Chapter 27: The Ice Lady Vows Revenge

Today, in order to assess Fuyuka’s cooking skills, I would definitely not interfere.

I decided to do so, and started observing from the counter so as not to disturb her and an hour later.

The curry and rice were finally finished and were lined up on the table, and I almost opened my mouth more than I could count.

There were so many things to complain about, such as the way the knife was handled, the cooking process, and the poor way of simmering.

Her ineptitude and carelessness were far worse than Asahi could imagine, and it was quite painful for him to remain indifferent.

The only thing that saved me was that Fuyuka used the cat’s paw, thanks to my persistent reminder.

Her awkwardly but firmly curled left hand did the trick, and the sharp blade never cut into anything but the ingredients.

However, in reverse, that was the only good thing I could find.

“…It doesn’t taste good.”

“Itadakimasu.” Fuyuka put her hands together in a polite manner before eating.

“Yeah, it doesn’t taste good.”

After tasting the curry in silence for a while, Asahi also said the same words as Fuyuka.

In the first bite, you could tell it was bland.

In the second bite, you could tell that the vegetables were undercooked.

And the third bite, you could tell the roux lacked any thickness.

In general, the result was not that bad, but not great either.

“…I don’t disagree, but you’re being quite direct.”

“Should I have been more subtle? Or would you rather be complimented?”

“No, it’s fine as it is. Since, superficial compliments are meaningless.”

“Yeah, I agree with you, we should be honest in these situations.”

Fundamentally, Asahi never failed to say “delicious” as a minimum of gratitude to the creator, but this time was a different story.

The purpose of this was to improve Fuyuka’s cooking skills, so he shouldn’t sugarcoat words.

However, just about anyone could give a harsh evaluation that it was not tasty.

What Asahi was expected to do afterwards was to use the failures as a springboard to present a plan for improvement and lead her to success.

The idea was to teach Fuyuka how to make it delicious from scratch.

To do this, they needed to find out one by one what went wrong.

This was not only limited to the cooking process, where there were a lot of visible errors, but also in the taste of the dish.

I took my time savoring the curry that was served to me and pouring it down my stomach, trying to find the smallest details.

When I had eaten more than half of it, I looked up and met Fuyuka’s eyes, who looked somber.

“…You don’t have to force yourself to eat it.”

“Hm? I’m not forcing myself.”

“It doesn’t taste good. That’s what you said.”

Perhaps she was worried that her cooking did not go very well.

Her normally indifferent voice sounded a little shaky, and her expression was slightly clouded.

It was only a small change, but recently he had come to understand these subtle differences.

“Please don’t force yourself. I think it would be better if you order a delivery, or make it yourself. I’ll pay for it, of course.”

“…You’re right, this curry doesn’t taste good.”

“Then―”

“But, you worked hard to make it. I can’t waste it like that.”

Don’t waste food, that was common sense.

It doesn’t suit my taste, I’m already full.

This was not to say that I deny all people who leave comments like this.

However, every dish had its creator.

Thinking of that person, and seeing him or her up front, it was not an option to waste the food.

“My first advice for you, the most important thing in cooking isn’t taste, it’s love.”

“…So you’re saying it’s the matter of feelings?”

“It’s like a secret ingredient that makes food taste good. What I’m talking about is how you feel about the person you’re serving the food to. It’s a basic technique that anyone can master, but is surprisingly difficult.”

As he spoke, Asahi remembered that her mother had told him the exact same thing when he was a child.

And recently, by coincidence, Chiaki had uttered the same words.

That was just him showing off, and I don’t think he put any deep meaning into it, but Hinami’s bento, which was made with love, was excellent.

In the end, the feeling of love made the food much more delicious. But it would be quite difficult for Fuyuka.

The message to be conveyed was that everything started with the basics.

“Everyone is like this at first. I didn’t start out as a good cook, either. So don’t worry about it so much, I’ll teach you until you learn how to make it good.”

He tried to be gentle, and chose his words to be as encouraging as possible.

It was no fun to be taught by someone who just spoke arrogantly.

One day, her heart may break at a moment’s notice.

So, as a teacher, it was important to give them words that would make them want to do their best.

Looking back on the past and remembering what my parents had said to me, it was easy to understand why I had been able to improve my cooking skills so much.

“Just to make sure, you want to be a good cook, right?”

“…Yes, that’s why I let myself be shamed like this.”

 

“You’re dissing yourself, is that fine?”

“Since it came to this, there’s no point in hiding it. I’m not very good at cooking, as you can see. But you’ll teach me, right?”

“Yeah, leave it to me. I’ll start teaching you seriously tomorrow, so be prepared.”

“As you wish. But I’m going to be harsh on teaching you today.”

“Ugh… Please go easy on me.”

 

Asahi’s cheeks twitched as he realized that they were going to keep each other company busy for a while.

But strangely, I don’t feel bad about it.

Before I knew it, the curry in my mouth seemed to have just a hint of flavor.

“Gochisousama.” [Thanks for the food.]

“It was delicious.” Asahi said while swallowing the words with a mouthful of water.

Still, he never forgot to thank the creator.

Finishing the meal without leaving a single grain of rice, and clasped his hands together towards Fuyuka, who had finished eating earlier.

“…I’ll try my best to get you to say it’s good someday.”

Fuyuka’s thin, cherry-red lips twitched as she said this.

If I’m not mistaken, her milky-white skin seemed to be faintly flushed.

One thing was for sure, Fuyuka smiled.

She smiled at none other than Asahi, this time was definitely done consciously.

‘She should be smiling like that all the time.’

She already had the same cool expression on her face as usual as she carried the dishes for the two of us into the sink, saying she was going to wash the dishes.

However, Asahi also gave a small smile as he felt that his face was gradually becoming softer and calmer.