Chapter 32: Secret Sauce

Blink. Blink. Blink.

Sunlight streams softly through the window.

The faint chirping of birds announcing the early morning reaches my ears.

“Ugh…!”

I stretched my arms wide as I sat up, letting out a long yawn.

A sudden, dizzying sensation made me clutch my head.

What’s going on? Why does my head feel so foggy?

Although my body felt refreshed after a good night’s sleep, something felt off.
My memories were blurry.

I was sure something had happened early this morning, but the details eluded me.

What did I do last night? I remember eating dinner, but after that…

I turned to look beside the bed.

Harp was still snuggled under the blankets, breathing softly in her sleep.

“Harp, time to get up,” I called her name gently.

Harp stirred, rubbing her eyes before slowly sitting up.

She gave me a sleepy look, then smiled brightly.

“Ah, it’s morning already. You’re up early again today, Teacher.”

“Yeah. But… Harp, I feel like something happened yesterday. I can’t seem to remember. Did anything happen?”

At my question, Harp froze for a moment.

She hesitated, gripping the blanket tightly before replying in a small voice.

“Oh, nothing happened! It’s just that… um… Baldy Alex didn’t fix the bathhouse, so, uh, we couldn’t take a bath last night! That’s all!”

Her response sounded ordinary enough, but something about her demeanor seemed off.

Her cheeks had turned slightly pink, and she avoided meeting my gaze. Suspicious.

Hmm…

“Oh, right. But Harp, why are you stammering so much? Ah-ha! I get it now. Harp, you…!”

“H-Hic!”

“You’re embarrassed because you couldn’t take a bath last night!”

“What?”

I knew it. That must be it.

Girls value cleanliness above all else, so she must be worried about whether she smells strange.

Harp’s red cheeks and stammering? Just a natural reaction from feeling self-conscious about herself.

“It’s okay, Harp. You always smell like sweet strawberries, so there’s no need to worry too much!”

“…Ah? T-thank you. Teacher, you smell lovely too…”

“Thanks!”

So, the reason my head feels foggy… Ah, it must’ve been the shocking state of the bathhouse yesterday.

That bald Alex said he’d fix it but ran off instead, which made me so mad I must’ve gotten overheated.

“Hmm, hmm. That explains it.”

“Teacher…?”

Now all the puzzle pieces were falling into place.

Nothing major must have happened after all.

“Harp, let’s have breakfast. I’ll cook today, so look forward to it!”

“Yes, Teacher!”

Even with that little incident, I could call this a refreshing start to the day.

I grabbed Harp’s hand and led her, skipping cheerfully, to the kitchen.

For a brief moment, I had a feeling something similar had happened before, but I shrugged it off as nothing important.

“Teacher, what’s for breakfast today?”

“Well… Harp, do you like ABC soup?”

“If you’re making it, I’ll like anything!”

“Great. Then let’s go with that for breakfast.”

“Yes!”

I began pulling out ingredients one by one from a basket tucked into a corner of the kitchen.

An apple, a beet, and some corn—familiar ingredients.

“Perfect.”

I could make other dishes, but I chose ABC soup for a reason.

After breakfast, my journey to the capital would begin.

Naturally, I wouldn’t get many chances to cook during the journey, so I was determined to perfect my ABC soup before leaving.

“Let’s do this!”

“Go, Teacher, go!”

With a resolute expression, I steeled myself for the task ahead.

Just like how no tree withstands ten strikes from an axe, it was about time my cooking efforts bore fruit.

Besides, thanks to all my training, my cooking skills had improved dramatically.

The odds of success were incredibly high!

“Huh?”

As I confidently heated the pot, a strange bottle on one of the shelves caught my eye.

It was a small container filled with a familiar-looking white powder.

Sugar?

Curious, I grabbed the bottle and opened the lid to take a closer look.

The powder was pure white, finely granulated, and gave off a faintly sweet aroma.

Wow, sugar has fruity scents these days? That’s amazing.

Just as I was about to pour the contents into the pot, Harp suddenly sprang up from her seat at the table.

“Teacher! No, don’t do that!”

“Huh? Harp, what’s wrong? Isn’t this sugar?”

“No! It’s… It’s not!”

Harp hurried over, snatching the bottle from my hands. Her face was bright red for some reason.

“Why not?”

“Well… um… That’s… uh, that’s a special ingredient Alex asked us to use very sparingly and to give back after. He said he’d be really sad if it ran out…”

“Oh, I see.”

