Beautiful Girl’s Cooking is Excellent.

"In the meantime, let's introduce ourselves to each other in more detail. I guess we'll start with me. I'm not in a club, but I do have a part-time job."

"From what you said at the restaurant, I don't think you're having any financial problems, then why do you work part-time?"

Airi asked me with a puzzled expression.

There was no way a mere high school student could live alone with just a part-time job.

I was working part-time at the store, and my stepmother told them that money was not a problem for me, so perhaps she would be wondering about that.

However, although I didn't mind talking about this, this would be quite a heavy topic to touch on.

"I'm going to have to ask you to listen to something a little awkward, is that okay?"

"Yes, if Kujo-senpai is okay with it."

"Then I'll start. My dad passed away, and before he did he had a huge death insurance policy. I told my stepmother that there was no problem because I was using that money to pay for school, rent and other living expenses."

I told her the truth as plainly as I could so as not to make it dark.

As for the tuition, I was using a scholarship, so I was not paying for all of it, but I still had to pay quite a bit.

In exchange for keeping all of my father's insurance money, I was essentially kicked out of the family home and my stepmother took over everything else, but I didn't think I needed to tell Airi that much.

In the first place, it was not something that could be solved by simply telling her.

Her face darkened when I told her about my father.

"I'm sorry that I asked you such a difficult question."

"No, it's okay. I've been over this. There's no pain in talking about it."

I spoke with a smile on my face so that Airi would not be bothered by it.

My father passed away when I was in middle school, and I had already sorted out my feelings.

There was nothing to be sad about now, and I didn't want her, a stranger, to look at me like that.

It was not something I wanted to talk about, but I was sure Airi would like to get rid of any financial worries. It couldn't be helped.

"I don't have any financial problems in my life for now, but I do try to earn money for my hobbies on my own."

Getting a part-time job was a kind of commitment I made when I decided to live alone.

I believed that my father's money should not be used for my hobbies as it was obtained from the death of him.

I spend a lot of money on my hobbies, so there were times when I suffered quite a bit, but I have never regretted it.

After hearing this, Airi gave me a respectful look.

"You're admirable, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. After all, it's something I'm able to do because I can afford to put my money towards my hobbies."

I replied with a wry smile, since I was not doing anything worth admiring.

I was only able to live on because of my father's money. If life got tougher, I would have to quit my hobby and get a part-time job or go to my stepmother. I didn't want to do either of that.

It was inappropriate to be thankful for something I received from someone who passed away, but it was still money that needed to be treated carefully.

"Secondly, I do a lot of gaming. Feel free to tell me if I'm being too loud."

It depended on how loud someone wanted it to be. I was used to the sound of video games, but I was not sure about Airi.

It would be too much to ask for a ban on games, so I had to negotiate to get her to allow it.

"I don't mind the noise."

"That means you can stand it, right? We're going to live together, so don't let your frustrations build up, it's okay to speak up if you don't like something…. And that's coming from a guy who makes a lot of noise."

"I think there are some things you just can't control, even if you say you don't like them."

When she said that, Airi's face twisted just a little bit as if she was in pain.

Maybe that was what actually happened. But I couldn't ask her about it now, so I tried to keep my voice as soft as possible as I expressed my thoughts.

"Then we'll talk it over until we come to a mutually acceptable compromise."

I didn't think it was right to force people to put up with things one way or the other.

Even if I was okay with it, there would be times when Airi couldn't stand it, and I thought it was important to come to terms with that.

"And I have two childhood best friends. I'll introduce them to you in the near future."

"I have no intention of getting involved with Kujo-senpai's friendships."

It seemed that she was sincerely not interested, as she had a cold look of rejection on her face. I guessed I would just have to introduce them to her again slightly later.

"It's good to at least know their names, right? That's about it on my end."

"Oh, yes. Well, I guess I'm next. I'm not in any clubs, and I don't have any hobbies."

Airi said the words as if they were somebody else's problem.

"Why don't you join a club? You might find a hobby."

I thought it must be pretty hard not to have any hobbies, but if she said she was fine, I couldn't interfere, so I just mentioned it lightly.

"No, I'm not going to join one. I have this appearance so you can see trouble will occur if I enter one. For the same reason I don't particularly want to make any friends."

Her voice sounded chilly. Apparently it was something I couldn't ask too much about. Perhaps there was some trouble in the past.

"Sorry."

"No, please don't worry about it."

We apologized to each other and the air changed once it was over.

Although the look on Airi's face was expressionless, it was a relief to know that she was not consciously turning off her emotions.

"So what are you going to do when you get home?"

"Well, I used to study, so I'm going to study here too."

"All right."

The top of the first year seemed to be a hard worker, or maybe she just studied because she didn't have any hobbies.

Since hobbies were only for those who were interested in them, it was probably not worth mentioning any further. If she wanted to play a game, I would be happy to lend her.

After our introductions, it was time to take a break, and I was getting hungry.

"It's time for dinner."

"Can I cook for you as a thank you for letting me stay here?"

"I don't really need a thank you. Are you sure?"

"Yes, please leave it to me."

With that she smiled and headed for the kitchen.

"It looks like you are using cooking utensils, and there are plenty of seasonings. It's surprising that you do some cooking."

Airi murmured in admiration as she looked at the kitchen.

"Just enough to feed myself."

It was not something I was proud of, so I replied without hesitation.

To what extent cooking could be called cooking depended on the individual.

Some people think that if you can make stir-fried vegetables you can cook, while others don't call it cooking at all.

I thought it was enough for me to be able to cook to my own satisfaction, and I didn't think my palate was that discerning. Although I wouldn't call cup noodles a dish.

"However, there aren't many ingredients."

"Sorry, I didn't restock. Shall I go get some?"

I had already eaten a lot of the food in the fridge yesterday, so I didn't have many ingredients left.

I thought it would be better to go get some since we don't have enough, but she refrained with a smile.

"No, it's fine. I'll make do with what I have today."

"Yes, please."

Since I was the one being cooked for, I made a polite request and was met with a sly smile.

"What's with that? The way you said it."

After that, Airi started to cook.

I felt uncomfortable having someone other than myself in the kitchen, much less a beautiful girl.

I felt bad about staring at her as she cooked, so I tried not to look at her as much as I could, but after a while a nice smell started to waft through the air, and I went to help her with the dishes.

"Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu."

Airi made fried rice. I was hungry and started eating it immediately.

"It's delicious," I said honestly.

I thought it was quite difficult to make fried rice, as I couldn't get the rice to crisp up. But this was done properly.

"It's just fried rice, the ingredients are from the fridge."

"Don't say it's just fried rice. When I tried to make it, I couldn't get it to fry nicely like this, it's really good."

" ... Thank you."

When I sincerely praised her, her cheeks turned rosy, apparently she was embarrassed.

You could easily tell when her skin turned a little red because it was originally pure white without a single blemish.

The fact that she was restless and fidgety was very cute, and she was rumored to be a very beautiful girl. I saw her at the entrance ceremony where the rumors started, and she had no expression on her face.

It would not be good to keep staring at her embarrassed face, so I went back to eating.

Airi watched me with interest as she ate her share of the fried rice. It was so delicious that I ate it without saying another word.

"Thank you for the food."

"It was insanely delicious, thank you so much."

It was on a different level from the food I made myself, and I thought it was rude of me to compare my cooking to Airi's.

This was what she could make with the ingredients available, I wondered how great she would be if she really took it seriously.

When I thanked her again, her cheeks turned red again, apparently she was not used to receiving praise.

"No, thank you for your praise. Then, I'll cook from now on."

"... Wait, from now on? Are you planning to cook every day?"

"Yes, that's right. Is there a problem?"

She looked at me as if it was obvious, but I immediately denied it. It would be a big problem.

"No, you can't do that."

It was hard to cook every day. I had been living alone for a year, but there were many days when I didn't cook for myself and just used cup noodles or frozen food.

There was no reason why Airi should be the only one to do it, and I didn't intend to make her do it.

"Why don't we at least take turns?"

"I told you, I don't mind. I am not in a club, and I don't have any particular hobby. I have extra time on my hands, so I'd rather you let me do it."

She said earlier that she would study when she got home, but not all the time I guess, and I couldn't say no if she asked me to let her do it. She even bowed her head.

But I could also cook a little and I didn't want to overwhelm her.

"All right. Just take it easy. I'll take care of cleaning up."

It would be too much to make her cook a delicious dinner and then have her clean up afterwards. I wanted to be able to do at least that.

"No, I can at least clean up."

"No, I'll do it. Let me do it."

She was reluctant when I insisted but she agreed in the end.

"... If you insist that much, then please do."

I took the plates to the kitchen and cleaned up after the meal.

Usually I find cleaning up rather tedious, but perhaps it was because I was able to enjoy a delicious meal… I didn't feel bad about it.