"Wow~~ So extravagant!! Did you two make all of this?"
Aoi looked at the fragrant curry in front of her with admiration, her face filled with happiness.
Xiao Hai Wan touched her cheek and explained with a sweet smile, "Daijin-chan made the curry, and I added some spices from my hometown to enhance the flavor. Besides curry, we also made hamburg steak, fresh vegetable salad, and egg rolls."
"Also, the curry comes in spicy and sweet versions, so everyone can choose according to their taste, okay? There's enough for everyone! By the way, Daijin-chan was mainly in charge tonight!"
Everyone sat around the table, looking at the lavish dishes. The enticing aroma made their mouths water.
The dishes were nicely arranged on the table, and bowls, chopsticks, and drinks were all set.
Kazuo had originally wanted to invite Yuriko to join them, but when he mentioned that he and Daijin were having a get-together, Yuriko suddenly became agitated and indicated that she didn't need to be called over, saying that it was enough for just the two of them, which left Kazuo completely bewildered. After saying that, she hastily hung up the phone.
So, an extra set of tableware had been prepared here.
Seeing everyone's gaze shift to her, Daijin lowered her head, a little unaccustomed to the attention, and said, "There's nothing to be surprised about, I just made the simplest curry..."
Though she said that, the thoughtfulness of the two of them was already precious.
Aoi clapped her hands together happily and said, "Well then, thank you Daijin-chan and Xiao Hai Wan for the wonderful dinner you made for us!"
As the host, Aoi thanked the two who had come to cook for everyone today, and the others also applauded.
Daijin was clearly unaccustomed to this feeling and could only shrink behind Xiao Hai Wan.
Aoi turned her head and looked at Kazuo with some curiosity, "By the way, Kazuo, why do I feel like the right side of your face is a little swollen?"
Ah—
"It must be a misconception... Haha..."
Kazuo chuckled dryly, while the culprit could only lower her head, opening her mouth and mumbling for a long time without making any sense.
But compared to Kazuo, there should be an even stranger person present, right?
Manager Kiryu-in, wearing a white rabbit mask, stood out strikingly and incongruously among the crowd.
This sense of incongruity had reached the point where Aoi directly ignored him and didn't even want to bother with him.
And Kiryuuin, quite honestly, took an iron plate, served himself a portion, and went downstairs to the front desk to eat alone.
His intention was that someone needed to watch the store, but in the eyes of some, the message conveyed was disheartening.
Kazuo glanced at Rice Shower, who was sitting beside him, still in low spirits, and sighed inwardly.
He had learned a bit about Rice Shower's family situation from the driver, but even he hadn't expected her family environment to be so complex, or rather, the reasons for Rice Shower's current personality were inextricably linked to her family background.
However, Kazuo couldn't show it yet, because he hadn't fully understood the advice Kiryuuin had given him at that time—
At least before that, he needed to wait and see for a while longer... "Let's eat—"
After everyone had served themselves curry, they picked up their bowls and chopsticks, clapped their hands together to complete the dining etiquette, and then began to eat.
Kazuo directly scooped a mouthful of thick curry and rice into his mouth.
Spicy curry with plump grains of rice, the slight sweetness of carrots complemented by spices and diced chicken, and the soft texture of potatoes. A rich aroma spread in his mouth—
"Ah ah—the taste is amazing!! Spicy curry is definitely the best!!"
Compared to sweet flavors, this spicy sensation was more likely to stimulate the appetite. Bite after bite, it was so delicious he couldn't stop.
"Mmm!! This sweet curry is incredibly delicious!!!"
"Did Daijin-chan make this!? It tastes wonderful!"
Aoi also praised the taste endlessly.
"Really! Daijin-chan, does this curry have a secret recipe!?"
Xiao Hai Wan also clearly raved about Daijin's cooking, but facing everyone's praise, Daijin pretended to be calm and picked up a drink: "It's nothing, just very simple steps."
"But I remember Daijin-chan seemed to have done some special processing before putting the ingredients into the curry, right?"
Although Xiao Hai Wan hadn't watched her the whole time, she still remembered that Daijin had her own special techniques.
"...It's just that the diced chicken and sliced onions are first stir-fried in a pot with butter, until the onion slices are caramelized. Then, the chopped carrots, which have been boiled in water, are stir-fried with oil, and then some herb salt is added and stir-fried thoroughly. The taste will be much better."
"Pour the stir-fried onions and potatoes into the pot together to cook the curry, and finally, add the vegetables that Xiao Hai Wan chopped into the pot as well. The curry making then reaches its final stage. As for the spices, they are all done by Xiao Hai Wan. To be honest... I'm not quite sure what you put in—"
Daijin was indeed a cooking expert. She had mentioned before that she often took care of herself, so presumably, her cooking skills were honed during that time.
However, besides this, she also posed a question to Xiao Hai Wan.
Xiao Hai Wan revealed a confident smile and said, "Hehe, this is a unique secret recipe from my hometown. Spicy curry only has spices added for flavor. But sweet curry is very particular!"
"I successively added soy sauce, miso, jam, chocolate, and solid soup stock—"
Wait, chocolate and jam?!
Kazuo looked at her plate of curry with some surprise, speechless: "No way, is it really okay to put so many things in!? Won't the taste be very strange!?"
Xiao Hai Wan, who used to often cook with him, smiled sweetly and said, "This was a special blend I made in my hometown to get children to eat more vegetables, so they would eat onions and carrots. The taste is actually quite good."
"Eh, really!?"
Although Kazuo also wanted to try this taste, he had spicy curry in his hands and couldn't switch now.
Seemingly noticing Kazuo's conflicted expression, Xiao Hai Wan smiled slightly, picked up an extra spoon, scooped a small bite from her curry, and directly offered it to him.
"Here, ah~ mmm~~~"
She did it very naturally. Her way of treating Kazuo now was exactly how she used to take care of children in her hometown.
Kazuo hadn't expected Xiao Hai Wan to actually intend to feed him.
"Eh, Xiao Hai Wan, this isn't good... everyone's watching..."
"Ah... I'm sorry... I was out of line..."
Only then did she realize everyone's surprised gazes. With a somewhat shy expression, she lowered her head, her face showing unconcealed disappointment and regret.
Kazuo really couldn't bring himself to refuse Xiao Hai Wan.
Especially when he saw her looking so abandoned—
Feeling truly guilty, he simply steeled himself, closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and took the bite.
Chew, chew...!
This taste!!
"So, so delicious!! Is sweet curry this good!?"
Kazuo couldn't hide his surprise. This was going to make him have a huge change of opinion about flavors.
Even someone who had eaten spicy curry for over ten years was now full of praise for the sweet curry made by Xiao Hai Wan.
However—
Only after speaking did he notice the gazes of everyone present—
Xiao Hai Wan's slightly shy but genuinely happy expression.
Aoi's knowing, mischievous gaze completely ignored Miko, who was diligently eating with her head down, Rice Shower, who was lost in thought, and Daijin, who had a blank expression.
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