Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
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At lunch on Saturday I went to Wakaba-chan’s house.

Today I was going to learn to make chocolat au fondant with her.

“It’s soooo cold! I think it’s gunna snow soon! Your nose is all red, Kisshouin-san. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes. And the sky is all grey so you may be right.”

Today Wakaba-chan had come to meet me at the station.

“I have to apologise again for taking up so much of your free time.”

“It’s fiiine, I said. The only other thing I have is my part-time job after all!”

Wakaba-chan worked lunchtimes at a family restaurant, weekends only.

“You only just came back from work today, no? I hope you did not rush on my account.”

“No, no, I always head straight home after changing so don’t worry about it. Aren’t you way busier than I am?”

“Not at all…”

All I had on these days were extracurricular lessons every fortnight, and cooking lessons with Akimi-san.

When Yukino-kun’s birthday party was over I phoned her and told her how much everyone liked it.

Having been worried about it like she was the one being judged, she finally let out a sigh of relief to hear that.

I suppose she was though.

Not only were the Enjou family and all their guests going to taste her cooking, but my parents had told her ‘this could make or break our daughter’s reputation’ so it must have been quite some pressure.

I really did feel bad about it.

What would I do if she stopped teaching me because I was such a troublesome student?

Don’t abandon me, Akimi-san!

“It must be rough working part-time. Do you ever get a break?”

“I take time off work before exams.”

“Try not to let the school know.”

“Ah, about that. I actually got permission!”

“Permission? To work?”

“Yeah! Remember how you told me that we weren’t allowed to work? Well, since I work in the kitchen I didn’t think it was going to be a problem, but just to be safe I talked to Mizusaki-kun about it.”

“Mizusaki-kun?”

“Yeah. I thought that the Student Council President was the best one to speak to about these things. He was all like, ‘What the hell are you doing!?’ and got reaaally mad at me. ‘Don’t you understand that you could lose your scholarship over this!?’ He was right, of course, and I had a long hard think about it.”

Wakaba-chan hung her head in remorse.

“But then Mizusaki-kun went and obtained permission for me. We said it was to pay for school fees and supplies and somehow got them to agree. Since I was already receiving a scholarship I wasn’t sure if it’d work but thank goodness it did!”

“Good for you.”

“Yeah! I’m so thankful to Mizusaki-kun!” she smiled.

Apparently she thought pretty well of Fellow Stalking Horse.

Just the fact that she discussed it with him meant that she trusted him.

On the one hand, Fellow Stalking Horse who was reliable and dependable.

On the other hand, the Emperor who brought nothing but trouble.

Wow. You’re in trouble, Kaburagi.

“Now I don’t have to worry even if someone realises! I have to thank you too, Kisshouin-san.”

“I do not recall doing anything.”

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t have realised it if you hadn’t told me. Lots of my friends secretly worked during middle school, and a lot of them still did it in high school so I hadn’t paid it much thought.”

“I see. Plenty of people do work in high school.”

“Yeah. Ah, but I’m surprised you knew that, Kisshouin-san. It’s hard to imagine part-time work occurring to anyone from Zui’ran.”

“Ahh~ Well…”

In my old life, I used to work part-time a lot as welll.

Whenever there was something I wanted and there wasn’t enough money from my parents, for example.

But I guess the idea of working part-time would be a really foreign concept to the girls at Zui’ran.

You’d expect them to say something like, “Goodness! What is this ‘par time work’ you speak of?”

I had better change the topic before I outed myself.

“By the way, Kaburagi-sama ordered a birthday cake from your place, no?”

“Ooh, how’d you know? He did. I was working that day too, so I couldn’t come home until 2. So to avoid talking about part-time I just told him that I wouldn’t be at home until 2:30 only for him to say that was when he’d come.”

That guy!

He actually came late just so he could see Wakaba-chan!

He totally used Yukino-kun’s birthday as an excuse to go see her!

To begin with, who even asked him to pick it up personally?

Using an angel as a pretext to advance his love…

What a guy!

“It was for Enjou-kun’s little brother, wasn’t it? Since his name had ‘yuki(snow)’ in it so he told me he wanted a Swiss meringue snowman.”

“It was very cute.”

“You went to his birthday party? How was it? I hope his little brother enjoyed it.”

“The snowman was so cute that he couldn’t bear to eat it. As for the cake itself, all the children loved it.”

“I see! Thank goodness. I’m a little relieved, you know. I wasn’t sure if rich kids would enjoy it… Hehe.”

“Your otousama’s cakes are delicious, so you should have a little more confidence.”

“Thank you!”

“…And you just called him -kun, no?”

“Ah!”

‘Oh damn!’ said her expression.

Sorry I couldn’t ignore this.

“Ummmm~ Since I was talking to Kaburagi-kun that way, Enjou-kun told me to use -kun as well…”

“I see… Try to be more careful at school, please.”

“Yes…”

If she seemed close with both of them, life was going to get a lot harder for her.

And I was a little surprised.

I had no idea when Enjou became close to Wakaba-chan.

“My siblings are at home today so it might be a bit noisy. Okay, come in.”

“Please excuse me.”

“I’m home!” she said energetically as she opened the door.

“Welcome back! Ah! You’re with the Cornet!”

“Welcome home, Oneechan~ Welcome, Cor-chan.”

“Welcome home~”

Standing in her living room were Kanta-kun, as well as the twin brother and sister in Year 5.

“Oi! I told you not to call her that! Her name is Kisshouin-san!” she quickly scolded them, but apparently everyone in her family already thought of me as Cornet.

That was what they probably called me in private, wasn’t it.

“Sorry, Kisshouin-san~”

“No need to worry.”

Kanta-kun who wasn’t fazed at all said,

“Hey, Cornet. You better not do anything stupid today!”

I already know that.

He got so angry last time.

“You must be cold, Kisshouin-san,” said Wakaba-chan. “Let me get you something warm to drink.”

“Thank you.”

That was when her mum slipped out from the storefront.

“Welcome, Co-, Kisshouin-san.”

“Thank you for having me,” I bowed.

“My goodness, you’re a polite one. That’s an ojousama from Zui’ran for you.”

“She’s the ‘Ohoho Cornet Girl’ after all.”

“Kantaaaa!”

Wakaba-chan brought a vicious fist down onto his head.

‘The Ohoho Cornet Girl’…

Even I couldn’t let that one go.

Get him good, Wakaba-chan.

“Umm, this is some konpeitoh. Please take it.”

“Gosh! Thank you as always. You really don’t have to keep bringing things. We’re not some fancy family,” said her mum.

“I told you last time you didn’t have to worry about this!” scolded Wakaba-chan. “Geez, now we feel bad instead!”

“I know. This is just something I brought from home. Please excuse me for giving you something that was just lying around.”

“Not at all!” her mum exclaimed. “Well in that case we’ll accept it. Come empty handed next time, okay?”

“Yes.”

Maybe it was ingrained in me now, but it was really hard showing up without a gift.

Still, this time I managed to keep it to some souvenirs I had from Kyoto over New Year’s.

“Oh right. Kisshouin-san, how about I roast some mochi for you?” her mum suddenly asked. “Okay? We can make kinakomochi, agemochi… It’s yummy, you know? What kind do you prefer?”

“Mochi? Then I suppose I am particular to isobeyaki…”

“I see. Then I’ll cook some up for you. The truth is we’ve got a lot of mochi from New Year’s left over. Wakaba, you still haven’t had lunch, right? Help us eat some.”

“Okaay.”

“We’ll have some too!” said Kanta-kun.

Her mum went into the kitchen with the kids.

“Your family eats rectangular mochi, I see.”

“Yep. Doesn’t yours, Kisshouin-san?”

