Gulp.
The sound was involuntary—a heavy, audible swallow triggered by the intoxicating spectacle unfolding before her eyes. Over a grill glowing with the fierce heat of charcoal, marbled slices of meat hissed and buckled. Droplets of fat danced and popped, releasing an aroma so rich it felt like a physical blow to the senses. For a growing Horse Girl who had spent the entire day sprinting through the surf, there was nothing more primal, more tantalizing, than this.
But she was forced to wait. Not yet. Not yet. Just a few seconds more.
While the "unruly crowd" was barely being held at bay, the butler—tasked with managing the beach house grill—ignored the frantic energy around him. He focused solely on the meat, his eyes sharp as he judged the exact millisecond of perfection.
Is it ready? Is it now? Come on, isn't that enough already?! Are you doing this on purpose? Are you seriously getting a kick out of teasing us?!
These frantic thoughts didn't even need to be spoken; they were written in bold, desperate strokes across Special Week's face.
"Spe-chan… what are you even doing?"
"Ugh… this is so embarrassing…"
Two of her friends looked on, one clutching her head in exasperation and the other hiding her face behind her hands as Special Week glared at the grill with the intensity of a predator. Yet, despite their protests, their own stomachs rumbled in sympathy. They knew the feeling all too well.
Then, finally, the moment arrived.
"The timing is perfect. Please, help yourselves."
"ITADAKIMASU!!!"
"The first piece is mine!" Special Week's internal monologue screamed as her chopsticks lunged for the grill. But a fraction of a second before she could make contact, another pair of chopsticks swept in like a hawk—Stay Gold had made her move!
Special Week wasn't about to concede. Before the meat could even graze the surface of Stay Gold's personalized dipping sauce, Spe intercepted it with a snatch that moved at the speed of light. She swung the morsel toward her open mouth, but in her frantic haste, her grip faltered. The meat slipped, somersaulting into the air.
"Mine!"
"No way!"
Chopsticks clashed in mid-air. The slice of beef fluttered like a falling leaf. The battle for supremacy was waged in a heartbeat, yet to the participants, it felt like an eternity—
"Munch♪ Mmm~ Very delicious!"
The two combatants froze. While they had been busy sabotaging each other, Taiki Shuttle had executed a flanking maneuver. With a casual "side-chopstick" strike, she snatched the meat out of the air and popped it into her mouth with a beaming smile.
Technically, since the meat had been a gift from Taiki's parents, she probably had the strongest moral claim to the first bite anyway.
"NOOOOOOOO! The first slice! Our precious first sliver of glory!"
"Would you two knock it off?" a voice groaned. "Here, have some galbi. Just cheer up, will you?"
"THANK YOU!"
And so, with a roar of chaotic energy, the training camp's traditional BBQ began. There was meat from Taiki's family ranch, seafood and carrots provided by the Mejiro estate—a mountain of food that would have been impossible for any normal group to finish. But with Special Week there—a girl whose appetite rivaled even the legendary Oguri Cap—the real question was how long the supplies would last.
I can always order more if it comes to that, the Trainer thought, watching the carnage. I've got the connections and the budget. There's no way Special Week could actually eat through my entire savings… right? I'm almost certain she can't. So why do I feel so much cold sweat?
"Still, last year's BBQ was a spectacle, but this is on another level," one of the girls remarked.
"Well, last year everyone just grilled for themselves," the Trainer replied. "We ended up with a lot of charcoal-flavored hockey pucks. That's why I brought in a ringer."
The butler bowed slightly, never taking his eyes off the flame. "If I may say so, I have presided over various culinary events throughout my academic career—from middle school through university. I have been called the Sovereign of the Sizzle and the Magistrate of the Minabe. To let a single ingredient go to waste by charring it would be a stain on my honor. Ah—Stay Gold-sama, this bone-in galbi is reaching its peak."
"I'm all over it!"
"No fair!"
"And for Special Week-sama, might I suggest this tri-tip?"
"I'll take it! Mmmph—so good!"
"Don't worry, Rampage-sama," the butler added with a cool wink and a V-sign. "I can handle these two quite easily."
He was a marvel. To face down the terrifying obsession of Stay Gold and the bottomless pit of Special Week simultaneously, all while maintaining a look of effortless grace—he truly was the pride of the Mejiro household.
"That's our Mejiro butler for you!"
"You flatter me, My Lady."
Mejiro Dober let out a long sigh, forced to acknowledge the man's skill. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little shocked to learn her family's butler had such a… specialized history as a "grill magistrate."
"Hey, you eating enough, Kamizuru?"
"Yeah, I'm working on the kimchi."
"Eat some meat! You need protein!"
Unlike the Horse Girls, who were tearing through the steaks like a whirlwind, Kamizuru was content to pick at a side dish of kimchi and some grilled vegetables.
"It's not that," Kamizuru admitted. "It's just… I'm actually a huge fan of offal. But it's a bit awkward to bring that up at a fancy BBQ like this."
"We've got offal," the Trainer said flatly.
"Wait, really?"
"Apologies for the wait," the butler chimed in, placing a tray on the grill. "The hormone is served."
The offal—hormone—hit the grill, immediately dripping fat and sending up a pillar of flame. The butler had kept it separate specifically because of the flare-ups.
"WOW! Big fire!"
"What exactly is… hormone?" one of the girls asked, tilting her head.
"I believe it refers to the internal organs," another replied, sounding skeptical.
"Is it actually tasty?"
For these well-bred girls, organ meats were a foreign concept. Ignoring their hesitation, Kamizuru reached into the flames, plucked out a perfectly charred piece, and bit down. The others watched in awe.
"It's incredible if you grill it right," Kamizuru explained, chewing happily. "It's a bit tough, but the more you chew, the more the flavor explodes. It's amazing in soups, too."
"I'm a fan myself," the Trainer added.
Curiosity won out. One by one, the girls tried it.
"WOW! So much fat! But it's delicious!"
"This pairs… perfectly with my El Condor Special Sauce! Viva!"
"It's chewy, but I actually love the texture!"
"I won't lose to a piece of meat! Maya's gonna chew it all the way!"
Laughter and playful challenges filled the air as the team bonded over the grill. This was the heart of Team Pleiades: they were rivals on the track, but here, they were a family. They fought hard, but they played harder.
"El, watch the sauce! You're going to get it everywhere!"
"I know, I know!"
"If you 'knew,' Glass wouldn't have confiscated it from you earlier," King Halo interjected with a smirk.
"GAH?! King, how did you know about that?!"
"Because I was there. I know you have to shake the bottle to get it out, but if you shake it that hard, you're obviously going to spray the yellowtail Glass is trying to eat."
"Glass-chan was so scary then," another girl giggled. "She was smiling so brightly, but the way she said 'E-l-kun~' had so much killing intent..."
"S-stop it! I don't want to remember the 'Smile of Death' right now!"
The first day of the Pleiades training camp drifted toward its end, wrapped in a blanket of laughter, occasional mock-tears, and the smell of woodsmoke. For the other teams, the real work was still a day away. But for them...
The next morning, the dream ended.
"Alright, you Pleiades brats! Are we happy?! You'd better be grateful I'm helping out with this camp! Especially you, Spe!"
"G-Gah?! S-S-Sunday Silence-san?!"
The girls looked up, and in that moment, the "fun" part of the camp vanished. They were about to see the true face of their training.
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