My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 685

"The soft, mushy appearance is a bit ugly at first glance, and you can tell the flavors haven't blended together, but that's part of the fun of making desserts... Even considering the aroma of freshly baked and the crispy crust, it's still a bit too sweet, but..."

She ate the pie with gusto, muttering her own opinions as she finished, and then quietly closed her eyes.

The office was completely silent.

The atmosphere was inexplicably tense. Yui swallowed hard, waiting for Komachi to continue.

The quiet time passed by without a sound.

All that could be heard was a disdainful remark: "What nonsense is this guy spouting..."

As soon as Isshiki finished speaking, Komachi suddenly opened her eyes.

"For someone with a sweet tooth, this level of sweetness is just right...! Pass! Pass!"

"Long live--!"

Komachi gave a thumbs-up, and Yui hugged her tightly before they high-fived. Yukinoshita smiled contentedly at the sight.

"Yuigahama-kun, you've really improved. The improvement is like night and day compared to before."

"But I still did it with my mom. Hehehe..."

Yuihama shyly combed her hair into a bun.

"So, I think... the taste should be fine..."

She kept glancing at me as she spoke.

Oh, I see. Did you make it with Mrs. Hihama? Then she wouldn't have changed the recipe or added any new seasonings, right? More importantly, Komachi and Yukinoshita both said it was delicious. It's safe to eat.

"I'm starting to eat..."

I picked up my fork and took a bite of the pie.

The crispy pie crust crumbles instantly in your mouth, followed by the aroma of fresh peaches and a rich sweetness.

I thought it was apple pie, but it turned out to be peach pie. The novelty and surprise made me blurt out my honest thoughts.

"……tasty."

"Really⁉"

Yuihama excitedly asked back. I forked another piece of peach pie and ate it instead of answering, nodding to her in response.

Mmm, it's really delicious. No wonder Yukino nodded in satisfaction and ate with such gusto.

In terms of taste and appearance as a dessert, it probably can't compare to those sold in other stores.

However, her efforts to date and past events have made this peach pie dozens of times more delicious.

She used to be unable to even make simple cookies properly, ignoring recipes and adding a bunch of her own original methods and ingredients...

This peach pie is probably harder to make than cookies. Pies made with peaches aren't very common, and it must have taken a lot of effort to make one. And yet, Hihama, who isn't good at cooking, actually managed to make it…

Just thinking about it moved me deeply, but I couldn't stop eating the peach pie, one bite after another. Yui gazed at me intently.

Perhaps it was out of a sense of satisfaction, but after finishing the pie, I took a sip of black tea and subconsciously muttered:

"It sounds strange, but it's really delicious... Wow, it's amazing..."

"You're exaggerating."

Yuihama patted my shoulder frantically to hide her embarrassment. I was swaying back and forth from her pats, but then she suddenly stopped.

"That's great... I'll do it again."

This time, instead of touching her bun, she placed her hand on her chest and spoke softly. Though her tone was still childlike, her smile seemed much more mature than usual, both sweet and bittersweet, making me dizzy. It seemed I was intoxicated by the faint aroma of rum.

Even though I knew the alcohol had long since evaporated, I still picked up my teacup and took a sip of black tea to sober up. I closed my eyes to calm myself down.

Then, a murmur emerged from the darkness.

"Should I do it too...?"

I don't know if it was the caffeine in the black tea that woke me up, or if it was the sound of a childish voice throwing a tantrum, but I suddenly opened my eyes. Turning my head, I saw Yukinoshita silently looking away, pouting, and idly fiddling with the ends of her long black hair.

But that only lasted for a moment. She immediately looked up and showed her usual calm and composed smile.

"The refreshments are usually prepared by Hihama-kun. Let me do it next time."

"It's okay, it's okay! I'll do it! I feel bad always having Yukino make the tea. Besides, I'm happy to see you all enjoying your meal... I wanted to make it for everyone."

Yuihama smiled as she combed her hair into a bun, while Yukinoshita brushed away a strand of hair that was hanging over her shoulder.

