Bonus Short Stories

A Kitchen’s Warmth

“Wash ya hands and chop this up, will ya?”

This had been Chef Yacoo’s response when I had gone to say farewell on the morning of my departure. He’d handed me an onion.

“Uhm... Chef Yacoo.”

“Only one. Surely ya got this much time?”

Of course I did. Unlike two years ago, I was now perfectly capable of chopping up an onion on the fly.

It was so early in the morning that none of the other students at the dormitory were awake. Standing in the kitchen next to the chef, I grabbed the knife and set the onion on top of the cutting board. I secured the onion with my left hand and made sure that no fingers were in the cutting line of the knife.

As I sliced up the onion, I was reminded of my first time on kitchen duty, the day Ash had moved in. Back then we had also started by chopping up onions. I had never cooked before, so I was quite clumsy with my hands. Looking back on it now, it was so embarrassing... To think that now I was effortlessly chopping up an onion while reminiscing about the past. And much faster and cleaner too. If I dare say so myself, I’ve become quite good at this, I thought while looking at the evenly chopped-up onion on the cutting board.

I informed the chef that I was done with the task. “I finished... Chef Yacoo?”

The chef was already looking at the cutting board with a serious expression. “Ya getting good at this. I see I won’t have to worry about ya going hungry if ya have to cook for yourself.”

“Yeah, I’m sure I could handle it.”

Since Ash was always cooking on holidays too, I had gained much experience helping him. Whenever Maika and Reina joined us, it was even livelier, and we had lots of laughs together. Even though I had so many fond memories of the time when I learned how to cook, I may not be able to use my cookings skills once I got back to the royal capital. The more I thought about the conservative attitudes back at home, the more attached I grew to this place.

Watching me contemplate my future, Chef Yacoo snorted. “I don’t know much about ya. Maybe ya won’t ever set foot in a kitchen again.” While he was talking, the chef put the onion that I had chopped up into the pot and started stirring. “But remember the effort that goes into cooking. Makes ya appreciate the meal on your plate.”

Not getting much stew on the plate could, for example, mean that there wasn’t much firewood available. And if you kept getting the same menu, that could be a sign of poor harvests. A sloppy arrangement could indicate a lack of manpower. Or if the combination of foods served was odd, that may point towards bad leadership in the kitchen.

“Make sure to eat enough. That way ya’ll know what’s going on in the kitchen. And knowing what’s going on in there helps ya understand ya employees. And understanding ya employees helps ya understand the world. Which in turn...”

I responded to Chef Yacoo’s probing look with a nod. “Helps me understand what I need to do... I think.”

In my current state—Ash’s back crossed my mind, followed by an image of Maika reaching out to me—in my current state, I was sure that I could move forward. With Maika’s help, I had been able to chase his back after all, so I felt like I could do anything.

“Knowing that, ya will be fine anywhere.”

The chef scooped a bit of soup out of the pot and into a bowl, then handed it to me. A sweet yet mild scent tickled my nose. It was mile soup. The first dish I had ever cooked together with everyone.

“No one can live without food. So make sure to savor it, Arthur.”

Chef Yacoo, who hadn’t even asked for our names on our first meeting, had just called me Arthur. Having my name called in this kitchen, where only cooking skills mattered, essentially meant that he approved of my cooking.

“I will, Chef Yacoo. Thank you for the lesson.”

In gratitude, I bowed to the esteemed master chef. I felt like I had been quite the troublesome and unworthy pupil. Nonetheless, I was deeply grateful to the kind chef, who had taught me carefully, albeit with a sharp tongue.

“Don’t be ridiculous! That’s not even worth mentioning. If ya ever come back, be prepared to slice some onions.”

And thus, I somehow ended up receiving instructions for my next visit alongside my graduation remarks.

Maika’s Way Forward

Congratulations to myself for making Ash stay behind. I can’t thank myself enough.

I felt so relieved. If by any chance Ash had really returned to the village, it would mean that I couldn’t predict his actions at all. I knew that he definitely wouldn’t have been able to stay still in the village. He could have suddenly set out to the royal capital to continue with his work. After all, Folke and Arthur were both there. I could already vividly imagine him hitting the road with just a bag and a smile on his face. It really was a close one...

Just thinking about the possibility of Ash going so far away that I could no longer say good morning to him made me shudder. But if it ever happened, I was going to join him in the capital. What about my role as one of the count’s prospective successors, you ask? I could care less about something that interfered with my future marriage with Ash.

Although I feel bad for Arthur. Maybe it would have been better for Ash to go to the capital? My chest tightened as an image of Arthur smiling while holding back tears flashed into my head. I hate that expression... Holding back sadness and pain is not good for you. I wondered if there was a way to bring her back here.

“Hm... Doesn’t seem possible anytime soon.”

At the moment, I was powerless. Or rather, I didn’t even know what the problem was, nor what exactly needed to be done to bring her back. I was like Hermes, who dreamt of building a plane—he knew his destination, but didn’t know how to get there. How could you make any plans for a journey if you didn’t even know what to pack?

“But I don’t want to give up! Someday I’ll rescue her from the capital and then we can have dinner with everyone!”

I had no intention of giving up. After all, I was Ash’s childhood friend. As someone who fell in love again and again with a boy who didn’t know the meaning of the expression “giving up,” I couldn’t throw the towel either.

Ash had shown me the light so many times. No matter how dark the path forward may be, I was no longer going to be scared like I was back at the village. Using Ash’s light, I was going to illuminate the way and move forward one step at a time.

