Episode 4: How naive

After getting approval, Daiki started by opening all the drawers and doors around the kitchen to get an idea of what was inside. He took out the necessary cooking utensils and seasonings, and rolled up his sleeves. Then Daiki noticed that certain things were missing and called out to Reika, who seemed to be sulking a bit and pouting her lips.

[Kisaragi-san, do you have an apron?]

While asking her about it, Daiki was thinking that it would be new even if it was there. Reika thought about it for a while and then said, "Wait a minute," and left the living room. When she returned shortly after, she presented Daiki with what appeared to be a folded apron.

[Yes, here. I got it just the other day so――that’s why, it’s brand new.]

He took it and unfolded it to take a look at it, smiling at Reika who had taken precautions.

[……]

When Daiki silently looked at the suspicious looking Reika, she said mischievously.

[Sorry, onee-san here doesn’t cook much, so that’s the only apron I have.]

Daiki remained silent, and――looked down at the frilly and pure white apron.

(…You’re trying to get revenge for the thing about you not knowing how to cook,.)

When he looked up, Reika was grinning at him in an amusing manner.

(――Hah, how naive.)

Daiki gave her a reproachful stare and silently put his head through the apron.

After tying the laces tightly in front of Reika, who was staring in amazement, he turned to face her and proudly displayed his apron in front of her.

Daiki's physique was rather large, and his face was on the stern side. He had a very masculine physique, but when he wore such a girly, frilly outfit, the reaction would usually be divided into two. It would either result in the other party pulling back or――resulting in laughter.

Reika seemed to have gone with the latter and was frantically shaking, trying hard to hold back her mouth from turning into a strange shape and about to burst out laughing. She probably is trying not to laugh at the apron that she brought out with the intention of teasing him. It seemed to be quite painful, but Daiki was relentless. 

Daiki looked down at Reika with his own chin up, even though there was still a bit of a height difference between them. Because of his size, Reika in front of him would have felt very oppressed――if not for his apron.

[Pfff――]

Reika let out a small puff as if she couldn't bear it, and hurriedly held her hand over her mouth.

Daiki didn't let up on the chase. He made a serious face as he lowered his chin to its original position, then raised one eyebrow and stared at Reika.

[Pfkuku――]

Reika's face turned red and she held her mouth with both hands.

Daiki kept that expression on his face for a while, waiting for Reika to calm down a bit.

Soon after, Reika began to calm down and put her lowered hands on her hips, grinning triumphantly while puffing out her chest. It was as if she was saying, "I won." She seemed to have laughed enough, but in her mind, she hadn't laughed hard enough.

(Phew――Naive, how naive!)

Daiki kept his serious face and was posing on the side, with his chest.

[Humph――]

[…Uku…kukuku…]

Reika's expression instantly became distorted. She must have been on the verge of erupting.

(This is the final blow――!)

Daiki changed his pose, making a stern face and shouting in high spirits.

[Haa――!]

[Buhya…haha…ahahahahahaha!!]

Perhaps because she was trying too hard to hold back, a voice that was not that of a beautiful woman leaked out and Reika burst into a grand eruption of laughter and began to laugh loudly.

[…What's wrong, Kisaragi-san?]

While changing his pose, Daiki consciously asked in a low, stern voice. Of course, he kept the same expression on his face.

[S-stop――!? Aha-hahahaha!]

Reika laughed more and more and folded her body into a く shape like she was in pain.

[Stop? What, do you mean~?]

When he asked her while changing the pose again, Reika looked even more pained.

[T-t-that, stop――! Ahahaha! It hurts――!!]

[Stop what… I’m just wearing the brand new apron I just got――so what?]

[N-new!?  Ahaha! I-I’m sorry――!! So, please stop that――!?] 

[Well, what the heck is this…?]

When he blurted it out while changing the pose, Reika crouched down and fell on her buttocks as if she could no longer stand.

[I-I’m sorry!! I’m really sorry!! So, would you please stop putting on that pose――!? Ahahaha――!!]

