Chapter 8 | Freshly Made

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“If you don’t mind, would you like me to make lunch?”

It was around ten o’clock when Kotomi and Karin came to play. About two hours had passed since then.

Whether we were playing house or I was giving Karin a piggyback ride, time flew by quickly.

Karin seemed tired, so she was sitting on the sofa and watching a children’s program.

It was getting to be lunchtime, so I was about to make lunch when Kotomi said that.

Kotomi’s cooking skills were quite good. It was the best offer since I could eat it freshly made.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please relax, Hanazawa-san.”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you. Feel free to use the equipment and ingredients.”

“…Then, since you offered, I’ll make something that Hanazawa-san likes. Do you have any favorite dishes?”

“Hmm, I often eat rice bowl dishes.”

“Then, how about Oyako-don (chicken and egg rice bowl)?”

Kotomi tied her hair up and put on an apron. Then, she started making Oyako-don.

I was impressed watching Kotomi cook.

Her movements were good and efficient. She probably made it several times at home.

I wanted to learn how to cook from her someday, but I thought it was a bit presumptuous, so I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind.

For me, I was already receiving more than I was giving, so I couldn’t afford to add to that.

Besides, we weren’t that close yet. That’s why it wasn’t good to want too much.

I understood from experience that being self-conscious would come back to bite me.

Self-centered thoughts and misunderstandings would hurt me someday. Those kinds of thoughts rarely turned out positive.

After a certain incident during middle school, I had kept my relationships with people to a minimum, and I had lived my life avoiding the negative.

I didn’t want or do too much, and I quietly spent my time within a static framework.

As I was thinking, the good smell of Oyako-don interrupted my thoughts for a moment.

“It’s ready, shall we eat?”

“Let’s eat~!”

Karin, who must have been hungry, sat down in the seat next to Kotomi.

I also got up from the sofa and sat across from Kotomi at the table where lunch was served.

“Let’s put our hands together~!”

Karin said that energetically with her childlike voice.

I wondered if they did that at kindergarten. It reminded me of school lunches and made me feel nostalgic.

Both I and Kotomi put our hands together.

Then, we both followed after Karin’s “Itadakimasu!”

(Well, first of all, let’s start with the Oyako-don.)

On the table, there was pickled cucumber, cold tofu, miso soup, and Oyako-don.

I picked up a spoon and brought the Oyako-don to my mouth.

“…So good.”

I couldn’t help but let out those words.

The lunch boxes were delicious, but they couldn’t compare to freshly made meals.

The rice was just heated up in the microwave, but the rice packs had evolved so much these days that it was perfectly fine.

The chicken and egg matched perfectly, and it brought out the best of the ingredients.

Even if I made it, I wouldn’t be able to make it as well as Kotomi.

“You seem to be enjoying your meal. I’m happy.”

“I can’t thank Amase enough.”

“Fufu, really?”

Kotomi laughed a little, seeming amused.

However, this was not a metaphor; it was simply an expression of my feelings.

“If you’d like, I’ll make it again sometime. I like cooking.”

“I’m not sure I can repay you anymore?”

“You don’t have to repay me. I like cooking anyway. My father is a chef at a hotel, and I learn from him sometimes.”

The image of the angel couldn’t be seen in Kotomi as she spoke so happily.

She was just a normal girl her age. She must have really liked cooking.

I felt warmth in Kotomi’s casual words and the genuine expressions that weren’t from the angel.

“She fell asleep, didn’t she…”

“She’s sleeping soundly.”

It was 2:30 in the afternoon, and after lunch, we spent time playing with Karin and watching TV together. Then Karin fell asleep.

She had been playing with a lot of energy, so she must have been worn out.

Karin, who was sleeping soundly with light breaths, looked like a tiny angel.

We had planned to play in the park after this, but she had fallen asleep before that.

“Um, what should we do?”

“I could take Karin home, but she’ll probably cry when she wakes up… She seems to be quite attached to Hanazawa-san.”

“Then, shall we wait until she wakes up?”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

Karin was sleeping on the carpet, holding her toys, so we gently lifted her and made her sleep on the sofa.

The question was, what should we do now?

(Amase gives off an impression that she’s never played a video game before in her life… I wonder what she’s like?)

“Amase, have you ever played a video game before?”

“Video games… you mean? Um, I have played board games before…”

“Then, would you like to try playing one together?”

“Yes, I’m a little curious.”

I took out a game console from the shelf under the TV.

Then, I connected the game console’s cable to the TV.

After changing the input, the home screen that I always looked at appeared on the screen.

I handed the controller to Kotomi, and I sat down a little away from Kotomi.

“Um… How do you operate this? Would you mind teaching me closer?”

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