The Fujimura Group had other matters to attend to that day, so they took their leave in the afternoon, leaving only Taiga Fujimura behind.
After spending a thoroughly satisfying afternoon watching TV in the living room, Shinji Matou and Sakura got ready to head home.
"Well, we're heading back now, Shirou."
"Wait a second."
"What is it?"
Shirou thought for a moment before speaking.
"This is a rare chance. Why don't we all stay and have dinner here?"
"Oh? Are we ordering takeout?"
Taiga Fujimura asked, but Shirou shook his head.
"No, I'll cook."
The three of them: "...?"
Hearing that, both the middle school girl and her elementary school brother in the living room froze, as if the word "cooking" were something utterly incomprehensible.
After a moment, Sakura Matou finally snapped out of it, her face full of surprise.
"Shirou-nii-san, you can actually cook?"
"Yeah."
"You don't mean instant noodles, right?" Shinji shot back.
"Only you would treat instant noodles like real cooking and enjoy them that much," Shirou replied with clear disdain.
During his time staying at the Matou household, Shirou had never once stepped into the kitchen.
He had approached it a few times, but the servants always assumed he was just fooling around and turned him away, so he never managed to get in.
So even after several months, the siblings still had no idea he could cook.
It wasn't exactly something worth showing off, the red-haired boy thought.
Back in Britannia, cooking had been one of Shirou's few hobbies aside from training and fighting.
At first, he'd been forced into the role of the group's cook, but over time, he'd grown to enjoy it.
After returning to Proper Human History, however, he hadn't entered a kitchen for months, nor had he felt any strong desire to start again.
Thinking about it now, maybe what he really liked wasn't cooking itself, but the atmosphere of everyone eating together.
Shirou recalled the very first time he cooked...
...
...
"D-delicious! This is the best meat I've ever had… if I died now, it'd be totally worth it…"
"That's a bit much, Morgan."
"Shirou, what kind of meat is this? How can it taste this good?"
"It's just ordinary pork."
"Pork?"
Miss Savior's emerald eyes widened as she stared in disbelief at the golden piece of meat on her plate.
Shirou went on to explain.
"This dish is called pork cutlet."
Morgan frowned, puzzled.
"Why does the pork you fried turn out golden instead of burnt black and inedible?"
"That's because I coated the cutlet with flour before frying it, then covered it with a thick layer of breadcrumbs."
Hearing his explanation, Morgan looked as astonished as if she had discovered a new continent in the vast ocean beyond Britannia.
Which wasn't surprising. The culinary culture in the fairy world was practically nonexistent.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that fairies had no concept of culture at all.
Farming, architecture, scholarship, family, etiquette… everything in fairy society was just a crude imitation of human behavior.
Aside from a single clan that existed for the purpose of "eating," most fairies could remain ageless and immortal even without food.
They only mimicked human eating habits because they believed "human behavior is beautiful."
In such a distorted world, it was only natural that no real culinary culture could develop.
Their way of preparing meat was as primitive as it could be: roasting large chunks of raw meat over a fire, sprinkling on some salt, then slicing off pieces with a small knife to eat.
Shirou took a book out of his bag and continued explaining,
"This is a 'Floatsam' I picked up by the coast a few days ago, a cookbook from Proper Human History.
It records cooking methods from various countries. I just followed the instructions in it and tried making a dish… Hey, at least listen when someone's talking."
"Hm? What?"
The blonde Paradise Fairy paid no attention to her image as a lady, stuffing her mouth full as she devoured the food. Her small cheeks were puffed up like a hamster's.
Shirou: "..."
Recently, he'd been hearing some rather unpleasant rumors.
Because of Morgan's fierce temperament and rough, reckless fighting style, some fairies had started privately mocking her as part of the "Demon Boar Clan."
Wild Boar Princess Morgan… pfft.
Shirou had to admit, it fit surprisingly well.
Is this really okay, my dear Savior?
"I'm done, Shirou. Another bowl!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get you another serving… Hey! Melusine, what are you doing?! Don't drink the soy sauce straight from the bottle!
Ugh, I worked so hard to brew that soy sauce, and now not a single drop is left…"
"Shirou's cooking is really delicious… everyone else thinks so too, right?"
After the meal, The Savior suddenly made an announcement: from now on, Shirou would be included in the kitchen team as its chief instructor.
"For the sake of saving the world, please continue refining your culinary skills, Master Shirou."
First "Equipment Maintenance," and now "Cooking Instruction."
Isn't this a bit too much responsibility for one person? We're supposed to be a whole team!
Naturally, Shirou raised a serious protest. He sought out Morgan in private to ask why she had done this, only to receive the following reply:
"Because… I just want to rely on you more."
…F@#%...
...
Shirou came back to his senses from those distant memories, stood up, and walked into the kitchen to check what supplies were needed.
After writing down a shopping list in his notebook, he headed for the entryway.
"I'm going to the shopping street to buy some ingredients and a few missing kitchen items."
"Ah… Shirou-nii-san, I'll come with you."
Sakura Matou quickly followed after him.
"Shirou! Wait, I'm coming too!"
Shinji Matou ran over as well.
Sakura: "Tch… you really didn't have to come, you know."
Shinji: "Why not?"
Shirou stepped past the bickering siblings and called out toward the living room,
"Alright, Fuji-nee, I'm leaving the house to you."
"Be careful on the way, come back early, and don't go off with any weird old men, okay?"
The utterly irresponsible guardian, Taiga Fujimura, lounged there eating potato chips, eyes glued to a variety show as she burst into laughter now and then.
Only after everyone had left did she realize something.
"Huh… Shirou's really planning to cook dinner himself tonight?"
Whether it was Taiga Fujimura or the Matou siblings, while they all trusted Shirou, they still had their doubts about his cooking.
Even if Shirou was clearly extraordinary, someone you could even call a genius…
Expecting him to cook still felt like a bit much.
"Alright, time to show some adult resolve."
Taiga Fujimura steeled herself with a grave expression.
No matter what kind of bizarre or disastrous dish Shirou ended up making, she would force herself to praise it as "delicious, delicious," and swallow it all down in one go.