Since she was about to start having trouble breathing, Daiki had no choice but to stop.

He then waited patiently for Reika to breathe again, who was sitting on the floor to regain her breath.

As if to confirm that Reika had calmed down to some extent and was no longer laughing, she looked up at Daiki.

[……]

[……]

Daiki stood in front of Reika, who was staring at him, and continued to wait while still in his daunting pose.

It was when Reika was about to stand up, breathing a sigh of relief, as if she had calmed down.

[Humph, haaa――!!]

Daiki struck a double pose, to deal the final knockout blow to the already downed Reika.

[!? ――Ahahahaha!! S-stop――!?]

Perhaps because she was attacked while her guard was down, but Reika was literally laughing her head off.

Seeing this, Daiki, still wearing his frilly apron, shook his head and said with a faraway look in his eyes, “Good grief”. [TLN: yare yare]

[Hah―― victory, is always such an empty thing…]

[Ahahahaha!!]

This time, Reika actually did have trouble breathing.

[Haa, I thought I was going to die… I'm not kidding, okay? I seriously thought I was going to die laughing, okay?]

[In a way, wouldn’t it be fine to have a peaceful death?]

Daiki said to the indignant Reika over the kitchen counter, while engrossed in stirring the contents in the bowl with a whisk.

[You've got to be kidding me! That's a stupid way to die! I'd look like a complete idiot when I die!]

[It's okay, Kisaragi-san would still be beautiful.]

[I've never heard of such a heartless beauty.]

[How vexing. I really do think you're beautiful.]

[Yes, yes, thank you.]

Perhaps she's used to being told that, but it seemed as if not a single wave rippled in Reika's heart as she said that with a wry smile.

[I just realized that this is the first time I've laid down in the kitchen since we moved here.]

[I see. It's certainly not a common occurrence, if you ask me. Wasn't it nice to have such a valuable experience?]

[Jeez! You’re making fun of me again! I’m the onee-san here you know! I’m the older one!]

[I know that. That's why I’m using polite language.]

[That's not the problem!]

As they talked, the bowl looked good, so Daiki poured it into a tray containing the bread he had cut earlier. He cut each of the four slices of bread in half. For two of the halves, he cut a slit in the middle and shoved a slice of cheese into it.

After making sure that the entire bread was soaked, Daiki took out some lettuce and cucumber from the refrigerator until the bread was fully soaked. He quickly washed the bowl he had just used and tore the lettuce into it. Then he cut the cucumber into thick slices and placed them on top of the lettuce, filled the bowl with water, and finally took out some ice from the freezer and put it in the bowl.

[Hey, what are you doing?]

[Putting the lettuce in the ice water makes the lettuce crispy and the cucumber nice and cold.]

[Oh? I see? Then, what will you do with the bread?]

Daiki stopped immediately at that question.

[Eh…? You don’t get it even after looking at it? That this is…?]

Reika was right in front of him, so she must have seen it. She saw that he was stirring milk, sugar, and eggs in a bowl.

[I-I don’t get it! Do you have a problem with that!?]

“Uu…” moaned Reika while blushing, and charged at Daiki.

[…No, I don’t really have a problem with that…]

[G-good… And so, what are you making with that…?]

[This is――No, if it’s going to be like that, then please look forward to the finished product.]

[Eh~ but I’m curious~]

Looking at her fidgeting restless, she really was curious.

Daiki smiled wryly and took out two frying pans, quickly washed them with water and wiped them with paper towels to drain off the water. Then, he took out the butter from the refrigerator and cut it into portions.

[Do you have any larger plates? I need two,[

[Larger  plates? Let me see, there should be some here――Here. Ah, should I wash them for you.]

Reika suggested with a wry smile, probably having realized that she hadn't used them for a long time after taking them out. Daiki nodded at her suggestion.

[That's right, please do. After you wash it, wipe it down and leave it there.]

[Roger that~]

Next to Reika humming as she began to wash, Daiki made sure that the bread in the tray was well soaked in the liquid, then placed two frying pans on the gas stove and lit one of them.

