A few days later at noon.
Today is the school’s founding anniversary, so there’s no school. So, taking advantage of the day off…
「Yeah, like that. You’re doing great, Kazuki.」
「O-Okay, thanks.」
So today, I asked my mother to let me help with making lunch. Coincidentally, she had the day off work too.
By the way, today’s lunch is fried rice. I was helping with tasks like cutting the ingredients and frying them.
And now, as the final step, I was adjusting the seasoning while stir-frying in the pan.
「Alright, it’s done!」
「Ohhー, that’s some fine fried rice. Well done, Kazuki! You really got the basics of cooking down!」
「I-I see. That’s good to hear.」
「Yeah, yeah, you really did well. Alright, let’s eat it while it’s still warm!」
「Yeah, got it.」
So we carried the freshly made fried rice to the living room table and decided to start eating together.
「Then, let’s eat. Itadakimasu!」
「Itadakimasu!」
We put our hands together properly and started eating the fried rice.
「Mogu mogu… Yeah! This is really delicious!」
「Ahh, yeah, really. This is pretty good for a first attempt at making fried rice, isn’t it?」
「Yeah, yeah, more than good enough! It’s actually too delicious! Fufu, I’m so happy to eat such delicious fried rice made by my sonー.」
「Haha, that’s good to hear.」
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And so, my mother praised me with a big smile on her face.
Well, I know it’s just flattery, but still, it makes me feel really happy when she praises me for being delicious with all her heart.
「Still, I was really surprised when you said you wanted to help with cooking. But what’s up with that? I heard you’ve been borrowing cookbooks from the library lately too?」
「Eh? Ahh, well, I just thought cooking seemed fun. And also… I thought it would be nice if I could make sweets for Mai…」
「Fuun, is that so? Fufu, Kazuki is really a kind Onii-chan who cares about his little sister.」
「Uh… W-Well, yeah…」
My mother looked at me with a smile and said that. But I felt a bit embarrassed, so I turned away.
「Fufu, but today, even though I was watching from the side, I thought you really did well. You understood how to hold the knife and use the frying pan properly, which was really good. I guess it paid off to read those books and study, right?」
「Ahh, yeah. I really feel that way too. Those cookbooks I borrowed from the library were really helpful.」
My mother said that and I agreed with her.
I’ve been reading the beginner-friendly cookbooks that Sasaki-san recommended whenever I had free time, and I realized that the knowledge I gained from those books was helpful in making fried rice today.
「Yeah, yeah, that’s rightー. I also took a quick look at those books, and they were really good for beginners. But how did you find such good beginner-friendly books?」
「Eh? Ahh, yeah. A friend who likes cooking recommended them to me. She said these books are helpful for beginners.」
「Hee, I see. That’s a good friend! Fufu, make sure to thank that friend properly for recommending such good books, okayー?」
「Yeah, of course, I know that.」
My mother said that, so I nodded properly. Of course, I’m really grateful to Sasaki-san.
(But I owe Sasaki-san so much…)
I want to take this opportunity to repay her somehow, but I can’t think of a good way…
(Unn, what could I do… Ah, that’s it!)
At that moment, I remembered something. So I quickly took out my smartphone and sent a message to Sasaki-san on LIME.