The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 1V .5 - Determination and Sprouting Canelé

Determination and Sprouting Canelé 5

“How about making it yourself? They are candied orange peels, right? I think Ichinose-san can make them.”

“Domestic oranges are expensive, you know.”

Citrus peels from foreign countries are considered unsuitable for consumption due to various issues.

“Candied orange peels have a long shelf life, and when using them for sweets, you only need a small amount for flavoring. So, if you make them once, they should last quite a while.”

“…You have a point.”

When told that, it might be worth considering. But still.

He gazes at the girl walking alongside him again.

A cute classmate with a gentle and fluffy atmosphere and a miraculous girl with whom no one in the class harbours ill feelings.

The angel of peace who soothes everyone around her with her smile.

Sōma’s understanding of Chika Satomi was only at that level.

He never expected that she would pinpoint the problems in pastry-making so accurately and even offer him advice.

It’s both incredibly grateful and piquing his interest.

“Satomi is amazing. You even pointed out the orange peel that no one else noticed. Maybe you have some kind of special sense like an ‘absolute taste’?”

“Absolute taste? What’s that?”

Chika tilts her head, mulling it over.

“You know, like perfect pitch, where people can accurately identify musical notes they hear. I thought maybe you had a taste version of that skill.”

“How can I possibly have such a thing. Ichinose-san, you have a funny way of saying that.”

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

She chuckles at his assumption.

“Well, still, you notice things that other girls don’t, so at least you have a better sense of taste than those other girls, I guess?”

He just wants to praise her sincerely, but Chika shows a troubled smile.

“I’m just an ordinary person. I don’t have any special abilities you expect, Ichinose-san. If my taste is sharper than others, it’s probably because of my family environment.”

“Family environment?”

Chika nods.

“My parents are a patissier and a patissière. They work in the food industry, so they have always been conscious of my diet since I was little. That’s why my sense of taste might be slightly more refined than others.”

She modestly mentions.

However, there were two words in her words that Sōma couldn’t ignore.

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait!”

He instinctively stops and gazes directly at her face.

“Your parents…what are they?”

“They are both a patissier and a patissière. Well, now they have retired and run their own business, so technically they are ex-patissiers.”

Fearing the intense gaze of the suddenly sharp-eyed boy, Chika responds cautiously.

“Your parents are pastry chefs…!”

For Sōma, it’s his dream profession and his ultimate goal.

“That means you’re a thoroughbred in pastry making! Why didn’t you tell me until now?”

“I mean, even if my parents are pastry chefs, I can’t make any sweets at all. They always made delicious treats, but I was just the one eating them.”

“Well, even if that’s the case, your environment is definitely better than mine.”

There’s a saying that says, ‘The young child at the temple gate can recite scriptures he has not learned.’

It is no wonder that Chika has better knowledge and taste than Sōma, who was born into a family that had nothing to do with sweets.

This girl, Satomi, might be the person he has been searching for all this time…!

The revelation of his classmate’s true identity makes his heart race involuntarily.

“Satomi, do you have any plans after this?”

He asks while firmly gripping her shoulders.

“I said I was planning to go straight home earlier. And, your face is too close…”

Chika’s cheeks turned red as she tried to avert her gaze, but at this moment, Sōma didn’t really care about such things.

“You’re free, right? Then, please go out with me!”

“Huh? Huh? Whaaat!?”

Sōma grabs her hand and starts moving.

“Um, Ichinose-san! Can you explain where we’re going? Also, this is the first time I’ve been pulled around so forcefully by a guy like this, so I’m incredibly nervous!”

Chika was shouting something, but Sōma, who was excited and thrilled by anticipation, didn’t hear any of it.

In a somewhat dragging manner, he takes Chika to a small café located in an inconspicuous spot in a back alley.

“It feels a bit retro and grown-up here.”

Chika, who sits in the seat across from him, looks around the narrow shop with curious eyes.

“They’ve been around since the Showa era.”

As the white-haired manager jokingly remarks, ‘The only thing we have going for us is that we’ve been in business for a long time’, this café is not particularly famous.

However, for Sōma, who believes in sticking to the basics and valuing the fundamentals, this is a textbook café that stays faithful to the essentials.

“Welcome. Oh, it’s Ichinose-kun!”

Thanks to his frequent visits, Sōma has become quite familiar with the elderly waitress.

“You’re not alone today, that’s rare. Could this be your girlfriend?”

She looks at Chika with curiosity, so Sōma shakes his hand vigorously and denies it.

“No, no, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s my classmate. Sorry, can we have one pound cake, please?”

“Pound cake, huh? I’ll bring it right away.”

The waitress writes down the order on her order sheet and returns it to the counter.

As Sōma takes a sip of the water she serve, they wait for the pound cake.

“Um, don’t you want to order coffee or tea? This is a café, right? The smell of coffee is really amazing here.”

Perhaps feeling unsettled in a new place, Chika asks while fidgeting and moving her body restlessly.

“Yeah, the coffee here is pretty good.”

Sōma has no knowledge about coffee, but he thinks the coffee here, made with carefully ground beans, is delicious.

“But you’re not ordering coffee. Oh, is it because it comes with a set?”

His unusual order seems curious for a café.

Sōma slowly shakes his head and denies Chika’s assumption.

“I’m going to have a taste test, so it’s not good to have the taste of coffee interfering.”

“Ahaha… I see.”

Of course, there are desserts that go well with coffee, and this place may have been designed with such combinations in mind.

However, today’s purpose is not to consider the combination with coffee.

“You only ordered one, though…”

“I’ve had this pound cake here many times, so I know the taste well. I want you to try it today, Satomi.”

“Huh…”

Chika, who doesn’t fully understand his intentions, only responds with a vague reply.