The Story of A Beautiful Girl I Rescued From An Attacker Who Became My Seatmate. - Chapter 14

After finishing the toast, I immediately decided to ask Kirishima to help me study. Since I couldn’t find the answers on my own, I asked her to start from the very beginning.

“Well, let’s start by figuring out x and y.”

First, I rationalize the given fractions to find the integer part and the decimal part. These are the values for x and y, respectively.

Got it. x = 3 and y = √2 – 1.

“Good, now let’s find the value of z. It’s z = x – 1/y. Just substitute the values.”

Sigh. I have to rationalize again. Having a square root in the denominator makes me slightly dizzy.

“Now that we have the value of z, do you know what to do next?”

“Huh? Don’t we just substitute z into (1) and (2)?”

“Well… this problem involves reducing the degree. Let’s try rearranging it by moving 2 to the other side.”

Following her instructions, I rearrange the equation. It becomes z – 2 = -√2. When I square both sides, it becomes z² – 4z + 4 = 2.

“So, when we move the right side to the left side, we get z² = 4z – 2. Now, substitute these values one by one.”

“Do we really have to do it that way? Can’t we simply substitute z² = (2 – √2)²?”

“If you do that, we’ll still end up with a square root when substituting z², right? The essence of this problem is to keep reducing the degree to simplify the calculations. For example, (2) with z⁴ – 5z³ + 4z² + 6z, if you try solving it conventionally, it’s a nightmare. I think we covered this last year, by the way.”

Even if she says that, I’m really bad at math. I’d rather deal with English or contemporary literature.

Anyway, let’s do the calculations…

Kirishima’s guidance continued until around noon. Thanks to her, I was able to solve many problems that I couldn’t figure out before. I’m grateful.

Since Kirishima had something to do in the afternoon, I decided to have lunch on my own. I don’t know what she’s busy with, and I don’t particularly care.

So, for lunch, I ate something random from the refrigerator. Since breakfast was late, I didn’t need a heavy meal.

“I’m back!”

As the sun was starting to set and I was starting to prepare dinner, Kirishima came home.

“Just wait a little longer for dinner.”

“Okay!”

She was carrying a large paper bag. Did she go shopping somewhere? Well, it doesn’t matter.

Now, for dinner tonight, it’s ginger pork. Simple is best. I already coated the meat with potato starch and put it in the refrigerator, so all that’s left is to cook it. I also prepared the sauce.

“I’m back, Kurata-kun.”

“Yeah, welcome back. Is it okay if we have dinner soon?”

“Yeah! Can I help with anything?”

“Sure, can you dish out the rice?”

Kirishima, who had washed her hands, came to help. So, I started cooking the meat that had been in the refrigerator. First, I put salad oil in the frying pan and heated it on high heat.

“Today is ginger pork, right?”

“That’s right. Huh? Don’t you like it?”

“No, no, it’s not like that. I love everything you make, Kurata-kun. It’s always delicious.”

“T-Thank you.”

Why is that? The word “like” makes my heart race. Is it because Kirishima is cute, or do I have some personal feelings about it?

Well, the situation itself is abnormal. Kirishima being at my house and standing together in the kitchen. Especially since we’re not officially dating and there’s this delicate distance between us. Honestly, just thinking about the possibility of it being exposed in class makes my stomach ache.

“I’d love to learn your cooking, Kurata-kun… Are you okay…? The frying pan is really hot.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Let’s start cooking soon.”

Close call. My mind was completely wandering. It’s not good to lose focus while cooking.

I place the pork slices one by one into the frying pan. After adding the pork, I try not to move it too much. I want to give the pork a nice sear.

Once everything is in the pan, I wait for a bit. I occasionally peek under the meat to check the cooking progress. When it looks good, I flip them over.

My preferred ginger pork has well-seared meat with the onions absorbing the meat juices. Crispy onions could be nice too, but I personally prefer them soft and tender.

Once both sides have a nice color, I add the sliced onions that were prepared beforehand.

Then, I quickly stir-fry and add the sauce, ensuring the meat and sauce are well coated.

“It looks really delicious. The aroma is amazing too.”

“Could you bring a plate? It’s almost done.”

“Sure!”

When the ginger pork has a nice glaze, I plate it. Tonight’s dinner is complete with this. Kirishima has already served the rice, so I just need to bring the plate with the ginger pork. I’m grateful.