Ch.41Chapter 41

Cheese egg pancake. I originally wanted to make an omelet, but it was disappointing that I couldn’t complete it due to circumstances. Still, it wasn’t completely inedible.

It was just ordinary, but as the Professor suggested, adding ketchup definitely made it tastier. So after eating, I took out my phone to share my thoughts.

“I made a cheese egg pancake. It was delicious with ketchup.”

[Cheese egg pancake?]

What was an omelet earlier in our conversation had become a cheese egg pancake, prompting Sera to send a questioning response.

Having painfully realized that making an omelet wasn’t easy, I nodded in acknowledgment of reality. Rather than hearing “It’s okay since it’s your first time,” I wanted to hear “You did well for your first try!” So I pouted.

“…The Professor said it’s delicious if you add cheese and eat it that way.”

I used the Professor card and made it sound like I had intended to make this dish all along and had succeeded.

It felt like I’d become a culinary genius who accomplished what I set out to do on the first try. I smirked, hoping the others would understand it that way too.

But their reactions were different from what I expected.

[What about the omelet?]

[Didn’t you say you were going to make an omelet for the Professor?]

Following Aria’s comment, Karen chimed in.

That’s right! But, but the omelet failed…

[Ourr didn’t want an omelet!]

Meanwhile, Sera sent a message trying to help me, but I didn’t like what she said. It felt like she was mocking me, so I glared.

Though I wasn’t making eye contact with Sera, I stared intensely at the screen as if glaring at her.

The Professor watched from the side and chuckled.

“Are your friends asking where the omelet went?”

“…The omelet would have been perfect if it hadn’t fallen apart.”

As I clutched my phone and huffed, the Professor added thoughtfully.

“You can’t be good at everything from the start, but if you’re that frustrated, would you like to try making it again?”

“Is that okay?”

When I looked up and asked, the Professor pointed to the kitchen as if to say, “Why not?”

I turned my head briefly and recalled the steps for making an omelet.

Mix the eggs, fry them on low heat in an oiled pan, cook until the inside is creamy and the outside is soft with an even yellow color. Finally, shape it and it’s done.

The preparations were complete. I clenched my fist and declared war on my friends, especially Sera.

“Hmph, I’ll make it and definitely send you a picture, so wait!”

I didn’t wait for a response. I tossed my phone onto the sofa and trotted to the kitchen. The Professor followed, either worried about me or wanting to help.

In front of the Professor, I cracked eggs and mixed them vigorously. After brilliantly mixing the yolks and whites with my arm, I pressed the induction cooktop button.

“Oh, you know how to use the induction now?”

“…I can figure it out after seeing it once!”

When I answered confidently, the Professor found it amusing and laughed.

The well-mixed eggs formed a circle matching the shape of the pan. As I waited quietly for it to cook, watching the Professor, she casually handed me a spatula.

“Don’t you want help?”

“…Just help me flip it a little.”

“Really? Wouldn’t that mean I’m doing most of it?”

Making an omelet didn’t require that much technical skill. Realizing the Professor was absolutely right, I pulled back my outstretched arm.

“No, I’ll do it myself after all.”

If she handed me the spatula, it could be seen as her doing everything. That wouldn’t do. I gripped it tightly, determined to somehow make it work with the right timing.

Standing on a step stool, I watched the eggs cooking.

The key was to cook the outside to an even color, not brown but golden. The inside should be flipped while still creamy and slightly undercooked.

All I could do was peek occasionally to check if the outside was cooked properly.

I leaned my face close to the pan. Using the spatula, I slightly lifted the cooked part to check if the outside was done. It was still yellow, and when I lifted it slightly, it showed signs of falling apart, so I quickly put it back down.

“Professor, is it ready now?”

“You can use a spatula for an omelet, but it might be easier if you hold the pan handle and flip it together.”

“…Really?”

At the Professor’s advice from behind me where she stood with folded arms, I perked up my ears. Following her instructions with intense concentration, I felt something going wrong.

“Oh, oh no!”

I thought I could flip it well, but as soon as I tilted the pan slightly, it crumbled and clumped together. It was already cooking in that state, so there was no way to fix it, and my lips drooped in disappointment.

