「Alright, is everyone ready?」
When I turned around, everyone nodded. Among them, the one nodding most enthusiastically was Sena.
「I’m going to eat so much!」
「Yeah!」
With our hands full of supplies, we headed for the car. It had been a long time since I last had a barbecue, so when I first heard about it, I was really looking forward to it.
When I was a kid, we used to have barbecues all the time. Kojima Poultry Farm is just a short walk from a river, making it the perfect spot for outdoor fun.
「Papa, fishing-fishing?」
「Hmm, how about we save fishing for another time?」
Dori, who had been trying to load a fishing rod into the car, shuffled back to the house with a disappointed look.
「Are we cooking rice in the mess kit?」
「Nope, I heard Haruki’s family already took care of that.」
「I see…」
Sena also headed back to put the large backpack she had brought into the house.
Apparently, since this was her first barbecue, she had been preparing all sorts of gear just in case she ever got invited.
The increase in delivery packages after we moved here must have been because of that.
The backpack she had brought was massive, stuffed with tools for cooking outdoors. It was so big that it looked like she was about to go mountain climbing, and I was stunned when I first saw it.
「Hey! If you don’t hurry, we’re leaving without you!」
Watching the two of them walking back made me feel a little bad, but I decided I’d invite them for fishing or mess kit cooking another day.
Summer was far from over, and we still had plenty of time.
Thinking they might actually get left behind, the two of them hurried back.
The faces they made as they ran reminded me of the ones they had during a game of tag.
Truly terrifying expressions… no, they looked like onis themselves.
「Papa!」
「Papa-san!」
The two of them practically leaped into the backseat of the car. Since I started selling vegetables to the guild, we had upgraded to a new car, and the inside was now much more spacious.
「You know, I wouldn’t actually leave you behind if you took your time.」
「You were definitely planning to leave us behind!」
「Papa, bad!」
「I’m sorry.」
The way they glared at me with such frightening expressions made me apologize immediately. If I ever made those two my enemies, I was sure I wouldn’t survive.
I started the car and drove toward Kojima Poultry Farm.
♢
When we arrived at Kojima Poultry Farm, everything was already set up. All that was left was for the guests to arrive.
「It’s fine that I brought vegetables from our place, right?」
「Yeah, that really helps. Sorry again for asking you to watch over Dori earlier.」
「No, I should be the one apologizing for being late. I didn’t expect to hear about the barbecue only after I went to the clinic.」
「Huh? Didn’t I mention it this morning?」
I might have missed it this morning since I was still half-asleep. With the women buzzing around noisily from early on, it’s also possible I just didn’t catch it.
Our household had certainly become a lot livelier compared to before.
「I’ve prepared the meat.」
Lady stepped out of a bright red sports car, which seemed hilariously out of place in the countryside. She unloaded a mountain of meat from the car and began placing it on the table.
「Kobe beef, Matsusaka beef, Omi beef, Tajima beef… these are all premium cuts.」
「I wasn’t sure what everyone would like, so I bought them all.」
Lady’s sense of money must truly be out of touch with reality. Every piece of meat on the table was A5 grade.
Seeing all this premium beef lined up from various regions made me feel like we were attending some kind of gourmet event.
「Thank you so much, Lady-san.」
「Think nothing of it. Aren’t we close enough for such formalities?」
At some point, Lady and Sakura seemed to have become closer than I realized. Women tend to enjoy gathering and chatting more than men do, which likely brought them closer together.
Maybe it’s about time I also tried to close the distance with Ordinary Person and Samurai living with us.
Though we occasionally talk at home, I haven’t spent much time with them. Come to think of it, I don’t even know their real names—I always just call them “Ordinary Person” and “Samurai.”
Calling him “Ordinary Puy” is essentially an insult.
「Ara, looks like we’re the last to arrive.」
Arriving late was Dr. Kamada from the clinic, along with the “Ordinary Person” and the others. The doctor’s unmistakable pink tank top and yellow shorts immediately caught my eye.
The doctor handed Haruki a gift bag as a housewarming present. Both Dori and I, curious about the contents, edged closer to Haruki.
「What’s inside?」
「Ah… this isn’t something I can show.」
After taking a quick peek, Haruki hurriedly closed the bag and hid it from view. Judging by his reaction, it likely contained something unsuitable for children.
「I made sure to pick that out, so you better use it properly. Oh, hey everyone! It’s been a while!」
The doctor said this while running off toward Lady and her group. It seemed the doctor had a wide circle of friends among the explorers.
Considering the handcuffs and whip I once saw in the clinic, I had a strong feeling that bag contained items for a… nighttime workout session.
Definitely not something to show in front of Dori and Yuri.
「So, is everyone here now?」
「This should be everyone we invited.」
It seemed the attendees consisted of my family, the Kojima Poultry Farm family, and a group of explorers.
With everyone gathered, we decided to get started right away.
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