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Chapter 5 ā To Move Forward\nVolume 2\n<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide">\nāWell, letās try making a vegetable stir-fry with these three. Do you know how to do that?ā\n
āā¦maybe.ā\n\n
Enami-san picked up the onion first.\n
She flipped it over and pinched the tips, which worried me, but eventually, she began to peel off the brown skin from the surface.\n
I always cut off the tip and bottom before peeling, but it doesnāt matter which comes first.\n
Enami-san put the knife down after peeling off the surface skin.\n
Perhaps this is not a matter of knowledge. She was moving her hands as she thought about it. Even now, I think she decided on the spot that she didnāt need the skin on the surface, or that she should cut off the roots.\n
Her intelligence was evident.\n\n
āRight.ā\n\n
Seemingly realizing that there was no particular place to eliminate any more, she placed the washed onion on the cutting board.\n
First, she cut it in half.\n
Then she picked up one of the halves and placed it cut side down. She started from the edge and inserted the knife.\n
A chopping sound could be heard.\n
Finally, she had arrived at the right answer. Her hand was a little unsteady, but it was good enough.\n
But, of course, a trap awaited her.\n\n
āMy eye hurts!ā\n\n
Enami-sanās eyes were red. It was quite a rare sight. She was holding her eyes with her left hand.\n
If it were me, I would be able to finish cutting quickly, so it wouldnāt be too hard. However, at Enami-sanās current pace, it would be quite difficult.\n\n
āDonāt just stand there, help me.ā\n
āNo, no, thereās only one knife, right?ćThereās nothing I can do about it.ā\n
āThis is annoying.ā\n\n
She still didnāt ask me to take over.\n
After a few minutes or so, she finished cutting half of the onions. We didnāt need the other half, so she wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it back in the fridge.\n\n
āKeep going, keep going. Next, letās go.ā\n
āCarrots, then.ā\n\n
After washing the carrots, she looked at them from above and below, just like before.\n\n
āI seeā¦ā\n\n
As soon as Enami-san murmured this, she removed the roots and stems. And then tried to shred the carrot.\n
At that point, I grabbed her arm.\n\n
āStop!ā\n\n
As expected, I guess. However, the fact that she didnāt know about this reaffirmed that she had indeed skipped home economics class. In a corner of my memory, I remembered the image of Enami-san standing at the edge of the home economics room with her arms crossed.\n\n
āArenāt you forgetting something?ā\n
āā¦no, I donāt know. Tell me properly.ā\n
āThe skin. You have to peel it.ā\n\n
Enami-san returned her gaze to the carrot.\n
At first glance, it was hard to tell that the carrot had skin. Iāve heard that some people eat carrots with the skin on them, but I think itās more common to peel them off. We canāt guarantee hygiene otherwise.\n
I grabbed the peeler and took the carrot from Enami-san.\n
I quickly peeled a little and showed her.\n\n
āHere, like this.ā\n\n
After receiving the peeler from me, Enami-san clucked her tongue and began to move her hands in the same way I did.\n
Itās dangerous to put your hand under the peeler, so caution is advised.\n\n
āIs this okay?ā\n\n
She asked, showing me the skinless carrots. I nodded.\n
We didnāt need all of it, so I cut it in half and handed Enami the part we would be using.\n\n
āYou really have a bad personality, donāt you? You should have told me beforehand.ā\n
āIām sorry, I didnāt think youāre unaware.ā\n
āDid you say something?ā\n\n
As you can imagine, she doesnāt point a knife at me, but itās quite destructive to be told that by Enami-san holding a knife.\n\n
āAll right, Iāll teach you properlyā¦ā\n\n
There are many ways to cut carrots, but this time I decided to teach her how to cut them into strips.\n
I stood right next to Enami-san and demonstrated. Enami-san peered into my hand. After all this time, Iāve realized that weāre pretty close. I could almost hear her breathing.\n
Long eyelashes. Her hair is flowing straight. I donāt know why I suddenly feel so nervous.\n\n
āThis is an amazing situation, isnāt it?\n\n
Iām visiting a girlās house, and weāre cooking together. I hadnāt been in such a sensual mood before, so I hadnāt paid that much attention, but now that Iām standing beside her like this, Iām aware of it all over again.\n
It was an indescribably peaceful and relaxing time.\n
It was getting darker and quieter outside the window. There was no sound of the wind. The sound of the air conditioner running, and the sound of Mother Enami shifting her body was nowhere to be heard.\n
The only sound was that of the knife hitting the cutting board.\n\n
āAnd, something like this, I guess.ā\n\n
She was looking at her hand without paying attention to my expression, so she must not have noticed my nervousness.\n
In fact, Enami-san was trying to recreate my technique with a serious face.\n
So I forgot that I was in such a situation and focused on teaching again.\n\n
āYes, yes. Ah, thatās a bit dangerous, so just go like this:..ā\n\n
...This kind of situation is not so bad, I thought honestly.\n\n
Enami-san listened to what I said honestly. I, too, just looked at the person in front of me and told her what she needed to know, just like when I teach something to Sayaka.\n\n
Maybe, it is a little bit of fun.\n\n
Before I knew it, the onions, carrots, and even the cabbage were all prepped and ready to use. Both Enami-san and I paused to catch our breath.\n\n