Chapter 14: A Cook’s Awakening
Translated by algoo | Proofread by algoo
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“…Haahm.”
This body, awakening.
It felt like I woke up on my own for the first time in a long while, without anyone waking me up… Usually, it was the alarm clock, and since I came here, it’s been Catherine.
Somehow, I felt refreshed, and my body felt incredibly good. Did I sleep for a very long time? Hmm… It’s not like I’ve ever felt this way even at home, where I slept for over nine hours.
Well, whatever. If my body feels good, it’s good! First, a quick shower…
Snore, snore—…
Just as I was about to get out of bed, someone’s breathing sound made me stop.
Carefully, I raised my upper body and looked down, and my thoughts paused for a moment.
‘…Catherine?’
It was none other than Catherine, sleeping at the end of the bed, using the edge as a pillow.
Come to think of it, Catherine was giving me a massage before I went to sleep yesterday. The massage felt better than I expected, so I fell asleep quickly…
Did she continue even after I fell asleep, and only now did she fall asleep? Why, to that extent…
I got up as carefully as possible so as not to wake Catherine and gently lifted the blanket, covering Catherine‘s body, who was lying face down on the bed.
I wanted to move her to the bed, but it’s hard for me to lift Catherine with my strength, and I might wake her up…
‘…Catherine.’
After covering her with the blanket, I sat next to Catherine and quietly looked at her sleeping face.
Her golden hair clearly stood out even in the dark room before sunrise.
Swoosh, swoosh—…
“Mmm…”
Usually, she covered one eye with her hair, so I couldn’t see it, but for some reason, I wanted to see it, so I brushed the hair covering her eye aside.
Catherine tossed and turned slightly, which startled me, but at least she didn’t wake up, so good!
‘Her eyelashes are so long.’
Her long eyelashes, her sharp nose, and her moist lips asserted her beauty even with her eyes closed.
Such a beautiful person.
Such a perfect person.
Such a wonderful person.
Why does she care for me so much?
It was a question I had before, but seeing Catherine neglect her own body while taking care of mine made the question even deeper.
Because of the favor she received from my grandmother? It felt different.
…Could it be, love at first sight, which she said was a lie?
Is this too much self-consciousness?
‘…It’s too much.’
I just wanted to live an easy life.
I just wanted to earn a decent living and go with the flow.
…If you care for me this much, I have no choice but to try. I have no choice but to do my best.
I still don’t know why, but Catherine seems to have high expectations for me, so maybe I should really try.
Ahh… I already have two reasons to work hard after entering this school.
Seo-a, Catherine.
I’ll aim for the first star properly.
Until I reach the shining star.
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* * *
Whoosh—…
I was supposed to go with Airi today, wasn’t I?
I’m a bit nervous because everyone was scaring me, but well… It won’t be that hard, right?
This is a prestigious girls’ school, after all.
I’m starting to get a little suspicious, though…
Whoosh… Click—.
I finished showering, dried myself, and dried my hair.
After finishing the series of actions, I came out to the hallway, but the clock still pointed to 5:00.
Is it thanks to Catherine‘s massage? I slept a bit less than usual, but why does my body feel so good?
Thud, thud—.
I went down to the first floor, but the dining table was empty, as if everyone else was still asleep.
Usually, I would eat the meal Catherine made and go to school, but Catherine is sound asleep, and I don’t want to wake her up to ask her to cook.
Alright, let me put in some effort.
I walked to the kitchen and put on the apron hanging on the wall.
…This, it comes down to my knees, not my waist. This must be what Catherine uses, right? Isn’t the height difference too much?
After swallowing my sadness, I examined the inside of the refrigerator, and all sorts of ingredients caught my eye.
I was a little uneasy about whether I could use them as I pleased, but well… Catherine will forgive me if I explain the reason.
First, I got some eggs, and some bacon.
There are vegetables too? Let’s get some.
Oh, this wrapped bowl is… soup?
Sniff, sniff.
This, it’s like consommé soup. Did Catherine leave this out to use this morning? Then I should use it instead.
Okay, this should be enough for breakfast. Now it’s cooking time!
First, a simple scrambled eggs dish using eggs.
After making scrambled eggs, I separated them into another bowl for a moment…
Then, I put green onions in the frying pan and stir-fried them until they slightly burned to get the oil out… and put in the chopped tomatoes!
Hehe, smells good. It’s okay to eat it like this, but… I should add soy sauce and oyster sauce too.
It’s nice to have a lot of seasonings. They are even classified by country… As expected, Catherine is meticulous.
Around the time the green onion and tomato stir-fry smelled good, I added the pre-made scrambled eggs and mixed them together several times, chop chop chop.
Sizzle, sizzle—.
The large frying pan was a bit too much for me to use, but with sheer willpower, I somehow managed to mix the ingredients.
Now that the tomatoes are slightly mushy, turn off the heat and let it cook with the residual heat, and it’s done.
This much is enough for a side dish… Should I add a little something to the consommé soup?
First, I removed the tomato eggs, wiped the pan, and put vegetables in the frying pan… Ugh, this is a bit bothersome.
But it tastes better if I stir-fry them first.
Sizzle, sizzle—.
“It’s hot…”
While stir-frying the chopped vegetables and bacon, beads of sweat kept dripping down my forehead.
It’s this hard to cook in the morning, but Catherine wakes us up every morning and cooks for us.
…Well, if everyone says it’s delicious, maybe I should make breakfast from now on.
