Yohane, Grilling Nonstop

We had ingredients delivered to our nearly private stretch of beach.

The adventurers on guard duty went out of their way to bring them over, so I made sure to greet them properly.

Things had apparently been hectic after the Kraken extermination, but resort towns thrive on crowds.

They looked busy, but there was a sense of fulfillment about them as they headed off.

I gave them some apples as a gift for their trouble.

Normally, barbecuing on the beach wouldn't be permitted for the sake of maintaining the scenery. But we'd worked out an arrangement: as long as we didn't use charcoal and cooked with magic to avoid leaving any waste, there wouldn't be a problem.

The manager here owed us a favor, after all.

He could turn a blind eye to at least this much.

Of course, we'd clean up properly afterward and do nothing to dirty the landscape. Making him regret granting permission would be a slap in the face.

"I borrowed a grill rack and drip trays!"

"I'll just set them down here."

Azu and Elza returned from borrowing the equipment. They'd changed out of their swimsuits and back into their regular clothes.

The swimsuits had been a refreshing sight, but their usual outfits were more comfortable to look at.

A large grill rack, and drip trays to catch grease and charred bits so nothing fell onto the sand.

With five people—two of whom were big eaters—I'd told them to get two sets.

Azu set down the drip trays, and Elza placed the racks on top.

Yohane had been preparing the ingredients for the barbecue, but…

"Too slow. You'll be at that till sundown—hand it over."

Finn said this and proceeded to cut the ingredients to the proper sizes.

She wasn't using her usual knife, just a plain kitchen blade, but she knew her way around an edge and worked far more efficiently than Yohane.

Leaving the cutting to Finn, I skewered the ingredients in an easy-to-grill arrangement. Meat, vegetables, fish.

The beach house had been quite generous with the spread. Since they hadn't paid us for our labor, they'd likely added extra to compensate.

Normally I'd never work for free, but working at a beach house was a rare experience.

It had been limited to just one morning, with only our group. A thoroughly enjoyable time, I thought.

Once the current employees all set up their own branches, maybe we could even run one ourselves with this crew instead of hiring new staff.

Even if that did happen, it was still far off. Right now, I wanted to grow the shop, and setting up branches meant acquiring new stores.

In other words, it took money.

Someday. Yes, someday.

While my hands kept moving and my mind wandered, the preparations finished before I knew it. Finally, Alexia arrived carrying a crate overflowing with shellfish and shrimp.

"I got these from the fishermen. Thanks for the Kraken extermination—and, well, my beauty probably helped. This outfit does have its uses."

She wasn't showing quite as much skin as she had in the early days, but Alexia was still wearing her battle dress.

It had apparently been a hit with the men.

"Well then, let's throw those on the grill too."

"Indeed. Though the one doing the grilling will be me…"

"I'm counting on you. You're the only one here who can actually use magic properly."

"Yes, yes, I know. 'Mage' is just another word for 'utility player,' after all."

With that, Alexia conjured fireballs evenly spaced between the racks and drip trays.

"Isn't that a bit strong? Everything's going to burn!"

When Elza leaned in to peer at the flames, her bangs nearly caught fire. Azu reflexively splashed the cup of water she was holding onto Elza.

Elza's hair was now completely drenched.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, sorry."

"I think that one was my fault…"

Alexia focused and adjusted the flame's intensity.

"The Fire Elemental in my brooch makes fine control difficult. Turning the heat up is easy enough, but dialing it down is another matter."

The flare-up had apparently been the Fire Elemental's influence. It was more subdued than when Orleans had been around, but even so, the effect was noticeable.

Spirits were the force of nature itself.

Neither Azu nor Alexia had truly mastered their power—they were merely borrowing it on what amounted to a whim.

Once the fire was at the right level, we started laying ingredients on the racks.

"Hey, if you just put them on like that, they'll stick."

Finn quickly brushed olive oil across the grill.

"You know your stuff."

"Well, let's just say I've picked things up."

Because I'm well-versed in torture, Finn mumbled under her breath, but no one heard.

Magical fire was a bit different from regular fire—heat penetrated the target more efficiently.

Whether that was because fire magic originated from mana, or because it had evolved to deal greater damage, I wasn't sure, but the heat conductivity was remarkable.

It was one of the reasons fire magic stones were so prized.

Thin slices of meat only needed to sit on the grill for a moment before one side was done.

Yohane held tongs and kept flipping piece after piece.

"Alright, eat up. We've gotta empty out all these ingredients."

"Leave it to me!"

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"It smells amazing!"

"Not bad at all…"

On one rack, he placed the thick cuts of meat and whole shrimp—things that took time—and left them to cook on their own.

On the other, Yohane grilled nonstop while the others ate whatever was ready, filling the empty spots with more ingredients.

Finn ate more than her build suggested, probably because she trained, though not as intensely as Azu.

Every time he added more meat, Azu, Alexia, and Finn snatched it up almost instantly.

Elza had given up competing from the start and was nibbling on skewers at her own pace.

Since Yohane was too busy to eat, she'd bring a cooked skewer up to his mouth and feed him.

"Honestly, you're such a handful."

"I'd love to argue, but I really am grateful. Haven't had a chance to eat."

"I want to help, but I can't resist this smell…"

"Just eat."

"Yes sir!"

This went on for a while. When the larger items finished cooking, they cut them up and all five picked at them together.

To finish, they laid a flat iron plate over the rack and fried noodles with all the leftover ingredients. The result was absurdly luxurious.

Eventually, everyone had eaten their fill, and they called it.

Cleanup could wait until the next morning when it was light. For now, they rested on the beach, gazing out at the night sea.

Elza conjured a light with her magic.