(I can’t get used to using an IH stove…)

He didn’t know if the frying pan was compatible with the IH stoves. It seemed at first glance that it could be used with IH stoves, but Daiki chose the iron frying pan that he was used to using.

After confirming the frying pan was heated, he then put the butter in while putting it on low heat.

The rich aroma of butter immediately spread.

[Butter smells so good, doesn't it?]

Reika twitched her nose in a good mood as she wiped the plates.

[It does, doesn’t it. But freshly made butter smells even better, and tastes much different.]

[Oh~]

Daiki asked for one more thing from Reika, who looked very interested.

[Oh, Kisaragi-san. When you're done wiping the dishes, can you boil water for two cups of soup for me?]

[Ah, are you going to use instant soup? Okay, I'll boil it in the kettle.]

[Please do.]

As the butter spread in the frying pan, Daiki took out two slices of bread that had been soaking in the butter and put them on the pan. Immediately, the sweet and savory smell of the bread mixed with the butter began to spread.

[Ah, it smells so good! So, what are you making?]

(Do you still not get it…?)

Daiki just shrugged his shoulders in amazement.

[You can tell by looking at it.]

[Eh~]

Reika looked frustrated, but Daiki paid no attention to her and focused on the frying pan.

When he saw that one side was wellburnt, he quickly turned it over.

Looking at the cooking of the bread, Reika finally noticed it.

[Ah! This is French toast!]

[Haha, so you finally got it.]

[I saw it at a store once. Amazing! Is it something you can make at home!?]

The words made Daiki feel like he was going to lose control, but he managed to hold back.

He thought about saying something to her, but swallowed when he saw Reika's eyes shining.

[It's not that big of a deal. It won't take too much longer to cook everything, so can you clear the table?]

[Ah, yeah, I understand!]

While smiling at Reika, who started to bustle around and clean the table restlessly, Daiki put the baked French toast on a plate and started to cook the rest.

In the middle of this process, he heated another frying pan, tipped over the butter, and cracked the eggs he had set out beforehand with one hand and put two on top in succession.

Reika, who was watching, was amazed.

[…Is there something wrong?]

[T-the eggs, you’re cracking them with one hand…!]

[……]

Daiki said nothing more and concentrated on cooking.

The eggs are made into fried eggs. Daiki, who preferred to cook the whites thoroughly, added water at the end, covered it with a lid, and steamed it. The yolk remains half-boiled.

When the French toast and fried eggs were both cooked, Daiki called out to Reika, who was looking at him, almost drooling.

[Kisaragi-san, can you prepare a cup of soup for me? I'll have the pottage.]

[Ah, a-alright. I'll have pottage too.]

While smiling at Reika, who seemed to have calmed back down, Daiki put the French toast and fried egg on a plate and drained the water from the vegetables by pouring iced water from the bowl he had set aside, and then quickly absorbed the remaining water with kitchen paper.

To save on washing up, he used a large plate. He put the drained vegetables on the same plate, took the ham and tomatoes out of the refrigerator, quickly rinsed the tomatoes, cut them quickly, and put them on the plate as well.

The ham was already sliced, so he folded it in half and put it on top. Finally, he sprinkled salt and pepper on the fried egg.

The result was a plate of salad, ham, fried eggs, and French toast.

[Umu.]

Daiki nodded his head in satisfaction at how beautifully the dish was prepared.

He took out two sets of knives and forks for the meal and carried each to the table.

The cup of soup he had asked Reika to prepare was already ready, so he laid it out together with the dishes.

[Uwaa…]

Reika looked visibly impressed.

[Come on, let's sit down. If it gets cold, it will lose its flavor.]

[Y-yes.]

Daiki smiled at Reika, who gave a polite reply.

[French toast――lunch plate has been served. Feel free.]

When he checked the time and said so, Reika's eyes sparkled.

[Wow! The plates really look like something you'd see in a store!]

[Haha, then let's eat――Thank you for the meal.]

[T-thank you for the meal――!]