A Story About a Blonde Gal Angel Who Excessively Praises My Cooking. After Asking Me to Teach Her How to Cook, Feelings of Mutual Love Began to Grow - Chapter 51-52

Chapter 51: The Full-Time Househusband Is Already Fighting Before the Battle Begins

The hallway leading to the home economics room.

As the fired-up Amatsuka-san and Tomitsugu-senpai walked down the hallway, sparks flying between them, the few remaining students whispered to each other as they watched.

…This situation keeps heading in a worse direction, making my stomach ache.

I tried to rally myself by reminding myself that I’m a full-time househusband, but no amount of self-motivation is going to buy me lettuce.

Seriously, lettuce can get really expensive at times.

Manoka-san loves tuna carpaccio, and I wanted to make a salad.

“Amatsuka-san.”

“What is it, Motobu-kun?”

“…You were talking big, but Amatsuka-san, can you actually win? That person is probably pretty good at cooking.”

“Huh?”

“I noticed a callus from using a knife between the base and second joint of his right index finger.”

“A callus? Oh, that’s cute!”

“No, it’s not just a cute thing.”

Just like how a baseball player’s hands become rough from daily practice, cooking can cause similar changes.

For a chef, the location of a knife callus can vary depending on the person and the type of cuisine they specialize in.

Tomitsugu-senpai likely takes care of his hands daily. The callus wasn’t too noticeable, but they were definitely the hands of someone who cooks. Anyone else might have missed it.

“Amatsuka-san, if you go one-on-one, you probably won’t win…”

“…It’s fine! You’re here, Motobu-kun. With you as my mentor, we’ll definitely win!”

“…I hope so.”

“Is your strategy meeting over? Or have you already written your name on the application form?”

Tomitsugu-senpai confidently smirked, already convinced of his victory. Despite having a smaller chest than Amatsuka-san, he puffed it out with pride. He must be very confident.

“Tomitsugu-senpai, since your side was the one to challenge us, does that mean we can choose the contest theme? I wouldn’t expect someone like you, the club president, to not allow such a concession, but I just wanted to confirm.”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Great. I’m relieved. A chef is in a service profession. Meeting the customer’s demands is part of a chef’s skill set.”

“Hmph, naturally.”

Alright, I’ve got their word. We can decide the rules ourselves, which gives us a significant advantage.

“Amatsuka-san, remember this.”

“Hmm?”

“A full-time househusband’s battle begins long before the actual fight.”

We full-time househusbands survive the daily battlefield of shopping by finding good deals in flyers, considering the weather, and predicting how other customers will act based on TV information.

Shopping expenses, nutrition, time-saving, efficiency. How to balance all of these? As someone who protects the household, I’ll give it my all to win.

“Alright, we’re here.”

Tomitsugu-senpai opened the door to the home economics room and gestured with his chin for us to “enter.”

Even though we have the advantage of setting the rules, this place is enemy territory for Amatsuka-san and me.

Considering that this is Tomitsugu-senpai’s home ground, we’re at a significant disadvantage. We might not even have the cooking tools that we needed.

For some chefs, their tools are so important that they won’t let anyone else touch their knives.

“Before we decide the rules, could I check the cooking tools and ingredients?”

“Do as you like.”

Since this cooking competition was suddenly arranged, there aren’t many ingredients available. I don’t want to shop for more ingredients now, especially since I need to buy lettuce. We’ll have to narrow down the theme using the ingredients available here.

The cooking tools are average. I’m still not used to cooking with an induction stove. When I touched the knife’s blade with my finger, it seemed well-maintained and sharp.

“They’re properly sharpened.”

“It’s part of our cooking club’s work.”

If the knife was too dull, the tomato would be crushed, the meat would be hard to cut, and the risk of injury would increase. It seems they handle the tasks associated with using the home economics room well.

“I’ve got a general idea.”

“Huh? Motobu-kun, are you a detective? What did you figure out? Was there a murder?”

“No, not that.”

“I just got a rough understanding of the situation.”

I’ve grasped the state of the tools. The problem now is Tomitsugu-senpai’s skill level.

If Tomitsugu-senpai is significantly better at cooking, then we could set a rule where the dishes are made in pairs, which might cause the other members to hold him back.

