Episode 3: Practically new…?

[Eh, Yanagi-kun will…?]

Daiki nodded to the dazed Reika.

[Yeah. And so, is it fine if I use this bread?]

[I-I don’t mind but… can you cook?]

Daiki gave a fearless smile at the question, and replied while brimming with confidence.

[I can.]

[Errr, th-then…Ah, no, no, Yanagi-kun, you collapsed from overwork yesterday, so please don’t. You shouldn't cook.]

[No, I got a lot of sleep last night, and I'm feeling much better thanks to the IV drip. Is it fine if I do this as a thank you for last night?]

[No way, I should be the one thanking y- wait, this is going to be a redo of what happened a while ago.]

Reika smiled wryly as she said this, and Daiki smiled as well.

[Well, I can thank you in some way or another, but would you please let me cook? Actually, I was planning to buy ingredients on the way back home yesterday and cook for myself.]

After persisting on making it herself to the bitter end, Reika finally gave up hesitantly and nodded.

[If that’s how it is――but, aren’t the ingredients insufficient?]

[For now, can you show me what’s inside the fridge?] 

As Daiki said that, stood up and walked to the refrigerator, Reika blocked his way with a look of impatience on her face.

[U-um! There’s really nothing inside the fridge!]

[…No, even if it’s butter, or condiments, or anything else, there has to be something in there…}]

[I-I'm confident in my condiments!]

[Eh, what's with that confidence? … No, anyhow I just want to know what you have. Even with that confidence in your condiments, you have to show me what’s in there.]

Reika groaned, probably having no choice but to acknowledge the validity of Daiki's words.

[Uu…d-don’t laugh, ok?]

[…What――Yes, I won’t laugh.]

Daiki wondered if there was any reason to laugh when looking at the refrigerator, but for now he nodded anyway.

[Absolutely?]

[Absolutely.]

[Th-then――]

Reika, looking reluctant, shifted her body from the front of the refrigerator.

After exhaling a breath of air, Daiki quickly opened the refrigerator without hesitation and peeked inside from the top.

[Beer, beer, beer, beer, beer, chūhai, chūhai, champagne, champagne… Milk, is there too.]

{TN: chuhai – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chūhai, basically an alcoholic beverage.}

When he glanced at Reika, he saw that her cheeks were crimson and she was turning away as if she wanted to curl up.

(It’s amazing how foreign the milk feels in there, even so I’m grateful for it being there. Besides…)

[…You sure have condiments…]

[R-right!?]

Daiki threw a sidelong glance at Reika who was enthusiastic just from receiving approval, and checked the condiments.

Vinegar, various oils, ponzu, miso, sauces, dressings, mayonnaise and Weber. There were also tubes of condiments. There are also jams and taberurayu. And the jelly that Daiki ate before the shower. From the looks of it, there are a lot of things in bottles, even things that Daiki doesn't know much about. They were not neatly lined up, which was curious, but that was okay. But more than that――

{TN: ponzu: a sauce, miso is a seasoning, weber is a vegetable seasoning, taberurayu is a type of chili oil mixed with garlic and other things.]

[Mostly unopened――?]

He muttered to himself, and the onlooking Reika jerked in an obvious manner.

[Ya-yahaha, I bought it but I didn’t get the chance to use it…]

Her anticlimactic voice got smaller and smaller.

[i-is that so?]

After returning it, Daiki opened the drawer-like part in the lower right corner.

[Oh, there’s cheese and ham right?]

[Ah, y-yeah! Cheese and bread toast!?]

[That's not so bad…Oh, there are eggs, too.]

[Fufun, eggs. I try not to run out of them.]

Daiki couldn't help but wonder why Reika was so smug and proud about that.

(No, if you have eggs, you can have toast and a fried egg, or ham and eggs if you have ham. It would have made a great menu, but you didn't give me that option…)

Reika blinked her eyes curiously, probably because such a question appeared on Daiki's face.

[Um, what?]

[Well… No, you said you never run out of eggs but, what do you use them for?]

[Eh? Don’t you usually eat tamago kake gohan?]

{TN: Tamago kake gohan is basically white rice with raw egg, seasoned with soy sauce.}

The way she tilted her head as if to ask if there was anything else.

[…Is that so…]

(Tamago kake gohan is certainly delicious. It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s the highest speed menu. But, is that the only use of eggs for you…?)

Daiki shook his head, trying not to think about it any more, and with that thought, he closed the fridge lid and opened what he thought was the lower vegetable compartment.

[Oh, lettuce, tomatoes, and…cucumbers!]

[Ah, yeah yeah, there's that too! Let's make a salad!]

(Oh, you mean vegetables that can already be eaten if you cut them… There were quite a few kinds of dressings, and that one was already open… Oh, I see, the ham and cheese are related to that.)

Even though he already understood, Daiki tried asking her anyway.

[Are there any other vegetables? Maybe in another place?]

[Err…There’s no more, I think…]

Daiki nodded expectantly at Reika who looked away awkwardly.

[Err… W-what are you going to do? Can you make something?]

