Chao waved her hands in the air with a proud look on her face as if saying “My master is awesome”.
No matter how clumsy Digo is, if he practices from morning till night, he can at least become proficient with knife…..
By the time everyone in the city had finished taking off their coats, the evening detention practice sessions had already begun to simmer.
Of course, this is not the stage where he is learning to cook but…..
Anyway, it was a stair-skip due to the fact that both he and I had to be able to do the whole thing by the end of the spring or else, we won’t be able to face some people.
「Alright, just because you put it on high heat doesn’t mean it will take less time to cook so make sure you follow all the step.」
「Yes!」
Next to him practicing making broth from meat and vegetables, I cook my candy assignment.
The truth is, my “candy that makes one smarter” was quite a challenge to make.
Normally, the candy should harden after cooking and cooling but no matter how I tried, it just wouldn’t harden.
No matter how I change the amount of sugar that Sawadi-sama had given me, no matter how much I rapidly cool it down, no matter how much I slowly cool it down, no matter how much regular sugar I added, the candy just wouldn’t harden.
As I was cooking the candy with my knitted eyebrows, I noticed that there was someone staring at me.
And currently in the kitchen, there are only two of us which means only one would watch me.
「What’s wrong, Digo?」
「…….」
Digo looked as if he wanted to say something but then, his gaze wandered a couple of times before opening his mouth.
「Master……you’re not asking me anything」
「Hnn? What do you mean?」
「I can’t cook at all but I’m talking about owning a restaurant or something…..desu」
His face has a complicated expression as he said that with a self-mocking voice, to which I responded with a question while cooking the candy.
「Digo wants me to listen?」
「Right……maybe」
I looked him in the eye as I stirred the candy with my spatula.
「Then, why did you decide opening a restaurant?」
「Actually, I’m……a child of that house. My older brother is supposed to take over the cloth store so I’ve been helping him with the family business as his assistant.」
「Oh, I see.」
I’ve always thought he was not from an ordinary family because he was polite and well dressed but to think he was Butter-shi’s son.
So that’s the reason why he was there when we went there for a cooking business trip.
「However, I really wanted to be a chef, not a clothing businessman. I wanted to be a great chef who could cook delicious food in a cool way and brighten up anyone’s day.」
As Digo continues to talk, I continue to stir the pot.
「So last year, I spoke directly with my father, prepared to be disowned but……he said I should go for it. He even arranged a place for me to train but……」
「But……?」
「Master should already know……I was so clumsy that I couldn’t do anything right. I was kicked out of my training as I was not suited for it……」
The image of Digo when he first came here comes back to my mind……
Certainly, if it’s a normal store, it is impossible to take care of him.
「What have you been doing since then?」
「I couldn’t give up on my dream so I asked a lot of restaurants to let me train there. Everywhere I went, it only took me a day or two before I get……」
Well, it’s not like any of them are taking apprentices out of charity.
They take apprentices because they think that if they take the time to train them, they will be useful. There are only a few restaurants that can afford to train apprentices even though they are not suited for the job.
Taking the long-term view may only be possible with the support of a large organization like ours……
「That’s why it’s like a dream come true that I’m being taught how to cook properly now.」
Digo pointed at the pot and smiled, showing his teeth.
It’s not really cooking. It’s just a step in the preparation of hayashi rice…..
This is just a broth where you boil water and add ingredients.
「When you’re done, take it home and let your family taste it.」
「Yes!」
Cooking is your dream huh.
I knew there was something cute about him.
The warm night shared by the master and disciple ended with the aroma of sweet candy.
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