“No, we do, but my mother’s maiden family lives in Kyoto, and over there they eat the round ones.”

“Round ones? Round mochi?” asked Kanta-kun.

“Yes. Also the mochi they put in their ozouni is not roasted, but boiled. And instead of osumashi soup, they use something with a shiromiso base.”

“Eh!? That doesn’t sound like ozouni at all then!” he said.

“I suppose not.”

When I was first served it in Kyoto I was like, ‘Eh!?’

I lived in Tokyo in my old life, so I was really used to the way we did things.

The world of cuisine was deep and profound, wasn’t it.

“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked.

“It’s fine. You can go choose which toppings you want, though.”

“Toppings?”

It was mochi.

Wasn’t it pretty much just seaweed, kinako dust, and red bean soup?

“I’ll go with cod roe and cheese!” he said.

“Cod roe and cheese?”

You could even make mochi like that!?

Wasn’t this the best opportunity to express my creativity then!?

“Stay out of the kitchen, Cornet.”

Kanta-kun had very little faith in me, it seemed.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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The day after the birthday party, Enjou thanked me again in the salon.

“Thanks for yesterday,” Enjou said, “Yukino had a lot of fun thanks to you. He immediately started using your present in his room, you know. When he plugged it in and the lights came on he was surprised by how much it resembled the sea.”

“That makes me very happy to hear. He seemed to really enjoy himself in Okinawa so I thought he liked marine animals.”

“Apparently he does. He keeps talking about how he wants to buy some tropical fish.”

“Is that so.”

“Afterwards when my dad came home we had another celebration with our family, you see. He asked my grandfather for some.”

“My.”

A family gathering, huh…

So that was why I saw Yuiko-san.

Yuiko-san, a candidate for Enjou’s fiancée.

She still had the same otherworldly impression that I saw during the School Festival.

“Speaking of which, Masaya’s still trying to figure out that puzzle ring. He’s gotten really worked up about it. In the end he stayed over, you know. Apparently he stayed up almost until sunrise trying to work it out. That’s why his eyes are all bloodshot and scary today.”

“I… That sounds rough. Did Kaburagi-sama manage to solve it in the end?”

“Apparently he did. He came up to me with this bright smile and showed me the separated pieces. His eyes were still bloodshot though.”

“I see.”

Kaburagi… I don’t even have words.

It was just so pathetic.

“Is that why Kaburagi-sama is absent today? He seems like he could use some sleep after all.”

“Nah, the reason he’s not here has nothing to do with that. He’ll be fine even missing a bit of sleep. He’s got stupid amounts of stamina after all.”

“Oh my, ohohoho…”

I couldn’t publicly comment.

“Ah, and my mother wanted me to tell you to come over again.”

“Thank you. Perhaps if circumstances permit…”

Touch wood.

Oh my, it’s about time for me to go to the Handicrafts Club.

I picked up my bag, said goodbye to everybody, and then left my seat.

*

*

Valentine’s Day was all the girls were talking about.

It was the right season for chocolate companies to be releasing limited-time products, so everyone was exchanging information about that.

I was excited too.

I had plans to visit Wakaba-chan again, since I still had to learn to make the fondant au chocolat.

The members of my club had been chatting to each other about knitting.

Mn. Not me though.

Still, they seemed to have been having fun.

“Who are you giving yours to this year, Reika-sama?”

At lunch I was heading to the faculty room for some class rep stuff so Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan had come along with me.

I was feeling quite grateful since the two of them weren’t even in my class.

“The same as usual. Just my family and the like.”

“My, only them? Why do you never give any to Kaburagi-sama and Enjou-sama?”

Because I had no reason to.

“What about you two, Serika-san, Kikuno-san?”

“I’m, probably going to go with the Emperor,” said Serika-chan.

“Right? We have to be careful about which chocolate to choose. We can’t pick the wrong one,” agreed Kikuno-chan.

“You have to say chocolat in front of Kaburagi-sama.”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“It was very valuable advice from Reika-sama.”

“I’m happy just to have him accept something from me.”

“I’m the same. But handing it to him personally is important. I’d hate to just leave it in the special bag that he prepares, or on his desk.”

“That sounds a bit like a shrine offering,” I noted.

“Gosh, don’t put it like that, Reika-sama,” complained Serika-chan.

“You should give him something together with us, Reika-sama. It’ll be fun,” Kikuno-chan said. “And if you get to brush against his hands at the time…”

“Kyaah! Gosh, what are you saying, Kikuno-san!”

“My, my, weren’t planning the same thing, Serika-san?”

“Wha-! You promised to keep that a secret!”

While the three of us walked down the hallway, we suddenly noticed Tsuruhana-san’s group coming from the other side.

Without skipping a beat, Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan moved to each of my sides.

“Gokigen’yoh, Reika-sama.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Tsuruhana-san.”

We might have been smiling, but neither of them reached our eyes.

One of her lackeys was holding a Valentine’s special magazine.

Tsuruhana-san noticed my eyes drifting to it.

“What are you plans for Valentine’s, Reika-sama?”

“Nothing in particular,” I replied.

“My! To think that of all people, Reika-sama, you would be spending a lonely Valentine’s!” she said particularly loudly.

This bitch!

“Aren’t you being a bit rude here, Tsuruhana-san?” glared Serika-chan.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. People have told me I’m too honest sometimes.”

She and her lackeys were snickering audibly.

But suddenly her expression turned serious.

“It’s because you’re always wearing that nonchalant expression of yours that you had your prize stolen from under your nose, you know.”

“What did you just say!?”

Prize stolen from under my nose… Wakaba-chan and Kaburagi?

“The day that a lowly External steals away your throne as the queen isn’t far away, wouldn’t you agree? After all, she’s already won over the hearts of the two most influential people here, hasn’t she?”

“Tsuruhana-san! Watch the way you speak to her!”

“Perhaps the age of a certain someone is already over…”

“Tsuruhana-san! You had better not get ahead of yourself!”

“Unacceptable! How dare you speak to Reika-sama like that!”

Serika-chan and Kikuno-chan looked just about ready to brawl.

It was going to be chaos at this rate.

“Ohohoho,” I laughed. “People do often say that empty vessels make the most sound. I can hear you loud and clear, Tsuruhana-san.”

I smiled in amusement.

“If you want a fight, shall I give you one?”

Youko-sama hadn’t graduated yet, so I could totally do it!

At least I hoped so.

I’d make use of Youko-sama’s power as much as I could!

For a while it seemed like sparks flew between us.

Even if it’s scary, don’t avert your eyes, Reika!

“Hmph. Let’s go, everyone.”

She folded.

Serika-chan and Kikuno-san were still fuming after they walked past and left.

“What the was that!? Absolutely unforgivable!”

“Ever since the year started she’s been acting more and more out of hand! She’s asking for war!”

The two of them were boiling with rage.

You’re kind of scary, you two.

Since there were a lot of onlookers, I quickly left.

As I was doing so, I overheard a boy’s comment.

“The three Gorgon sisters are freaking scary…”

Three Gorgon sisters!?

The three of us turned in sync to glare at the source who squealed a little before running away.

Even if you run, you won’t escape us.

I already have your face.

How about I turn you to stone as well!

“Reika-sama! We will make sure to punish that insolent boy properly!”

“When I’m through, he won’t have a place in Zui’ran!”

“Enough, you two. It was just a bit of nonsense. Still, hmm, I think I know what to do with him.”

I sent out a notice to all girls.

Until graduation, nobody was to give that boy a single Valentine’s chocolate; absolutely no courtesy chocolates, to say nothing of romantic chocolates.

He would be part of the village, whether he liked it or not.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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“I’m late. Sorry.”

