Volume 2 - CH 18

The game was cut short early, and Yuzuru and Arisa headed to a nearby supermarket.

They bought some of the necessary ingredients.

Then they headed back to their apartment. ……

On the way back.

“Hm? ……is it raining.?”

A cold sensation touched his skin, and he looked up at the sky.

The sky was covered with dull, dark clouds.

“Shall we hurry a little?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Yuzuru and Arisa walked a little faster to the apartment.

Fortunately, they were able to get back before it started to rain heavily. ……

“It’s not going to stop for a while.”

Yuzuru said as he looked out of the balcony window.

Five minutes after they ran into the room, it was already pouring.

“I hope the train doesn’t stop or get delayed. ……”

“Might be better to be a little careful.”

At worst, though, they could call a cab.

Yuzuru can pay for it for her.

Arisa may be apologetic, but now that he has invited her home, it is Yuzuru’s mission to bring her back safely.

“Then, Yuzuru-san, please wait quietly here”

“…… I’ve helped my mother a little too before. There may be something I can do, you know.”

When he tried saying that, Arisa shook her head from side to side.

“I’m very glad you feel that way. But I have my own way of doing things. Besides…….”

“Besides?”

“If Yuzuru-san’s cooking skills were to improve, I would be in trouble. I’ll lose my position.”

Arisa said, half-jokingly.

It was a joke to say that Yuzuru’s cooking skills would get better ……

But she seemed to mean it when she said that she would lose her position if her job was taken.

“All right. Then I will wait for you quietly.”

Forcing himself to help would only get in Arisa’s way, so Yuzuru decided to back off at this point.

As usual, he could just help with the dishes.

Then the time passed and ……　

The time was 6 PM.

The meal with the lavish use of matsutake mushrooms was completed.

The menu was as follows:

Rice with matsutake mushrooms.

Matsutake mushroom soup.

Tempura of matsutake mushroom and shrimp.

Baked matsutake mushrooms in foil.

Chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) with matsutake mushrooms.

Grilled single matsutake mushroom.

Steamed matsutake mushroom in a clay pot.

Stir-fried matsutake mushroom and spinach.

And so on.

While the matsutake mushroom is the main ingredient, the menu is also colorful and nutritionally balanced.

“……it is truly magnificent today.”

” I apologize for that. I got carried away and made too much.”

Arisa said, scratching her cheek.

It seems that she was a little overzealous in front of the matsutake mushroom, a luxury ingredient.

“Well, I’ll just eat the extra tomorrow. You’ve done a great job with this meal.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that.”

They both put their hands together to express gratitude. (TN: itadakimasu)

Yuzuru reached for the soup first.

There was a slight scent of bonito broth and matsutake mushrooms.

“The usual miso soup is delicious, but this kind is also good. It has a delicate and elegant taste.”

“Thank you very much.”

When Yuzuru praised her cooking, Arisa replied in an indifferent voice.

However, her eyes were softened and her mouth was a little slack.

Her skin was slightly flushed.

It was easy to see that she was embarrassed.

Then he reached for the matsutake rice.

Matsutake mushrooms were the main ingredient, but other mushrooms such as shimeji mushrooms and maitake mushrooms were also included.　　

In his mouth, he could feel the strong aroma of matsutake mushrooms.

Then he started on the tempura.

he sprinkled some salt on the matsutake mushroom tempura to test it out and brought it to his mouth.

“…… If I may say so, Yuzuru-san.”

Arisa, who had eaten matsutake mushrooms just like Yuzuru, said with a wry smile.

“Matsutake mushrooms, they don’t taste very good, do they?”

“Well….. it’s mainly the smell.”

So, they moved on to the next dish where they could enjoy the aroma.

It was mushroom steamed in a clay pot.

It would have been more ambient if there was a sake cup. But unfortunately, there is no sake cup in Yuzuru’s house.

So he poured the broth into a teacup.

“Hmm … this is good”

The shrimp broth and the matsutake mushroom flavor went well together.

He squeezed in a little kabosu juice and drank it, which changed the taste a bit and was also delicious.

This time, he opened the lid.

Inside were shrimp, matsutake mushrooms, carrots, and other ingredients.

He took them out with chopsticks and put them on a plate and carried it to his mouth.

“This is also delicious. The texture of the matsutake mushroom is different from that of the soup.”

“That’s right. …… Actually, after making the earthenware steamed dish, I thought I had made a mistake because it was covered with the soup, but it’s totally different.”

Of course, the soup stock is bonito broth, while the prawn broth is used for the earthenware steaming, so in a sense, it is natural that they taste different.

After the rich flavored dishes, they decided to try grilled matsutake mushrooms.

This was a very luxurious dish of large matsutake mushrooms grilled on a net.

“Hm…….”

“…… mushrooms right?.”

“Well, it’s a mushroom.”

The flavor was “mushroom”.

Both Yuzuru and Arisa looked at each other and chuckled.

Next, they tried mushrooms baked in foil.

“This tastes better than grilled on its own.”

“Yes, it does. I think it tastes better when it’s seasoned with alcohol or something.”

Next was stir-fried matsutake mushrooms and spinach.

Arisa made this dish because she wanted something green.

“Butter and matsutake mushrooms go well together, don’t they?”

“Yes, it does……. But I think the butter flavor was a little too strong. It’s something I need to work on.”

The last dish was chawanmushi.

He let it cool with a spoon before putting it in his mouth.

“This is …… delicious.”

It has a rich taste of shrimp and bonito soup stock.

The rich flavor of the shrimp and bonito broth and the elegant aroma of the matsutake mushrooms filled my mouth.

The texture on the tongue is also very good.

“I think this might be my favorite out of all of them.”

“I’m glad to hear you say so…….  I’m good at making chawanmushi.”

Arisa was also confident.

She smiled happily.

After that, the two of them prioritized things that would not last long or would not taste good once they were cold.

Then they wrapped up and stored in the refrigerator those items that could be eaten if reheated, such as soup.

Finally, the two of them worked together to finish washing the dishes.

Then …… Yuzuru looked out the window.

The rain and wind were getting stronger, and it didn’t look as though they could make it to her home.

“This is a problem…….. Do you want me to call you a cab or something?　I can pay for it if you need it.”

“I would feel guilty about that, and Yuzuru-san doesn’t have a lot of money to spare either. ……”

At that moment.

There was a moment of flash outside the window.

This was followed by the sound of the sky cracking.

And then ……

“Kyah~~!”

“Whoa!”

Yuzuru yelped as Arisa pushed him down.