Lonely Me And The Lonely Caring Goddess - Chapter 269: Be Careful For Just One Second.

Be Careful For Just One Second.

“That concludes the general explanation. Does anyone have any questions?”

The broad overview of how to handle knives, the tricks for using a frying pan, and other tools had come to an end. There were probably countless finer points she could have covered, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the luxury of time for such details—nor would they stick in such a short session.

This time, the only goal was for each of us to be able to prepare the dish we’d been assigned. Theory and technique could wait; we just had to memorize Sara-san’s instructions and follow them to the letter. That was the entire point of today’s cooking class.

I casually glanced around the room. Not only the girls, but even the boys were listening with an intensity I’d never seen before. As far as I could remember, none of the guys ever paid this much attention in regular lessons.

It was obviously because this was Sara-san’s class… but still, talk about fair-weather fans.

On closer inspection, their gazes kept darting back and forth between her hands and her face. Seeing them like this made me want to grab them by the collar and demand whether they were actually listening properly.

If, after all this, any of them dared to say they couldn’t manage when it came time to cook… I’d make every last one kneel and apologize to Sara-san on the spot.

In the end, no real questions came up—though the girls looked oddly fidgety, as if they were dying to say something. If it was about cooking, they could just ask outright, so I had a bad feeling they were plotting something else entirely.

“Well then, since there don’t seem to be any questions, please return to your assigned tables and—”

“Yeees! I have a question!”

One of the girls shot her right hand into the air like an eager elementary schooler desperate to be called on. The blatantly mischievous grin on her face filled me with dread…

“Yes? Go ahead,” Sara-san replied, seemingly unbothered, calmly prompting her to continue.

Even in a casual exchange like this, it was clear how much warmer and more approachable Sara-san had become compared to before. But that very openness probably made the girls feel they could pounce; this might be their chance to get close to someone they rarely had the opportunity to talk to.

Of course, that leniency only extended to the girls. If a boy tried the same thing… well, the outcome was obvious.

“Does Sara-senpai like cats?”

“Eh? Well… yes, I do like cats, but… why do you ask?”

Another completely off-topic question. Sara-san blinked in innocent confusion. We were short on time—why were they derailing things again?

“Your apron is super cute, and that cat hair clip is adorable too~”

“Right? I thought the same! The apron is just too cute, isn’t it!?”

Ah… here we go again, the exact same pattern as before.

The girls started chanting “cute, cute” in unison, and the commotion gradually snowballed. I understood wanting to bond with the usually unapproachable Sara-san, but at this rate we’d never move forward.

“Fufu… thank you. This apron is one of my treasures.”

That said, having her favorite apron praised clearly pleased her; a delighted smile bloomed across her face.

Ever since the day I gave it to her, Sara-san had worn it religiously whenever she did housework. She owned other aprons, but she refused to touch them, washing this one at night so it would be ready again by morning—an impressive rotation.

I was happy she loved it that much, but relying on a single apron did seem inconvenient…

…Oh. Right. I could just buy her a new one.

Once that idea settled in, my mind immediately jumped to planning a date—no, wait, wrong timing.

“Really?”

“Your treasure…? Wait—!”

“Could it be… that’s from Takanashi—”

Well… given the flow of the conversation, that guess was only natural.

The girls’ eyes unmistakably shifted toward me… and, as a bonus, the boys sent over some indescribable looks as well.

“Yes. This apron was the very first gift I ever received from Kazunari-san. And that day was also the anniversary of our first date. To me, it’s a treasure filled with memories I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

Sara-san gently lifted the hem of the apron, smiling blissfully. Then she turned toward me, and our eyes met perfectly. For a moment we simply gazed at each other, our sights entwined—until a faint, bashful blush colored her cheeks…

C-cute… That’s unfair, Sara-san…

“Gufufufu… I can feel it… an overwhelming rom-com aura…”

“Takanashi’s got game, huh…”

“Choosing an apron scores major points.”

“Yeah, seriously. He didn’t go for something generic like accessories—he really thought about what Sara-senpai would love.”

“Takanashi’s secretly a master, isn’t he?”

Ugh, this is unbearable!

What is this public humiliation? I couldn’t tell if they were praising or teasing me, but being grinned at from all sides was excruciating.

“Hey, Takanashi-kun! Was that apron some kind of move on Sara-senpai!?”

“Huh?”

And now the spotlight had finally swung to me.

A move? I’d bought it purely as a thank-you gift, nothing more… I think. Probably.

“As iiif~ You’re playing dumb~”

“You were totally thinking, ‘Wear this while making miso soup for me,’ right!?”

“Wha—!? No, wait, I—”

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“That’s basically a proposal, isn’t it!?”

“Takanashi-kun, that’s way too heavy! Too soon!!”

They weren’t listening to a word I said.

The girls spiraled off into their own wild fantasies, completely ignoring me as the story snowballed.

