Maria-sama ga Miteru:Volume23 Chapter6 1

A Chill Breeze. Part 1

"Would you like soba or udon for dinner?"

Sayako-oba-sama asked, after they'd seen off the two gentlemen and returned to the Japanese-styled room.

"No."

As expected, Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama and Yumi all declined.

"Why don't we start by finishing off what's left here? If we're still hungry after, we can think about what to have then, right Sachiko?"

"Right, right. There's rice in the cold room, so if absolutely necessary we could make rice and tea, or rice gruel."

"Agreed!"

The three of them knew that if Sayako-oba-sama got it in her head to cook something, it would most likely turn into an extravagant affair.

For example.

If she wanted to have some bread, she'd start by measuring out the wheat flour.

She would intend to make a boxed lunch, but it would turn into dinner.

She'd made enough mille-feuille that they had a mountain left over even after sharing it with other families.

As a result, they couldn't rule out the possibility that if she made udon or soba, she'd start by grinding the flour and it wouldn't be ready until late into the night, or, if she did use pre-made noodles, that she would cook so much of it that they'd be eating it for the next three days. – Such was the terror of Sayako-oba-sama's cooking.

And there was still food left over on the table from when the party had started. There was no need to add any more to this amount. It made Yumi queasy just thinking about it.

"I suppose … "

Sayako-oba-sama tentatively acceded to their persuasion.

"But I've already had enough of that."

Unaware of the situation, Yoshino-san spoke her mind.

"That's for sure."

Finding a strong ally, Sayako-oba-sama staged a revival.

"How about you, Shimako-chan and Noriko-chan? Would you like something different to eat?"

"Umm – "

The focus shifted to the bewildered White Rose soeurs. Indeed, they probably would prefer something different to eat. But they were wise and mature enough to realize that there was something that Sachiko-sama, Rei-sama and Yumi were desperately trying to avoid.

"Um, well, I think it would be a shame to waste what we have – "

Indeed. From a moral point of view, that was the conclusion that mature people would arrive at.

"Then it's settled. Let's reheat it."

Rei-sama stood up, declaring the matter settled by majority rule, five against two. Yumi stood up too.

With this sort of thing, the sooner they started the better. Lingering just led to –

"But still."

Despite not lingering, the opposing faction kept trying to overturn the decision.

"Doesn't it sound like they're just trying to endure it? Really, they've had enough too. That's why they said what they did about not letting it got to waste, right?"

Yoshino-san quickly pointed out. The White Rose soeurs couldn't object, since it probably wasn't entirely wrong. Rei-chan had been on her way to the kitchen but doubled back, sighing as she addressed Yoshino-san.

"Alright, let me ask you, what do you think we should do, Yoshino? Should we have soba or udon, turning a blind eye to the small amount of pizza, yakisoba, sandwiches and other items remaining and throwing them away? "

"… Well, where's the problem with having it for breakfast tomorrow?"

Yoshino-san answered, turning sulky.

"That kind of short-sighted thinking, delaying something undesirable because you're solely chasing after short term fun, never works. And when tomorrow comes, you're just going to say that you don't want to eat it then, right? You're always doing this, Yoshino – "

Ah – now it had started. This pattern of events, where they each said what they wanted and didn't back down, wasn't going to lead to a resolution. Typically, Yoshino-san would resort to violence in the end. But this wasn't their home. They should probably show some restraint – well, they'd probably forgotten that already. Yumi started to think about how she should stop this.

"Won't you stop your sisterly quarreling?"

Sachiko-sama forced her way in to the conversation.

"We're just talking about what to eat, right?"

Just talking about what to eat, but be that as it may, they were talking about what to eat. Having been told to stop, they entered into something of a ceasefire, but neither side was giving an inch.

"Um, how about we search for a compromise, that meets both of your requirements?"

Noriko-chan offered up a plan for resolving the matter.

"Our requirements?"

"Right. Basically, you don't want these leftovers kept for later, right?"

" … Yeah, I suppose."

