll take care of the grill, so eat to your heart’s content,” I proposed.

“I’ll do it too,” the boss tried to barge in.

“You’ve already provided us with a house and the equipment, let me handle this, at least.”

“Okay, got it.”

After that, the ungrilled meals were placed in a neat line and I took care of the whole process.

“Look, Yuki. Shrimp, there’s shrimp,” I pulled the grilled shrimp with the tongs and presented it to her.

“…”

“Oh, you don’t want any? I’ll eat it then.”

“…”

She stared me down like a madman. Perhaps she has some unhealthy attachment to shrimp or something of the sort.

“Sorry for this. Here, take it,” sensing the teasing would lead me to a not-so-happy place, I put the shrimp onto her plate. “But hey… Am I that easy to understand?”

“…”

“Well, if you feel like it any day, please tell me in detail. I wanna know how you see me.”

“…”

I didn’t expect her to simply tell me what I wanted to hear. She should open herself a bit more before that, I guess.

“Takasaki, grill this too,” the teacher called me out from behind, probably after seeing my “conversation” with Yuki had ended.

“Huh, what’s that?”

“It’s a steak. Thick, delicious, and it cost a pretty penny.”

With that meat’s thickness, grilling it at a high heat would likely just burn the surface without cooking it at all. Hmm, it’d be best to lower the fire a bit before I put it on the grill.

“And this one too, please.”

“Shellfish?”

“No, turban.”

So the teacher bought a ton of different things. I could only wonder if she would share some of that with us or not, because oh boy, that steak looks mighty succulent.

“Teacher,” I called after a while. “It’s basically done.”

“I’ll cut it then. Just bring me a cutting board.”

“Okay.”

She then cut the meat into pieces. Looking at the cross-section of the steak, I saw I’d managed to cook it to medium rare, which I liked. However, it depended on the preference of who was eating it, not mine. The degree of a meat’s doneness was personal after all. Was it good enough?

“Oh, this is nicely done. Thanks,” the teacher smiled.

Uh, but can I have that? I asked inside my mind before saying it out loud. “Hey, teacher, could I, um…”

“Why?”

This woman!

“Just kidding, just kidding. Here you go, take however much you want. You can grab some of the turbans as well.”

She is the kindest teacher to ever teach.

In any case, everyone enjoyed the steak I grilled which, mind you, melted as soon as it came into contact with our tongues. Meanwhile, the teacher piled up her empty beer cans into a little tower, and Yuki tried on a turban. As soon as it entered her mouth, I could see her face contort. Bitter, isn’t it? That black piece at the end. While that happened, the boss just looked at that scene with a vaguely happy expression.

It didn’t last long, but I had a ton of fun. Despite not having time to rest between shopping, carrying groceries, fire-starting, and grilling stuff, it wasn’t so bad at all. Then, it was time to clean up.

“Today we had a barbecue. What’s next?”

“Hmm, I’m thinking we do our first camping trip. I just have to prepare it first.”

Seems like camping is next on our list. It was my main interest in the club, and the fact this opportunity showed itself so soon was a joy. The cleaning just passed us by as we started to plan out our next activities.

“That’s all for today. Good night, everyone.”

“Good night.”

“I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, too.”

“Hey, teach, you said you were supervising us but all you did was eat and drink.”

“That’s what being a teacher is all about! Besides, you got to eat some grade-A meat, didn’t you?”

What the hell… Oh well, as long as I keep being a student, that kind of money to just up and buy an expensive steak was nothing but a dream, so I’m grateful for her kindness.

“Well then, guess we’re off,” I said.

“See you later. Our next club activity will be on Wednesday after school. Have a safe trip home.”

“Got it,” we answered the boss.

“Tell your parents Tachibana sends his thanks. See ya,” I added.

I was almost disappointed that the three of us would be going back to the station again, but I didn’t feel as awkward as I did in the morning.