Chapter 422: Cooking Rendezvous
It was two in the morning.
Shishio came out of his room and went to the kitchen since he felt hungry. He didn't stay in his apartment but stayed in Sakurasou, considering how furious Chihiro was with him when she found out his head was wrapped with gauze.
Shishio couldn't go out for a while, but it didn't really matter since he didn't plan to do so anyway.
After staying with Rui and taking care of her, he went to Hiratsuka before returning to Sakurasou.
Shishio spent his time with Nanami and Roberta for a while before he wrote his novel down.
It might be strange for him to decide to write a novel, but he felt it was also a good path for him if he wanted to become a prime minister in the future, changing the law and allowing polygamy in this country.
'Maybe allowing an aunt to marry a nephew too?'
It might be because of how hungry he was that his mind wandered around.
Unlike two of his creations, the novel he wrote right now was made for himself.
Not for others, so when it was done, he might ask his publishing house to help him publish it.
Still, Shishio wasn't in a hurry, and he wrote this novel slowly, each of its words carefully likes how many grams he used for cooking something.
'It's sure to be quiet.'
It was a void of voice.
The only noise he could hear was the noise that came from the wind.
'It's certainly nice.'
Sometimes, having a quiet night was also a good thing, but having someone by your side was even better.
However, Shishio shook his head and decided to eat something first since his stomach had been rumbling.
Shishio entered the kitchen and thought about what kind of food he should make.
His metabolism was fast, and it was also impossible for him to get fat.
However, Shishio would certainly feel guilty when he ate something fatty or fried at this time and hour.
Shishio thought for a moment until suddenly, his waist was hugged.
"Shishio."
Shishio turned and looked at Shiina, who was hugging him with a mischievous smile.
Shiina was like a naughty cat who wanted to tease her master, startling him so suddenly.
Unfortunately, Shishio had realized her presence for a while and just let her surprise him, so she would be happy. "You startle me. What's wrong? Did you get hungry after drawing?"
Unlike Roberta and Nanami, who were free before, Shiina was busy drawing her manga.
When Shiina drew her manga, Shishio didn't interrupt her since she had always been full of focus, and she would ignore everything around her unless she asked for advice.
Still, Shishio must admit that even though Shiina's clothes were quite sloppy, they were revealing.
Shiina wore an oversized t-shirt with a camisole that could be seen from the gap in her collar. She didn't wear anything below and only wore panties. Luckily, her t-shirt reached her thighs, so her panties weren't revealed to the public.
Shiina also tied her hair in a low ponytail, so it wouldn't interrupt her when she was drawing.
"...Do you want to do it?" Shiina asked since she noticed his gaze on her. While she was shy and tired, she didn't mind having time around with him, so she could get a good sleep.
However....
*Growl!*
"....."
"Shishio, I am hungry." Shiina touched her stomach and wanted to eat something.
Shishio patted Shiina's head gently and said, "Okay, let's eat something and since it's already at night, let's get something with a low-calorie."
"What are you going to make?" Shiina asked.
"Hmm... how about an egg drop soup?"
While Shishio wanted to eat something with more filling, such as rice, he also needed to care about Shiina's figure. He wasn't sure whether she could maintain her figure all the time, considering how much sweets she usually ate, but he had helped her to work out every night, so it should be okay, right?
"Egg drop soup?"
"Yeah." Shishi opened the fridge and took out chicken tenderloin, shimeji mushrooms, mini tomatoes, and eggs. "Mashiro, can you wait there? It'll be done in a short moment."
"Hmm..." Shiina hesitated, then said, "Can I watch? I love seeing you cook."
"....."
Shiina looked at Shiina and kissed her lips without hesitation. "Okay."
Shiina smiled and stood by his side, watching him cooking a little guilty food at night.
Shishio warmed up the konbu stock that he prepared for breakfast before slicing the mini tomatoes in half. Then he cut the base of the shimeji mushrooms, cleaned the dirt, breaking them apart before he added them to the pot.
"Next, I'll prepare the chicken."
"Meat? Is that okay?" Shiina asked since she had heard how big the calories of the meat were, and eating it at this hour would definitely make them fat!
However, Shiina didn't feel fear since she knew Shishio would help him to slim down her body by a nice exercise.
"The tenderloin is located in the low-fat area, so we can limit our calorie intake." Shishio pointed at the part of his chest where the low-fat area was.
However, Shiina tried to touch them and even rubbed them with her hands.
"...What are you doing?"
Shiina didn't rub the chicken meat. Instead, she rubbed Shishio's chest.
"I am curious."
"...I know you're curious, but can you let go of me now?"