"No, brewing black tea isn't difficult, and handmade things should be reciprocated with handmade things. In that case, it would be more reasonable for me to return the favor with handmade pastries, wouldn't it?"

"Don't worry about returning the favor. Rather, I just want to repay Yukino in a good way."

Yukinoshita and Yuihama looked at each other and smiled.

Oh, what a peaceful atmosphere! It's so nice that the girls are exchanging handmade snacks. What a heartwarming scene.

...However, why is Iroha tugging at my sleeve with that annoying, sly grin? You're excitedly pulling at my sleeve and whispering in my ear; it's bothering me.

"Senior, do you want me to translate this conversation for you?"

"No need. Don't underestimate me, I'm a female with a Level 3 proficiency test in Chinese."

"What kind of certification is that...?"

I made up some random story, and Isshiki looked at me with a genuinely dumbfounded expression. Komachi quickly joined the conversation.

"Komachi will explain! The Girl's Language Proficiency Test refers to the test of girls' unique and meaningful language... um—similar to the English proficiency test. If you pass the Girl's Language Proficiency Test Level 3, you can roughly understand girls' language at the junior high school level, I think."

Komachi started off quite enthusiastically, but ended off very casually, probably because she found it troublesome. However, Isshiki hadn't been listening attentively from the beginning and wasn't harmed in any way.

"What a useless skill... Are you saying that senior and Xiaomi usually talk about this? You two are so close. It's kind of disgusting."

"Ugh, disgusting... Komachi doesn't find it disgusting at all... Komachi is just playing with her brother..."

The incredibly direct mockery, delivered at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour, dealt a blow to Komachi. Hahaha, Komachi, you still have a lot more to learn. Iroha's disgustingness isn't another expression of love, nor is it a way of being tsundere or hiding shyness; it's something she only says when she truly finds it disgusting. So it's best to act even more hurtful, like me.

...Oh, right—it turns out Iroha thinks I'm awful. Even though I already knew, I'm still a little hurt.

The brother and sister were both devastated, and Isshiki dealt them another blow.

"Uh—accompanying a senior isn't something a normal person would do. Besides, who's responsible for certifying that thing...?"

"Of course it's Komachi."

Using Xiaomi as a standard—it's absolutely useless.

"What did you say?! Komachi is amazing! She's got amazing femininity! She can speak female language! Aika Spike female language!"

"You can't even speak Japanese properly... so your understanding of female speech is based on Xiaomi, right—?"

Yise tilted her head and asked, and I nodded in response.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Karma kills, karma kills."

Komachi chimed in with broken English that was practically Japanese pronunciation. Isshiki crossed her arms and fell into deep thought. After a brief moment of reflection, she looked up.

"...Isn't it Xiaomi's fault that senior's sexual fetishes are so twisted?"

"How did this get into sexual fetishes... It's not perverse at all! It's perfectly normal!"

I felt she had said something rather rude to me without any attempt to hide it, and I immediately denied it. However, Komachi, who was sitting diagonally in front of me, seemed to have thought of something, and her shoulders slumped as she fell into a slump.

"Waaah... this... Komachi might not be able to deny it..."

You're kidding, right? Are my sexual fetishes really that twisted? Is it true or not?

To be honest, these two people seemed to know my fetishes very well, which made me a little scared, or rather, trembling all over... a little excited. Yeah—that's right. My fetishes are really twisted.

During my period of self-reflection, the girl talk between Yukinoshita and Yuihama continued.

One of them said, "I'll do it," and the other said, "I'll do it," neither willing to give in.

This approach will clearly not lead to any results.

However, there was no point in continuing a meaningless argument. The two seemed to understand this as well, sighed, picked up their teacups, drank their black tea, and returned to their starting point.

"Anyway... let's decide who will make the tea and snacks next time."

"Hmm, how should we decide?"

After they finished speaking, they both glanced at me.

Hmm, am I supposed to decide...?

Wait a minute. This condition not only affects your stomach and intestines, but it also puts a huge burden on your scalp. I've only recently realized that I might be losing some hair on the top of my head. I'm going bald soon, I'm serious.

