There is no Drug in my Cooking! Chapter 26

The Kotobuki family's daughter beams with a smile as she glances at the senior, who has always been touted as a child prodigy by the other parents in their social circle. She bows courteously and greets him, "Good morning, Ichiyo senpai."

Ichiyo playfully responds, "Miss Kotobuki, it's evening now."

The young girl's face scrunched up in surprise, "Ehhh!!!!"

He chuckles, "I was just joking."

Ichiyo stretches and lets out a yawn. He isn't made of steel, nor is he a blacksmith, and staying up late takes a toll on his body. The advice of his sister-in-law, who advocates for staying up all night is unreliable. She thinks that staying up late hurts the body, but she chooses to stay up all night anyway, her belief is a fallacy and illogical!

This sister-in-law is too bad, she must be trying to drain his energy at night so that he doesn't have the energy to think about how to develop a relationship with his lovely fiancée!

What a scheming girl!

Kotobuki Tsumugi's small face scrunches up slightly as she tried to appear less pleased, after all she was made fun of by her senpai! But this expression only lasted for a moment, as the young girl quickly broke it. Her joyful smile returned to her face, cute and lovely, and she exclaimed, "Senpai is really funny."

Ichiyo rolled his eyes, finding it strange that someone would describe him as funny.

"Are those three people next to you your friends?"

He looked at the three girls next to Tsumugi, noting their obvious familiarity and harmonious relationship with each other. Ichiyo could tell that Tsumugi, the eldest daughter of the Kotobuki family, was skilled at getting along with others and had a friendly personality. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but whenever he saw Kotobuki looking at the three girls with a longing and joyful expression, he felt something strange in his heart.

For some reason, his thoughts drifted to his own sister-in-law, the golden-haired, arrogant, but cute big loli who had taken a liking to his fiance. Tsumugi also had golden hair, and though she was not arrogant, he couldn't shake off the feeling that there might be some similarities.

It seemed that the Kotobuki family currently only had one daughter, Ichiyo felt a certain pity for the head of the Kotobuki family whom he had never met. In some ways, he imagined that he may be more unfortunate than his own grandfather.

His grandfather already has enough trouble with him as a mischievous grandson, but at least his sexual orientation is considered normal as he likes pretty, kind, and lovely girls and it's unlikely that the Sakuraba family bloodline would be broken.

But this...

Never mind, it has nothing to do with him.

Tsumugi smiled and nodded in response to Ichiyo's question. The three girls next to her stepped forward one by one, they were also influenced by the interaction between Ichiyo and Tsumugi, and they also bowed deeply. But this posture made Ichiyo feel like a gang leader who was bullying young girls.

"My name is Tainaka Ritsu, please take care of me!"

"My name is Akiyama Mio, please take care of me!"

The last girl, who had been dazed, was suddenly confused by the sudden serious atmosphere. Her black-haired companion, Mio, quickly nudged her, and even though she didn't know why, she saw that everyone else was bowing, so she followed suit and bowed toward Ichiyo.

"My name is...uhh~"

Bang!

A muffled sound came from the spot where the girl's forehead hit the counter. Ichiyo cringed as he watched, it wasn't that he felt pity for the counter getting hit by the girl's forehead, but the sound was too relatable to him!

The girl was pushed back by the counter's reactive force, she tumbled down on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at her companion. "Mio, it hurts~" She whined.

This innocent and cute look is too unreal!

Ichiyo had never seen someone as naive and cute as her before. For some reason, he felt a bit drawn to it. He took a box of unopened iced milk from the refrigerator and handed it to Mio, who was comforting the girl.

"Use this as an ice pack, it can effectively reduce pain and prevent swelling," Ichiyo said.

"Thank you."

Mio, the girl with jet-black hair and eyes as dark as night, gratefully accepted the iced milk that Ichiyo offered her. Cradling the chilly treat against her friend's forehead, she blew a gentle breeze, soothing her with her other hand as Tainaka Ritsu and Tsumugi joined in offering comfort. Despite her effort to stay strong, the silly girl couldn't hold back her tears, which swirled in her eyes without spilling over.

It was like three young mothers taking care of their child. It was a strange but wonderful scene.

Ichiyo glanced at the clock and realized it was almost time to close up shop. He left the kitchen and hung the "closed" sign on the door, before returning inside.

"My name is Sakuraba Ichiyo, just like Kotobuki, you can call me 'senpai' as well, or feel free to just use my first name," Ichiyo introduced himself.

"If you'd like something to eat, just let me know and I'll take care of it. This round's on me," Ichiyo said, kindly.

As Ichiyo made his offer, a boy who had just finished his dessert and was walking over with his tray, couldn't help but chime in with a playful remark," Manager, you're showing favoritism here. We're all paying customers, why are they getting a free meal?"

Ichiyo looked at him, understanding that the comment was made in jest, he didn't take offense and replied in kind, "It's nothing, I just happen to find them more pleasant to look at. And you're not as cute as them, who told you to be a boy?"

"I..."

The boy was taken aback for a moment, but he was already a regular of the pastry shop and some of the customers were familiar with Ichiyo's laid-back personality. They often joked that he never gets mad, so they felt more at ease. The boy then laughed and continued on his way.

A young woman, encouraged by Ichiyo's comment, walked up to the counter, flashing him a flirtatious wink. "Store Manager, do you think I'm cute?" She asked, trying to catch his attention.

Ichiyo looked at her, noticing her small bust and shook his head. He replied to her in a sympathetic tone," Go eat more papaya, it will give you at least some psychological comfort."

"... "

The young woman seemed to not quite understand the situation, but as soon as she felt the gaze of the handsome store manager, her expression instantly changed, becoming somewhat bitter.

