Daily Routine and Meals Worth Remembering

"…What are you writing?"

After dinner, Amane took care of the dishes. When he finished, he saw

that Mahiru was sitting on the sofa jotting down some kind of note.

Initially, he wondered whether it might be a school assignment, but that

didn't seem to be the case. It would have been rude to brazenly read the

contents, so he couldn't get a good look at it.

Glancing at it as he passed behind her, he saw what looked like a list of

dishes, written in neat letters.

Mahiru was used to Amane sitting beside her, and she didn't react to

him taking the adjacent seat. She continued moving her pen in silence.

"It's the menu from last night's dinner. It's helpful later if I make a note

of what I cooked."

Her slightly delayed answer was quite matter-of-fact.

"As the person who does the cooking, I decided I ought to keep track of

these things."

"You're so meticulous."

"I'm just writing down what I made, so it's simple enough. I'm the kind

of person who will pretty much eat the same things all the time, but that's

not so great as far as nutritional balance."

When it came down to it, Amane was also the type who would be

perfectly fine with eating the same thing over and over. But there was

nothing better than getting to eat a variety of dishes.

Since Mahiru had a varied repertoire, she always tried to avoid repeating

the same dishes. At most, she used the previous day's leftovers, such as

curry or meat sauce, to make something new.

Without even having to think back on it, Amane knew that she had been

incorporating a good mix of vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, soy, and dairy into

their meals.

He was grateful when he thought about how much care she put into

these kinds of details, but on the other hand, he also felt bad about it.

"How do I put this? I'm really grateful for everything you do. You have

my respect."

"Stop that. I'm just doing this for my own satisfaction. It's easier to have

a record when I'm trying to manage our nutrition. Plus, if anything ever

happens, I'll be able to check whether there was anything strange in what

we ate."

"I guess that's true, but it's still very thoughtful. Admirable, even."

"I'm not doing it because I want your praise, though. It's convenient to

have later, so I'm making a habit of it. That's all."

"Even so, I think it's impressive."

"…Well, thanks."

He really thought she was amazing. Without exaggeration, she was

terrific and so sincere.

"As someone who basically specializes in eating and can barely recall

the names of dishes, I find it incredible that you came up with an idea like

this."

"…Now that you mention it, for someone who specializes in eating, you

do know a fair number of dishes once they're laid out on a table. And you

have a good sense of taste, especially considering that before I started

cooking for you, all you seemed to eat was instant ramen and ready-made

food."

"At home, my parents…well, if I had to say, I guess it was my dad—my

dad made me try all sorts of things, so I got to eat lots of good stuff."

Amane knew that his palate wasn't necessarily dull just because he

didn't cook.

Just like how food critics aren't always expert cooks, it was possible to

hone his sense of taste, even though he couldn't prepare the dishes he was

tasting.

Amane's parents were good cooks, especially his father, and they were

the type of people who had regularly taken him to various restaurants. This

gave him plenty of opportunities to taste and compare a wide variety of

foods.

Thanks to their efforts, Amane had been raised with a fairly discerning

palate, which wasn't always a good thing.

"…I see. That makes sense. I had a similar experience."

Mahiru seemed to understand without feeling any particular discomfort

about it, but her expression didn't brighten.

He was just guessing, but Amane figured that could be attributed to her

home environment.

He didn't know all the details about Mahiru's situation, and he couldn't

thoughtlessly butt in as an outsider, so he refrained from mentioning it any

further and instead turned his gaze back to the paper that her pen had been

running across until just a moment earlier.

"Can I take a look?"

"At this? I don't mind, but it's not particularly organized."

"I doubt that's true, but even if it isn't, I'd like to see it, if that's all

right."

Without hesitation, Mahiru granted Amane's request and handed him the

notebook.

After thanking her, he turned to the first page and saw detailed menus

inside, going back about three months and ordered by date. Everything was

written in Mahiru's tidy handwriting.

Her notes started on the day they had first eaten a meal together.

A nostalgic menu of miso soup, fish simmered in soy sauce, stewed

greens, and rolled omelets was listed there, and he let a smile slip out at the

vivid memory of it.

Amane flipped through the pages, musing that Mahiru's attitude toward

him had softened quite a bit since that first meal and reminiscing as he

revisited menu after menu.

Mahiru certainly incorporated all types of cooking, but looking at the

menus collected like this, he noticed there was a lot of Japanese food.

It was common knowledge that Amane loved eggs, so dishes that

incorporated them frequently showed up at their dinner table. He was

keenly aware that Mahiru had been paying close attention to his preferences

in more ways than one.

"Ah, these were sooo good."

As he was reading, Amane came across an entry for pouch eggs,

probably his second favorite egg dish of Mahiru's, after her rolled omelets.

Mahiru seemed faintly pleased that he was excited but not at all

surprised.

This dish was made by closing up eggs in fried tofu skins and simmering

them in a sweet and salty broth, something that was not very difficult for

Mahiru to do.

"They don't take too much work to make. They are tasty, though, huh?"

she said softly.

Of course, Amane knew that anyone would probably be happy to hear

that something they had made was delicious, but all the food Mahiru made

was delicious, so it all came down to preference.

"…You really do love eggs, don't you?"

"The egg is magnificent. It's delicious whether you simmer it, bake it,

boil it, fry it, steam it, or smoke it, and it's chock-full of protein. I'd eat

eggs every day if I could."

"Sure, they've got good nutritional value, and I like to eat at least one a

day, but I find it hard to appreciate them quite as much as you do, Amane."

"Really? I just like them so much."

"…Do you want to eat some pouch eggs?"

"Huh?"

Amane stiffened at the sudden proposal, but Mahiru retained her usual

calm expression. He hadn't meant to make a request, but apparently, his

impassioned declaration of love for eggs had given her ideas.

"I feel kinda bad."

"Don't. We're about to run out of eggs anyway, so I was just thinking

we should buy a new carton. Let's see… Tomorrow's menu is already set,

but I can change what I was planning for the day after. Nutrition won't be

an issue if I make a few extra side dishes, so it's an easy request to

fulfill…"

"Really?"

Without meaning to, he stared at Mahiru in joy.

For some reason, Mahiru cleared her throat after she noticed him staring.

Then she quietly answered, "…I don't mind."

Though it was low, Amane caught every word and let out a little "Yay!"

Then his cheeks naturally softened into a smile. "All right! I'm looking

forward to the day after tomorrow, then."

He was always excited for Mahiru's cooking, but hearing that she was

going to make one of his favorites only heightened his anticipation.

They had a hellish marathon scheduled in gym class that day, for reasons

he could not fathom, but Amane felt as if he could run his heart out as long

as Mahiru's cooking would be waiting for him afterward.

"…It's worth making if it will make you happy. Then again, you are the

type to tell me that everything is delicious, Amane."

"I say everything's delicious because it is. Everything you cook is great,

Mahiru."

"…Thank you very much."

"I enjoy eating every bite of food you make. You're always helping me

out, so thank you."

He thought he was telling her his honest feelings, so he was slightly

shocked when she blatantly avoided looking at him.

After fidgeting uncomfortably, Mahiru let out a quiet sigh. She seemed

tired somehow.

"You won't get anything by flattering me."

"I bet I'll get a delicious dinner."

"…That's one of the things I really like about you, you know."

"What is?"

"Everything."

Finally, Mahiru turned away. Amane was worried that he had said

something that hurt her feelings. Maybe because she could tell he was

flustered, Mahiru did not make eye contact with Amane for some time.