The izakaya didn't demand high cooking skills since it primarily served as a place for drinking and socializing. Akiho led Kazuya around the kitchen for less than half an hour, and discovered that he caught on quickly and was adept at whatever he did. In no time, there was nothing left for her to teach him.
She didn't know much knowledgeof cooking. The skill she taught was quite basic judged from the name.
However, this was enough to make her extremely surprised. She suspected that Kazuya might be a genius. She suppressed curiosity and instructed, "Please start by boiling seventy eggs, peeling the skin off ten radishes, making hidden cuts in half of them, and slicing five plates of tofu."
Kazuya chuckled, "Leave it to me!"
He began boiling the eggs in batches, and Akiho stood beside him with nothing to do for a while before turning to wash vegetables. At the same time, she told the twins, "You don't need to work tonight and can take a break. But finish your homework first. Big Sister will check it later. If there are mistakes, you know the her temper!"
The twins' eyes filled with tears. "You...you're not letting us work?" Without waiting for Akiho's answer, they looked at each other, dropped the vegetables in their hands, and rushed toward the hallway. They both squeezed at the entrance while one didn't want to let the other go but finally ran away.
On the other side, Haruka came out. She had changed into the wide-sleeved fine blue clothes and wore a white short apron, along with a snowy white headscarf, giving her a somewhat cute appearance. However, her face remained dark and unapproachable.
She stood in the middle of the dining area, surveying the surroundings. Her gaze seemed to slide past Kazuya's face without acknowledgment. Suddenly, she shouted, "Where's Haruna? Did she run out to play again?"
Haruna poked her head in from outside, saying cheerfully, "No, I'm here! Umm, sis, I just finished moving the stuff!" As she spoke, she twisted her body slightly and seemed to be waving her hand behind her, signaling someone to leave quickly.
Haruka's expression improved slightly. She ordered, "Go and finish your homework."
Haruna raised her thumb, "Alright!" After saying that, she immediately retracted her head and disappeared.
Haruka continued to stroll around the dining area. After a while, she picked up a cleaning cloth and started wiping tables, displaying the demeanor of a small proprietress.
Kazuya occasionally glanced at her but concentrated on his own work. Regardless of any personal issues with the little radish, if he was paid for the job, he ought to do it well.
Akiho came by from time to time to take a look. She found that Kazuya was not far behind her, and it seemed like he had been practing cooking for a long time. It made her more curious, but she refrained from asking him. She just watched him silently.
After a short while, Naotaka clapped his hands, "Let's have a meal first! The customers will be here soon!"
Kazuya stopped his hands, seeing Akiho going to pick up the rice cooker. He quickly stepped forward to take it from her. Akiho nodded slightly in appreciation, and then led him towards the hallway, helping him lift the curtain. Kazuya entered the hallway and took a glance. It was somewhat unexpected. the corridor was quite long, seemingly leading to other places. However, before he could look around much, Akiho guided him into a room.
This room seemed to be an public activity space for the Sakura family. It had a long low table, many scattered cushions on the floor, and both Ayaka and Chika were already there, hunched over and done homework. It looked like they were copying from each other, but it was unclear who was copying from whom. On the table, there was a three or four-year-old boy drawing with crayons.
Akiho introduced, "This is our little brother, Toutaro."
Kazuya did some mental calculations and suddenly realized. No wonder Mr. Sakura seemed a bit weak. He had six children! fraternal twins Haruka and Haruna, the third-born Akiho, identical twins Ayaka and Chika, and the only boy, Toutaro... It must be exhausting!
However, he hesitated for a moment and asked, "Your mother..."
Akiho expressionlessly replied, "She passed away more than two years ago."
"I'm sorry!" Kazuya lowered his head slightly to apologize.
Akiho didn't say anything more, indicating that he could feel at ease. Then she turned and left. Kazuya sat for a while, having nothing to do, so he looked towards the only boy, Toutaro. He found the boy drawing attentively, full of childish imagination. Toutaro wasn't shy and, seeing Kazuya approaching, grinned, revealing a black gap where his baby teeth were missing.
Kazuya liked children and smiled kindly at him. He watched him draw a few strokes and reached out to grab a book by his side. There were several books used as a cushion for drawing.
Taking a look at the cover, he was surprised to find that it was in Chinese. It wasn't Japanese with interspersed kanji characters. It was either entirely in Chinese or simplified Chinese. The book was titled "Essentials of Acupuncture". Underneath it, he picked up another one. This one was in Japanese but was a translation, titled "Complete Materia Medica".
Flipping through them, he discovered that all the books were related to medicine—what was going on? Why did a chef's family have so many medical books? A good chef must be a good dad to become a doctor?
He hadn't seen simplified Chinese characters for a long time, and he felt a sense of familiarity. He causally opened one of the books, but a familiar prompt appeared unexpectedly: "Do you want to learn the skill [Southern School Acupuncture]?"
Sakura's house is full of treasures! But acupuncture didn't seem very useful.
Nevertheless, Kazuya still chose yes, intending to level up casually and get a useful passive effect. After choosing yes, he opened another book and received another prompt: "Do you want to merge [Pharmacology] with [Southern School Acupuncture]?"
Since he had started learning, combining them would be more effective. Without hesitation, he chose yes, enduring the discomfort before learning from several books. In the midst of his dizziness, he heard a soft and sweet voice calling, "Oni--san--" The voice was not only sweet but also carried a charming echo.
Kazuya rubbed his temples and found that merged skill [Medical Skill] experience increased by +1. He was speechless for a moment, then turned his head to see Ayaka and Chika who had somehow approached him.
The two girls knelt in front of Kazuya and winked their big eyes. They held their hands together in front of their chests, looking particularly cute and innocent, with no traces of the malicious intent they had when wielding long sticks to stab someone's buttock not long ago.
However, Kazuya felt his hairs stand on end when they addressed him, "What can I do for you?" Since they were the daughters of the employer, he had to be polite.
"Just call me Ayaka (Chika), Oni—san—!" they said in unison with tilted heads. Their voices were sweet and they extended their practice books, pointing pitifully at a math problem. "What's the answer to this, Onisan? You're so smart. Please tell us, pretty please!"
Kazuya glanced at the exercise book. It seemed to be around the level of a third or fourth-grader. Even though he was feeling a bit woozy, there was no problem for him. He quickly calculated and said, "One-eighth."
"What about this one? This one is so difficult, does Onisan know it?" They had their duties well-defined, with one asking while the other recorded the answers in the exercise books.
"A arrives first, nine minutes faster than B."
"Amazing!" The two girls squeezed beside Kazuya, their eyes shining with admiration. "What about this one?"
"Well, this one is..." Kazuya, who had just learned several skills, found his mind a bit muddled. It was only now that he realized these two little girls were using him to do their homework!
If they were asking for guidance, Kazuya would have patiently explained. But if they were just cheating for answers, that would be another matter.
After a moment of contemplation, he said, "This one is indeed a bit challenging. The answer is 89." One more than the actual answer.
"And this one?"
"It can only be divided into nine groups, and the remainder is 5." An answer half-correct, half-wrong.
Ayaka and Chiyo exchanged glances, and smiles appeared on their faces. However, the smiles quickly disappeared, replaced by sweet voices, "Onisan, you're so amazing! What about this one?"
Kazuya pondered for a moment, "This bridge, when 300 workers are added, will be completed in 90 days, and when 500 workers are added, it will be completed in 160 days."
"Wow..." They praised him halfway, but suddenly their ears twitched, and without any hesitation, they rolled off the table, shoulder to shoulder, and continued to do their homework as if nothing had happened.