It must have been my resolution to win over Ash that was telling me that I could follow him anywhere. No matter how dark the path, I was ready to walk beside him. I may still not have been able to fully keep up with Ash, but compared to my past self, who stood petrified at the first signs of dusk, I had become much stronger. And I planned on becoming stronger still.

“And to do that, I need to study!”

Depending on Ash’s next move, I may have just renounced my right of succession, but inheriting the title of count could have also brought with it some nice advantages. For now, I was studying for that position. I should go help my uncle Itsuki with his work. Staying still here was only going to remind me of Arthur and make me sad.

As I stood up from the bed, I heard a knock on the door.

Oh! I recognize that knock!

“Mai—”

“Ash! Come in!”

“—ka. Fast as always.”

I opened the door at full speed and found Ash with a tray in his hands. I had actually been slower than usual. Since I hadn’t noticed his footsteps walking in the corridor, I had heard him call the first syllable of my name through the closed door.

“What’s up, Ash? Sweets? Did you bake sweets?”

A fragrant aroma rose up from the tray he was holding. Ah, it smelled like Tanya-style pancakes.

“Yes, freshly made. Would you like some?”

“Yes, of course!”

Helping my uncle Itsuki with his work could wait. Ash’s freshly baked pancakes had higher priority.

“But if you had said something, I could’ve helped. Call me next time!” We could have spent some time together.

While I pouted, Ash smiled as he put down the tray on my desk and took out a spoon. It was not his usual fiery smile, which he gave when charging ahead towards his goals. It was a soft smile, like a gentle sun ray on a spring day.

“This is a gift especially for you, so I could not really let you help.”

“A gift? Especially for me?” My cheeks felt hot. Ash, don’t you think saying, “Especially for you” with such a gentle smile on your face is a bit unfair?

“Yes. It must be exhausting for you to always stay bright and try to cheer up the others, even though you are quite sad yourself that Arthur is gone.”

Ah! My heart skipped a beat! He noticed all that? Even though he usually doesn’t pay attention to the people around him as he single-mindedly rushes at full speed towards his dreams? That’s so... unfair.

“So I made these as a special reward for your extraordinary kindness.” He smiled and held out a spoon with a piece of pancake.

What?! That’s against the rules! Ash’s playing dirty! But that’s exactly why I love him so much!

Reina’s Passion

“I’m tired...”

The moment I returned to my room, I couldn’t help but let that out in a deep voice. Speaking in that voice on the outside would have destroyed my image as the dorm supervisor Rihn’s daughter—a reliable, good student.

“Welcome back, Reina.”

My roommate looked up from the book she was reading to greet me. Judging from her squinted eyes, it must have been a difficult one. She gave me a radiant smile, which immediately soothed my tired soul. It was like the charm of an innocent child. No wonder all the boys looked in her direction whenever she smiled.

“I’m home, Maika.”

“You look exhausted.”

I didn’t even have the strength to reciprocate her smile. I knew I made her worry sometimes, but I was so grateful to have a roommate. Especially if it was someone who spoiled me like Maika did.

“Yeah, I am. Hermes and Belgo’s crew...”

My migraine worsened just remembering it. Those children (most of them were older than me, but they didn’t behave like it at all) started fights over the most trivial things!

“Can you believe it? They argue about who gets to use the tools first, who carved the wood the cleanest, who makes the best constructions... You wouldn’t believe how often I had to scold them today.”

My voice sounded hoarse as I grumbled in exasperation. Next time, I shouldn’t shout as much. I needed to come up with a different method to avoid harming my voice. Come to think of it, the pots we used in the dormitory kitchen made a loud noise whenever someone accidentally bumped into them on cooking duty. Maybe I could use those—bang on them to drown out the children’s loud voices.

“You look like you’re having fun.”

I wondered what my face looked like when I heard her say that. I felt my cheeks grow a bit hot.

“A-Anyways, w-what about you? You were doing research on bricks, weren’t you? How’s that?”

“I found some documents, which we split up among the group. I’m reading them now, but they are very detailed, and there are a lot of words that I don’t know. I’m assuming they refer to different types of soil and working methods, but I’m not sure...” Maika folded her arms and groaned.

It was strange how she looked cute even when she wrinkled her eyebrows. Whenever I did that, people just got scared. Maybe I should make an effort to appear a bit more charming? No, that wouldn’t suit me. I must have been really exhausted for my thoughts to even go there.

“What’s wrong, Reina? Something on your mind?”

“I was just thinking you’ve got a lot on your shoulders too. Don’t you feel exhausted?”

“I think we’re both feeling the same way.”

Maika, who had a radiant smile on her face, and I, who was angry and exasperated, were feeling the same way? If that was the case, then we surely had very different responses. Just look at Maika—she is so cute and pretty when she is smiling.

“Really? I’m just getting mad and scaring people,” I said.

“You’re cute and pretty.”

W-What makes you say that? I wondered what face I was making right now. In an attempt to find out, I touched my cheeks. They felt hot.

“Heh heh, we’re the same after all. It’s nice to see boys getting absorbed in something, isn’t it?”

“Oh, i-is that what you mean? Well, it’s not bad, I guess... Just generally speaking, of course!” Now even my ears were feeling hot.

“Heh heh, you’re so cute! And yeah, I would say it’s fun rather than exhausting.”

G-Got it. So let’s just wrap this topic up...