Staring blankly at the misshapen eggs, I watched as the Professor approached with chopsticks.

“Here.”

The chopsticks moved brilliantly as if trying to save the eggs.

“Is this… an omelet?”

“It cooked too much in the middle and became something ambiguous… It might be more appropriate to call it rolled eggs.”

“……”

It’s not an omelet.

I had rushed to the kitchen making bold claims, but now my lips were parched thinking maybe it was too technically difficult. Worried that my friends would tease me mercilessly if I failed after all this, I pressed my lips together and placed it on one side of the plate.

“I’ll try again.”

“Try again?”

“Yes… I failed by a small margin, so I can do better this time.”

When I spoke with a solemn voice, the Professor silently took out eggs for me.

I went through the preparation process again and grabbed the pan. The battle with eggs began anew. It wasn’t a lonely fight though, as the Professor occasionally offered advice from the side, helping me somehow manage.

“Ah…!”

I failed.

“Oh… oh no! I was so close!”

And failed again.

With each failure, the rejected attempts piled up like a tower on the dish by the sink. The Professor must have been eating them one by one, as she was covering her mouth.

“I can’t eat anymore…”

“Ah, sorry…”

I wanted to shout “One more!” but I felt like I had used up all the eggs in the house, so I couldn’t bring myself to ask to try again.

Still clutching the spatula tightly, I looked around unable to let go of my regrets, then slumped with my shoulders drooping. I put down what I was holding and followed the Professor’s lead, using a fork to put my creations into my mouth.

It just tasted like plain eggs. Nothing special about the flavor, and because it was overcooked, there was no interesting texture either. It felt like eating thick rolled egg sheets, or just eating clumped steamed eggs.

The Professor gave me ketchup to eat with it, but while it tasted good at first, it became increasingly unappetizing as I continued.

The fortunate thing was that I wasn’t a body that got full easily. As I somehow managed to force it down, the Professor looked at me with concerned eyes.

“You don’t have to eat it all like that… Couldn’t you have saved it for breakfast tomorrow?”

“…Tomorrow, I can make something else tomorrow.”

I was slightly stubborn because I knew if I left it for tomorrow, I wouldn’t get another chance to cook.

The Professor smiled bitterly as if giving up, then casually said to me.

“Of course it’s good to be focused, but you shouldn’t try to be too perfect from the start.”

“…?”

As I listened with my cheeks stuffed full, the Professor smiled at me and offered advice in a gentle voice.

“It would certainly be nice to be good from the beginning. Everyone likes seeing results and clear outcomes. But if someone has never failed and hasn’t spent much time working toward success, they might find it difficult to achieve great success later.”

“…Why?”

“Because their patience for persevering until success will diminish.”

The Professor pointed at the dish.

“How much time did you spend today trying to make an omelet? How many eggs did you use? Spending time and resources to experience failure, learning that doing it this way leads to this result, and doing it that way leads to that result—that process will definitely be a good foundation for you.”

“……”

“Ahaha, was I too preachy? I was just saying that if Ourr succeeds too easily right away, I’m worried you might give up quickly when things don’t work out later.”

“I like it.”

The Professor laughed awkwardly. It was a rather dry laugh, and I smiled along.

“Of course, eating just eggs like this is getting tiresome.”

“I’m sorry I can’t eat more with you. Should I fry some sausages? I think they would taste good together.”

“…!”

When my eyes sparkled, the Professor smiled and got up. She tied her long hair back and grabbed the frying pan.

Soon, sausages were rolling around, creating a delicious aroma.

“I just cooked them quickly, but they should taste good with ketchup.”

“Thank you for the food.”

I bowed my head slightly and stuffed the eggs and sausages from the plate into my mouth. As I munched away, the Professor smiled wryly and asked.

“So what are you going to tell your friends?”

“Ah, that’s right…!”

Having been distracted by the sausages, I was reminded of why I had been eating eggs in the first place.

“I’ll tell them you made sausages for me.”

“What about the omelet?”

“…The omelet would just taste like eggs anyway.”

I picked up the last remaining sausage and popped it into my mouth.