Chapter 27: Academy Heroine's Right Diagonal Back Seat
Chapter 27
"Do you have time after school today?"
"I'm not particularly busy. But are you okay? You suddenly started laughing, but as soon as you inhaled the magic herb, your face turned pale..."
Judging by Leonor's reaction, I must not have been making a good expression.
I quickly adjusted my expression to neutral and said, "I felt a bit dizzy after inhaling the smoke, but I'm fine now."
"That's a relief, but..."
To distract her from her lingering doubts about my well-being, I brought up the main topic.
Actually, this was the main point all along.
"By the way, I'm planning to join the cooking club. If you're free today, could you teach me some cooking? There's something I want to learn."
"You're joining the cooking club? That's a good decision. I can teach you how to make anything I know. But you should have told me a day earlier. Today is Saturday, so we can't use the kitchen."
Saturday?
I felt something odd at her words.
Why are we at school on a Saturday?
Then it hit me, a detail I had skimmed over in the novel.
At Aegis Academy, students had to come to school every other Saturday.
It was in honor of the heroes who fought day and night for six days to defeat the witch, or something like that. At the time, I laughed it off, thinking, "What kind of world still has half-day Saturdays..."
I had assumed we didn't have to come to school on weekends. Fortunately, thanks to the alarm, I came to school out of habit and avoided being marked absent.
Is this what they call a blessing in disguise?
I momentarily thought about how this would mess up my budget for club fees and living expenses, but then realized it didn't matter since I couldn't pay the club fees anymore anyway.
"I was planning to ask you to teach me at my house. If you're uncomfortable going to someone's house you're not close with, you can decline..."
"No, no, it's totally fine! I actually like the idea! I've always wanted to teach cooking at a club member's house!"
Feigning a downcast voice, Leonor hurriedly reassured me.
She’s too easy to handle...
I felt a pang of guilt, but Leonor was essential to my plan, so I had no choice.
Taking a deep breath of the remaining magic herb calmed my nerves.
After burning the small leftover stub with my right hand, I took out ten ten-thousand-gold bills from the envelope in my school uniform pocket and handed them to Leonor.
"Then I'll wait for you at the school gate after class. Oh, and this is the club fee. I only have ten-thousand-gold bills, so I'll pay you back for the magic herb later."
"You don't really have to... Alright, see you later."
Leaving behind Leonor, who accepted the money with a complex expression, I descended from the rooftop.
When I returned to class, the students who saw me seemed to relax visibly.
*
After school, while waiting at the gate, I saw Leonor walking toward me from a distance.
Her striking appearance and considerable height made her stand out even from afar.
Although I thought my current body wasn't that short for a girl, she was at least 10 cm taller than me, which made me a bit envious.
"Come to think of it, you didn't tell me what you wanted to learn to cook. What do you want to make?"
Leonor asked me.
"Macarons. You know how to bake, right?"
"Of course I do. But how did you know that?"
"You seemed like someone who would enjoy that sort of thing."
Internally, I tucked away the number one forbidden phrase as ranked by Forbes, "I read it in the original," and casually dodged her question. She glanced at herself, asking, "Do I really?"
Honestly, she did look like someone who would enjoy sweets.
The problem was that the sweets she liked were 'cloud cookies.'
"So, macarons, huh? They aren't easy for beginners. Are you sure you don't want to try something else?"
"No, I'm only interested in macarons."
"Got it. I'll teach you everything from start to finish."
Hearing my determination, Leonor smiled warmly and patted my back.
Having a tanned, blond senior teaching me everything from start to finish at my house sounded energizing.
I took Leonor to the discount market to buy macaron ingredients.
"By the way, do you have an oven at home?"
"No."
"Hmm, then we’ll need this. Do you have a whisk and a sieve?"
"No."
"Then we'll need those too."
She added the necessary items to the cart one by one.
It seemed like there were quite a few tools needed besides the ingredients for macarons.
Of course, you can't make them without any equipment.
Her voice grew louder as she started picking out the ingredients for macarons.
"Do you have cream at home?"
"No."
"Butter?"
"No."
"Please tell me you at least have eggs and sugar."
"No."
Seeing me becoming a broken auto-response machine saying "No," she sighed in disbelief.
"Not having eggs is one thing, but no sugar at home? What do you even have?"
"Well, I have pots and pans."