When Reika asked nervously, Daiki was surprised at what she was saying.

[No, no. This much is more than enough. You can make a great lunch with these.]

[Eh, really? I can only think of cheese toast and a salad!]

[…I see.]

Reika protested indignantly, perhaps because she was being looked at like a very disappointing child.

[H-hey, what’s with that look! I can do it too if I wanted to!]

[I see…]

[W-what’s with that monotone voice!? I’m the Onee-san here right!?]

{TN: ソウデスカ… was Daiki’s original line, soudesuka is usually in hiragana but here he used katakana hence Reika’s protest of him being monotone.}

Reika gave him a sharp look, but instead of dealing with her, Daiki sighed and headed towards the kitchen.

[Can you show me the kitchen?]

[D-don’t ignore me!]

As Reika chased after him, Daiki walked into the kitchen and stopped in his tracks.

[…It’s a splendid built-in kitchen…]

Right in front of him was a beautiful and spacious system kitchen, complete with an oven, making it easy to cook, splendid just as Daiki had said.

When he let out a sound of admiration, Reika became proud, as if she had regained her confidence.

[Isn't it? Look at this stove, it's a hybrid of gas and IH stove!]{TN; IH= Induction heating}

[Hee? You have that?]

[Yep, it's one of the newer ones!]

[Eh, that's amazing.]

Throwing a sidelong glance at the proud Reika, Daiki――yeah, he asked about the beautiful kitchen that seemed like it was never used. 

[…Do you have all the cookware? Right now I'm looking for a frying pan and a bowl or something.]

Reika didn't show any sign of cooking, but when Daiki asked her if she really had all the utensils, Reika answered confidently while puffing her chest with pride.

[I'm confident in my cookware!]

[…Hoho, that's reassuring.]

As her confidence in her condiments certainly wasn’t for show, Daiki said it sincerely.

[Fufufun~ Come, take a look here!]

Reika, pleased with herself, opened one of the drawers in the system kitchen.

[Hou…]

There were frying pans of various sizes, woks, egg frying pans, and so on, just as she had said.

[Hey, look at this? It's an iron frying pan that professional chefs use!]

Reika took the frying pan from one of them and Daiki inspected it.

[Certainly…it’s a good frying pan.]

[Right?]

With Reika's outstretched nose almost reaching the ceiling, Daiki flicked the pan with his fingers and sniffed lightly, then furrowed his eyebrows.

[…Practically new…?]

At Daiki's muttering, Reika winced again visibly.

[I-It's not that new! I've used it a few times!]

[A few times…]

So in other words, is it not almost new?

It seems that Daiki's voice conveyed this sentiment, and Reika awkwardly looked away.

[A-also, a bowl! The bowl was if I remember… Look, here! It’s right here!]

There was indeed a bowl in the place that Reika, who seemed to be in a hurry, indicated. It was a nice looking bowl, one that you would not find in a hundred-yen store like the one Daiki uses.

[Fumu…]

[A-and the kitchen knife! It’s right here!]

And then, a set of kitchen knives with a sense of luxury lined up where she pointed.

[These too!　It's from a German manufacturer that's a favourite for the professionals.]

[Yes, I know… I was thinking of getting one.]

[Hee? Is that so?]

[Can I hold it for a bit in my hand?]

[By all means.]

Daiki picked up one of the knives with a little excitement for the quality.

[Oo…]

It was an all-purpose knife, the most popular type of knife with a reputation for versatility. The blade is beautiful, and it has a nice, solid feel to it. Just holding it in your hand makes you want to use it immediately.

[…Do you like it?]

It seems that he was fascinated for a long time, and when Reika said to him with a smile, Daiki came back to himself.

[Y-yes…but.]

[But?]

[Even this one…looks practically new.]

Reika got frightened a second time.

[I don’t really… cook much?]

[Err…I-I see. Not that, much, right…]

Looking at Reika who said that while averting her eyes again, Daiki sighed, and once again looked towards the splendid built-in kitchen, the high quality frying pan and the knife set, and couldn’t bear to not mutter unintentionally.

[A waste…]

[Uuu…]

Hearing his voice, Reika groaned as she was stabbed deeply in the chest.

From the fact that she had been looking away, Daiki realized that it was time to face him, or rather, that he could no longer look away.

This beautiful onee-san in front of him could not cook.

Perhaps, Daiki had predicted that Reika was a woman who started with the essentials.

There is a magnificent built-in kitchen. Okay, let's do some cooking. The first thing to do is to get the best cooking utensils, and then collect all the condiments that look good…and then she's satisfied with just that. It is a common pattern to start with the essentials and end up being satisfied with it. It's similar to that thing where you buy a reference book and feel like you've studied it all by itself.

However, as Daiki's first impression of her, she must be a beautiful woman who is capable of doing her job without a doubt. It would be strange if she wasn't, since she even lives in such a 100 million-yen apartment.

But at home, she's just a clumsy beauty… probably.

[Well, anyhow… is it fine if I make something?]

[Please do…]