A ripple of noise and excitement, particularly amongst the girls, ran through the kids as Kaburagi made his dashing entrance.

Today he was wearing mostly all black so he gave off the impression of resplendent black quartz.

No, Mao-chan, being entranced is bad! Yuuri-kun is still right next to you!

Kaburagi made a beeline for Yukino-kun.

“Happy birthday, Yukino. Here. Your present,” he said as he handed it over. “I bought some cake too.”

I realised he was holding a bag from a cake store in his other hand.

Wakaba-chan’s cake store.

“Masaya, don’t tell me you were late because you went to get that?”

“Pretty much.”

Ehh!?

What the hell!?

He came late to the party because he wanted to go meet Wakaba-chan!?

Or was it that he went to pick up the cake only to forget the time with her?

Either way, he still used the birthday cake as an excuse to go meet her!

Yukino-kun opened up the cake box with his mother.

“Oh, a snowman.”

It was a simple white birthday cake with strawberries on top.

Written right in the middle with chocolate was ‘Happy Birthday Yukino’, and to the side was a little meringue snowman.

“You like snowmen, don’t you? They asked me if I wanted anything else on the cake, so I had them make that for you.”

“Wow. It’s cute.”

Since we had the cake anyway, we lit up another set of candles on it.

The fancy cake from earlier was delicious, but if I had to say, simple strawberry birthday cakes like this were my favourite.

We began to sing Happy Birthday again.

I was doing my best to sing, but Kaburagi just clapped.

Sing!

“Happy Birthday, Yukino-kun!”

The cake wasn’t all that big so each portion was smaller.

Since I was an adult I left the strawberries for the kids.

Even though cream with strawberries was delicious.

Even though I loved that stuff.

I was an adult after all.

Yukino-kun was being adorably conflicted about whether or not to eat the snowman.

I totally understood how he felt.

When I saw the little Reika-chan figure I couldn’t bear to eat it either.

In the end it had actually met the new year from the inside of my freezer.

I wonder how long meringue lasted…

The cake from Wakaba-chan’s family store was delicious even without the strawberries!

Maybe I’d buy some the next time I was there.

“Yuki-chan, why don’t you open your present from Masaya-san?”

“Mm. Wah, it’s heavy.”

As it turned out, Kaburagi had gotten him a large book of Escher’s art.

“I chose it since you seemed interested in Escher. Something to look at the next time you’re bedridden.”

How could he bring up being ‘bedridden’ on a birthday!?

Yukino-kun didn’t mind the ill omen though.

He just thanked him before fervently examining the book.

I wondered though.

Could it be that Kaburagi actually liked gifting books to people?

I remembered getting an anthology of Heine poems from him.

His father had a rare book collection too.

Maybe he was influenced.

“Would everyone else like to look too?” asked Yukino-kun.

“Sure,” I answered.

So we sat down next to him, as he skimmed through the book.

“This is making me a little dizzy,” his mother commented at some point, so she left.

Before long the other kids went off to play the board games I brought, or video games on the big screen t.v., so Yukino-kun shut the book and joined them.

Maybe I would join them.

But Jenga was too nervewracking even though I was the one to bring it, so perhaps a nice boardgame.

*

*

The Kaburagi family were celebrating the birth of new children again, this time a pair of twins.

“Your family sure has a lot of children…” I muttered.

“Masaya-niisama has a big family,” said Yukino-kun.

“Scamming the government for money, Masaya?” laughed Enjou.

“Shut it and send over the gifts already,” Kaburagi replied.

*

*

“Oh my. I seem to have found oil in my back yard.”

“That’s amazing, Reika-neesan! Next is Masaya-niisama’s turn. Oh, Masaya-niisama, your investments suffered a huge loss.”

“What the hell! This roulette has to be broken somehow!”

“Whatever, Masaya. The bank is waiting. Pay up.”

“Damn it!”

*

*

“Huh. So I get to seize property from one player?” mused Enjou. “Masaya it is then.”

“Haah!? Why the hell did you pick me!? Pick the person with the most money instead!”

“It was a process of elimination. The criteria was the one I’d feel the least bad taking from.”

“Fuck off!”

“Ah, I get to seize property too~” Yukino-kun exclaimed. “Please pay up, Masaya-niisama.”

His Majesty the Emperor was bankrupt.

The two Enjou brothers had mercilessly squeezed him for everything he had.

Kaburagi was in a terrible mood, but since Yukino-kun was having fun it wasn’t an issue.

Kaburagi looked like he was about to steam though.

What happened to the cool-headed and capable Emperor that everyone talked about?

You could really see people’s personalities by playing these sorts of games.

Kaburagi who boldly displayed the money he had on hand.

I, who hid my fortunes from view with a handkerchief.

Enjou who kept his money in plain view, but probably had secret stashes elsewhere.

Speaking of Enjou.

“I was surprised that you knew about these sorts of games, Kisshouin-san,” he said.

“Really?” I asked.

I suppose I did wonder if it was a bit too commoner before the party.

I wasn’t much older than my little sister in my old life so we used to play games like this a lot.

And for New Years when grandpa’s family, and all our cousins and stuff gathered, we’d all play board games or card games as well. It was really fun.

It was harder playing these games with siblings further from your age, so I thought it was fair if I indulged in these once in a while.

“One more time!”

“I’m done.”

“Running away, huh.”

“I’m not running away! I’m just sick of children’s games, that’s all.”

“You’re the most childish one here though.”

Kaburagi just clicked his tongue and stomped off.

Since the sucker of the game had run off, the three of us began playing peacefully with the new children who had come along.

At some point I heard shouts of amazement.

It turned out that Kaburagi had become a hero in Jenga.

“I won because of careful analysis and the courage to take a risk,” he proudly explained.

*

*

The fun passed in a flash, and soon it was time for the party to end.

They were all in primary school so it wouldn’t do to stay out late.

I was getting ready to leave too, when Enjou and his mother thanked me for coming.

“Thanks to you the party was even livelier. Thank you for coming today, Reika-san.”

“Yukino was overjoyed too,” added Enjou.

Yukino-kun himself came to thank me too.

“Thank you, Reika-oneesan,” he said with an angelic smile.

“Thank you very much for inviting me. I had a wonderful time. Goodbye for now.”

“Come play again.”

“Come again, Reika-neesan.”

“Huhu.”

With the children all gone, only Kaburagi was left.

Apparently he wasn’t leaving yet.

“Gokigen’yoh, Kaburagi-sama. I will be taking my leave first,” I said, meeting at least the bare minimum of etiquette.

“Yeah,” he said without lifting his head.

He was locked in a battle with the puzzles rings.

He was even frowning.

Kaburagi, that one’s aimed at experts, so I really don’t think you’ll get it tonight…

The Enjous saw me off at the doorway.

I was about to get into the car when another car arrived in front of the house.

From inside the car stepped Yuiko-san from the School Festival.

When she noticed me, she gave me a soft smile before walking towards the Enjous.

I got in my car and left.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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The Enjou estate was a Western-styled mansion in chalk white.

It was the kind of place you’d expect the two brothers to live in, really.

Since I had so many things to carry, Oniisama escorted me to the door.

Enjou was the one to receive me.

“Welcome, Kisshouin-san.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Enjou-sama.”

“Good afternoon, Shuusuke-kun. Thank you for having my sister for the day.”

“She’s very welcome.”

Oniisama and Enjou shared a smile, before he handed over the goods to Enjou who welcomed me into the house.

“Be polite now,” Oniisama reminded me before heading off.

Today he was wearing a rough, grey cardigan.

I rarely saw him outside of uniform or formal-wear for parties.

Thanks to that my maiden’s heart couldn’t help but skip just a little.

Damn it.

