“All right then, let’s get cooking!”
Wearing a black apron, Erina-san rolled up her sleeves.
“Ohh!” “Erina-chan is really fired up!” “We get to eat hand-cooked food from Princess Erina and Archangel Amanel!”
It was time for cooking practice for Class 2-6.
Because of the alphabetical order of our names, I ended up in a group of four: Ando Natsutatsu, Ichikawa Amane, Kiumi Erina, and me, Takuto Konuma. Since I hardly talk to anyone else, this was a lifesaver...
“The menu is ‘Wakame and Tofu Miso Soup’ and ‘Pork Ginger’!”
Ichikawa, wearing a yellow apron with a chick drawing and the words ‘PIYO PIYO’ on it, read out the recipe printout for us.
“What about the rice? I want to eat rice!”
“The teacher is cooking the rice in that big rice cooker over there.”
“Ohhh! That’s the best!”
Ando is really high-energy... What exactly is ‘the best’ about that?
After returning a smile to Ando, Ichikawa lightly clapped her hands.
“There’s no point in all four of us making both dishes, so why don’t we split into two pairs? One for the miso soup and one for the ginger pork.”
Erina-san responded with a “Got it!” and raised her hand with a smile.
“Hey, hey, Takuto-kun, which one should we do? Personally, Erina thinks ginger pork isn’t very cute, so maybe miso soup would be better!”
She consulted me before anyone else.
“Hmm? Erina-chan, we haven’t decided the pairs yet.”
Ichikawa interjected, stepping in between us.
“Ehh? But Natsutatsu-kun can’t cook, right?”
“Yeah! I can’t!”
Why do you sound so proud of that, Ando?
“See? What about you, Takuto-kun?”
“I don’t know if it’ll taste great, but I can make things that are edible.”
I take turns doing the cooking at home with my sister, after all.
“Mm-hmm. Amane-chan can probably do it anyway, right? And Erina can’t do it!”
Even Erina-san was puffing out her chest about not being able to cook. Is that just the kind of band Cherry Boys is?
“In that case, a combination of the ‘can’t cook’ group—Erina and Natsutatsu-kun—and the ‘can cook’ group—Takuto-kun and Amane-chan—is impossible, right? Right, Takuto-kun?”
“I guess so...”
“I-I see... But, there’s also the option of me and Erina-chan, and Konuma-kun and Ando-kun, right?”
Ichikawa smiled at us with a troubled face.
“...So, Takuto-kun, is miso soup okay?”
“Erina-chan!?”
Don’t just ignore her because you couldn’t come up with a logical counter-argument; I feel bad for our band’s vocalist...
With the pairs decided more by momentum than anything else, the cooking practice started for now. (It seemed Ichikawa gave up since time was limited.)
The four of us surrounded a typical home economics room cooking station, which had two burners on one end and a sink on the other.
Me and Erina-san (the miso soup team) stood on the side near the classroom door, while Ichikawa and Ando (the ginger pork team) stood on the window side and began working.
“So, what should we do first?”
“Uhh...”
Even though I hesitated on what instructions to give, this wasn’t that difficult.
Essentially, we just had to make the broth, dissolve the miso, and add the tofu and dried wakame.
The ginger pork was also just mixing seasonings and frying them with the pork, so it wouldn't take much time. The menu was probably chosen because we had to prepare, cook, and clean up all within a 50-minute class period.
“Alright, can you put 500 milliliters of water in the pot and put it on the heat?”
“Yes! Understood!”
Saying that, Erina-san started pouring water into a measuring cup. Meanwhile, I measured out the bonito flakes for the broth.
When I happened to look up, my eyes met Ichikawa’s, who was holding a hair tie in her mouth as she tried to tie her hair back.
...I don’t know how to describe it, but anyway, it was a sight that made my heart feel tight.
Combined with the late morning sunlight coming through the window, her apron, and the hair tie in her mouth... for some reason, the sight stole my words away.
‘Hmm, what is it?’ Ichikawa tilted her head slightly without saying a word.
“Hey, Takuto-kuoon, please keep your hands moving.”
“A-Ah, sorry...”
Erina-san shook my shoulder, and I shook my head, thinking ‘bad, bad,’ and went back to work.
When I looked at Erina-san, thinking she might be pouting, she had that spiteful smile on her face again.
“Fuhihi.”
She actually said ‘fuhihi’... I don’t like this, it’s scary...
However, the cooking proceeded without any major issues.
The ginger pork team had finished dusting the pork loin with flour, grating the ginger, and mixing the seasonings.
