Among the active players, only two had reached level 9 in shogi technique:
Yukima Azuma, and Meijin.
To Meijin, Yukima Azuma was the shortcut to the ultimate answer.
Thinking back to their previous match
"Umu, then I suppose I should make the trip."
Just then, Sora Ginko was sipping her drink.
Hearing that, she gently bit down on her straw.
Meijin, huh
She had the feeling this boy was about to step even further ahead.
She'd have to work harder too.
Right at that moment
The middle-aged owner came over, holding their food.
"Here you aremapo tofu for the two of you. Please enjoy."
Chapter 286: Senpais Overwhelming Aura
Chapter 286: Senpai's Overwhelming Aura
Looking at the restaurant owner's confident face, clearly expecting a reaction from his guests
Yukima Azuma immediately knew, this guy was definitely about to get wrecked by his own mapo tofu.
Sora Ginko scooped a spoonful of mapo tofu.
She gently blew on it a few times, then brought it to her mouth.
" nom-nom~
The moment it entered, the girl's eyebrows furrowed tightly.
Without saying a word
But to the middle-aged owner, that expression hurt more than any words ever could.
"Um may I ask is there something wrong with the dish?"
()
Clinging to a sliver of hope, the owner spoke up.
But Sora Ginko merely frowned slightly and shook her head.
And with that, the last bit of hope in the owner crumbled into pieces.
His Chinese restaurant had only just opened not long ago.
He had even gone all the way to China to learn in person.
All he wanted was to create the most authentic Chinese cuisine possible.
Because he had studied so thoroughly, he was extremely confident in his flavor.
And yet, right after opening the restaurant, he'd already gotten such a bad reaction.
"If it doesn't suit your taste, I'll refund you both,"
()
he offered.
At this point, the owner was already debating whether he should just clean up, shut the place down, go into seclusion and train for another 30 years before trying again.
Yukima Azuma also picked up a spoon and tried a bite.
All in all, the flavor was very good.
The numbing spiciness brought out the soft, fresh texture of the tofu.
It didn't include any of the bizarre ingredients sometimes added in Japanese-style adaptations.
At least there were no strawberries.
Overall, this mapo tofu could definitely be rated Level 7 Cooking Skills.
Thinking about it again, the reason Sora Ginko frowned was probably because it was too spicy.
Authentic mapo tofu is like that.
But generally speaking, Japanese palates don't handle strong spiciness well.
A lot of dishes that made it over here had their spiciness toned down to some degree.
"No need to refund, it's delicious,"
Yukima said.
"Owner-san, maybe you could consider adjusting the heat a bit."
"After all, most people in Japan can't really handle too much spice."
"Food should adapt to local tastes anywayit's meant to be eaten, right?"
Yukima Azuma knew this because once, when he cooked, he'd accidentally made Eriri cry from the heat.
That was back when he was still just starting to level up his cooking skills.
Hearing Yukima Azuma's advice,
The middle-aged owner looked like he'd just had a sudden revelation.
"Naruhodo! I get it now! I get it!"
w(®o®)w
Muttering those words,
The owner bowed slightly to Yukima Azuma.
Then immediately dashed back into the kitchen.
With no one else around anymore,
Sora Ginko finally dropped her composureshe stuck out her tiny pink tongue, her eyes welling up with tears from the spiciness.
Yukima Azuma handed her a cold can of soda.
Watching Sora Ginko sip it like a kitten lapping up water,
Yukima Azuma couldn't help but smile.
"You're still laughing!"
( )
Sora Ginko grumbled through half-mumbled words, throwing a mild accusation at Yukima Azuma.
He immediately bowed in apology:
"I didn't expect it to be that spicy either."
It had been mentioned beforeSora Ginko's palate had developed back when she was hospitalized as a child.
The hospital food had always been bland.
So she became especially attached to things like mayonnaise.
And because of that, she couldn't handle spicy foods at all.
Seeing Yukima Azuma sincerely apologize,
Sora Ginko let out a little hmph, feigning haughtiness.
Then, the owner brought out a few more of the house specialties.
Some of them weren't even dishes Yukima Azuma had ordered.
When he asked, the owner simply said they were on the house.
The following dishes had their spiciness well-controlled.
Even Sora Ginko could taste a little before stopping.
