For the time being, our job was limited to recovering the artifacts from the ruins.
As for the analysis, we planned to dump that entirely on the researchers.
Professor Berger was scheduled to join them once his vacation was officially over.
In the meantime, we were busy having a barbecue in the garden of the Nakajima Main House.
Or more accurately, the frustration of not being able to fully enjoy the food stalls at the Isono Main House had finally reached its breaking point.
Everyone was pitching in to make food.
"Isono! Nakajima! I need cotton candy over here!"
"On it!"
Isono and Nakajima took charge of the cotton candy station, with their wives helping out.
I was stuck on my usual yakisoba duty.
I used the extra space on the iron plate to grill some frankfurters while I was at it.
Nina-san was handling the okonomiyaki.
Kevin was focused solely on steaming a mountain of potatoes for the buttered potato station.
Claire was in charge of the grilled corn.
Ren took the yakitori. Snack, gulp, snack, gulp. ...I decided to pretend I hadn't seen her eating the inventory.
Melissa was making takoyaki. Although she usually tried to wiggle out of cooking duty, it wasn't because she was bad at it.
The only ones truly incapable of cooking were Tatiana, who possessed a catastrophic idiot palate; Shiyun, who lacked experience; and One-oh-one, who insisted on adding bizarre "arrangements" to every recipe.
"You guys can just be my assistants—wait, what? You want to make cotton candy? Fine. Go help them out."
Mobuko-san was in charge of the crepes, though she was muttering under her breath the whole time.
"If only there were ten of Leo-kun..."
"Wouldn't that be a flag for the destruction of the galaxy?" another girl making apricot candy remarked.
How rude... Truly rude... I couldn't even think of a decent rebuttal.
Everyone had been assigned some kind of role.
Those on prep duty probably had the hardest time of it.
I began stir-frying the yakisoba.
I poured on the oil, tossed in the cabbage, followed by the meat—and then...
I dumped in the chemical seasonings, doused it in sauce, and finished with a heavy dusting of green seaweed!
"Fuhahahaha! Anything this bad for your health has to be pure justice!"
Since we had plenty of eggs, I topped them with fried eggs and a side of pickled ginger.
I handed the plates out as soon as they were ready.
"When are we actually supposed to eat?"
Eddie was the one who had drawn the short straw for the chocolate-covered bananas.
He was making them alongside Minerva-chan.
Since it was a popular menu item, he didn't have a spare second to grab a bite for himself.
"I have no leisure to eat either, de gozaru!"
Suematsu-san was drowning in work at the baby castella station.
He was incredibly busy.
...Wait, did he actually participate in the lottery to pick roles?
He must have really hated guard duty.
"Please take these to the security detail."
Raven-kun and my Knights began hauling meals out on carts.
It was fine, really.
The Nakajima Clan was handling the actual perimeter security.
There were stalls set up outside as well.
We would have been happy to eat out there, but the idea was shot down due to concerns over food poisoning or assassination attempts. How depressing.
The Nakajima Main House provided celebratory sake to toast the couple's marriage.
After all, Nakajima was now the head of a clan.
Neither Isono nor Nakajima—the two underdogs shoved into the military academy—had come from particularly wealthy families. If they had wanted to go to a university in the Imperial Capital, that path would have been open to them.
Regardless, both of them had now surpassed their fathers, the current heads of house, to leap to the top of their respective clans.
And they had done it through sheer merit in military affairs.
It was no wonder the clans were supporting them with everything they had.
So, while the official wedding ceremony had been postponed due to the Empire's resource issues, the celebratory banquet roared on.
It was a typical scene for us.
However, there was a nagging sense of incongruity.
Who was that guy—no, judging by the bone structure, was it a woman?—devouring yakisoba over there?
Between the hooded cloak and the goggles, it was hard to tell.
At any rate, someone who wasn't part of our group had blended in, yet no one had raised an alarm.
"Yakisoba, please! And a sausage!"
She was back for more.
"How many plates is that for you?!"
"Umm, I lost track after five~"
"You're going to get fat if you aren't careful."
I topped it with a fried egg.
"Here, help yourself."
"Ehehehehe."
I waited until her guard was down before speaking up.
"By the way, who are you?"
"...Oof!"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
In the next heartbeat, multiple guns were pressed against the girl's head.
As expected of military academy students, the moment they recognized a target, they switched to combat mode.
Her speed was at a level where I could only just barely dodge with my own reflexes...
I couldn't afford to be careless either.
"I-I surrender! I'll go quietly, but ple-ashe let me finish eating first!"
Even with gun barrels against her skull, she refused to let go of her yakisoba.
She had some serious guts.
"Huh? Kachiya, what are you doing here?"
"Waaaaah! Professor! What's with this person?! He can see right through my camouflage!"
"Professor Berger, who exactly is this yakisoba alien?"
"E-Even as a prisoner, I won't abandon my pride! Give me some grilled corn!"
"...Give it to her."
I handed over the corn.
"M-Mmm, so good!"
"I'm sure. Now, why did you crash our dinner?"
"I followed Professor Berger! I'm his disciple!"
"Professor Berger, that's what she's claiming."
"She is an Ancient Person. She's one of my disciples and an expert on the Zen God Race. This is actually perfect timing. Kachiya-kun, we found a recipe for the Jester Prototype; would you mind taking a look at it?"
"What an incredible discovery! May I see it after I'm done eating?"
"Do as you like. Everyone, lower your guns. Now, what do you want next?"
"Chocolate banana!"
It seemed her palate had moved on to dessert.
I suddenly felt exhausted.
I decided it was time to eat some yakitori myself.
I kept churning out yakisoba, but it vanished as soon as it hit the plates.
The frankfurters disappeared just as fast.
Ah, we were out of ketchup and mustard.
"Someone go grab more ketchup and mustard! We need more noodles, too!"
"Uss!"
The guys headed off to the warehouse.
In the meantime, I finally sat down to eat.
Yakitori, yakisoba, corn...
Fuhaha! I am invincible!
Then, Kachiya approached me again.
I wondered what she was going to extort from me this time.
"You're His Excellency Grand Duke Leo Kamishiro, aren't you? I didn't recognize you since you were working the food stall."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear that a lot."
When I was doing electrical work or blending in with the general soldiers, people rarely saw through me at first glance.
Especially not today, wearing a twisted headband, a tank top, track pants, and sandals.
There was no way anyone would know.
At that moment, Kachiya was holding a seven-colored cotton candy made by Isono and Nakajima in each hand.
Neither of us had even a shred of dignity.
"By the way, Your Excellency, I have a proposal for you."
"What is it?"
I had a very bad feeling about this.
"Please marry me! For an Ancient Person, the ideal spouse is someone who can cook delicious food!"
"Too bad! I'm already married!"
"Wha-wha-wha-what?! How are all the prime candidates already taken?!"
I wouldn't know.
And so, Kachiya joined the party!
Oh, right—about the camouflage. Apparently, it's equipment that prevents those around the user from feeling any sense of incongruity.
Is she some kind of Nurarihyon?
(Author's Note: I've been a bit busy lately so I didn't get a chance to mention this, but regarding Mizushima from a few chapters ago—I used the sports brand Mizuno as a base, and with a little twist, turned him into Private First Class Mizushima from The Burmese Harp. It was a bit of an obscure reference.)