I’d known Paluna’s cooking for a while, but seeing it with my own eyes finally showed me how “astonishing” it really was—like watching a firework sputter in the rain.
“Mm, how do you make cake again…? First pour flour into a bowl, then add eggs. Stir with a spoon… Okay, I think you just put the mixed flour in the oven.”
She nodded with the calm of a sunny noon, lifted a big bowl of flour and eggs, and walked toward the oven like it was a friendly hearth.
I couldn’t let that slide; irritation pricked like sleet. I stepped in and snapped, “Hey, hey! Paluna, how is that ‘done’?! And you look so confident!”
“Eh! Yumigawa, did I mess up? Don’t underestimate me. I’m not great at cooking, sure, but a cake won’t beat me!”
She pouted, her eyes round as wet apricots, glaring at me. Cute, dangerously cute.
But cooking was serious; I couldn’t go soft because of dimples. I hardened my voice like a teacher’s ruler. “Where’s that confidence from, huh? Who bakes a cake with no water, and without even kneading the flour? That’s Cooking 101! And look at your bowl—flour scattered like snow, and egg-shell shards glinting inside. Are you serving murder?”
“What, I—”
“No backtalk.”
“Uu!”
“…”
The room, noisy as a market, went suddenly still, like a pond under a cold moon. Every gaze swung to us, even the teacher’s.
“Wow, Sumeragi is so cool!”
“Right? It’s the first time I’ve seen Paluna make that face.”
“Mhm, mhm!”
“Uu, Yumigawa, good job! You made stubborn Paluna so quiet a mouse wouldn’t squeak—your teacher is moved to tears!”
Whispers rippled like reeds in wind; the girls traded lines, and the home ec teacher actually cried with joy.
“Mm, Servant really is prime wife material—no matter how he denies it.”
“Totally! Boss’s wifey aura is off the charts!”
“Once it’s about cooking, Yumigawa gets strict like a steel knife.”
“Uwah! Why does this feel like defeat?”
Even Xinuo and the rest tossed comments like cool shade. On a normal day I’d snap back, but I had no time—because—
“This won’t do. Paluna, you’re starting from kneading. With me.”
I took her soft, fair hand—cool as porcelain—and led her to a table.
“Watch closely.”
I poured a small bag of flour into a big bowl, added water like a thin stream, then started kneading, palms pressing like waves.
A moment later—
“All right. Your turn.”
I set my kneaded dough aside like a smooth pebble, grabbed a fresh bowl, added flour and water, and passed it to Paluna.
“Mm… then I’ll start!”
She glanced at me, resolve flickering like a candle flame, and began to knead.
However—
“Uwah, it feels gross! It’s all sticky!”
“Ignore that. Knead it smooth.”
“Y-yes! I’m kneading, I’m kneading—uh, why isn’t it working? And the flour is jumping out of the bowl?”
“Are you dumb?”
I tapped her head, a light bonk. “You think this is a fistfight? If you go that hard, you’ll throw flour everywhere.”
“Uu, fine, I’ll go gentler… I’m kneading, I’m kneading—hey! It’s smooth!”
“Mhm, not bad. Once you can knead, you can bake. Come on, I’ll teach you cake.”
“Yes! Teacher Yumigawa!”
“I’m not a teacher.”
I turned away, a little embarrassed, and fetched ingredients and tools, the metal cool as dawn.
“Hehe☆”
Seeing me fuss with measuring cups, Paluna laughed, light as a chime.
Then, just like the words say, I started teaching Paluna how to bake—
“Yumigawa, besides water and flour, what else goes into a cake?”
“Sugar, milk, and corn oil…”
“Feels like cake is hard.”
“It’s not. I’ll walk you through.”
“Then I’m counting on you, Teacher Yumigawa!”
“I said don’t call me teacher!”
“Hehe☆”
…
On the other side.
Watching Yumigawa Sumeragi and Paluna bake “so close,” a shadow crossed Xinuo’s flawless face, like a cloud blotting a bright moon.
“Uh… Yumigawa and Paluna’s vibe suddenly got better, heh-heh,” Eastern Moon Aixue edged a few steps away, chuckling; Xinuo’s aura pressed like a storm front, and standing near felt like carrying a mountain.
“Right, Yumigawa’s so earnest,” Faya said as she paled and retreated to Aixue’s side.
“Uwah! Master’s unhappy—this little one should escape… Ah! Master, what are you doing? Ow, gentle, that hurts!”
Hill tried to “flee” from Xinuo, but Xinuo pinched her cheeks as soon as she moved.
“Unbelievable. A mere Servant, getting that cozy with another girl right in front of his Master.”
Her fingers tightened like a crab’s claw; Hill’s soft cheeks puffed up red.
“Uuu, I’ve become Master’s stress ball! Boss, save me!!”
Hill let out a clear, ringing wail; even her cry sounded pretty.
…
“Mm? Why is the cooking room this lively now?”
The noise scraped at my nerves like grit; I frowned.
“Forget it for now, Yumigawa—what’s the next step?”
“Okay, let’s see… sugar goes in next.”
“How much?”
“About this much.”
“Got it.”
Soon my focus slipped back into the batter, like a stream returning to its bed. No matter the chatter, it barely touched us.
Still, a prickle of bad premonition coiled in my chest. Xinuo had been watching me with eyes like winter steel since earlier.
“Mm… I’m overthinking.”
I shook my head and dove into the cake again, breath steady as a metronome.
…
Half the class ticked away.
“Take the baked cake from the pan, spread cream like snowfall, and finish with strawberries… Okay, done!”
“Yay! Mine’s done too—it looks so tasty. Thank you, Yumigawa.”
I’d been teaching while baking, so we finished together, two plates gleaming like small moons.
“Phew—no problem, uh—”
Just as I breathed out, Xinuo stepped up beside me, wearing a perfect smile smooth as jade. “Servant, you seem to be ‘playing’ quite happily with Miss Paluna.”
“We’re not playing, Xiao Nuo—you saw us baking!”
I rushed to defend myself, stomach sinking like a stone; I never knew what I’d done wrong.
“Don’t make excuses. You were having fun, right?”
“If we’re talking fun… Yumigawa, I’m super happy!”
Clueless of the storm, Paluna hugged me, bright as a bird.
“Servant.”
Was it my imagination? Xinuo’s anger rose like a tide.
“Uwah!”
…
That day, I worked myself ragged, serving Xinuo until her mood finally thawed like frost under noon sun.
Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what set her off. I thought and thought, came up empty, and could only chalk it up to bad luck.
