As Haruna bowed her head next to Fuka, I found myself doing the same. If I had to find a reason, it was because Haruna made her uncomfortable purely for my sake.
Well… if I keep acting this way, maybe Haruna will think twice before pulling something like this again. A sneaky calculation on my part, I guess. Looks like I’ve really soaked up a lot from Trinity.
Anyway, the situation got pretty awkward. We came for lunch, but with Fuka being held up like this, I didn’t have high hopes for the food…
“Uh, Haruna-chan. How much eel do we have?”
“About six pieces.”
Wait, you said you were preparing this because you wanted to? Six pieces?!
“…If you like it, I was thinking of making it for you every day while we’re in Gehenna.”
“Not to mention, having the same menu for several consecutive days is just a bit too much, don’t you think?”
Six pieces, mind you. That doesn’t quite match the number of people here…
“Haruna-chan, would it be okay if we shared? That way, everyone else could have their own portion. Although, I’ll pay for the eel separately as a trade-off.”
“Eh? U-umm, that’s certainly okay, but this is all for Mika-san’s health…”
“Ahaha, Haruna-chan. I really appreciate your thoughts, but I’m probably one of the healthiest people here. Instead, wouldn’t enjoying cooking together align more with the gourmet experiences you pursue?”
“…Fufu, that’s true. Like every other time, I’ve learned something from Mika-san today. I guess I really need Mika-san by my side.”
Alright, I’ve convinced Haruna, and if it’s six pieces, sharing means everyone here will get their share.
Izumi might find the amount a bit short, and Akari might be quite shortchanged. However, I don’t feel obligated to worry about the cost since I have no idea how expensive the ingredients are. If Akari needs more, I could suggest she grab some extra school lunch.
As for the other club members? They should feel the consequences of Fuka getting caught… though they too have suffered at Haruna’s hands, so they can just eat lunch separately and bill me. I have enough money, so if they want to go out and splurge on something expensive, it wouldn’t bother me.
“Hey, Fuka-chan. Can I ask you to show off your skills for everyone here? Together with Haruna-chan! I’ll do my best to help so that Haruna-chan doesn’t mess up☆”
I’m not confident about cleaning eels, but I can help with simple ingredient prep. As long as Fuka gives instructions, I’m good to go. Plus, I’ll keep an eye on Haruna to make sure she doesn’t do anything weird, and that should be one portion covered.
“Um… it seems like the upperclassmen aren’t particularly interested in this? Instead of just standing around and not helping with dinner, this is probably better… Yes, I think I can help with that as much as needed. But, does the President of Trinity know how to cook…?”
“Uh? I’m just about at the basic level, but one of the other presidents, Nagisa-chan, can make both dishes and desserts well. Anyway! I’m counting on you for today, Chef Fuka☆”
It seems she was surprisingly easy to persuade because she’s so nice.
“By the way, will the two of you be alright…? It’ll probably take a little while to cook. An hour at most, maybe?”
“That long, huh? I’ll just stay away from the student council room so as not to be a bother. But… as a trade-off. I’ll do my best to finish quickly, so I hope you’ll go out with me in the afternoon.”
“…Oh dear, am I supposed to take the hint and slip out of here? I can wait that long, of course. Rather, I feel like I should be thanking you for this… And what’s with that look! I know how to say thank you when I actually feel grateful!”
Successfully persuading Hina and Aco as well, it feels strange to be asked to come back after a little while when we came all this way for lunch.
Thus began the chaotic eel rice bowl cooking time. With long hair out of the way, we each stood with a cutting board in front of us.
“I’ll first show you how to clean the eel. Start by scraping the slime off from the back down to the tail using the knife.”
As Fuka demonstrated with an eel, Haruna awkwardly followed along. I thought her cooking skills would be bad but figured her knife skills might be fine; turns out, she seemed not too familiar in this regard either.
“Next, you’ll want to scrape off the bones and slime inside. During this process, don’t wash the knife but wipe it with a paper towel instead.”
While Fuka moved smoothly to the next step after cleaning one eel, Haruna was slow and steady. It didn’t seem too hard; I was there to help with preparing the seasoning, slicing ginger as we agreed beforehand.
That’s key to minimizing cooking time since ingredient prep is also timed.
But it’s strange; Fuka, despite being a first-year, speaks casually with Haruna.
…Thinking about the trouble Haruna caused me, I can understand why someone would act that way too.
“Once the slime is gone, you need to cut off the fins with scissors. Also, President, please julienne half of the ginger and soak it in water. The spiciness of ginger can be polarizing, so it’s better to lessen the bite a bit.”
“Ah, yes! But calling me President feels too stiff; it would be great if you could call me Mika-san instead.”
“Ah, okay… I’ll keep that in mind, Mika-san.”
Following Fuka’s instructions, Haruna successfully finished removing the fins and bones from her eel, wearing a satisfied smile.
“Fufu. Learning one step at a time on my path to gourmet cooking——”
“Hey there, now that you’re done, it’s time to make some cuts!”
“…Yes, Chef Fuka!”
Hmm… what should I say? A reversal in the relationship between Fuka and Haruna? This is surprisingly amusing to watch. They say there’s no room for yielding in a kitchen of skilled chefs, and it looks like Fuka is no different.
After Haruna finished cleaning her share of the eel, while cutting onion, I sliced up some green onions. Fuka, who had finished gutting all the eels and smashed some garlic, filled a pot with water and added soy sauce, mirin, and sugar according to the recipe. Following that, veggies and kelp were thrown in, along with syrup and whole peppercorns.
