Eriri plays her support card, summoning Sawamura Sayuri to the field.
Sawamura Sayuri's cooking skill check fails.
Sawamura Sayuri cannot enter the field.
Eriri is sunk.
All right, I shouldn't have counted on Mom from the start.
Eriri had only asked her mother on the off chance.
What if she was a master chef hiding her identity?
Unfortunately, dreams are beautiful, but reality is cruel. Sawamura Sayuri had no such special trait; she was still the same unreliable, teasing fujoshi mother.
Could it be... that my inability to cook and my flat chest are both inherited from Mom?
Eriri felt as if she had discovered a universal truth. Her eyes, sparkling like two blue sapphires, grew slightly moist as sadness crept into her heart.
Since she couldn't get any outside help, Eriri had no choice but to opt for the simplest, most direct method: ask Jhin what he likes to eat.
She pulled out her phone, her fingertips flying as she typed out a line of text.
Eriri: "Jhin, what kind of food do you like?"
Jhin: "Me? Besides raw food, I like pretty much everything else."
Isn't that the same as not answering at all!
Eriri's head was spinning. How was Jhin's answer any different from when someone asks what you want to eat and they just say "whatever"?
And "whatever" is the hardest dish in the world to make!
Eriri was on the verge of tears. At that moment, she felt like the whole world was against her.
Even her golden twintails lost their brilliant shine, drooping listlessly at her sides.
She slumped onto her desk, her fingers aimlessly scrolling on her phone, trying to find a solution online.
After scrolling for a long time without finding any suitable ideas, Eriri sighed softly and chose to give up.
She stuffed her phone back into her pocket and started spacing out.
Why can't I cook? It's so annoying.
The yakisoba bread doesn't taste that great...
I'll just order my favorite Hawaiian pizza for dinner tonight.
Mihama Academy had no student cafeteria or school store.
Students generally had to sort out their own lunches, either by bringing a bento or buying something like bread and milk in advance.
Only at dinner did they have enough time to order takeout.
Actually, the yakisoba bread Eriri had bought wasn't nearly as bad as she thought. It was just that Jhin's cooking had temporarily raised the bar for her taste in food, which was why she found it unappetizing.
Wait!
Eriri's eyes suddenly lit up.
She remembered Jhin saying that it was also okay to make a dish that she herself liked.
Doesn't that mean I can just make Hawaiian pizza?
With a new sense of direction, Eriri pulled her phone out of her pocket and excitedly searched for how to make Hawaiian pizza.
After quickly reading through the recipe twice, she felt confident again.
What's the big deal? It doesn't look that hard to make. I'll go buy the ingredients after school.
Eriri: "Jhin, come to my room tonight!"
If Jhin didn't know that he and Eriri had only just started getting along, that sentence alone would have been enough to send his imagination running wild.
But then he remembered the sight of Eriri holding a stun gun, and he figured he shouldn't fantasize too much.
Considering her previous question, she most likely just didn't want anyone else to see her clumsy cooking skills, hence the phrasing.
Realizing her words could be misinterpreted, Eriri immediately sent a follow-up.
Eriri: "I'm making you Hawaiian pizza."
Jhin: "Understood."
The moment school let out, Eriri dashed out of the classroom and headed straight for a nearby supermarket.
She had found a tutorial online for a Hawaiian pizza recipe that even a monkey could learn. After reading the whole article, she confirmed that it was indeed perfect for a complete beginner with no cooking experience like herself.
"Let's see, pizza crust, canned pineapple, tomato sauce, canned ham..."
Eriri followed the recipe and found all the ingredients she needed, placing them in her shopping basket.
She was incredibly thankful that pre-made pizza crusts were sold at the supermarket, otherwise her plan would have been dead on arrival.
Sawamura Sayuri: "Eriri, why did you suddenly ask if I could cook?"
Eriri didn't expect her mother's reaction time to be so slow that she was only now asking for the reason.
Eriri: "A classmate cooked a meal for me, so I want to return the favor."
Sawamura Sayuri: "Oh, I see. Are you getting used to your new school? How are you getting along with your classmates?"
She and her husband had been swamped dealing with the incident at Toyogasaki Academy, and then they had to rush through her transfer procedures.
If Eriri hadn't messaged her, Sawamura Sayuri would have forgotten the important task of checking in on her daughter.
Eriri: "Yeah, don't worry. I really like the school, and all my classmates are nice."
Sawamura Sayuri: "Really? Don't bottle things up again. Last time, if your teacher hadn't called, I don't know how much longer you would have kept it to yourself!"
At first, Sawamura Sayuri had been unaware of the rumors about her daughter at Toyogasaki Academy.
It wasn't until the rumors grew more and more vicious that the homeroom teacher notified her to come to the school for a meeting.
Only then did she learn the reason for Eriri's recent unusual silence.
While Sawamura Sayuri was berating the homeroom teacher for not notifying the parents as soon as it happened, she was also blaming herself for neglecting her daughter. She knew all too well how hurtful rumors could be, and the fact that Eriri had already been stuck in such a malicious environment for several days made Sawamura Sayuri's heart ache as if pierced by a knife.
Eriri: "It's true, Mom."
Sawamura Sayuri: "Then remember to video call me this weekend."
Eriri: "Okay."
Sawamura Sayuri: "This classmate you're returning the favor to, is it a boy or a girl?"
Eriri thought she had gotten away with it, but her mother launched a surprise attack.
Eriri: "Why are you asking?"
Sawamura Sayuri: "I'm just concerned about my daughter's mental well-being. I remember hearing that there's only one boy at Mihama Academy, so I'm a little worried you might get bent, you know."
Her? Bent?
The thought of girls getting all cuddly with each other in the moe manga her father loved, well, while Eriri enjoyed watching that kind of anime, she politely declined the offer if she were the main character.
Not to mention that Kasumigaoka Utaha was now at Mihama Academy. If things really went as her mom suggested, did that mean she might develop something with her?
A chill ran down Eriri's spine, and she shivered.
Her whole body felt like it was crawling with ants.
To prove she was a "straight girl," she had no choice but to tell the truth.
Eriri: "It's a boy. And just so you know, he has a girlfriend, so please stop letting your imagination run wild!"
Sawamura Sayuri: "So what if he has a girlfriend? It's not like they're married."
Eriri: "Mom! Stop trying to casually instill these weird ideas in your daughter!"
Sawamura Sayuri: "Alright, alright. I'll come see you this weekend."
Eriri: "? I thought we agreed on a video call?"
Sawamura Sayuri: "Can't I come see my precious daughter in person?"