There are two other members besides Tomitsugu-senpai. One is the girl who chased after him earlier, and the other is a quiet-looking girl with bobbed black hair and glasses.

These two members don’t seem as confident as Tomitsugu-senpai. They look bewildered, probably because they just found out about the cooking competition. But we’re more bewildered, honestly. This was so sudden.

But there’s no turning back. For the sake of the lettuce, we have to do this. I took out my waist apron from my bag and tied it on.

“Then, here are the rules.”

Let’s end this quickly with the power of a full-time househusband, against the arrogant red-haired chef.

—

Chapter 52: People Love Festivals

The time had passed by 4:30 PM.

“The rules of the competition are to prepare three dishes—an appetizer, a main course, and a soup—in 30 minutes. And the work must be done in pairs. Since Amatsuka-san and I are being recruited into the club, I request that Tomitsugu-senpai and her partner also cook in pairs.”

Tomitsugu-senpai, with her high and mighty attitude, and the two laid-back club members.

Kitchens are usually cramped. Without good teamwork, you might fumble and mess up the delicate balance of heat. If you can’t perform under such tight conditions, you can’t really call yourself a top-notch chef. Not that I’d know.

“And the main dish must include eggs.”

“That’s a basic cooking ingredient.”

Eggs are a fundamental ingredient in all cuisines. They’re used in baking and are eaten in every country. They’re a versatile food, essential to many dishes, whether as the star or a supporting role.

“But… Motobu-kun, what if I drag you down?”

“Don’t worry.”

You were so eager to accept the challenge earlier, Amatsuka-san, so don’t start getting nervous now.

I’ve been teaching Amatsuka-san how to cook for a while, and I know her cooking pace well.

“We’re not doing anything new today, and I’ll be there to help.”

“But… do you think I’ll be okay?”

“Aren’t you my apprentice?”

Since my apprentice picked a fight, I can’t buy lettuce. You need to grow a bit through this, or it won’t be worth it. If you master your skills and graduate from being my apprentice, I can go back to my old life.

“Yeah, I’ll do my best!”

Regaining her motivation, Amatsuka-san clenched her fists again.

“And as for the judging, we’ll have the teachers remaining in the staff room vote on the dishes. They won’t know who made which dish when they cast their votes.”

“No problem. The outcome is obvious.”

Despite this being a tag-team match, Tomitsugu-senpai seems completely confident. Was this choice a mistake? We won’t know until we see how it turns out.

“Then, could the club member who isn’t paired with Tomitsugu-senpai manage the stopwatch?”

Everyone prepared their aprons and got ready for the cooking competition.

“Hey, I heard Amatsuka-chan is going to have a cooking competition!”

“Wait, isn’t that second-year student Tomitsu-san? Are they really going to compete?”

“It’s a cooking battle between last year’s first-year beauty contest winner, Tomitsu-san, and this year’s first-year candidate, Amatsuka-san!”

“A cooking competition? This is like a TV show!”

“Who’s that guy with them?”

“He totally looks like a background character.”

Since they had seen us walking through the hallway with tense expressions earlier, the gallery was slowly gathering.

Given the nature of the home economics room, it’s not a place where students frequently hang around, but it seems that Tomitsugu-senpai is a somewhat popular student. And then there’s Amatsuka-san. It’s no wonder the gallery is starting to gather.

But seriously, just go home already…

I want to go to the supermarket.

“Amatsuka-chaaaan! Good luck!!”

“Amatsuka-san looks so cute in that apron. Maybe she could be my wife.”

“She’s definitely not going to be your wife.”

“Shut up!”

Amatsuka-san’s fans were cheering her on. As expected, Amatsuka-san is popular.

“What should we do, Motobu-kun? There are so many people…”

“Yeah… Honestly, I find this really hard to do too.”

Luckily, thanks to Amatsuka-san acting as a lightning rod, I’m truly treated like a “background character.” And that’s fine. I’m used to it. But now Amatsuka-san is starting to get nervous.

“You don’t seem very confident,” Tomitsugu-senpai said, smiling gracefully.

If you’re so popular, why don’t you just recruit some fans as club members…

Ah, how did things get so out of hand?

No, this probably all started because I decided to eat my lunch in the classroom.

A normal “background character” wouldn’t get caught up in an event like this.