50 - Everything about the BBQ is delicious

RAW

A BBQ hosted by the Tojo family.

For Haruto, an ordinary citizen, it was a very luxurious experience.

"This is not the thickness of the tongue I'm familiar with... and it's beef tongue..."

I wonder how much a slice of this would cost.

Haruto's body almost trembles just thinking about it, so he carefully grabs the extra thick beef tongue with tongs and gently places it on the grill.

Suddenly, an intriguing sizzling sound fills his ears.

"Otsuki-kun, here's some lemon juice, so use it."

"Oh, okay. Thank you."

Ikue places some lemon juice in front of Haruto.

"Ayaka-san and Aizawa-san, are you here?"

Haruto asks, pouring lemon juice into his and Ryota's small plates.

"Yeah, I'll have some."

Ayaka nods, and Haruto hands him the lemon juice, then quickly turns his attention back to the extra thick beef tongue on the grill.

Ayaka couldn't help but smile as he stared intently at the extra thick beef tongue.

"Haruto, you're so serious."

"I don't want to burn this delicious meat."

"I know, you really should have bourgeois friends to be able to have such a lavish barbecue."

Looking at the meat cooking on the grill, Saki agreed with Haruto, her eyes shining with excitement.

"So, if I was poor, wouldn't you have been my friend?"

"Of course!"

Saki gave a thumbs up and replied immediately, and Ayaka said, "Come on!" and lightly patted her best friend on the shoulder.

Ayaka fully understood that Saki was joking, and puffed out her cheeks.

"I won't be speaking to Saki anymore."

"Don't say such sad things, Ayaka. We'll be friends forever, right?"

Saki also knows that Ayaka isn't being serious, so she says this while hugging Ayaka with a smile.

Ayaka, on the other hand, puffs out her cheeks and turns away.

"Otsuki-kun, Ayaka's sulking. Can you cheer her up?"

"Eh? Me?"

Haruto, who had been concentrating on the grilling of the extra-thick beef tongue, looks confused at the sudden topic.

"That's right, if you gently pat her head, Ayaka's mood will improve in an instant. Please."

"Eh, well... not here."

It would be one thing if they were practicing being lovers in Ayaka's room, but now Ryota, Ikue, and Shuichi are there.

If he were to stroke her head in that situation, there was no telling what she'd say.

Haruto glanced at the contents of the glass Shuichi was holding.

It was a golden liquid with creamy foam on top. It was definitely beer.

If Shuichi, who was in a good mood after drinking alcohol, saw Haruto stroke Ayaka's head in front of him, he might even bring a marriage registration form from the city hall.

Besides, Haruto wondered if Ayaka would be too embarrassed to have her head stroked.

"...I might get in a good mood..."

Ayaka's eyes met Haruto's and she muttered in a small voice.

No, no, no! What are you talking about, Ayaka?!

Haruto cried out in confusion inside.

However, Ayaka, not wanting to know what was going on in his mind, stared at Haruto expectantly.

It seems that she is tilting her head ever so slightly towards Haruto, perhaps to make it easier for him to stroke her head.

Behind Ayaka, Saki, the person who created this situation, was watching the two of them with a huge grin on her face.

"......"

Haruto glances over at Shuichi and Ikue.

Shuichi is in a good mood, gulping down his beer, while Ikue is grilling onions, telling Ryota, "Make sure you eat your vegetables too."

Haruto thinks about Ayaka, who is still looking at him expectantly, for a few seconds, and then slowly reaches out to touch her head.

"There's ash on your head."

As he says this, Haruto quickly strokes her head, as if to brush the ash off of her hair.

"T-Thanks."

Ayaka blushes when he strokes her head, and Saki smiles when she sees it.

"Ayaka, you're in such a good mood in an instant. As expected of Otsuki. A capable man is something else."

"I don't really understand what Aizawa-san is saying..."

Haruto must have been quite embarrassed, as he quickly looks away and says.

"Big bro, isn't this meat already cooked?"

"Huh? Ah! The high-quality tongue!"