If you’re attractive enough then anything looks good on you…

“You’re wearing all white today, huh. It’s cute on you. You’re like a rabbit.”

“Ueh!?”

I was so surprised that I made a weird sound!

I thought my heart was going to fly out of my chest!

R-R-Rabbit!?

Casually dropping a line with that while smiling at the girl? What kind of skill was this!

Enjou was actually a provisional resident of the Casanova village!?

Wait, or was he a permanent resident!?

Oh my god, don’t tell me he was Imari-sama’s successor!?

Sound the alarms! Sound the alarms!

“Ah, this way to the party.”

Unconcerned with my inner turmoil, Enjou guided me through his house.

Urghh, wasn’t there some way I could sneak revenge on him for this?

I looked for any hairs on the back of his cardigan.

If a stranger plucked off a hair from you it could jinx your next crush.

Enjou was too well-groomed though, so there was nothing for it.

Tsk.

After walking for a while, eventually I heard the happy laughter of children at the end of a hallway.

“Yukino’s friends are already here so it’s lively.”

“Was I late? Perhaps I should apologise.”

“Not at all. The party won’t start for a while yet. Plus, Masaya told me he’d be coming late today.”

“Kaburagi-sama is coming?”

“Yup.”

Hmmm~

So he had enough sense to come to Yukino-kun’s birthday party.

Then again, Kaburagi did seem to dote on him.

I opened the door to excited children.

“Yukino, Kisshouin-san’s here.”

Yukino-kun had been having fun with a lot of friends but his brother’s words caused him to turn and flash a dazzling smile at me.

“Reika-oneesan!”

“Happy birthday, Yukino-kun,” I waved.

His mother, who had been giving instructions to the house staff, noticed and came over as well.

“Welcome, Reika-san.”

“Gokigen’yoh. Thank you very much for inviting me over today.”

Her impression might have been sylphlike and transient, but her smile was all Yukino-kun.

“I should be thanking you for coming here for Yukino.”

“Umm, this is the homemade food that I promised Yukino-kun, but…”

“My, thank you. I heard about it. I’m sorry about that, Reika-san. He can be so wilful.”

“Not at all. It was truly nothing much.”

“How about you leave that with me for now? Or would you prefer to hand it to him yourself? He has been looking forward to it.”

While we were chatting, Yukino-kun reached out and beckoned me over.

“Over here, Reika-oneesan! Come sit here!”

He seemed more lively today.

Cute.

“Honestly, that boy of mine. Sorry again, Reika-san. Could you bear with him for a little?”

“Huhu, of course.”

Madam Enjou gave a helpless smile as I made my way to Yukino-kun.

Since I had missed my chance to hand the food over, I was still carrying the chirashizushi in my hand as I sat down near him.

From his smile he seemed to be having the time of his life.

Enjou left to receive more tiny arrivals to the party.

It turned out to be quite a few kids together, leaving only Kaburagi to arrive.

Since we were only missing him, the party began.

They darkened the room, and we all began singing.

An extravagant two-story cake with seven candles on it was placed in front of Yukino-kun.

When our song ended, he blew them all out to our applause.

“Happy birthday, Yukino-kun!”

“Happy birthday!”

Yukino-kun flushed and thanked us with a happy smile.

While everyone was busy giving him presents, the staff cut up the cake and left servings at everyone’s seats.

I handed Yukino-kun my present as well.

“Thank you, Reika-oneesan!”

“Happy birthday, Yukino-kun.”

“What is it? It’s kind of big, huh.”

“Open it later and see.”

I hoped he liked it.

It was hard because he was both a kid and a boy.

The table was filled with foods catered to children, and Yukino-kun opened a few presents at random while he ate his cake.

“Reika-san, could you bring your food out over there?”

“Ah, yes.”

Uu, so it was finally time.

I unwrapped the layered boxes, and did as Mrs. Enjou said, placing it on the table.

Yukino-kun’s face lit up into a smile.

“Wah! You really made food for me!”

“Yuki-chan, where’s your thanks?”

“Thank you, Reika-oneesan!”

“You are very welcome. I only hope that it suits your taste…”

I watched a little nervously as the children peered on at the lid being lifted.

“Chirashizushi! It’s so pretty!”

“Did Reika-oneesama make this? I want to try it too!”

“It looks good.”

Ooh, at least the appearance seemed okay.

Thank goodness.

The one who put the strips of nori seaweed was me, you know.

“You’re so good at cooking, Reika-san. I heard from your mother that you often cooked at home.”

“No, it is embarrassing but I am still learning.”

Apparently Okaasama had had a lot of fun boasting about me outside the family.

Was that why she was so worried about the food I brought?

My cooking would have revealed quite a number of things about us.

Honestly, as if one parent hadn’t been enough…

“Since Reika-san went to all the trouble, how about you try some of her food right now, Yuki-chan?”

“Yeah.”

Madam Enjou served some onto a plate for him.

I could feel my heart pounding in anticipation.

Yukino-kun tried a bite.

“Yummy! It’s so good, Reika-oneesan!” he exclaimed.

The little angel was smiling. Thank goodness!

His mother, Mao-chan, and everyone else praised it too.

We did it, Akimi-san!

Since the boxes weren’t all that big the chirashizushi disappeared in no time.

I was soooo relieved!

“Mm, it really was delicious. I didn’t know you were that good at cooking, Kisshouin-san.”

Enjou had finished everything on the plate too.

I guess unlike Kaburagi he was totally fine with homemade food.

Oh, or had he forced himself?

“I didn’t force myself.”

Gyaah! He read my mind!

I knew he was scary!

“No, it’s just written all over your face.”

Really?

Oh my god, he read it again!

I was terrified at having any more thoughts read so I turned my back to him and began awkwardly eating cake.

“Reika-oneesama, you’re even amazing at cooking,” Mao-chan gushed in admiration.

“She really is,” added Yukino-kun.

Uuu, the purity of these children was making me guilty…

“I actually made this together with my cooking teacher,” I admitted almost immediately.

“Really? But that means you still made it, Reika-oneesama.”

“Well, I suppose. Since I had help, getting all the praise to myself made me feel bad for her.”

Although, I really did help, and although we arranged the toppings together, the praise belonged to Akimi-san.

“Huhu, you’re an upright person, Reika-san. Who was it that taught you?” asked Mrs. Enjou.

“It was Akimi-san from the Narutomi family. She cooks as a hobby, so she has been teaching me as a personal favour.”

“I see. The daughter of the Narutomi family is still a student, if I remember correctly.”

“She is.”

After that Mao-chan said that she wanted to try cooking lessons too.

Although since her mum was such a good cook, she could honestly just have her teach her.

When Yukino-kun finished his cake he began opening his presents among his friends.

It was time for mine next I realised while I was watching him react happily to the last one.

I hoped it was fine…

“I wonder what it is.”

“It’s pretty big.”

“Hurry and open it, Yukino-kun.”

“Okay. Wahh, what is this?”

Since he had asthma, I decided to get him a humidifier.

Not just any humidifier though.

There were two layers of transparent globes, and between them were little figures of sea animals floating in a mixture of water and blue oil.

There were dolphins, whales, clownfish, even the manatees that he had been fond of in Okinawa.

It made for a rather cute piece of interior decoration.

A mini-aquarium that doubled as a humidifier.

To be honest, the humidifier was the less impressive half.

“So cute! There’s dolphins swimming about.”

“There are the manatees you love so much too, you know?”

“Eh-, where?”

While he was happily looking for manatees I contentedly handed him one more box.

“Yukino-kun, open this too. This is a little extra.”

“Eh? This too?” he asked in surprise. “Hmm?”

Opening it up, Yukino-kun looked a little confused.

