Chapter 165 The Girl Who Fell in Love with Eating Meat
"No, although I heard rumors at school that you, Shirou, were very popular with girls, I never expected that even going abroad, you'd still have the same immense power." The boy with the side-swept bangs said with a look of weariness.
"We've been here for over a week, and Shirou only just arrived two full days ago. What exactly is going on? You're too efficient!
Great hero, please accept my prostration."
"No, even if you flatter me, I can't teach you how to be popular with girls. This isn't about liking or not liking, you've all misunderstood." Shirou said honestly.
"That's not cool enough, at least pass on some of your experience, tell us how you do it?" The boys asked, unwilling to give up.
Shirou explained, "Uh, actually, I was just helping out in the kitchen, just making breakfast, but everyone seemed to really like it, so they're just a bit friendly to me."
"And what else?" Three pairs of eyes pressed him.
"Nothing else, though?" Shirou replied.
"Really?" The three pairs of eyes flared with anger.
"Really." Shirou thought it over again and again, and indeed, that was all it was.
"Hmph! Shirou... I didn't think a sincere-looking guy like you... was actually a technique-master."
"Pah! You've already used your skills to sneak into the girls' dormitory, what's there left to talk about! You class enemy."
"Next time, unless you bring a girl over to introduce to me, don't even talk to me!"
The boy with the bangs, the piano boy, and the lone boy, arm in arm, strode off angrily, no longer paying attention to Shirou, and walked in the other direction.
As expected, modern high school students, like the proper people such as Iroha, or the little angel Saika, are the minority of minorities. For some reason, he missed them a little.
Just then, a middle-aged man in an English-style suit and silver-rimmed glasses walked onto the podium, tapped the table, and said, "Alright, alright, gentlemen, ladies, please be silent. Now that everyone is here, let us all welcome the teacher from Chiba Branch School, Ms. Hiratsuka, and Shirou."
"Hello everyone." Shizuka Hiratsuka and Shirou introduced themselves one after the other on stage.
A warm round of applause erupted from the audience in welcome.
"Shirou is an excellent practitioner of high school Kyudo. He just performed in Huaxia last week and has been invited by our school this week to give a Kyudo demonstration. At the same time, Shirou is also an outstanding archer, and if any students would like to compete, please sign up actively."
"Kyudo?" A knowledgeable boy shook his head and slowly raised his hand, wondering if his Robin Hood hadn't already been max level and max affinity for a long time. Only Legolas and Green Arrow from their high school days could compare to him.
"Oh! Huntington! Welcome, the green-haired English warrior! Anyone else?" The teacher asked.
"Archery?" The brown-skinned Indian-descended boy revealed a wicked smile and raised his hand high. 'Archery? I was born into the great Kshatriya family, the fifty-five-treasured Arjuna, are you not afraid! My dad is the best gynecologist in the Indian county, and my family's wealth is somewhere between Bruce Wayne and Scrooge McDuck. If I lose, I'll put on my ancestral gold ornaments and propose to the ugliest fat girl in school with an erotic dance!'
"Ooh, Jesh from the land of spices~! Are these the only two brave men? Ok! Then let's move to the archery range now." The teacher instructed.
The group arrived at the archery range together, where several other teachers were also waiting, watching the proceedings quietly.
First, Shirou, who had changed into a Kyudo uniform, performed a Kyudo demonstration for everyone. With the previous experience in Xunyang, Huaxia, it was much smoother this time.
Omitting overly tedious parts, he only displayed the correct etiquette and the steps of Kyudo archery. Everything proceeded as smoothly as flowing water. But even so, for the impatient youth of this modern era, it was still too boring.
If they didn't have to maintain their gentlemanly facade, the already impatient high school students would have been booing.
However, the girls of Bristol watched the boy's movements and didn't feel bored at all.
The girls who could understand the profoundness whispered, "Shirou, he looks like someone in a painting right now."
And the girls who couldn't understand could still find enjoyment in other aspects of the boy.
"Are those the hands that make such delicious food?"
"He changed his clothes, and looking closely, his figure is also quite good. He's my type."
"Is that delicious body making such delicious food?"
"Why?! Are those girls crazy?" The boys shouted in indignation.
