I Was Reincarnated as a Mob, and After I Kept Listening to the Losing Childhood-Friend Heroine’s Complaints, I Somehow Maxed Out Her Affection Rating - 6

Chapter 6: After All the Effort I Put Into Making It

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Kaede’s POV

“Okay… Cabbage, mixed ground meat, consommé… Alright.”

At the supermarket’s fresh food section, I held a memo in one hand as I picked out ingredients for the next “Yuuta-kun requested menu.” Stuffed cabbage rolls. It had been a long time since I last made it. I’d been doing nothing but hamburg steak lately, so this felt kind of refreshing. And then…

“Hey, Kaede?”

…Great.

The voice belonged to Shouma. I absolutely hadn’t expected to run into him here.

“Ugh, why is Shouma even here?”

“Don’t ‘ugh’ me!? I’m a human too, you know—humans go to supermarkets!”

“The way you said that sounds like you’re asking people to be kind to a wild animal.”

“No! My parents just told me to ‘go buy toilet paper.’”

“I see. So you’re on a household-goods mission.”

“Yup. And you? That basket looks pretty serious. Oh, cabbage, mixed ground meat… don’t tell me you’re making rolled cabbage?”

“…Correct. And don’t peek in my basket.”

“C’mon, it’s not like it’ll hurt anything.”

“It’ll hurt my privacy.”

“Then give me some.”

“Huh?”

“The rolled cabbage. Give me one when you make it.”

“…Have Mio-chan make it for you. The two of you are all lovey-dovey now, right?”

“Your rolled cabbage is better.”

“What’s with that dead-on evaluation? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“Well, it is better. Oh, and hey. I haven’t had your hamburg steak in a while, either. The simmered one. That thing was straight-up godly.”

“…Such a demanding customer.”

“What? You used to make it for me all the time.”

Hearing that made me feel strangely awkward. It was true. we used to do “home-cooked meal dates” pretty often. The things I made then were stuffed cabbage and hamburg steak. Which meant, for Shouma, they were “flavors of the past.”

“…Fine. Next time.”

“For real!? Yessss!”

“Don’t react that happily, it’s embarrassing.”

“But seriously, Kaede, you’re amazing. Your cooking’s great, you’re fun to talk to, and you’re scary when you get mad.”

“That last one is unnecessary.”

“It’s a compliment.”

“You’re like the only person who can turn ‘scary’ into a compliment.”

“I’m the type who helps people grow by praising them.”

“You’re really saying that yourself?”

“I am.”

“…Haaah. You really haven’t changed.”

Even as I said that, I found myself smiling. This was the unfair part about Shouma.

“Okay, I’ll let you know when it’s done.”

“Oh, for real? I’m looking forward to it!”

“‘Operation Stuffed Cabbage—success guaranteed!’”

“…I’m done with you.”

Shouma made a little salute-like gesture, then walked toward the register looking satisfied, toilet paper in hand. As I watched him go, I thought to myself.

Seriously, he’s such a smooth talker.

But strangely, I didn’t feel annoyed. Seeing Shouma smile innocently like he used to mixed a bit of nostalgia into the warmth in my chest.

…Well, if it’s just cooking, I guess it’s fine.

Muttering that, I added another head of cabbage into my basket. One for Yuuta-kun. One for Shouma. Both made by me…But the feelings I put into each were completely different.

The next morning, in the cold air, I walked while holding a tote bag. Inside were the stuffed cabbages I had simmered slowly the night before. I had prepared separate portions for Yuuta-kun and for Shouma. Yes, because I’d been soft enough to go along with that “give me one too” joke at the supermarket.

…Maybe I shouldn’t have made his portion after all. But I’d made them already, so there was no point regretting it. I figured I’d at least give it to him while it was still warm, so I decided to stop by Shouma’s house before school.

Ding-dong.

“—nn, who is it… So early…”

A just-woke-up voice. Completely messy bed hair. When the door opened, a wild-haired Shouma appeared. Hoodie and sweatpants. Peak “weekend mode.” Just seeing his face made a little irritation bubble up.

“Morning, Shouma. I made the stuffed cabbage you asked for yesterday, so I brought it.”

“…Stuffed cabbage?”

“Yeah. You said you wanted it at the supermarket yesterday.”

“Oh—uh… Ah… Ah—”

His words got muddier and muddier. Yeah. I had nothing but bad vibes from this.

“…Did you forget?”

“No, I didn’t forget, it’s just… Last night, I kinda asked Mio if she’d make rolled cabbage for me…”

“…Excuse me?”

For a moment, my mind went completely blank. It was like his voice was echoing from far away. The smile from yesterday, our conversation, suddenly it all felt stupid.

“No, it’s not like that! It’s not that I forgot about you! I just…! There was a flow—”

“‘A flow,’ huh.”

Repeating that word made me realize my voice had dropped lower than usual.

“It’s fine. In that case, have Mio make it for you.”

“Kaede, I’m really sor—”

“No, really, don’t worry about it. I’ll just give this to the boy I’ve been eating lunch with.”

“Wait—hold on, I’ll eat it—!”

“It’s fine. You’re bad in the mornings, right? If you eat it, you’ll oversleep.”

Smiling, I turned on my heel. I stepped outside and the cold wind brushed against my face. Behind me, I heard, “I said I’m sorry!” but I had no intention of listening anymore.

“A flow,” huh.

That word clung to my mind like grease. No matter how “good the flow” was, someone who ignored people’s feelings was just insensitive. No. Calling him “insensitive” was too kind. He was a genius of being inconsiderate.

Do you know how long it took to make that?

Peeling each cabbage leaf, boiling them, wrapping the filling, simmering it.. Adjusting the flavor while remembering the face he made when he said it was “so good.” I never imagined all of that would get dumped into the “forgotten stew.”

“…Seriously, what an idiot.”

I muttered, my voice so cold it surprised even me. The container in my tote bag suddenly felt extremely heavy. With every step I took, the soup inside sloshed with a quiet splash, almost like it was echoing my unresolved frustration.

Fine. Then next time, I’ll teach you a flavor you won’t forget.

With a faint smirk tugging at my lips, I headed toward school. Behind me, I could still hear Shouma shouting, “Kaeedee!”, but the wind blew it all away.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー