18 Surprising Compliment (1)
Chapter 18: Episode 9 - Surprising Compliment (1)
"Everyone, there's 30 minutes left. Speed up," the teacher ordered, observing everyone's progress.
It was time for the exam and I decided to stick with my original cake, the chocolate torte.
"It's looking good so far, Keiko!" Fraise complimented as she quietly hid in my chest pocket.
"Oh, thanks," I accepted as I worked on the filling.
I met up with Fraise right after I cleaned up my station early this morning after Kashino found me. When I went back to the dorms, Fraise was still sleeping so I guess she hadn't realized that I didn't go back to my room. Fraise looked well-rested compared to me who was sleep-deprived.
We'd talked about what cake I was going to make, and when I told her that I was going to stick to my chocolate torte, she looked relieved to hear the news.
~
The teacher went around the room to check everyone's progress. She stopped over by Group A's station to witness the top students in the grade.
'Hanabusa is splendid at decorating, Andou is good at using materials with a Japanese style for foundation, and Kashino—' the teacher's thoughts were interrupted as she observed.
"—It's complete," Kashino claimed, holding his beautiful opera cake with his same straight face.
'Of course, Kashino is already unchallenged. As expected of the Sweets Princes,' the teacher thought to herself, glancing at the Sweets Princes admirably.
The teacher switched her attention over to Keiko who was quick and fluent in her movements. She made no mistake when she worked on her cake and her moves were confident. Though she'd only transferred to the school 4 days ago, she was quick to catch on as if she'd been a student at the academy since the beginning. It was even more surprising to witness her because she'd only received news of this test 2 days before while everyone else knew a week ahead. Her work and speed were flawless.
'To be expected of the girl highly recommended by Mr. Henri Lucas himself. Her moves are flawless and she produces stunning desserts without hesitation. Her demeanor is mature for her age and that makes it hard to believe that she's still only 14. Somehow, her appearance kind of reminds me of that world-famous patissiere that passed away 6 years ago, Ella Fournier,' the teacher observed Keiko working on her cake supremely, giving her high praise in her mind.
~
"You're doing chocolate hazelnut as the filling?" Fraise questioned, peeking out of my chest pocket.
"Yeah, the chocolate whipped cream was fine at first but the flavors were too plain. I wanted to add a nutty flavor to it to bring out the richness of the chocolate," I explained, working on the Nutella milk jam.
I decided that I wanted to get rid of the whipped cream filling because it didn't bring out the chocolate as much. I hoped that if I made a chocolate hazelnut milk jam, it would bring out the esteemed flavors of the cake that I needed.
It was a decision that I made last minute. I had pondered about what the torte cake was missing but then I remembered the conversation with Kashino early this morning.
"If you don't solve the problem you'll never find the solution. If you give up, you won't get better. Don't rush yourself, Michiko. It's alright to find your own magic."
I wanted to find the solution to my problem so when I drank the hazelnut hot chocolate he made for me, I was inspired to make a Nutella milk jam to accentuate the chocolate cake.
I layered each sheet of the chocolate sponge adding the Nutella milk jam in between. I grabbed my chocolate glaze from the fridge and varnished it over the cake.
"Wow, Michiko is totally into it," Hanabusa noticed and the Sweets Princes glanced my way as I varnished the cake with the chocolate glaze.
'The glaze is bitter while the hazelnut milk jam is sweet. The taste of this cake will be bittersweet, just like everything in life. These flavors mixed into one will balance out the cake so that you can keep eating it without feeling full. I'll give everyone a delicious cake with my magic.'
"It's done, my "Bittersweet Nutella Torte Cake," I announced as people gathered around to view my creation.
.
.
.
"Woah, her cake looks amazing!"
"Didn't she just learn about the cake exam two days ago? Unbelievable!"
"No wonder she's in Group A with the Sweets Princes!"
"I really want to try it out now!"
As everyone chattered, I'd cut a piece of my cake for the three Sweets Princes to try out. I handed the three boys a plate with a piece of the cake on it.
"Wow, Michiko… It looks stunning," Hanabusa complimented. "The layers are evenly separated and it has a nice finish to it."
"The chocolate sponge is moist and it's not overwhelmingly sweet, the sweet hazelnut jam in between the layers makes the chocolate flavor pop, and the bitter chocolate glaze pairs well with the sweet jam," Andou approved with a satisfied look on his face.
Next, it was Kashino's turn to taste my cake.
He took a bite of the cake and chewed, closing his eyes to envision the flavor.
"Surprisingly, I didn't think you'd be experienced in chocolate. Bittersweet things aren't easy to make especially with chocolate, but the sweet hazelnut blends in well with the bitter chocolate glaze, canceling the aftertaste," Kashino analyzed the taste I was going for.
'What is he going to say next?'
"Hmm… it does taste good," Kashino admitted and his voice faded at the end of his sentence. My eyes lit up at the sound of this.
"Just now, did you say that it tastes good?" I wanted to know for sure that I didn't mishear anything.
"Ah, yeah," he stated bluntly as I gazed confusedly at him.
"Really? You weren't thinking "plain" in your mind, were you?" I clocked my head to the side.
"I'M HONESTLY COMPLIMENTING YOU!" Kashino became flustered as if he didn't want to say those words ever again.
"Aww… He's all shy because he rarely compliments people," Andou quietly whispered in my ear beside me.
'If he rarely gives out compliments then that means that I'm one of the few people that he's complimented. Though it feels weird to be praised by Kashino, it somehow also feels relieving at the same time.'
"Thanks, Kashino," I said as I gave him a relieved smile, truly thankful for his true words.
'Though this is only a small step, I hope that I can get closer with the Sweets Princes.'
"—Just because Kashino complimented you doesn't mean that I approve of you!" A girl's voice could be heard from Kashino's chest pocket.
'What is this?'
"H-Hey, Chocolat!" Kashino said frantically, talking down to his pocket.
Suddenly, a tiny girl with long, milk chocolate hair, brown eyes, a crimson dress, and fairy wings jumped out of Kashino's pocket. She held a gold staff with a fork on one end and an emblem with an "M" on the other.
"Can you not be so optimistic just because Kashino complimented you, Michiko Keiko!?" The fairy girl spoke harshly, her brown eyes glaring directly at me.
'A sweets spirit?'