“What is this?” he asked in wonder.

Inside the box were numerous puzzle rings, from beginners’ to some really difficult ones.

“Those are puzzle rings,” I answered. “Have you heard of them? You need to use your head to untangle them.”

“Oooh!”

They were perfect for killing time.

Since I knew he had to stay home a lot, I thought they would be good to play with by himself.

When I was small I liked jigsaw puzzles and stuff too.

The children seemed interested enough and began trying to solve them.

“Hmm, this is hard.”

“I can’t do it at all.”

“Wahh! Yukino-kun’s Oniisama solved one!”

Earlier, one of the girls had asked him for help, so he had untangled the rings and gently passed them back.

Mmn. I was glad that everyone had fun with them.

I had actually brought Jenga and boardgames with me too.

Would those be a good idea?

That was when one of the staff announced Kaburagi’s arrival.

---

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If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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I decided to just completely rely on Wakaba-chan for Valentine’s Day.

We were going to make fondant au chocolat on the day.

Normally I only had Oniisama and Otousama to give chocolates.

I just followed recipes on my own.

Learning from somebody was a completely different experience.

This year, Valentine’s would be in Wakaba-chan’s hands.

Still, this wasn’t anything serious, since it was basically between family.

If I couldn’t make something delicious for Imari-sama then I could just buy him something.

Yukino-kun’s party food was an entirely different story.

For one thing it wasn’t my family doing the eating.

For another it was going to be the Enjou family of all things.

Bringing something weird over was unacceptable.

After some discussion with Akimi-san, we decided to make chirashizushi.

For one thing I could distract them with pretty colours, and for another the vinegar in the sushi rice could ward off any chance of food poisoning.

Yukino-kun’s birthday was on a Saturday this year so Akimi-san could come over in the morning to help with the food.

After that the plan was for me to head straight to the party.

Before that day I had been reading over her recipe every day, and practised making kinshitamago egg strips by myself.

It was burnt.

I couldn’t cut it thinly.

Mmn. I’d leave this part to Akimi-san.

*

*

*

“Kisshouin-san, I’m sorry for my brother’s wilfulness. If it’s too hard to make the food you can just refuse, you know?” Enjou said.

Perhaps he noticed that I was reading cooking books at the salon too.

“It is no trouble. I hope I will not disappoint when I say that I am only bringing something simple. I was only reading the book because I had some interest in it.”

And I was telling the truth.

After all the cooking lessons with Akimi-san and the vegetable cutting practice I did at home, I was really starting to gain an interest in cooking.

The house chef had been throwing the vegetables I used for practice into a blender to make soups and dressings and stuff.

Apparently none of the vegetables I practised with were good for main dishes.

The potage they made from the potato the other day was really good.

I was feeling pretty bad about always getting them to clean up after me so these days I had been looking up recipes I could use them in myself.

Curry was probably the best choice in the end.

Next chance I had, maybe I could try making curry with pre-made curry sauce.

The family cook never used store-bought sauce. All of it was made from scratch.

I did kind of miss the flavour of supermarket curry though.

Like the curry I had at Wakaba-chan’s house.

In my old life, Mum used to blend two different brands together.

It was tastier like that.

Plus, I knew the trick to making it perfect.

You had to add chocolate or yoghurt to it.

…Chocolate or yoghurt though.

Basically anything sweet would do, right?

In that case, what if I added flan?

If I used milk pudding instead, wouldn’t that dissolve easier?

Then again I wasn’t really into the really sweet curries.

In that case maybe I could use spicier curry sauce to balance it out?

It would be nice if I could bring out an original flavour even after using store-bought sauce.

Maybe I could add some miracle fruits.

I decided to ask Akimi-san what she thought.

“Kisshouin-san? Still here with me?”

“Eh? Ah, my apologies. I am listening.”

Oops.

I was so lost with the thought of curry that I hadn’t noticed what he said.

“I just hope that the cooking won’t trouble you too much. There aren’t even twenty guests, so don’t worry about it too hard.”

“I understand.”

Mao-chan and Yuuri-kun would probably be there too.

There was the pressure of her mother’s cooking now.

But I had Akimi-san with me!

She’d make it work somehow, so there was no problem!

*

*

*

On the day, Akimi-san came over in the morning, as promised.

“Gokigen’yoh, Akimi-san. I feel bad taking up your weekend like this.”

“Don’t be. Let’s do our best together.”

“Yes.”

The ingredients were already prepared in the kitchen.

All I had to do now was have Akimi-san work her magic.

I thought of having her take a break in the living room first but my family knew about her visit and waited for her at the entrance.

“Welcome, Akimi-san. Thank you for helping my sister today.”

“Apparently Reika has been learning cooking from you,” said Otousama. “My daughter will be in your care, Akimi-san.”

“Please take care of my daughter, Akimi-san,” said Okaasama.

“Apparently the son of the Enjou family requested Reika’s cooking,” continued Otousama.

“After all, all of the Enjou family will be eating this,” continued Okaasama.

“Dad, Mum, just leave it at that,” Oniisama stopped them. “Akimi-san, I’ll send you home, so just let me know when you’re done.”

“Y-Yes…”

Since Akimi-san seemed visibly overwhelmed I shooed my family off and then brought her to the kitchen.

Thank goodness for Oniisama.

“What should I do. There’s so much pressure now…”

“Sorry about them, Akimi-san. Originally I wanted to have tea with you in the living room first, but what would you prefer? I have no doubts my family will be waiting there.”

“It’s fine. I’m okay. I want to start as soon as possible. We need time in case we mess up.”

Even though she was so happy just a moment ago, Akimi-san’s expression was all business now.

I’m sorry…

I mentioned learning cooking from her earlier, but I only recently slipped up about the party.

As soon as they heard that they kicked up a huge fuss and kept trying to convince me to let our cook do it, or to hire some restaurant to make the food instead.

I couldn’t lie to Yukino-kun about it so I refused them each time.

I told them that it would be fine with Akimi-san’s help, but they were still nervous about it.

Especially Okaasama. She was really something else.

She even said that if I brought bad food this time it would affect my prospects of marriage in the future.

I knew it would end up like this so I hadn’t really been planning on telling them.

Then again it affected them too so I couldn’t just keep mum about it.

“Shall we begin then, Reika-san?”

“Yes.”

At first we had planned to do equal shares but in the end Akimi-san basically made it herself.

Especially the seasoning. That was all her.

As for what I did, it was mostly fanning the sushi rice with a fan…

But I did beat the eggs, and I put the rice into the bucket too. I also passed her ingredients, moved the utensils out of the way, and made sure to assist her.

I mean, this counted as making it together, right?

The finished chirashizushi went into stacked boxes, and the rest was left for my parents and Oniisama to try first.

They seemed to be worrying about it the whole time after all.

“This is delicious!” exclaimed my mother.

“The Enjou family can eat this without issue!” exclaimed my father.

“It’s delicious, Reika. Thank you, Akimi-san,” Oniisama thanked her.

“Thank you so much, Akimi-san!”

After seeing the exaggerated response, Akimi-san finally seemed to relax.

“Thank goodness…”

Since I had the party to get to, I left my seat first while Akimi-san rested in the living room.

I came back after changing and found her chatting amiably with Oniisama.

“Are you ready, Reika? In that case I’ll take you as well while I send Akimi-san home.”

“Please do, Oniisama. I have a lot to carry, so could you help with that?”

“You’re carrying quite a lot already, Reika-san. Are you okay?”

“Huhuhu!”

In the end I was bringing quite a bit. We had the chirashizushi too, after all.

“Shall we go?”

Wait for me, Yukino-kun!

Ah-, I forgot to talk to Akimi-san about the curry.