Come to think of it, the same thing happened when they misunderstood my relationship with Hanako-san.

“D-date with Sara-senpai… p-proposal…”

“UgYAAAAAAA!! Why does it keep coming back to that?!”

“Stooop… reality hurts too much…”

Funny—those were exactly my thoughts right now.

If I left it alone, things would only get worse; if I tried to intervene, they’d probably get worse anyway. Either way, more ridiculous fabrications were guaranteed.

But if I didn’t put a stop to this soon, the whole cooking class would fall hopelessly behind…

“Hmm… so you were already making moves on your future wife way back then?”

Even Hanako-san, sitting beside me, muttered that with a sulky pout, fixing me with an adorably sullen glare.

Wait—don’t tell me even she was getting dragged into their nonsense…

“N-no, you’re reading too much into it…”

“Everyone, please don’t tease Kazunari-san too much! Let’s move on.”

Whether she noticed my distress or not, Sara-san suddenly spoke in a firmer tone, reining in the chaos.

“““Yeees, ma’am!”””

The girls answered in perfect unison, like obedient little kids.

What is wrong with this class…

Until today, I’d thought the boys were the only ones I needed to watch out for. Now it felt like the girls were the far greater threat.

Let my guard down for a second, and they might sniff out things I really didn’t want them knowing…

***

Once Sara-san finished her explanations, the class split into predetermined groups and moved to their tables.

From here, each group would start preparing their assigned dish. Ours was omurice.

In a maid & butler café—er, I mean, concept café—omurice was the undisputed classic, practically the poster child of the menu. Naturally, our group was larger than the others, and I’d been added to it as well.

As everyone knew, I’d be tied up with student council duties on the day of the festival, so I couldn’t help serve. That was exactly why I wanted to contribute meaningfully to the preparation stage. That’s how I ended up on this menu—and, just as predictably, Hanako-san had volunteered for the same group.

Though, unlike me, Hanako-san’s festival duties were flexible enough that she didn’t actually need to stick with the student council all day.

What was she planning?

“Hey, Hanako-san. What’ll you do on the day?”

“If Kazunari isn’t participating here, then neither will I.”

Classic Hanako-san—exactly the answer I expected, yet I still felt a pang of waste. She had the freedom to join the café, and throwing that away seemed a shame…

“You could still help out here for part of the time, at least…”

“Mm. Even so, I want to be with Kazunari… and with everyone.”

“I see.”

Yeah… of course.

I mentally kicked myself for asking something so obvious. If that’s what Hanako-san wanted, I had no right to argue. Sara-san and I had already decided to stay together the whole day anyway; adding Hanako-san to that plan was only natural.

Yūji and Nishikawa-san would join us too. At this rate, we might as well turn the festival into our own private party with just the gang—it actually sounded pretty great.

“Fufu… Kazunari, are you happy?”

“Hm? About what?”

“Because you just smiled like you’re really looking forward to it.”

Damn, I hadn’t realized it showed on my face.

Hanako-san giggled softly, grabbing my left hand and swinging it playfully back and forth. Seeing her this openly happy was rare, and it lifted my own spirits in turn.

“Are you happy because you’ll be with big sis?”

“I’m just excited for the festival to be fun, that’s all.”

“Muu… Kazunari’s never honest. But that part of you is cute too.”

“H-hey…”

Please stop saying things like that out of the blue—it’s embarrassing.

But Hanako-san getting this excited was genuinely unusual. It must mean she was really looking forward to spending the festival with us.

“…Uhyahya, those two are disgustingly lovey-dovey over here too…”

“…Mmm, the air is thick with sweetness… even from this side…”

“…Still, it’s a shame Hanazaki-san won’t be in maid outfit…”

“…Yeah. Getting in the way when she’s that happy would feel wrong…”

“…Hanazaki-san’s maid outfit… I was so looking forward to it…”

“…My tsundere loli maid dream…!”

“…Takanashi again, seriously…”

Damn it, I basically fed them myself…

“Yes, please be especially careful with that part. As long as you remember that, a little imprecision elsewhere is fine.”

Just as I was trying to refocus, Sara-san’s voice carried over from behind me.

Right—she was taking this seriously. This was no time to get distracted.

I switched mental gears, then called out to the others.

“Sorry for the side chatter, guys. Let’s get started.”

“Whoops, right.”

“Shall we start chopping vegetables, then?”

“Where should we begin?”

“Why don’t we just divide tasks first?”

Everyone had heard Sara-san too; they put away the jokes and reached for the potatoes, carrots, and onions laid out on the table, moving them to their cutting boards.

We double-checked her earlier pointers with each other, gripped our knives, and slowly began.

Alright—I need to start too.

***

Hold it carefully… place my guiding hand like this… grip the knife like that…

I replayed Sara-san’s demonstration in my mind, confirming each motion. No rushing—slow, deliberate, and… well, a little terrified, honestly. I’d only ever used a kitchen knife a handful of times in home ec; this was basically new territory.

