After Alex went off to fix the bathroom, I wondered if there was anything I could help with, so I followed him.
But being so small and useless, there wasn’t much for me to do.
Instead, I was sent away with a “Go on, you might get hurt.”
Tch.
With nothing else to do, I heard some small commotion coming from the living room, like there was some kind of ruckus.
Harp and Sua were sitting at the living room table, doing something.
“Are they fighting again?”
If they were fighting, I had to stop them.
I quietly approached and peeked at them.
“Alright, are you ready? This time, I’m going to win!”
“Alright. Let’s settle it with this round.”
They were facing each other, both raising their hands.
What were they doing?
As I tilted my head in confusion.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
They played rock-paper-scissors.
The result was Harp’s scissors and Sua’s paper.
“Ah, I lost again!”
Sua slammed the table, grumbling.
“Your opponent is me. There’s nothing you can do.”
Harp, with a calm expression, was writing something down on a piece of paper.
I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and moved closer to ask.
“What are you doing?”
“This… We’re deciding who’s in charge of cooking for the next month.”
“Cooking duty?”
“Yeah, we were deciding who would cook between me and Sua by playing rock-paper-scissors!”
Sua puffed up her cheeks, looking both cute and frustrated as she added.
“But I keep losing! And it’s been twenty rounds in a row! This has to be some kind of rigged match!”
“I’m just playing normally.”
Harp calmly responded.
She continued writing something on the paper and glanced at Sua.
Her handwriting was neat and pretty.
As expected from Harp.
“Well, then. The cooking duty is confirmed. I’ll cook twenty-nine times, and Sua will cook once.”
“Ugh! This is so unfair! I can only cook once in the whole month? That’s way too little!”
Sua glared at Harp with an unhappy face.
Harp simply organized the paper with a calm expression.
Sua, still fuming, kept glaring at Harp and grumbled.
“Harp, you’re definitely doing something sneaky, right?! There’s no way I could lose this much!”
Harp tilted her head and replied.
“Sneaky? It’s just a difference in skill.”
“A difference in skill?! What skill is there in rock-paper-scissors?! It’s just a game of luck!”
“Then that means luck is on my side.”
Harp calmly brushed off Sua’s provocations.
I sighed as I watched their back-and-forth.
“Why are they so worked up over just deciding who’s in charge of cooking…”
Sua, feeling wronged, raised her hand dramatically.
“Teacher, you’ve got to see this! Harp is really acting weird! Do you have any tips for winning?!”
“I don’t know anything about that…”
I said, with a helpless expression.
At my response, Harp quietly turned her gaze toward me.
“Teacher, are you going to try as well?”
“Huh?”
“I should let you know in advance. Even if you try, I won’t go easy on you.”
Harp smiled subtly, as if she was certain she would win.
Her smile seemed to say, “I’m definitely going to win.”
I couldn’t help but feel a little stirred by her challenge.
“Hmm, Harp, I’ve played my fair share of rock-paper-scissors in my time. Alright, let’s give it a go.”
After all, I was once called the god of rock-paper-scissors.
Of course, I had a few things added to that title.
“Oh! Teacher, I like this! Show her how it’s done and defeat her!”
I sat down across from Harp and raised my hand.
“Alright, I’m ready.”
“Anytime, Teacher.”
Harp and I stared each other down and shouted together.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
The result was…
Harp’s paper and my scissors.
“I won!”
I raised my hand triumphantly.
Sua clapped her hands and cheered.
“Of course, Teacher! You’re the best!”
But Harp, even in defeat, remained calm and composed.
“Congratulations, Teacher.”
She spoke with a serene expression despite her loss.
“But one round doesn’t make a true winner. Would you like to prove yourself with a winning streak?”
“What?”
I stared blankly at Harp.
Her relaxed demeanor only made me feel more provoked.
“Alright. Let’s do this, then.”
Sua, getting excited, started patting me on the shoulder.
“Teacher, this time you have to beat Harp! I’ll bet my life on it!”
“Your life…?”
I sighed and faced Harp again, bringing my hand up to meet hers.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
The result of this round was Harp’s scissors and my rock.
