I Was Unreasonably Dumped By My Girlfriend And Had My Heart Broken. When I Rescued A Beautiful Girl Who Was My Former Classmate And Idol In My Class From A Group Of Yarisa, My Gray College Life Started To Shine - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: It Seems I’ve Got Everyone’s Stomachs

Thanks to getting to know each other one-on-one, the freshmen welcome party that followed was quite lively.

I also joined the club and participated in conversations.

Things were going smoothly until it happened.

“Hey, there’s no more snacks left.”

“The pizza, yakitori, and appetizers are almost gone.”

“Aw, is there nothing left?”

All those dishes that seemed abundant had disappeared almost entirely.

Complaints arose from the seniors who seemed to be feeling the effects of alcohol.

While the conversation was lively, it seemed that the food had also been enjoyed.

The only thing left was edamame (green soybeans), and even that wasn’t enough for everyone.

“…There is something,”

At that moment, Vice President Shizuoka-senpai brought out ingredients before cooking.

Pork, eggplant, cabbage, and strangely, instant miso soup was bundled together in one bag.

There was an awe-filled reaction, but,

“It’s about someone cooking. By the way, I can’t do it. I can make miso soup though.”

In the next moment, silence fell.

Eventually, there was bargaining among the seniors.

It was like a “I can’t,” bargain sale.

But most of these people seemed to be pretty drunk.

In other words, they couldn’t be relied upon.

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!”

Indeed, one of the seniors who said this started juggling with eggplants.

Even though it wasn’t funny at all, the seniors laughed uproariously.

Yeah, this won’t work.

If we let these people cook, it might end up in a fire.

Fortunately, I had some cooking experience.

My parents both worked, and I had a younger sister, so I had many opportunities to cook.

Feeling a bit too intrusive, I was about to raise my hand when someone beat me to it.

“Okay! Then, I’ll do it!”

Extending her slender arm confidently was Aoba.

“Everyone, just keep chatting. I’ll whip something up real quick.”

Lowering her raised arm and clenching her fist, her face showed unwavering confidence.

This seemed to reassure both the seniors and the freshmen.

“Is it okay?! Thank you so much!”

“Alright, Aoba-san’s homemade dish!”

Conversation resumed once again.

While I remained in the circle, my eyes wandered toward her as she entered the kitchenette.

After handling the ingredients, she placed a whole cabbage on the cutting board.

Then, right in the middle, she made a deep cut with the knife.

However, no knife can easily cut a whole cabbage. Finally, she began using both hands to hold the knife, so I hurriedly went over to the kitchen.

I quickly stopped Aoba’s hand.

“What’s wrong, Nogami-kun?”

“What’s wrong? What are you doing, Aoba?”

“What do you mean, I’m cutting it?”

“Normally, you don’t cut it so vigorously.”

The knife had deeply pierced the core of the cabbage and got stuck.

I carefully removed it and started peeling off the outer leaves.

Then, I flattened it and began cutting.

“Oh, that’s how you do it. It’s definitely safer that way. But the recipe sites didn’t mention it.”

“…I usually stir-fry. Why did you volunteer for this in the first place?”

“I just started cooking for myself the other day. I made something pretty decent, so I thought I could do this!”

Her thought process was too simple and straightforward.

Probably, she was also doing some crazy cooking at that time.

I smiled wryly as I finished chopping the cabbage.

Then, I removed the stems from the eggplants and sliced them thinly.

“Nogami-kun, you’re good! Surprisingly!”

By then, Aoba had completely switched to spectator mode.

“Can I stop now?”

“Yeah. Ahaha, it seems like it was too early for me after all.”

“Then, go back there?”

“No, I’ll stay here and watch. It’ll be helpful for me to see.”

I felt a rather intense gaze on me.

It was hard to ignore.

But I did my best not to pay attention and continued cooking calmly.

Stir-frying the eggplant, cabbage, and pork together, I seasoned it with instant miso soup.

Thus, the “Instant Eggplant-Cabbage-Pork Miso Stir-Fry” turned out to be quite popular despite its simple seasoning.

After serving it on paper plates, it quickly disappeared.

Aoba, in particular, was devouring it one after another.

In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she ate the most.

“This is delicious! I’d pay for this!”

“Well, of course. It’s seasoned with instant miso soup.”

“It’s not just that. It’s all thanks to Nogami-kun’s skill. I wouldn’t have made it this good.”

And with that, the conversation shifted back again.