Chapter 19
"How's the taste?"
"It's delicious. As expected."
The flavor was that of the familiar, ordinary omurice.
In other words, delicious.
"Of course."
At my words, Lily puffed out her chest with a smug look.
I almost inadvertently let my gaze drift to her chest and hurriedly shifted my eyes back to the omurice.
I can't get the earlier "eat my oppai" out of my head.
"The taste is perfect, isn't it?"
Lily also said this while eating her omurice.
The "taste is" implies that there are other aspects she's not satisfied with.
Indeed, the omelet rice Lily is eating is a bit misshapen.
"Is there anything that could be improved?"
"Improvement points..."
Lily seems to think her cooking is imperfect.
Rather than flatter her with "It's perfect," it might be better to point out something.
After all, there's no particular problem with the taste.
And the omelet rice I'm eating looks pretty...
"If it were me, I'd add a soup."
"Soup, you say?"
"Yeah. Not something elaborate, just something made by dissolving consommé."
Just dissolve a consommé cube in a pot, throw in some onions used in the omurice, and you've got something that looks the part.
Personally, I feel like any food goes down better with some kind of soup.
"Then, I'll do that from now on."
"I think it's fine if you have the time."
I think home cooking is something you can cut corners on to some extent.
If you make something elaborate every day, you'll get tired.
When I conveyed this, Lily nodded as if she understood.
"I was taught by mother that you're a full-fledged cook when you can quickly make a reasonably tasty meal with whatever food you have on hand."
Full-fledged...
What are they teaching a noble young lady who's supposed to be here for a study abroad?
"I'll keep doing my best. Please look forward to it."
"Yeah... sure."
Not just housework, but keep up with your studies too, okay?
After the meal, we took turns showering.
I went first, and Lily followed.
While I was fiddling with my phone on the sofa, I heard a voice from behind.
"I'm out."
Wiping her hair with a towel, Lily came out of the dressing room.
She's wearing her usual negligee.
It's curious how it feels both chaste and erotic.
"Sota."
"...What?"
Lily sat down right next to me.
As usual, she's too close.
"There's something I want to ask."
With a serious expression, Lily closed the distance even more.
As always, her face is as perfectly crafted as a work of art.
Being stared at by those jewel-like blue eyes makes me nervous.
"What is it?"
"Sota, about me..."
She started to say something but then fell silent.
Don't stop there. It's intriguing.
"Sota's mother always comes home late, doesn't she?"
Lily switched to English.
Maybe she didn't know how to say it in Japanese?
It doesn't seem to connect with "about me"...
"Why is that? ...It doesn't look like you're struggling with money."
Our family is relatively wealthy by general standards.
My mother has enough income to send her son abroad for studies.
Despite having such an income, she's always working, which must seem strange to Lily.
"Because she's busy with work... or rather, because she likes it, I guess? She's the president, after all."
She's the kind of person who treats work as a hobby.
She'd rather be at the company than at home.
"I see. ...May I ask one more thing? It might make you uncomfortable, though—"
"About my father?"
As I said this with a wry smile, Lily looked solemn.
Of course, she's curious.
I should have told her earlier.
"He's just divorced. He's doing fine."
"...Divorced?"
Lily murmured in a grave tone.
It's hard not to laugh when she takes such a serious attitude.
"We still contact each other occasionally and meet. We're on good terms. It's just that their ways of life didn't match."
"Is that so?"
"I'll introduce you if there's a chance."
I implied that our relationship isn't awkward and that we can meet casually, and Lily finally showed a relieved expression.
"I look forward to meeting father."
"Yeah... sure."
...She means my father, right?
She's not planning to call my father "Father," is she?