Chapter 130: How Should the Income Be Used?
The moment Eriri started working, Kaede knew he had lost this bet.
Eriri's movements were extremely practiced, clearly showing the skill of someone who had cooked more than just once or twice. He couldn't help but ask: "Eriri, when did you learn? Didn't you say you couldn't cook?"
Hearing Kaede's question, Eriri didn't stop her hands but turned and smiled, saying: "Hehe, that time we ate lunch together, I said I wanted to ask my mother to teach me cooking, but weren't you worried I'd cut myself? Although I dropped the subject then, I decided to learn later anyway. It really is difficult, though. Even though I learned a bit, I'm genuinely not skilled at chopping vegetables. Luckily Kaede-kun helped today; if I were alone, the dishes certainly wouldn't look this appealing."
She started learning after that time? That must have been over a month, maybe close to two months ago.
Hearing this, Kaede was touched.
Eriri learning to cook so seriously couldn't possibly be just for herself; her goal was obvious.
Looking at the smiling Eriri, who was focused intently on the ingredients in the pot, Kaede asked: "Eriri, you can start thinking about what condition you want to ask for now!"
"Kaede-kun, are you conceding already?"
"Seeing your skill level, Eriri, I know I'm definitely losing today. Since I'm bound to lose, I might as well concede gracefully now rather than waiting until the end."
Upon hearing this, Eriri immediately narrowed her eyes happily: "Great! I didn't expect to win so easily; I thought Kaede-kun would put up a fight. Hmm... I'm not in a hurry regarding the condition, though. I need to think about it carefully. Yes, think about it carefully!"
Kaede didn't object. After all, Eriri wouldn't ask for anything excessive. As long as she was happy, it was fine.
Since none of the dishes were complicated, half an hour later, two servings of spaghetti, one cold dish, and one hot dish were ready.
After carrying everything into the bedroom and pouring two glasses of drinks, Eriri happily said: "Alright, let's start eating! Try my cooking!"
Kaede glanced at Eriri and said with a smile: "Then I'll dig in."
He twirled some spaghetti with his fork and put it straight into his mouth.
"Mmm, the taste is really good!"
After swallowing the food in his mouth, Kaede praised her: "It looks like your studies have paid off, Eriri. That's really amazing. You should eat quickly too."
"Hehehe, I'm glad you like it."
Seeing Kaede enjoying the meal, Eriri also joined in on the lunch.
There wasn't too much food, just enough for the two of them to finish without waste.
Today was the first time Kaede had tasted Eriri's cooking, and the experience was surprisingly good.
After eating, Kaede gathered the dishes and said to Eriri: "Alright, I'll take care of the cleanup. You worked hard cooking, Eriri, so rest well."
"Hehe, I won't stand on ceremony then!"
Patting Eriri's head, Kaede took the dishes downstairs to wash and then came back up.
After resting for an hour, the two once again plunged into the intense work of manga production.
While drawing, Eriri said to Kaede: "Kaede-kun, are we going to be drawing manga all summer vacation?"
"Of course not."
Revising a storyboard panel in his hand, Kaede said without lifting his head: "Life isn't just about manga. If we manage our time properly, we definitely have time for other things. Besides, I couldn't handle working all day long; I didn't even do that when writing light novels. Why, Eriri, do you have something in mind?"
"Hmm~~ It's not exactly an idea, but I just thought that since it's precious summer vacation, staying cooped up at home all the time isn't ideal. Of course, I'm not saying staying home is bad
The weather has been quite hot outside in the summer."
After thinking for a moment, Kaede put down his pen and said: "In that case, shall we go to the beach?"
"The beach, huh..." Although she was tempted, Eriri eventually shook her head: "Let's forget it. I don't want to be crammed in with people, and my family doesn't have a private beach; we'd have to make a reservation. But if it's just the two of us, it would be a bit boring."
That was true. Going to the beach with just the two of them would be too dull, and neither Kaede nor Eriri was keen on visiting crowded public beaches.
"In that case, let's put that suggestion aside for now. We can find a time to ask Usami and Uchimaki, as well as Kitamura and the others. If everyone is interested, we can organize a trip. It would be fun with more people, but still not crowded. We still have nearly a month of summer vacation left."
"Mhm! No rush," Eriri nodded with a smile. "Even if we want to go out, we need to get ahead on the manga first and create a buffer of one chapter. I definitely don't want the editor rushing us."
"Then we need to work hard. Let's focus on drawing for these next few hours this afternoon."
Regardless of the fact that both Kaede and Eriri now had lucrative jobs, they were still just two teenagers, at an age where they should be fully enjoying their youth. It was unrealistic to expect them to constantly bury themselves in drawing. Moreover, Kaede always adhered to the principle of balance; he would certainly make time during the summer vacation to take Eriri out and have fun, they just didn't have a concrete plan yet.
Just like that, three days passed, and the temperature in Tokyo noticeably rose another notch.
In the evening, after returning from having dinner at the Sawamura Family residence, Asakura Reiko stopped Kaede, who was about to take a bath, and brought him to sit in the living room. His father, Asakura Kiichi, was also waiting there. Clearly, they had something they wanted to discuss with him.
"Hmm... What is this about?"
The couple exchanged glances, and finally decided that Asakura Kiichi would be the one to speak.
Looking at her son, Asakura Reiko smiled and said: "Kaede, you remember what I asked you about before, right?"
After thinking for a moment, Kaede recalled it: "Mom, are you talking about my income? I remember. Another sum of money was transferred yesterday. So, what exactly were you trying to say when you brought this up before? If you really need money, just say so. It's not possible Dad secretly spent all the family savings, is it?"
Asakura Kiichi, who hadn't even spoken yet, was immediately glared at by his son, and he retorted: "Do you think your father is that kind of person?"
"Hehe, I was just guessing, since Mom kept refusing to tell me."
"Alright, stop joking around. Aren't we about to tell you now?" Asakura Reiko held her son's arm and smiled, saying: "The weather has been quite hot these past few days, hasn't it?"
"Uh... yes, it's pretty hot."
Whether it was in the morning or returning in the afternoon, even if they avoided the hottest hours, being outside was always uncomfortable.
And then, his mother brought up something Kaede had never considered.