There is no Drug in my Cooking! Chapter 28

Even if they were teammates, it was hard to bear!

At least, she has to take the first bite!

Tsumugi once again looked at Ichiyo with hopeful eyes, who had taken a seat on a small bench beside her. With a sigh, she repeated her previous question, "What does it taste like in the end?", her tone tinged with regret.

Ichiyo smiled and explained, "I've tasted it before, I can tell you that inside there are oranges, strawberries, bananas, pears, and a variety of mixed fruits, with a hint of mint fragrance and a coolness from the ice cream coating, as well as the aroma of glutinous rice and milk. Nine flavors are gathered in this small dessert, perfectly blended, separated, and entangled at the same time. The proportion and angle of each bite can vary, allowing you to taste different flavors with each bite. The limit is dozens of flavors, and the most amazing thing is that all the flavors come together in the end!"

Ichiyo's words were truly eloquent and left no stone unturned, fully conveying his feelings and the taste of the desert. Listening to his explanation, Yui and Ritsu, who was initially a bit confused, became even happier as they ate. They were gentle as they took each bite and tried to savor each flavor, lowering the frequency of their chewing.

Indeed, something delicious should be savored slowly!

The fantasy of delicacies appeared in front of the girls, taking them into a magical paradise of flavors and treats!

Mio couldn't help but swallow her saliva, she turned her back to Ichiyo and after a long hesitation, picked up her own fruit daifuku with chopsticks, and put it to her lips. Finally, she closed her eyes and stuffed it all into her small mouth.

Tsumugi had a look of disappointment on her face as she glared jealously at Ichiyo. He shrugged and pointed to the clock on the wall, "It's now my off-duty time, I don't want to do it anymore. Next time, real delicacies are worth the wait, right?"

Tsumugi pouted, her expression regretful. Next time, she won't try to be playful and just swallow the whole dessert whole!

So, in the end, what does it taste like? Tsumugi was frustrated, wanting to cry and wanting to eat. She wants to know what this dessert tastes like when it's in her own mouth. Seeing Yui and Ritsu's expressions and even Mio's expression was too much for her to bear!

She was curious about what kind of taste and feeling the daifuku would have.

Ichiyo didn't tease the girl for too long and instead casually looked at the flower on the table. He observed that as the girls ate the delicacies and became entranced by the flavors, the flower, which had been placed in a vase on the table, began to come alive, following the fluctuations of the girls' thoughts and emotions.

As a result, the flowers in the pastry shop didn't need light or water, and nutrition, they would automatically absorb something in order to sustain themselves and maintain their health while customers' emotions fluctuated due to the food they were eating. This way of existence was quite magical, and Ichiyo noted this with great interest and amazement.

Ichiyo arrived at these conclusions based on guesses and inferences as he couldn't perceive things such as emotional fluctuations and could only speculate based on the expressions of the girls. It's possible that the flowers need something other than emotional fluctuations to survive. The only thing that can be confirmed for now is that these flowers if used for ornamental purposes only, will not pose any danger to people.

As the group finished their delicious pastries, satisfied expressions adorned each face, as they held cups of slightly sweet fruit tea and savored its delicate flavor. However, one exception to this contentment was Miss Kotobuki, who couldn't shake off a hint of sadness. Ichiyo couldn't help but notice her resentful glances directed towards him, and unconsciously found himself feeling pleased.

Ichiyo realized that the resentful glances from the young girl can bring him happiness. The beauty of a girl can bring such pleasure. He felt like he has unlocked a new world of possibility, a paradise of pleasure that comes from bad taste and a girl's breakdown.

Interesting~!

Ichiyo picked up his cup of tea, took a sip, and felt the exhaustion from staying up all night slowly fade away, replaced with a sense of calm and relaxation.

After finishing their tea and food, a few of the girls were in no rush to leave. Led by Tsumugi, they looked at the young store manager with eager eyes.

"Ichiyo-senpai, can we stay here in your pastry shop for a while?"

Ichiyo looked at the girls' hopeful eyes and raised an eyebrow, suspecting that they had ulterior motives for staying in his store. Nevertheless, he didn't mind and instead said: "Of course, but keep in mind that the pastry shop is closing now, so if you'd like to stay, you'll need to help with cleaning up in exchange. Does that sound fair to you?"

The girls looked around the clean and tidy pastry shop, which only required minor cleaning and garbage sorting, they nodded with enthusiasm and gave warm smiles to Ichiyo. They were happy to help and looked forward to spending more time with their friend.

Ichiyo thought to himself how innocent these girls are, if they hadn't been studying in a private all-girls high school, they would have been taken advantage of by other boys multiple times. Ichiyo thought to himself as he prepared to go up to the second floor to catch up on sleep.

