Vol. 9 - Ch. 459 - Closing the curtain on summer camp with BBQ and curry!

I might sound like a broken recorder, but fun time always felt like the snow in the summer, fleeting.I swear I felt like it was just some couple hours ago that I had closed my eyes for a second to take in the air of ‹Food-Dun› in a long while and then suddenly time leaped to the last day of camp when I opened my eyes.

Darn it, my mind understands, but my body doesn't. No, wait. If it's fun, there can always be the second time!

And---

"Growl~."

I was recalling back past days we spent here while looking at ‹Curry Pot› when a sudden growl from someone's belly interrupted that train of thought.

"Curry. Which curry are we going to have today?"

Karua asked me while intently staring at the ‹Curry Pot›, crouching in front of it. I didn't even notice her arrival. Though I knew who it was from the growling of stomach. In fact, whenever someone's stomach rumbled, you could confidently point it out at her and would stand still correct.

"Beef curry of course. Who would choose another option when there's the best quality meat available? Nothing fills up the spirit like beef."

"Hn, the only truth."

...It seemed like my joke went over the head, instead Karua replied in all seriousness. Yeah, let's register it as 'Beef's delicious.'

But that wasn't the only thing on the menu though. We were also having pork curry and chicken curry. It would be blasphemous to not use the curry recipe right away.

Fortunately, we had the ‹Curry Pot› so we could always get mouth-watering curry ready even without cooking skill. In fact, I can't wait to try them out!

I'm already looking forward to seafood curry in our next schedule.

Honestly, I didn't expect we would be able to collect such an explosive amount of ingredients. By all intent, this round of ‹Food-Dun› camping event was mainly to train guild members so exploring around to collect ingredients was the 3rd or 4th priority in our list. Still, the amount we gathered was staggering. Hmm, I wonder if it's because there were too many participants? Can't deny though, it's hard to return back to normal food once you taste the dishes made with ingredients from this dungeon.

The five ‹Item Box› we had bought and loaded in the carriage were already brimmed to 90% capacity. Never did I think I would prove to be wrong.

The auto-farming in the game was hugely dependent on skill, but the same restriction wasn't on the people of flesh and blood. That was so close, we would have been fretting about storage if we had taken this situation a bit seriously.

I guess it would be better to purchase more ‹Item Box› in light of our increased number for the next event. But it's a dilemma what to do with that amount. I need to discuss it with Sierra and others to see if we're going to keep or sell.

Overall, the rehearsal before the actual ‹Sea-Dunn› event did point out the glaring points just as I wanted.

Just as I was thinking about my next plan, the ‹Curry Pot› released a chime sound to notify us that curry is ready. The chime immediately brought Karua's cat ear and tail to attention.

"Hey, curry is ready."

"Vegetables are coming out just nice as well. So we're going to start with meat then."

Celestine reported the situation about BBQ when I notified them of our side. He was also handling cooking along with Harmonic Trio, Hannah, Alulu and Kairi.

"Attention, attention. Line up in front of me if you're starving---"

"And I'm your bread lady~."

"And I serve noodles. Yakisoba or Fried Udon, just say your wish~."

Sachi, Emi and Yuuka raised their voices to get the attention of others.

"Hmm, alright. It's coming out great. Take your piping hot egg soup from here~."

Hannah seemed to be serving egg soup. Right, she had found some good eggs.

Nice choice, Hannah. It was perfect to go along with grilled meat. Alright, I must try it out.

"Hmm, the BBQ fire is so weak. Are you sure it's going to be alright."

"Because it's not your hearth, Alulu. Both are different thing so make sure to not use your skill, that's enough to melt even iron and that is the last thing we need."

"I am aware of that too, geez! And this stove is too weak to use either way! Goodness, I do want to look inside your head and see what you even think of me, Kairi!"

Kairi and Alulu were cooking yakisoba and roasted meat-vegetables on the BBQ stove respectively. They're also having fun while teasing each other.

"So sub-members can do the cooking huh......"

"Hmm?"

Karua tilted her head in puzzlement hearing my murmur while chowing on her food. Wow, talk about speed.

Anyway, what I meant was while our members were second to none when it comes to the dungeon, surprisingly, there weren't even half of them who were minutely good with cooking.

Any royal or noble was complete dud first of all. Though our knight Ester was capable to a certain extent, Aegis-senpai apparently had never learned the C of cooking even.

When one's shortcoming is so apparent, it often becomes the stepping stone for the capable to gain the spotlight. It's really strange, isn't it? Well, that's why members of ‹Arc-Arcadia› were now in the lead here.

The rest who couldn't cook were helping out in setting tables or sorting our spoils---vast amount of ingredients---with ‹Helper› group.