“I think this will need to boil on medium heat for about 20 to 25 minutes. Since the quantity is more than the recipe suggests, I’ll decide how to handle it. Traditionally, the recipe is to boil the eel bones to make the sauce, but time is tight, so this is the best we can do right now.”
After explaining, Fuka pulled out some miso paste from somewhere.
“Sadly, we don’t have eel entrails, so we’ll substitute with regular miso soup… Though, it seems like someone wasn’t quite prepared this time?”
“…Fufu, perhaps I got a bit ahead of myself this time. I’m quite embarrassed.”
“Come on, you usually don’t show embarrassment at all?! That’s just strange!”
“…That’s too much.”
Ignoring Haruna’s mock sobs lightheartedly, Fuka quickly prepared the broth and instructed Haruna to get ready for skewering the eels before the sauce had finished. Watching Haruna eagerly follow those instructions gave me a strange vibe reminiscent of a carefree time.
…Let’s put aside the uncomfortable truth that once that’s over, the roles will reverse again.
After about 20 minutes passed, Fuka confirmed the sauce was done and drained the veggies, keeping just the sauce aside.
“Now, it’s time to grill the eels. It’ll be a bit troublesome since we’re using a grill, but it’ll get messy due to the marinade. Let’s have Haruna clean up afterward♪”
“…”
After Fuka’s smiling remark, Haruna, feeling the unspoken pressure, nodded her head hesitantly while smiling.
Wow, I wonder if our Haruna will really become a person after this. If that happens, I’d have no more wishes left.
Fuka placed the eel skin side down on the grill, brushed it with tare sauce, and then handed Haruna the brush. From there, it was a cycle of Fuka flipping the eels while Haruna brushed the marinade on top.
As the eels cooked, the delightful aroma mixed with the tare sauce wafted through the air, making my mouth water.
“Mika-san, you should scoop some rice into the bowls I prepped!”
“Okay, got it!”
I put a little less rice into Haruna and my bowls, and into everyone else’s, I served what I thought would be a normal portion. Finally, for Akari, I scooped what looked like nearly two servings worth.
After serving all the rice, I took a cup of water to sip when Hina and Aco entered the kitchen. The way they swallowed hard while their noses picked up the delicious aroma was adorably cute.
Beautifully grilled eels were placed over the rice bowls one by one, garnished with julienned ginger, and finished off with another brushing of tare sauce before cutting the eel into bite-size pieces. Visually, it rivaled any specialty eel rice bowl restaurant.
“…Indeed, so this is why school lunch has improved this year. No wonder Kurodate was willing to kneel and learn.”
“Uh… Are we really allowed to eat this? Just like this? gulp It looks like something you’d pay a lot just to taste.”
“Ahaha, Aco-chan, no one here will tell you not to eat when you’re swallowing hard like that.”
“Fufu, while cooking for only Mika-san is nice, what truly embodies gourmet cooking is enjoying it together with everyone.”
As the seven of us settled around the table, the space became quite cramped, but no one complained. Everyone was too entranced by the eel rice bowls in front of them.
As for me? Sitting in between Haruna and Hina, there’s no way I could be unhappy.
Now, almost habitually, I pulled out my Hyudaepon, switched to camera mode, and stretched my arm out.
“Hey everyone, just look over here before we eat☆”
One angel from Trinity and what… six devils from Gehenna? I’m not entirely sure if Aco should count as a devil either, but still, it formed a strangely amusing photo. After taking a few snaps of the eel rice bowl, I sent the group photo to Haruna and Hina, while the eel rice bowl photo went to Nagisa.
Since I’m still in a cold war with Haruna, I made sure to mention her without bringing her up directly when sending a Momotalk.
[Eating good food! Nagisa-chan, take care of your health too, and let’s go eat something delicious next week!]
Hmm, that should be fine, right? As I tucked my phone away, I noticed everyone had put down their utensils and were staring at me.
“…Huh? Why hasn’t anyone touched their food after taking the photo?”
“Well, you see, this was prepared by Haruna specifically for you from the start. Everyone respects that aspect.”
“Because I’m the vice president!”
“Since I had a lot for lunch already, waiting a bit is manageable!”
With those unexpected words from the two members of the Gourmet Research Club, there was no need for others to chime in. They were genuinely waiting for me to pick up my utensil first.
“Um, I feel like it’s unnecessary to go this far…”
“It’s just a matter of you taking the first bite, Mika-san.”
Unable to find anything to counter Haruna’s remark, I simply picked up my utensil. I felt my mouth twisting into a smile.
“Then… Haruna-chan, Fuka-chan, I’ll dig in!”
I scooped up some rice topped with eel and stuffed it right into my mouth.
And at that moment, I vowed to worship Fuka’s cooking skills for life.
The texture of the eel was crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside, the sweet savory flavor of the tare sauce melded with the unique fragrance and spiciness of ginger, achieving a perfect harmony. It wasn’t just any ordinary eel; each bite felt powerful enough to invigorate my spirit, the flavor hitting all the right spots.
“Wow——o… This is the best eel rice bowl I’ve ever had…”
“Mmm…! This is completely gourmet♪”
“W-wait… is this really something a student can make? Thinking that I’m eating something like this for free suddenly gives a pang of guilt…”
Proving that it’s impossible to suppress the admiration for such taste, everyone’s praises flowed out continuously. Seeing that, a motherly smile appeared on Fuka’s face.
As the aftertaste of deliciousness began to settle, Haruna lightly tapped my arm, shyly saying,
“…About half of this was made by me, Mika-san. All for you.”
As those words spilled out, Haruna’s adorably curved eyes captured my attention.
Caught in a daze, I found myself smiling back.
…Sorry, Nagisa-chan. I guess I’m just someone who’s way too easy.
