Chapter 50 – The Girls and the Wives (Patreon)

Leonora packed up the remaining ten takoyaki balls and immediately contacted her sister-in-law, Mana Nakiri. They arranged to meet at a private room in a tea shop.

Leonora arrived early. After waiting nearly half an hour, Mana finally rushed in.

"What's got you so worked up?" Mana asked curiously. On the phone, Leonora had sounded as excited as if she'd discovered an alien.

Leonora smiled mysteriously. Without teasing, she brought out the package. "Something that can change the culinary world."

Hearing such a cryptic tone, Mana looked down—and immediately felt speechless. "Changing the culinary world... with takoyaki?" She was starting to regret putting aside her work to come all this way.

"Don't jump to conclusions! Try one first!" Leonora urged. She couldn't wait to see what the woman with the God's Tongue would say about these takoyaki.

"Fine, fine. They're already cold anyway." Mana shook her head, skewered one, and brought it to her lips. "What could takoyaki possibly..."

Before she could finish her sentence, her pupils sharply constricted. A far more exaggerated reaction than Leonora's appeared on her face. The God's Tongue's extraordinary taste buds allowed her to perceive flavor almost tangibly. The more delicious the food, the stronger its effect on her.

And this takoyaki—reaching near-perfection in its category—immediately sent Mana spiraling.

Fortunately, Leonora had anticipated what might happen and thoughtfully booked a private room. But watching Mana's flushed expression, she could only imagine how she herself must have looked in front of Kouma earlier. Being reduced to this state by a sho[ta]'s casually made snack was truly embarrassing.

After a long while, Mana reclined in her chair, savoring the lingering aftertaste. She propped up her limp body and fixed her gaze on Leonora with unprecedented seriousness.

"Which master chef made this? It's on a completely different level from anything I've eaten before!" In the past two years, Mana had grown disheartened by the increasingly mediocre culinary world, nearly losing her desire to pursue gourmet food. This takoyaki had reignited her passion and love for cuisine!

Leonora was very satisfied with her reaction. "Remember how I recently took that cooking class job at Shuchi'in?"

Mana frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?" She had even tried to talk Leonora out of it, saying teaching elementary school cooking was a waste of time!

Leonora smiled and revealed the answer. "This takoyaki was made by an elementary school student at Shuchi'in. An elementary school student who had never formally studied cooking before. I believe he is a child gifted with the talent of a god of cuisine!"

As she listened, Mana's brow furrowed deeper. She felt like Leonora was making things up—until she met her extremely serious eyes. Mana fell silent.

"If it's as you say... calling this talent a gift from the god of cooking wouldn't be an exaggeration. But didn't you invite him to Totsuki?"

Leonora gave a bitter smile. "I did. He refused. That's why I came to you."

Mana was stunned, then quickly understood. "Someone who possesses talent but doesn't want to use it..." She pursed her lips. Just one takoyaki brought her such pleasure. She couldn't bear to see such limitless potential drift away from the culinary world.

"Shuchi'in's school festival is in three days. His parents should be there. Maybe we can talk to them then." Mana nodded. For now, that seemed like the best plan. With her status, she should be able to get his parents' attention.

"If possible... I hope I can taste his piping hot takoyaki that day," Mana added with anticipation. Even cold, those takoyaki brought by Leonora were incredibly delicious. She couldn't imagine how heavenly they would be fresh.

"By the way—you don't mind if I take a few of these with me, do you?" Mana asked. Leonora nodded with a smile. "Planning to let Erina try them?"

"I prepared a portion for Alice too." The two young wives exchanged a knowing smile. How could they pass up such a perfect opportunity to humble their arrogant, headstrong daughters?

...

Afternoon—Service Club!

"Cultural festival? Selling takoyaki? Here?"

Yukino stared at Kouma in astonishment. He nodded.

"Don't we need to prepare activities for the festival? The Service Club only has you, Yukino-neechan. You can't really plan anything alone. So let me join in and sell takoyaki together!" Kouma said slowly.

