"Kamukura-kun, pass me the mold. The heart-shaped one."
"Itsuki-san, could you get the..."
"As for Yuigahama-san..."
After one kitchen knife had fallen as a martyr before even seeing battle, both Izuru—with his "poisonous" tongue—and Yui—who seemed like a natural airhead with a hidden sharp streak—wisely chose to stay silent. Neither dared to let their mouths run wild again.
In this high-tension environment, Yukino had become both the most vocal and the busiest among the four. On one hand, she had to command the "cooking idiots," Izuru and Itsuki; she even had to personally direct Yui's work as an assistant. On the other hand, she was shoulder-pressing the entire culinary burden for the group, a task that left her exhausted yet stubbornly persistent.
Before long, however, the inequality of the labor seemed to dawn on her. Her brow furrowed in displeasure as she shot a frigid glare at the three in front of her. Aside from providing minimal help, they were essentially just "riding her coattails."
"Don't any of you intend to try making a cookie yourselves?" she asked, her voice tinged with irritation. "Are you all simply waiting for me to finish so you can play food critic? This is a home economics class meant to train your skills, not a culinary course designed to fill your stomachs."
The remark left Izuru, Yui, and Itsuki feeling rather awkward. They immediately scrambled to operate the equipment, stammering excuses amidst their flustered movements.
"Wait, just a second! We were just observing your incredible technique, Yukinon. We wanted to absorb your experience and brainstorm ways to make the cookies even tastier later. We're ready for hands-on practice now!"
"Yuigahama-san is right," Itsuki chimed in. "Making cookies is a basic skill. I, Nakano Itsuki, could easily pull this off using nothing but my feet. There's no way I'd just eat without working; I was merely gauging your professional proficiency earlier."
"I have to say, Itsuki," Izuru interjected, "I've heard of 'shredding cabbage with your feet,' 'typing with your feet,' or even 'gaming with your feet.' But 'baking cookies with your feet' is a first. Do you want to show off that particular talent right now?"
"That was clearly just a bit of witty hyperbole! Don't take it so seriously just to find fault with me, President!"
"Hah!"
Yukino could only let out a resigned sigh. She paused her own work for a moment, curious to see just how deep the "cooking idiocy" ran in these three self-proclaimed novices.
Then... as she watched them work, Yukino—who usually maintained a peak of icy, expressionless composure—felt the corner of her lip twitch uncontrollably. Even her cheek muscles seemed to quiver.
{I'm telling you, Yui, your skills are already on par with mine, yet you're still pretending to be a beginner. Don't you get tired of the act?}
{And Itsuki... I know you're a Meat-Bun Monster capable of inhaling five giant buns at once, but what are you doing? Adding meat floss to a cookie is one thing, but why are you stuffing it with actual meat chunks? Are you trying to invent a meat-flavored cookie? Could you be any weirder? With an obsession like that, no wonder you're the one driving up the quintuplets' weight average.}
{Then there's the President. Your cooking is truly 'Super High School Level.' Usually, a kitchen idiot just fails to read labels and mistakes sugar for salt, but you? You're pouring in vinegar because you think it's soy sauce. Not only can't you read the label, are you colorblind too?}
{But most importantly... why would a cookie need vinegar OR soy sauce?!}
{You're not just illiterate and colorblind—you're a complete moron!}
Yukino shook her head in defeat but kept her thoughts to herself. She had witnessed scenes like this countless times. Though every instinct screamed at her to protest, the frequency of the absurdity had numbed her. However... at times like this, she didn't dare do anything too reckless.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Yukino's expression turned cold again as she focused on her baking. Meanwhile, a faint, triumphant smile touched Yui's lips. Her movements, which had seemed stiff and clumsy moments ago, suddenly became fluid and expertly practiced.
Taking advantage of the moment while Itsuki and Izuru were buried in their respective tasks, Yui made her move. With lightning speed and uncanny skill, she produced a small, heart-shaped cookie from the mold in the blink of an eye. She pinched it between two fingers and stealthily crept toward Izuru.
"Hmm?"
No matter how subtle Yui's movements were, they couldn't bypass Izuru's heightened perception. He noticed her the instant she drew near. Confused, he stopped his work and turned to face Yui, who was approaching with the shifty grace of a thief. His brow knit, ready to ask what she was up to.
But Yui seemed to have anticipated his reaction. Instead of backing off, her smile widened, and she lunged forward, stuffing the heart-shaped cookie directly into Izuru's mouth!
{WTF!? What is this?!}
Izuru, suddenly "gagged" by Yui, froze in shock. He was trapped in life's three greatest questions: "Who am I, where am I, and why is a girl hand-feeding me a cookie?"
A second later, his eyes widened in disbelief. It wasn't because Yui's cookie was poisonous, or because it tasted like a hellish concoction, or even because it was laced with a high dose of "computer accessories" (aphrodisiacs). It was because... the cookie was genuinely delicious, as if crafted by a master chef!
{How? Yui, the 'cooking idiot,' made something this good? At this point in the story, she shouldn't even be able to bake yet. Reaching this level should have taken a long time. Or did she swipe it from Yukino? But then why feed it to me directly? This suggestive move is actually...}
Izuru narrowed his eyes, observing Yui. Her gaze was brimming with a mischievous glint. He felt her current personality and behavior were a far cry from his memories.
"Dango, you..." He began in a low voice.
"It's not Yukinon's. I made it myself," Yui interjected before he could finish. Then, she leaned in, her voice dropping to a meaningful whisper: "As for why I did it... feel free to figure that out for yourself, President~."
With a playful grin, Yui used her finger to brush a stray crumb from the corner of Izuru's lip, licked her finger, and slunk back to her station.
The interaction had gone unnoticed by Itsuki and the teacher at the podium. However... for a fleeting second, a sharp glint flashed in Yukino's eyes!