But I can't just give a perfunctory excuse.

No matter how much damage my scalp suffers, or how bald I become, it doesn't matter. To me, a hair follicle killer, the hair whorl is just an external thing.

I took a sip of black tea, and with the spirit of "we have no battlefield" (Note 17), I offered up all the explanations I could think of. It wasn't just random nonsense, but a wholehearted effort to fool them.

"Mmm—delicious. So delicious. The wind is whispering to me... It's the perfect match for black tea that's cooled down to a comfortable temperature... It's the best combination for those who love sweets but are afraid of getting burned... The melody of pie and black tea complements each other perfectly... I hope that relationships between people can be like that too..."

"He's talking nonsense again..."

Isshiki was completely dumbfounded, revealing a look of disdain. I ignored her, gazing into the distance, pretending to be deeply moved, and stared intently at Komachi.

Komachi, who was in front of me, shook her ahoge (cowlick) and reacted immediately. As expected of the world's little sister! So quick! Komachi! Komachi ate a pie in big bites, picked up her black tea and drank it, then burst into tears.

"How could there be such a thing... How could this be... I've never tasted such delicious black tea and pie... Compared to this, Iroha-senpai is nothing..." (Note 18)

"Huh? Huh? Ah? Xiaomi, what did you say?"

Isshiki glared fiercely at Komachi, whose voice trembled and tears streamed down her face, just like Kyogoku Mantaro's. His gaze was so sharp it seemed to say, "Should I sift your rice into uniformly sized grains right now and cook it in the rice cooker?" Actually, I'd heard that rice cooked with uniformly sized grains tasted better. A delicious challenge is always the right thing to do. I know that very well.

Speechless, probably because of the farce put on by Komachi and Isshiki, Yukinoshita and Yuihama suddenly felt completely powerless.

"...Let's do it together then."

"Hmm! How about coming over to my place sometime?"

"Sure. When is a convenient time?"

The two exchanged gentle smiles, pulled their chairs closer together, and began discussing their future plans.

Yes, what a beautiful friendship.

And so this matter came to an end… Yoshimune thought to himself. (Note 19)

I presumptuously thought the incident was over, but there was one person who seemed completely unable to accept it.

"...Hmm—I'm also very good at making desserts, and I can cook too."

Isshiki puffed out her cheeks and kicked her legs in dissatisfaction. In fact, she had successfully made chocolates for Valentine's Day, so she should have had some confidence. To say she was utterly insignificant would be too pathetic. I was just about to speak up for her when Komachi quickly interrupted.

"Oh dear, cooking is an expression of love. As long as there's love, love is OK! Conversely, without love, it's just garbage, garbage. Or rather, it's not even cooking, it's just animal feed."

"Sigh—here it comes, the theory of spirituality. It feels like something a senior would say, it's infuriating... Oh well, you two are so alike, there's nothing I can do about it."

"It doesn't seem like it."

Isshiki sighed in dissatisfaction, and Komachi snorted as well.

The two turned their faces away at almost the same time.

Hmm—Komachi is so stubborn…I mean, according to her logic, Iroha is constantly getting annoyed by what I say, isn't she? Sorry?

Ignoring my inward apology, Isshiki looked puzzled.

"By the way, can Xiaomi cook?"

"Komachi's cooking is super delicious. She usually does housework and even helps me with my meals."

"Huh, really?"

She turned around with a slight surprise, but Komachi did not get carried away. She simply nodded, showing a completely matter-of-fact attitude.

"Yeah, that's right. Rather than cooking, Komachi is quite good at making her brother's feed."

"There's no love..."

Love is over... Although I was saddened, let's not bring this up again (Note 20). Okay, stop, stop. I told myself that a man doesn't easily shed tears, and shifted my gaze away from Komachi and Isshiki.

Yukinoshita and Yuihama are currently adjusting their detailed itinerary.

"I'm going back to my apartment next month, so I can do it then."

"Oh, I see! Then I'll go there every day!"