6th Meal

Side Dishes and Shopping Part 2

“Come to think of it, Onii-san cooks for himself, aren’t you?”

After we both clasped hands and said “Thanks for the food.” The high school girl, who was sitting upright on a cotton cushion just like before, asked me. I then nodded and said, “Yeah, that’s right.” While sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“That’s amazing! I could never do something like that…”

“It’s not that big of a deal. Remember the bacon and eggs you ate the other day? That’s actually my limit.”

I think there is a better recipe than that, but it’s the only one that I can make at a level of perfection that I can serve to others. However, “perfection” is practically nonexistent in a dish like fried eggs, where you just drop an egg in a frying pan and wait for it to cook.

“Eh~? But the bacon and eggs were so good~!”

“You seem to say everything is delicious, huh? Are there any foods you don’t like?”

“Foods that I don’t like…?”

“Stop, don’t give me a look like you’ve been exposed to an unknown language. I didn’t ask me anything weird like that.”

The high school girl, who tilted her head with a look of heartfelt wonder, groaned for a while saying, “Ummmm…hmm…” Before answering in a squeezed voice.

“If there’s anything…Insects, I guess…?”

“Yeah, got it. I understand now that you don’t have any likes or dislikes when it comes to food.”

“I-It’s not like that! I don’t mean the pill bugs or cicadas around here, but the edible insects! I just can’t bring myself to eat them…”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

It would be rather scary if she said, “I’m totally fine with edible insects.” because even I can’t do that, you know?

“…But for someone like you who seems to like to eat, your eating habits are a bit sloppy, huh?”

“Eh, really?”

“That’s right. All you do is eat bento boxes and prepared foods, don’t you want to cook for yourself and eat good food? Do you really just want to eat?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that I’m not interested, it’s just that my parents forbid me from cooking for myself…”

“H-Ha!? What do you mean?”

“Ahaha~” The girl laughed while putting her hand on the back of her head as I raised my voice in a silly manner.

“I’ve always been a bit of a lazy cook, and I’ve always been told, ‘Don’t cook, or you’ll get hurt’ Something like that.”

“Is that so? Even just making fried eggs?”

“I was told very strictly that the using fire and bladed utensils were especially forbidden. That’s the condition for being allowed to live alone.”

“So cooking is NG(no good), huh?”

The fact that they used the term “bladed utensils,” rather than “using fire,” was very realistic. Normally, we would have said “kitchen knife,” but in her case, she could not use a peeler or scissors.

(…It’s understandable if the kid was in elementary school, but isn’t it a bit overprotective to impose such conditions on a high school student?)

I don’t know if it’s parental love, but it’s not worth it in her current situation, where instead of forbidding her to cook for herself, her nutrition is unbalanced. It would be meaningless if her health is in danger instead of eliminating the fear of her being injured.

(…Hmm? Wait a minute. That’s essentially saying, ‘It’s not safe if you’re alone’ right?)

Then why not have someone watch her on the side so that she will not get hurt or in danger?

This way, this girl can eat freshly prepared delicious food while also maintaining a healthy diet, right? Of course, if she’s willing to that is.

“…Hey, I’d like to ask you something, if you don’t mind?”

“Hmm? Yes, what is it?”

“Do you want me to teach you how to cook? Though, I could only cook really simple thi—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the high school girl who had been sitting in a well-mannered manner leaned forward after banging the table.

“A-Are you sure!?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Seeing her eyes light up, I had no choice but to nod my head in surprise at the unexpected reaction.