When it was time to pay and leave,
The owner flatly refused to take any money.
...
After Yukima Azuma and Sora Ginko had left
This newly opened restaurant, which originally didn't have many customers, sank back into silence.
But soon, a woman stepped inside.
If Yukima Azuma were still here,
he would've recognized that this woman was none other than the cooking teacher from Toyogasaki.
"One order of mapo tofu,"
she said softly after sitting down.
The middle-aged owner nodded slightly, as though facing a formidable enemy, and headed into the kitchen.
Not long after, a freshly made plate of adjusted mapo tofu was brought out.
The cooking teacher first carefully examined the appearance of the dish.
Then she smelled the aroma.
Finally, she scooped a small spoonful and brought it to her mouth.
She closed her eyes and chewed slowly, savoring it.
When she opened her eyes, there was a complicated expression on her face.
"Senpai, you've improved."
Upon hearing that, the tension on the middle-aged owner's face melted into a smile.
( )
The cooking teacher took a few more bites.
Then she set her spoon down and fell into deep thought.
"Back then, when sensei opposed you going to China for training, you stubbornly went anyway."
"Now, it seems reality has proven that you really have taken another step forward on the path of culinary arts."
"Maybe I should go train in China too?"
The two of them had studied under the same Master.
But their personalities were different.
The ownersenpaiwas of average talent but had a burning passion for cooking.
Whereas the cooking teacherkouhaiwas exceptionally gifted, yet when her skills hit a bottleneck, she began looking elsewhere for direction.
That was until the first half of this year.
When a student stirred something inside hera nerve only a true chef would understand.
Since then, the cooking teacher had started feeling a desire to push forward again.
Now, seeing her senpai who, despite their Master's objections, had gone to China and clearly improved
She couldn't help but consider following that path as well.
But the middle-aged owner shook his head.
"To be honest, sensei was right. I shouldn't have gone to China."
"Though China has a long culinary tradition, finding a true master to learn from was far too difficult."
"All I really learned was how to cook dishesI never touched the true essence."
"The reason I've improved now is because a young man gave me just two small pieces of advice earlier."
As he recalled the youthful figure of Yukima Azuma,
The middle-aged owner couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Hearing this, the cooking teacher felt a jolt in her chest.
A young man?
But the middle-aged owner was completely oblivious to the subtle change in his kouhai's expression.
He simply continued musing beside her:
"That young man's cooking skills might honestly be better than mine."
"A once-in-a-millennium culinary genius."
"If sensei were to see him, he'd probably go wild with joy."
"Oh rightdidn't I hear sensei recently took on a new apprentice? What's their like?"
"Kouhai-kun? Are you even listening to me? Ah, the snow's started. I need to go bring the signboard in."
(note: umm, after adding the emojis, i feel like i accidentally cooked a middle aged uncle into an emotional young girl)
...
Outside the glass window, white snow danced and fluttered.
Even in Japan, snowfalls like this were rare.
The phrase "snow falling like goose feathers" may be old-fashioned,
but it painted a vivid picture.
On the streets of Chiba,
White snowflakes had already gathered on the heads of Sora Ginko and Yukima Azuma.
Because Sora Ginko had silver hair, it wasn't very noticeable.
But Yukima Azuma looked as if he'd aged several decades.
Sora Ginko stood on tiptoes and reached up to brush the snow from Yukima Azuma's hair.
But more snow quickly landed again.
The snowfall was only getting heavier.
Watching Sora Ginko seriously battling the snow,
Yukima Azuma chuckled softly, then suddenly pulled the girl in front of him into his arms.
"W-what are you doing?!"
(,,><,,)
Sora Ginko flustered, embarrassed, but still tried to maintain composure as she questioned him.
After all, she was the senpaishe had to uphold the dignity of a senpai!
"I just thought Ginko-senpai looked too cute."
Yukima Azuma's blunt words effortlessly shattered all the commanding aura Sora Ginko had tried to build.
Chapter 287: The Anticipated Scene
After frolicking in the snow for a while,
Sora Ginko was clearly starting to pant.
Looking at the girl's frail, delicate figure,
Yukima Azuma couldn't help but worry
If someday the two of them ended up "icha icha paradise," would she even be able to handle it?
Their breath turned into mist in the cold air.
