CH 42

Chapter 42: Pursuit Contest, One-Day Camping (Part 2)

February 24, 2022

When I returned to my place, the charcoal fire was burning just right.

I put the onions, carrots, and potatoes down in the Dodge oven, and placed the whole chicken that I had already prepared on top.

I sprinkled some ground pepper and pink salt on the surface, drizzled olive oil all over it, and closed the lid of the dodge oven.

I hung it from the top of a tripod-type fire pit with a chain.

Then I put some coals on top of the lid of the dodge oven.

This should slowly heat the fire from above and below.

All I had to do was to check on the fire from time to time.

Ishida came up to me.

“Is it ready?”

“Yes, we just have to wait for it to cook.”

Then the girl from before came over with another girl.

“I’m sorry, I need to ask you some more questions.”

“Sure, what is it?”

She said she couldn’t find the right heat to cook the meat.

Then the girl who had come with me opened her mouth.

“She’s trying to cook a large piece of meat, but the surface is burning and the inside is not cooked at all. ……”

“Really? I’m going to go check it out anyway, where are you doing it?”

“Right there.”

I looked and saw that it was less than ten meters away from my fire pit.

When I got closer, I saw that the surface of the meat was indeed charred, but when I cut it open, I found that the inside was almost completely uncooked.

I guess it’s okay for the beef to be a little undercooked, but it wouldn’t taste good if the meat was cold.

“Do you have any other meat?”

I asked, and the girl took out a chunk of meat from the cooler box.

I”Oh, if you want to cook the chunks of meat, you have to take them out of the cooler box beforehand and let them come to room temperature.”

Then I looked at the barbecue table.

I looked at the barbecue table and saw the flames rising from the coals gathered in the center.

“And this is too much heat. You should be able to hold your hand five centimeters from the top of the net for five seconds or less.”

Then the girls looked puzzled.

“We didn’t know how much heat to use.”

“I’m just gonna wait for it to cook. I’ll do it for you.”

With that, I removed the net from their barbecue and spread the charcoal evenly over the entire area.

I removed some of the smaller pieces of charcoal and made a small area at the edge of the barbecue table where no charcoal would be placed.

I coated the net on top with olive oil, put it back on the barbecue, and placed the lump of meat on the edge of the barbecue without the coals.

“When the meat has warmed up to a certain degree, you can place it in the center and start cooking. If the heat is too low, add more coals. If the heat is too low, you can either add more coals or gather the coals in the middle and cook the meat on them.”

As I was talking about this, before I knew it, the girls had gathered around me.

Everyone was listening to my barbecue method.

“Thank you, you’re so helpful!

“You’re really good at this.”

“Can we have a look at your place?”

“We wanted to hear it from the beginning.”

“We’re making a pot. How much do you want?”

“What are you cooking, Isshiki?”

“What, roasting a whole chicken in a dodge oven? Wow, that’s really authentic.”

“I want to try some of your food!”

Oh, I don’t know what it is, but it’s really popular with the girls!

I can feel the muscles on my face relax.

I knew I shouldn’t get too excited at this point.

Anyway, I told the girls who said they wanted to try it that I would call them when it was ready, and many of them said, “Me too! Many girls will say, “Me too!

Then Karen came over to me as if she was trying to get through the girls gathered there.

She hugged me from behind.

“Hey, Yuu-kun. Are you still not ready? Karen”s hungry!”

This guy is showing off that she’ s his girlfriend in this crowd of girls.

And she’s the one who was talking to the other guys while they were cooking.

She’s such a well-behaved woman.

After the roast chicken was cooked, I took the Dodge oven down from the fire pit.

There were still a few coals on the lid.

This allows the residual heat to slowly circulate the juices inside.

In the meantime, I put water and retort minestrone into a new pot, and added the pre-chopped cabbage and bacon.

Bring it to a boil and you’re done.

Cut the French bread into slices about two inches thick.

“Roasted whole chicken and minestrone, done!”

Apparently, I’m a pretty quick cook for a dish that takes a lot of work.

Thanks to the publicity I had done earlier, many girls gathered around. The effect of the publicity I had done earlier had attracted many girls.

On each paper plate, I cut up a roast chicken and roasted vegetables, and poured a sauce of ginger, soy sauce, and honey over the leftover gravy.

In the paper cup is minestrone.

“Feel free to take the bread.”

I called out.

A circle of girls formed around me.

It’s good!

“Yes, better than in a restaurant!”

“The meat and vegetables are well seasoned.”

“Chestnuts in it? Chestnuts?”

“It’s cold today, so this minestrone is perfect to warm us up!”

I did it! That’s a super high rating!

Then came Kazumi, Mina, a second year economics student, Ayaka, a first year economics student, Manami, a second year literature student, and Yuri, a first year commerce student.

Behind them, there was also Touko-senpai.

“Let us eat your food too, Isshiki.”

“I know. I’ve saved some for Kazumi and the others.”

I said this and took the dishes one by one.

When I handed it to Touko-senpai, she smiled and nodded.

She smiled and nodded, probably meaning, “Good job! I guess that’s what she meant.

Kazumi took a bite and groaned.

” Delicious, seriously Delicious. I didn’t think you could eat such fine food in a place like this.”

Mina followed suit.

“It’s really good. Do you usually cook, Isshiki-kun?”

“No, only occasionally. My parents are dual-income earners, so it was inevitable that I would be able to cook.”

“But if you can do this much, you’re good. You’d make a perfect marriage partner.

Then Kazumi said loudly.

It’s true. Isshiki, will you marry me?

“You’ve got it backwards.”

Everyone around us laughed.

Everyone around us laughed. Kazumi’s comment had probably been calculated from the start.

But even though I knew that, I was kind of happy.

Touko-senpai didn’t say anything, but she looked satisfied.

Next to her, Karen is glaring at me and Kazumi in disapproval.

I guess she’s not very happy.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

I picked it up and saw that it was a message from Touko-senpai.