I clicked on the icon and saw:
“Barbecue is ON! ☆”
I contemplated the message. I guess Minori-san was outside with the others, having a barbecue. That would explain the pleasant aroma. I didn’t bother sending a response, but Minori-san sent me a picture anyway. She must have snapped it with her smartphone. They had piled up some rocks to make a stand, put a portable grill on top of it, loaded the grill full of ingredients, and were cooking away.
Also in the picture were Myusel, Petralka, Elvia, Garius, and Hikaru-san, all grinning happily as they ate grilled meat and vegetables.
Myusel was diligently arranging the food on the grill.
Petralka was happily watching it cook.
Elvia was chowing down on some meat like it was going out of style.
Garius watched over the three of them from a respectful distance. Beside him, Hikaru-san was enjoying some grilled vegetables with a pair of chopsticks.
I thought about it. It was certainly a classic barbecue scene.
The pictures kept coming, too: Loek and Romilda were there, students from my own school. I assumed Minori-san and Hikaru-san had invited them on the-more-the-merrier logic. Normally the elf and the dwarf spent all their time together fighting, but I guess the barbecue must have gotten the better of them, because they were both enjoying the grilled meat with big smiles on their faces. God, it really was the picture of a backyard barbecue.
Another message came along with the next picture:
“We’re having a blast out here. Wanna join us?”
This picture showed Minori-san herself. She seemed to have wrangled the picture with a selfie stick. When had she gotten one of those?
I paused. On a whim, I went over to the window and peeked out from behind the curtains.
“Huh...”
I saw Myusel and Loek with their hands up for some reason. They seemed to be using some kind of magic. Maybe they were making wind to stoke the fire? No... For one thing, they were both facing my window.
Ahh.
They were using wind magic, but just gently, to make sure the smell of the barbecue wafted into my room. And probably to send the babbling voices along with it. They hoped I would be tempted out of my room by the smell and the spectacle.
“Hoo hoo...” A chuckle dropped from my lips. “Hoo hoo hoo hoo...” This quiet laughter was followed by a declaration: “How naïve! You badly underestimate me, Minori-san!” I pointed at the computer screen so forcefully I could almost hear the sound effect, bishiri! “Sheer impudence, that’s what this is!” My fingers started racing along the keyboard. “A barbecue?!” I howled. “That’s for some damn real to attend! And featuring two hot men surrounded by women, no less! I’ll bet the ladies are for dessert (lol)! You know nothing, nothing of the feelings of a shut-in and nasty otaku like me!”
But all I wrote was: “Nope. Not coming.”
And then with a satisfying clack!, I hit the Enter key.
I felt oddly accomplished.
“Haaa ha ha ha! I win!”
Okay, so I still wasn’t sure what I had won. I guess.
I threw myself back on my bed and resumed reading my manga.
“Barbecue” turned out to be just as fun as yakiniku, and the time passed in a flash. Before we knew it, the sky was darkening into evening. All the food we had prepared was gone. Romilda-sama had left for home with a big smile on her face, proclaiming, “I didn’t really get what it was all about, but it sure was fun. Thanks for having me!” (Incidentally, Loek-sama had said he wanted to stay a little longer to chat with Minori-sama, but Romilda-sama grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off.)
In any event, both of them had come right over despite the suddenness of our invitation, and seemed to have enjoyed themselves tremendously. I saw them to the gate, then went back to the yard and helped Minori-sama clean up. We took down the grill, disassembled the pile of rocks we had put together, and poured water on the last of the coals, just to be safe. I piled our eating utensils on my cart so they could be taken inside later.
“I really thought this was a good idea,” Minori-sama lamented as she piled utensils on the cart.
“I enjoyed m’self!” Elvia-san exclaimed.
“As did we,” Her Majesty added. Both were smiling. Maybe they thought they were making Minori-sama feel better.
Hikaru-sama, though, smiled sadly. “It’s great everyone had fun, but that wasn’t the point.”
He was right. As pleasant as the barbecue had been, we had failed in our objective, which was to get Shinichi-sama to come out of his room. Minori-sama had tried talking to him via her ‘meszenjer,’ and Loek-sama and I had used wind magic to direct the aroma of the food towards his room, but in the end we never saw hide nor hair of Shinichi-sama. He didn’t even open the curtains on his window.
“So that’s a fail for Operation Heavenly Cave,” Hikaru-sama said. “What do we do next?”
Minori-sama crossed her arms and gazed up at Shinichi-sama’s window. “I didn’t expect Shinichi-kun to be such a fearsome opponent.”
“Is he fearsome, or just stubborn?”
“I’ve got to be honest... I really don’t know what to do next.”
“Perhaps we should try that naked dance?” Hikaru-san offered.
“Yeah, I’ll pass,” Minori-sama said.
“Pardon me very much.” Their conversation was interrupted by an unexpected speaker: Minister Cordobal. “I’m afraid we cannot stay here with you indefinitely. Her Majesty and I must return to the castle for the time being.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Minori-sama said, bowing. But Minister Cordobal shook his head with a wry smile.
“Not at all. Personally, I very much wish we could continue to enjoy your hospitality, but—”
“We do not wish to return home
