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“WOW, your pantry’s even more stocked than ours was. I can cook whatever I want with this.”
“We design recipes that use our territory’s honey here, too. I’m sure we have far more ingredients than most households. I look forward to seeing what you make.”
I wondered what Siraiya would cook. He was so smart and talented; I could picture him whipping up something like a pie in no time.
Then I realized that with past life’s memories, I knew how to cook, too. I couldn’t make a pie, but simple recipes were definitely within my grasp. Food in this world resembled that of my past life, as it came from a dating sim made in modern times. I doubted the cooking methods were any different.
Perhaps it would be fun for the two of us to cook for each other from time to time. I sat at the small kitchen table, pondering these things while Siraiya worked swiftly in the kitchen.
He might…be even better than I imagined. Dumbfounded, I watched him for a while until he came and presented me with a plate.
“This is an amuse-bouche.”
“A-Amuse-bouche…”
“I can’t serve you alcohol, but you had the perfect apples for apple juice.”
He brought me a glass of freshly squeezed apple juice and an asparagus sauté with garlic, mushrooms, crumbled crackers on top, and a drizzle of Hollandaise sauce. It was strange to see Hollandaise sauce in a world where Holland never existed, but you weren’t supposed to ask complex questions like that in a dating sim.
“How incredible… You could be a professional chef someday, Siraiya.”
“I couldn’t have done it without all the ingredients you have on hand. A lot of them were even precut to make them easier to work with. I’ll come back with hors d’oeuvres, so enjoy this while you wait.”
With that, Siraiya even laid out cutlery for me. It almost felt too fancy to eat anywhere else but the dining table. But my stomach wasn’t going to let me object. Instead of taking up precious time to relocate, I quickly went in for my first bite.
“…Mm!”
I couldn’t even speak. It was just too delicious. Siraiya was already on the level of a professional chef. The depths of this man’s talent nearly brought a tear to my eye. Did he have even a single flaw?
I finished the sauté in no time at all, but before I could tell him how much I loved it, he’d whisked my plate away and served the hors d’oeuvres.
The dish consisted of thinly sliced radishes with colorful vegetables placed on top for decoration, surrounded by a circle of leafy greens and root veggies. Not only was it fun to look at, but naturally, it was incredibly delicious.
He brought me something new each time I cleared my plate. After a while, he served me his final dish—dessert.
“Oh, madeleines! They look delicious!”
“Ah, hang on. They’re even better with this…”
I couldn’t imagine what could make them better, but Siraiya had started rummaging around the kitchen. Is he going to drizzle them with honey? Or cream? Well, whatever it is, I’m sure it will taste amazing.
My heart raced in anticipation. Siraiya returned with a black bottle of seasoning. As soon as I recognized it, my mind went blank. Maybe I was mistaken. After all, how could he possibly think to put that on madeleines, of all things?
“These will be too sweet for you, right? Adding a little bit of this stuff packs a punch. I really love it, so I eat it on all sorts of things.” He opened the lid to reveal a red powder inside—crushed chili peppers. My mouth twitched.
“S-Siraiya… I think that will taste too strong…”
But before I could get my warning out, red snow had already fallen on top of the madeleines.
I looked at Siraiya to let him know that I couldn’t stomach such a dish, only to see the pink hue on his cheeks. “Go ahead,” he whispered sweetly.
No, I can’t do it.
I could never refuse my beloved—not when he was doing something so generous for my sake.
“Thank…you. I’ll…try some…” I squeezed out.
All of Siraiya’s cooking had been perfect up to this point. Perhaps I was mistaken, and this would be yet another delicious treat.
Clinging to that sliver of hope, I took a bite of a madeleine.
It felt like I’d inhaled a ball of fire. I gulped, forcing the flames down into my stomach and downing the rest of my apple juice. Siraiya grinned and refilled my glass.
“The sweet madeleines go great with the tangy apple juice, don’t they? There’s more if you want seconds.”
Sweet…?
The only sweet thing I see right now is your smile. I wanted to tell him that he was mistaken, but instead, I forced a smile and told him it was delicious.
“I’m glad to hear it. Here, I’ll get you another—.”
“No, thank you! I’m perfectly full already!”
I raised my voice to cut him off before he could finish. He blinked at me, then set the madeleine back down on the platter.
“You are? Well, that’s good.”
I was so glad that the madeleines were small enough to finish in two bites. I polished off the second half of mine, bolstered by the strength of my love for Siraiya, and tried my hardest not to cough up flames.
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“THIS way, Siraiya.”
I tried to ignore my stinging lips as I led Siraiya by the hand to our family library. I held up a lantern so we could weave through the bookshelves until we reached the familiar plush seats. This place, nestled between two large pillars, was my favorite spot in the house.
“This used to be my secret base as a child,” I confided.
“Secret base?”
“Did you ever make a special place just for you?”
“Just for me…? I don’t remember anything like that… My brothers might have had them, but they wouldn’t have ever taken me there.”
I hung the lantern from a hook on one of the pillars and took a seat facing Siraiya, crossing my legs in a slightly unladylike manner.
“Very well. This place will be ours from here on out. That would make me very happy.”
“Really…?”
A heartfelt smile spread across his face. From now on, the two of us would build more and more places that belonged to the two of us.
“I’ll share another one of my secrets with you. The back of the sofa has a compartment where you can store things. That’s where I keep my favorite book.” I reached inside and retrieved a thick novel. “It’s a romance story. Do you read books like these, Siraiya?”
“No, I only read textbooks and reference books to learn from. I was never interested in romance. But…”
“But?”
“But I am now. I want to know more about it.”
He looked at me so earnestly, almost as if his words were a prayer. The intense expression made my heart race and my body flush.
“Then I suppose this will be another textbook for you, Siraiya.” I chuckled, drawing a shy smile from him.
“You’re not wrong about that. I want to know what your kind of romance looks like.” He leaned forward to get a closer look. I nuzzled up against him and opened the book.
“Then why don’t we read it together?”
I began to read to Siraiya, keeping my tone soft like it was a bedtime story.
As I read, we made plans to see the stage adaptation of the story, go on a date in town, and pick up the sequel once it was in stores. We took our time with the text to slowly immerse ourselves in this shared world together. Eventually…we both drifted off into slumber.
We probably went to separate places in our dreams, but Siraiya’s warmth never left my side—not until the glittering stars like those on our ears faded into the rising sun.
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I opened my eyes when I felt my body grow even warmer than before.
Siraiya and I had fallen asleep on the sofa. But now, my parents were sitting on either side of us. I was the only one awake, and I realized Siraiya and I both had blankets draped over us. Its warmth conveyed the love of my mother and father. It was such a blessing to see they’d given Siraiya a blanket of his own.
As long as they loved him as much as they loved me, then the four of us would become a true family in every sense that mattered. We were already so happy, but this was going to be a new kind of happiness that all of us could share.
I wanted to live in that moment a little longer, so I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.
My special place turned into something for the two of us, and then all four of us. I felt like I’d gotten a glimpse of how joy could spread.