"Pffft! Wow, you can joke with such a straight face. You don't seem like the type, but you're quite funny. Anyway, we've got everything we need."
I'm not joking.
Grabbing the cart from her as she laughed to herself, I headed to the checkout, picking up a pack of bean sprouts along the way.
At least I could cook myself a decent dinner for a change.
By the way, I wondered how much all this would cost.
"Seventy thousand gold," the cashier said.
My face stiffened at the cashier's words.
Seventy thousand gold? Seriously?
I thought I'd have some financial leeway, but that was far from the case.
With trembling hands, I handed over my student ID.
When the cashier attempted to process the payment, the screen displayed an insufficient balance message.
"Excuse me, it says you have insufficient funds."
"...I'll pay the remaining amount in cash."
I pulled out the two ten-thousand-gold bills left after paying the club fee and handed them over to the cashier, leaving me with just nine thousand gold.
No, not even nine thousand gold...
After finishing the transaction, I handed three one-thousand-gold bills to Leonor, who had followed me out of the supermarket, still laughing from earlier.
"This is for the magic herb I got earlier."
"Huh? Oh, right. You really are precise with your calculations."
Now, my remaining funds amounted to six thousand gold.
That familiar amount seemed oddly comforting.
It looks like I'll have to switch back to super-saving mode for the rest of the month.
Leonor, still thinking I had been joking in the supermarket earlier, kept a smile on her face.
Her smile faded the moment I set foot on the stairs leading to my house.
And as she followed me inside and saw me casually open the refrigerator to store the groceries, her face turned pale.
You thought it was a joke when I said all I had were pots and pans?
Well, ta-da, turns out there's no such thing as absolute certainty.
Though I did have some cooking oil and oyster sauce, exceptions to the rule.
Am I wealthier than I thought?
"Hey... I'm really sorry... I remember you mentioning you didn't have a family. But I honestly thought you were joking earlier..."
"Don't worry about it. Just show me how to make macarons. We can do it without an oven, right?"
"...Yes, I'll show you."
Leonor was on the verge of tears.
Seeing her like that made me feel uncomfortable, so I urged her to show me how to make the macarons.
Despite the unfamiliar, cramped kitchen, Leonor skillfully prepared the macaron batter.
Or rather, since the kitchen wasn't separate from the rest of the house, perhaps I could consider the entire room as the kitchen.
As I watched her make the macaron batter, I thought about this.
When she placed the shaped macaron batter on the preheated frying pan and covered it with a lid, Leonor spoke up.
"...Can I ask why you suddenly want to learn how to make macarons?"
"I want to make them for Sylvia."
"I thought so... She mentioned she stopped accepting the ones you bought recently. Is that why you're making them yourself?"
It wasn't strange for Leonor to know this.
As a lady of the Astra family, Sylvia's every move was likely the subject of gossip.
Besides, Leonor and Sylvia were acquaintances.
When I nodded, Leonor looked at me and asked in a soft voice.
"Is there a special reason for going to such lengths?"
"Not really. I just want to be her friend."
When I answered, she let out a sigh, almost like a groan.
"Ha... You're really dedicated."
After saying that, she remained silent for a moment before removing the risen batter from the frying pan and showing me the rest of the process.
Although the finished macarons weren't as perfect as the ones sold in stores, they still looked and tasted quite decent.
After tidying up the kitchen, which was cluttered from making the macarons, I saw Leonor off.
"It'll be alright. That girl may be a bit difficult, but she's not a bad person."
Just before leaving, Leonor said this.
I know.
I nodded, answering her silently.
After Leonor left, I took out the bean sprouts I had bought and stir-fried them.
It felt like ages since I'd last had a proper meal, and though the stir-fried bean sprouts weren't much, they were delicious.
After a shower, I changed into the pajamas I had hung out to dry in the morning.
Though still a bit damp, I couldn't sleep in just my underwear, so I lay down on the bed.
Whether it was the magic herb or the dinner I had after a long time, I felt relaxed.
As I lay on the bed, tension easing, I started to drift off to sleep.
Just before falling asleep, I clasped my slightly trembling hands together, recalling Leonor's words before she left.
'It'll be alright.'
I hope so too.
Murmuring this, I fell asleep, clasping my hands together in a posture that probably looked like I was praying for something.
Well, points for persistence lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat can i say? At least MC's trying
Wonder how much insanity will be injected, heh.
ReplyDeleteMC is avoiding the law
ReplyDelete