"Whose side are they on?!" The boys from Bristol School exclaimed in distress.
"No, actually, he's already more familiar with those girls than all of us combined," a boy nearby excused.
The boy with the side-swept bangs looked confusedly at the tall blonde man next to him, lowered his head, and wiped his tears, saying, "Damn it, this is too unfair."
"Oh-oh, poor boy, don't be sad. Actually, he's not from the same world as us. You just need to think of it that way and move past it." A group of burly men, who seemed to play English rugby, walked over, embracing the boys warmly and consoling each other.
"Thank you, may I ask your name?" The boy with the side-swept bangs felt a warmth in his heart from the comfort and asked the foreign man in front of him.
"Patchouli," the man grinned, his white teeth sparkling.
After the Kyudo demonstration, it was time for the archery competition. Huntington, with his English longbow, and Jesh, with his Indian aromatic bow, walked onto the archery stand.
"Go, Shirou!" The girls from Chiba School encouraged.
"Shirou~! Go! Go!" Led by the friendly brown-haired girl, the Bristol School girls attending the exchange, stood on the boy's side with a tacit understanding.
There was also the blonde sweetheart, the school's cheerleading captain. She hadn't originally participated in this exchange, but she was having a P.E. class, practicing her cheers for the next school team competition, and cheering on the sports teams practicing nearby.
But when she saw the group head to the Kyudo club, she immediately left the football and rugby captains, bringing a group of cheerleading girls to watch the boy's performance. Waving their pom-poms, they shouted in unison with great rhythm.
"Go! Go! Go! Shirou~!"
"Come-on Shirou~!"
"Come-on, baby~!"
On the field, the cheerleaders continuously cheered for the boy, but Shirou, who had entered a state of focused archery, was undisturbed by the outside world, single-mindedly pursuing the ultimate principle of hitting the center with a true shot. 1zoxK
The boy's expression at this moment, instead of annoying the cheerleading girls, made them even more excited.
'So cool! He looks so cute, but right now he's truly so cool~!'
There is a final step in Kyudo etiquette called 'Zanshin,' the posture in which the body naturally stops after the arrow is released, referring to the state pursued after shooting the arrow.
"Ya-ya-a-ah!!!"
After shooting one arrow, Shirou did not look at the target, but unhurriedly nocked the next arrow. Everything proceeded according to his own rhythm: drawing the bow, releasing the string, and then the sound of hitting the bullseye, repeating this process.
Naturally, the boys from countries with archery traditions were unconvinced, but when Shirou drew and released the bow, repeatedly hitting the red on the fifty-meter and seventy-meter targets, even Huntington and the Indian boy Jesh were stunned with their mouths wide open.
Watching the boy effortlessly drawing and shooting, then hitting the bullseye repeatedly, they couldn't figure out what the difference was between the fifty-meter target and the seventy-meter target for the boy.
Given the huge disparity in skill, there was no point in continuing the match. After shooting one arrow each, the two quietly withdrew.
"Alright, it's almost noon now, so let's start preparing! An indoor outdoor barbecue is being held to welcome the new members of the school!" The principal roared, raising his strong, muscular fist.
"Oh-oh-oh! Long live the principal!"
"Awesome! I've been waiting for this."
The boys and girls of Bristol cheered excitedly. This was a traditional custom of their school.
"Eh? Why?" Shirou, who had just changed out of his Kyudo uniform and walked out, was confused.
Why did the Kyudo performance turn into a BBQ? And is that man the principal?!
It was only now that Shirou realized that the faculty members here were one after another more muscular, as if their hierarchy was even assessed by muscle mass, and even the youngest teacher's arms were several times thicker than an ordinary person's.
The principal here was a two-meter-tall burly gentleman. His strong, trained muscles could not be hidden by his suit and tie, making him look like a bodybuilder. His calm gaze made him appear steady, kind, and reliable.
The principal had a thick, golden mustache between his nose and upper lip, meticulously groomed, extending to the corners of his mouth where it curled up slightly, resembling interconnected U-shapes drawn with a curve.
His head was shiny and bald, with only a small tuft of baby curls on his forehead.
"Shirou!" The principal walked towards Shirou with a poker face. In the sunlight, the principal's bald head reflected dazzling light, and the shadow covered his eyes, filling the air with pressure.
