Episode 42 – Murakami sensei unable to maintain seriousness

‘It’s really nice of you to come so often! I wonder who your full-time househusband, Iida-kun, makes his beloved wife’s lunch box for?”
“Do you know, Murakami-sensei, that sexual harassment, even against a student, is an immediate offense?”
“Iida-kun, have you been hitting your teachers hard lately, ……?”

The conversation of Murakami-sensei, whom I have become accustomed to hearing in club activities, is passed from right to left, and she lightly cooks the dishes.
It’s a vegetable terrine that tastes great even when cold.
It takes time to cool down, so it needs to be made early.

However, the chilling time is from 30 minutes to an hour, and it is usually done after school at 4:30 pm.
That is enough time to make it in time.
The problem is that I need to wait until it cools down.
I should make some light Japanese sweets.

After engaging me, Murakami-sensei is watching the other girls in the club cook.
After carefully showing them a sample move, she teaches them how to do it by watching next to them or supporting them from behind.
She’s a really serious teacher when it comes to cooking–

“Well, there’s a boy you’re after, isn’t there? So you have got a new surprise for the lunch…… It’s really nice, youth.”

–If only she didn’t have such a wild guts about her students.

She is a teacher who loves cooking, but she is also a talker, first by getting involved in love stories, and secondly by cooking.
I think she was once scolded by another teacher, but I don’t think Murakami-sensei would be sorry for that.

Thanks to her, I often get tangled up with her, but I also get tangled up with other people.
I should make sesame dumplings while I’m at it.

The inside is red bean paste. I used the white bean flour that I have on hand, and I used plenty of sesame seeds …….

–By the time the seven sesame dumplings were made, the terrine was getting cold.
Seven ?……. That’s half the number because I was thinking a bit.
When I had put the six away in the bag, I caught sight of Murakami sensei strolling by.

“What’s wrong Iida, look at me. Do you have a gift for me?”
“I see…well, since it’s a special occasion, here’s one for you.”
“Oh, really? I’ll try to say so!”

The teacher plucks my sesame dumpling and bites it in half after looking at the outside.
The way she chews and looks at the cross section with a serious face is quite teacher-like.

No, she’s actually a teacher, this person.
When I talk to her, though, I feel like she’s nothing more than Sato-san, but a great cook.

“Well, it’s good work. It’s basic, but very thoughtful.”
“I thought about adding fruit, but I wanted to make the most of the fragrance of the golden sesame seeds so that they wouldn’t get in the way. Also, thinking about the texture of the sesame seeds, I usually prefer mashed sweet bean paste, but this time I decided to use koshi-an (sweet red bean paste).”
“It’s wonderful that you stayed the course. It is easy to think of originality and add this and that, but the most important ability is to predict the result of subtraction.”

Yes, yes.
Creative cooking is interesting, but it only makes sense if it tastes good.
Unless it is an overdose of poisons, salt, or oil, a dish will not kill you if you mix all the ingredients or seasonings.
However, I am not willing to put it in the category of creative cuisine.
After all, it would have to be something that is widely accepted to some extent to be acceptable.

It is just like how Saara went to the trouble of mixing wasabi pickles with rice crackers.
It is meaningful only when you eat it and the flavors are right.

Red, blue, and yellow are all bright, but when you mix the three colors together, they become black. If you put ten countries together in an exotic interior, all the countries become equally blurred in your consciousness and become a single color called ‘multinational’

……Murakami sensei is really instructive at times like this, isn’t she?
If only she was like this on a regular basis.

“The first is the raw oysters, wagyu beef, and pickled vegetables, but the three mixed with fish paste will not make a good sake. …… Oops, I talked too much.”
“I think it would be better if you kept it up all the time.”
“I can’t keep it up – it’s choking me.”

Much to Murakami-sensei’s dismay, it was time for the terrine to be finished.

　
The first thing to do was to take a picture of the finished terrine.
I would not be able to serve it in a bowl until after I returned home.
Of course, I told her in advance what I was going to make. It would be a rude surprise to have a homemade dish going against each other.

“Do you post it on social media?”
“I’ve never posted it on social media.”
“Well, what’s the point…. before you serve it?”

I’m just trying to tell Saara that I made this today.
I can’t say …….

“It’s to report to my parents. They think I don’t take my club activities seriously.”
“I think they’re good parents. I imagine they are always concerned about club activities and Iida’s school life.
I’m just being overprotective.”
“If you feel that way, you should be more involved in club activities.”

I shrug my shoulders at the righteous argument that I can’t even hear. Well, for the teacher, I was probably a very unskilled student last year.
I’ll have to show up more this year.

All the cooking was done.
I wrap the terrine in a towel with a cooling agent.

“I can’t have you getting your textbooks wet, and I’ll give you a plastic bag.”
“Thanks.”
“In return ……”

The teacher smiles in the clubroom where all the club members have left while the terrine is cooling.

“The reason why Iida, who used to prepare super protein menu for muscle training, has started to cook sweet and stylish vegetable dishes is really interesting.”
“……”
“Especially the part where he went to the trouble of making an even number of sesame dumplings.”

I think she’s noticed, right?
I’ve changed too rapidly, at least as of late, and I can’t help but think that I’ve changed too rapidly.
Is there a limit to how far I can go in deceiving her?

“I can’t tell you because I promised not to.”
“I see. Well, that can’t be helped. I’ll withdraw.”
“….It’s unusual for you to back down.”
“If you think about it as an on-school partner, you’ll get in trouble with the girl, won’t you? It is against policy to dig until if get in trouble with the other side. Well, anyway”

Stepping back, Murakami-sensei smiled, her kind eyes shimmering.

“I’m glad that there are good girls who can properly understand the good qualities of Iida-kun, the top ranked good guy in the school that I had my eye on.”
“You’re being too eager to impress me. As for the other party, …… really. She’s by far the best and a waste of a partner for me.”
“Haha, I see I see…… By the way, Iida.”

The teacher stops laughing once and presses her temples while letting out a sigh.
What’s with you, Sensei? There are so many facial expression differences today.

Finally, Murakami-sensei began to point out my behavior.

“You have good grades, a good physique, and you are a good cook. On top of that, I appreciate your ability to look at things objectively and calmly, just like you did with the food you just cooked.”
“Haa, thanks.”
“You can be objective yourself, too. —To your credit, I can think of only one girl, the teacher, who can say that you are ‘far and away the best’.”

When she said that, I finally realized that I had made a terrible blunder.
I only know one person who is that extreme in this school.

“If you want a secret relationship, be careful what you say.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Yeah! You have my name branded on your heart!”
“The meaning is true, but it’s instantly psycho horror. ……”

The teacher, who had a lot of one-liners to finish, returned to the staff room laughing.
She is an exhausting person to just have a conversation with. ……

Well, it’s a little late, but let’s send a message to Saara.
It’s before serving, but you can get a rough idea of how it’s going to turn out.

Immediately after I sent the photo, a barrage of stamps came immediately.
However, the pattern was significantly different from the previous chats.

A high-tension bear drawn in a tasteful pattern, a funny-looking dog with its arms raised, and finally a stamp of a dog giving a thumbs-up that said ‘good.
When I saw that, I understood right away.

…… I’m pretty sure my mom is chatting with Saara.