Now her reaction made sense.

So this was Alex’s precious white powder. No wonder she was so flustered.

“If that’s essential for his business, we definitely shouldn’t use it, right?”

“Y-yes… because it’s ‘secret sauce.’“

“Right, ‘secret sauce.’”

For a split second, I was tempted to pour the entire bottle of Alex’s ‘secret sauce’ into the pot as revenge for his irritating behavior.

But since his livelihood depended on it, I decided against it.

Sure, promising to fix the bathhouse and then running off was extremely—no, outrageously—infuriating, but…

“I’ll take care of this sauce, Teacher.”

“Okay. Be careful not to break it.”

“Yes!”

Fine, I’d let this slide and deal with Alex later. Perhaps with a proper flick to his shiny forehead.

“…But what’s this strange burnt smell…?”

“Huh? Teacher! The pot!”

“Wha—AHH!”

Oh no.

I’d completely forgotten about the pot!

“Ugh…!”

From the outside, the pot looked thoroughly blackened, as if it had been scorched beyond hope.

Despair washed over me as I slowly lifted the lid, bracing myself for the sight of a ruined, charred mess.

I squeezed my eyes shut—I wasn’t ready to face the reality of a soup turned to ashes.

But then, I heard Harp’s excited voice ring out.

“Teacher! It’s a huge success!”

“…Huh?”

No way. It couldn’t be.

I opened my tightly shut eyes and peeked into the pot.

Inside, a golden broth bubbled gently, its surface shimmering invitingly.

The vegetables were tender and perfectly blended with the soup, creating a texture that embodied the very essence of the word ‘soup.’

Unbelievable.

“R-really, a huge success?”

“Of course! It looks delicious! As expected of you, Teacher! You’re amazing!”

Harp gazed at me with sparkling eyes, practically glowing with excitement.

I scratched my head, feeling utterly bewildered.

To be honest, I thought it was a disaster. The smell was weird, too…

“Maybe that’s your secret ingredient, Teacher! Like… Alex’s ‘secret sauce!’”

“…Can something like this really be called a ‘secret sauce?’”

“Of course! Everything you do is special, Teacher. Even if it’s unintentional, you end up making the best dishes! That’s an incredible talent!”

Is that so?

If Harp says so, maybe she’s right.

Harp seemed genuinely impressed as she showered me with praise.

I tilted my head in confusion, then eventually chuckled.

“Thanks for the compliments. Let’s give it a taste, shall we?”

“Yes!”

Carefully, I ladled the soup into a bowl and placed it in front of Harp.

“Wow! It really looks delicious! Thank you, Teacher!”

“Enjoy it.”

Harp took a spoonful of the soup and, after one taste, started bouncing around the kitchen in excitement.

“This is amazing! How can a soup made with just a few vegetables have such a rich and deep flavor? Teacher, I thought it before, but you really must be a cooking genius!”

“Come on, it’s not that great… Still, I should try it myself.”

Feeling buoyed by Harp’s endless stream of praise, I took a spoonful of the soup and swallowed it.

The broth slid warmly down my throat.

A peculiar warmth and depth spread throughout my body.

Huh? This is actually pretty good.

It was easily one of the best ABC soups I’d ever tasted.

Without realizing it, I nodded to myself.

“This is really good. Hard to believe I made it, honestly.”

“See? I told you! When you make something, it always turns out delicious!”

There she goes again, piling on the praise.

“Oh, stop it. You’re just exaggerating.”

“No, I’m serious! It’s true!”

What a sweet kid.

I gently patted Harp’s head as she chattered on, brimming with enthusiasm over my cooking.

“Ah!”

“Thanks for always being so kind, Harp.”

“I-it’s me who should be thankful…”

No matter how I looked at it, taking Harp in was undoubtedly the best decision I’d ever made in my life.

“Hehe.”

Though, saying that aloud was still a bit too embarrassing for me.

For now, I could only keep these feelings to myself.

Someday, when Harp grows up…

Someday, when she’s adopted by wonderful parents…

Someday, when she… wait, she’s already taller than me, isn’t she?

Well, when she gets even taller, I’ll be sure to tell her.

BANG!

“Hey, kids! This uncle is here, and I’ve brought the wagon! Heh-heh, you’re not all still snoozing, are you?”

“HEKTO-PASCAL KICK!”

“GYAAAH—?!”

Oh, by the way, the ‘punishment’ was a total success.

Alex’s shiny bald head now boasted a massive bump.