Chapter 47: The Expectations of the Three Women (Patreon)

Kazuko Minami.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Her gaze settled on Leonora first, then moved to Mana Nakiri. As she listened to the two of them talk, her lashes fluttered and her thoughts rose and sank. No one could tell what she was calculating.

Meanwhile, Ramsay answered Leonora without hesitation. "Once I've got some free time in the next few days, I'll come visit you."

"Perfect timing, actually. I've always wanted to learn more about molecular gastronomy. When I do, I may have to trouble you to walk me through it."

Leonora's eyes lit up with delighted surprise, and her voice turned bright. "Really?"

"Ramsay, you're willing to learn about molecular gastronomy? Then I'll introduce the whole discipline to you properly... And if you find yourself interested afterward..."

"We could... we could research it together."

As she finished, a faint blush crept across her fair cheeks. Her voice dropped without her noticing, and she glanced away, as if some thought had crossed her mind. Her shyness was impossible to hide.

Mana quietly watched the bashful Leonora. After a moment, a soft smile touched her lips, and she turned to Ramsay and spoke gently.

"Ramsay, there's something I want to tell you. I've decided to enroll at Totsuki Academy in the coming days."

"Hm? Like me? You're coming to Totsuki to study?"

Ramsay couldn't hide his surprise as he stared at Mana Nakiri. He remembered clearly that the Nakiri clan had rarely sent anyone to study at Totsuki. In the original story, Erina Nakiri was the first Nakiri to attend, and before her the family's younger generations mostly honed their cooking through self-study and travels from place to place!

Seeing the surprise plainly written on his face, Mana Nakiri couldn't help covering her mouth with a hand and laughing softly.

"Why are you so surprised to hear I plan to enroll at Totsuki? Don't tell me you don't want to see me in your life at Totsuki?"

"Of course not," Ramsay said quickly. "I'd heard that most people in the Nakiri family prefer to travel and train, and you've always been on the road yourself, so it caught me off guard."

A flicker of surprise crossed Mana's eyes.

"I'm impressed! You know so much about how we Nakiris have trained over the years. You're right. Both I and the elders of the family grew up through self-study and travel when we were young. But then, every person's path is different. If I choose to enter Totsuki, the elders won't stand in my way."

She paused and gently stirred the coffee in her cup with a small spoon. The rising steam softened her features and made her look warm and mild.

"Haah... After so many years of drifting from place to place, it does wear on a person. Settling somewhere to rest for a while now and then isn't such a bad thing! Besides, I've already found something I'm looking forward to. Ramsay, don't you think that when someone has something to look forward to, even their state of mind brightens?"

Ramsay understood the deeper meaning hidden in her words. She had chosen to enroll at Totsuki. Could the thing she was looking forward to be his cooking?

The thought stirred a wave of feeling in him that he couldn't quite put into words.

After a brief silence, he put on a calm smile.

"In that case, I'll have to work even harder at my cooking. After all, I've always hoped that one day my dishes will earn the God's Tongue's approval."

"Ramsay, I'm looking forward to your cooking just as much!"

Just then, Kazuko Minami leaned in, her eyes shimmering as she looked at Ramsay, her tone tinged with grievance.

"Dojima, Saiba, and, oh, Mrs. Fumio have all praised your cooking to me more than once, and I still haven't tasted it even one time! I wonder if I might have the honor of trying something you've made, straight from your own hands?"

Ramsay was privately baffled. Kazuko Minami seemed especially clingy today. Why was she suddenly acting all coquettish when they'd been talking perfectly fine?

Still, she had asked outright, and he couldn't very well pretend to dodge.

"Anytime! As long as I have the time."

The moment he finished, Kazuko's face broke into a radiant smile.

"Wonderful! As your senior, I promise I'll guide you seriously... Mm... Even hands-on, one-on-one lessons would be fine, and I won't charge a cent."

She had barely finished speaking when Mana Nakiri cut in, breaking the mood at just the right moment.

"I have a suggestion. They say there's no better day than today. Since everyone wants to see Ramsay's cooking, and we all happen to be free, why don't we go to my place? Ramsay, it'd be the perfect chance to show us what you've learned during your training. I just don't know whether it's convenient for everyone?"

Three gazes converged on him at once.

Ramsay thought for a moment and nodded lightly. "Of course. But showing up at your dorm so suddenly would be an imposition. How about somewhere else, like Polar Star Dorm?"

"Hm? Polar Star Dorm?"

Mana blinked, then turned to Kazuko Minami. Kazuko nodded again and again.

"All right. Polar Star Dorm works too."

Seeing that Kazuko had agreed, Mana Nakiri naturally had no objections.

"With the sports festival going on, a lot of people from the dorm are out at events, so the kitchen is probably empty," Ramsay said. "And if the Polar Star kitchen turns out to be inconvenient, we can use my private little kitchen."

The three exchanged glances. No further words were needed, and this impromptu tasting date was settled.

The faint scent of coffee drifted through the air, and the anticipation for the meal in everyone's hearts grew ever stronger along with it.