Chapter 35: Loss and Grasp
Since it was an outdoor activity, outdoor cooking was naturally a must.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the barbecue Hachiman had been looking forward to—it was curry.
Speaking of which, why curry?
It's not that he disliked it. The Yomi warriors had many side jobs, but being a gourmet was definitely not one of them.
In this regard, the warriors' mindset was quite simple—if it's edible, it's fine. As for how it's eaten, just put it together however.
Even someone like Hachiman, who joined halfway, had a similar mindset.
As he was thinking this, on the other side, Hiratsuka Shizuka had already started lighting the fire.
She stacked up the charcoal, placed some old newspapers as kindling, added fire-starting gel, lit the newspaper, and moved the flame to the charcoal pile—everything was fluid and skilled, except for the last step.
Because instead of fanning the flames, Shizuka poured salad oil on them.
Naturally, what followed was a textbook case of "adding fuel to the fire."
It wasn't just flames—it shot up as a full-on fire pillar. The students' cheers instantly turned into screams...
And then, to everyone's amazement, Shizuka casually put a cigarette in her mouth, leaned her face into the fire, took a deep drag—
Then pulled her face out and exhaled the smoke with satisfaction, showing off what she thought was a "cool big sister" smile on her still fair and delicate face, saying to the stunned students, "Something like that should do."
The corner of Hachiman's mouth twitched. Did this woman seriously not understand why she was still single?
Still, that little stunt did manage to drive away the gloom in his heart from the fighting and the killing.
"Sensei, you seem pretty skilled at this…"
"Yeah… totally…"
A few of the cheerful extroverts, who were also volunteers, forced out smiles, trying to lighten the mood.
What a bunch of fools with no sense…
"Mhm, I used to do this kind of stuff often back in university. And then everyone would start flirting around me while I lit the fire… tch, thinking about it pisses me off."
Shizuka, who had just been in a nostalgic mood, suddenly became full of resentment.
"Alright, boys stay here, girls go gather ingredients."
She didn't just say it—she acted on it, striding over to the girls and taking them away from the boys.
It was obvious she was separating the boys and girls. The cruel part was, she didn't even spare the elementary schoolers…
In the end, only a few male students were left.
Hachiman, the four Yomi male disciples, and three other students.
Hachiman wasn't too familiar with the three. He vaguely knew two were from the popular crowd.
One was definitely from the popular crowd—he was part of the core Hayama group, namely Hayama himself. The other was the guy who called him "Penguin," Tobe.
But these two were actually quite likable now, since they had already put on gloves and started stacking the charcoal.
The other student was preparing the newspapers.
That left Hachiman and the other Yomi disciples staring at each other...
Because the only job left was fanning the flames.
Naturally, this task fell to the overly serious Boris Ivanov, the little bear.
This guy, with his extensive survival experience, quickly took the central role in the work group.
According to him, if you dumped these classmates—who now seemed quite capable—into the primeval forests of Siberia, they'd be meeting God within a day.
And then… Hachiman really had nothing to do. Even the most trivial jobs were taken by the Yomi disciples.
So he strolled off with his hands behind his back.
It felt awkward just standing there watching others work.
Before long, the girls returned.
One had to admit, thanks to the overpowered survival abilities of the Yomi disciples, the scene had become a bit over-the-top.
"Amazing, Hayato!"
No doubt about it, that clueless girl was Miura.
Like always—she really liked Hayama.
"Wow, so dazzling! No matter the combination, it feels like something will be left unfulfilled!"
That line made no sense at all.
But looking at the glasses girl who was practically drooling, Hachiman involuntarily shivered. It suddenly felt cold…
Then, he saw that glasses girl's eyes land on him.
"Ugh, even if he's slacking off, Boss-kun has a face you just can't say no to… Alright, let's include him too!"
Boss-kun? What the hell was that?
"What's wrong, Hachiman? You look down. Do literary boys hate the outdoors?"
From behind the girls came Shizuka's voice.
Hachiman turned to see her with Komachi, holding a basket full of vegetables.
He walked over and took the basket from Komachi's arms.
"So you are a siscon…" Shizuka clicked her tongue. "Be sure to thank the gods. Your sister talks about you constantly when she's not busy. Looks like she's a brocon too. But don't let that make you do anything criminal, okay?"
"..."
Hachiman practically snatched—no, he did snatch—the basket from Shizuka's hands and rushed into the cooking area.
Shizuka was only a good woman when she wasn't speaking or moving.
After that, there wasn't much worth mentioning.
Just a typical, slightly noisy cooking session, getting everything ready, then finally eating at the cooking site.
Even though it was just curry…
The cooking site had large rectangular tables. Despite the number of people, they could all sit together.
Even this took a while. Normally in a romantic youth anime, this would be the perfect moment to drag out the plot.
And in reality, that was exactly what happened—it took ages for everyone to get seated.
Then, after everyone put their hands together and said "Itadakimasu!" they finally began eating.
It had been ages since Hachiman had eaten with so many people.
Of course, he meant a regular, playful group outing kind of meal.
A sudden wave of melancholy came over him—amid all the cheer and youthful energy of the scene, he realized he couldn't insert himself into it at all. It wasn't that he didn't want to—it was that he didn't even know how anymore.
He had to admit, he had already been molded into a different kind of person by the Demon God Fist.
Ever since becoming that demon god's disciple, his hostility had grown. After becoming a god-slayer, it had only intensified.
If this continued, he would one day become the second Marquis Voban, living out his life in others' fear and hatred. But Hachiman knew—he could never enjoy that kind of solitude.
In that brief moment, the noisy voices around him seemed to grow distant and vague. All the warmth and light faded from his view, replaced by darkness, and a bone-chilling cold enveloped him.
Then, he saw Komachi. His dazed mind reawakened, and the illusory chill receded like a tide. The sounds around him became clear again.
That's right—what's lost can't be regained. What matters more is seizing the present. As a person who'd crossed into another world, he should understand this truth even more.
With that thought, Hachiman looked at Komachi with a tenderness he had never shown before.
He knew—he would definitely cherish this little sister even more from now on.
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