After taking Shiina on a tour of the school, Sorata and his companion left campus and headed to the supermarket.
Tonight, dinner was his responsibility.
“Let me see… what should I buy?”
Sakurasou was where Suimei University of the Arts Affiliated High School sent its problem students.
That meant all daily cleaning and hygiene were handled by the residents themselves, according to a rotating duty roster.
Now that Shiina had moved in, Sorata did not need to think twice.
The chores assigned to her would undoubtedly end up on him, courtesy of Mitaka Jin and the others.
That had been inevitable from the moment he agreed to look after her.
“Stop. You can’t eat that.”
Sorata spotted a packet of bright red hot pot base in Shiina’s hands and hurried over.
“Red. So vivid. Tear it open to see. Not eating it.”
She looked at him, her clear eyes shining with simple curiosity.
Sorata rolled his eyes and flicked her lightly on the forehead.
“Ow…”
“Didn’t I tell you this morning? You can’t open packages in a supermarket before paying.”
“Don’t remember Sorata saying that.”
Shiina covered her forehead, lips puffing slightly.
“I didn’t? I clearly remember you nodding while eating Baumkuchen.”
He shook his head, giving up on the argument.
Taking the hot pot base from her, he fell into thought.
“I exchanged for cooking skills back then, didn’t I? Level 6, I think.”
When he first entered the Nightmare Space, he had not yet reached the fasting stage.
During missions to ancient worlds, his love of good food made poor meals unbearable, so he had spent points to exchange for cooking skills.
Later, after reaching the third rank of the Transcendent stage and entering the fasting realm, where eating was no longer necessary, he stopped using them and gradually forgot.
Cooking was not the only skill he had exchanged for.
Because of numerous missions, he had also obtained many life skills: Level 8 Piano Master, Level 9 Ink Painting Proficiency, and more.
All life professions were divided into ten levels.
In the Nightmare Space, life skills were cheap to exchange for.
Beyond Level 10 was the realm of entering the Dao through art.
Generally speaking, a five star chef in the Nightmare Space was rated at Level 5.
That evening in Sakurasou’s dining room, colorful Sichuan dishes covered the table.
The rich aroma filled the air, making everyone’s mouths water.
“This is Shu cuisine from the Renz Kingdom. Szechuan Style Boiled Meat Slices. Spicy Cold Noodles. Spicy Boiled Fish. If you can’t handle spice, try the Scallion Fragrant Ribs and Saliva Chicken. Go ahead and taste.”
Misaki was the fastest.
She immediately reached for the bright red Boiled Fish in the center.
The others quickly followed.
The tender fish slices melted in her mouth, releasing a numbing heat.
Misaki’s eyes widened.
“Wow… so good! Kohai, how come I’ve never seen you cook this before?”
“Mhm. Very good.”
Mitaka Jin gave a thumbs up after tasting the Spicy Cold Noodles, surprise flickering across his face.
“These Boiled Meat Slices taste even better than the Xia Kingdom chef at that grand hotel.”
Chihiro Sengoku gulped down a mouthful of beer and eagerly reached for more fish.
Ding.
Sorata’s phone lit up.
“Ryuunosuke-sama requests that a portion of every dish be set aside and covered with plastic wrap. He will eat later after finishing work. Message delivered by the maid who loves Ryuunosuke-sama the most.”
“The taste is decent.”
Compared to the others’ excitement, Sorata judged it calmly.
At best, it was around Level 5.
He was rusty, and his current physical reactions limited him.
After a bit of readjustment, he could probably reach sixty percent of his original ability.
Cooking skill came down to heat control, knife work, sauces, and ingredients.
At Level 6, he was skilled, but far from the supernatural realm of Level 10 and above, where one could create extraordinary dishes with nothing but simple ingredients.
He still relied heavily on quality materials.
Even so, a five star Sichuan chef’s ability meant dishes balanced in color, aroma, and taste.
To Mitaka Jin and the others, it was already rare and impressive.
As for Sakura nation home cooking, it was usually sushi, omurice, or curry rice.
The flavors tended to be straightforward.
Unless prepared by a top chef, it could not compare to the rich variety of flavor cuisine.
Beside him, Shiina remained silent.
A small pile of bones had already formed in front of her as she focused intently on the Scallion Fragrant Ribs and Salt Baked Shrimp.
The issue was something else entirely.
What was she doing putting the shrimp shells she peeled into his bowl?
She popped the meat into her mouth and casually dropped the shells into his bowl.
He stared at her.
Shiina ignored him and continued eating.
“Something’s off. Kanda, your cooking used to be average at best. And I’ve never seen you make Renz Kingdom dishes before. What’s going on?”
Chihiro leaned back in her chair, satisfied, yet suspicious.
“That’s right, Kohai. Were you hiding your strength? Did you only reveal it today to win little Shiina over? How sly.”
Misaki looked at him with exaggerated accusation.
“Waa… how much delicious food have I missed? No, Kohai, you have to make it up to me.”
“I’m curious too.”
Jin adjusted his glasses, watching Sorata closely.
“Hiding my strength? Senpai, your imagination is too much. The answer is here.”
Sorata pulled out a book he had been sitting on: Complete Encyclopedia of Renz Kingdom Sichuan Cuisine.
“I bought this today. I just followed the recipes. Didn’t expect it to turn out this well.”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Maybe I’m a cooking genius.”
“No way.”
“Seriously?”
“Wow, Kohai, that’s amazing. I’ll try tomorrow too.”
“Alright. Clear the table first. We’re holding a Sakurasou meeting.”
Whether they believed him or not did not matter.
He believed it himself.
The Sakurasou meeting was where members discussed daily task assignments such as cooking, shopping, cleaning bathrooms, and handling odd repairs like fixing leaks or unclogging toilets.
After briefly recounting the day’s events, mainly Shiina’s alarming lack of common sense, Sorata stood, placed both hands on the table, and looked at the other three with steady eyes.
“Shiina-san’s situation is serious. We need to address it properly. I propose we divide the responsibilities. As members of Sakurasou, we all share this duty.”
“For example, organizing her clothes and blow drying her hair can be handled by Misaki senpai. Teaching her common sense can fall to Chihiro sensei.”
“Since Jin senpai and I are male, it would be more appropriate for us to handle escorting her to and from school.”
He glanced at Chihiro.
“Sensei, you already knew about this, didn’t you? Why didn’t you warn me? I was overwhelmed this morning.”
Although he had already decided to raise Shiina like a pet, Sorata still needed to make his stance clear.
If he could distribute some of the burden, life would be easier.
Feeling bored did not mean he enjoyed creating trouble for himself.
Wouldn’t it be better to lie down and do nothing?