Chapter 41: The First Request Ends!
The goal was more or less the same.
Both Mikasa and Annie had put him through this kind of thing, so Luke looked at Yuigahama Yui and spoke from his experience as a member of the opposite sex:
"Yuigahama-san, please trust me on this. As long as you put effort into your creation, the boy who senses your feelings will be moved. So even those bitter, hard, terrible cookies of yours are enough."
"Ah! Don't add that last sentence!"
Yuigahama Yui, both shy and annoyed, randomly threw a bunch of 'hidden weapons' (likely crumpled paper or other small harmless items).
"I'm just telling you the facts," Luke caught the flying plastic bags and tissues with quick hands and eyes.
Glancing at the time, it wasn't early anymore.
He added, "And a particularly important point, this move cannot be used on someone who already has a partner."
"Ah—! What nonsense are you talking about? I would never do that! So annoying, I'm leaving!"
Yuigahama Yui glared at him, slung her backpack on, and charged towards the door like an angry bull, stopping there.
"Yuigahama-san, what about this request?"
Yukinoshita Yukino asked Yuigahama Yui, who was lingering at the door.
Yuigahama Yui turned around, smiling, "I've found the answer already. I'll work hard on my own. Thank you, Yukinoshita-san!"
"Hey, what about me?" Luke grinned.
Hearing him, Yuigahama Yui hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Shut-in Boy No. 2, from your standpoint, how would you feel?"
"Feel about what?" Luke asked.
"Like if someone expressed their feelings to you like this!"
Luke, feeling he already had immunity to straight balls, thought for a moment and said, "Me? I might need more feelings... Of course, this is pretty good too, at least it's a point-scoring action."
"Oh... mm, thank you too," Yuigahama Yui nodded, flicked her apron off, and waved goodbye with feigned nonchalance.
"See you tomorrow."
Only the two members of the Service Club remained in the home economics room.
They wordlessly watched the closed classroom door.
Staring at the door, Yukinoshita Yukino, worried about Yuigahama Yui, asked softly, "Handling it like this... is it really okay?"
"Of course not. That idiot wore the spare apron away," Luke grasped the key point.
Yukinoshita Yukino's face was written with helplessness towards him, but she didn't offer any more sarcastic remarks...
Today was arguably the first proper club activity since he joined the Service Club.
The two had gained a new understanding of each other through Yuigahama Yui's request.
From Yukinoshita Yukino's perspective, she could be considered to understand him now too.
"I meant the way Yuigahama-san's request was handled. I still believe one should strive to improve oneself, become outstanding. That would be helpful to Yuigahama-san."
Why do you have motherly attributes too?
Luke looked suspiciously at Yukinoshita Yukino, reminding her, "Yukinoshita, that's probably not something we need to consider. Everyone has their own life; it's best not to impose your plans on others."
Hearing his words, Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head, making it unclear what her knowledge-filled mind was contemplating.
Luke, who was about to roll up the bags and clean up the trash, waited for her with slight concern.
"Yukinoshita? Are you okay?"
Yukinoshita Yukino took a deep breath.
"You sound rather like your own assessment of Yuigahama-san. Just much more optimistic."
"Which assessment?"
"What assessment do you think you made? Has your brain filled its memory cells because of today's events? Paramecium."
Having recovered, Yukinoshita Yukino called out his species after a long time.
Luke realized, "Oh, you mean the idiot part, right? There's nothing wrong with being an optimistic idiot."
He maintained his exorcism business year-round.
Facing evil spirits, the collective embodiment of human negative emotions, maintaining a basic positive and optimistic mood was essential;
Otherwise, no matter how strong the body became relying on external objects, it would become exhausted due to mental erosion, losing the proper enjoyment of life;
Such exorcists could sometimes be more terrifying than evil spirits.
So...
"For example, there are many ways to exorcise, but the most crucial thing is still to maintain mental strength," Luke said firmly.
"Sigh, looks like fulfilling Hiratsuka-sensei's request is still a long way off," Yukinoshita Yukino sighed faintly at his nonsense.
"Alright, what should we do with these things?"
Luke looked at the cooking ingredients and tools scattered on the table.
"That Yuigahama person actually took the chance to sneak away, even though it was her request..."
Yukinoshita Yukino, also still wearing her apron, approached the counter and said calmly, "It doesn't matter, I still need to use them."
"You?" Luke looked at her puzzled.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't explain with words but directly started working with the remaining ingredients: rolling up her sleeves, cracking eggs, mixing, adding ingredients, mixing again...
Her movements were so skilled that he almost felt a sense of dazzling déjà vu.
The same task, yet the difference between people was worlds apart.
Finally, no more eating cookies with eggshells inside!
Luke, realizing this, didn't become a hindrance.
He proactively moved away from the counter, standing quietly nearby, waiting.
The lingering bitterness in his mouth made Luke swallow some Coke.
The residual bitter taste was one thing, but most crucially, as time fermented, his stomach felt a burning sensation...
What I ate earlier gave me some heartburn.
Soon, Yukinoshita Yukino had already used molds to create various patterned dough shapes, placed them in the preheated oven, and set the timer.
The aroma of cookies slowly wafted out...
Her preparation was thorough, movements skillful, process meticulous.
The taste of the cookies could be imagined.
Soon, as the oven timer went off, Yukinoshita Yukino put on gloves and took out the cookies, which now smelled even richer.
Yukinoshita Yukino placed the cookies on a serving plate.
Freshly baked, they looked crisp and fragrant, their golden-brown surface gleaming slightly, appearing crunchy and delicious.
"Do I still need to call you?" Yukinoshita Yukino said without turning her head, arranging the cookies on the plate.
"Oh, oh." Luke went over to help her, arranging the cookies.
Then, he comfortably popped a cookie into his mouth.
Instantly, the cookie snapped lightly with a faint crunch.
The cookie's flavor spread, and the taste of the hellish cookies vanished.
Even he, who didn't particularly like cookies, couldn't help but offer sincere praise from the bottom of his heart:
"Delicious, really amazing. As expected of Yukinoshita!"
"I just followed the recipe. There's nothing particularly astonishing," Yukinoshita Yukino showed a tiny smile.
"But I accept your compliment, thank you."
Yukinoshita Yukino ate a cookie with satisfaction.
Why did she suddenly become so gentle?
Luke thought secretly while eating the sweet cookie.
Yukinoshita is quite cute when she's not being sarcastic.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't make many cookies, but since they had both barely managed to eat Yuigahama Yui's cookies earlier, their appetites weren't large now.
So, naturally, Luke gratefully took the small remaining portion.
And so, the Service Club's first requested task came to a tentative end.
...
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