On the miso soup team, Erina-san was moving quite proactively while asking for my instructions. Right now, she was dissolving the miso while I watched over her from the side.
“You’re surprisingly motivated, Erina-san.”
“Right? Erina thought that if I had a domestic side, I’d be the strongest!”
“It feels a bit weird for you to say that yourself...”
As I gave her an exasperated smile, she leaned her lips right up to my ear.
“When it comes to getting closer to ‘love,’ you have to give it your all, right?” she whispered.
“I guess so...”
Looking at Erina-san’s bright smile, it was strange because I felt a bit energized myself.
...Just as I was feeling relaxed, a chilling voice came from the side.
“Excuse me. I was thinking of starting to fry the meat once the miso soup taste-test is done, but how is it? It’s great that you’re having fun, but at that pace, we won’t finish on time.”
Since ginger pork cooks very quickly once you start, it seemed she was waiting to fry it so it would be ready at the same time as the miso soup.
Yeah, your cooking skills are high, Ichikawa... Also, you’re kind of scary, Ichikawa...
“Amane-chan is like a class president sometimes, isn’t she...”
Erina-san made a face and whispered to me.
“I mean, that’s literally her...”
“Come on, taste, it?”
“Uegh, fine, I get it.”
Hurried by Ichikawa Christel, Erina-san poured a tiny bit of miso soup into a small plastic dish. Just when I thought she was going to drink it, she looked up at me.
“Hey, Takuto-kun, what should Erina do with this?”
“I mean, there’s nothing to do but drink it, right?”
“Ehh, but it looks hot...?”
“Blow on it then...”
I felt like I was back when I first taught Yuzu how to cook.
Faithfully following what I said, Erina-san blew on the miso soup to cool it down before sipping it.
“Hmm...?”
“Is it a weird taste?” I asked Erina-san, who was tilting her head.
“No, Erina doesn’t usually drink miso soup, so I don’t know if this is right...”
“Are you serious?”
There it is, the girl who lived abroad... Then what do you usually drink? ‘Miso Soup’ but in English?
While I was suffering a bit of culture shock, Erina-san poured miso soup into the small dish again.
“Here, Takuto-kun, you try it.”
“O-Oh...”
Instead of handing me the dish, Erina-san held it out right to my mouth.
When I casually looked toward Ichikawa, she had a twitchy smile on her face. I’m scared...
Did she see my eyes move? The little devil’s eyes sparkled as if she’d thought of something.
“Ah, I see! It’s still too hot like this, right? Should Erina blow on it for you?”
“No, wait, Erina-san, you don’t need to do that...!”
Ignoring my attempt to stop her, Erina-san calculatedly blew on it and tried to hold the small dish to my mouth again.
At that moment.
“Ah.”
Erina-san’s hand slipped.
The small dish falling toward the floor seemed to happen in slow motion.
And to make matters worse, Erina-san, who had good reflexes, instinctively started to lean over to catch the dish before it hit the ground.
Right in the path of her movement was the handle of the pot filled with miso soup. At this rate, Erina-san was going to pull the whole pot over herself.
“Erina-san!!”
“Hya!?”
I instantly grabbed both of Erina-san’s arms and pulled her toward me.
The clattering sound of the plastic dish hitting the floor echoed around us.
“T-Takuto-kun...?”
“Hey!!”
Erina-san flinched at my voice.
“There are fires and knives here, it’s dangerous! What would you have done if you got burned!?”
“Y-Yes...”
Erina-san looked up at me with wide eyes.
Seeing that expression, I realized I had accidentally shouted.
“Uoh...”
Moreover, I realized I was in a position where I was basically holding Erina-san.
I hurriedly let go of her hands.
“S-Sorry for shouting... A-Are you hurt?”
“Y-Yeah... Takuto-kun, I’m sorry...?”
In contrast to me, who had awkwardly switched to formal speech, Erina-san apologized honestly.
“N-No, it’s not about me or anything, it’s just that it was dangerous for you, Erina-san...”
“So Takuto-kun makes that kind of face when he’s angry... That was, kind of, nice...”
I felt embarrassed, and Erina-san—I don’t know what was up with her—started fidgeting in front of me.
“Good grief, I can’t even be properly jealous now...”
From the side, I could hear Ichikawa’s sigh.
“Look, since Konuma and the others are dawdling, she says she can’t even start frying the ginger pork!”
To Ando, who had spoken for the first time in a while,
“Ando-kun...” “Natsutatsu-kun...”
The two girls looked at him with cold, lukewarm eyes.