落とし穴７６堀：天高く馬肥ゆる季節 (Part2)
"Dodd-san and I lift up the baskets we’ve harvested while we chat.
It isn’t just what we’re holding that needs to be roasted. Various departments are eagerly awaiting these roasted sweet potatoes. Honestly, a fruitful autumn is quite a lot of work.
Thinking this, I carry the freshly picked potatoes over to Yuki.
"Oh, Kaya. Good work."
"Ah, good work! You harvested a lot, didn't you?"
"Yeah. This should be enough for everyone."
Noticing us, all three of them call out.
"Is there a place for us to roast ours?"
"Yeah. Over here."
"Oh, I'll handle it. Leave it to me, Kaya."
"Yeah. I'll roast them to perfection."
I’m pulled along by Riel and Cleena. Yuki is busy preparing the sweet potatoes I handed over—well, mostly just washing them with water.
"This time, we're doing stone-roasted sweet potatoes."
"The adults were roasting stones in a bonfire to cook theirs, but since the children wouldn't be able to tell which potato was theirs, we're using stone plates instead."
"I see. No wonder the kids and adults are separated."
"We have to flip them constantly so they don't burn, so it's a bit of work for us, but since the kids worked so hard to grow and harvest them, this much is fine. Alright, Riel, go ahead and roast them."
"Roger! Leave it to me."
"Yeah. I'll make sure they're roasted to the perfect degree."
As we talk, sweet potatoes are tossed one after another into the roaring bonfire and the hot stones. Meanwhile, the children seem to have finished theirs; as their names are called out from the stone plates, they run over one by one with joyful expressions.
"Hot!"
"Eat slowly. You'll burn yourself."
"Okay."
Children naturally gather around Yuki, eating their freshly roasted potatoes.
"Teacher, you eat some too!"
"Hold on a second. They aren't done roasting yet."
"Then we'll wait!"
They share such heartwarming conversations. Yes, that’s my Yuki.
"Alright, is it about time? Cleena?"
"Yeah. I think it's ready. Time to show off my fire magic. Moving the flames aside."
Before I knew it, our batch was ready too, and Riel and Cleena were digging the potatoes out of the fire.
"So hot... but they look perfectly roasted."
"Yeah. Smells good."
"Oh, Kaya, come over here. Let's eat quickly."
"Yeah. Let's eat."
"Got it."
We call over the surrounding staff, receive our piping hot potatoes, and take a bite.
*Hafu-hafu...*
It’s hot, but this is...
"It's delicious, Teacher."
"Indeed. Freshly roasted is the best."
"Man, I'm already on my second one!"
"Eat slowly. You'll choke."
Yuki has started eating too, and the children are being particularly rowdy.
"…Delicious."
"It really is."
"Yeah. Delicious."
The three of us watch Yuki and the children making a ruckus, spending a leisurely moment as the autumn sun dyes the sky deep red and the veil of night begins to fall. I wish days like this could last forever.
Then, as the sun set and we finished cleaning up, ready to head home, we realized it.
"Alright. Did everyone remember their things?"
"Yes!"
"Did you all get your souvenir roasted potatoes?"
"Yes!"
At those words, we froze.
"…Riel. Is there enough left for everyone?"
"…Uh, probably."
However, what lay before our eyes was a mountain of potato skins. It was clear that the amount wasn't just one per person. We had harvested enough for two per person, after all.
"…Yeah. It's fine. If we just say it's one per person, there won't be a problem."
Cleena, who had been counting, said that. But we can't put back what we've already eaten, and we have no choice but to stick to our story as Cleena suggested. But, as it turns out, the world doesn't work that easily.
"I saw the photo Yuki took. You three were eating mountains of roasted potatoes..."
"Riel, it's cruel to say we only had one..."
"Cleena-san, you really should do something about that gluttony of yours."
Oh no. Yuki took a picture of us!? It seems my misdeeds cannot be hidden...
Yes, since it's an autumn theme, I saw in the comments that people wanted roasted sweet potatoes. So, here is a story about roasted sweet potatoes. I’m sure many of you have had the experience of growing, harvesting, and eating sweet potatoes yourselves, right? It’s fun and delicious to eat them while chatting away.
Also, there will be a "pitfall of adult autumn" coming up later. If you have any other autumn traditions, let me know in the comments. I might write about them."