Chapter 28: The Ice Lady Can’t Deal With Ghosts

A week had passed since the ball game, and Fuyuka who was standing in the kitchen was showing growth at a visible rate.

Today she made five dishes, which required a lot of washing up, but the dishes in the drainer were all equally shiny.

“What do you think…?”

“If I’m being generous, I’d say it’s about 8 out of 10.”

“Please score it correctly.”

“Then, it’s 7 out of 10. Even though you still take a while, use too much water and detergent… I think you’re making good progress, with this I think I won’t have to worry much.”

As expected of someone who was called a flawless person, with Asahi only teaching her once, she already mastered it fast.

Of course, there were still some things that needed improving, but It wouldn’t be surprising If she could score a 10 out of 10 before the exams.

But that was unfortunately limited only to washing dishes.

“You still have a long way before you learn to cook.”

“Wha- to praise then disappoint me, you’re really mean, you know?”

“It can’t be helped. It’s the truth, after all.”

Fuyuka had no sense in cooking – that was the conclusion that Asahi had made.

For the past week, Asahi had been cooking dinner and decided to let Fuyuka take care of the processes that a beginner would have no problem doing.

As the saying went, “Practice makes perfect,” it was no use just listening to the explanation. It should have been different, but Fuyuka kept failing at every turn.

When she cooked the rice, it was very watery and uncooked, and if she cut the vegetables, you would get uneven, thick chunks. [TL: how tf do you f*ck up rice when you have a rice cooker it’s just a press of a button.]

Thanks to this, Asahi was busy correcting the process of the cooking and making sure Fuyuka was in a good mood, and by the time it was time to eat, he was already exhausted.

‘Speaking of being mean, I’d say you should call God that… and not me’

As the saying went, “Heaven does not grant people more than one talent,” and it seemed that while Fuyuka had been bestowed with many talents, she had been abandoned by the cooking gods.

When it came to cooking, even if he taught her one thing, she would only learn one tenth of it, it could only mean one thing: she had no talent in cooking.

“Well, we’ll just have to be patient. They say it’s important to get used to things like this.”

“I think so, too. One day, I’m going to be better than you.”

“Hey, don’t get carried away. You burned it again today, didn’t you?”

“Aー, aー, I don’t hear anything. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You can hear me just fine, don’t you?”

Fuyuka’s voice was a little strained, and she covered her ears with her hands to block out Asahi’s words, as if she was a rebellious child who was sulking while being scolded by her parents.

Her expression and voice were as cool as ever, but the words she had said and the gestures she responded with were gradually showing glimpses appropriate to her age.

Recently, she had been able to smile a few times. Asahi slightly smiled when he saw how much she had changed since the beginning.

“…What are you smiling at? I’ve been noticing that grin on your face a lot lately.”

“It’s nothing. I’m just smiling.”

“Again, dodging the question… It’s uncommon for people to smile at nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s quite weird or rather it’s gross.”

“Ugh, that lowkey hurts.”

The cold gaze and words that deserved to be described as “ice” still existed, but even that coldness felt different than before.

In the past, Fuyuka’s every move contained the sharpness of an icicle that would relentlessly push the opponent away and build a thick wall in the middle to block them.

However, now it could be accepted as part of her way of communicating.

That was exactly like how Asahi would react to Chiaki, who often joked around.

“Ah, you laugh again… Are you seeing a ghost of a comedian or something?”

“Woah, how did you know? Just behind your back there’s a man in just his underwear―”

“Hya― I-Is that true?! Wh-where is the person that perverted….?!”

He was just joking around, but Fuyuka seemed to have taken it seriously and jumped off the edge of the sofa and retreated.

When he was with Fuyuka, he never got tired of seeing new sides of her.

Combined with the fact that she was mysterious to begin with, she looked strangely adorable. Asahi then proceeded to smile.

In the end, when he told the truth after teasing her for a while, Fuyuka turned away with a pout on her cheeks.

She seemed to be sulking rather than grumpy, and she seemed to be more demanding than usual during the study session, but it couldn’t be helped since she was trying to get revenge for earlier.

Nevertheless, the easy-to-understand and polite lessons were still intact.

“You’re really good at teaching, aren’t you, Himuro? And your English is so good that I can only assume you’ve lived abroad before.”

“…No need for obvious flattery.”

“No, I really mean it.”

He thought the heat had died down, but apparently Fuyuka was still in a bad mood.

Normally, they would have a short conversation before leaving, but today she was packing up her things and headed for the door, probably holding on to the fact that she was teased.

“I think it’s adorable that you’re afraid of ghosts…”

“Did you say something?”

“No, I didn’t say anything.”

He made a small comment that there was nothing to worry about, but instead got a sharp look, so it was best not to dig any deeper.

Fuyuka couldn’t deal with ghosts. Engraving that adorable fact in his mind, Asahi followed Fuyuka’s footsteps as she tried to leave.

“You do remember that I have plans tomorrow, right?”

“…Your friend is coming to visit, correct?”

“Right, right… Wait, no! You should cook something for yourself. I gave you a recipe book! Also, do be careful with the knife and stove―”

The last part was just him being a worrywart, but before he could say everything, the front door slammed shut with a slam.

The most important information, that a noisy couple would attack tomorrow, seemed to have been conveyed well, so there should be no major problems.

He was still wondering if Fuyuka would be able to cook for herself, but he taught her the basics and she seemed motivated, so surely she would be fine on her own.

And so, Asahi prepared himself for tomorrow’s event of inviting the lovebirds home.