Through that faint mist,
Sora Ginko felt that Yukima Azuma's expression had become a little strange.
As if he was thinking about something not exactly pure.
Not quite perverted,
But Sora Ginko still couldn't help turning beet red.
(//>.
Luckily, it was winterYukima Azuma's ears had turned red from the cold too.
"Where should we go now?"
Sora Ginko asked.
The snow was falling so heavily now that, normally, the two of them should be heading back.
Even if Kiyotaki Keika had gone out for something, by now she'd surely returned to the shogi club, seeing how heavy the snow was.
But moments like thesejust the two of them alonewere rare.
If they just turned back now, Sora Ginko would feel reluctant, like a child still wanting to play.
Despite the heavy snowfall, she still clung to the joy of being outdoors.
Yukima Azuma glanced at his phone.
Keika had messaged, saying she'd returned to the club.
But he shared the same thought as Sora Ginko.
So, Yukima Azuma simply ignored the message.
Due to the heavy snowfall, public transportation like trains had temporarily halted some operations.
On the streets, taxis were ridiculously rare.
Now and then, one would drive bybut clearly already had passengers.
Taxis in Japan were not only expensive, but also notoriously hard to catch.
On top of that, with mobile payments still not widely used,
there definitely weren't many app-based ride services either.
Standing out in the snow waiting for a taxi? They'd turn into snowmen.
In short
"Let's find somewhere to take shelter from the snow first. Once it eases up, we'll head back."
Yukima Azuma pointed toward the end of a nearby street.
Sora Ginko looked in that direction.
She saw the signboard hanging in front of a hotel.
The girl's lips tightened slightly on their own.
Then, she gave a small nod.
"There's no other choice I guess."
(,,,,)
Just like that, the two of them walked toward the hotel at the end of the street.
It wasn't peak travel season or anything.
Add in the heavy snow, and the hotel was nearly empty.
Yukima Azuma took out his wallet and booked the most expensive suite.
Guided by a hotel staff member, the two took the elevator and arrived at the door of their room.
"This is your room. Please enjoy your stay."
With that, the hotel staff disappeared immediately.
A standard hotel farewell phrase
But for Sora Ginko, it made her feel strangely guilty.
Yukima Azuma swiped the keycard to open the door.
Although the curtains were drawn, the overcast snow-filled sky outside still made the room dim.
When he turned on the overhead light, warm illumination instantly filled every corner.
Late afternoon, heavy snow, a room bathed in golden glow
A scene filled with dj vu.
"Ginko-senpai, you go shower first."
Yukima Azuma said.
Hearing that, a massive exclamation mark seemed to pop up over Sora Ginko's head.
( ®®) !!
She might not have much experience in that kind of thing
But as a young girl, she had seen a few romance-leaning works.
A guy and a girl alone, checking into a hotel, and then the girl showers first
No matter how you looked at it, that sequence was clearly that kind of setup!
(o)
Not that it was totally unacceptable
But wasn't this pace a bit fast!?
Seeing Ginko staring wide-eyed, like she'd just been struck by lightning,
Yukima Azuma paused for a second
Then couldn't help but chuckle softly.
He reached up and plucked a lingering snowflake from her hair.
The snowflake quickly melted on his fingertip.
Azuma gently dabbed the cold droplet on the tip of Ginko's nose.
"What were you thinking? You're soaked from the snowif you don't shower and change, you'll catch a cold."
Feeling the cool droplet on the tip of her nose,
Ginko suddenly realized
She'd totally misunderstood.
"Hentai! Aho! Baka! Yontoryu! Shineeee!!"
( Д )*
Flustered and furious, she shouted out the classic lines of a tsundere character, then dashed straight into the bathroom like a bolt of lightning.
Even after getting yelled at, Yukima Azuma wasn't the least bit upset
On the contrary, he chuckled even more happily.
Of course, Azuma wasn't some kind of M like some blonde ojou-sama.
He wasn't the type to get excited just because a girl insulted him or stomped on his face with white socks.
It was justhe genuinely found Ginko incredibly adorable like that.
He turned on the room's heater, took off his coat,
and patted away the snowflakes still clinging to his hair.
Some of them had already melted,
causing a few strands of his bangs to stick to his temples.
Azuma casually swept his hair aside.
Didn't bother him much.
After all, with his "8-point" constitution,