I tried slicing the potato in front of me…

…Huh? It’s not cutting. The knife barely moves.

That’s weird… let me remember Sara-san’s explanation again…

“Kazunari, don’t just push down from above. Hold the vegetable like this, and press forward…”

Shton!

As Hanako-san demonstrated, the carrot beneath her blade parted with a satisfying, crisp sound.

“Oh!”

Right—that was exactly how Sara-san had done it.

“Amazing, Hanako-san.”

“Fufu… of course. Your big sis can handle this much easily. You try, Kazunari.”

“O-okay…”

Smiling at Hanako-san’s proud little smirk, I steeled myself and brought the knife to the potato again.

This time I pressed forward, guiding the blade through…

Shton!

“It cut!”

Just changing the motion made all the difference—the potato that had resisted so stubbornly now yielded effortlessly.

“You’re doing great, Kazunari-san.”

!?

Sara-san’s voice from the side startled me; I hadn’t noticed her approach.

She must have heard my earlier exclamation…

“S-Sara-san, that just now was—”

“Fufu… you’re adorable, Kazunari-san ♪ I’ll give you lots of headpats later, so do your best until then, okay?”

…Yeah, she definitely heard everything—and noticed how embarrassed I was too. At this point, being read like an open book by her didn’t even surprise me anymore.

More importantly—headpats…? I’d asked her not to treat me specially in public… though of course I was secretly thrilled.

“…Haa haa haa… Sara-senpai’s being all sweet… guhah!”

“…Whoa… what was that…? She’s like a completely different person…”

“…Gufufu… Sara-senpai… eye candy…”

“Alright! Nailed it!!”

“Sara-senpai!! Look, look—I did it just like you taught us, and it cut so fast!!”

“Mine’s even better!! Sara-senpai, look at me!!”

…Yeah, called it.

Those idiots were so predictable. And now they were getting carried away trying to talk to her—

“I told you to go slowly. If you can’t even follow basic instructions, go mess around at another table.”

“Ah…”

“U-um…”

“S-Sara-senpai…”

“And you two over there—if you keep ignoring directions, you’re out!”

“Eek!?”

“S-sorry!!!!”

…Yep, there it is.

The gentle smile she reserved for me had vanished without a trace.

But she was absolutely right. We were the ones who’d asked for her help; ignoring her instructions made us completely at fault. They deserved the scolding—and if they got kicked out, they’d have no one to blame but themselves.

Thankfully there were plenty of others handling omurice, so losing a few wouldn’t hurt.

“Scary…”

“As expected, Sara-senpai hasn’t changed at all.”

“More like the gap between her and Takanashi is insane…”

“No, no—that just proves Takanashi’s special to her.”

“Phew, good thing I kept my mouth shut…”

“Damn it… the difference in treatment is brutal… I could cry…”

“Good boy headpats… from Sara-senpai…”

“Uooooh, why only Takanashi?!”

“Hah, what a bunch of morons.”

“No surprise there. Any idiot who thinks Sara-senpai’s gotten softer on guys just because of Takanashi is beyond help.”

“…Kawamura, you’re as harsh as ever.”

Like Kawamura said—if anyone truly believed Sara-san had warmed up to boys in general, they were sorely mistaken.

Still, the atmosphere had tightened nicely. Fewer idiots would slack off now. I could focus on my work in peace.

All that was left… was making it up to Sara-san later for the unpleasantness. Definitely not because I wanted to be spoiled, okay?

***

As expected, that incident lit a fire under everyone; at last, the whole class buckled down.

The ones who’d been scolded avoided expulsion, but the silent pressure from the rest of the group—especially the girls—turned their seats into a bed of nails.

That aside…

“Sara-senpai, what should I do here!?”

“Sara-senpai, please check this!!”

The boys kept calling her over for the flimsiest reasons (or so it seemed to me), and it was starting to grate.

They were working properly, though, so if I made a scene I’d be the one getting flak…

Shton…

Shton…

“…Kazunari… you’re not… paying attention…”

I knew this was just petty jealousy. Sara-san was only doing her job, and getting possessive would be selfish…

Shton…

Shton…

“Kazunari, you’ll hurt yourself if you don’t concentrate…”

Huh?

Did Hanako-san just say something?

“Hanako-san, what did you—”

Sharp pain lanced through my fingertip. I looked down instantly.

…Crap. Blood.

I’d completely forgotten to curl my fingers while lost in thought—exactly what Sara-san had warned against. It didn’t hurt that much, and it wasn’t deep, so I figured it was fine…

“Kazunari!? Honey!!!!”

“Kazunari-san!?”

But to the people watching, it obviously wasn’t “fine” at all.

Hanako-san frantically called for Sara-san, who rushed back with alarm written across her face.

Looks like I owe her another apology…