"..."
"Shiina-san?"
"...Okay."
Shiina reluctantly let go of his body and watched him continue to cook.
Shishio took out the tough tendon inside the meat and sliced it diagonally to make it easier to cook. He then seasoned the meat with salt and pepper before covering it with potato starch.
When it was done, Shishio put all of the ingredients in the pot, gently stirring it.
"Is it me, or has the stock become clearer?"
"The potato starch makes the meat more rigid and keeps it from floating around."
Shishio then seasoned the soup with salt, chicken broth, and vinegar before tasting "Delicious." The taste of the soup was gentle and comfortable. It was nice.
"Shishio. Shishio." Shiina tucked his t-shirt, seemingly wanting him to feed her too.
"Okay. Okay. Here, taste it." Shishio fed Shiina with the soup gently, which made her let out a comfortable sigh when her body was all warm and nice.
"It's delicious."
"Right?"
After it was done, Shishio poured the beaten egg around before turning off the fire, so the meat wouldn't be overcooked.
"Is it ready?" Shiina was already hungry.
"Wait a moment. We need the last touch."
"Last touch?"
"Yeah, it is this one."
"That is...?"
"Sesame oil."
Shishio dropped a few drops of sesame oil and enhanced the aroma of the soup.
"It smells so nice!" Shiina was surprised and took the bottle of sesame oil since she didn't expect just a few drops of it would enhance the aroma of the soup so much.
"Okay, let's eat."
"Okay."
Shishio prepared two bowls and put the soup there.
They sat next to each other in the dining room while eating the soup together.
Shiina scooped the soup and egg slightly and ate it. "Hot! Hmn~ So warm..." She was tired from her work as a mangaka, but that soup was enough to recharge her energy. She felt her entire body was so comfortable, so cozy, like she was being hugged by the softest cloud.
"It's good that you like it." Shishio smiled and continued to eat.
The two ate quietly before washing the dishes and returned to his room.
Shiina also followed him to his room and sat on the bed, sitting between his legs, letting him hug her while watching the scenery through the window. "It's so quiet." She was quite jealous of his room since it was located on the 2nd floor, and her room was located on the 1st floor, so it was impossible for her to see this scenery unless she came to his room.
"You can come anytime here, right?"
"That's true."
"By the way, are you alright?"
"Hmm?"
"Our manga will be published next week, right? Don't you feel something?"
"No." Shiina shook her head and said, "I have confidence our work will become the best."
Shishio looked at Shiina in a daze.
While Shiina might have always acted out of common sense, without a doubt, when it came to her work, she had always been serious and confident. "That's great. How about we celebrate it then?"
"Celebrate?" Shiina looked at Shishio curiously.
"Yeah." Shishio nodded. "It's our first manga together, so why don't we set up a celebration here in Sakurasou? I'll be the one who cooks."
"Okay." Shiina nodded with a smile, feeling happy, and rubbed her face on his chest.
"Is there something that you want to eat?" Shishio asked.
"Baumkuchen!"
"Baumkuchen, huh?" Shishio thought for a moment.
"...Is that not okay?" Shiina asked sadly.
"No, I thought I'd make it even better."
"How?"
"How about we add cheese and chocolate fondue there? By then, you can add cheese or chocolate to make it taste better."
"..." Shiina was in a daze and didn't expect such an amazing combination to appear.
"Oh! Why don't we add jam too?"
"...Are you going to kill me?"
Shishio laughed and hugged Shiina tighter.
Shiina smiled and kept rubbing her body against him, but then she felt the wind was quite chilly, making her body tremble.
"Is it cold?"
"Yeah."
"Let's close the window then." Shishio closed the window, but then Shiina called his name. "Shishio."
"Hmm?"
"Do you have another project?"
Shishio looked at Shiina curiously.
"I feel that you're doing something."
"Well, yeah, I have two projects. One is a website, and the other one is a novel."
"Website? Novel?" Shiina titled her head.
"The website is ready, and it has already become popular, so you don't need to worry. As for the novel, it isn't completed yet, so I won't show you."
"Is there something that I can help you with?"
"Help?"
"Yes." Shiina clenched her fists and said with a pure expression, "I want to help Shishio."
"....."
The truth was, there were many things that Shiina could do to help him, but...
"Sure, but..."
"But?"
"Let's do it first."
Shishio leaned forward and kissed her lips.
Shiina clutched into his t-shirt and let him push her.
The two started slow, but it became so wild that it couldn't be controlled anymore.
Shiina was sure she would doze off when she was at school later.
On the other hand, Shishio wondered whether he could sleep tonight.