Chapter 367: A Lifetime of Renown, Ruined by One Dish
A new week began. After arriving at school, Eriri started waiting for her good friend Usami Mizuki to arrive.
Looking at Eriri, Kaede said with a smile, "Eriri, you're not going to start right away, are you?"
"Of course not!"
Eriri shook her head happily: "I plan to observe the interactions between Mizuki and Uchimaki thoroughly this morning, and then in the afternoon during Art Club activities, we'll interrogate them both together. What do you think, Kaede-kun?"
"That works. Although we already know a little bit in advance, it wouldn't be good to say anything in the classroom. Making it public knowledge isn't what either of them wants."
Eriri understood this reasoning, which is why she was only acting excited now, before Usami arrived.
After a while, Usami arrived. Eriri returned to her usual demeanor, greeted Usami with a smile, and the two began chatting.
A few minutes later, Uchimaki Subaru also arrived. He arrived with Takasu Ryuji and Aisaka Taiga; it looked like they had met up along the way.
As soon as Aisaka Taiga entered the classroom, before even putting down her backpack, she came over to Kaede.
"Asakura, come here for a moment. I have something to ask you."
"Hmm?"
Kaede glanced curiously at Aisaka Taiga, then stood up and followed her over to Takasu Ryuji.
"So, Oosaka isn't the one who had something to ask me, it's Takasu?"
"Uh..."
Takasu Ryuji looked utterly embarrassed, staring at Aisaka Taiga and saying, "Didn't I say not to let Asakura know?"
Aisaka Taiga retorted with a look of dissatisfaction: "Hmph, what else could we do if he didn't know? Could you handle it alone?"
Saying this, she took out her phone and showed the photo she had taken to Kaede: "Take a look. This is Ryuji's result from last night. I really don't know how he managed to do this."
After glancing at the photo, Kaede burst out laughing.
If Kaede hadn't guessed wrong, the thing in the photo should have been braised pork? But judging by its appearance, calling it burnt pork might be more appropriate, because it was completely dried out, and the meat was very black. It was obvious the taste couldn't be good.
Looking at Takasu Ryuji, who was slumped over the desk, Kaede said with a smile, "How did you manage this? Logically, with the recipe Eriri gave you, there's no way it should have turned out like this, right?"
Scratching his head, Takasu Ryuji said, "I was too confident. After reading the recipe once, I thought I could handle it directly, so I didn't look at it again afterward. Then I used the wrong soy sauce, the amount of other ingredients was excessive, and I didn't control the heat properly. Ahhh, my lifelong reputation is ruined just like that!"
"Hahaha, I told you to start with something simple, but you wouldn't listen."
"I was careless," Takasu Ryuji said, letting out a breath. "The methods are quite different from Japanese cuisine, but now that I have the experience of failure, I can definitely succeed next time!"
After witnessing Takasu Ryuji's failure yesterday, Aisaka Taiga was skeptical and said, "Are you sure? Maybe it would be better to have Asakura take a look? I don't want to go two nights in a row without meat for dinner."
"You're just freeloading, so stop making so many demands! Learning requires a process, okay? It's much better than the few times you tried cooking at home!"
"Huh? What did you just say, Idiot Ryuji!"
Aisaka Taiga yelled and immediately lunged forward, grabbing Takasu Ryuji's head, and the two started wrestling again.
Shaking his head, Kaede turned and returned to his seat.
Those two, it feels like they aren't far from the next stage.
After he returned, Eriri, having finished chatting with Usami, also returned to her seat.
"Kaede-kun, Kaede-kun!"
Eriri waved at Kaede and whispered, "I was chatting with Mizuki just now and found that she's in a really good mood. And when Uchimaki came in, Mizuki's gaze drifted over several times; I caught her every time. I'm getting more and more excited for the interrogation this afternoon, hehe!"
Flicking Eriri's nose lightly, Kaede said with a smile, "Alright, alright, just keep it to yourself. Don't let Usami figure it out beforehand, or it won't be fun."
"Got it~~~"
... In the afternoon, Eriri's long-awaited Art Club activities began. Kawashima Ami, who had nothing else to do today, seemed to sense that something interesting was about to happen and suggested coming to see the Art Club.
Over the past week or so, Usami and Uchimaki Subaru, who were initially worried about Kawashima Ami's personality, no longer held those initial reservations. Even if her hidden personality was revealed, it wouldn't be a problem, at least within their small circle, since they already had quite a few problem students.
Naturally, everyone unanimously approved the visit to the Art Club.
Hmm? The President? He's not important.
On the way to the Art Club, Eriri introduced their club President to Kawashima Ami: "As for the President, that guy is pretty lazy. It's been over a year since we joined the Art Club, and he seems to have picked up a brush fewer than three times, and each time he only drew for a few minutes before stopping. But he is genuinely good at drawing. It's just that compared to drawing, he prefers sleeping, so eighty percent of the club activity time is spent sleeping on the sofa."
"Your Art Club has a sofa?"
"Yeah, we bought it with club funds." Seeing Kawashima Ami's skeptical look, Eriri calmly explained, "Well, in the President's words, since drawing requires sitting for such a long time, buying a good sofa so everyone can rest properly is a good idea. If any of us are tired during lunchtime, we also go to the club room to lie down and rest."
"You guys... are really free."
Kaede, standing next to Eriri, said, "Even though our club has few members, we still achieve results. We won a good ranking in last year's competition. This year, Uchimaki and Usami will also participate, and a new junior member will also enter the competition. By the way, Uchimaki, how are your entries coming along?"
"Ah, that."
Uchimaki Subaru said with a smile, "The deadline is the end of June, so there's still time. I'm still deciding on the subject matter."
Kawashima Ami looked at Uchimaki Subaru in surprise. She had thought he was just a shut-in who only wanted to draw his 2d waifu. It turned out he was someone who could win awards?
Of course, when Kawashima Ami sees Uchimaki Subaru's entry, she will probably completely question her life choices.
Arriving at the Art Club, someone was already in the club room, so Kaede opened the door directly.
"Sha!"
As soon as the door opened, everyone saw a small person wearing an ultraman mask striking a pose. Both sides froze awkwardly.