CH 26

“Hnn good..Hnnn good…!!”

The sun was already setting and dinner time was about to end.

Sosuke was still devouring the curry. This was his third bowl of curry.

In the end, I ended up making quite a lot of food by adding the ingredients that were left over in the group.

“I didn’t think Arase had such special skills. ……!”

“Don’t eat while talking. It’s dirty.”

“……! ……!”

Even though I warned him, his eating never stopped. He seemed to have shifted to eating when I saw that he had not said a word.

“But it’s true! Arase-kun’s cooking was so delicious!”

“Indeed. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a delicious curry.”

“W-Well, it was okay.”

“Fyfy, Yuri chan had a second helping, didn’t she?”

“H-Hey, Nanami!?”

The girls are conversing congenially.

In addition to Sosuke and myself, we are surrounded by Suika, Fujibayashi, Asagiri, and Kurase.

It was impossible for us not to stand out. Our group was attracting a lot of attention.

I would have preferred not to be the center of attention, but it was impossible.

Well, I had no choice, so I gave up.

As for me, I was more worried that Fujibayashi and Asagiri would get into trouble again, but my fears were unfounded.

Apparently, through that one incident, they had come to a point where they could talk to each other to some extent. Fujibayashi herself had been in a good mood since we had met earlier. She is talking normally with Kurase and Asagiri without swearing.

And the presence of Suika may have been a big factor.

Suika was willing to accept us when our group came to the place in low spirits.

I am really indebted to Suika.

“Phew….”

I finished my dinner, drank some tea, and exhaled deeply.

I’ve made it through dinner without incident, and there’s nothing to complain about.

All I have to do now is sleep in my tent. A test of courage? No, I’ve already decided to sleep.

“So it’s true that you can cook. I thought it was a lie when the manager told us.”

“Yeah. I don’t choose to cook on high heat like someone else.”

“What do you mean?!”

Asagiri’s face turned bright red when she realized that she had been made a fool of.

I feel like I haven’t agitated Asagiri in a long time. Maybe it was because of Kurase for the past few hours.

“Well, I think you’re overreacting. Curry is just made according to the package.”

I said exactly what I was thinking when I was talking with Suika.

Everyone was silent at my words. Why doesn’t anyone want to face each other?

Only Kurase had a wry smile on her face.

“That’s naive, Arase. If I had done that, I wouldn’t have ended up with this food.”

Then, after finishing the curry and sipping the tea, Sosuke opened his mouth.

It was hard to react, but he was right. If they had been able to do that, Asagiri would not have had to build a fire any longer, and Suika might have finished the curry by herself and eaten it first as well.

It wouldn’t have been this much trouble.

“Just because you said it was made according to the package doesn’t mean it wasn’t tasty. It was the best Suika had ever eaten!”

Suika and Fujibayashi gave me rave reviews. Like earlier, I don’t know how to react when I get so many compliments.

At that time, they never praised me for cooking. It was as if it was a matter of course.

I hadn’t been so pleased with my cooking since the time Ayako san tearfully took my hand when I first arrived in town.

“W-Well, okay. But the sweets Nanami makes are more exquisite!”

Hmph, sniffed Asagiri proudly.　

……Why is Asagiri sticking up for me?

“Hee. Kurase-san is good at making sweets.”

Fujibayashi is curious to hear about it.

Come to think of it, Fujibayashi also likes sweets. Come to think of it, I remember when I skipped out, I had a drink I didn’t understand with a sweet-savory topping. Is that how most girls are?

“Yes. I sometimes make them! But you can make sweets and other things, can’t you, Arase-kun?”

“…… Well, in a way.”

I can make certain things. Even elaborate professional dishes can be made if I have the right ingredients and recipes.

“Hoee~. Arase-kun is amazing. Suika is completely outclassed in terms of girl power.”

“Ugh”

Hearing this, Suika was parched. And Asagiri looked frustrated.

“Hmmm. Arase can do everything unexpectedly.”

“What do you mean by unexpected? I can’t do everything.”

“Surely even a child–”

“Hey!”

“Pukuku ……”

Fujibayashi laughed with a dejected look on her face. At first I wondered what would happen, but Fujibayashi seemed to be getting on much better.

If she had been like this from the …… beginning, she would have been a little more normal, but let’s not mention that.

The rest needs to be covered for a lot of things.. It was fortunate that the other members did not hear her.

“The other day, when I sprained my ankle, you were very good at first aid. You even built a tent easily after I taught you once. ……Aren’t you an amazing person after all, Arase-kun?”

“You’re overreacting. Like I said, normal. There are men everywhere nowadays who can cook.”

The same goes for other things. There are a lot of people who can do it.

There are many people who can do it. There is nothing special about it.

“I don’t think so. I was rescued in the river and I am a good swimmer. I think it’s difficult to do everything without a flaw, like cooking.”

“Hmmm, in the river?”

“Yes! I was about to drown, but he dashingly saved me!”

Isn’t it kind of beautified?

I think it was pretty close to the edge.

“Hmm….”

“….What is it?”

“Nothing—”

Fujibayashi’s attitude suddenly turns bad. She was in a good mood earlier, but I don’t understand …… women.

“You’re even a good swimmer!”

“That’s amazing! Ito-kun, have you been learning anything?”

“That’s …… something I’m curious about too.”

Everyone’s eyes were focused.

“…… No, it’s not like that. It just came naturally to me.”

Yes, everything else came naturally to me, except for the future prediction.

“naturally….”

The words I said bounced back at me.

Because I had to.

“Naturally?”

“Eh~, Suika, though, is not going to be able to cook at all, even if I do it naturally……. Weird ……”

“Most people who don’t …… are fine.”

“You’re not getting any better at it too, are you, Yuuri chan?”

“Hey, Nanami!”

Everyone laughed at Kurase’s unusual comment about Asagiri.

But all I could do was smile blankly.

I felt a sense of discomfort at the fact that I was laughing with someone like this.

“…………”

“… what’s wrong?”

“Well, anyway, if you do it every day, you’ll be able to do this much.”

For a moment, my feelings sank as I recalled the past, but I came to my senses when Asagiri called out to me, and I faked it with words that sounded like that.

But it is fortunate that I have learned how to live as I do now. Even if the worst happens and I am left alone, I can still manage to live.

“Sorry. I’m going to the bathroom.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I made a reasonable excuse and left the place.

(TL/N : 26 chapters in and I realized that I’ve been translation the main protag’s name wrong, so the real furigana translation of his name is Ito Arase, not Ito Shinsei. I will fix everything in the past chapters :”’) )