Cheese egg pancake. I originally wanted to make an omelet, but unfortunately couldn't complete it. Still, it wasn't completely inedible.
It was just ordinary, but adding ketchup as the Professor suggested definitely made it tastier. After eating, I took out my phone to share my thoughts.
"I made a cheese egg pancake. It was delicious with ketchup."
[Cheese egg pancake?]
Sera sent a questioning message since what had been an omelet earlier had now become a cheese egg pancake.
Having painfully realized that making an omelet wasn't easy, I nodded in acknowledgment of reality. Rather than hearing "it's okay since it's your first time," I wanted to hear "you did well for your first try!" So I pouted.
"...The Professor said it's delicious if you add cheese and eat it that way."
I used the Professor card, implying that I had intended to make this dish all along and had succeeded.
It felt like I'd become a culinary genius who completed what I set out to do on the first try. I hoped the others would understand it that way too, so I lifted the corners of my mouth into a smirk.
But their reactions were different from what I expected.
[What about the omelet?]
[Didn't you say you were going to make an omelet for the Professor?]
Karen chimed in after Aria's comment.
That's right! But, but the omelet failed...
[Urr didn't want an omelet anymore!]
Meanwhile, Sera sent a message trying to help me, but I didn't like what she said. It felt like she was mocking me, so I glared.
Though I wasn't making eye contact with Sera, I stared intensely at the screen as if glaring at her.
The Professor watched from the side and chuckled.
"Are your friends asking where the omelet went?"
"...It would have been perfect if it hadn't fallen apart."
As I clutched my phone and huffed, the Professor seriously considered the situation.
"You can't be good at everything from the start, but if you're that frustrated, want to try making it again?"
"Is that okay?"
When I looked up and asked, the Professor gestured toward the kitchen as if to say "why not?"
After briefly turning my head, I recalled the steps for making an omelet.
Mix the eggs, fry them in an oiled pan over low heat, cook until the inside is creamy and the outside is soft with an even yellow color. Finally, shape it and it's done.
The preparations were complete. I clenched my fist and declared war on my friends, especially Sera.
"Hmph, I'm going to make it and send you a picture, so wait!"
I didn't wait for a reply. I tossed my phone onto the sofa and trotted to the kitchen. The Professor followed, either worried about me or wanting to help.
In front of the Professor, I cracked eggs and mixed them vigorously. After brilliantly mixing the yolks and whites with my arm, I pressed the induction cooktop button.
"Oh, you know how to use the induction cooktop now?"
"...I can figure it out after seeing it once!"
When I answered confidently, the Professor found it amusing and laughed.
The well-mixed eggs formed a circle matching the shape of the frying pan. While waiting for it to cook, I glanced at the Professor, who subtly handed me a spatula.
"Don't you need help?"
"...Just help me flip it a little."
"Really? Wouldn't that mean I'm doing most of it?"
Making an omelet didn't require that much technical skill. Realizing the Professor was absolutely right, I pulled back my outstretched arm.
"No, I'll do it myself after all."
If the Professor handed me the spatula, it could be seen as the Professor doing everything. That wouldn't do. I gripped it tightly, determined to somehow make it work at the right moment.
Standing on a step stool, I watched the eggs cooking.
The key was to cook the outside to an even color, not brown but golden, while the inside remained creamy and slightly undercooked before flipping.
All I could do was peek occasionally to check if the outside was cooked properly.
I leaned my face close to the pan. Using the spatula, I lifted a cooked edge slightly to check if the outside was done. It was still yellow, and when I lifted it, it showed signs of falling apart, so I quickly put it back down.
"Professor, is it ready now?"
"You can use a spatula for an omelet, but it might be easier if you hold the pan handle and turn it together."
"...Really?"
I perked up my ears at the Professor's advice from behind, where they stood with arms crossed. Following the Professor's instructions with intense concentration, I sensed something going wrong.
"Oh, oh no!"
I thought I could flip it well, but when I tilted the pan slightly, it immediately fell apart and clumped together. It was already cooking in that state, so there was no way to fix it, and my lips drooped.
