"This… isn't this a bit… sudden?" Hina exclaimed, her voice barely trembling.
She tried to use evasive eye contact to mask the surging confusion, a demeanor completely contrary to the usual calm and sharp composure she wore.
Inside Hina, a turbulent, indescribable flow of emotions was growing. Logic told her to refuse such an audacious request, but deep in her heart, a voice of anticipation echoed, a secret yearning to break all boundaries.
"But you promised me, Hina…" Ren reminded her gently, his deep, warm tone carrying an irresistible conviction. He blinked his beautiful aquamarine eyes; the sincerity emanating from him was unfeigned, yet interspersed with a smoldering flame of passion, as if waiting for a nod to ignite.
Hina was completely captivated. She unconsciously gazed at Ren's long, perfectly curved eyelashes, her chest suddenly tight. "But… but isn't this too hasty? We've… only known each other for a short time…"
Just recalling the image and the request Ren had just made sent her heart racing wildly, threatening to leap out of her ribcage.
She felt a powerful, uncontrollable rush of heat, rapidly sweeping through her body, causing all her logic and defenses to crumble. She was standing on the brink of surrender, completely dominated by her emotions.
While Hina was still immersed in her confusion, Rock's deep yet teasing voice rang out from behind the kitchen door. "You promised him anyway, you can't back out now."
Immediately after, Cherry quickly agreed, nodding vigorously, her short hair bouncing with the rhythm: "Exactly! You don't need to worry about anything. Rock and I have the back kitchen completely covered. You can totally set aside your work and… seriously teach Ren about cooking."
(Note: For consistency with the current chapter, the names Rowa and Meiri have been replaced with Rock and Cherry.)
Yuzu stood there, looking at his sister with an extremely strange expression. He had never imagined his sister, nicknamed the "dinosaur," could have such a shy, confused side. Then, he turned to look at Ren with a probing and suspicious gaze.
"If that's the case… let's start right away." Hina closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to regain her composure, then slowly opened them. Her hesitation was gone, replaced by intense focus. "Cooking is not as simple as it looks, you know."
A flame of passion burned deep in her eyes. She always held a special love and absolute seriousness for the kitchen. Hina quickly tied her auburn hair up neatly and fastened a wide, clean cloth band tightly across her forehead.
She casually tossed a pristine white apron straight to Ren. Her demeanor suddenly changed completely, becoming sharp and professional.
"First, we will talk about hygiene and safety," Hina commanded with a decisive tone.
"Ren, you must tie your hair up immediately, and use this cloth to tie across your forehead. Absolutely no hair should fall into the ingredients or the dish throughout the entire process."
Following Hina's meticulous step-by-step instructions, Ren carefully washed his hands and dried them with a clean cloth towel. Clad in the neat white apron, he stood ramrod straight, observing everything around him with a curious and eager look.
In that moment, with his hair tied back and the cloth band across his forehead, Ren looked no different from a small, bewildered penguin standing in the middle of the large, completely new and unfamiliar kitchen setting.
"I will divide beginner cooking into four basic steps," Hina announced, her eyes gleaming with extreme seriousness, no longer showing any trace of the earlier confusion.
"Simply passing these four basic classes will allow you to confidently cook a decent meal for yourself."
She paused for a moment, her gaze seemingly trying to penetrate the person opposite her. "As for improving your skill level, or how proficient you become, that will all depend on your own effort and passion."
"Take this." Hina decisively handed Ren a chef's knife, its wooden handle smooth and cold. She practically thrust it into his hand. "First, we must check your knife grip."
Without waiting for Ren to react, she quickly placed a round onion on the clean wooden cutting board. "Try cutting this for me."
Ren confusedly accepted the knife, gripping the handle tightly, trying to imagine it was a sword and the onion before him was a monster he needed to strike down.
The first step was to halve the onion, but just as Ren was about to bring the sharp blade down to cleave the onion, a cold voice forced him to stop.
"Alright, stop right there!" Hina practically yelled. She shook her head wearily. "You're holding the knife wrong. It's not the same as gripping a weapon, Ren."
"Watch carefully." Hina said, her tone professional, then took the knife back from Ren's hand.
She demonstrated the action slowly: "You need to use your index finger and thumb to firmly grip the blade, right near the bolster, and firmly hold the rest of the handle with your other fingers."
She instructed while explaining: "This posture helps you control the blade better, increases the accuracy of the cut, and reduces the force needed, while protecting your hand from accidents."
Ren glued his eyes to Hina's hand gripping the knife, focusing on observing every small detail, then unconsciously simulated the posture with a knife… in his imagination.
