Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume1 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 3===

Just before noon the following day, Haruaki was preparing brunch, clearly indulging in laziness.

His mind was not occupied with cooking but the dialogue with Konoha the previous night.

What should he do henceforth? Even if he did not want to think about this issue, the thoughts flowed into his mind on their own. Even though he had long accustomed himself to cursed tools, Haruaki was still a powerless ordinary human, and like most people, he would still worry.

—I will give you a day's time to consider.

If he believed in that Mummy Maker, perhaps nothing might happen today. But what of tomorrow? The day after that? Who knew—perhaps he himself would be attacked. Konoha was correct, the likelihood had increased. Correct, so long as they did not accept the proposal, so long as they did not give up on Fear, then—

Haruaki clicked his tongue.

(How stupid. I must have slept myself into a daze. What is wrong with me...)

Before the time limit was up for pondering, he should do something but definitely the proposal was unacceptable. Anyway, rather than pondering these things, he should figure out what ingredients to add to the miso soup instead.

At this time, a patter of footsteps entered the kitchen.

"Haruaki."

"Huh? The meal isn't ready yet, go watch some television."

"The television is exactly what I came to ask about. That black device underneath, what is it? I'm very curious, tell me!"

"That's called a videocassette recorder. It's used to record television programmes."

"What! You can even record the things recorded on television... Then that means you can preserve them for eternity, and watch them again and again forever!"

"That's really exaggerated of you. Anyway, VCRs are kind of outdated nowadays."

"What? That kind of invention already outdated... D-Damn humans, what a dangerous game you play!"

Seeing her in serious amazement, Haruaki could not help but smile wryly. Somehow, it made him feel a little better.

He still felt a vague sense of uneasiness—but there was no fear. Why was that? He tried to self-analyze—

(Forget it, I believe in my ability to judge people.)

He believed—Perhaps such an explanation was rather cliched, but that was basically the result.

He believed in the Japanese sword that was both a bespectacled girl and very domestically inclined. Furthermore, for the sake of compensating for her crimes, the strange cube girl who was desperately learning to adapt to the world—

"Teach me how to use it! Damn it, if I'd known earlier, I could have recorded that 'Meow Meow Paradise Hell' programme permanently...! Those fuzzy little fellows and their cute voices, makes me so want to hug them tight and scream!"

"So is it really heaven or hell? What an incomprehensible programme..."

"Okay, hurry and teach me! Actually there's so much I want to know! How to wash clothes properly, how to use the air conditioning and the phone... Yes, also, I want to unravel the mystery of the noise I hear from your room every morning—"

"Yeah yeah I got it. Let's save that for after the meal."

In the end, Haruaki's mood simply concluded "Though what tomorrow brings may be worrying, bring it on!" Though it could not be described as completely bright and cheerful, it was not gloomy at all. His body felt completely relaxed, but his mind had not rest at all. It was a day full of contradictions.

(Somehow I keep feeling like this is the kind of strange holiday where stress is built up... Fine, for a time like this, let's add some vigor to my latest cooking creation! I'm just copying what I've seen before, but I'll manage somehow!)

Hence, the ingredient for the miso soup was decided.

"By the way... Did you know? There exists something called rice cracker miso soup."

"Wh...What? How intriguing..."

"I am making it for the first time too. This is a recent fad."

"Wait a minute, I'm getting worried if you put it that way. I can't tolerate the waste of rice crackers, I must supervise you now..."

"...If you stare like that, you'll only distract me and cause me to fail. Would you like to help with some simple tasks?"

As soon as he spoke, Fear was all smiles:

"Can I? Yes yes, I want to help! What should I do first?"

"Well... Why don't you start by watching this pot for me, don't let the water overflow when it boils."

"Yes, leave it to me!"

Fear approached the gas stove and knelt down halfway, bringing her serious face near the pot. The sight of Fear bending over to monitor the pot was enough to bring a smile to anyone's face.

(Whatever, enthusiasm is all she needs currently.)

Then Haruaki continued with his other tasks. Suddenly—

"...By the way, can I ask a question?"

"Hmm? What ?"

"'The water overflowing when it boils,' what does that mean?"

"What? Ah, that's this! What you're looking at right now!"

Haruaki frantically shut off the gas.

"Oh... So when it's hissing and bubbling like this? Now I know."

"...That's really great."

Seeing Fear nodding away profoundly, Haruaki groaned with his eyes half closed. He amended the thought he just had—more accurately, enthusiasm was all she had at this point.

No need to be impatient. At this point all she needed was enthusiasm. First she had to develop self esteem, that was the most important... Based on this line of thinking, he then asked Fear to do some simple chores. Carrying the dishes, turning the switch on the gas stove, etc. Simply stated, tasks that were noncritical.

The cooking continued in this manner. Just as Haruaki reached out to the cabinet located high in the kitchen—

"Hmm..."

"Wh... What's wrong? Is your arm hurting where that woman wounded you?"

"No... It's nothing serious... But certain unusual motions still cause a bit of pain."

"Don't force yourself, leave it to me."

Just as he was about to point out what could Fear do when she was shorter than him, Haruaki found his answer seconds later.

"Hey hey, isn't this backwards? For a man to be carried on a girl's back, that's quite an innovative form of shameful posture!"

"Stop complaining, grab what you need quickly!"

There was no other option at this point so Haruaki swiftly found what he was looking for and got off from Fear.

"It can't be... Are you still miffed about my comments about your weight?"

"I-Idiot! Of course not, completely not, how rude! I'll curse you! You're really the worst kind, completely insensitive to the delicate hearts of others, a shameless brat!"

Clearly he was right on target. Fear pointed at Haruaki as she changed the subject:

"A-Anyway, what is that?! A club!?"

"Why would a kitchen have that kind of weapon? This is a stick of bonito flakes. Compared to the bagged version, this type is tastier. The flakes have to be shaved off using this—like that, pretty much. Do you want to try?"

Of course! Fear nodded and displayed a tense expression as she slid the bonito rod against the grate. Though her movements were rather unfamiliar, she did manage to shave flakes off so there should not be any problem.

"...So troublesome."

"That's the way it is. You can say that for all cooking too."

"If only there was a tool for shaving a large amount of all at once—Right!"

As if she suddenly thought of something, Fear looked up.

"Using my drill, perhaps it could be shaved off easily. Worth a try!!"

"...Please stop."

"Of course I'm just joking."

Saying that, Fear laughed lightly with great delight.



As the cooking finished with nothing left for her to do, Fear began to protest unhappily. Haruaki had no other choice but to issue her the final command.

"Cough... The silver little miss over there, I will now entrust you with the most important mission in this enterprise."

"Oh? What is it?"

"While I'm mixing this, you have to help by praying that the flavor will be distributed evenly. This is very important! Put your hands like that! You have to keep saying: 'Become tasty~~!'"

"Be... Become tasty!"

That's right, at this point, having enthusiasm was enough. There was no point in being impatient, so long as she improved gradually—No need to think too deeply, just do things casually. And his mission was to assist her.

As he thought to himself, Haruaki desperately suppressed his laughter as he watched Fear, her hands extended, a serious expression on her face as she delivered her mental waves to the bowl.