"Alright, indoor recreation is over~! After you hydrate, we're doing barbecue outdoors next."

With Ecchan-sensei's command, the indoor rec time finally ended.

"And, all of you sprawled out on the floor, work together to carry them to the infirmary~"

“"Okaaay"”

Briskly, the girls in the class lift up the ones lying on the floor with blissful expressions.

Kuruwa-san in particular is carrying one over each shoulder.

What incredible strength.

"Well then. About preparing the barbecue, we've lost more hands than expected to nursing the injured, so it seems it will take a bit more time."

"Though we never counted the reward recipients among the barbecue prep crew in the first place. People who've lost consciousness are heavier than you'd think. Like corpses."

Tatara-hama-san and the staff officer Mito-san busily run their pens over the paper documents in their hands.

I mean, just hearing what these two are talking about makes me wonder if this is some battlefield, but this is a fun, fun class trip.

"In that case, I'll help with the barbecue prep."

"Eh?! You will, Tachibana-kun?!"

"I've got the experience. Leave it to me."

Even like this, back in my younger days as a thirty-something salaryman in my previous life, I handled the organizing for company BBQ parties many times.

The advance shopping, coordination, and stuff is tough, but running the actual cooking on BBQ day is pretty fun.

Lately I've become a mid-level employee at work, so these kinds of tasks don't come my way anymore, and honestly, I was a little sad about it.

"Is this gonna be okay... Minami-chi?"

"Hmm... There are reward recipients on the barbecue stage too, but I can see a future where they get hit by stray shots beforehand and get taken out..."

Ignoring the two having a whispered conversation with sour faces, I'm excited about running the BBQ for the first time in a while, and head courageously to the barbecue area.

* * *

"Alright, let's get the fire going. Light the molded charcoal that'll become the kindling with the burner..."

The star of the barbecue is without a doubt getting the fire started.

If we were camping out in nature, using magnesium fire strikers on hemp palm bark to start a fire would be cool.

But that's just self-satisfaction for the person doing it; if you do it at a group barbecue, only that person gets excited...

Today I've got all sorts of things I want to do, so I'll prioritize speed, using a gas burner and molded charcoal that catches easily.

"Boys handling fire like that is dangerous, you know."

"That's right, Tachibana-kun. Your clothes and hair will get all sooty and smelly."

The other girls in charge of starting the fire voice their worries.

"I'm used to it, so it's fine. Now, the molded charcoal is glowing red all over, so I'll place thin kindling around it... Fooo! Fooo!!"

The fire has caught onto the kindling, so I promptly blow air in with the fire-blowing stick to make the fire bigger.

This part, where the fire grows and gets big, is the real joy of fire-starting, you know.

"A boy who willingly stands in front of the fire is so cool..."

"A boy blowing and blowing..."

"I want to become kindling and be embraced by the flames..."

"Isn't it just the absolute best that he wrapped a towel around his head bandana-style to keep the soot off..."

Oops.

All the girls in class are looking this way with faces that want something.

I shouldn't be the only one enjoying this fun part of the barbecue.

After all, deepening friendships within the class is the purpose of this class trip.

"Alright, I'll head over to the cooking team then. I'll leave the fire to you all. Here, the fire-blowing stick."

"—Eh?"

The fire's stable now, so as long as you keep adding kindling so it doesn't go out and occasionally blow air in with the fire-blowing stick, it should be fine.

And so, I hand the fire-blowing stick, that crucial item, to a nearby class girl.

"The stick Tachibana-kun held in his mouth..."

"Th-this is... It can be used for both the upper mouth and the lower mouth..."

"What is this, a special-grade Noble Phantasm?"

"Wait, hey! Don't you try to lick it first!"

"Since Tachibana-kun handed it to me, it's mine!"

"Stop it! If you do that, I'll have no choice but to kill you!"

The girls in charge of the fire are squabbling over the fire-blowing stick, but well, I get why they're fighting over it, since tending the fire with the stick is fun.

"Tachibana-kun... You've done it again..."

"Eh? Tatara-hama-san, did I mess up again?"

"No, you've already exceeded the scenarios the fire team came up with, so that's fine. Next, the cooking team, please. The recipient is..."

"I-it's me..."

"Oh, it's Kuruwa-san. That makes sense; she's great at cooking and makes boxed lunches, so of course she's on cooking duty."

"Fuyu..."

Kuruwa-san, about to lose consciousness, is supported by the girls around her and somehow manages to hold on.

"Tachibana-kun... Kuruwa-san is especially weak against boys in this class, so please go easy on her."

"Ah, sorry."

Despite having the build and brawn that's top in the class, Kuruwa-san being certified as the weakest—it's a bug in this world, isn't it.

"Uuun..."

"Come on, Kuruwa-san, pull yourself together! You're going to do your dream scenario, right?"

Saying "get a grip," Tatara-hama-san literally slaps Kuruwa-san on the backside.

It made a nice sound.

"U-um... with Tachibana... I want to make... a boxed lunch together."

Poking her fingers together shyly, Kuruwa-san makes her request.

She's a big girl but still cute, as always.

That cuteness means I have to respond with everything I've got.

"Eh~ but I can't cook at all, you know~"

"Eh? But you said before that you could..."

My indifferent attitude makes Kuruwa-san's eyes go a bit teary.

Of course, what I just said was a lie, but a huge girl looking like she's about to cry with a "fue..." is really something, isn't it.

Well, that unexpected bonus was nice, but I have to properly meet her expectations.

"So, Kuruwa-san, teach me how to make octopus sausages. Hand over hand, step by step."

"Heh?"

"First, you cut the sausage in half... wait, how do you hold a kitchen knife again~? I dunno~? Like this, maybe~?"

Here, I channel the spirit of a kindergartener who knows nothing.

It's a bit embarrassing even for Kuruwa-san's sake, but she works hard every day, after all.

"Ah, no, that's wrong! You have to use the cat's paw, and with the knife, it's not pushing down from above, it's slicing by pulling back—"

"Even if you say cat's paw, I don't get it~ Teach me by hand from behind me~"

"Fuee... that means clinging to Tachibana's body from behind and touching his hand... I can't do it..."

Kuruwa-san cries out pathetically, but I won't let her escape.

"Ah~ like this I'm gonna get hurt~ Because someone's being mean and won't teach me."

"I'll... I'll do it... since I will..."

And so, with literal hand-over-hand guidance as if being hugged from behind, Kuruwa-san and I cook.

I'm fairly tall myself, but being wrapped from behind by the bigger Kuruwa-san was a fresh experience.

Additionally, Kuruwa-san was apparently bright red the whole time, and as soon as the reward time ended, she fainted with her eyes rolling back.

It was a little amusing that the class girls had been on standby from the start assuming Kuruwa-san would collapse, and they caught her huge body perfectly.