"Is that so?" Sawamura Sayuri covered her mouth with her folding fan, looking surprised as if she were hearing this for the first time.
"The human mouth itself has a lot of bacteria. Even if saliva has some sterilizing effect, it's nowhere near as effective as disinfecting directly with iodine or alcohol."
Jhin lectured her with a straight face: "You should only consider using saliva if you're in the wild with no other disinfectants available."
"Thank you, Jhin-san," Eriri pulled her hand from Jhin's warm palm.
Although the wound throbbed faintly with her heartbeat, she was still determined to finish her Hawaiian pizza.
"I'm going to get back to making the pizza. You guys can go wait in the main hall."
Jhin stepped forward and took the kitchen knife from her. "Eriri, let me do it. It's not good for the cut on your hand to get wet right now."
"No!" Eriri glared stubbornly at Jhin, insisting on her idea. "I have to finish this pizza myself."
"Alright, then let's compromise. I'll just help you chop the ingredients, and the rest will be up to you. How about that?"
Eriri hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. She was also afraid of cutting her finger again. That would affect her progress on her doujinshi, so she had to be careful.
Jhin sliced the ham and pineapple for her and helped open the remaining cans.
After finishing, he didn't leave the kitchen but took two steps back and stood there. "Auntie Sawamura, please go rest in the main hall. I'll watch Eriri here."
"Then I can rest easy." Sawamura Sayuri really admired Jhin; both his way of doing things and his personality were far superior to others his age.
It was just a shame that such an outstanding boy was already taken.
Sawamura Sayuri subconsciously compared Aki Tomoya and Jhin. He had made such a huge mess, and it took him the entire summer vacation just to work up the courage to apologize to Eriri. Tomoya was truly a massive disappointment.
Eriri poured the tomato sauce and the syrup from the canned pineapple into a pot. She followed the recipe, cooking it down until it was thick.
Gripping the pot handle with both hands, she carefully poured the sauce onto the pizza base. Then she arranged the sliced pineapple and ham in a pattern—as an artist, this level of plating was a piece of cake for her.
She sprinkled the shredded cheese on top and then put it in the oven and turned the timer.
"Done."
Eriri clapped her hands proudly, completely forgetting her finger was injured. The pain made her wince and puff up her cheeks as she clutched her fingertip.
"Eriri, I should probably mention," Jhin pointed to the oven's power light, which wasn't on at all, "if the oven isn't plugged in, the pizza won't cook no matter how long you leave it in there."
Eriri's face flushed red, and she retorted defensively, "I-I knew that, of course! I was just about to plug it in..."
Not giving Jhin any chance to retort, Eriri plugged in the oven and fled the kitchen as if escaping, leaving behind a mess of cans and leftover ingredients.
"The power of modern industry has allowed you to successfully make a pizza, Eriri," Jhin remarked with a sigh, then started to clean up the messy kitchen for her.
"Eriri, how come you came out alone?"
"Huh? I don't know." Eriri looked back and saw that Jhin hadn't followed her.
"You didn't just run out without cleaning the kitchen, did you?" Although Sawamura Sayuri hadn't been in the kitchen, she had at least seen the household maids clean up after cooking.
It finally dawned on Eriri, and she rushed back in a panic. But Jhin's movements were much faster than she had imagined. By the time she re-entered the kitchen, he had already cleaned everything up.
"Eriri, why are you back again? Did you forget to add an ingredient?"
"Of course not! I... I just wanted to see how much longer the pizza needed to bake."
"You just put it in the oven, it can't be done this quickly."
"If there's nothing else, you can go. I'll wait here for the pizza to finish."
"Hey, don't touch the oven out of curiosity, okay? You'll burn yourself."
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old? Just get out."
Eriri impatiently waved Jhin away. After he left, she carefully inspected the kitchen and found that there was absolutely no need for a second cleaning. She muttered to herself, "How did that guy manage to clean the kitchen so quickly?"
Twenty minutes passed in a flash. A fragrant aroma wafted from the oven. Eriri was very familiar with this smell; it was exactly the same as the Hawaiian pizza she ordered for delivery.
See, if I put my mind to it, I can make a normal dish.
Jhin brought the pizza to the dining table for her and then cut it into eight slices.
Sawamura Sayuri eagerly took a slice of the steaming hot pizza, brought it to her lips, and took a bite. After savoring it for a moment, she praised, "Not bad at all. It tastes very similar to the delivery ones."
"Hmph, unlike you, Mom, I actually know how to cook."
Who was it that clumsily cut their finger just a moment ago?
Sawamura Sayuri decided to keep quiet. This wasn't the time to crush her child's confidence. Giving more encouragement was definitely the right move. When Eriri eventually hit a wall on her own, she'd learn her lesson.
"Eriri, next time you're chopping something, remember to curl your fingers like a cat's paw. That way, you won't cut yourself so easily."
Eriri pictured the gesture in her head, then raised both hands towards Jhin and demonstrated: "Like this?"
"Yeah, that's pretty close."
The girl, her pretty face slightly flushed, held out her hands to imitate a kitten's paws. It was incredibly cute.
Jhin immediately captured the moment with his personal terminal.
...
"Wow! It smells so good! Is big brother secretly cooking again?!"
"It smells like pizza."
Irisu Makina ran excitedly into the dorm, only to find strangers in the main hall. Her spirits immediately drooped, and she took a few steps back to hide behind Suou Amane, who had followed her in.
"Jhin, who is this?"
The woman looked similar to Eriri, and her age wasn't apparent. Unable to deduce her identity, Suou Amane could only turn to Jhin for help.
"Hello, students. I'm Eriri's mother, Sawamura Sayuri."
"Hello, Auntie Sawamura. My name is Suou Amane."
After greeting the girls who had returned, Sawamura Sayuri's gaze swept across the group before she asked Jhin, "Jhin-san, which one of them is your girlfriend?"
"Mom!"
Eriri felt she couldn't let her mother stay here any longer. She absolutely did not want to hear any more jaw-dropping comments like "you're just dating, not married yet."
"We've finished the pizza, so it's about time for you to go home." With that, Eriri grabbed Sawamura Sayuri's arm and started pulling her towards the exit.
"I was just curious. Can't I even ask about that?"
"No!"
It's not that I'm afraid of you asking about his girlfriend; I'm afraid you'll try to steal him away from her right in front of her face!
"Little brother, did you just gain another mother-in-law?"
"No, she just likes to tease her own daughter."
Jhin and Kazami Kazuki exchanged a look. As for whether she would believe this explanation, well, Jhin himself believed it, anyway.
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