Soon, the pizza toast was ready. I transferred the steaming hot toast onto plates and carried them over to the low table in the living room. While I was at it, I also brought cups and milk. After filling up the cups, everything was ready.
Techi chose that exact moment to return home—she had perfect timing. Once her hands were washed, all of us gathered around the low table and voiced our thanks for the food.
The four of us—Kon, Techi, the wide-eyed Sayori, and me—sank our teeth into our respective portions of pizza toast. There was a nice crunch as I bit down. Possibly because summer was approaching, the aroma of the bell pepper was especially sharp and crisp, which I highly appreciated. The generous helping of cheese was also excellent, and the ketchup added just the right amount of spice. I can proudly say that we did a good job.
After I finished my piece of pizza toast, I helped myself to some milk, then stood up and advanced into the kitchen. Today, we had one more glutton present, adding up to a total of three big eaters. If someone didn’t take up a position in the kitchen and start up a tireless pizza toast factory, it would be a disaster in the making.
And so, I proceeded to bake seconds for everyone and deliver it to the living room. As I served the toast onto the three plates, I spoke up. “For now, I’ve prepared two pieces of pizza toast for everyone, but if you want more, make sure to tell me. Having too much pizza toast might get boring, so you also have the options of things like toast with jam, toast with honey, and toast with honey and butter. Tell me if you prefer one of those. All right then, I’ll be heading back to the kitchen now… May I have your orders?”
Techi’s hand shot up into the air right away. She folded her fingers to display the number three. Kon followed her example. It appeared that both of them wanted a third piece of pizza toast. I nodded and then looked at Sayori. Though her mannerisms were very nervous and reserved, she quietly raised her hand and gave me a number three as well.
Thus began the toast feast of the three chipmunk beastfolk. As you would expect, three additional pieces of toast wasn’t nearly enough. They respectively added two pieces of toast with jam and a piece of toast with honey and butter onto the list before they were finally satisfied.
Other than the very beginning, Kon was totally absorbed in moving his mouth and enjoying his food. I felt like we were veering away from the initial goal of demonstrating his skills as a chef, but he’d participated zealously in the first round, so it should be all right.
Finishing up lunch, everyone headed over to the bathroom to brush their teeth—we lent Sayori an unused disposable toothbrush—then migrated back to the living room and lounged for the rest of our lunch break. I prepared barley tea for the kids and a stronger, more bitter tea for Techi. We passed the time by watching the TV collectively, enjoying our rest at our own pace.
This was when Sayori, who finished all her barley tea, let out a small exhale. She looked straight into my eyes and politely said, “Thank you very much for treating me to a delightful lunch. The pizza toast was tasty, yes, but the toast with jam was especially good, and I was very surprised. After seeing that coverall apron, it also makes sense that Kon is able to participate in cooking. I understand I was making a willful request, but you were willing to go this far despite that… I truly can’t thank you enough.”
I smiled and replied, “I’m glad you liked the food.”
She gave me a subdued nod.
Techi, who’d been watching over the entire exchange unblinkingly, turned and addressed Sayori. “In Kon’s case, he’s only able to visit and hang out in our house because he has saved up his money properly. He has plenty of savings, and he doesn’t need more, so he’s giving his share of the work to the others, who might need it more. Plus, he wasn’t only having fun all day. He’s cooking and learning how to make preserves at our place, so you don’t have to be so anxious about him.”
I didn’t know what Sayori thought after hearing that, but she nodded slightly. And then, she fell into contemplative silence.
I’d already heard about this before, but the kids working at the orchard were paid in commissions. What mattered was how much time they spent at work and how much work they got done. Which meant that if there were more children working, there would be less work for each child, resulting in less income per person.
Meanwhile, Kon, who’d received compensation money for being dragged into the incident a while ago, had obtained a small fortune. Therefore, he’d chosen to deliberately take a break from work so that his assigned work and pay could go to his fellow coworkers. That was the reason he was popping in to visit every single day.
Now, if he were only hanging out and having fun, his parents might have had some very understandable complaints, but in truth, he barely spent any time playing. Most of his time was taken up by helping me with cooking, chores, and making preserves. After he went home, he’d either test out the new things he’d learned or impart them to his mother, a Japanese chef to the bone who was unfamiliar with Western food.
Even though he was in a position where he could play around all day, he didn’t. Kon was a responsible, earnest, and energetic boy. There weren’t any notable flaws to him either, so he would be an ideal candidate if you wanted to choose a prospective spouse.
But Sayori was still quite young. I could understand her unease about her marriage and possible marriage candidate. Hopefully we’ve helped ease her anxiety through this lunch today, even if it’s just a little.
After lengthy pondering, Sayori jerked her head up at long last. She shifted her gaze onto Kon and said in a spirited voice, “Excuse me, Kon, may I have your opinion on full-time househusbands?! Personally, I wouldn’t mind becoming a full-time housewife, but judging by what I have seen today, it looks like you have more opinions and expertise on household affairs. Even the food you made was very delicious, so I think that I can trust you to take care of the house! If you wish to become a house husband, I’ll work very very hard in my studies and get a good job, so I think it’s better for us to decide now and start planning things out with that in mind!”
Now that was certainly a speech Kon didn’t expect. He stammered, “Huh? Um? Wha? W-Wait, we’ve got to wait until the marriage inta-view is finished to talk about stuff like this though.” Though he was taken aback, he gave her a rational reply. “And we also need to talk with Daddy and Mommy—”
But Sayori cut him short. “I know that the marriage interview is important! But I think what’s even more important is how we feel about each other! We could make a decision now then persuade our parents. There’s nothing wrong with that!” Her eyes were practically glowing with passion and determination as she spoke. Her gaze was glued to Kon’s every movement.
Only moments earlier, Sayori had been calm and collected. But in the blink of an eye, she became a young maiden hopelessly in love—no, more like a hungry hunter of love determined to capture her target. I froze, unsure whether I should be shocked or baffled.
What in the world was spurring Sayori on like this? Was it Kon’s sizable savings? Or was it the fact that Kon had learned how to take care of the house and cook at my place?
Meanwhile, Kon was completely overwhelmed by Sayori’s blazing eyes and resolute words. Feeling daunted, he sent pleading looks to Techi and me. Seeing that, Techi clapped her hands loudly, stopping Sayori in her tracks and getting the younger girl’s attention.
✦ ✦ ✦
Techi said patiently, “Sayori, you’ve already got a marriage interview scheduled with Kon. But now, you’re trying to force your opinion on him, which isn’t a good thing to do. Like Kon said, the right choice is to discuss such matters in front of your parents in an official setting during your interview. If you keep pushing your opinion here, at this rate, the interview might be called off altogether. It looks like you’ve taken Kon by surprise, so I suggest we stop here for today. It’s okay, just have patience and wait until the day of your interview.”
Those words seemed to have done the trick and helped Sayori regain her presence of mind. She bowed apologetically to Kon. “I’m sorry.”
“O-Oh, it’s okay,” Kon replied.
Sayori lifted her head, and a sunny smile bloomed on her face. And then, she fixed her intent gaze on Kon again—the heated, ardent gaze of a maiden hopelessly in love.