In the living room of this house that I’ve become so familiar with, I was leisurely reading a magazine while waiting for dinner to be ready. Well, my heart wanted to help Mom and Alyssa but…… I’m not really good at cooking, so if I participate, it will be a burden on Alyssa, who also has to support Mom, who isn’t that great of a cook either.

  So, I was going to help out with washing the dishes after the cooking was completed, but for the time being, I’m just killing time.

  [Akari-san, stop trying to measure by sight, please properly measure it. Also, it’s too early to add the miso. Wait another 5 minutes. If you add it now, it would blur out the flavor.]

  [Ugghhh, I- I’ll do my best. As for the parts I lack, I’ll cover it with my love!]

  [Love certainly was said to be the secret of cooking…… but unfortunately, love isn’t some magic spice that can cover everything. Yes, now please quickly move your hands.]

  [A- Alyssa-chan…… you’re quite strict.]

  From time to time, a stern rebuke is heard from the kitchen. In addition, the person being scolded has been a housewife for more than 20 years.

  Well, thanks to Alyssa, I can really just wait in peace today, so I’m really grateful that she’s here. I’ll thank her again some other time.

  As I was thinking about this, I heard the faint sound of the front door opening. Putting the magazine in my hand on the sofa, I headed for the door.

  [Welcome back, Dad. You’re home early today.]

  [I’m back, Kaito. Yeah, I got off early today.]

  This kind-looking man with slightly gray hair and glasses is my father…… Miyama Kazuya. My father is a company employee at a medium-sized trading company, and he is currently the section chief.

  He works overtime often, so it’s rare that he comes home at this time.

  [Dinner isn’t ready yet, but we’re having croquettes today.]

  [……Fried food huh…… Would we be alright?]

  As expected of blood-related father and son…… our reactions were exactly the same. After smiling at his anxious expression, I spoke, reassuring him.

  [……Alyssa is here today, so it’s alright.]

  [Ohh! Alyssa-chan is here today huh, then I can be relieved!]

  [……Mom will get mad at you again if she hears you saying that, you know?]

  [Whoa there, don’t tell your mother.]

  Dad is as kind as he looks, and he’s really a good, reliable person but…… he doesn’t think about what he’s saying sometimes, and he often gets Mom mad for his careless mistakes.

  I wonder why though, I honestly feel like I was that way sometimes too…… I guess the son would really be like his father huh?

  Dad, Mom, and Alyssa sat around the table and ate dinner together.

  [Unnn! As expected of Alyssa-chan. It’s so delicious.]

  [Ahaha, thank you.]

  I completely agree. Hmmm, Alyssa’s cooking really is delicious. The outer crust of the croquette was crispy, the inside was well-made, and the sauce on it was excellent.

  [……Did you make the sauce yourself?]

  [Yes, I used a fruit today to make it a little fruity.]

  [I see.]

  It has a nice balance of subtle sweetness and sourness. Well, seriously, as expected of Alyssa.

  As we were talking about this, Dad, who was eating the food that Alyssa had made while praising it, suddenly stopped his chopsticks and with a serious expression on his face for some reason, he spoke.

  [……By the way…… When will Alyssa-chan “become Kaito’s bride”?]

  [ [ Bfuu!? ] ]

  Hearing the explosive words we never expected to hear, Alyssa and I choked up.

  [……Kehemm…… D- Dad!? What are you suddenly saying!?]

  [……Listen, Kaito. This is not only advice as your father, but also your elder.]

  When I asked him back, aware that my face was blushing red, he began talking in a serious and passionate tone.

  [Think about it. She may be too close to you to notice it, Kaito, but there aren’t many girls as good as Alyssa-chan. She’s a good cook, and undoubtedly a beauty. In addition, she is smart, athletic, cheerful, and fun to hang out with. On top of that, she’s kind and gallant, always there when you needed her, Kaito. And most of all, “she’s a great cook”! It’s like a miracle in itself that you’re so close to such a wonderful girl.]

  [………………..]

  Leaving aside the fact that he said that she was a good cook twice, hearing him mention this things, I can’t really find anything to refute him with.

  With Alyssa’s personality, she really is fun to hang out with, and all her specs are so high that it seems like a joke. And as Dad said, she is kind enough to stand by my side when the occasion calls for it, or to gently care for me when I’m in trouble.

  [Moreover, the fact that she occasionally comes to cook means that Alyssa-chan also thinks well of you, Kaito.]

  [……Dad.]

  [I would be happy if Alyssa-chan becomes your wife. You’ll also be able to eat delicious meals every day……]

  [……Behind you.]

  [……Eh?]

  He was enthusiastically talking about these things, but there’s something Dad didn’t notice. Around the time he mentioned Alyssa being a good cook twice, a small shadow moved behind him with her eyes fixated on him……


  [Husbaaaaaaaand?]

  [!? W- W- W- Wait! It’s a misunderstanding! I’m not complaining about your cooking! I know it’s a lot of work to do all the chores every day, and I truly appreciate it! It makes me love you even more!]

  [……………..]

  [I- It’s just that, well, there are some things, ummm…… certain things that people aren’t suited for, that’s why I somewhat regret not learning cooking more———– Ah, no, that’s…………]

  For the sake of Mom’s honor, I would like to say that her cooking isn’t bad at all. It’s not at the level where you would faint in agony just from eating it, like those things I sometimes see in manga.

  Unnn, it isn’t bad…… but it isn’t really at the level where one can praise it as delicious. In terms of quality, it’s a few steps below those bento sold in convenience stores.

  By the way, it can be said that she’s better than me and Dad, who are almost amateurs. It’s just that Alyssa’s cooking skills are too great when compared to hers, so it’s definitely not that she’s a bad cook or anything like that.

  I could tell that she was really concerned about my and Dad’s health, and that she put a lot of her feelings and love into her cooking.

  However, unnn, it just didn’t taste good. Well, how should I say this…… Dad’s making careless mistakes just as usual.

  [……Hey, can you come with me? We have something we need to talk about.]

  [……Ahh, no, that is……]

  [You’re going to talk with me, right?]

  [……Yes.]

  Just like that, Dad was taken away by Mom and disappeared into the back room. To be honest, this is a rather common scene.

  Incidentally, after Mom gets Dad after he’s done something like this again…… They come back flirting more than usual, so I guess it’s okay to just leave them alone. It’s as if their earlier banter was just so that they could flirt.

  While thinking about this, I naturally turned my attention to Alyssa who was sitting next to me…… and Alyssa was looking down, blushing red up to her ears.

  [……Ummm, Alyssa. I’m sorry, Dad said something strange.]

  [……N- No, I didn’t really mind it! R- R- R- Rather than that…… W- What do you think? Is the food…… d- delicious?]

  [Eh? Y- Yes…… It’s very delicious.]

  [……In that case…… that’s great.]

  An indescribable silence fell between us. It’s not that it feels uncomfortable, but it makes me feel strangely itchy, or rather, it kind of makes me feel unusually fidgety.

  W- What’s this? I normally should be able to talk to Alyssa with ease, but I feel strangely embarrassed and hard for me to talk to her.

  [……Ummm…… Alyssa?]

  [W- What is it?]

  [……Errr, ummm, how should I say this…… Thank you for everything.]

  […….It’s not like you have to thank me…… I do it because I like it……]

  Ahh, geez! I feel like fire would burst out of my face! I was embarrassed just by this mere exchange.

  However…… Unnn. This feeling…… really doesn’t feel uncomfortable.

  **********