"Karua, dinner is just ready, so can you call in other members? The sooner all gather, the quicker we will be able to have curry."

"---! I'm going."

Seeing that dinner was almost ready, I nudged Karua to call in others. She boasted the highest AGI among both guilds after all. I felt Karua's figure blurring before completely disappearing with whoosh sound. No matter how many times I saw her speed, it still left me amazed. Was it the supernatural power of curry?

Everyone gathered at one place a bit afterward. I raised my voice to them.

"Everyone, you were spectacular in this camp. I really had a blast, so much so it all felt like it ended in a blink of an eye. It's the last day of our camp, so make sure to fill yourself to heart content. Cheers!"

" " " "Cheers!" " " "

The celebrations we had held up to this moment with other members seemed to have become good stepping stones for this moment as everyone immediately started stuffing themselves with their favourite food without a care of anything.

"Kuh, what's with the divine taste, so delish! Long live the rare boss's meat!"

"Hn, it's delicious and nice, but there's no beating curry."

I know right. The meat's name was ‹Overwhelming High-grade Beef› and the grilled meat prepared using it truly lived up to its name.

Karua was totally chowing down grilled meat and curry-rice. Though it didn't seem like she was gonna touch vegetables. You know a balanced diet is the key to growth right, Karua? Rika in fact had quietly slipped a plate loaded with vegetables but Karua was treating it as she didn't see it.

Well, this time, it seemed like beef curry gain was reigning top among all as I looked around. Pork curry was also quite popular between girls.

On the other hand, Karua was gulping down curry soup in a big mouthful. No wait, you don't drink like that, Karua? Geez, was it a blunder to prepare curry soup?

"This curry is also tasty!"

"Good for you."

It seemed like she really liked the new curry variant. In that case, maybe I should try curry udon next time.

I circled around the tables to check out on others. It was impossible to keep everyone on the same table with the original size so we opted for multiple table formats.

I was in the midst of it when Misato suddenly raised her voice.

"Look, Zephyr-kun. Mert-sama is only eating the fish he had caught earlier. Isn't it a pity to not eat meat at the BBQ? That's why I keep telling height isn't---"

"Good grief, you're being a nuisance to others, Misato! I just happened to catch the top grade ‹High Char› today while fishing, and fish are better eaten fresh. It's simply that, it and height have no connection alright."

"Oh, grilled char!? Nice catch, Mert. It looks tasty."

"Ah, Zephyr. I knew you would totally get it. There weren't many but I managed to catch three. I would share another later."

"Huh? What about my share, Mert-sama?"

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"No way!"

These two are really a lively bunch, eh? ‹High Char› was a high-grade fish that was extremely hard to catch without high fishing skill.

I was honestly surprised. He even managed to capture three! Also Misato, they're really super hard to catch by, so maybe you might only feel a bitter tear at the end.

I made a round to other table and eventually arrived at the last table where members in charge of cooking were.

"Amazing. I don't know if it's because we gather the ingredients ourselves but it tastes far better!"

"I know right? Enjoy to the fullest since such chances rarely come by!"

"Thanks to you as well, Zephyr-kun. It has become a delicious memory for us."

Harmonic Trip each gave their impression. BBQ was a big hit between them it seems. And as a host, their enjoyment was the best thing I could ask for.

"But I may have used a bit too much fire. I didn't expect it would be that hard to master the temperature control of BBQ stove."

"Let's make sure to practice it later, Alulu-chan. We should aim for the best dish out there is!"

Alulu commented while stuffing herself with yakisoba she had made herself. Hannah cheered from the sideline.

"I will also do my best. I think I have more or less got the knack. Next thing should likely be something delicious for sure."

Kairi, who was sitting next to those two, chimed. Interesting, it seemed like she was going to join Hannah and Alulu for the summer festival stall. I wonder if they've already thought of their ace dish?

Anyway, the summer camp seemed to have shown them the path for their stall and that's all it mattered.

There were very few moments we needed Kairi's ability in this dungeon, so she seemed to have given many things a try. Aside from looking out for the goblin's base, she had spent most of her time in cooking or harvesting.

In fact, she was most likely the highest contributor in gathering ingredients since she had some skill related to collection.

It was in-between that she found her path. She fumbled around in her path on how to handle the ingredients or how to prepare dishes for a larger group and sometimes asked Hannah for pointers.

Well, she looked completely content with the event and that's all that matters.

This was how the last day of ‹Eden› and ‹Arc-Arcadia› joint summer camp came to an end with overwhelmingly positive reviews. At the same time, we also managed to secure a stellar amount of ingredients.