Haruto turns his gaze back to the grill after hearing Ryota's words, and quickly takes the extra-thick beef tongue off the heat.

"That was a close call...Thanks for letting me know, Ryota."

As Haruto strokes Ryota's head, he says "Hehehe" with a very happy look on his face.

Haruto dunks the cooked tongue in lemon juice and slowly brings it to his mouth.

Haruto's eyes widen at this.

The tongue has a pleasant texture, and the more you chew it, the more the flavor spreads across your tongue, making you feel the deliciousness. However, it's not at all oily, and the tartness of the lemon juice adds a nice accent, making it a refreshing dish.

"This is...too delicious!"

Haruto is speechless at how delicious it is.

Shuichi, in a good mood, offers him other meat.

"Eat as you please, Otsuki! Look, I've bought some kalbi and some loin too."

Shuichi says as he places meat on the grill one after another.

Haruto can't let such good meat burn, so he quickly lifts the cooked meat onto a plate.

"Ryota, do you want some kalbi?"

"Yes! I'll eat!"

Haruto takes his share as well as Ryota's and places them on his plate.

"It's delicious, big bro."

"It's really the best."

Haruto and Ryota smile as they stuff their cheeks with meat.

The moment they put the charcoal-grilled beef ribs into their mouths, the fragrant aroma of the charcoal fire wafts through their noses, and as they bite into it, a flood of delicious meat juices flows over their tongues.

Haruto immediately shovels some rice into his mouth.

The fat and sauce from the ribs mix with the rice, and a sense of happiness spreads in Haruto's mouth with each bite.

"Otsuki-kun, you can have more rice, too."

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

The beef ribs were so delicious that Haruto ate more rice than he had intended.

Haruto bowed his head, a little embarrassed, as Ikue had seen him do so.

"Shuichi, can I grill these scallops?"

Saki next to him is holding a tray full of large scallops and asking Shuichi.

"Of course, Saki. Keep grilling."

"Yesssss."

She immediately and excitedly arranges the scallops on the grill.

Next to him, Ayaka looks at Haruto.

"Haruto, would you like to try the grilled shiitake mushrooms?"

"Oh, what meaty shiitake mushrooms. Please let me try some."

"I'll eat some too, big sis!!"

"Okay, okay. Then I'll grill lots."

Ayaka arranges the shiitake mushrooms next to the ones Saki has arranged.

After a while, the scallops start to open and juice starts to bubble and ooze out.

Then, moisture comes out of the caps of the shiitake mushrooms and they start to give off a wonderful aroma that is unique to shiitake mushrooms.

"The scallops look good, I think I'll put this in now."

Saki opens the scallops and puts butter on top.

"Wow, what a view!"

Watching the scallops sizzling in the broth and melted butter, Saki's excitement soars.

"Here, some soy sauce."

Along with the sizzling sound, the aroma of burnt soy sauce and the rich smell of butter tickle Haruto and the others' noses.

"Saki, can you put some soy sauce on this too?"

"Okay."

Nodding at Ayaka's words, Saki also puts soy sauce on the shiitake mushrooms.

Haruto swallows his saliva at the sight of the shiitake mushrooms, which have an attractive aroma different from the scallops' seashore scent.

Ayaka makes an even more tempting suggestion to him.

"Haruto, do you want cheese on it?"

Ayaka said, holding up the melted cheese so that Haruto could see it clearly.

"What a scary combination... I'd love it."

"Sis, I'll have cheese too!!"

Haruto bowed politely, while Ryota excitedly raised his hand to show his approval.

Ayaka put the cheese on top of the mushrooms with a "fufu" smile.

Then, Saki next to her announced with a big smile that the scallops were done.

"Finished! Anyone want some scallops?"

When Saki said that, everyone raised their hands at once.

Haruto took the scallops on a small plate, brought them close to his nose to savor their aroma, and then put the thick scallops into his mouth.

"Huff! Hot! Hoo huff, so good!"

The moment he bit into it, the scallop meat crumbled while still retaining a slight springiness, and a rich sweetness overflowed from it.