---

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Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
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After I cleaned up the rest of the seven-herb congee it was finally time to make the sweets.

I put on the apron I brought from home.

“Hmmmm, the utensils are here and the flavourings are over here. As for the recipes it’s right here in this book,” said Wakaba-chan as she showed me her notebook.

“Did you come up with these yourself, Takamichi-san?”

“Dad taught me some of them, and some caught my eye in recipe books. A number I heard from other people too.”

“I see.”

My cooking was usually wherever my inspiration led me in the moment so I didn’t have much regarding recipes.

Not that any of my creations were worth recreating with a recipe.

“Let’s break out the ingredients then. First we need cream cheese, chocolate, and eggs.”

“Eh?”

I found a familiar jar in her fridge.

“This is…”

“Hmm? Ohh, that. I got it as a souvenir from someone else. It’s actually amazingly good! Do you wanna try some, Kisshouin-san?”

There was no mistaking it.

It was the very same maple syrup that I got from Enjou and Kaburagi.

“Could it be that you received this from Kaburagi-sama?”

“Eh-, how’d you know!?”

“I received some as well. To be honest my preferences lean towards honey, but this was so good it beat out everything in my honey collection.”

“So that’s why! It was so delicious that I couldn’t bear to make stuff with it so I’ve just been eating it a bit at a time but everyone finds it so delicious that there isn’t much left. And it’s sooo good on vanilla ice cream.”

“That does sound good!”

Putting it on ice cream, huh.

It was a bit cold for ice cream, but maybe I could try it after my next bath.

“But man, it sounds amazing going to Canada for a skiing vacation. I’ve never been overseas before.”

“You have the shop after all.”

With so many family members and the cake shop too it couldn’t have been easy to organise an overseas holiday.

…Hm?

Aahh! I’d almost forgotten!

“Passport!”

“Huh?”

“Takamichi-san! Do you have a passport!?”

“A passport? No?”

At Zui’ran our high school trip was obviously overseas.

And at Zui’ran it was almost a matter of course that everyone had a passport.

It was actually a plot point in the manga that she didn’t have one.

In the end she just managed to get one in time, but everyone mocked her for not having one to begin with.

“You know that we will be going to Europe for the field trip, no? Almost everybody at Zui’ran has a passport already so nobody mentions passports until it is almost time to go.”

“I see.”

“I think it would be best if you applied for one soon. It takes time to gather the documents and the photos, and it takes another 10 days after that to receive it.”

“Oh okay. I hadn’t thought of that at all! Thanks for letting me know, Kisshouin-san! I’ll go get one soon!”

Ahh, thank goodness I remembered.

She had been pretty ashamed in the manga.

It had been over 15 years since I last read it so it was hard remembering all the little episodes.

You did well reminding me, Kaburagi’s maple syrup!

Although I wonder when he even gave it to her.

“All right then! Shall we begin?”

“Okay~”

Under Wakaba-chan’s instruction I began making the chocolate cheesecake.

I mixed ingredients as I followed the recipe.

Wakaba-chan was really particular about it.

“You really need to follow the amounts that the recipe says.”

“Yes.”

“Ah… Just now you put in the cream cheese without measuring, didn’t you.”

“I thought it would be nice with a little more…”

“It’s going to clump up.”

“A few lumps gives it character, no?”

“No. Mix it in properly.”

“Okaay.”

You’re pretty strict, Wakaba-chaan.

“I’m home!” called an energetic voice.

Her oldest younger brother had just come back.

“Welcome back.”

“Welcome home,” I said as well.

“Ah! It’s the cornet girl!” he said, pointing right at me.

“Kanta!” chided Wakaba-chan, “Her name isn’t cornet girl, it’s Kisshouin-san! And don’t point at people!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Answer me properly!”

“Alright, alright,” he waved her off as he headed off to wash his hands.

“Sorry about him,” she apologised.

“No worries. It must be rough being an older sister.”

“He’s been so full of himself since entering middle school. He doesn’t listen to anything I say. Geez,” she muttered as she began mixing up the bowl again.

“Hey, Cornet,” called Kanta-kun while I was looking at the notebook.

“Yes?”

“Look at this! Neechan got it from some guy!”

Kanta-kun was holding a teddybear.

“Kanta! You went into my room again, didn’t you!” fumed Wakaba-chan.

From his face, Kanta-kun didn’t seem too bothered.

“He sent it to her on Christmas!” he revealed.

“Could it have been from…”

“Ah, well,” she said awkwardly.

Kaburagi, huh.

“Isn’t it kind of childish to send her a doll though?”

“Kanta!”

“This teddybear is a limited edition Christmas product from Germany,” I noted.

“Really?”

“So it’s not just some bear?” Kanta-kun asked.

“Well, it certainly is a teddybear,” I conceded, “but I would feel bad for it if you lumped it together with the others. It comes with a serial number too. A very respectable teddybear.”

Buying her this, huh.

Despite making fun of me for liking limited-edition products he went and bought one himself.

“I accepted it because it was just a stuffed toy, but don’t tell me this is expensive…?”

Wakaba-chan seemed almost afraid to ask.

“Just a few tens of thousand yen, I recall.”

“Tens of thousands!?” she cried.

“That’s freaking expensive!” baulked her brother.

Both siblings seemed horrified at it.

“You’re freaking expensive for a doll, aren’t you!”

“What do I do? It was a doll so I was just like ‘yeah, thanks’!”

While the two of them kicked up a fuss, I didn’t really see the big deal.

“Why not just accept it? You know, this is actually rather cheap for a present from Kaburagi-sama.”

“Holy shit.”

“A doll that costs tens of thousands of yen…”

While the two of them were reeling from shock, I took the chance to continue making the cheesecake.

Oh, maybe I could add some liqueur for extra flavour.

Here we go.

“Ah!? Kisshouin-san! What are you doing!?”

“Hm? Adding some liqueur.”

“Why are you adding it to begin with? The recipe doesn’t list it, right?”

“Well, I thought it might taste better.”

Both Wakaba-chan and Kanta-kun stared at me speechless for a while. He was still holding the bear.

“…I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but could it be that you’ve always been cooking like this? Adding things however you want, I mean.”

“Well, perhaps not however I want. But sometimes inspiration just strikes me. Every meal should be a unique experience, and all that.”

“My god…” she muttered.

Off to the side, Kanta-kun took a spoon of the mixture to taste.

“Urgh!” he grimaced. “What the hell is this supposed to be!? It’s sour! And bitter!”

“So you added enough liqueur to make it bitter, Kisshouin-san…”

“You’re exaggerating, Kanta-kun! I only put in a little!”

“Even the aftertaste is bitter! As the son of a baker I can’t accept this! If you’re baking a cake then always follow the recipe!”

“That cannot be…”

“I think Kanta’s right…” said Wakaba-chan. “When it comes to making sweets you need to be exacting with the amounts. This might be why your cooking hasn’t been as good as what you’ve bought…”

After that, Wakaba-chan adjusted the batter while Kanta-kun guarded me from doing anything unnecessary.

Eventually we somehow managed to make the cheesecake.

“Yummy!”

It was probably one of the best two things I’d ever made!

This was huge!

“This isn’t good at all…”

“Yeah…”

The verdict of the siblings was harsher though.

They went back into another lecture on how important it was to follow the recipe.

Then her dad showed up and repeated it again to me. How important it was to measure the ingredients properly.

I felt enlightened.

So unlike regular cooking, the knack to making desserts was following the recipe.

I vowed to improve.

*

*

When it was time to leave, Wakaba-chan came with me to the station.

Since we had the time, I asked her about Christmas again.

“Ummm… Well, when we were about to close up the store, Kaburagi-kun appeared and said that it was a Christmas present.”