"Next is securing the target," Hina continued. "Curl your fingertips in, forming a 'claw' posture when holding the food. You only use the knuckles to hold and secure the ingredient, ensuring your other hand is always away from the blade."
As soon as she finished speaking, she began to execute. The sharp blade moved rapidly across the onion with an astonishingly gentle and fluid rhythm. The slices quickly fell, perfectly uniform.
"Alright, your turn." Hina handed the knife back to Ren, then pointed to the remaining half of the onion on the board. "Dice it."
"Okay… First is… the thumb and index finger… then the rest of the fingers grip the handle tightly." Ren murmured, repeating the instructions, staring intently at his knife-holding hand.
He found this posture slightly strange compared to his everyday combat instinct, but still tried to comply.
His left hand formed the familiar "claw" shape, pressing his knuckles down on the remaining half of the onion.
He started cutting. The lines were crooked and lacked rhythm, causing the onion pieces to fall onto the board unevenly, large and small mixed together.
Despite this, Ren completed the task smoothly, without injuring himself.
Hina observed the result, only giving a reluctant nod of approval. "Actually," she spoke up, "you could also process ingredients faster using a Cooking Assist Skill."
Hina took another onion; she merely touched the tip of the knife to the surface of the onion. Immediately, it shattered into perfectly diced pieces, as if molded from the same shape.
"But then it wouldn't be pure cooking anymore," Hina sighed lightly, then secretly observed Ren's expression.
Ren stared at the perfectly cut onion pieces on the wooden board, his brow slightly furrowed as if contemplating something important.
"So, what's the next lesson?" he asked, not mentioning the assist skill at all.
Seeing that Ren had no intention of relying on such convenience, Hina breathed a sigh of relief. In truth, she didn't reject Assist Skills; they were incredibly convenient for the restaurant when prepping large quantities of ingredients.
But deep down, she still wanted to impart to Ren a bit of genuine interest, a sincere love for the art of cooking.
"Hmmm… so how many tastes can you perceive in food, Ren?" Hina asked, the corner of her lips curving into a mischievous smile.
She watched with amusement as his expression went blank and confused after hearing the seemingly simple question.
"Um… I don't know…" Ren stammered. He spread his porcelain-white hands out in front of Hina, trying to count. "First is salty, sour, sweet, spicy, bitter. Five tastes."
A faint but meaningful smile appeared on Hina's red lips. She nodded, then shook her head, as if denying her own agreement. "Yes, but not entirely correct."
"Humans can perceive five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and Umami," she explained with a clear, instructional tone. "And currently, there is evidence that the tongue can also perceive a sixth taste, which is Ammonium Chloride."
Hina shrugged lightly. "However, other senses like smell also strongly affect how we experience 'taste.' Therefore, flavor perception is often very complex, not just simply on the tongue."
Ren was completely stunned. He looked at Hina with a confused gaze, his mind seemingly processing an overload of information. "So… there's no spicy taste?"
"No," Hina replied to Ren's question about spiciness, her voice full of inspiration.
"But spiciness is what creates an explosive sensation, an intense appeal that makes a dish unforgettable. Isn't that the mystery and excitement of cuisine?"
Ren nodded slightly, accepting the explanation. "So what is Umami flavor? Rock mentioned this to me once when talking about a special type of mushroom."
"Umami (うま味) is one of the five basic tastes recognized in cuisine, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter," Hina explained in detail. "The word 'umami' in Japanese means 'deliciousness' or 'savory taste,' and it describes a rich, full-bodied, and long-lasting sensation in the back of the throat."
Ren looked at Hina unblinkingly, trying to grasp it, but his expression showed that he still hadn't fully understood the abstract concept.
"You can think of it as the taste of rich bone broth or Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)," Hina simplified.
She continued: "Furthermore, umami naturally appears in many types of food, especially those that have undergone deep processing such as fermentation, long aging, or slow cooking over an extended period."
She began to list examples:
"Kombu Seaweed: A rich source of glutamate, often used to make dashi broth in Japanese cuisine.
Tomatoes: Especially ripe or concentrated tomatoes (sauce), which have very high glutamate content.
Cheese: Aged cheeses like Parmesan have an extremely strong umami flavor.
Mushrooms: Dried mushrooms, especially dried shiitake, contain a lot of natural guanylate.
Fermented Foods: Fish sauce, soy sauce, miso paste, and kimchi are typical examples.
Meat and Seafood: Beef, pork, and fish (dried tuna, anchovies) all contain natural inosinate or glutamate."