After playing around with Mark and Tom for a while, I headed to the field thinking I'd do some gardening, but…
"Hiiiyaaaaah~!"
A scream like silk threads unraveling came from the direction of the gate.
Wondering what was going on, I returned and found a female student collapsed on the ground.
Mark and Tom were sniffing around her curiously.
"Ah, you must have been startled by Mark and Tom. That's understandable. After all, they're a bear and a black panther."
The collapsed girl had semi-long hair with a small chef-hat-like cap on top, and her bangs were so long they almost completely covered her eyes.
She wore the academy's standard uniform, but her skirt was unusually long and dowdy.
She was clutching a paper bag tightly to her chest as if it were her own child, even while unconscious.
I approached her, crouched down, and helped her sit up.
"Hey, are you okay? Pull yourself together."
When I shook her gently, she groaned "Uuu…" and opened her eyes.
Because of her curtain-like bangs, I couldn't tell where she was looking, but she probably made eye contact with me, as she flinched and shrank back in fear.
Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly as she spoke.
"Ah, um, umm, that… Ku, ku, kuma-san and the black lion-san…"
"It's not a lion, it's a panther. Both are my pets, so don't worry."
Mark and Tom sat a short distance away and replied with "Kuoon!" and "Pyaa!"
Even so, she remained visibly nervous.
"Um… um um um, that…"
"What is it? Did you come here to see me? Or were you just passing by?"
She only nodded repeatedly, so I still couldn't get a clear answer.
"For now, come inside and have some water."
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
I invited the girl into the house and gave her water in a wooden cup.
She refused to let go of the paper bag, but carefully reached out with one hand, took the cup, and drank it down with small gulps.
"Have you calmed down a bit?"
Just hearing my voice made her jump in her chair.
"Y-yes! Um, um um, thank you very much!"
Hmm. At first I thought her stuttering was because she was scared of Mark and Tom, but…
It seemed this was just how she normally spoke.
"I'm Leopin. What's your name?"
"Y-yes! I'm Kurumi from Class 1-P!"
"Class 1-P is the one with a lot of cooks, right? From your outfit, you seem to be one too."
Kurumi's shoulders drooped dejectedly.
"Y-yes… But but, I… I ended up becoming a 'Pastry Chef'…"
Kurumi kept her head down and spoke in a quiet, hesitant voice.
"A pastry chef like me… in this academy… no one needs me at all…
I think I'm going to be 'expelled' from my class very soon…
If I get expelled, then I… I…"
Halfway through her sentence, Kurumi suddenly realized something and looked up with a start.
Her hair swirled as she shook her head frantically.
"Awa wa wa, s-sorry! I-I didn't mean to say anything bad about Leopin-san…!"
"Don't worry about it. So you came here to scout out the Special Training Class?"
"Ah, th-that's part of it… But I also have a request for you, Leopin-san…"
"What is it?"
When I asked, Kurumi clutched the paper bag even tighter to her chest.
Then, mustering her courage, she looked up at me and said,
"P-please! I want some sweet potatoes!
Before I get expelled… I want everyone to be able to eat something sweet…!"
Kurumi suddenly had a dreamy expression.
"…When I got to try your 'roasted sweet potatoes' before…
They were so, so delicious…
The moment I took a bite, it felt like my mouth had turned into a golden paradise…
That was the only time I, a useless person, could laugh together with my classmates…
If I could taste that deliciousness with everyone again, I would have no regrets…"
When she talked about sweets, Kurumi's tongue became smooth and her stuttering disappeared.
"You really like sweet things, huh?"
"H-how did you know…?"
"It's obvious. You were talking about them so passionately."
Kurumi looked down in embarrassment.
"Ac-actually… yes, I do…!
But but my family runs a specialty store for extremely spicy food, and everyone in my family loves spicy things…!
If they found out I like sweets and that I became a pastry chef, it would be a disaster…!"
"Leaving your family situation aside, if you want sweet potatoes, I'll give you some.
But just roasting sweet potatoes doesn't really count as making sweets, does it?
Since you were given this skill, why don't you use it and try making actual sweets?"
"I… I thought about that many times…
I even tried buying sugar at the school store…"
Kurumi hesitantly showed me the paper bag she was holding so dearly.
On the bag, handwritten letters spelled out "sugar."
"I… I looked for other ingredients for making sweets, but they weren't selling any…
The cooking tools were too expensive to buy…
I tried asking my classmates to lend me some, but when I said I wanted to make sweets, they refused…
With no tools and no ingredients…
You can't make sweets with just sugar…"
I answered immediately, "Really? I don't think so."
She hadn't expected me to disagree, so Kurumi looked at me blankly.
"Well, sugar alone is a bit tough, but if you have water, you should be able to make something."
"Th-that… 'Sugar water' isn't really sweets…
I'm sorry for being presumptuous…
But but, with only sugar and water, there's no way you can make sweets…"
"Come with me."
I stood up without another word and headed outside.
Kurumi let out a surprised "Eh?" and hurriedly followed after me with quick, pattering steps.
When we reached the outdoor cooking area in the garden, I first changed jobs to Stonemason.
I compared two rocks I took from my coat pocket.
"Granite stone is sturdier, but it has poor heat conductivity…
Large King Stone would be best, but I don't have any right now. I'll have to use Forest Stone."
I decided on Forest Stone as the material and used the "Forest Stone Chisel" and "Gisu Wooden Mallet" I had made before to shape it.
I carved it into a large, deep plate-like shape.
Then I carved Gisu timber into sticks and attached them…
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Forest Stone and Gisu Frying Pan
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 34 (Material Level 13 + Dexterity Bonus 6 + Job Bonus 15)
A frying pan made from forest stone and Gisu wood.
Thanks to the wooden handle, it can be held without a pot holder even when heated.
Thanks to the various bonuses, it is lighter than an iron frying pan and cooks food more evenly.
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"All right, it's done."
When I glanced at Kurumi, her eyes were wide as saucers.
"Eh… ehh…? N-no way…?
You made a frying pan so quickly…
And… it looks much better than the ones sold at the school store…"