Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Is This School Full of Perverts?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Yawn."
This body, awake.
It felt like the first time in ages that no one had woken me up, so I got out of bed on my own... Normally, it was my alarm clock, but ever since coming here, it had been Catherine.
For some reason, I felt refreshed, and my body was in incredible shape. Did I sleep that long? Hmm... Even at home, where I slept over nine hours, I'd never felt like this.
Whatever. If my body's feeling good, that's all that matters! First things first, a quick shower...
Snore, snore...
Just as I was about to get up, I froze at the sound of someone's breathing.
I carefully propped myself up and glanced downward, then paused, my thoughts grinding to a halt.
'...Catherine?'
No one else—it was Catherine, fast asleep using the edge of the bed as a pillow.
Come to think of it, before I fell asleep last night, she'd been giving me a massage. It felt so good that I passed out right away...
Did she keep going even after I fell asleep and only just nodded off herself? Why go that far...?
I rose as quietly as possible so as not to wake her, then gently lifted the blanket and draped it over Catherine, who was sprawled face-down on the bed.
I wanted to move her onto the bed properly, but with my strength, I could barely lift her, and I didn't want to risk waking her...
'Catherine.'
After covering her, I sat beside her, quietly gazing at her sleeping face.
Even in the dark room before dawn, her golden hair stood out vividly.
Smooth, smooth...
"Mm..."
She usually covered one eye with her hair, but for some reason, I wanted to see it, so I brushed the strands aside.
She stirred a little, startling me, but she didn't wake up. Good!
'Her eyelashes are insanely long.'
Even with her eyes closed, those long lashes asserted their beauty, along with her straight nose and moist lips...
How could someone be this beautiful?
How could someone be this perfect?
How could someone be this cool?
Why did she care about me this much?
It was the same question from before, but seeing her neglect her own rest to tend to me only deepened my doubts.
Because of the favor from Grandmother? It didn't feel quite right.
...Or maybe that love at first sight thing she denied?
Was I being too self-conscious?
'This is too much.'
I just wanted to live a laid-back life.
I only wanted to earn a decent living and go with the flow.
...But when she cares this much, how can I not try harder? How can I not give it my all?
I still didn't know the reason, but it seemed like Catherine had high expectations for me, so maybe I should put in a real effort.
Ah... I'd already found two reasons to strive since coming to this school.
Seo-ah, Catherine.
I'll aim for the top spot for real.
Until I can reach that shining star.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Pour...
Today, I was supposed to go around with Airi, right?
Everyone scared me with their warnings, so I was a bit nervous, but... it probably wouldn't be that bad.
This was a proper ladies' academy, after all.
Though I was starting to suspect otherwise...
Pour... creak.
After finishing my shower, drying off, and blow-drying my hair, I stepped into the hallway—but the clock still read 5 a.m.
Was it thanks to Catherine's massage? I slept less than usual, yet my body felt amazing.
Step, step.
I headed down to the first floor, but as expected, no one was at the table yet—everyone else was still asleep. Normally, I'd eat Catherine's breakfast and head to school, but she was sleeping soundly, and I didn't want to wake her just for food.
Alright, guess I'll step up.
I moved to the kitchen and tied on the apron hanging on the wall.
...This thing reaches my knees instead of my waist. Must be Catherine's. Our height difference is ridiculous.
Swallowing my sadness, I peered into the fridge and saw all sorts of ingredients.
I felt a little uneasy about using them freely, but... if I explain, Catherine would forgive me.
First, eggs and bacon.
Veggies too? Grab some.
Huh, what's this wrapped bowl...? Soup?
Sniff, sniff.
Smells like consommé soup. Probably what Catherine prepped for breakfast. Then I'll use it instead.
Perfect. This should be enough for breakfast. Time to cook!
First, a safe bet: scrambled eggs stir-fry.
Scramble the eggs, set them aside in another bowl...
Then toss green onions in the pan and fry until they're browned, draw out the oil... add chopped tomatoes!
Hehe, smells great. Could eat it like this, but... soy sauce and oyster sauce too.
Love having all these seasonings, sorted by country... Catherine really is meticulous.
When the green onion-tomato mix starts smelling amazing, add the scrambled eggs and chop-chop-chop to blend them.
Sizzle, sizzle.
The big pan was a bit unwieldy for me, but with some grit, I mixed everything thoroughly.
Tomatoes a little mushy now—turn off the heat and let residual warmth finish it. Done.
This side dish is good enough... Now, tweak the consommé soup a bit.
Scoop out the tomato eggs, clean the pan, add veggies... Ugh, such a hassle.
But frying them first makes it tastier.
Sizzle, sizzle.
"So hot..."
Sweat beaded on my forehead nonstop while frying the chopped veggies and bacon.
Cooking in the morning is this tough, yet Catherine wakes us up every day and makes meals too.
...Well, if everyone likes it, maybe I'll handle breakfast from now on.
