Episode 38: Dinner’s Ready!
Kazuma looked thoroughly satisfied, having fully indulged his manly passion for new weapons.
“By the way, are you okay for time?”
“Huh?”
Now that it was mentioned, a considerable amount of time had passed since he arrived at the factory. Kazuma, who had been fooling around and lost track of time, looked at his watch and started to panic when he saw the dorm curfew was fast approaching.
“Crap! If I don’t head back, the dorm mother will scold me!”
“Shall I give you a ride?”
“No, it’ll be faster if I run!”
“As expected of you~”
“Today was fun! Let me know if you make something interesting again!”
“Yes, understood.”
“Well then, see ya!”
“Take care~”
Kazuma departed like a storm. Watching Kazuma shrink to the size of a bean in mere moments, Shouzo deeply felt that the Crimson Knight was indeed beyond ordinary standards.
“Yeah, that kid is definitely the most out-there one, no doubt about it~”
Shouzo muttered about Kazuma, who was now out of sight, as he headed home.
◇◇◇◇
Kazuma, who had run at supersonic speed from Kurashige Industries, splendidly made it back to the dorm before curfew. Kazuma sighed in relief, knowing he wouldn’t be scolded by the dorm mother now.
“Phew~”
Just as he was about to head back to the dorm after catching his breath, the phone in his pocket vibrated; someone was calling him.
“Yes, hello.”
“Hello.”
“Momoko-chan!”
Because Kazuma shouted so loudly, Momoko on the other end of the line moved the phone away from her ear.
“You’re loud.”
“Ah, sorry.”
“You’re so straightforward about things like that…”
“So, what’s up? Why the call?”
“You went to Kurashige Industries, right? You didn’t cause any trouble, did you?”
“You should have come with me. Then you wouldn’t have to ask what I was doing.”
“You didn’t do anything unnecessary, did you?”
“Nothing in particular. If I had to say, I guess I helped out a bit with the development of a new weapon.”
Helping with the development of a new weapon was, in itself, an unnecessary act, but Kurashige Industries was under government control. It was likely already known that Kazuma had been involved in the new weapon’s development. Naturally, Momoko-chan was also aware of this, so she judged that it wasn’t a major problem.
“I see. So you didn’t do anything particularly strange, then?”
“I told you I didn’t! Trust me a little, will ya~”
“I have faith in you, but I don’t trust you.”
“Incomprehensible…”
“Anyway, I’ve confirmed that you haven’t caused any problems, so it’s fine now. Well then.”
Momoko-chan hung up with such an abrupt ending. Kazuma sulked a little, thinking she could have indulged him in conversation a bit longer, but headed back to his room.
Back in his room, Kazuma felt hungry. He wondered whether to go to the cafeteria or cook something himself. The Combat Course dorm had excellent facilities, and he could get ingredients on the first floor—for free, no less. However, not many students actually used this option, since they could easily get a well-balanced meal at the cafeteria.
“Eating alone is lonely, so maybe I’ll invite someone,” he thought.
They might have already eaten dinner, but he wouldn’t know unless he asked, so Kazuma randomly sent chat messages to his classmates. Replies came back quickly. Several of them said they had already eaten at the cafeteria, so while they appreciated the invitation, they couldn’t make it.
The classmates who hadn’t eaten yet readily accepted, and surprisingly, there were requests for Kazuma’s home cooking.
“I want to eat Kazuma’s specialty dish.”
“Oh, in that case, me too.”
“Me too!”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to try it too~”
“Me too, me too~!”
“If that’s the case, I’d like to try it too.”
“Leave it to me! My specialty, by the way, is omurice!” Kazuma replied.
And so, Kazuma immediately sprang into action. First, he bought a load of ingredients at the commissary on the first floor. The commissary clerk was somewhat surprised by the sheer amount of ingredients, but Kazuma briefly explained the situation and purchased them without any trouble.
Then, he immediately returned to his room and started making enough omurice for everyone. Of course, omurice alone wouldn’t be enough for the growing, ravenous youths of the Combat Course. So, Kazuma also prepared side dishes like karaage and potato salad.
Liberally using his Space-Time Magic to shorten the cooking time, he managed to prepare all the dishes in just under fifteen minutes.
“Done!”
Since the food was ready, Kazuma sent a chat message telling them to come to his room. Shortly thereafter, his classmates started arriving.
Kaede, Alice, Marin, Shinya, Shion, and Retsuo trooped into the room one after another.
“Excuse us for intruding~” (all six of them)
“Welcome!”
He guided his classmates to the living area, where Kazuma proudly showed off the dishes he had prepared.
“Ta-da! How’s that!”
“Whoa! This is seriously amazing… And it’s not just omurice?” Shinya exclaimed, astonished by the array of dishes spread across the table.
“I figured everyone would eat a lot, so I made plenty!”
“Omurice, karaage, potato salad, calamari rings, onion soup… isn’t that a bit much?” Alice asked.
“You don’t like it, Alice-chan?”
“No, I’m delighted, but wasn’t it a lot of work to make all this?”
“Not at all! I love cooking!”
“G-gh…” Alice’s heart unexpectedly skipped a beat at Kazuma’s friendly, innocent smile.
Kaede, Marin, and Shion, who were behind her, also seemed to be caught off guard, their hearts similarly aflutter.
“It’s unfair how charming he is without even trying~” Marin whispered.
