Upon Returning Home As A Military Major General, I Was Told To Attend School, Even Though It’s Quite Late Now - Chapter 117

Chapter 117. Okinawan Oden Is Seriously Delicious

“Okinawan oden is delicious.”

“For sure. It’s rare to have pork and lettuce in oden, but it goes well with typical oden ingredients like eggs and daikon.”

Dr. Kirigaya’s favorite Okinawan oden specialty shop is known for serving oden year-round, even during the hot summer, not just in the winter.

“How about you, Misuzu?”

“Yeah, it’s good. I’m used to eating pork back home too.”

Sitting daintily in the tatami room, Misuzu answered while chewing contentedly.

Okinawan food can be quite unique, and many people aren’t fans of it, but this seems like something anyone could enjoy.

“You can get Okinawan oden at convenience stores too.”

“Pork trotters are tough to replicate, but I could probably make the pork belly and lettuce at home. I know how to make oden, so I’ll try it next time, Lord Yuu.”

“Oh, sounds good, Hayami-san. Then you’ll need to eat plenty to gather inspiration for your cooking.”

“Excuse me, ma’am! Another 10 servings of oden, please.”

Having already finished her portion, Misuzu raised her hand to order more oden.

“Um… Kamiya-sama and the others… don’t you think you’re ordering too much? I humbly wonder…”

Dr. Kirigaya was dramatically darting her eyes between us and her wallet, trying to make her point.

“Don’t worry, Dr. Kirigaya. After all, Misuzu here has a bottomless stomach. There won’t be any leftovers.”

“No, it’s not the leftovers I’m worried about! It’s my wallet I’m concerned for!”

As Dr. Kirigaya let out a wail, the lieutenant stepped in to save him.

“Everyone, this shop recommends finishing your meal by adding Okinawan soba noodles to the oden broth for a unique take on Okinawan soba.”

“Oh, that sounds tasty.”

“Even for Okinawans, the final course has to be Okinawan soba, huh?”

The oden broth was delicious, so it seemed the final dish would be too.

The conversation naturally shifted towards anticipation for the closing dish.

“Thunk… Natori-san-san, you’re subtly guiding us toward the finale out of concern for me… Even though you often throw harsh words my way, you really do care about me, don’t you?”

Dr. Kirigaya was in her maiden-in-love mode, but…

“Okinawan soba is better with lots of toppings, so I think we might run short on oden ingredients with the current order.”

“Natori-san-san!?”

To everyone’s surprise, the lieutenant dealt a blow from behind.

“Well then, ma’am, please add five more servings of oden.”

“Got it!”

Following Natori-san’s advice, we ordered even more oden.

In places like this, it’s always best to follow the advice of regulars.

“Natori-san-san… I trusted you… Damn youuuuuu!!”

Dr. Kirigaya, having betrayed her own trust in his, drowned his sorrows in awamori.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

“Ahh, that was delicious.”

“Thank you for the meal, Dr. Kirigaya.”

“Ugh…”

When we left the Okinawan oden specialty shop, the sky had already turned dark.

Dr. Kirigaya, now with a much lighter wallet, walked through the crowded streets, and we followed him.

Her back looked dejected.

“Oh, by the way, we didn’t get to try the signature steak at the last Okinawan training camp, did we?”

“Pfft! You’re still going to eat more!? We just had the Okinawan soba for the finale!”

As Dr. Kirigaya’s wallet grew lighter, it took another hit.

“No, no, Misuzu was holding back, believe it or not.”

“She could easily handle a 10-pound steak.”

“Wait, 10 pounds? That’s about 5 kilograms! Where does that fit in her petite body!?”

“See? It’s interesting, right? As a researcher, you should observe her closely.”

“Indeed, it is fascinating. I wonder what her bowel movements are like afterward.”

“Director Kirigaya, that’s sexual harassment.”

“We’re about to go eat steak, so please refrain from talking about poop, Dr. Kirigaya.”

“Violation of the International Convention for the Treatment of Prisoners.”

In her researcher mode, Dr. Kirigaya was met with a barrage of attacks from the group.

“No, no, this is purely scientific curiosity. I just want to observe how Misuzu eats steak.”

“So you agree that going to a steakhouse is a good idea, right, Dr. Kirigaya?”

“Wait, no! That’s sneaky, Kamiya-sama! You tricked me into agreeing!”

“Is there a steakhouse you’d recommend, Natori-san-san?”

“Well, around here…”

As Natori-san started searching for a restaurant on her phone, Misuzu suddenly stopped.

“Sniff sniff.”

“What is it, Misuzu?”

Closing her eyes, Misuzu focused on the scent, her nose twitching rhythmically.

“Something smells.”

“Is it steak? Can you smell it like Kotomi?”

Given the conversation, I thought Misuzu had sniffed out the steakhouse for the final course.

“No, it’s different. It’s a fire.”

“A fire!?”

Her unexpected words shocked me.

“I smell smoke from a block ahead. It’s the scent of burning construction materials and insulation.”

Hearing that, I concentrated on my own sense of smell.

“Yeah, it does smell like an urban firefight.”

Come to think of it, it’s been peaceful lately, so I’d almost forgotten, but Misuzu has been through countless battlefields.

The habits and instincts ingrained on the battlefield don’t fade easily.

“It’s not fully ablaze yet. Let’s hurry.”

“Hey, Misuzu!”

As Misuzu sprinted off, we scrambled to catch up.

“This building?”

“Looks like it’s not a fire caused by explosives or anything like that.”

The place Misuzu had led us to was a three-story shop, just starting to emit black smoke.

The first floor had a restaurant, and the second and third floors appeared to be residential.

“Maybe it’s a kitchen fire. Since it’s not enemy fire, it’s under the jurisdiction of the local fire department, not the military. Still, we can’t just stand by after arriving at the scene of an early-stage fire. Natori-san-san, if you would.”

“Understood. I’ll activate my Soul Armor.”

At Dr. Kirigaya’s command, Natori-san deployed his barrier technique.

The barrier field enveloped the burning building.

“Wow, that’s fast construction and deployment of the technique.”

Chairman Naze’s defensive barrier techniques are impressive, but Natori-san’s barrier field is especially good at quickly and accurately covering its target.

“Right? Right? My future spouse is amazing, isn’t he?”

“Director Kirigaya, that’s workplace harassment.”

Without even looking her way, Natori-san-san, while maintaining the barrier, swiftly deflected Dr. Kirigaya’s proposal with his usual sharpness.

At least the adjacent buildings won’t catch fire now.

In this crowded district, the buildings are so close together that a chain reaction could’ve been dangerous, so this was an excellent first response.

“Now we just need to wait for the fire department.”

“Yeah. Wait, where’s Misuzu?”

We’d been so caught up in watching Natori-san’s amazing barrier deployment that Misuzu had disappeared.

As her guardian, losing track of her was not good.

[Over there, Master!]

“Oh, there she is! Wait, Misuzu!?”

Following Kon’s lead, I found Misuzu running full speed toward the entrance of the smoke-filled building.