“I see.”

“He was wearing this jet black coat and seemed more mature than usual. And the streetlights seemed to make him shine so I was like, whoa, this is a real Emperor!”

“Hmmmm~”

So that damned Kaburagi slipped out from his family’s party to hand this to her?

Apparently quite a few things were happening without my knowledge.

I decided to ask him next time.

“Well then, goodbye for now.”

“Yeah. Stay safe!”

I passed through the ticket barriers as she waved goodbye.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ. Thank you for your consideration, guys!

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The custom of eating seven-herb congee on the Festival of Seven Herbs(January 7th) is said to bring longevity and health.

https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/reika-sama-122/

---

I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to make for Valentine’s Day yet.

That’s why I decided to talk to Wakaba-chan about it when I went to her house.

She asked me when would be a good day for me, so I picked the soonest day we both had off.

Wakaba-chan laughed at me.

Maybe she realised I had nothing else to do.

But I was a pretty busy person too. I had jogging on the weekends, and I had lessons to go to every fortnight too!

It wasn’t like I sat around at home every weekend!

*

Going to Wakaba-chan’s house always required a change of trains.

Brr, it was cold.

As I stepped past the ticket barriers I saw Wakaba-chan waving energetically at me.

“Kisshouin-saaan!”

“Sorry, did I keep you?”

“No, no, don’t worry about it.”

Today she was wearing a red duffle coat and a lively smile brightened her face.

“Have you had lunch yet? We’ve got some hayashi rice at home, but we can eat out too if you want?”

“No need to trouble yourself. Will you be all right?”

“I’m fine too. Then my house it is.”

We set off at a relaxed pace.

“Say, Takamichi-san? How has it been since we last spoke? The bullying.”

“Eh? Ahh, mmn. You know how it is.”

“I see.”

From what I heard, sometimes there’d be footprints on her desk, and other times people would purposefully bump into her.

They were still bitching about her right in front of her too.

“But they haven’t touched my uniform since then.”

“Of course. How could you bear it if they did it regularly.”

“No arguing that,” she guffawed.

“If there is anything I can do…” I began.

“You’re doing plenty. You’ve given me shoes, and even a uniform set. I’m really super grateful to you, you know?”

“But…”

“And if you go around openly supporting me your position will worsen, right? The people in the Pivoine don’t seem to like me after all.”

“Eh…”

She was spot on, of course.

It was hard to say what would happen to my influence and position if we openly associated.

“Don’t worry about it. I already have people to look out for me. Like everyone at the Student Council.”

“Ahh…”

Right. Since she had Fellow Stalking Horse and her friends at the Student Council, they’d protect her from open attacks.

That would make things worse with Stalking Horse’s fans though.

“And umm, it really is just a tiny minority, but you know that there are people who don’t think well of the Pivoine, right?”

“Well, yes.”

There had always been people who thought we were all a bunch of bullies who used our connections and family to do whatever we wanted.

The current Student Council and its followers were the same.

The Pivoine and Student Council had a deep-rooted hostility.

Tomoe-senpai was great at balancing the two. He even hid his relationship with Kasumi-sama until graduation.

Hahhh~

Fellow Stalking Horse was quite popular too, and although he wasn’t a match for the Emperor, he was quite charismatic as well.

Had I been made the President of the Pivoine then I could easily see anti-Pivoine elements rising up at the worst time possible.

That was why I was so scared when they asked me to step up.

It wouldn’t be something to laugh off if the Pivoine was destroyed while I was in office.

Just thinking about it had been enough to make my eyebrows fall off.

I was actually so lucky that the Emperor had taken the mantle instead!

“Even if I’m like this, I’m still technically a Student Council member, and you’re a pretty famous member of the Pivoine. If people realised we spoke we’d probably both be labelled traitors, huh~”

“Indeed…”

Social ties were soooo bothersome.

How come we couldn’t just be friends with who we wanted.

“So I’m fine with you not doing anything. I’ll make it work on my own. Well, I say that but you’ve helped me so many times already,” said Wakaba-chan as she stuck her tongue out. “We’ve been talking about this for so long that we’re here already. Let’s stop talking about it, okay? Especially in front of my family.”

“I understand.”

It sounded like she hadn’t told her family how she was being treated at school.

Nobody wanted to worry their family after all.

I stepped into her house for the third time.

Today my visiting gift were arare crackers.

“You don’t have to bring a gift every time, you know. From now on don’t bring anymore, okay! We’re not all that fancy!”

“It is really nothing much though.”

“I said that you don’t have to. I’m happy, but if you keep giving us stuff each time it makes it hard to invite you over.”

“Really?”

Was that how it was?

Huh.

Come to think of it, maybe I hadn’t brought gifts like this in my old life.

“But you know, my family gobbled up the karintoh from last time, so thanks!”

“It was my pleasure.”

Wakaba-chan took my gift with both hands and then bowed politely.

“Now then! You wanted to make something for Valentine’s?”

“Yes. Please look after me, Sensei.”

“Ahaha, but are you okay with me? I can’t really make anything too fancy, you know?”

“I like your cooking the way it is. The yule log you gave me for Christmas was delicious as well. Do you think I could make a little meringue person too?”

“Ohh, that. Yeah, once you master the trick it’s just artistic talent.”

“Artistic talent…”

I didn’t have much confidence in mine.

I was thinking that they might be happy to receive little dolls of them, but…

“What have you been making for the previous Valentine’s?”

“Hmmm~ I made chocolate brownies a few times. My friend had invited me to a pâtissier’s class. Oh, last year I made chocolate cake. Hmm, also truffles, ganache…”

“You’ve made quite a lot then.”

“Yes. But it was always amateurish and never compared to what you could buy in a shop.”

“Hmmm~ Well, those are pros after all.”

“Quite so… I suppose it would be asking a bit much for your everyday person to match them.”

“You can definitely get better though. And muffins and stuff are better when they’re right out of the oven.”

“Muffins! Chocolate muffins for Valentine’s might be nice as well!”

“Yeah, sounds fine. Might feel a little plain though.”

“Hmmm, certainly…”

I suppose chocolate muffins might be a little plain for something that only happened once a year.

“Then how about fondant au chocolat?”

“That sounds wonderful!”

I’d wanted to try making one for a long time now.

“So you’re fine with fondant au chocolat? Then shall we practice today? Or would you like to try making something else for now?”

“Something else? For example?”

“Let’s see… For Valentine’s I’ve made like chocolate cheesecakes, French chocolate cakes, opera cakes and stuff like that.”

“Chocolate cheesecake sounds interesting.”

If I could make that myself then that meant I could make normal cheesecake too.

That could be nice.

“I see. Then let’s try making a chocolate cheesecake today.”

“Understood!” I said as I shot to my feet.

Just as my stomach began to rumble.

Gyah!

Was it all the talk about food!?

“…How about some lunch first?”

“No, I really am…”

Damn you, stomach! Stop rumbling!

How much do you want to embarrass me before you’re satisfied!?

“Oh right! I put some to the side!” she said with a clap.

Wakaba-chan ran off and heated up a pot of something.

Was it the hayashi rice she mentioned earlier?

In the end she came over with a small bowl of okayu congee with egg and greens.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you. Itadakimasu.”

I wasn’t really all that hungry, but since she had warmed it up for me I’d happily eat it.

After blowing on my spoon a bit, I scooped some up and tried it.

Hot! Hot!

“How is it?”

“Hot, but delicious.”

Mn.

I wasn’t sick or anything but okayu could be nice too.

Why okayu though?

Didn’t she say she had hayashi rice?

And what was this green vegetable mixed in with the egg?

Wait, were these wild vegetables?

