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 53

“Now then, let the cooking battle… begin!”

The challenge I chose for today: appetizer, soup, and main dish.

To be honest, I had never made a full-course meal like those served in fancy restaurants. So, the dishes both Amatsuka and I could make were limited.

“Alright, let’s start by chopping the vegetables.”

“O-okay!”

Tomitsugu-senpai and his team were incredibly fast. So fast that it made no sense why they were in an academic-focused school like this. His partner, who assisted without getting in the way, had clearly been trained well—his movements were on a whole different level.

“…Well, this is to be expected.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Tomitsugu-senpai’s team is serious about this. And there are three of them.”

In this high school, a minimum of four members is required for a club to be officially recognized. Despite that, this club had three hardcore members. Casual members who couldn’t keep up with them quickly drifted away.

“Given Tomitsugu-senpai’s popularity, I thought they’d be able to recruit new members easily, but under these circumstances, it’s no wonder that hasn’t happened.”

“So they were looking for someone who could keep up with them, and they set their sights on you, Motobu-kun?”

“Probably? I don’t really know them.”

We were speaking quietly, of course. Now wasn’t the time to be leisurely analyzing the situation. It wasn’t a death game or anything, but I had set a 30-minute time limit because of the lettuce.

“Motobu-kun, it’s already been 10 minutes!”

“No problem.”

The prep work was done. I had a general idea of what Tomitsugu-senpai was making, and there was no clear overlap in the dishes.

“I’ll handle the appetizer and soup.”

“Huh?”

“So, Amatsuka-san, I’m counting on you for the main dish.”

I handed Amatsuka-san an egg. She was flustered by the sudden request.

It was only natural. We hadn’t even decided on a menu. Normal people don’t do cooking battles. This was the result of watching too much manga and anime.

“But…”

“I’ll support you.”

I said this with a smile. I wasn’t the one who picked this fight. Although it seemed like I had taken the lead in deciding the rules, it was cruel to push all the responsibility onto Amatsuka-san after seeing Senpai’s expert knife skills.

And in the end, if I ended up being forced to join the cooking club, I had already added a little of my own effort to the mix. That’s all there was to it.

“Alright.”

After taking a deep breath, Amatsuka-san started working. I had a guess about the dish she was going to make.

“Um…”

“Here you go.”

“Ah, thanks.”

I handed Amatsuka-san the bowl she was looking for and returned to preparing the appetizer and soup. Continuously reordering the steps in my head, I tackled each task one by one.

“I’ll leave this wet cloth here.”

“Thanks.”

I worked on both the soup and appetizer at the same time. The dishes weren’t too complicated, so I focused on supporting Amatsuka-san.

A drop of sweat trickled down her forehead. Her hands were shaking slightly from the tension.

“…”

Amatsuka-san placed the frying pan on the wet cloth and took a deep breath. This was the first time I had seen her so nervous. The audience buzzed with excitement as we competed in this cooking battle.

It’s just cooking. All we’re doing is making food. Yet, I could feel her tension spreading to me as well.

“…Motobu-kun…”

Amatsuka-san stood frozen, the frying pan still resting on the wet cloth.

“It’s okay.”

Even if we lost, I would just join the cooking club. That was all there was to it. There was no life-or-death consequence to losing.

“When you lose sight of why you’re cooking, think about who you most want to eat that meal.”

Cooking is pointless. Humans are just animals with relatively high intelligence.

Eating, sleeping, and mating—those are all that’s necessary. That’s the basic function of a sexually reproducing organism.

But we are human beings. And humans are strange creatures that enjoy pointless things. We use fire to make food taste good, season it, and even decorate it.

Anime, games, manga, novels, movies—all forms of entertainment are, ultimately, unnecessary. Yet, they drive billions of dollars in commerce.

“…Who do I most want to eat this meal with?”

“Yes. Even I always cook with someone in mind. If I were alone, a simple meal of rice with a raw egg would be enough.”

After my parents died, Chika and I were taken in by Manoka-san. All I could do was cook and do housework. There weren’t any happy stories.

So, at the very least, I wanted to make the cooking pleasant.

“Cooking for someone else—that’s what makes it cooking. If you’re eating alone, it’s just food.”

“…Haha. Calling it ‘just food’ is harsh, Motobu-kun.”

Amatsuka-san laughed. It really was a harsh thing to say, I even thought so.

“Then, because I don’t want this to be just food, I’ll make it while thinking of that person.”

“Yes.”

Slowly, she gripped the frying pan again.

“So, watch me.”

“Yes.”

She returned the frying pan to the heat source and focused intently.

When she first asked me to teach her how to cook, I never imagined she’d take it this seriously. It’s just cooking, but at the same time, it’s more than that.

The audience cheered, swayed by the ups and downs of the cooking battle.

It felt strange. But it was new. I had never been in a situation like this, watching a girl’s serious expression so closely.

“…It’s done…”

The perfectly flipped, bright yellow omelet. Amatsuka-san beamed at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. She looked as happy as a child.

“Now for the finishing touch.”

I handed her the ketchup.

“Okay!”

Without hesitation, she drew a red heart. To anyone else, it would just look like a regular omelet. But to Amatsuka-san, making this omelet so perfectly at this moment was a significant accomplishment.

“It’s complete. It’s perfect.”

“Yes!!”

Standing proudly in front of the finished dishes, Amatsuka-san seemed to be trying to hide her joyful expression by pressing her lips together. Seeing her like that made me smile warmly.