Haruto quickly gulped down the juice that was left in the scallop shell.

It was so hot he might get burned, but the rich taste of the soy sauce and butter mixed with the sea-scented broth flowed into his mouth, where the sweetness of the scallop still lingered strongly, and the more he chewed, the more delicious it seemed to become.

"The best..."

Haruto muttered.

Across from him, Shuichi also took a scallop shell and gulped down the juice, then gulped down his beer with a throaty gulp.

"Phew! This is irresistible," Shuichi said in a good mood, his face a little red.

Everyone else was smiling and stuffing their faces with scallops.

"Oh, that's right! Let's take a picture together, Ayaka."

Saki took out her smartphone as if she had just remembered, and started taking a selfie with Ayaka.

"Ayaka, put it on the plate a little more so we could see how it was cooked, that's right! Let's take a picture~"

Saki and Ayaka were taking pictures together happily.

After taking a few pictures, she then pointed it towards Haruto.

"Okay, Ryota, move closer to Otsuki."

"Hmm? Like this?"

Following Saki's instructions, Ryota moved closer to Haruto.

"Perfect! Say cheese."

Because the picture was taken a little unexpectedly, Haruto was completely distracted by the scallops.

"Hahaha! Otsuki's face! He's so entranced by the scallops!"

"Hey Aizawa, that's not fair to surprise me."

Saki laughs at the photo, and Haruto protests with a bitter smile.

"Then Otsuki, can you take a picture of us too?"

Saki says, hugging Ayaka and looking at Haruto.

"Look, this is your chance to take a high school girl photo together, Otsuki."

"Ah, wait a minute."

Ayaka, who is hugged by the enthusiastic Saki, hurriedly combs her bangs and tries to get dressed.

"Um, you can take a picture."

"Look, Ayaka says so too."

Saki makes a peace sign and urges Haruto.

"Okay, just one."

Saki takes a photo of Ayaka and Saki together on his smartphone.

"Did you take it? Let me see it."

In response to Saki's words, Haruto shows the screen of his smartphone, saying "It looks like this."

Saki hugs Ayaka with a big smile, while Ayaka looks up a little shyly.

"Oh, it's a nice picture, isn't it? You can use it as your wallpaper, Otsuki-kun?"

"No, that's a bit much..."

"But this Ayaka is really cute, isn't it? Otsuki-kun."

"Well, I'll admit that."

"See, Ayaka~"

Ayaka blushes as Saki pats her on the shoulder, and she turns her attention to the mushrooms she's grilling to cover up the situation.

"Oh, the mushrooms are done. Here, Haruto. Ryota, give me a plate too."

Saki smiles brightly as Ayaka distributes the grilled mushrooms.

Then, holding a beer in one hand, Shuichi calls out to Haruto as if he just remembered something.

"Oh, by the way, Otsuki-kun. You said earlier that you like starting fires. Do you like outdoor activities?"

"Yeah, I don't have much experience with camping, but I like that sort of thing."

Haruto, who was savoring the freshly grilled shiitake mushrooms, takes a break from Shuichi's story.

"Oh! You like camping, huh? Actually, my family is going camping next week. Otsuki-kun, would you like to join us?"

"Huh? Are you sure it's okay for me to come?"

"Of course! Saki-chan, you're welcome to join too if you'd like."

Shuichi extended the invitation to Saki as well.

"Really? I can come too!?"

Surprised, Saki reacted, and Ayaka chimed in.

"Let's go camping together."

With just that one sentence from Ayaka, Saki quickly raised her hand.

"Yes! I'd love to join!"

"Great. What about you, Otsuki-kun?"

"Well, in that case, I'd be happy to join you."

Haruto bowed his head as he accepted the invitation.

Ryota, who was sitting next to him, lit up with excitement.

"Big bro and Saki-neechan are coming camping too?"

"Yeah, looking forward to it, Ryota-kun."

With a bright smile, Haruto answered, and Ryota raised his hands in the air, shouting, "Yay!"