“I won again!”
I raised my hand in victory, beaming with excitement.
Sua clapped her hands and got even more excited.
“Of course, Teacher! You’re perfect! Now Harp’s going to kneel before you!”
But Harp remained calm as ever.
“Don’t you want to try again?”
“Congratulations.”
“…Why? You’re not saying I have to win three times in a row to be the winner, are you?”
“True victory is earned through best two out of three.”
“Is that so…?”
At Harp’s words, I let out a brief chuckle.
“Fine. I’ll win again this time. Get ready.”
Sua, looking tense, clenched her hands and shouted passionately from my side.
“Teacher, fight!”
I raised my hand again and faced Harp.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Once again, Harp chose rock, and I chose paper.
“I won for the third time!”
I banged my fist on the table and shouted.
Harp paused for a moment but then nodded calmly with a serene smile.
“Congratulations, Teacher. Truly impressive.”
Sua raised both hands high and cheered.
“We finally beat Harp! Teacher, you’re the best!”
“Harp, do you finally admit it?”
Harp quickly crossed out my name on the paper and wrote mine in the space, nodding.
“Yes, Teacher, you’re in charge of cooking.”
“What?”
“As a reward for your continuous victory, Teacher, you’re in charge of cooking for the next month. Thank you.”
Hahaha! Teacher, you got tricked! Ah, this is so funny!
“Ugh, totally tricked.”
I let out a deep sigh.
Harp and Sua exchanged glances and couldn’t hold back their laughter, turning their heads away.
They were so shameless that I didn’t even know what to say.
“Wait, were you two planning this from the start?”
I asked, looking back and forth between them
“Oh my, don’t you trust us too much?”
Sua pouted as she said this.
“Right, we just decided it fairly with rock-paper-scissors.”
Harp nodded and spoke calmly.
“If it was a fair game, why did you bring this up right after I won?”
“Well… because we thought you’d be good at cooking.”
“And because we thought your food would taste really good.”
“Really, you two…”
I was speechless at how ridiculous the situation was.
Suddenly, Sua raised her hand and shouted.
“But Teacher! Cooking Teacher! Can I have a snack? I’m so hungry!”
Harp nodded and added.
“Me too. I’d love something simple. It’s been so long since breakfast.”
I sighed and looked back and forth between the two.
“How about ABC cookies?”
Sua’s eyes sparkled, and she started clapping.
“Oh! ABC cookies? That sounds great! I love it! Teacher, please make some!”
Harp tilted her head, looking confused.
“ABC cookies… I don’t think it’s the same as the soup from last time. Are they alphabet-shaped cookies?”
I smiled gently and nodded.
“It’s a cookie where you make the shape of the letters you want and bake them. It’s similar to something I used to make a lot. It’s fun and tasty, so it’s perfect for a snack.”
Sua raised her hand excitedly and continued in an enthusiastic voice.
“Letter cookies! I should write ‘The Greatest Hero’ and eat it!”
“…I’ll write ‘Be Quiet.'”
Harp’s blunt remark made me chuckle, and I headed to the kitchen.
I began making the dough and cutting out the cookies.
It had been a while, so I was a bit clumsy, but recalling my short time in the baking club helped, and I was able to make the dough without much trouble.
Sua stood quietly beside me, staring at the dough being made, lost in thought.
“Teacher, you’re really good at cooking. You seem so experienced.”
At Harp’s comment, I tilted my head and answered.
“Well, maybe I was a chef in my past life.”
“Then I must have been your apprentice in my past life.”
Sua said seriously.
Harp, beside us, snickered softly and muttered.
“Wasn’t it the ‘golden child’?”
“Hey.”
From the oven came the warm, freshly baked letter cookies.
The cookies were baked to a golden brown, and just looking at them made my mouth water.
“Alright, they’re ready.”
I plated the cookies and handed them over to the two.
Sua cheered as she looked at her cookie.
“‘The Greatest Hero,’ it’s so cool! Ugh, it’s too awesome. It feels too good to eat.”
Harp picked up her cookie and quietly said.
“Be quiet.”