Farewell Party, 1-Day Camp!

The circle that Toko-senpai, Karen, Kamokura, and I belong to—Waki-Aiai—holds a “Farewell Party” for the third-year students in early December. Once the new year hits, university juniors have to start job hunting in earnest. For that reason, the send-off happens early. And while the circle is currently a “general event-based” group, its roots are in “outdoor activities like camping,” so it’s a tradition that the farewell party is an outdoor camp. Lately, however, this tradition has softened into a “1-Day Camp”—essentially just a barbecue.

“This day is your last chance to boost your popularity with the girls,” Toko-senpai said, looking me straight in the eye. I nodded silently.

“Currently, the evaluation of you among the female members is quite high. Especially the four you met at the girls’ gathering.”

“The four from the all-you-can-eat cake shop,” I recalled.

I had previously executed a plan to “coincidentally” join a circle of influential girls to raise my standing. Of course, the idea and the staging were all Toko-senpai’s doing. Through that, I’d established a rapport with Mina (2nd year, Economics), Ayaka (1st year, Economics), Manami (2nd year, Literature), and Yuri (1st year, Commerce).

“Right. They are central figures in the circle and have great influence over the other girls. Having them like you is a massive advantage. But I want one more big appeal for the rest of the girls.”

“That’s why I volunteered to be in charge of cooking for the farewell camp.”

I had been thinking about Toko-senpai’s “appeal to other girls” too. This was the result of my brainstorming.

At the camp, guys who like cooking each present one dish. I’m one of them. These days, “cooking guys” aren’t exactly rare, and I don’t know how much of an appeal it really is, but since programming and cooking are the only things I’m better at than the average person, I didn’t have much choice. Plus, I’ve been camping with my family since I was a kid, so I have a decent amount of outdoor knowledge.

“True. You are reasonably good at cooking. Have you decided what to make?”

“Yeah. A barbecue is too common, so I’m thinking of doing a roast chicken in a Dutch oven.”

This is my father’s specialty. It’s a spectacular dish using a whole chicken. By soaking it in a brine solution (salmuera) beforehand, the meat gets perfectly seasoned throughout. Stuffing the inside with vegetables like chestnuts, turnips, carrots, potatoes, and broccoli makes for a very gorgeous presentation.

“That’s good. Plus, it would be great if you could prepare some kind of dessert. Girls love dessert, and barbecues tend to be heavy on the meat.”

“How about a dessert with yogurt mixed with canned fruit? It doesn’t take much effort and it’s refreshing.”

“I think that works,” Toko-senpai said, looking satisfied.

“Anything else I should be careful about?”

I really don’t understand the feelings of girls. Many times I’ve done something thinking it was “for the best,” only for it to have the opposite effect. I have to rely on Toko-senpai’s advice. It’s a bit pathetic how much I lean on her, but…

“First, talk to various girls evenly and moderately. Don’t get stuck talking to just one person for too long. Keep the conversation light and not too persistent. Especially, try to help girls who are having trouble. That makes conversation happen naturally.”
Right, the “be fair to all girls” rule she mentioned before.

“Other than that, just be your usual self. Are there any guys in the group you dislike or find difficult to deal with?”

The name “Tetsuya Kamokura” immediately flashed in my mind, but I kept my mouth shut.

“Not particularly.”

“Then it’ll be fine. Just have fun with the guys like usual. Girls like ‘groups of guys who get along.’”

If that’s the case, it’s business as usual. No problem.

“And just for this time, don’t pay too much attention to Karen-san. Focus on earning points with the other girls as much as possible.”

“Understood.”

“Of course, it would be a problem if she sulks completely, but making her just a little bit jealous is perfect.”

And so, the second Saturday of December arrived. We participated in the circle’s “Farewell 1-Day Camp.” The location was an auto-campground near Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture. It’s spacious with a great view; apparently, our circle uses this place or a camp in Izu every year.

As one of the cooking staff, I brought my family’s minivan. I gave Ishida a ride since he lives in the same direction. Toko-senpai, unfortunately, was in Kamokura’s car.
Since she is still officially “Kamokura’s girlfriend,” it couldn’t be helped. Kamokura had also brought his family’s car—a BMW sedan—for the occasion.

The train group met at Shinjuku Station, then split into the various cars. Having left early in the morning, we managed to arrive at our destination by 10:30 AM.

“Alright! Cooking staff, start prep immediately! We begin with the fire!”

I assembled a tripod fire pit, placed charcoal on it, and lit the fire starter. Since I’ve been camping with my family many times, these steps were second nature to me. A girl from a different university approached.

“Whoa, Isshiki-kun, you’re really used to this.”

“Kind of. I used to go camping with my family a lot.”

“For some reason, we can’t get our fire to start at all.”

“Really? Want me to take a look?”

“That would be a lifesaver!”

I followed her to their fire pit. I saw the cause immediately. First, the charcoal they brought was binchotan (white charcoal). Binchotan is high quality and burns for a long time, but it is notoriously difficult to ignite. On top of that, the pieces were huge. Meanwhile, their starter was one of those cheap chocolate-bar-shaped ones from a 100-yen shop. It was never going to catch like that.

“Where did you get this charcoal?”

“It was at my house. Leftovers from when my family went to a cottage before.”

“This is called binchotan. It’s high-end because it burns for a long time, but that makes it really hard to light.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know. I thought charcoal was just charcoal.”

“I’ll give you some of the charcoal I brought. If you burn this binchotan on top of that, it should be fine.”

I brought over some finely crushed charcoal and a better fire starter from my stash. I started the fire with those first. Once the charcoal was burning to a certain degree, I placed her binchotan on top, ensuring there was good airflow. Soon, the binchotan began to glow red.

“That should do it. Just adjust the heat by removing or adding charcoal as you go.”

“Thank you, Isshiki-kun! You saved us!”

“If you have any more trouble, don’t hesitate to call.”

I said that and left the area. A short distance away, Toko-senpai and Kazumi-san were standing side-by-side watching me. Kazumi-san gave a subtle thumbs-up. A “good job,” I assumed. I gave a slight grin and returned a silent nod.