"Yes, Principal?" Shirou looked up at the sudden burly man, momentarily unable to gauge his thoughts. Did he pass the test or not?
The principal smiled cordially and said, "Excellent! Shirou, I look forward to your culinary skills."
"Eh?" Shirou was taken aback. The muscular man in front of him somehow looked as kind as a small flower blooming in spring when he smiled.
The principal waved his hand toward the side, "Alright, alright, quickly set up the equipment."
"Oh, oh!"
"Alright, Principal, you should help too!"
Several teachers flexed their muscles, quickly moving a large pile of tableware and cooking utensils from the corner outside the Kyudo room's outer wall. Because they were placed in a blind spot, no one had noticed them.
"Oh-oh-oh! Grill~! BBQ~!" The students of Bristol School were all pleasantly surprised.
One by one, the male teachers took off their suits and rolled up their sleeves, bringing over iron racks for grilling, as well as charcoal-fired smokers. The tools were complete, and there were large bags of ingredients on the side.
The female teachers on the other side also helped bring buckets of ingredients. The dormitory supervisor was also there, saying something to her colleagues, so the ladies all smiled and looked at Shirou with very expectant expressions.
Shirou finally understood, 'So they were prepared from the beginning? Just waiting for the Kyudo demonstration to finish?'
The principal gave the boy a thumbs-up, then pointed to the cooking utensils and said, "Come on, Shirou. The head maid already told us that your greatest skill is not Kyudo, but this! Culinary cultural exchange is a good civilization! The tools are ready for you. Now, let's see your performance."
"Ahaha." Shirou gave a dry laugh. Is this what they call needing ten thousand lies to cover up one lie? But now that it's come to this, he can only do it!
"Please leave it to me," Shirou said to the principal.
In addition to charcoal grilling, there was also a brick-built earth oven. Shirou naturally wouldn't leave it unused.
Meat and bread baked with fruit wood had another flavor. BBQ emphasizes outdoor smoking of meat, which usually takes place in an enclosed space because a lot of smoke is produced. Grill, on the other hand, uses charcoal heat and an iron rack, employing smokeless, environmentally friendly charcoal. The two have different functions and different tastes.
Truly delicious smoked meat and grilled meat often require tens of hours of preparation, just like the precise requirements of traditional roasted duck or roast goose. Whole roasted pigs or
lambs smoked at low heat for fifteen or sixteen hours can often be easily torn apart with a knife and fork.
Simply drizzling the corresponding chili sauce, barbecue sauce, and various sauces allows one to enjoy all kinds of deliciousness. Stuffing all the meat into one's mouth and filling the stomach is quite satisfying.
Meat dishes don't require too much fuss; ultimately, they are about satisfying humanity's craving for meat. In short, it's about eating a lot, tasting different cuts of meat—lean, fat, and tender—and then savoring the difference in meat quality from livestock carefully bred in various places.
Like the tenderness of Wagyu, the succulent juiciness of Jinhua two-headed black pig, the savory aroma of small fragrant pork...
The lamb provided by Bristol School this time was Australian lamb. The lambs raised there drink groundwater and eat the highest quality pasture. They are slaughtered before reaching twelve months, all for that tender meat.
Meat is a gift from nature. The reason meat is delicious is not because of human cultivation, but because of the animal's own effort. Animal breeding is not controlled by humans, but is the instinct for survival given to life by nature.
Like pandas acting cute, pets being affectionate, livestock also continuously evolve, making their own species more and more delicious, until humans feel they cannot live without eating this meat every day. That is the great victory of animals.
Because it is delicious, one wants to eat it. Even if eating too much leads to weight gain, high blood pressure/sugar/cholesterol, and various diseases, one still wants to eat it. Yes, terrifying meat! Terrifying fat! Human society has been dominated by tea, cigarettes, alcohol, carnivorous animals, sugar, and fried foods.
Shirou picked up the cutting knife. All he had to do was control the heat to avoid destroying the original deliciousness and essential charm of the meat, and just present it. That's all.
Just like the principle of hitting the center with a true shot, meat is inherently a top delicacy. As long as the preparation process is flawless, it is bound to be a top delicacy. In this regard, the boy perfectly succeeded.
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