Say that again!

The day went by in a harmonious way on the hilltop.

The Kiriya family doesn't get many chances to spend time like this in leisure with no connection to the outer world. So this hiking trip worked best for family bonding.

Hajime also doesn't get much time to be with his daughter, even though he wants to be with her as much as he can.

Fortunately, he got a free day since the business deal was settled in a day rather than two, and he was able to enjoy this trip with his old friends and his beloved princess.

The lunch was prepared at a campfire, just like they had planned. The necessary equipment and ingredients were prepared by Sana and Chigusu.

Meat and vegetable skewers were on the menu today, which the men took the responsibility to prepare and cook as well.

Well, looking at Mirai, it didn't seem she was going to get up from her seat anyways.

"Okay then. Toshio, marinate the meet. I will prepare the grill and Yuuta, chop the veggies."

As Hajime distributed roles, he tied a band on his forehead in determination. After relaxing a bit, all three have taken off their jackets to get better movement support.

The gaze from other families was involuntarily drawn to this group because of natural reasons. These few were bound to attract attention wherever they went, especially Sayuri.

The nearby group of boys has 'mistakenly' missed their baseball in Sayuri's direction for quite some time to catch a glimpse of this foreign beauty.

But since it wasn't going overboard, no one took any action and went to do their respective jobs.

To prepare the grill, Hajime prepared the firewood and arranged them in the large pot on which the grill station would be settled.

The fresh meat delivered from one of the farms Toshio owns was under the process of getting covered in herbs and spices as Toshio diligently prepared the marinade.

Yuuta took a wooden chopping table and started peeling and slicing the carrots, onions, and other things they had brought along.

The maids wanted to help, but Mirai rejected and asked them to relax since they had been actively working until now.

'Hmmm…!'

Yuuta wasn't working much far from Sayuri, so she was able to see his working pace. And it shocked her to see how flawlessly his hands were cooperating with the knife.

She was a year older than Yuuta, but still, she could never display such skill. Heck, even if she tries, the first she would cut would be her finger.

Yuuta wasn't good with authentic cooking, but the food of the camp side was his specialty which he could prepare even in a half-conscious state to keep himself alive and warm.

He naturally has got training to survive without food, too, but right now, he doesn't have to think about such a thing.

"You really are impressive in various fields, aren't you… "

Sayuri wasn't sure about Yuuta's academic scores, but physically, he might be the perfect human she had ever met. And now, he's showing such remarkable culinary skills too?

She was indeed impressed.

Yuuta was about to say something when he suddenly moved on his toes and bent down with his face approaching Sayuri's.

"Ah!"

The silver-haired maiden yelped in surprise as she found Yuuta so close to her all of a sudden. His hot steamy breaths, made her breathless, with not even a muscle of hers daring to move in anticipation of what might happen next.

But soon, she understood why Yuuta took such action as he stood up with a baseball in his clutch. It seemed he was trying to protect, and here she was thinking something so shamelessly perverted…

'What am I even thinking… '

Before she could have collected herself, she saw Yuuta crossing over the log on which she sat after throwing away his knife to the chopping board, in slight agitation.

Even Toshio and Hajime, and others looked at their side since it seemed the group of four guys who were constantly trying to throw the ball near Sayuri, has actually attempted to hit her.

Or this time it was really a mistake?

Hajime was about to step forward when Toshio brought his hand over to his friend's shoulder and spoke in a casual tone.

"Don't worry, Hajime. Yuuta will take care of this."

Hajime was naturally frustrated but looking at Yuuta and the way those four guys reacted to his words, made Hajime realize that he wasn't the only one angered here.

No one heard what Yuuta said, but within ten seconds, the color of the previously confident young men paled as they nodded like obedient children and ran away as far as they could.

Mirai and the two maids saw the scene in awe. The two older men felt their chests expanding at such a brave display. And as for Sayuri…

'Did he just stand up for me… '

Her face was heating up like never before. Even an apple might shy away from the redness currently adorning Sayuri's fluffy cheeks.

"What?"

As Yuuta returned, he saw the odd expression on the maiden's face before she hurriedly hid herself in Yuuta's jacket and shook her head.

Yuuta sighed in confusion before he went to complete his chopping duty.

(A/N: - I prepared the dialogue he said to those guys, but the context didn't demand such a scene, so… *sigh.)

Around two in the afternoon, the family of seven sat together with meat skewers and their choice of drinks in their hands.

"Woah~Its fantastic, Yuu-chan."

Mirai praised her son just after the first bite since Yuuta mostly grilled the feast and got it ready in no time.

"Mm~Its amazing, indeed."

Sayuri also couldn't help but be in awe at such delicate and juicy meat, which was cooked perfectly to her taste.

The others also had similar reactions as they praised Yuuta one after another while they continued eating their fill.

Yuuta remained at the grilling station since it wasn't something he could just prepare at once. Taking his time, he grilled the ingredients while conversing with others.

*BZZ**

Suddenly his phone vibrated, which made him aware that he could now contact Mio. But rather than just a notification about signal backup, his phone buzzed in continuation, signifying that it was a call from someone.

Taking out his phone, Yuuta was a little disappointed that it wasn't from Mio, but his dejection didn't halt him from picking up the phone.

"Bob?"

Sayuri looked over her shoulder as Yuuta picked up his phone in curiosity before her eyes went wide in shock as she heard Yuuta yelling for the first time.

"Say that again!!"

_______________….

A/N: - You guys wanna see the dark side of Yuuta? Well, fluff is on the way for sure~