บท 70: Daily Routine and Meals Worth Remembering
"…What are you writing?"
After dinner, Amane took care of the dishes. When he finished, he saw
that Mahiru was sitting on the sofa jotting down some kind of note.
Initially, he wondered whether it might be a school assignment, but that
didn't seem to be the case. It would have been rude to brazenly read the
contents, so he couldn't get a good look at it.
Glancing at it as he passed behind her, he saw what looked like a list of
dishes, written in neat letters.
Mahiru was used to Amane sitting beside her, and she didn't react to
him taking the adjacent seat. She continued moving her pen in silence.
"It's the menu from last night's dinner. It's helpful later if I make a note
of what I cooked."
Her slightly delayed answer was quite matter-of-fact.
"As the person who does the cooking, I decided I ought to keep track of
these things."
"You're so meticulous."
"I'm just writing down what I made, so it's simple enough. I'm the kind
of person who will pretty much eat the same things all the time, but that's
not so great as far as nutritional balance."
When it came down to it, Amane was also the type who would be
perfectly fine with eating the same thing over and over. But there was
nothing better than getting to eat a variety of dishes.
Since Mahiru had a varied repertoire, she always tried to avoid repeating
the same dishes. At most, she used the previous day's leftovers, such as
curry or meat sauce, to make something new.
Without even having to think back on it, Amane knew that she had been
incorporating a good mix of vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, soy, and dairy into
their meals.
He was grateful when he thought about how much care she put into
these kinds of details, but on the other hand, he also felt bad about it.
"How do I put this? I'm really grateful for everything you do. You have
my respect."
"Stop that. I'm just doing this for my own satisfaction. It's easier to have
a record when I'm trying to manage our nutrition. Plus, if anything ever
happens, I'll be able to check whether there was anything strange in what
we ate."
"I guess that's true, but it's still very thoughtful. Admirable, even."
"I'm not doing it because I want your praise, though. It's convenient to
have later, so I'm making a habit of it. That's all."
"Even so, I think it's impressive."
"…Well, thanks."
He really thought she was amazing. Without exaggeration, she was
terrific and so sincere.
"As someone who basically specializes in eating and can barely recall
the names of dishes, I find it incredible that you came up with an idea like
this."
"…Now that you mention it, for someone who specializes in eating, you
do know a fair number of dishes once they're laid out on a table. And you
have a good sense of taste, especially considering that before I started
cooking for you, all you seemed to eat was instant ramen and ready-made
food."
"At home, my parents…well, if I had to say, I guess it was my dad—my
dad made me try all sorts of things, so I got to eat lots of good stuff."
Amane knew that his palate wasn't necessarily dull just because he
didn't cook.
Just like how food critics aren't always expert cooks, it was possible to
hone his sense of taste, even though he couldn't prepare the dishes he was
tasting.
Amane's parents were good cooks, especially his father, and they were
the type of people who had regularly taken him to various restaurants. This
gave him plenty of opportunities to taste and compare a wide variety of
foods.
Thanks to their efforts, Amane had been raised with a fairly discerning
palate, which wasn't always a good thing.
"…I see. That makes sense. I had a similar experience."
Mahiru seemed to understand without feeling any particular discomfort
about it, but her expression didn't brighten.
He was just guessing, but Amane figured that could be attributed to her
home environment.
He didn't know all the details about Mahiru's situation, and he couldn't
thoughtlessly butt in as an outsider, so he refrained from mentioning it any
further and instead turned his gaze back to the paper that her pen had been
running across until just a moment earlier.
"Can I take a look?"
"At this? I don't mind, but it's not particularly organized."
"I doubt that's true, but even if it isn't, I'd like to see it, if that's all
right."
Without hesitation, Mahiru granted Amane's request and handed him the
notebook.
After thanking her, he turned to the first page and saw detailed menus
inside, going back about three months and ordered by date. Everything was
written in Mahiru's tidy handwriting.
Her notes started on the day they had first eaten a meal together.
A nostalgic menu of miso soup, fish simmered in soy sauce, stewed
greens, and rolled omelets was listed there, and he let a smile slip out at the
vivid memory of it.
Amane flipped through the pages, musing that Mahiru's attitude toward
him had softened quite a bit since that first meal and reminiscing as he
revisited menu after menu.
Mahiru certainly incorporated all types of cooking, but looking at the
menus collected like this, he noticed there was a lot of Japanese food.
It was common knowledge that Amane loved eggs, so dishes that
incorporated them frequently showed up at their dinner table. He was
keenly aware that Mahiru had been paying close attention to his preferences
in more ways than one.
"Ah, these were sooo good."
As he was reading, Amane came across an entry for pouch eggs,
probably his second favorite egg dish of Mahiru's, after her rolled omelets.
Mahiru seemed faintly pleased that he was excited but not at all
surprised.
This dish was made by closing up eggs in fried tofu skins and simmering
them in a sweet and salty broth, something that was not very difficult for
Mahiru to do.
"They don't take too much work to make. They are tasty, though, huh?"
she said softly.
Of course, Amane knew that anyone would probably be happy to hear
that something they had made was delicious, but all the food Mahiru made
was delicious, so it all came down to preference.
"…You really do love eggs, don't you?"
"The egg is magnificent. It's delicious whether you simmer it, bake it,
boil it, fry it, steam it, or smoke it, and it's chock-full of protein. I'd eat
eggs every day if I could."
"Sure, they've got good nutritional value, and I like to eat at least one a
day, but I find it hard to appreciate them quite as much as you do, Amane."
"Really? I just like them so much."
"…Do you want to eat some pouch eggs?"
"Huh?"
Amane stiffened at the sudden proposal, but Mahiru retained her usual
calm expression. He hadn't meant to make a request, but apparently, his
impassioned declaration of love for eggs had given her ideas.
"I feel kinda bad."
"Don't. We're about to run out of eggs anyway, so I was just thinking
we should buy a new carton. Let's see… Tomorrow's menu is already set,
but I can change what I was planning for the day after. Nutrition won't be
an issue if I make a few extra side dishes, so it's an easy request to
fulfill…"
"Really?"
Without meaning to, he stared at Mahiru in joy.
For some reason, Mahiru cleared her throat after she noticed him staring.
Then she quietly answered, "…I don't mind."
Though it was low, Amane caught every word and let out a little "Yay!"
Then his cheeks naturally softened into a smile. "All right! I'm looking
forward to the day after tomorrow, then."
He was always excited for Mahiru's cooking, but hearing that she was
going to make one of his favorites only heightened his anticipation.
They had a hellish marathon scheduled in gym class that day, for reasons
he could not fathom, but Amane felt as if he could run his heart out as long
as Mahiru's cooking would be waiting for him afterward.
"…It's worth making if it will make you happy. Then again, you are the
type to tell me that everything is delicious, Amane."
"I say everything's delicious because it is. Everything you cook is great,
Mahiru."
"…Thank you very much."
"I enjoy eating every bite of food you make. You're always helping me
out, so thank you."
He thought he was telling her his honest feelings, so he was slightly
shocked when she blatantly avoided looking at him.
After fidgeting uncomfortably, Mahiru let out a quiet sigh. She seemed
tired somehow.
"You won't get anything by flattering me."
"I bet I'll get a delicious dinner."
"…That's one of the things I really like about you, you know."
"What is?"
"Everything."
Finally, Mahiru turned away. Amane was worried that he had said
something that hurt her feelings. Maybe because she could tell he was
flustered, Mahiru did not make eye contact with Amane for some time.
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