CH 237

Chapter 237 : Sports Day

「Yo, Cucumber Boy! You’re so popular today, eh?」(man)

While the four of us were walking around the festival, a man behind a stall called me.

He is a regular customer who always buys my cucumbers at the morning market.

Seeing me walking not just with Ester but also with Nicola and Celine, he grinned and teased me.

「Good morning. I was wondering why you didn’t come.」(Mark)

「Well, as you can see. I’m watching this stall.」(man)

There are a lot of pieces of meat, some kind of spices and sauces, and a griller magic tool lining on his stall.

It seems that he is selling grilled meat.

「By the way, do you still have some cucumbers? I heard from the others that your cucumbers are different today.」(man)

「Yeah, I made pickled cucumbers for today. Here, have some.」(Mark)

I took out a few of the remaining pickled cucumbers from my Item Box and handed them to the man.

「Ohh~ I can’t wait to eat them. Thank you!」(man)

He then placed them on a plate and put them in the drawer behind him.

「Hold on. Let me give you this delicious meat in return.」(man)

After saying that, the man took four pieces of meat, dipped them in the spices and sauces, and grilled them until they turned golden brown.

The delightful smell coming from the roasted meat stimulate my appetite.

「Oji-san, what kind of meat is this?」(Mark)

「Oh, you don’t know? It’s Arrow Dodging Bird meat. I heard that you hunted some of them with Deel a few days ago. You know, Deel rarely praises people but he said that you’re a talented kid with a promising future.」(man)

「He did?」(Mark)

That’s surprising. I can’t believe an arrogant person like Deel praised me. Honestly, it makes me feel happy.

The man wrapped the four pieces of grilled meat with big leaves and handed them to the four of us.

Ester glanced at me as she received hers.

「I didn’t know you went hunting for Arrow Dodging Birds with Deel-san.」(Ester)

「I’m sorry for not telling you. He suddenly came to Celine’s house and took us to the forest.」(Mark)

「Ester, you know what kind of person Deel is, right?」(Celine)

「Well…」(Ester)

「I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we go hunting together next time? Without Deel, of course. Only the four of us.」(Celine)

「Really!? Yaay! I’m looking forward to it!」(Ester)

Ester’s pointy ears stretched upward. It seemed that Celine’s suggestion made her happy.

While glancing at Ester, I decided to eat the grilled meat.

I opened the wrapper and exposed the juicy-looking meat. As soon as I took a bite of it, the crispy golden brown skin gave a pleasant feeling of crunchiness in my mouth.

「Dang! This is so good!」(Mark)

「Gahaha! I know, right? I’m glad you like it.」(man)

It’s so delicious that I can’t help but shout spontaneously.

The outside is crispy but the inside is very juicy and has a rich taste.

The spices and sauces that are used look simple, so I think this rich flavor purely came from the meat itself.

I had never eaten grilled chicken this delicious even in my previous life in Japan.

Well, I might have had it if I went to a fancy restaurant, but sadly, I couldn’t afford it because of my low monthly salary as a worker in a black company…

『Onii-chan, let’s hunt a lot of Arrow Dodging Birds next time and bring them home as souvenirs. Papa would be very happy!』(Nicola)

『You’re right!』(Mark)

Nicola and I looked at each other and nodded.

Seeing us nodding at each other without saying a single word, Celine tilted her head, looking a bit confused.

「I feel like you two sometimes silently nod at each other as if you’re able to know what each other’s thinking without talking. Fufu. What strange twins.」(Celine)

「A, haha… I, Is that so…?」(Mark)

Phew… Seems like she doesn’t realize that Nicola and I can speak via telepathy.

――――――

After walking around the festival in the village square for a while, we decided to go to Schultria Park.

A few days ago on Light Day at Tori-sensei’s class, Tori-sensei announced that he would hold a sports day in Schultria Park on the same day as the harvest festival at noon.

Each child can decide whether to participate or not, but most of the boys seemed to have decided to join in order to boost their popularity.

The park is already filled with people when we get there.

Children are running on the ground which is used as a running track while adults are cheering for them.

It seems that we are a bit late. The competition has already begun.

『Onii-chan, I think this is a good chance to test your physical abilities.』(Nicola)

While looking at the children who are competing in the foot race, Nicola said that with telepathy.

It seems that my physical abilities have improved since I got a lot of Ether after killing monsters during this trip, but I haven’t been able to find out how much I’ve changed because I’ve been busy lately.

『Yeah, you’re right. But I should ask Tori-sensei if I still can participate.』(Mark)

As soon as we walked toward Tori-sensei who was standing next to the running track, he noticed us.

「Oh, you guys are finally here. Welcome!」(Tori)

「Tori-sensei, can I still participate in the competition?」(Mark)

「You’re a bit late but you can still participate in the next foot race. However, you will be competing against the boys from the oldest group.」(Tori)

While saying that, Tori-san pointed at the boys gathered near the white line of the track.

Certainly, they are the oldest boys in our class. They seem to be waiting for their turn.

I prefer to compete against kids my age, but I have no choice.

「So?」(Tori)

「No problem.」(Mark)

「I knew you would say that. Alright, now you can join them behind the line.」(Tori)

I nodded to Tori-san and walked toward the group of oldest boys.

「Mark~ Good luck~!」(Ester)

As I walked, Ester cheered and waved her hand at me.

I then turned my face and nodded at her, but when I returned my gaze forward, I saw the boys were looking at Ester with jealous eyes.

Ugh… This is so awkward…

「He, Hello, Senpai*. Tori-sensei said that I could join this group.」(Mark)

*senior

「I, I see… P, Please go easy on us…」(boy)

It seems that they’re still scared of me…

The boys in the class, even the oldest ones, have been kinda scared of me since I showed them my water magic on my first day of class.

I honestly want to be friends with them, but I feel like it’s gonna be difficult.

I sighed a bit, stood right behind the white line, and looked around.

This white line seems to be the starting point. We’ll be running along the track, aiming for the finish line. Looks simple enough.

「You guys, it’ll be your turn soon. Get into your positions!」(Tori)

After waiting for a while, Tori-sensei approached us.

We then lined up behind the white line and did some stretches.

After that, we took a stance, getting ready to kick the ground and dash, while waiting for the signal to start from Tori-sensei.