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Volume 2, Chapter 30: I want to grow up faster.

A few months after the culinary department project was set into motion, the days were slowly growing colder as they entered winter.

“Miss Risa, is it true there will be a culinary department in the near future?!”

A small customer burst into the store and asked Risa as soon as Café Omusubi opened. The news hadn’t been released to the public yet, so Risa wondered where he had heard it.

“Ruto, where did you hear about that?!”

The small customer was Rutobias Ashley Mathias, a student from the National Academy’s elementary department.

His smart wits caused him to be jaded at a young age, and he often skipped class because the material was too simple for him, but somehow he passed his classes and became a second year student. Risa decided it must have been thanks to the efforts of his nagging childhood friend.

“My father told me about it this morning.”

Oh right, Risa thought, his father was a member of the parliament at the royal palace. It wasn’t strange at all for him to know about it, then.

“So it’s true.”

“It’s still a secret! Classes won’t begin until two years later.”

“That’s perfect, since that’s the year I graduate from the elementary department!”

Rutobias yelled in excitement. There was still a long time until then, but he looked like he couldn’t wait any longer.

“Oh, you’ll be the first year to have the culinary department then.”

“I’ll definitely get into the culinary department!”

Rutobias declared. Risa thought to herself, slow down, you still have two years to decide… as she gazed at Rutobias from beyond the counter.

“Ruto, how is school?”

He should have had class today, but did he ditch or did he not even go?

“I’m going in the afternoon today.”

Looks like it was the latter.

“… You skipped class, didn’t you?”

“You could say that.”

He sipped the hot chocolate Risa made for him with no sign of remorse.

“If you skip class too much, you might be held back a grade and be kept from being the first class of the culinary department, you know?”

Zeke muttered as he passed behind Risa to place sliced cake in the showcase near the entrance. He had overheard their conversation.

Risa turned from Zeke to look back at Rutobias, only to discover his face pale with worry and anxiety. He fell into deep thought. After a while, he looked up.

“What are the prerequisites for entering the culinary department?! Are there tests? If it’s just my unofficial transcript, I’m worried I won’t be able to get in…”

Risa slumped, disappointed that it was his transcript he was so worried about.

“Listen carefully Ruto, I can’t tell you that. However, this will be the first class of the culinary department. In order to attract talented students of higher caliber for subsequent years, wouldn’t it be best for the department to accept diligent students who have a higher chance of advancing their career?”

Risa answered him slightly harshly.

She had heard about the academy from Rutobias. He was so smart that often his classes were too boring, or he couldn’t get along with his classmates. It was too complicated a problem to have a simple solution such as forcing him to go to school, so she didn’t. However, she believed she should at least make him aware of the dangers in skipping class as his senior in life.

The mature boy heard Risa’s words, which implied there was a possibility that his transcript would be considered as well, and immediately began to get his things together.

“I’ll go to school now.”

Rutobias said as he jumped down from the bar stool and ran to the front desk. Risa laughed wryly and followed him.

“Huh? Are you leaving, Ruto?”

Helena stared at Ruto as she served other customers their food.

“Yeah, but I’ll come back in the evening! Leave a slice of shortcake for me!”

“Shortca-…he’s gone.”

Before Helena could reply, the boy ran out of the café with a “bye!”

_______________________________________________________________

True to his word, Rutobias returned to the café in the evening.

“Why are you coming, too.”

“It’s fine, isn’t it? I want cake, too!”

This time, a girl was with him.

“Ruto, welcome back. Welcome to you too, Amelia.”

“Hello!”

The girl who sat at the counter next to Rutobias was Amelia Idyll. She was Rutobias’s childhood friend, and sometimes she would follow him to the café.

Unlike Rutobias, she acted just like the other girls of her age. As always, her orange hair was tied up in twin tails. Rutobias held other children his age at arm’s length, but she was the exception. He allowed her to stay with him, voicing his complaints the whole time. According to Rutobias, she came of her own accord, but judging from how he listened to the chatty Amelia talk away, he didn’t seem too dissatisfied with her company.

“You’re here again.”

Zeke peeked his head out of the kitchen and called out to Rutobias. Rutobias shouted joyfully, “Ah, Mister Zeke!”

Rutobias apparently had nothing but respect for Zeke, and thought of him as a leader figure.

“Mister Ze-”

“Mister Zeke, I’ve baked the dough~”

Just as Rutobias began to speak, another man came out of the kitchen and spoke to Zeke. Rutobias immediately prickled up and glared at him. The man in question—Alan—finally noticed Rutobias.

“Ruto, you’re here!”

Alan called out to Rutobias as he smiled a bright and innocent smile. Rutobias’s face only grew darker. He did not seem to like Alan, who acted as if he was Zeke’s apprentice, one bit. Perhaps he felt like his leader had been suddenly stolen from him. Alan, on the other hand, showed no hostility towards Rutobias, and he spoke to Rutobias with his usual smile, incurring further anger from the child. However, Rutobias only made such childish expressions when he interacted with Alan, so Risa simply watched them as the small child barked and growled at Alan like a small dog.

_______________________________________________________________

“Geez…”

Rutobias pouted while he stuffed his face with a shortcake.

While Rutobias had been growling at Alan, Zeke had returned to the kitchen. As a result, Alan had no more reason to stay, as he was only outside because of Zeke. Risa, who had been chatting with Amelia, had also disappeared.

Rutobias sighed heavily and took another bite of shortcake.