Things would get even more confused if they were to mention Sayako-oba-sama's cooking, so the correct response was not to say anything. At any rate, as long as it didn't involve cooking anything new, it wasn't wrong.

"And Yoshino-sama has had enough of this food and wants something that tastes different."

"Right. But, is there any compromise possible that accommodates those two points?"

"That is the question."

Despite it being her suggestion, apparently Noriko-chan hadn't followed it through to any concrete conclusion either. The contradiction was they had to eat the leftovers, while eating something different. So, how should they settle this?

"Ah."

Yumi had a flash of inspiration.

"I know. We just have to use the leftovers to make something that tastes different!"

"Huh?"

Everyone looked at Yumi with suspicion. As if to say that it might be fine for just one dish, but how would they use the wide variety of leftovers?

"Well … "

Despite being the one to say it, Yumi had no confidence either. But Rei-sama alone sided with her.

"No, we can do it."

"You can't make something that tastes awful just for the sake of making something different."

"Well, come and watch."

So, with that, they all moved to the kitchen and the Rei-sama Cooking Show began. It was definitely a show. Even Yumi, who had volunteered to be her assistant, got a good look at Rei-sama's incredible skills up-close.

"Yumi-chan, crack open an egg. Then add some honey and fresh cream … ah, milk would be fine too."

Rei-sama made a mixture like that used in French toast, soaked the sandwiches Sachiko-sama made in it, then cooked them in a frying-pan until they were golden brown.

"There, the French sandwiches are done. Yumi-chan, next I'll need you to dissolve some flour in water. Ah, Sachiko, where do you keep the herbs and spices?"

"Ah, here, chef."

Sayako-oba-sama cheerfully held out a rack containing lots of small spice jars. Initially she'd been on the same side as Yoshino-san, but it looked as though the cooking show had been so interesting that she'd switched allegiances. On closer inspection, everyone other than Yoshino-san had been converted into Rei-sama's assistants.

Step by step, the remaining yakisoba, takoyaki, okonomiyaki and exploded calamari were roughly chopped and added to the flour mixture.

"The pizza … is okay too, I guess."

In the end, the French fries, Sayako-oba-sama's salad and the de-boned chicken were all submerged in the sludge.

"What's the point in chopping up the okonmiyaki, just to make okonomiyaki?"

Yoshino-san snorted, anticipating what would happen next.

"It doesn't really matter what it's called."

Rei-sama laughed, and shot back. Apparently it looked like she really was going to use the leftovers to make okonomiyaki. Yumi had been thinking that this was a possibility, and it looked to be the case.

"You just wanted it to taste different, right, Yoshino?"

Rei-sama took some of the jars of spices and added random amounts (or so it looked, but she might have calculated it) of seasoning. As a result, the white sludge turned into a yellow sludge.

That smell was:

"Curry!"

"Ding-ding-ding, Yumi-chan. Now, let's cook it."

Rei-sama quickly cooked the curry-flavored okonomiyaki in the pan she'd used earlier for the French sandwiches.

"Get it while it's hot."

With that, everyone quickly returned to the party room and sampled the food.

"Ooh."

The French sandwiches were incredible – they were sweet, and the cheese in the middle had melted just a smidgen. Since the theme was leftovers, they'd also taken the opportunity to toast the crusts that Sachiko-sama had cut off when she made the sandwiches. Smothered in maple syrup, they were so delicious that it was hard to believe they were castoffs.

The curry-flavored okonomiyaki ended up like some foreign cuisine. She'd been worried about the addition of the potato salad and the French fries, but they made a nice counterpoint. It was pretty much impossible to tell that it was a re-use of leftovers.

"Oh well."

Amidst all the praise, Yoshino-san was the only one with a sour look on her face.

"It's so annoying. Rei-chan's cooking is good."

Apparently she'd been planning on laughing and saying, "I told you so," if the food had been awful. But still, it should be far, far better to be annoyed and eat something delicious than it would be to laugh and eat something awful.

That's Yoshino-san for you.