Chapter 14: I'm the President

"Starting from scratch, huh? Let's begin with the simplest butter cookies."

With a helpless sigh, Yukinoshita Yukino said as she prepared the ingredients for making cookies,

"I'll demonstrate once, and then you can follow along."

Add fine sugar and a pinch of salt to the softened butter and beat it into a paste, then add flour and mix it into a dough. Put the dough into cookie molds, press it into shape, and put it in the oven. Set the time and wait for it to be done.

The steps are simple, with no other complicated operations, making it very suitable for beginners. Even Hikigaya Hachiman, who was watching from the side, and Hayashizaki, who was watching from a first-person perspective, learned it.

"How is it? Do you feel any difficulties or things you don't understand?"

Yukinoshita Yukino asked Yui Yuigahama after arranging the baked cookies on a plate.

"It smells so good!"

The girl with the bun hairstyle looked at the cookies arranged in a spiral pattern with shining eyes, clenched her fists, and said confidently,

"I completely understand! No problem!"

"Add sugar and salt to the butter, right? Here we go!"

Yuigahama Yui started cheerfully.

"You should soften the butter first, Yuigahama"

Yukinoshita Yukino reminded.

"Oh, I got it!"

Following Yukinoshita's instructions, Yui slightly heated the butter to soften it, resulting in a mixture of butter, sugar, and salt. Although some steps were wrong and the details were not very accurate, it was still within Yukinoshita Yukino's acceptable range.

"Indeed, cookies taste better when they're sweeter, right?"

Muttering this, Yui turned to Hikigaya Hachiman and asked,

"Hikki, you like sweeter things too, right?"

"Well... indeed, since life is already so bitter, I hope to at least have more sweetness in my diet."

As Hikigaya Hachiman said this, he saw the girl with the bun hairstyle casually sprinkle a large handful of fine sugar into the mixture.

He instinctively twitched his eye.

Although I do like sweet things, isn't this a lethal dose!?

'I advise you to stop her quickly.'

Hayashizaki, who was watching this scene through Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes, had the same expression as Hikigaya Hachiman.

'Correcting Yuigahama-san's method after a failure will leave a deeper impression.'

Yukinoshita Yukino said confidently, looking very sure of her teaching method.

'You'll regret it, Yukinoshita.'

'I'm the president of the Service Club, parasite.'

Fifteen minutes later, Yui Yuigahama excitedly took the baking tray out of the oven, poured the baked cookies onto a plate, and then her smile slowly disappeared.

Looking at the plate of charcoal-black cookies, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly regretted not listening to the advice earlier. Maybe she shouldn't have let Yui do it freely.

"These are completely charcoal, right?"

Hikigaya Hachiman carefully picked up a piece,

"Are they poisonous?"

"How could they be poisonous!?"

An exasperated Yuigahama Yui also picked up a cookie from the plate, intending to taste it herself, but looking at the blackened color, she couldn't bring herself to eat it,

"Um... are they really poisonous?"

"Will they kill someone?"

Yukinoshita Yukino asked with a bitter face, calling out to Hayashizaki in her mind.

'Why don't you try it?'

'Are you human?'

Hayashizaki firmly refused. He didn't open his mouth, and Yukinoshita Yukino couldn't force-feed him. Besides, this behavior was indeed a bit inhumane.

The bun-haired girl looked dejected, as if a dark cloud was raining over her head. Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't bear to watch anymore. With a look of fake determination, he picked up a piece and took a bite.

"So bitter..."

His eyebrows furrowed instinctively. The bitter and dry taste spread in his mouth. After pinching his nose and swallowing the whole cookie, Hikigaya Hachiman quickly moved away from the plate of cookies.

"Hikki..."

Yuigahama looked at his expression, feeling both amused and touched.

"Next, let's do it again properly with me."

Yukinoshita Yukino sighed helplessly and prepared two sets of ingredients.

Seeing Yukinoshita about to start making cookies again, Hayashizaki suggested,

'You should guide Yuigahama step by step instead of demonstrating and letting her follow you. Otherwise, she won't be able to control herself.'

He understood that Yuigahama Yui was very creative in cooking but didn't consider the taste. She just added ingredients and seasonings randomly based on her feelings.

If not controlled, Yukinoshita Yukino's teaching might fail again.

'Well... okay, I'll listen to you this time.'

Originally planning to refuse, Yukinoshita Yukino hesitated for a moment and then decided to follow Hayashizaki's method to teach Yuigahama.

Although this method might make Yuigahama follow instructions mechanically without thinking, resulting in poor learning, considering Yuigahama's steps and strange ideas when making cookies for the first time, Yukinoshita Yukino thought Hayashizaki's suggestion made sense.

After all, there's a saying about teaching according to one's ability.

Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly pause and put down her tools, Yuigahama tilted her head in confusion,

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just thought that instead of demonstrating and letting you follow me, it might be better if I guide you step by step,"

Yukinoshita Yukino said.

"Oh, I'm fine with that."

Yuigahama touched the bun on the side of her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

She knew she had no talent for cooking and was clumsy. Yukinoshita Yukino didn't mind teaching her, which was already very nice, not to mention doing it so enthusiastically.

It was probably Hayashizaki who told Yukinoshita to do this.

Hikigaya Hachiman observed the two quietly and quickly figured out why Yukinoshita Yukino changed her mind.

Hopefully, this time it will work.

He didn't want to taste that bitter and astringent flavor again.

So, under Yukinoshita Yukino's guidance, Yuigahama started making cookies step by step. Strands of hair fell unintentionally, and some flour smudged her cheeks.

Hikigaya Hachiman unconsciously smiled, feeling a strange sense of pride as he watched Yuigahama seriously working.

"That's enough, don't add more sugar,"

Yukinoshita Yukino stopped Yuigahama in time.

"But Hikki likes it sweeter, right?"

Yuigahama glanced at the boy with dead fish eyes, who was massaging his shoulder with a rolling pin, making his heart skip a beat.

"It's sweet enough now."

"Okay."

The girl with the bun hairstyle put down the spoon, looking a bit disappointed.

Ding!

With a crisp sound, Yuigahama swallowed nervously and solemnly opened the oven to take out the baked cookies.

Hikigaya Hachiman curiously leaned in to look.

"They look pretty normal."

Then, under Yuigahama's nervous and expectant gaze, he picked up a cookie and started chewing.

"So, how is it?"

After a moment of silence, Hikigaya Hachiman slowly said,

"Ordinary but tasty."

In that moment of silence, Yuigahama thought she had failed again. Before she could feel disappointed, her emotions plunged to the lowest point and then quickly soared like a roller coaster, her face blooming with a bright smile.

"Great!"

Yukinoshita Yukino quietly sighed in relief where they couldn't see. Luckily, she had followed Hayashizaki's advice, or this would have been another failure.

'I was right, wasn't I?'

In her mind, Hayashizaki's voice was filled with pride.

This time, Yukinoshita Yukino held back her sharp tongue.

'You did a good thing.'

...

...