In the living room of this house that I've become so familiar with, I was
leisurely reading a magazine while waiting for dinner to be ready. Well,
my heart wanted to help Mom and Alyssa but… I'm not really good at
cooking, so if I participate, it will be a burden on Alyssa, who also has to
support Mom, who isn't that great of a cook either.
So, I was going to help out with washing the dishes after the cooking
was completed, but for the time being, I'm just killing time.
[Akari-san, stop trying to measure by sight, please properly measure it.
Also, it's too early to add the miso. Wait another 5 minutes. If you add it
now, it would blur out the flavor.]
[Ugghhh, I- I'll do my best. As for the parts I lack, I'll cover it with my
love!]
[Love certainly was said to be the secret of cooking… but unfortunately,
love isn't some magic spice that can cover everything. Yes, now please
quickly move your hands.]
[A- Alyssa-chan… you're quite strict.]
From time to time, a stern rebuke is heard from the kitchen. In addition,
the person being scolded has been a housewife for more than 20 years.
Well, thanks to Alyssa, I can really just wait in peace today, so I'm really
grateful that she's here. I'll thank her again some other time.
As I was thinking about this, I heard the faint sound of the front door
opening. Putting the magazine in my hand on the sofa, I headed for the
door.
[Welcome back, Dad. You're home early today.]
[I'm back, Kaito. Yeah, I got off early today.]
This kind-looking man with slightly gray hair and glasses is my father…
Miyama Kazuya. My father is a company employee at a medium-sized
trading company, and he is currently the section chief.
He works overtime often, so it's rare that he comes home at this time.
[Dinner isn't ready yet, but we're having croquettes today.]
[…Fried food huh… Would we be alright?]
As expected of blood-related father and son… our reactions were
exactly the same. After smiling at his anxious expression, I spoke,
reassuring him.
[…Alyssa is here today, so it's alright.]
[Ohh! Alyssa-chan is here today huh, then I can be relieved!]
[…Mom will get mad at you again if she hears you saying that, you
know?]
[Whoa there, don't tell your mother.]
Dad is as kind as he looks, and he's really a good, reliable person but…
he doesn't think about what he's saying sometimes, and he often gets
Mom mad for his careless mistakes.
I wonder why though, I honestly feel like I was that way sometimes
too… I guess the son would really be like his father huh?
Dad, Mom, and Alyssa sat around the table and ate dinner together.
[Unnn! As expected of Alyssa-chan. It's so delicious.]
[Ahaha, thank you.]
I completely agree. Hmmm, Alyssa's cooking really is delicious. The
outer crust of the croquette was crispy, the inside was well-made, and
the sauce on it was excellent.
[…Did you make the sauce yourself?]
[Yes, I used a fruit today to make it a little fruity.]
[I see.]
It has a nice balance of subtle sweetness and sourness. Well, seriously,
as expected of Alyssa.
As we were talking about this, Dad, who was eating the food that Alyssa
had made while praising it, suddenly stopped his chopsticks and with a
serious expression on his face for some reason, he spoke.
[…By the way… When will Alyssa-chan "become Kaito's bride"?]
[ [ Bfuu!? ] ]
Hearing the explosive words we never expected to hear, Alyssa and I
choked up.
[…Kehemm… D- Dad!? What are you suddenly saying!?]
[…Listen, Kaito. This is not only advice as your father, but also your
elder.]
When I asked him back, aware that my face was blushing red, he began
talking in a serious and passionate tone.
[Think about it. She may be too close to you to notice it, Kaito, but there
aren't many girls as good as Alyssa-chan. She's a good cook, and
undoubtedly a beauty. In addition, she is smart, athletic, cheerful, and
fun to hang out with. On top of that, she's kind and gallant, always there
when you needed her, Kaito. And most of all, "she's a great cook"! It's
like a miracle in itself that you're so close to such a wonderful girl.]
[...…]
Leaving aside the fact that he said that she was a good cook twice,
hearing him mention this things, I can't really find anything to refute
him with.
With Alyssa's personality, she really is fun to hang out with, and all her
specs are so high that it seems like a joke. And as Dad said, she is kind
enough to stand by my side when the occasion calls for it, or to gently
care for me when I'm in trouble.
[Moreover, the fact that she occasionally comes to cook means that
Alyssa-chan also thinks well of you, Kaito.]
[…Dad.]
[I would be happy if Alyssa-chan becomes your wife. You'll also be able
to eat delicious meals every day…]
[…Behind you.]
[…Eh?]
He was enthusiastically talking about these things, but there's
something Dad didn't notice. Around the time he mentioned Alyssa
being a good cook twice, a small shadow moved behind him with her
eyes fixated on him…
[Husbaaaaaaaand?]
[ ! ? W- W- W- Wait! It's a misunderstanding! I'm not complaining about
your cooking! I know it's a lot of work to do all the chores every day,
and I truly appreciate it! It makes me love you even more!]
[...…]
[I- It's just that, well, there are some things, ummm… certain things that
people aren't suited for, that's why I somewhat regret not learning
cooking more—— Ah, no, that's...]
For the sake of Mom's honor, I would like to say that her cooking isn't
bad at all. It's not at the level where you would faint in agony just from
eating it, like those things I sometimes see in manga.
Unnn, it isn't bad… but it isn't really at the level where one can praise it
as delicious. In terms of quality, it's a few steps below those bento sold
in convenience stores.
By the way, it can be said that she's better than me and Dad, who are
almost amateurs. It's just that Alyssa's cooking skills are too great when
compared to hers, so it's definitely not that she's a bad cook or anything
like that.
I could tell that she was really concerned about my and Dad's health,
and that she put a lot of her feelings and love into her cooking.
However, unnn, it just didn't taste good. Well, how should I say this…
Dad's making careless mistakes just as usual.
[…Hey, can you come with me? We have something we need to talk
about.]
[…Ahh, no, that is…]
[You're going to talk with me, right?]
[…Yes.]
Just like that, Dad was taken away by Mom and disappeared into the
back room. To be honest, this is a rather common scene.
Incidentally, after Mom gets Dad after he's done something like this
again… They come back flirting more than usual, so I guess it's okay to
just leave them alone. It's as if their earlier banter was just so that they
could flirt.
While thinking about this, I naturally turned my attention to Alyssa who
was sitting next to me… and Alyssa was looking down, blushing red up
to her ears.
[…Ummm, Alyssa. I'm sorry, Dad said something strange.]
[…N- No, I didn't really mind it! R- R- R- Rather than that… W- What do
you think? Is the food… d- delicious?]
[Eh? Y- Yes… It's very delicious.]
[…In that case… that's great.]
An indescribable silence fell between us. It's not that it feels
uncomfortable, but it makes me feel strangely itchy, or rather, it kind of
makes me feel unusually fidgety.
W- What's this? I normally should be able to talk to Alyssa with ease,
but I feel strangely embarrassed and hard for me to talk to her.
[…Ummm… Alyssa?]
[W- What is it?]
[…Errr, ummm, how should I say this… Thank you for everything.]
[…It's not like you have to thank me… I do it because I like it…]
Ahh, geez! I feel like fire would burst out of my face! I was embarrassed
just by this mere exchange.
However… Unnn. This feeling… really doesn't feel uncomfortable.