I put the stir-fried vegetables and bacon into the consommé soup, seasoned it with salt and pepper… Soup complete!
Today’s breakfast menu.
Tomato scrambled eggs, consommé soup.
Those who are still hungry can spread jam on crispy toast. This much is pretty good for breakfast!
Then, now I’ll go wake everyone up…
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, Cliff Chest?”
As I was about to go back to the second floor, I ran into Josephine coming down from above.
Moonlit silver hair, vivid red eyes.
…Looking at her like this, she looks like Catherine‘s 2P color. They’re sisters, so of course, they look alike.
“You… Haa, forget it. What are you doing right now? Where did my sister go?”
“Catherine? If it’s Catherine, she’s sleeping in my room.”
Wadadadak—.
“Wha, wha, what! You… Don’t tell me you did something to my sister…!”
“Keek, keek…”
Geez, what am I supposed to do if sisters are similar in their monstrous strength too!
And Josephine, you should at least give me a chance to explain! How can I talk when you’re choking me…
“Hey, tell me quickly! What did you do to my sister!?”
“I, I didn’t do anything…”
“Didn’t do anything?”
“I didn’t… Let go of me, quickly!”
Thud—.
Did she feel relieved after hearing my answer? Josephine stepped back at my weak push and breathed a sigh of relief.
Ouch, my neck hurts.
“…So, back to the beginning, what were you doing?”
“Me? Cooking.”
“Cooking? You?”
“…Well, in a way, Catherine couldn’t sleep because of me, so I thought she’d be tired, so I did it instead. Want to try some?”
I did taste it, but I needed another guinea pig.
“Here, ah—.”
I scooped a spoonful of tomato scrambled eggs and brought the spoon to Josephine‘s mouth, smiling with narrowed eyes.
At first, Josephine was hesitant, but perhaps she has at least a minimum of common sense. Or maybe she felt sorry for choking me.
“…Just once.”
She obediently accepted the food.
“Delicious…”
With her eyes wide open, a sincere exclamation came from her slightly parted lips.
Perhaps she felt frustrated despite saying it herself. She covered her mouth with her hand, but her soft cheeks were still moving as she chewed the food.
Somehow, she’s cute. I want to tease her.
“Want more?”
“I, I’m hungry, so it’s okay if you feed me.”
“Then, I’ll feed you all of it. Here, ah—!”
“I! I can eat by myself!”
“But I made it? The authority of the dish belongs to me. If you don’t like it, go spread jam on the toast over there.”
Ah…
Ugh…
Her light-colored skin, unfortunately, did not hide her embarrassment at all.
Her face flushed bright red. Her red eyes were slightly teary, as if frustrated.
Josephine, who looked somewhat lovely, soon opened her mouth to me.
“Ah…”
“Eat a lot.”
One bite, two bites.
It would be bland to only eat eggs, so a spoonful of soup as a palate cleanser.
Her initially prickly expression gradually softened as she ate the food, and by the end, it had completely melted away.
Josephine, you like delicious food more than I thought.
“…I ate well.”
In the end, Josephine ate the entire tomato scrambled eggs and consommé soup, being fed by me from start to finish.
Yes, yes, it’s rewarding to cook when people enjoy it like this.
“Hey, Josephine. Can you wake up the others now that you’re done eating? I want to reheat the food.”
“…That much isn’t a difficult request.”
After placing the book she was holding on the dining table, Josephine, who was moving back to the stairs, turned back to me as if she remembered something.
“Will you cook again?”
“Huh? Hmm… If Catherine wants me to?”
“…I understand.”
What, what.
Did you like my cooking that much? I’m glad.
“I can cook for you anytime you want, so just ask. Okay?”
“D, don’t get cocky! I’m just thinking that your cooking suits my taste and I want to eat it again!!”
Tadadadadak—.
She said it as if she was snapping at me, but the content was a compliment.
Josephine, the first impression was the worst, but maybe she’s not that bad of a person.
I shouldn’t tease her about her Cliff Chest anymore.
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* * *
“It’s delicious! Eugene, little brother!”
“…Delicious!”
“I made a lot, so make sure you all finish it.”
About 30 minutes passed.
Seo-a and Airi, woken up by Josephine, came down to the dining table after showering and tasted my cooking.
The reactions were, of course, all favorable.
My personal preference was definitely Catherine‘s cooking, but maybe it’s because the other students in this dormitory are used to Catherine‘s cooking.
“Josephine, feed me more… Mmmph!”
Perhaps because she was full, I wanted to tease Josephine, who was picking at a piece of toast, but my mouth was soon covered by her book.
“…Eugene, little brother, you’ve become close with Josephine? Did something happen?”
“Well? Nothing.”
Zzzt—.
I was conscious of Seo-a and Airi looking at me with suspicious eyes, but I decided not to speak for Josephine‘s honor.
That’s because she’s looking at me so pitifully, like a rabbit.
“I’ve wrapped Catherine‘s share… and left a note too. Airi, let’s go!”
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After everyone finished eating and cleaning up, I saw off Seo-a and Josephine, who left first, and approached Airi, who was standing alone.
“Okay! Ah, please take this first.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
The item Airi handed me was a luxurious-looking shopping bag.
I heard that these kinds of shopping bags are very expensive. As expected, Airi is rich.
“It’s custom-made sportswear, especially for Eugene, little brother!”
A beautiful black sportswear.
It feels very nice to the touch and the design is pretty, but overnight…?
“Now, let’s depart! Our first destination is the basketball club.”
“…Alright.”
Why am I so anxious…?
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