A Man Who Cooks For Himself And A High School Girl (WN)

17th Meal

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Asahi Mahiru and Drunkenness

Tired: Third person POV this chapter

“Come on! Eat it before it gets cold~!”

“Uwaah…! I-It’s amazing…!”

When she saw the table lined with dishes prepared by Aoba Aoi, a college student who is a friend of her neighbor Yuu Yamori, Mahiru was in a state of amazement.

Dashimaki Tamago (rolled egg), pork kimchi, chilled tofu, potato cheese, sausage, cucumber salad, bacon-wrapped rice balls, and edamame (green soybeans) boiled quickly in salted water.

Although the quantities of each dish were small, the items that literally filled the table were enough to make one's eyes sparkle.

“Damn, you've got a great drinking menu, as usual…and you should make more rice dishes.”

“It's all right~ What goes well with rice also goes well with alcohol~”

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Aoi, on the other hand, is laughing at the dissatisfied Yuu with a cheerful smile plastered on her face.
In her hand, she was already holding an open can of beer.

“Y-You’re amazing Aoba-san! Are you living alone and cooking by yourself, too?”

“Hmm? No, I live at home, so I don't cook for myself like you do.”

“Aoba works part-time at an Izakaya* near the university, and the manager there often teaches her how to make these kinds of snacks.”

“Fue–! T-Thanks for the food!”

“Yes, enjoy the food~”

(Tired: Izakaya – “stay-drink-place.” A spot to grab a drink, settle in, and get comfortable.)

As Aoba watches with a smile, Mahiru takes a bite of the Dashimaki Tamago.

“Hmmm~~! It’s delicious~!”

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The flavor of the broth that melts into the fluffy tamagoyaki gradually makes its way down to the inside of the stomach.
Perhaps it was the fact that it was freshly made, but it seemed to be a completely different food from the tamagoyaki found in convenience store bento boxes.

Next was the pork kimchi.
The meat seemed to be thinly sliced pork, chopped into thin strips, and the crunchiness was more impressive than that of regular pork kimchi.
The inclusion of coarsely crushed garlic in this dish made the more you ate, the more your appetite grew.

The bacon was wrapped around a small triangular rice ball, and the savory flavor of the thin layer of soy sauce and the saltiness of the bacon complemented each other nicely.
The rice absorbs the oil that would have escaped from the bacon, and the bacon flavor bursts forth from the inside as soon as you take a bite.

In short, all the dishes are superb.

“How do you like it? Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes!! They are all very delicious!”

“HAHAHA! You really do say that everything you eat is ‘very tasty.’ But if that's the case, then this was worth making.”

Aoba laughed and pointed a can of beer at him, saying, “Hey, Yuu.”

“What do you want to drink? Beer? Or a highball?*”

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“No, I don't drink.”

“Eh!? Why!!??”

“Of course, I won’t drink as long as Mahiru’s here.
You're the one who drinks in front of a high school student without a care in the world.”

“I don’t care, and It’s not like I’m making her drink it!”

“Y-You don’t have to worry about me, Onii-san…”

“It's okay.
Also, this guy(Aoba) has drinking habits, so at least I have to stay sober.
Otherwise, I don't know what she’ll do to you.”

When Yuu said so to Aoba while pushing back the beer she offered.
Aoba then grunted like a child, saying, “Hmmph—!”

“What with that!? You’re so soft toward Mahiru-chan! Are you trying to say that high school girls get special treatment? Ain’t that discrimination!”

“That’s right, I'm discriminating against you while giving Mahiru special treatment.”

“Ain’t that unfair!? I’m a girl too, and it’s not hard for you to be nice to me! In fact, you should be nice to me!”

“No way.”

“Don’t just end it with two words! If you’re going to be like that, I’m going to ask Mahiru-chan to go out with me from now! Uwaaah Mahiiru-chaan!”

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“E-Eeh!?”

“You idiot, I told you not to try to get a child to drink!

“Ngu–! You’re strangling me!”

The alcohol may have already started to affect her, but Yu stopped Aoba's attempt to jump on Mahiru by tugging at the neck of her shirt, he then opened his arms to protect Mahiru.

“Aoba, don't get any closer to midday.
You will be a bad influence on her.”

“What is that!? That makes me sound like a nasty guy!”

“You're as nasty as you look, you drunken bastard! You should finish that one beer.
I won't give you a ride home if you get too drunk.”

“AHAHAHA, I’m not going to get drunk! I’m just going to drink it all if Yuu doesn’t want to!”

The drunken college student said so while reaching for her second can of beer as if in desperation…