“Mhmm. And he usually acts like such a goofball~” Alice agreed.
“That’s what’s good about Kazuma,” Shion stated.
“Kaede, do you seriously like Kazuma-kun?” Marin asked.
“I do. It’s fun being with him, and more than anything, I don’t have to put on any airs.”
“Ah~, I think I get what you mean…” Alice murmured.
It’s a very precious and happy thing to be accepted for who you truly are. No matter what Kaede did, Kazuma basically accepted it with a smile. Though Kazuma himself didn’t realize just how precious that was.
“Hey, you three, stop whispering and let’s eat!” Kazuma called out.
“Yeah. Coming now,” Kaede replied.
“Ah, sorry! We’re coming right over,” said Marin.
“Sorry for making you wait!” added Shion.
Everyone took their seats, and at Kazuma’s signal, they began to savor the food.
“So gooood…!”
“Are you serious…?!”
“Amazing…”
“The sense of defeat is overwhelming…”
“Can I take a picture of this and show it to the other girls?” Marin asked.
“Sure~”
What Kazuma had made was the fluffy omurice he had intensely practiced making after being taunted about it before. It was the authentic kind where, upon slicing the center with a knife, the soft, runny egg would flow out and envelop the rice. The quality was so high that Marin, after getting Kazuma’s permission, took pictures and sent them to her friends.
“The karaage, calamari rings, onion soup, and potato salad are all delicious!” Shinya exclaimed.
“Anyone can do it with practice! I messed up a ton at first, burning things or leaving them half-cooked,” Kazuma said.
“But you can make all this now, right? That’s seriously awesome.”
“Look at Retsuo. He’s just stuffing his face without saying a single word.”
“Well, it’s so delicious, it feels like a waste of time to talk,” Retsuo retorted, mouth full.
“True, I feel like I’ll regret it if I don’t eat a lot of this!” Alice chimed in.
“You’re right! Not just Ohtsuki-kun and Shishido-kun, but Miyazono-san is also eating at an incredible pace! If we don’t hurry, our share will be gone!” Kaede urged.
His classmates diligently devoured the food spread out on the table. Kazuma watched them with a wide, happy grin. Indeed, it made him happy to have people enjoy the food he’d made, exclaiming how delicious it was.
“You don’t have to rush so much. I’ll make it for you guys again sometime,” Kazuma said.
“Eh! But wouldn’t that be a bother for you?” Shinya asked.
“Not at all. I used to cook a lot at the orphanage, so it’s no problem. The ingredients are free, and it just takes a little of my time and effort.”
“If it takes your time and effort, then it’s still a burden for you, Kazuma, isn’t it?”
“Maybe so, but I really enjoy eating together with everyone like this. So I don’t consider it a burden in the slightest.”
“Why aren’t you a girl…?! If you were a girl, I’d be proposing to you right now…!” Shinya lamented.
Raised in an orphanage under Honoka-san’s tutelage, Kazuma, whose domestic skills were at max level, was, so to speak, ideal “bride material.” The classmates gathered here had heard various things from Honoka-san at the orphanage where Kazuma grew up. Kazuma might have some issues with his intellect, but his other stats were high enough to more than compensate for it. Moreover, he was hiding the fact that he was the Crimson Knight, thus possessing immeasurable hidden value.
After that, they finished their enjoyable meal, and it should have been time to disperse, but things didn’t quite turn out that way. Kazuma had also meticulously prepared dessert.
“You! Just how much further do you intend to lead us into decadence!” Shinya exclaimed.
“Uhi~. Why are there parfaits now…?” Alice moaned.
“They were selling bulk-size ice cream at the commissary, so I bought it along with some fruit,” Kazuma explained cheerfully.
“We’ll gratefully accept…!”
Why was bulk-size ice cream sold at the commissary? The reason was simple: it was cheap and came in large quantities. It was a relatively popular item and sometimes sold out, but when Kazuma had stopped by the commissary, it just so happened to be in stock. Kazuma, who firmly believed that dessert was an indispensable part of any post-meal experience, had bought it immediately.
“He treats us properly like girls, has maxed-out domestic
The two listening to Marin’s story answered her question while eating the parfaits Kazuma had prepared.
“It’s an option, but… there are too many rivals, and I don’t think I’m Kazuma-kun’s type, so it seems pretty impossible for me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“For your information, I’m the type who’s fine with just being friends. Well, at this current stage, at least.”
“Could it be that you’re thinking about future prospects?”
“Shion, correct! For now, that part is unclear, you see. I have to be cautious.”
“Marin, you’re thinking that far ahead. That’s amazing.”
“Look, there were all those major disasters at the end of the year, weren’t there? So, you know, I have to think about various things.”
“I think it’s fine not to think too hard about things while you’re still a student, though.”
“That depends on the person.”
Choosing a marriage partner with an eye on the future when one had just turned sixteen felt a little premature, but that varied from person to person.
Ironically, thanks to the Ibinom, humanity’s drive for procreation had ignited, the trend of late marriages had subsided, and the declining birthrate and aging population were gradually recovering.
With systems like polygyny being introduced, it was surprisingly common for students like Marin to start sizing up potential marriage partners while still in school.
If there was a man with promising future prospects, it was natural to stake a claim on him.
That said, they were still students, so they should probably enjoy romance to their heart’s content.