Barbecue

Barbecue restaurant.

Recommended by Youyue, who had spent a long time in the Otherworld.

The ingredients were nothing but fresh, real meat, without even a trace of fraudulent "Hextech" nonsense.

Anyone who dared serve fake meat to Magical Girls truly had a death wish.

Naturally, the Otherworld had far fewer residents than the outside world. They were all people connected to Magical Girls in some way, or staff members.

With such a small population, everyone kept running into each other. Accidentally angering a Magical Girl could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Only truly capable establishments dared to find ways to open in the Otherworld.

If inferior goods tried to pass themselves off as the real thing, a single reprimand from a Magical Girl of slightly higher standing would send them packing without earning a cent.

"Qingyin, I want that piece of pork shoulder," Feiyan said without ceremony.

"Qingyin, I want grilled fatty meat," Yuyan said as well.

Yalin stared longingly at the cooked meat on the grill, but she had yet to ask for any.

"Everyone will get some," Qingyin replied blandly.

When Qingyin placed some into Yalin's bowl with her chopsticks, it seemed to trigger something in Yalin's underlying logic.

"Thank you!" After thanking her, Yalin haughtily said, "Since Qingyin gave it to me of her own accord, I'll reluctantly eat it."

"What about mine? What about mine?" Youyue blinked eagerly at Qingyin.

"It's still cooking. Wait a moment," Qingyin said, not refusing her either.

To make it up to them, Qingyin took on the important task of grilling the meat, while Youyue was merely included as an extra.

For group meals like barbecue or hot pot, when an elder was present, that elder would usually handle the cooking.

First, to prevent younger, inexperienced people from mishandling things and hurting themselves.

Second, to prevent a situation where "a hundred flowers bloomed." Mainly to prevent that.

When Qingyin had gone out for barbecue with her college roommates in her previous life, a group of people the same age grilling meat together would create a scene of gods and demons running wild.

First came God-Demon Number One, the savage caveman who ate raw flesh and drank blood.

Qingyin watched as the other person stuffed meat that had not even been grilled for half a minute, with blood still seeping from it, into her mouth.

Her usual line was, "It's cooked, bro, it's cooked. If we don't eat it now, it'll get tough."

"The liquid coming out is myoglobin. This is the exact bite I'm after. If I went to the grasslands at dawn and chased animals down to gnaw on them, I'd still worry the sun would overcook them."

Then came God-Demon Number Two, the geological digester who chewed coal raw.

Any meat she put on the grill herself would inevitably be charred black.

Her usual line was, "Mine needs to cook longer to taste good." Even when chewing ordinary grilled meat, she could make it crunch like cartilage.

The two God-Demons would argue over whose barbecue was correct, and the next day, they took turns occupying their dormitory bathroom for the entire day.

Only with a normal person willing to work, someone who could steadily control the grilling time, could a barbecue gathering end perfectly and smoothly.

"Qingyin," "Qingyin," "Qingyin"—for the rest of the evening, these few keywords echoed through the barbecue restaurant.

Qingyin tirelessly placed every lovingly grilled piece of meat into their bowls, taking a few bites for herself during gaps in her grilling.

Magical Girls had appetites far beyond ordinary people's. Fortunately, Qingyin had excellent stamina, and even after working for several hours, her arms did not feel sore.

"Mmm... Qingyin, I don't want any more. I'm full," Feiyan said, refusing the grilled meat Qingyin had picked up and becoming the first to surrender.

Next was Yalin, who looked like she could eat a lot. Yet after only a few bites of barbecue, she began drinking the complimentary sweet drink from the restaurant to cut the grease.

"I ate so satisfyingly." An expression of bliss appeared on Yuyan's face. With her head slightly lowered as she looked at her phone, she silently stretched out her right hand toward Qingyin at the grill.

The Magical Girl companion beside her nudged her. Coming back to her senses, Yuyan hurriedly explained, "Sorry, sorry, Qingyin. I was enjoying myself so much that I thought I was at..."

As she spoke, she was just about to pull her hand back when Qingyin took out two tissues and placed them in her palm.

"At where? Didn't you want tissues?" Qingyin asked.

"No, no, I wanted tissues. Thank you, Qingyin," Yuyan hurriedly said, withdrawing her hand with a hint of awkwardness.

Embarrassment filled her heart. She held her phone in both hands and typed furiously, though it was unclear who she was messaging.

"What are you looking at me for? Keep grilling," Youyue said with a polite smile.

"You've got some nerve," Qingyin said expressionlessly.

"Eh, bad signal. I didn't hear that." Youyue playfully lay sideways across her seat, looking completely shameless.

"Qingyin, Youyue, I have class tomorrow, so I need to head home first."

"Me too, me too."

"Then I won't disturb you two either."

Once someone started the group, the other Magical Girls immediately followed.

After exchanging polite pleasantries, they left the barbecue gathering early.

It was indeed getting very late. If they stayed any later, their parents would grow deeply suspicious and interrogate them.

The already quiet barbecue restaurant was suddenly left with only Qingyin and Youyue.

"It's just the two of us now." Youyue spoke with an unclear meaning, nudging Qingyin with her elbow as she invited her.

"The juniors are all gone. Want to have some drinks with me?"

"No." Qingyin rejected the invitation.

"Could it be that Qingyin is a one-cup lightweight?" Youyue provoked her.

"I can drink a normal amount, but I don't really like it." Qingyin shook her head slightly.

She did not touch tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. Her conduct was exemplary.

If she had to say something, she was a little more lecherous than most people.

But after becoming a Magical Girl, her calm mind had suppressed many of those desires.

"Drink at something like a celebration banquet. If you wanted to drink, you should've said so from the start," Qingyin said.

For her, such things depended more on the setting and circumstances.

If the mood was right, having a few drinks was fine.

Besides, she still had work tomorrow.

"What a shame to miss an opportunity," Youyue said regretfully.

Then, sweeping away her previous act of dejection, she casually asked, "Of the three of them, which Magical Girl do you like best?"

"Feiyan. I've known her longer, and she's also the strongest of the three," Qingyin replied.

"That's not right." Youyue wagged a finger and corrected her.

"Yuyan is the strongest of the three."

"Is that so? She seemed very fragile." Qingyin neither agreed nor disagreed, saying calmly, "One evening isn't enough to get to know them. My opinion may change later."

"I'll spoil it for you: Feiyan is actually the most fragile one."

"Is that so? Can eating meat shut your mouth?"

"Mm... no."

"This is the last piece."

"Is the gathering over?" Youyue looked at the grilled meat placed into her bowl, dipped it in seasoning, and put it into her mouth. After swallowing it in a few bites, she glanced at Qingyin. "I'm still not full."

"We've finished all the meat we brought over. If you're not full, get some more and eat slowly by yourself," Qingyin replied coldly.

"But without you keeping me company, I can't eat," Youyue said coquettishly.

"It's late. Aren't you working tomorrow?"

"Hehe, my actual job is being a Magical Girl. Before you showed up, I was bored for a very long time."

"You're so idle. Go find another job."

Qingyin mercilessly stood up and left, and a resentful voice came from behind her.

"You cold-hearted bad woman!"