Chapter Thirty-six: Love? What Is That, Something Delicious?
“Eh? Huh? Ah, no… eh? Like???”
“Love, that thing.”
“Love!?!?!?”
Love… she said, love!!!
The bar just got raised suddenly again!!!
Ah, no, yup. I get it, you’re probably just want to talk with a friend about love, right?
But you don’t have to talk about it with me! I can talk about food and cooking all day, but love? I’m completely at a loss on what to even say!
As I stand dumbfounded with a knife in my hand, Ms. Aria tilts her head next to me. Her icy blue eyes, framed by long platinum lashes, gaze at me brimming with curiosity.
I appreciate the beauty’s intense look, but I wish it was over a different topic…!
“Dislike Ville?”
“Eh? No no no! There’s no way I’d dislike such a great person! If it’s like or dislike, then I like him!”
“…Love…?”
“Love, love…? Hmm… More like, I guess…?”
“Ah, like…”
Growing uneasy with my prolonged silence, Ms. Aria started probing me with questions, leaving me flustered!
I’m anxious and terrified about what she might ask next!
If it’s whether I "like" or "dislike" him, then of course I "like" him! If I may express it without fearing some misunderstanding, I could even say I “love” Mr. Ville.
Mr. Ville is such a nice person, so saying I dislike him would actually be harder.
But if asked if it’s romantic love, I’d answer "no"!
It’s more like admiration or friendship… a sense of camaraderie is probably closest.
Yup, settled! Anyway, I should get back to descaling!
Checking the sea bass I’m currently processing with Survival, it’s properly listed as "edible." Doesn’t seem poisonous, but apparently the guts can be bad depending on the habitat… The sea looked clean, but it was near town and I’m not sure about the quality of the sewage system, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Best to discard the guts just in case.
As I make the first cut with the knife to remove the head, translucent white flesh appears. Even as I bring my nose closer, there’s hardly any foul odor—just a fresh fish smell.
…Very well! If it’s this clean, just washing it should be fine…!
I’ll thinly slice half for sashimi, and chunk the other skin-on half for sautéing.
As I continue working submerged in thought, Ms. Aria gives me an extremely pitying look.
That much!? Really!?
But I’ve never really considered romantic relationships with those around me… Well, a girl my age probably should have had some crushes in her social circles, but I prioritized hobbies and such over devoting resources to romance, resulting in this boyfriend-less age!
So while I’ve had chances to giggle over others’ love affairs, I’ve never had a chance for my own romantic affairs or something like that…
“Sorry, I’m bad at romance stuff…”
“I thought you would like those kinds of talks, Rin.”
“Well… while I enjoy hearing about others’ love lives, I’m not too skilled with romance myself… my bad.”
…Ah, that’s right. Saying it out loud made me realize. Before even considering romantic gossip or feelings for someone, “romance” itself has always been the furthest thing from me. It is a realm I consciously avoided getting close to.
I toss the thinly sliced flesh into icy water and let it sit until it curls up and becomes snowy white. As for the sautéing chunks, I’ll put them in the fridge to keep chilled until the guys return. Then I can sauté the fillets, and I should also start cooking the eggplants and tomatoes!
I need to rinse the rice and start preparing it too… can’t forget the staple!
My brain, which tends to devote more resources to food over romance, operates smoothly even amidst talk about love, processing the ingredients before me while simultaneously planning the next steps.
Yup, that’s avoidance for you!
Whenever something unpleasant happened, I’d get through it by focusing on food like this. It’s not that I dislike having a conversation about love with Ms. Aria or anything, but it’s just that discussions about romance or such topics aren’t really my style, so it feels awkward or, I don’t know, something like that.
Plus, if I have time to get my heart fluttering over a crush, I’d rather devote that energy to establishing a solid life foundation first…
“…This is, difficult…”
“Oh? Did you say something…? Anyway, I’m curious about how you and Mr. Ed met…?”
“Eh!? Ah, um… n-normal…”
“You’re lying! I need the full story…!”
As I layer the fried eggplants, sliced tomatoes, and plenty of cheese in a deep dish, I glance back to see Ms. Aria deep in thought, wearing a troubled expression. I’m not exactly sure what’s bothering her, but I think it’s more unreasonable to ask someone who doesn’t have any colorful love life to have a conversation about love…
…But if she’s bringing up romance talk, she should expect to share her own love story, right?
Thinking that, I tried probing further, and Ms. Aria turned away, cheeks flushed a sweet shade of pink.
Aww! The beauty looks so adorable!
Hearing about the love story and journey of a passionate couple’s encounter is definitely more meaningful than my boring love life!
With just the oven switch left to turn on… I start pondering how I can get Ms. Aria to share her love story as I nibble on the remaining cookies.
It's funny when you highlight a whole sentence, and when I click "oh, right it's her"
ReplyDeleteI want romance :(
ReplyDeleteI ship them alot