"Oh come on little brother, you are so terrible, you'll lose me with that attitude," the young woman said

Ichiyo replied with a firm stance "I never had you to begin with. You should stay away from me, I have a fiancée."

Ichiyo extended his hand and placed his finger on the girl's forehead, gently pushing her away. She seemed like a nice person, with a noble heart and spirit, and Ichiyo didn't want to be so ruthless to her. But that was the reality of the situation.

Ichiyo shrugged, not wanting to engage in further discussion. The girl pouted, but didn't give up. She tried to argue back with determination. "Anyway, I haven't gotten married yet, and even if I do, what does it matter? As long as there is love, that's all that matters," she said confidently.

Ichiyo said nothing.

She was too young and had no sense of responsibility. She liked someone but didn't want to take them home and make them her own. How could a girl like that ever capture his heart?

His attitude was firm, he could play the role of a scumbag, but the first condition was that the object of his scumbagness couldn't be uglier than his own fiancée!

Ichiyo was not one of those men who didn't care whether they were eating meat or vegetables.

As Ichiyo had flipped the "Closed" sign, many girls who had intended to stop by and buy some food turned around and left. He knew this was reality and not a novel, people in this world, especially in his country, tend to have a mentality of not causing trouble for others, so it was normal for them to turn around and leave. There wasn't much drama in the real world.

Ichiyo looked at the four girls across from him, waiting for their statement. He had one final order to complete before he could close up shop for the day. He knew that if he didn't catch a nap during lunchtime, he wouldn't be able to sleep once the construction team arrived in the afternoon to work on the patisserie.

"Ano, Ichiyo-senpai!"

The girl who had bumped her forehead earlier raised her hand, her face serious as she looked at Ichiyo. She stepped back and bowed again, "My name is Hirasawa Yui, please make the most expensive and best-looking daifuku for me!"

With that she ordered, and Ichiyo, without thinking, nodded, acknowledging her request. Alright, now he knows her name.

"Yui, you idiot! You can't be so disrespectful!" The girl standing next to Yui, with black hair and black eyes, had a serious expression but was blushing as she pinched her friend's cheeks, for a moment Ichiyo thought she knew the "kneading" technique.

Hirasawa Yui, meanwhile, was still being scolded by her friend but she still cutely held up four fingers towards Ichiyo indicating something. She seemed determined, as the old saying goes, opportunities are for those who are prepared! she thought, this was her chance and she would definitely grab it.

Tainaka Ritsu looked at the new member with admiration and approval. She was truly impressed by Yui's boldness. Ritsu was impressed by her bravery as she herself also wanted to make such a request but did not dare to do so. From this day on, she decided that she and Yui would become close friends, as they seemed to share a similar mindset.

Tsumugi smiled as she looked at her friends playing around, she wanted to take out some money from her wallet to enjoy the feeling of paying for her own order, but Ichiyo, the shop owner, shook his head at her indicating that she didn't have to pay.

He had no shortage of money.

The fact that the young lady from the Kotobuki family came to buy some sweets on the second day after Ichiyo took over the store was a good sign. It was likely that in the past she was a regular customer of the store and therefore, he should maintain good relationship with her. Additionally, Ichiyo found these girls quite interesting and wanted to get to know them better.

"The special fruit daifuku of the shop, due to the complicated production process, the raw materials can only be used immediately, it will take a little more time, please wait," Ichiyo explained.

"No! Senior, you don't have to do this! Yui was just joking!" Mio's face was not as thick as her two friends, nor was she as calm as Tsumugi, so when she heard Ichiyo's words, she quickly bowed and explained to him that her friend's request was just a joke and not to be taken seriously.

Ichiyo smiled. "The raw materials aren't expensive. It's just that the production process can be a bit of a hassle. If you're really not comfortable with eating for free, you're welcome to come and help me out in the kitchen. I could use an extra hand, as I'm feeling a bit tired."

The girls found Ichiyo's explanation to be acceptable and nodded in agreement before rushing into the kitchen to help. However, after only a few minutes had passed, Yui, Ritsu, and Tsumugi, the three newbies cooks, were abruptly kicked out of the kitchen by Mio. What was meant to be a helpful gesture ended up becoming more of a burden for Ichiyo, and Mio almost fainted from the added workload.

"Akiyama, can I call you Mio?"

"Yes, senpai, go ahead."

After chasing her friends away and finding herself alone in the kitchen with a stranger, Mio felt a bit awkward. She suddenly regretted her decision to kick them out.

"Mio, can you help me grab some pears, strawberries, passion fruits from the refrigerator? Also, we'll need some milk and fresh mint leaves. You'll find all these ingredients in the third refrigerator on your left."

"Okay."

It seemed as though Mio was influenced by Ichiyo's professional attitude. She unconsciously entered into a working state and began to earnestly cooperate with him, following Ichiyo's instructions and helping him out.

In Totsuki Academy, Nakiri Erina had just finished her morning classes with a perfect score of A. She had planned to return to her residence but decided to check on her dull student and fiance to see if he had been studying well over the past couple of days.

The Nakiri family had a special car dedicated to transporting Erina, and it was quickly made ready for her. Totsuki Academy is located not far from Totsuki Gourmet Street, so the round trip took only a short time, and with her three-hour lunch break, she had more than enough time.

Erina sat in the car, on her way to Tsukasa Food Street, She also pondered over how her sister Alice had obtained that new type of cabbage roll. After trying it out the previous night, she found that its quality was unexpectedly high, surpassing all known varieties of cabbage rolls currently available on the food market.

High to an extremely unrealistic level!

It was hard to imagine that such a small cabbage roll could have such an incredible taste! It was almost like it was from a different world. Erina planned to visit her sister Alice in a few days and ask about this, after all, if this kind of cultivation technique could be promoted, it would be a revolution in the food industry!