Volume 1 - CH 10

I opened the door and looked into the kitchen to see Himekawa standing there.

She was standing by the sink, doing something. The sound seems to be coming from there, and there are pots and pans on the stove on fire.

“Himekawa? What are you doing?”

I call out to Himekawa, who is standing in the kitchen.

I look back at Himekawa, who has changed into her regular clothes and is wearing the same apron I was using.

She has a white cloth wrapped around her head and looks like her mother.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m borrowing your apron.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s all right, but what are you doing there?”

“I’m preparing breakfast. I just used the contents of the refrigerator.”

The way Himekawa looked at me with a smile was so cute that I didn’t care about the ingredients.

I was more worried that it would be a burden for Himekawa.

“No, I can prepare it myself. Isn’t that too much work?”

“It’s a condition from last night. I was the one who was treated last night, so it’s my turn today.”

Himekawa went to the kitchen and started cooking again.

I took a glass of milk from the refrigerator and tried to drink it.

“Yes, please. Please use the cup properly from now on.

I was surprised to see a glass in front of me, but I had been drinking milk by the glass all this time, so why?

A few question marks appeared in my head.

“Milk, I also drink it…”

She answered with a little redness in her cheeks and continued cooking without looking at me.

Oh, it’s an indirect kiss. Well, if you’re a girl of her age, you’ll be concerned about it.

Yes, I’m sorry for not noticing. I don’t have any sense of delicacy.

After the cooking was done, the breakfast was served in a very impressive manner.

The meal I was planning to serve would be about the size of the moon.

We sat facing each other and began to eat.

“Looks good. You’re good at cooking Himekawa.”

“I’ve been doing it a little at home, so I have some experience”

“Itadakimasu”

I took a bite of something that looked like a salad in my mouth.

Hmm? Hmm? It tasted a little different from what I was expecting.

Next, I took a sip of the soup.

Huh? Heh? Oh, that’s ridiculous…  How could it look like this and taste different?

Then I put the yellow object in my mouth.

Whoops. How can it taste so different from what I expected?

It’s not inedible, but it’s definitely not delicious. What should I do?

Should I be honest about my impressions here? Or should I just give a big smile and say, “It’s delicious”. Or should I say…

A Preface, Himekawa-sama. I didn’t expect this at all.

I thought that the taste would be just as wonderful as the appearance.

I’m sorry for making assumptions on my own.

It’s not inedible. It doesn’t taste murderous. But, but, but!

Maybe I have better taste than you!

Without a word to say, I just munched away.

Himekawa is also eating her food in silence. I’m not sure what to say.

“You can be honest with me, okay?”

As if reading my mind, Himekawa cut me off.

I’ll tell you what, I’ll be honest with you. I’ll tell you, there’s no going back, but is that okay?

“I was surprised at how different it tasted from what I expected. But it’s not bad, and you can eat it.”

Himekawa eats quietly, looking at me with a blank expression.

For some reason, I was enjoying my breakfast. Rather than that, I was eating mechanically and shoving my food into my mouth.

“I tried, but I couldn’t get it any better. I’m sorry…”

“It’s not always easy at first. See, even this is already good!”

I stabbed something potato-like with a fork, put it in my mouth, and chewed it with a smile.

But what does this taste like? Why did you stew it? Did you stew it in the first place?

I was at a loss for words, and silently chewed up the potatoes in my mouth and put them in my stomach.

“See, you can’t afford to comment. I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be so disappointed. It’s okay, you can make a good meal with practice.”

Why do I have to comfort her? She prepared it on her own, served it on her own, ate it on her own, and got depressed.

What have I done? If I’d just been quiet and eaten the breakfast I made, none of this would have happened.

No, it’s a difference in thinking.

Himekawa put her heart and soul into making this. I’m sure it’s different from the meals that I made without any thoughts.

There must be something there that I can’t see.

Himekawa left about half of the meal she had shared with her and stopped.

She stared down for a while and looked depressed.

“Hey, are you going to leave that? If you’re not going to eat it, give it to me.”

Himekawa looked at me with an expression like, “What?” She had that look on her face.

I feel like I’m the one who should be responsible for what I said. I have to fight a losing battle that I can’t win. [TLN: This line was such a pain to MTL]

I’m sure I have some stomach medicine in my medicine cabinet. I can go to war with peace of mind.

“But it doesn’t taste good…”

“No problem. I’m hungry. Can I have some?”

She nodded her head silently and smiled a little more than before.

After all, girls should be able to cook.

Thinking about this, I put the nameless food I could eat and Himekawa’s sincerity into my stomach.

TLN: Finally finished editing this. There were so many parts that doesn’t make sense.