Chapter 119: Something Summery

Two weeks have passed since Lua and the others returned.

What had felt like early summer has now fully transitioned into true summer over those two weeks.

It’s hot, sure—but not the kind of oppressive heat that makes it painful to be outside like in Japan. It’s more like a pleasant heat around 30°C (86°F).

Still, working in the fields leaves me drenched in sweat, so lately it’s become a daily routine to head to the back mountain after work and bathe in the stream.

The temperature starts to drop in the late afternoon, so until then, we cool off while playing in the river, then head home once it cools down.

By the way, everyone except Brittany joins in on these river outings, and it’s become quite the popular gathering.

Rozzo and Sid, of course, seem to be coming mostly to catch a glimpse of wet women, but since they haven’t caused any harm and no one has complained, I’m letting it slide for now.

While we’ve been enjoying the summer, I can’t help but feel like we haven’t done anything truly summery yet.

Apparently, this world has seas too, but they’re overrun with monsters and not really places where you can safely swim. This river is pretty much the only spot for water play.

Even if we built a pool, it would probably be kid-sized at best. I’d love to try holding a summer festival or something too, but that’s not really feasible at the moment.

“Sato-san, you’re staring off into space. Is something on your mind?”

“I was just thinking… I’d like to do something summery. I’ve been mulling over ideas.”

“Something summery, huh? If it’s doable, I’d definitely love to try!”

“In that case… It’ll be a simple affair, but how about we do something tomorrow night?”

“Please let me help! I’ll talk to everyone and invite them!”

With Sheila-san’s encouragement, I decided to go ahead with a summery activity.

If we’re talking about something we can do as soon as tomorrow, that narrows it down to nagashi somen (flowing noodles), watermelon splitting, or fireworks.

I’ll ask Rozzo and Sid to build the nagashi somen setup. I’ll handle buying the somen noodles, a watermelon, and fireworks.

I’ll save the watermelon seeds so we can grow our own next year.

With those thoughts in mind, I started preparing for the next day.

The Next Day

Instead of our usual post-work river play, we started with an early dinner tonight.

Naturally, today’s dinner was nagashi somen, and Rozzo and Sid built the apparatus in just half a day.

I also prepared condiments like dipping sauce, pickled plums, tomato soup, and some unusual toppings like dried baby sardines with okra. I’m sure everyone will enjoy it.

“Sato-san, we’re all set over here!”

“Alright then, I’ll start the flow!”

And with that, I began sending the noodles down from the top.

The lineup from front to back was: Joel-kun, Brittany, Portia, Lois, Lua, Sheila, Georges, Sid, and Rozzo.

The three craftsmen were all older and skilled, so we grouped them together at the back.

Joel-kun is the clumsiest of the bunch, with Brittany next, so they were placed at the front.

Sheila not only had already mastered using chopsticks but also tended to lose awareness of her surroundings when eating, so she was placed last among the women.

When I first sent down the somen, Joel couldn’t catch any due to his inexperience with chopsticks, and the noodles just slipped right past him.

As expected, the first to catch the noodles was Sheila.

She dipped them in the simple sauce and slurped them up with visible delight.

“Sato-san! It’s not only fun—it’s delicious! I could eat this all day, so keep it coming!”

“Got it. I’ll keep them flowing!”

Prompted by her request, I kept sending more and more noodles down the chute.

Thanks to the strategic order, everyone—aside from the three men in the back—was able to enjoy the noodles fairly evenly.

“Hey, Sato-san! We’re not getting any noodles here! Sheila’s eating them all!”

“Sheila, have a heart. Let us have a turn!”

“…I can’t hold back.”

Sheila really takes food seriously.

I laughed as she scooped up every noodle, and I sent down the entire portion I had prepared.

The three older guys didn’t get to eat any and looked a bit disappointed, but everyone else seemed to have a great time, so I’d call it a big success.

If I could nitpick, I wish I’d gotten to see Yato’s reaction—he usually has the best responses.

I can just imagine him standing up front, failing to catch a single noodle, and sulking cutely.

With those thoughts, I joined the three who didn’t get any and cooked up a regular batch of somen to eat together.

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