Tanaka-san Is Cuter Than the Main Heroine - Chapter 35: An “Ahh” from Tanaka-san?

Chapter 35: An “Ahh” from Tanaka-san?

A short while later, I was off to the side doing dishes alone, with the tan-tan-tan rhythm of a knife slicing skillfully behind me.

“Whoa, Tanaka-san! You’re super good with a knife! Do you cook a lot at home?”

One of the girls in our group must’ve noticed her flawless chopping skills and spoke up, clearly impressed.

“Yes. I make dinner sometimes… and occasionally pack my own lunch, too.”

“Really? That’s so impressive, Tanaka-san!”

“N-Not really! I just do it because I want to…”

Tanaka-san started talking a little faster after the compliment.

So cute!

I really wanted to jump into the conversation too, but that cursed onion war zone kept me from even looking in her direction.

Dang it!

I wanted to see her blushing face sooo bad!

Ugh… I should’ve just gone with the “bad eyesight” excuse and worn goggles after all.

Too late now, though.

To avoid breaking down in tears in front of the entire class, I quietly resigned myself to dish duty—helping out not only my group, but other groups too—until every last onion in the room had been vanquished.

A few times, I could feel someone’s eyes on me…

But I didn’t dare turn around.

One glance, and I’d probably start bawling like a broken faucet.

“Wanna make the sauce?”

“Oh, done with dishes already? Sure, that’d be great.”

“Nakayama-kun, don’t mess up the measurements, okay~?”

“Relax. I’m not gonna screw up something that simple.”

(I’ve practiced this at home like a million times.)

Finally, the hellish part of class came to an end.

Trying to keep my expression cool and casual, I grabbed a small saucepan—

Though inside? I was hyped out of my mind.

I walked over and stood beside Tanaka-san, who was busy sautéing onions, and set the pot down on the free burner next to her.

She turned to face me.

“Nakayama-kun. Thanks for handling all the dishes. I’m sorry I couldn’t come help… I had my hands full and just couldn’t get away, so I ended up leaving it all to you.”

She lowered her head apologetically.

She had her own job to do, yet she still wanted to help me?

What a wonderful, wonderful girl.

I’m in love.

Not that I’d say that out loud.

But just knowing she was thinking about me while I worked…

That alone made scrubbing all those dishes totally worth it.

“Don’t worry about it. I mean, in cooking class, it’s kind of tradition for the guys to get stuck with dish duty anyway. But if you really wanna make it up to me—make an insanely tasty hamburg steak.”

I shot her a grin.

“Honestly? I’ve been kinda looking forward to getting a taste of your cooking today.”

So when I said that, Tanaka-san responded with a bright, cheerful—

“Got it! I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations!”

Then she puffed up her chest and struck a little guts pose.

—Adorable.

—Super huggable.

—Bare minimum, I wanna snap a pic.

Yeah… my emotional stability was this close to collapsing.

If I had a mental stamina bar on screen, I’d be sitting below 10%.

Trying to hide my rapidly melting face, I slapped a hand over it and quickly reached for the seasoning on the table to play it cool.

Then, diving deep into my memory, I pulled out the sauce recipe I’d practiced to death the night before.

Measuring everything carefully, I started adding the ingredients one by one.

Once it came to a light boil, the pot released a sweet, mouthwatering aroma.

“Nice. Nailed it.”

I dipped in with a measuring spoon for a quick taste and just like during practice, it was perfect.

I’d secretly been freaking out about messing up the quantities, so I finally let out a long breath of relief.

And then—

“Yo, seriously? That good? Let me try some too!”

One of the guys in my group wandered over and asked for a taste.

Here we go.

Classic sample leech.

There’s always one of these dudes in every class since elementary school.

He didn’t even hesitate—snatched the spoon I’d just used, and went full indirect kiss on me like it was nothing.

If it were with a girl (read: Tanaka-san), I might’ve processed it differently.

But from a dude?

Yeah… no thanks.

Not cute. Not fun.

Just emotionally scarring.

And now all I could think about were the creepy onlookers who’d totally ship that for laughs.

Shivers.

“Alright, alright. Go grab one of those little plates over there.”

Yep—this time, I was ready.

This was a move I’d perfected way back in middle school.

My tried-and-true technique to avoid the dreaded indirect kiss scenario.

“Oh, gotcha!”

Just as planned, Classmate A (a.k.a. Akizora) brought over a tiny plate.

“Whoa, this is so good!”

“Told you!”

“Hey, no fair! I wanna try too!”

“Me too! Me too!”

And just like that, once one person had a taste, the floodgates opened.