Staring blankly at the misshapen eggs, I saw the Professor approach with chopsticks.
"Here."
The chopsticks moved brilliantly, seemingly trying to salvage the eggs.
"Is this... an omelet?"
"It got too cooked in the middle and became something ambiguous... It might be more appropriate to call it rolled eggs."
"..."
It's not an omelet.
I had rushed to the kitchen making bold claims, but now my lips were parched, wondering if it was technically too difficult. Thinking that if I failed after all this, my friends would tease me mercilessly, I pressed my lips together and plopped it onto one side of the plate.
"I'll... I'll try again."
"Try again?"
"Yes... since I failed by a small margin, I can do better this time."
When I spoke with a solemn voice, the Professor silently took out eggs for me.
I went through the preparation process again and grabbed the frying pan. The battle with eggs began. It wasn't a lonely fight though, as the Professor occasionally offered advice from the side, which somehow helped me do better.
"Ah...!"
I failed.
"Ah... Aah! I was almost there!"
And failed again.
With each failure, the failed attempts piled up like a tower on the dish by the sink. The Professor must have been eating them one by one, as they were covering their mouth.
"I can't eat anymore..."
"Ah, sorry..."
I wanted to shout "One more!" but I felt like I was using up all the eggs in the house, so I couldn't bring myself to ask to try again.
Still clutching the spatula, I looked around hesitantly, then slumped my shoulders in defeat. I put down what I was holding and followed the Professor's lead, using a fork to put my creations into my mouth.
They just tasted like plain eggs. Nothing special about the flavor, and because they were fully cooked, there was no interesting texture either. It felt like eating thick rolled egg sheets, or just eating clumped-up steamed eggs.
The Professor gave me ketchup to eat with it, but while it tasted good at first, it became increasingly unappetizing.
Fortunately, I wasn't the type to get full easily. As I was somehow forcing it down, the Professor looked at me with concerned eyes.
"You don't have to eat it all like that... Couldn't you have saved it for breakfast tomorrow?"
"...Tomorrow, I can make something else tomorrow."
I was slightly stubborn because if I left it for tomorrow, I knew I wouldn't get another chance to cook.
The Professor smiled bitterly as if giving up, then casually said to me:
"It's good to be focused, but you shouldn't try to be too perfect from the start."
"...?"
As I listened with my cheeks stuffed full, the Professor smiled at me and offered advice in a gentle voice.
"Of course it would be nice to be good from the start. Everyone likes seeing results and clear outcomes. But if someone has never failed and hasn't spent much time working toward success, they might find it difficult to achieve great success later."
"Why?"
"Because their patience for working until they succeed will diminish."
The Professor pointed at the plate.
"How much time did you spend today trying to make an omelet? How many eggs did you use? By spending time and resources, failing, and learning that doing this leads to this result and doing that leads to that result—that process itself will surely become a good foundation for you."
"..."
"Ahaha, was that too preachy? I was just saying that if Urr succeeds too easily at everything, you might give up quickly when things don't work out later."
"I like it."
The Professor laughed awkwardly. I smiled along with that somewhat dry laugh.
"Though I am getting tired of eating just eggs."
"Sorry I can't eat more with you. Should I fry some sausages? I think they'd taste good together."
"...!"
When my eyes sparkled, the Professor smiled and got up. They tied their long hair together and grabbed the frying pan.
Soon the sausages were sizzling, creating a delicious aroma.
"I just cooked them quickly, but they should taste good with ketchup."
"Thank you for the food."
I bowed my head slightly and stuffed the eggs and sausages into my mouth. As I was gobbling it down, the Professor smiled wryly and asked:
"So what are you going to tell your friends?"
"Ah, that's right...!"
Having been distracted by the sausages, I remembered why I had been eating eggs in the first place.
"I'll tell them you made sausages for me."
"What about the omelet?"
"...An omelet would just taste like eggs anyway."
I picked up the last sausage and popped it into my mouth.