Aoki blinked, surprised for a moment before speaking.
"You could smell that? Ryo-san, your sense of smell is on par with a dog's."
"Sorry, I'm a cat person."
Ryo replied flatly, completely unrelated to what he just said.
With her deadpan expression and bizarre response, it had the random comedy vibe straight out of a Japanese drama. Aoki couldn't help but chuckle.
But Ryo quickly brought the topic back.
"Suki-san, please don't change the subject. I can't believe you had ice cream without me."
She sounded serious again, but there was a clear tinge of poutiness in her voice.
'This girl's acting skills are ridiculous.'
He rolled his eyes mentally but responded,
"I just passed by an ice dessert shop earlier and grabbed a Blue Hawaii flavored ice slush. If we pass by again later, I'll get one for you too."
Ryo straightened up, though still spoke quietly.
"So kind of you, Suki-san. Thank you."
'Seriously. This girl's acting is too good.'
Their quick back-and-forth ended right as Nijika looked up and asked the two of them:
"Aoki-senpai, Ryo—do you guys want to order anything?"
She slid the menu toward them as she spoke.
Aoki didn't have anything particular in mind.
Curious, he ordered a fairly pricey plate of beef tongue.
Ryo picked a few snacks and sides.
After confirming that Bocchi, Nijika, and Kita didn't need anything else, Aoki handed the menu to the server.
The server bowed politely. "Your order will be right out, please wait a moment," and promptly left the private room.
The service here was clearly top-notch—and the food came out fast too.
Maybe to reassure customers of food hygiene, or maybe to highlight the joy of grilling things yourself, this place was a DIY barbecue restaurant.
Not long after ordering, the server came back with trays of food: pork, beef, veggies, and the beef tongue Aoki had asked for.
The snacks Ryo ordered hadn't arrived yet—probably still being prepared.
Thanks to the preheated grill, they could start cooking right away.
As the only guy in the group, Aoki felt it was only gentlemanly to take charge of the grilling.
Unfortunately, even after watching three episodes of "Mastering Cooking++", he hadn't picked up the key skill of grilling meat properly.
He picked up a piece of what he assumed was pork belly—though honestly, he wasn't sure—and without cutting it, slapped it directly onto the grill.
Nijika blinked, slightly caught off guard, seemingly about to say something, but it was already too late.
At the same moment, Bocchi-chan, reaching for the water jug at the far end of the table, got caught by a tiny burst of hot oil from the grill.
It wasn't serious—just a minor splatter.
But anyone who's ever cooked knows: even the smallest splash of hot oil hurts.
She flinched, pulled her hand back quickly, then looked at Aoki with wide, teary eyes.
Their eyes met.
He paused. Blinked.
There it was, clear as day: distrust in Bocchi's gaze.
Without hesitation, Aoki handed over the grilling duty to Nijika, bowed deeply, and apologized to Bocchi-chan.
"It's fine! Really, I'm okay—it just startled me a bit!" she said quickly, waving her hands.
And just like that, Aoki's first brave step into barbecue cooking ended in utter defeat.
Turns out, that meat he tossed onto the grill?
Not pork belly. Not even pork.
It was beef brisket.
Nothing like pork belly at all.
So, like last time, Aoki was relegated to just eating.
To be fair, while he wasn't particularly skilled in cooking, he could manage a few simple Chinese dishes—like tomato and egg stir-fry.
...Let's not go into how limited that list is.
With Nijika on grill duty, things started going smoothly.
Halfway through, the snacks Ryo had ordered arrived.
After eating for a bit, Aoki remembered something—about the upcoming solo concert and the radio broadcast.
While the girls had already been informed, the exact schedule hadn't been finalized together.
He went ahead and shared the dates with them again.
The first live would still happen during summer break, but the second live and the radio appearance would be after the school semester started.
Still, at this point, taking time off wouldn't be a problem.
After the first concert, even if not everyone in class recognized them, at least 80% would probably know that one of the Kessoku Band members was their classmate.
And with a legitimate reason, asking for time off was no big deal.
The girls had no objections.
Bocchi-chan was a little nervous about the larger crowd, but having already performed during the PVC event, she could just about manage.
With that settled, they dropped the topic.
The beef tongue turned out to be amazing—no surprise, given the price.
Interestingly, Ryo didn't end up eating much of her own snacks.
She ate a surprising amount of grilled veggies instead.
They stayed until around 9:30 PM before finishing up and paying the bill.
Outside, because of her strict home curfew, Kita said goodbye and left first.
Aoki had promised Ryo that ice slush, and with Nijika and Bocchi tagging along too, the four of them headed back the way they came to visit the dessert shop.
Aoki treated everyone, but since he already had one earlier, he didn't get another.
Ryo ordered the same Blue Hawaii flavor Aoki had, Nijika picked a fresh orange sundae, and Bocchi got a chocolate cone.
Just as they stepped outside with their ice cream in hand, a light drizzle started falling from the sky.
The raindrops were gentle—just cool enough to feel pleasant in the early autumn air.
Still, getting soaked too long might lead to a cold, and there was no guarantee the rain wouldn't worsen.
Nijika and Bocchi were headed for a different train station than Aoki and Ryo, so they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.
Around 10 PM, Aoki and Yamada Ryo reached their own split in the road.
Finishing the last bite of her ice slush, Ryo gave a small wave at the intersection.
"Goodnight, Suki-san."
Aoki nodded and waved back.
"Goodnight, cat-loving Ryo-san."