Suddenly, Ichiyo stopped in his tracks and squinted his eyes at the sheet of paper with pink heart patterns in Tsumugi's hand. His attention was mainly focused on the content written on the paper.

Upon closer inspection, Ichiyo realized that the paper was an unfinished music sheet and notes!

Ichiyo noticed that the other four girls also had similar sheets of paper in their hands. This discovery immediately perked him up, and he pulled a chair directly next to Tsumugi, eager to take a closer look at the sheet music.

"Is this self-composed sheet music?" Ichiyo asked with curiosity

"Mm~" Tsumugi nodded, and replied softly, her voice trembling a bit due to being so close to a boy for the first time. But when she turned her head and saw Ichiyo's shining eyes, filled with excitement and interest as he looked at the sheet music, she suddenly calmed down.

Such a senpai, what bad intentions could he have?

However, seeing Ichiyo's expression, Tsumugi seemed to have found something fun, and a joyful smile appeared on her face.

Tsumugi wants to play!

She carefully folded up the unfinished sheet music and held it in her hands and then looked at Ichiyo intently. "Senpai, This is actually a detective game, it's not sheet music, but the key clue to solving the case. As long as you can decipher it, you'll be able to find the treasure of the pirate king!"

"Ahaha~?"

Ichiyo's expression changed, the excitement in his eyes dissipated a bit and he looked at the girl in front of him, who was so serious. He thought to himself, he didn't have any grudges or animosity towards her, he had only teased her a moment ago. But could it be that this girl was using this as an excuse to trick him? Does she think he looks that naive?

"Just kidding." The girl tilted her head and gave a cute smile.

A vengeful girl!

Ichiyo received a payback so quickly!

This Miss's learning ability was so strong that she could use it in practice!

Joking aside, Tsumugi still handed the sheet music she was composing to Ichiyo, and asked curiously, "Senpai, can you also compose music scores?"

Without hesitation, Ichiyo nodded and replied "Of course, I love it!"

"Eh ~??"

Ichiyo shrugged and looked at the confused expressions of the four girls, and he clarified "What I mean is arranging music, singing, playing instruments, including guitar and other instruments I know a bit. In fact, I even considered forming a band in high school, but as you can see now, I decided to pursue a career as a chef instead."

Acting nonchalantly, Ichiyo basked in the admiring glances of the four girls, feeling a little arrogant.

"Excuse me!" Yui raised her hand, with a face full of admiration and seriousness, as if she wanted to ask a question in class.

Ichiyo nodded and invited her to speak "Please, go ahead."

"You must be quite skilled at playing the piano, senpai?" In Yui's mind, the senpai was initially Tsumugi's senpai, then it must also be a rich person, and rich people generally play instruments like piano and violin.

Ichiyo's expression slightly stiffened and he gave a forced smile, "I'm passable, I can play nursery rhymes like "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" pretty well."

This little dullard hit the nail right on the head, bringing up something he'd rather forget. How he would like to crack open her little skull, see what kind of structure is inside!

"Err, this um..." Yui accidentally revealed Ichiyo's weakness and she felt embarrassed. Mio quickly pulled her and covered her mouth, not letting her speak any more.

Despite feeling surprised at first, Ichiyo didn't put much thought into it. He hadn't practiced the piano much, only a few weeks when he was a child. That brief stint was only because his father had taken him to a party and he had quickly learned a bit of piano to impress his friends at the party.

"It's no problem, my expertise lies in guitar, bass, and other popular string instruments. I also have some experience in composing, can I assist you in any way?" Ichiyo gently looked at these girls, his hands itched, it really itched!

He had been so focused on learning how to cook that he had almost forgotten about his musical background, but when he saw these girls today, it was as if his heart had been stirred. Maybe this is the restlessness that men feel.

At the end of the day, domestically grown flowers do not have the same sweet aroma as wildflowers. Changing things up occasionally brings new experiences.

Mio looked at Ichiyo's eager expression, then at Yui and Ritsu who were nodding their heads frantically. She thought for a moment, then finally nodded as well.

It seems that she couldn't refuse.

Besides, it wasn't something important, in terms of value, their professionalism wasn't very strong, this was just a group of high school girls' campus band messing around.

With permission, Ichiyo swiftly sat down beside Tsumugi, took the pen from her hand and turned to the other girls. "Can you give me a general idea of the style of music you're looking for?"

As they talked, their relationship grew closer and the distance between them gradually shortened. The girls huddled around Tsumugi and Ichiyo as they discussed and refined the music. Ichiyo occasionally hummed melodies as they worked, and excited exclamations could be heard throughout the process.

The tea on the table was still steaming, releasing a gentle heat.

At this moment, Erina was still on her way, traveling by car.