Chapter 222. [Fire -Fear and Foaming-]

A shooting range, huh?

Honestly, if someone were to ask if I’m interested, it would be a bit ambiguous.

<<Hmm, I’m happy you invited me, though.>>

I have many crushes who play FPS, but it’s different from real guns.

Besides, in my case, I can’t own a gun anyway.

So it wouldn’t be any training for me.

Above all, I don’t have many good memories with guns.

Just as I was about to decline, thinking I’d rather spend that time watching a live stream…

“Okay! Let’s go!”

“Huh, Anego!? Where did you come from!?”

Ah-nee, who was supposed to be engrossed in playing house, suddenly interrupted the conversation.

Really, she never misses anything that seems “fun”.

However, it seems the disturbance from earlier is still lingering.

Her face is a bit red, and she keeps glancing in my direction.

“How did you understand the content when it was in English?”

“Well, you know? Even I work globally. I’m familiar with words commonly used in jobs. So, where are we going?”

“Didn’t you hear the conversation!? Oh, work?”

Shooting.

“Yeah. So, we’re going to a ‘shooting’ place, right?”

“Huh~” “Ha~”

“What’s wrong with you two?”

Ah, my sister tilted her head in confusion.

It’s not about “shooting”, it’s different.

<<Let’s go! Hahaha! I’ll give you both a lecture together next time!>>

<<Uh, thanks a bunch!>>

“Thank you very much!”

“Ah-nee~!?”

As expected, the conversation settled on going in that direction.

Well, even if she had understood “shooting,” my sister might have been excited in that case too.

We chat like that, and get dragged into our daughter’s pretend play again.

And amidst all that, time continues to pass.

***

<<Finally, it’s done!>>

“Ohh~!” <<It smells amazing.>> <<Perfectly done!>> “It looks so delicious!”

We cheered in front of the various meats spread across the table.

After five hours without lunch and using energy in pretend play, hunger had reached its limit.

<<Well then, let’s celebrate Independence Day!>>

<<‘Harpy Force!’>>

First, I touched the thinly sliced red meat.

It was so tender that it seemed like it might crumble on the way to my mouth.

<<This brisket is incredible! It was originally a quite tough cut.>>

<<The joy of barbecuing is how to make such tough meat tender over time! If you grill tender meat from the start, it’s not as interesting, right?>>

Even if it’s said so naturally.

It’s undeniably delicious.

Next to me, Ah-nee was also savoring it with a satisfied “Mmm!”

“These spare ribs are delicious too! The bones came off so smoothly!”

<<Doggy. Here, take this. You can eat it.>>

“Woah~!?”

The daughter offered the bone removed from the spare ribs to our dog.

Or rather, was Mai still imitating a dog?

Mai seemed to be quite fond of it.

<<I’ll have this pulled pork in a burger. Mm!?>>

Papa-san took a bite of the pulled pork sandwiched between buns and widened his eyes in surprise.

Then, he smiled at Angu Ogu.

<<Well done, young lady. It may be unconventional, but the sauce is not bad.>>

<<Of course. But you’re not bad. Simple seasoning, but I’ll acknowledge the taste.>>

Angu Ogu also grinned while chewing on her meat.

It seemed like a battle was happening there alone.

What are they doing?

As I sighed in disbelief, a pitiful voice came from the side, “Iroha-chan.”.

“I want to eat meat too~!”

“Okay, okay. I’ll feed you.”

We did something similar at a sushi restaurant yesterday.

No, at that time, was it just Mai who missed out on eating?

While thinking about such things, I fed her a piece of meat.

There’s also an aspect of pushing off the daughter’s companionship a bit and apologizing for that.

“Ugh~! Iroha-chan’s kindness makes it delicious~!”

“I-Iroha-chan… Darling. Give some to me too… ahh.”

“Hey, you guys!? While I was seriously into barbecue, what on earth are you doing!?”

Ah-nee and Angu Ogu also joined the fray.

In no time, the situation turned chaotic.

<<Hahaha! Iroha-chan, you’re quite popular!>>

<<Does it look like that to you?>>

While being thoroughly messed up by the three, I made a bitter face.

And so, we enjoyed the meat until we were full.

***

Before I knew it, the surroundings had become completely dark.

The earlier excitement had cooled down, and the atmosphere now felt exactly like the aftermath of a festival.

Dividing the tasks, we were cleaning up.

I was about to carry the cooking utensils I had used when…

“Uh, it’s heavy!?”

“Careful!”

The unexpectedly heavy load was about to slip from my hands, but Ah-nee helped me.

I breathed out a sigh and expressed my gratitude.

“Thanks, Ah-nee.”

“Uh, yeah!”

We continued carrying the items together.

Somehow, it felt strangely uncomfortable, making me fidget.

“Oh, right. By the way, what was that thing Ogu mentioned, something that can only be done on Independence Day?”

“T-That’s right! Um…”

I tried to bring up a topic, but we quickly fell into silence again.

However, in that quietness that enveloped us, I distinctly heard a sound.

Bang!

The dry sound echoed in the night air.

My body moved faster than my will, instinctively shielding my precious ‘crush’.

“Ah-nee!”

“Huh?”

Dropping the items, I covered Ah-nee.

Seriously, after the discussion about the shooting range, now this?

I wiped off cold sweat, staring intently into the darkness.