I scooped some up with my spoon and had a look at it.

Wakaba-chan beamed at me.

“What you’re eating is seven-herb congee. I know that the 7th of January is already way gone, but still. Now you’ll be healthy all year.”

“Ah, so this was seven-herb congee. I had not realised with all the egg.”

Seven-herb congee huh. Hm? Seven-herb congee…?

Wait, did she pick these vegetables in Zui’ran Forest…?

“I’m glad that you seem to be enjoying it, Kisshouin-san~”

“…”

So basically you turned me into an accessory to your wild vegetable theft, Wakaba-chan…?

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Happy New Year, everybody! Have you all got resolutions?

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Thanks to my big lying mouth I now had a sword above my head.

And I put it there!

When are you going to learn your lesson already, Reika!?

Do you have the brain of a goldfish or something!?

I immediately sent Akimi-san an SOS.

I obviously couldn’t bring homemade nimono to his party.

To begin with I couldn’t cook nimono!

And to think that just a few days after picking home cooking over party foods I’d need to know how to cook party foods.

Haah, I’m so beat~

*

Enjou spoke to me first thing next morning.

“Yukino tells me that apparently you’re going to be coming to his birthday party. And with your own cooking no less.”

Uuu…

Yukino-kun, have you already told your whole family?

My escape was looking less and less likely.

“Yes… But bringing poor food on such an important day feels like an insult instead of a gift, so I was thinking of declining this time…”

“Yukino was ecstatic, you know. Apparently he’s already looking forward to it.”

“I…”

Yukino-kuuuun…

I felt like I was going to lose my eyebrows over the pressure again.

“It’s not that big of a party since we have to take care of his condition too. It’ll just be a few of his friends from primary, so don’t worry so much. Well, I won’t force you though,” he said as he glanced at my fingers.

Don’t tell me he could tell my skill?

I didn’t want to disappoint Yukino-kun by refusing.

But I didn’t want to disappoint him with my actual cooking either.

Akimi-san, save me.

You’re my only hope, Akimi-san!

I’ll practice cutting vegetables every day!

I’ll even memorise all the recipes so please, lend me your strength!

Still…

“Please at least tell him not to expect too much…”

‘Food-Poisoning at the Enjou Residence!’

I’d do my best not to make that headline a reality.

*

*

*

After school, Class Rep and I were headed for the staff room to submit the reports our classmates did.

Apparently Class Rep had gone with the other three for their New Year’s shrine visit.

“We all got our fortunes and wrote our wishes on ema,” he bashfully told me.

Going on your New Year’s shrine visit with your crush…

What the hell, that sounded super fun.

Why wasn’t I invited?

In-vi-t-e me.

Aren’t I the one who introduced you all to begin with~?

“And I prayed that Honda-san and I would grow closer this year.”

“Hmm~”

“And Honda-san and Nonose-san are making their Valentine’s chocolates together, and they said they’d give some to Iwamuro-kun and I… Ah, as friends of course! I already knew that. Mn.”

“Hmmm~”

“But I hope one day I’ll be able to get a real one from her.”

“Hmmmm~”

Valentine’s huh.

I didn’t even have somebody to give romantic chocolates to this year.

I was running out of time…

I only had one year left in high school.

I wanted to have a dreamy Valentine’s too.

Maybe I could just bite the bullet and give it to Naru-kun.

But then how would a real guy feel about being given chocolates by complete stranger?

It was how they did things in shoujo manga though.

Plus, I didn’t know what I wanted to make this year.

“Kisshouin-san? Still listening?”

Oops, he realised I was just nodding along.

“Why don’t you take those feelings and make her chocolates instead?” I joked.

His eyes sparkled.

Eh? Really?

After we handed over the reports we said goodbye and headed to our respective clubs.

I was already done with the belly warmer so I needed to make something else this year.

“Kisshouin-san,” came a voice from behind.

It turned out to be Wakaba-chan.

“Is something the matter, Takamichi-san?”

She looked around to check that we were alone before walking over to me.

“Say, are you free to come over?”

“Eh!?”

Wakaba-chan was inviting me over!?

Why so suddenly!?

She lowered her voice further before speaking again.

“Don’t you remember? You gave me your uniform the other day. That’s why I wanted to thank you.”

“I, you really should not worry about that. To begin with I was never going to wear those again.”

“Yeah, but still I got something so expensive for free. I’ve been wondering how I could make it up to you all this time, you know. Not that just a cake could really pay you back this time…”

“You really need not worry about that. I mean it. Still, I am very happy that you have invited me over.”

“Really? Then is there anything you want, or that you’d like me to do? There isn’t much I can help you with though.”

“Just being able to eat your family’s cakes is more than enough.”

“And I’ve been saying that that isn’t enough.”

We were going down the stairs together when I suddenly remembered the manga.

There was a scene when Kisshouin Reika had shoved Wakaba-chan down stairs just like these.

I quickly put some distance between us.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing to worry about.”

Not that I’d ever do that now, but I stayed away just in case.

Wakaba-chan seemed perplexed about it.

“Ah, by the way. Takamichi-san, could you teach me how to make Valentine’s chocolates?”

“Valentine’s?” she asked.

“Yes.”

What a great idea.

Wakaba-chan loved making desserts.

If I made it together with her then I’m sure something delicious would come of it.

Not that there was anybody to receive it but my family though!

“You could have asked for that whenever,” she objected.

“It seems that I shall be in your care then,” I smiled broadly.

*

*

*

After I bought the claw grip protector I stopped cutting myself.

The cut from the first day was almost healed too.

I was putting a new bandage on it when Oniisama came home with Imari-sama as well.

“Imari-sama, long time no see!”

“Belated Happy New Year, Reika-chan.”

“Happy New Year, Imari-sama.”

You’re sparkling as usual, Imari-sama. You look wonderful in that suit.

“I’ve actually got something to give you, Reika-chan.”

“What is it?”

He reached into his bag and brought out a ribboned box.

“Here. A souvenir from Nagasaki.”

“Wahh, thank you very much. Your parents live there, no?”

“Yep. I showed up for New Year’s. My younger brother had just come back from America so we went there together.”

“I see.”

Imari-sama’s younger brother was staying in America as an exchange student at the moment.

Apparently he liked it better than stuffy old Japan.

I unsealed my present.

In the past Imari-sama had gifted me cute marbles from Nagasaki, or castella sponge cakes.

I still loved those marbles.

Imari-sama had a good sense of what girls liked.

“Wah! Pearls!?”

I opened the velvet case to find a necklace, with a pearl embedded in a silver heart like a teardrop.

“How lovely!”

“Nagasaki is famous for its pearls, after all. I think they suit you. Shall I put it on for you?”

“Don’t touch people’s little sisters whenever you want, Imari,” Oniisama said with a chilling glare.

“Reika-chan, your oniisan is so scary. You know, people say that pearls are the tears of mermaids and fairies, but if that’s true I’d rather that girls cry tears of joy than sadness.”

Oniisama brought down an iron fist onto the smiling Casanova Village Chief’s head.

“Owowowow!”

“Die. Kill yourself! Drown at sea and become the core of some pearl!”

He began strangling Imari-sama with force.

How rare for somebody as kind and peaceful as Oniisama.

They sure got along.

“Thank you for the wonderful present, Imari-sama. Oh, I know! I shall make a pearl chocolate for you for Valentine’s!”

“Ehh? Chocolate from Reika-chan? That sounds great,” he smiled happily, even as he was being beaten across the head.

Having someone outside of your family to give chocolates to really got your motivation up, after all!

“Reika, that…”

You can look forward to it too, Oniisama!

Hmmm, and I also need to get started on Yukino-kun’s birthday food, and…

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