The sweetness of the rich whipped cream spread through his mouth, and slowly healed his wounded heart. He immediately popped a meichi fruit into his mouth, and enjoyed the refreshing sweet, yet sour taste. By the time he chewed and swallowed, Rutobias had completely forgotten about the previous events.

“Mmmmm, sooo good!”

Next to Rutobias sat Amelia, who sang praises of the lir pie as she ate. Lir fruit was in season, and Rutobias had tried the lir pie the last time he came to the café. The lir had been cooked until soft, but it kept its texture, and the pie that surrounded it was flaky. When eaten with the whipped cream on the side, the sourness of the lir proved a perfect match to the cream.

Watching her enjoy her pie, Rutobias began to crave it as well. He stared at her pie for a while, and Amelia eventually noticed. She thrust out her plate towards him and said,

“Switch!”

Rutobias offered his plate with the shortcake on it to her too, and she happily took it with a smile. They each took a bite and switched back, and Amelia suddenly said, “So you’re aiming for the culinary department, Ruto?”

He had told Amelia about the culinary department. Although his father and Risa told him to keep it a secret, Amelia had interrogated him on his tardiness until he explained. He cautioned her time and time again not to tell anyone, but he couldn’t trust her loose lips.

“Of course.”

“I see… I guess I’ll do that, too.”

“…Haah? Why?!”

Rutobias stared at her surprisedly. Unlike him, Amelia had never said a word about intending to specialize into the culinary department. He assumed she would be going into the general education department. After all, Amelia constantly talked about how she would become the best maid there ever was, be noticed by a cool and rich man, then marry him. Students who wanted to become maids or butlers usually specialized into the general education department.

“Weren’t you going to become the best maid there ever was?”

“I changed my mind! I’m going to become a female chef like Miss Risa!”

“You?!”

“What, you got a problem with that?!”

Rutobias couldn’t help but say harshly, to which Amelia raised her voice in turn.

“…No, uh… I don’t, but…”

Rutobias tried to smooth things over by laughing dryly and reaching for his now cold tea.

“I mean, isn’t it so wonderful? I would have my own store like Miss Risa, make delicious food. She has a hand in the making of the culinary department too, right?”

“According to my father, Miss Risa is supervising all of it.”

“Whoa!”

“I don’t know if Risa will be teaching, but it would be great if she did.”

Rutobias held his cup and stared into nothing in particular. It was great that Risa was supervising. If he joined the culinary department, he would be able to experience a tiny corner of Risa’s world of cooking. However, his desire to learn cooking directly from Risa had not changed.

“I think I’ll be teaching.”

Risa said as she appeared in Rutobias’s vision. Rutobias jumped, and the tea in his cup splashed. Fortunately, only it was only half full, so none of the tea spilled. Rutobias frantically put down the cup onto the saucer and looked up at Risa.

“Is that true? But what will happen to this store?”

“There is still a year and a half until then, so I’ll probably hire more employees and bring Alan up to speed so he can take care of most things. Of course, I still plan on being the owner, and I have no plans of closing the store.”

Rutobias was relieved that the store would not close, and a wave of happiness washed over him.

Risa will be teaching!

Though a regular at the café, that was all Rutobias was. He could only eat the food Risa made. Even though he could talk to her all the time, he was only a customer. That was why he was envious and jealous of Alan, who had skipped past him and gotten hired as an employee.

Upon hearing that Risa would teach cooking at the culinary department, however, his future immediately looked brighter.

“Wow… I can’t wait to get into the culinary department!”

He wanted to experience a corner of her world while he was still passionate about it. Meanwhile, Risa smiled wryly at the fidgeting, starry-eyed Rutobais.

“Ruto, it isn’t until next next year. The school buildings aren’t even constructed yet.”

Rutobias calmed down at Risa’s words and immediately felt his face burn with embarrassment.

“Fufu, I’m really happy that you’re looking forward to it.”

“I’m also entering the culinary department!”

“My, you too, Amelia?”

“Yes! I want to become a chef like Miss Risa!”

“Whoa, really?! I’m so flattered, mostly embarrassed, but I’m happy you want to do that.”

Rutobias pouted as he watched Amelia take Risa away from him. However, he remembered his embarrassment quickly, and quietly listened to their conversation.

“I was worried that no students would come even if we made the culinary department. I’m glad that we at least have two prospective students now!”

Risa said, smiling happily. However Rutobias felt like it would have been better if there were only the two of them. He knew that didn’t make sense as a school, but he didn’t like the concept of other children receiving Risa’s teachings as well. He forced himself to accept that as long as he had good grades to stand out among them, none of that mattered. He looked up.

“Miss Risa.”

“Yes?”

“Is there anything we should do until we enter the culinary department?”

Rutobias asked seriously, and Amelia also waited for her answer with bated breath. Risa tapped her chin in thought.

“Hmm, something you should do? …Eat well, sleep well, and be healthy?”

“…What? That’s it?”

Rutobias stared blankly in surprise while Amelia asked anxiously.

“If you’re really looking for something to do, yes, that’s it. I think it’s very important. When you become a chef, you have to stand for the whole day, and the kitchen will be very hot when you use fire to cook. You need both your head and your body when you cook. The most important thing you need to keep in mind when you work as a chef in the future is staying healthy.”

Rutobias and Amelia nodded in understanding at Risa’s words. They never really paid attention to it, but the café employees were always standing. Working hours only included seven hours, but they also had preparation time before and cleanup time afterwards. Rutobias didn’t expect himself to be able to stand for so long and still be cooking.

“That’s why something you guys can do now would be watching your health and increasing your stamina.”

“Yes!”

Risa smiled, satisfied by Rutobias and Amelia’s energetic replies.