"But... wouldn't that be too troublesome?" Yukino hesitated. As an aloof flower who had walked alone since childhood, in her mind, the school festival was just a day to find a corner and read a book. Activities and performances could be left to the extroverts who loved showing off.

Seeing her hesitation, Kouma immediately shifted to an expectant expression, his voice turning soft. "This would be my first time participating in a school festival... At the orphanage, there was never anything like this... So I was really looking forward to it... But if Yukino-neechan thinks it's too much trouble... then we don't have to..."

Before he could finish his guilt-tripping, Yukino interrupted him. "It's no trouble at all! Didn't we just buy a takoyaki grill? We can use it for the festival!" Watching his expectant eyes start to dim, her heart clenched painfully.

Yukino, you absolute failure! Didn't you swear to build a bond with Kouma as his big sister? She mentally cursed herself twice.

"Really, Yukino-neechan? Is it really okay?" Seeing his eyes light up again, Yukino let out a slow breath, the corners of her mouth curling into an indulgent smile.

"For this school festival, Kouma can do whatever he wants!"

Faced with such an adorable sho[ta], Yukino was completely conquered. Infinite compliance.

"Thank you, Yukino-neechan!" Kouma cheered. Then he began planning the Service Club's fairly spacious activity room. "Put chairs here, tables over there..."

Seeing his plans growing bigger and bigger, Yukino couldn't help asking, "If we're only selling inside the club room, it's pretty out of the way. Not many people will come." At least, Yukino couldn't think of anyone who would come all the way here to buy takoyaki—aside from Hiratsuka-sensei. And very few people even knew the Service Club existed.

But Kouma tilted his head and counted on his fingers. "Won't all the big sisters come? Miko-neechan, Eriri-neechan, Kaguya-neechan, Chika-neechan, and the others?"

Yukino's eyes narrowed sharply as she listened to him rattle off a list of "-neechan" suffixes. Her competition had grown this large already? But at least they were all her age—nothing to fear.

"And isn't the festival open to visitors? Haruno-neechan and Mrs. Yukinoshita will come too!"

Yukino froze at this. "Mother..." she murmured, lost in memory. In her recollection, every school event had been attended by Haruno on their mother's behalf. She had never come herself.

Would she come this time? Yukino sank into troubled thought. Deep down, she didn't want her to. But given how busy Mrs. Yukinoshita had been lately, and Yukino's understanding of her, she probably wouldn't bother attending such a trivial student event.

Probably... right?

...

At the Yuuki residence—Mrs. Yuuki's office.

Mrs. Yuuki and Mrs. Yukinoshita accepted the project report from the manager and reviewed the latest progress. After each pointed out areas requiring follow-up, the manager left the office drenched in sweat.

"At this pace, the amusement park's framework should be visible soon," Mrs. Yukinoshita said flatly.

"Right. It's been quite busy recently." Mrs. Yuuki stretched, showing off her full, curvaceous figure. "Ah, the Shuchi'in school festival is coming up in two days. My daughter's been pestering me to come with her..."

Her tone was full of complaints, but Mrs. Yukinoshita could clearly hear the happiness hidden within. What caught her attention more, however, was the first half of Mrs. Yuuki's sentence.

Shuchi'in school festival...

"What activities will Kouma participate in?" She knew the festival was open to outsiders—crowded, with all kinds of people. With Kouma's handsome, adorable appearance, he would definitely attract the attention of those devious women. And those women from outside were so smooth-tongued. Kouma was so innocent—what if he got seduced?

No—she had to be there to watch over him.

Just then, Mrs. Yuuki asked curiously, "Your younger daughter Yukino-san and Kouma both attend Shuchi'in, don't they? Will you be accompanying them?"

Mrs. Yukinoshita glanced at her, a glint flashing in her narrow eyes. "Of course. Let's push the project a bit these next two days and make sure we free up at least half a day."

Similar conversations were taking place in many homes—between mothers and daughters, wives and neighbors.

As a century-old aristocratic school, Shuchi'in's school festival was always highly anticipated.

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