Dump the fried veggies and bacon into the consommé soup, season with salt and pepper... Soup done!
Today's breakfast menu:
Tomato egg stir-fry, consommé soup.
Anyone still hungry can toast some bread and add jam. Looks pretty good for breakfast!
Now, time to wake the others...
"What are you doing here?"
"Whoa, cliff chest?"
As I headed back up to the second floor, I ran into Josephine coming down.
Silver hair shimmering like moonlight, vivid red eyes.
...Up close, she looks like Catherine's palette-swapped version. Sisters, so they naturally resemble each other.
"You... Haah, whatever. What are you doing right now? Where's my sister?"
"Catherine? She's probably sleeping in my room."
Thud-thud-thud.
"Wh-what?! You... Don't tell me you did something to Sis...!"
Gack, gack...
Damn, even their superhuman strength is genetic!
And Josephine, at least give me a chance to explain! How am I supposed to talk with my neck choked...?
"Hey, spill it! What did you do to my sister!?"
"N-nothing..."
"Nothing?"
"I said I didn't... Let go already!"
Thud.
Did my answer reassure her? Josephine stepped back at my feeble shove and let out a sigh of relief.
Ow, my throat hurts.
"...So, back to the start—what were you doing?"
"Me? Cooking."
"Cooking? You?"
"...Well, Catherine probably couldn't sleep because of me, so she might be tired. I did it instead. Wanna taste?"
I'd tried it myself, but I needed another guinea pig.
"Here, ahh~."
I scooped some tomato egg stir-fry, narrowed my eyes in a smile, and brought the spoon to Josephine's mouth.
She hesitated at first, but maybe she had basic manners. Or felt bad about choking me.
"...Just once."
She obediently took the bite.
"It's good..."
Her eyes widened, and sincere admiration slipped from her slightly parted lips.
Frustrated at her own words? She covered her mouth, but her soft-looking cheeks still moved as she chewed.
Somehow... cute. I wanna tease her.
"Want more?"
"I-I'm hungry, so it's fine if I eat."
"Then I'll feed you all of it. Ahh~!"
"I! I can eat by myself!"
"I made it, remember? I have cooking authority. If you don't like it, go put jam on toast over there."
Ah...
Ugh...
Her pale skin betrayed her embarrassment completely.
Face flushed red, red eyes glistening with what looked like tears of frustration.
Somehow endearing, Josephine soon opened her mouth to me.
"Ahh..."
"Big bite."
One bite, two bites.
Eggs alone are boring, so a sip of soup to cleanse the palate.
Her prickly expression softened bite by bite, until by the end, she'd completely melted.
Josephine, you like good food more than I thought.
"...Thanks for the meal."
In the end, Josephine let me feed her from start to finish, polishing off the tomato egg stir-fry and consommé soup.
Yep, yep. Eating it this well makes the cooking worthwhile.
"Hey, Josephine. If you're done, can you wake the others? I wanna remake the batch."
"...That much isn't hard."
She set her book on the table and headed for the stairs, but turned back as if remembering something.
"You gonna cook more?"
"Huh? Uh... If Catherine wants?"
"...Got it."
What was that?
Did she like my cooking that much? I'm glad.
"If you want, I can make it anytime. Just ask. Got it?"
"D-don't get cocky! I just thought your food suits my taste, so I wanna eat it again! That's all!!"
Thud-thud-thud.
She spat it out like an insult, but it was basically praise.
Josephine—terrible first impression, but maybe not a bad person after all.
No more cliff chest jokes from now on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "It's delicious! Yujin!"
"...Tasty!"
"I made plenty, so everyone clean your plates."
About 30 minutes later.
Seo-ah and Airi, woken by Josephine and fresh from showers, came down and tried my cooking.
Their reactions were unanimously rave reviews.
My taste buds definitely preferred Catherine's cooking, but maybe the other dorm girls were just used to hers.
"Josephine, feed me more... Mmph!"
Was she full? I opened my mouth to tease Josephine, who was picking at a piece of toast, but her book soon muffled me.
"...Yujin, you seem close with Miss Josephine now? What happened?"
"Beats me? Nothing."
Glare.
Seo-ah and Airi eyed us suspiciously, but for Josephine's dignity, I kept quiet.
She looked so pitiful staring like that. Like a bunny.
"I wrapped Catherine's portion... and left a note. Airi, let's go!"
After everyone finished eating and cleaned up, I saw off Seo-ah and Josephine first, then approached Airi, who was standing alone.
"Sounds good! Oh, take this first."
"Huh? What's this?"
Airi handed me a fancy-looking shopping bag.
I'd heard these bags cost a fortune. Airi really was rich.
"Custom-made gym clothes just for you, Yujin!"
Sleek black gym uniform.
Felt amazing to the touch, cute design too—but overnight...?
"Alright, let's head out! First stop: basketball club."
"...Okay."
Why did this feel so ominous...