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A marriage interview, naturally, isn’t a one-sided affair. Just like how Kon and his parents are trying to appraise his potential spouse, the other party is doing the same for Kon. In terms of financial security, Kon is considered an excellent marriage candidate. Because of that, he’s been flooded with offers of marriage interviews, which means that he is spoiled for choice—he’s the one doing the choosing, not the one waiting to be chosen. That much is true, but Kon mentioned that his advantage isn’t overwhelming or absolute. It only gives him a slight edge over his marriage interview partner.
And his current potential future spouse is his friend, a cute girl named Sayori Ichishikishima. Recently, Kon hasn’t been doing work or hanging out with his friends, instead choosing to constantly stay in my house. Because of this, Sayori was concerned that he might be indulging in unsavory pastimes and ended up sneaking here to check up on him.
But her plan was to come in secret—she was going to be careful so that no one would discover her, so the fact that I’d noticed her had caught her completely off guard. Because of that, she’d been stumped, which led to her silence.
I only had all of this information because Techi managed to skillfully coax Sayori to speak from the other end of the call. Wow, she sure is a professional preschool teacher. She really knows her way around kids, I thought with admiration.
Techi had one last message for me. “I’ll head back when it’s lunch break, so hold out until then.” She hung up.
By the time we finished the call, we’d moved into the living room. Sayori was sitting on her knees in front of the low table, her straightened back practically oozing dignity.
“Umm…” I hesitated before I addressed her. “Kon has been busy helping me out. We’ve been making food together and he’s been my good companion in my hobby of making preserves, so I don’t think there’s anything you need to be worried about.”
The young girl turned and looked straight at me with a solemn expression. Her eyes were slightly narrowed with a hint of scrutiny. It seemed that she didn’t trust my words—or maybe it was more accurate to say that she likely didn’t trust me. I pressed my lips into a thin line, wondering what I should say to her.
But that was when Kon, who was sitting next to Sayori, spoke up first. “Sayo, it’s okay, Mikura isn’t a scary guy. He’s never yelled at me even once, and whenever I say I want to eat something, he always makes it for me. He’s also really close with Techi, so he isn’t a bad person.”
Sayori stared intently at Kon before sending a sharp gaze in my direction. She glanced at Kon again before she finally addressed me. “Please pardon my rudeness. This is my first time seeing a human in the flesh, so I’m afraid my fear got the better of me.” She hesitated. “To be honest, I’m still a little scared, but if that’s what Kon says, I will put my faith in you. And, um, I also have a question for you, if you don’t mind… Are you really cooking with Kon? I mean, I have heard that’s what you two have been doing in the rumors, but…truly? Sorry if I sound rude, but I never expected to hear that two men are busy with cooking.”
I blinked. “Hm? Yeah, we are. Most of the time, I’m the main chef, but there were a few times when Kon worked hard and took over the reins. Plus, when it comes to cooking, no matter what gender you are, it’s a good skill to have. Being a good cook has a direct connection with good health sometimes. I’m hoping that I can keep at it with Kon and that we can both become better cooks. Ah, no pressure, but you can even join us when you have time, Sayori. Do you want to try? You’re always welcome here, even if you just want to sit and watch.”
Hearing that, she silently cast down her eyes and mulled over my words for a moment. Then, looking between Kon and me, she replied, “That’s very kind of you. I would love to come and watch, yes. But, um, before we move on…” She hesitated. “I don’t mean to sound suspicious of you, but if what you’re saying is true, is it possible for you to cook something as a demonstration? Would that be all right?”
Kon and I traded glances and had a silent exchange. We came to this conclusion: Yeah, that should be perfectly fine. Then, we nodded at the same time.
I looked up at the clock to check the time. It was going to be lunchtime soon, so I smacked my knees to psych myself up and climbed to my feet. “Sure. I’ll prepare something right away.” I turned and walked into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Kon grabbed his bag, which he’d left in one corner of the living room, and took out his coverall apron before gearing up for his cooking ventures. I washed my hands and donned my apron as well.
Opening the fridge, I inspected it before calling out to Kon, who’d dashed up onto the counter next to the sink. “Hey Kon, what do you think about pizza toast today? It’s something simple that even you should be able to prepare. You spread ketchup on the bread, cut up toppings and put them on, then cover it with a layer of cheese. That’s all you have to do before you bake it in the oven. It’s simple, delicious, and full of veggies too. Not a bad lunch, right?”
“Pizza! Toast!” he exclaimed with excitement. “That’s so nostalgic! Wasn’t that the first meal you cooked for me? Yeah, I think if I work hard, I can do it! I’ll make food for you, me, Techi, and Sayo! All four of us!”
His declaration was the signal that began our cooking session.
Start off by washing your bell peppers and cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Peel and cut onions. Then, you’ll want bacon from the supermarket—which is unfortunately out of stock at the moment, so we’ll use scrumptious Vienna sausages, which are a tad on the pricey side. Cut them into thin, diagonal slices. Today, let’s indulge ourselves a little and use plenty of good cheese.
With Kon’s help, we processed our ingredients before spreading ketchup on one piece of bread at a time. Then, we piled on the ingredients carefully so that they wouldn’t fall down easily. We sprinkled on a generous amount of cheese for the finishing touch, lined them up in the toaster oven, and turned it on.
While we waited for the pizza bread to cook, we put away the cooking utensils and did the dishes. While we were at it, we also made preparations for the next step, such as fetching plates for serving the pizza toast.
After we finished everything there was to do, I started one of my cooking tip sessions again. “By the way, when you use a lot of toppings or want to use big pieces of toast, it can take a longer time to bake. If you want to cut down on the time, you can quickly stir-fry your bell peppers and onions before you put them on, since they’re what takes the longest to cook. When you stir-fry them, you can add in a bit of dashi stock, mushrooms, herbs, or salt and pepper. Choosing to add some other types of seasoning will make it taste better too.
“Now, if you want to make it better and fancier on top of that, you can even make your own homemade tomato sauce. Buuut going that far would take too much time and effort, so you will have to save that for an occasion when you’ve got plenty of spare time. A simple alternative would be using ready-made pizza sauce from the supermarket instead of ketchup.”