“By the way, Yukishiro.”
“Yes?”
While they were playing, Yuzuru spoke to Arisa.
Without taking her eyes off the screen, she responded.
Just a few hours earlier she had barely known how to operate the controller… but now she had improved enough to hold a conversation with Yuzuru while playing.
Of course, the fact that her opponent—Yuzuru—was terrible at the game also helped.
“Your cooking was delicious. Absolutely excellent.”
The moment he said that, the character Arisa was controlling moved in a strange way.
Apparently she had pressed the wrong button.
“I see.”
Arisa replied in a flat voice.
…In Yuzuru’s mind, he recalled the shy Arisa who had been so surprised the last time he praised her cooking.
(…I might actually be able to win like this.)
After losing again and again, Yuzuru decided it was time to try some psychological warfare.
“The nikujaga was great. The balance between sweetness and saltiness was perfect, and it had a lot of depth and umami too. Was that katsuobushi dashi?”
“New potatoes and onions are especially good this time of year.”
“The miso soup you made was amazing. The balance between the ingredients and the broth was perfect. The fact that you made the dashi from katsuobushi and kombu was really impressive. These days, instant dashi powders are pretty good, and sometimes if someone inexperienced tries to make dashi from scratch it actually tastes worse… but when someone skilled does it properly, it really is completely different. Also, this is just my personal preference, but—ah!”
Because he had been busy thinking of compliments for Arisa’s cooking, Yuzuru lost focus.
Arisa’s character landed a special move squarely on him.
He lost spectacularly.
“This is what they mean by ‘a schemer drowning in his own scheme.’”
“So you noticed.”
“It was such an obvious attempt at flattery. Besides, it came completely out of nowhere. It was far too deliberate.”
She was absolutely right.
But there was one thing he had to correct.
“I might have exaggerated, and maybe it sounded like flattery—but it really was delicious. My comments about the taste were genuine.”
“I see. Well, cooking is something I’m fairly good at. It wouldn’t make sense for it to taste bad.”
Apparently the same trick wouldn’t work twice.
Even with Yuzuru’s compliments, she showed no sign of being flustered, maintaining her usual faint smile.
Since the topic had come up anyway, Yuzuru decided to keep the conversation centered around cooking.
“Do you like cooking?”
“…Not particularly. But I’m used to it. It’s true that I cook at home regularly.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. The people who get to eat your cooking must be lucky.”
“…Are they?”
Arisa gave a small smile.
But it wasn’t quite a bashful smile.
It was closer to a self-mocking, slightly cynical one.
“Well, it does make cooking worthwhile if someone compliments it—even if it’s just flattery like yours.”
“It’s not flattery. Your cooking really was delicious. Good enough that I’d want to eat it again.”
“…I see.”
Arisa then turned toward him.
She sat in seiza, straightened her back, and faced him formally.
Her jade eyes, framed by long eyelashes, looked directly at him.
Without thinking, Yuzuru straightened his posture too.
“W-what is it?”
“Then would you like to eat it today?”
“Huh?”
“You treated me to cake, after all. If you’d like… I can cook. If you’d rather not, that’s fine too.”
It was a suggestion he had never expected.
Around five-thirty in the evening.
White rice.
Miso soup with green onions and tofu.
Japanese-style hamburger steak (with grated daikon, sautéed mushrooms, and boiled broccoli on the side).
Simmered root vegetables.
Spinach ohitashi.
Dashimaki tamago.
Cold tofu.
The table ended up filled with a meal far more luxurious than Yuzuru had imagined.
There were two more dishes than the last time Arisa had cooked for him.
“Come to think of it… you said you usually make at least four side dishes.”
Yuzuru murmured.
Apparently that hadn’t been an exaggeration.
She probably really did cook a standard ichijū-sansai meal with additional dishes on top.
To Yuzuru, that was astonishing.
But Arisa looked completely unconcerned.
“It’s nothing special. Cold tofu is just tofu I bought and served.”
Even ignoring that, there were still four other dishes.
If she really cooked like this every day… that had to be quite a workload.
Still, Yuzuru didn’t say that out loud.
“Sorry. You made something this fancy and delicious for me.”
“It’s in return for the cake and the games. We split the ingredient cost, and I’m eating too… and I cook regularly anyway, so it’s no trouble.”
“Well… the cake and the games were supposed to be my way of thanking you for taking care of me, so if you return the favor like this it kind of defeats the purpose.”
Yuzuru smiled wryly.
Their back-and-forth of favors was starting to blur the original intention.
“By the way, you said you usually cook at home, right? …Is your family’s dinner going to be okay?”
Something that had been on his mind finally came up.
Arisa had already told her adoptive parents that she would be cooking dinner for Yuzuru and eating there as well.
Yuzuru had happily accepted the offer since he wanted to taste her cooking again—but he worried she might get scolded for it.
“When I told them I wanted to cook for you, Takasegawa-san, they told me to capture your heart and stomach.”
She raised the corner of her mouth slightly and gave a faint snort.
“I suppose they want the engagement money that badly.”
It was a smile filled with self-mockery—and a hint of disdain.
“Well, you’ve definitely captured my stomach, if not my heart.”
“You’re quite smooth.”
“No, I’m serious. I suffered from Yukishiro withdrawal for a while.”
“That’s a ridiculous joke. …Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
She said that in an exasperated, chilly voice.
The atmosphere cooled faster than the food.
Yuzuru pressed his hands together and picked up his chopsticks.
For now, he took a sip of the miso soup.
“Yeah, this is delicious again.”
“I see. Well, I didn’t change the recipe. It should taste the same.”
“Being able to produce a consistent flavor like that is proof of good cooking, isn’t it?”
“That’s excessive flattery. As long as you remember the measurements, it’s nothing special.”
Arisa replied calmly.
Yuzuru decided that adding more words would only make it sound insincere, so he stopped giving detailed commentary about the food.
Without saying anything further, he continued eating while thinking how good it tasted.
Then—
“…Was it really that good?”
After he had finished about half his meal, Arisa asked that question.
Yuzuru wondered why she was bringing it up now.
“Didn’t I already tell you that earlier?”
“No… it’s just that you’re eating it so happily.”
As she said that, Arisa glanced at Yuzuru’s plate, where most of the food had already disappeared.
Then she asked in her usual calm voice:
“Would you like another serving? There’s still hamburger steak, simmered vegetables, and miso soup.”
“I’d love some.”
“I see.”
Arisa took the empty plate from him and stood up.
Then she turned her back and headed toward the kitchen.
He couldn’t see her expression…
But Yuzuru felt certain that she understood, at least a little, that his words hadn’t been mere flattery.
Current Dere Level: 20%
The weak point is left to everyone’s imagination.
After all, words and actions are both necessary if you want something to get across.