Chapter 23

The time has finally come. It’s time for the long-awaited cooking class.

Aren’t I great that I woke up this morning and came to school? Someone, please praise me. That’s what I’ve been thinking since I arrived at school. However, I really hope that today won’t be my death day.

「Let’s do our best, Amane-kun.」

「Amane, what are we going to make today?」

「How about sauteed white fish? I personally think that it’s easy and cheap.」

「Not colorful enough.」

This is hard. However, I already expected that. I also thought of how to deal with it. Well, it’s actually Yuna’s idea.

「How about making minestrone too. That would make it more nutritious and colorful.」

「Good idea.」

「Then, let’s start.」

I don’t know the cooking sense of Ashi-san and company but I can do everything on my own at worst so everything will be fine.

「Then, I’ll let you handle the vegetables and cut them into 1cm cubes.」

「Leave it to me.」

「It’s just cutting.」

She’s confident so I gave them half of the vegetables. I’ll cut vegetables face to face with them so there shouldn’t be any problem.

「Amane’s kitchen knife skill is as good as ever. It seems like I shouldn’t do anything after all.」

「You can help me if you want.」

「If I help you, the minestrone will not be red because of tomato but of my blood.」

I wonder how much blood this guy is going to bleed. Well, I know Shinozaki’s cooking skills so I did not expect anything from him in the first place. I did not expect anything from any of my group mates from the start but this is not something to be proud of.

Just as I’m cleaning my vegetables, a carrot flies onto the cutting board I’m using. When I looked at where it came from, I saw Ashi-san standing over and trying to cut a carrot without holding it. No way, even Shinozaki would hold it down.

「Stop」

「I’m cutting now, don’t disturb me.」

「What do you mean by cutting? Don’t you know that you have to hold it down?」

「No, it’s hard to cut it that way.」

What is this level? Did Hirose tell me to hang in there because of this? If she told me this in advance, I would have made something easier. I know several recipes that can be cooked without using kitchen knives.

「It’s dangerous if you don’t hold it down. The carrots will fly like what just happened.」

「But I can’t cut it then.」

「Then just cut it like this first. Once it has a flat surface, it won’t roll around.」

I used the flying carrot to show her what should be done.

「I see.」

As if she understood what I was saying, she started cutting again. However, the way she holds the carrot was so open that she’ll cut her fingers at any moment. She might be at the elementary school level when it comes to cutting.

「Wait a minute. You’ll cut your finger if you do that.」

「Amane-kun, I’ll teach Risa so you can continue cooking. If it stays like this, we won’t be able to cook anything.」

I don’t know who you are but, thank you. However, aren’t you pretty harsh? But at least I’m glad that I didn’t offend Ashi-san. According to Yuna, I’m not very good at teaching how to cook.

「I understand. I’ll leave her to you.」

I threw everything that needed to be washed to Shinozaki and proceeded with the preparation.

When I finished preparing the soup and the saute, it seemed like the Ashi-san duo had also finished cutting vegetables, so I put their cut vegetables into the pot. As a result of our discussion, we decided to make it like a cooking show with me as the host. However, there wasn’t much to talk about since all I had to do was cook the fish and boil the soup.

In a very awkward atmosphere, I was cooking alone and talking while the other two were watching. Before I knew it, Shinozaki was even washing Hirose and Wakamiya-san’s group dishes. What the hell is he doing?

All that was left to stew and wait for it to be cooked so I wrote down today’s recipe on a tear notebook page not for reporting but to give to the two.

「Amane, Mio says that it’s almost ready.」

「Then, shall we serve it?」

I left serving and garnishing to Ashi-san since she seems to be good on that aspect. Come to think of it, table arrangement is not that hard.

「By the way, what were you writing earlier?」

「The recipe we made today and another simple one. We’ve teamed up in order to teach you a few things after all.」

「You’re so diligent.」

「No, that’s what I’m supposed to do.」

「I somehow understand what Mei was saying.」

What is Hirose saying about me?

The sauteed white fish and minestrone were neatly arranged on the desk. Even I think that the result is good.

But, can I ask one thing, no, make it two. Are there enough for me and Shinozaki? I actually want to have it for lunch. Also, why did we make enough for six? Is our group actually a group of six?