Everyone else in our group started chiming in.

I let out a small chuckle at these wild animals I call classmates and dished out samples onto little plates for each of them.

When it came time for the girls to try, I politely reached for a fresh spoon—only to get hit with the glare.

You know the one.

The look that says, “Stop stalling and feed me already.”

…Yeah. I caved.

Apparently, hunger > hygiene in this group.

Seriously, how food-motivated is my team?

“May I have some too?”

Just as I was thinking that—

The biggest foodie of them all appeared.

I couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her, remembering how Tanaka-san always showed up to school with a piece of bread in her mouth like a walking anime cliché.

I reached for the sauce and moved to pour some into a small dish for her…

Only to freeze mid-scoop.

“Wha—!? Tanaka-san, where’s your plate?”

To my utter shock—Tanaka-san didn’t have a plate.

Which made no sense.

There should’ve been exactly enough small plates for everyone in our group.

So where’d hers go?

I glanced around the room… and spotted Fuyusara over by the teacher, looking sheepish as she handed over a plate… snapped clean in half.

Ah—right. Totally forgot.

She’s got Got it now.t.

Got it now.

Sweet, considerate Tanaka-san must’ve secretly given her plate to Fuyusara’s group so she wouldn’t feel bad.

—What a saint!

Tanaka-san is seriously a living goddess!

Wait, no!

Now’s not the time to be emotionally overwhelmed by her kindness!

This is literally the one time that backfires!

(Okay, okay… maybe I pour the sauce on her hand? No, no—that might burn her. What about borrowing a plate from one of the other girls—)

My brain kicked into overdrive, scrambling for the optimal solution…

But before I could finish processing—

Tanaka-san beat me to the punch.

“Um… I don’t have a plate, so… could you put it in this?”

She held out…

A bowl meant for holding rice paddles.

And the moment I saw it…

A tidal wave of relief washed over me—

Immediately followed by a strange, unexplainable sense of disappointment.

(Yeah… makes sense. No way something like an indirect kiss would actually happen. Natsuse and heroines, maybe—but us background extras? Yeah, no chance. No textbook romcom moments for us.)

“This is really delicious. Nakayama-kun, you’re good at cooking too?”

“Y-Yeah? Thanks.”

Still, I’m embarrassingly easy to please—

So the second Tanaka-san praised me, my mood shot straight through the roof.

(All that practice yesterday totally paid off!!)

I shed a tear of joy.

Spiritually. On the inside.

After that, I started working on the report with a little bounce in my step,

Breathing in the mouthwatering aroma of sizzling hamburg steaks beside me.

“Everyone, the taste-test one’s done!”

Tanaka-san called out, letting us know the first batch was ready.

She placed a patty in front of us, about the size of a store-bought frozen burger,

And everyone in the group went—“Finallyyy!”

You might be wondering why we even made this mini version.

Well, it all started when someone in the group said:

“Waiting for the full-sized ones to cook sucks—can we just make a tiny one to test?”

And, of course, being the food-loving monsters we are, everyone else jumped on board.

So yeah.

Trial burger it was.

This group’s appetite is on another level, I swear.

Once Tanaka-san cut it up with her smooth, pro-level knife skills into six neat pieces,

Everyone instantly reached in with their chopsticks like it was feeding time at the zoo.

“This is amazing!”

“Meat really is the best. Forget dieting, I’m living for this!”

“So good… I can finally push myself again starting tomorrow. Let’s do our best, Hitomi-chan!”

“The meat juice is insane. It’s like a mini soup dumpling—too good!”

“Yeah, it’s really delicious.”

While the rest of the group kept tossing out food reviews like some kind of tasting panel,

I was off to the side jotting their comments down under the “taste impressions” section of our report.

That’s when I felt a light tap on my back.

“Hm? What’s—mmph!?”

The moment I turned around, something hot was suddenly stuffed into my mouth.

My eyes went wide in shock—

And standing there with her face flushed red and eyes sparkling…

Was Tanaka-san.

“D-Do you like it?”

“Eh? Ah, yeah—it’s really good.”

I had no idea what just happened, but my mouth acted on its own and replied.

The second she heard that, Tanaka-san’s expression lit up like fireworks.

“Really!? I’m so glad!”

Still blushing like mad, she turned back to the pan on the stove, her voice bouncing with excitement.

I just stood there in stunned silence, watching her go.

Once the hamburger in my mouth finally disappeared,

I instinctively brushed my fingers across my lips.

“…Wait a second. Did I just get… ‘Ahh~’ fed by Tanaka-san!?”

TLN: Caught up with the raws as of May 19, 2025.