"I am sorry that I can only prepare something simple."
As Wakana put all the dishes on the table, Nifuji could only stare at everything in a daze, especially that onigiri wrapped in the crispy nori, which she shaped with her own soft, delicate hands.
It wasn't that Nifuji had a unique fetish, but when he saw how Wakana carefully shaped those onigiris on her hands with a gentle smile, it made him think that those who got her would be so lucky.
She was bright, gentle, and also warm.
Despite how hot the rice was, she took a scoop of rice, topped it with whatever she had, and lightly salted her palms before taking a bite of the onigiri.
"No, you prepared a lot of them, and what are these fillings? They look amazing!"
"Fufu..." Wakana laughed. "Those are just sake, umeboshi, okaka, and tuna mayo."
"...aren't these a little too much?"
"I made the size small, so even if the numbers are a lot, it is okay, right?"
"...." Nifuji.
Small.
When Nifuji looked at Wakana's palms, he also had to admit that those hands of hers were small compared to his, yet they were strong.
"Wait a moment. Let me prepare more. Sit there, okay?"
"..."
Nifuji wanted to stop Wakana, but somehow, he felt like she had become that lady acquaintance or grandmother who wanted to fill the stomach of the young man to the brim.
Yes, he wasn't a young man anymore, and she wasn't an old grandma, so when he saw how she tried her best to cook, as she hummed, in the end, even if she made a lot, he decided to eat them.
Also, even if he couldn't finish it, he knew that with Wakana's frugal habit, she might put them on the fridge and eat them later, as they should still be delicious.
Still, he didn't hate it and decided to eat all the food, as it seemed delicious.
Meanwhile, Wakana didn't know what Nifuji was thinking; he just focused on making food for him, humming as usual.
"By the way, how do you want your egg?"
"Sunny side up."
Nifuji felt that the sunny side up was the easiest and fastest to make, instead of the Japanese omelette, which was troublesome to make.
"Okay~!"
After she had prepared several onigiri, she began making the sunny side up. She heated a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. She then cracked an egg in, but instead of frying it, she made a different move, which was her secret step.
When the edges of the white start to turn opaque, she poured about one teaspoon of water into the empty space of the pan and immediately covered it with a lid. She let it steam for about 30–60 seconds. The steam creates a thin, translucent white film over the yolk (looking like a misty "eye"), ensuring the top is cooked without having to flip it and risk breaking the yolk.
Yet this was far from over, especially when she began pouring rich vegetable miso soup into the bowl.
From the bowl, Nifuji could see various hearty, chunky vegetable cuts: daikon radish, carrots, and a strange root vegetable.
"What is that?"
"It's a Gobo."
"Gobo?"
"It will give the soup a deep, earthy, "woody" flavor. You should eat it later."
"O-Okay."
Nifuji wasn't sure, but he would try.
So, was it over?
After that, she also prepared a genmaicha (brown rice tea), a blend of green tea leaves and roasted, popped brown rice.
"It smells like toasted nuts or popcorn."
The smell of the tea was so unique that Nifuji couldn't help but comment.
Wakana smiled as she nodded. "It is. It is also much mellower and less "grassy" than plain green tea. It also makes me feel cozy and full, so I like it."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
When everything was ready, Wakana put everything on the table, but Nifuji couldn't let her handle it alone, so he stood up and was ready to help.
"Ah, no, let me handle this."
"No, if I do nothing, I will feel comfortable. You can think of this as my thanks for the food."
"But, you are a guest and also my customer!"
"But, I also think of you as my friend."
"Friend..."
When Wakana heard that word, she was dumbfounded as her eyes widened.
"...did you not see me as your friend? I feel a little sad somehow."
Even if their relationship was that of the business owner and her patron, Nifuji felt a little sad when he thought that she thought of him as nothing but just that. After all, beyond that transactional relationship, they had shared a lot of talk, and he also helped her change her lamp a few times in the past.
Yup, usually calling the technician might be better, but it would cost a lot of money, and for a business owner like Wakana, an unexpected cost would be a little hard for her monthly budget, so when Nifuji helped, she was grateful and gave him a free service, but then again, he refused at that time.
Unlike Fuji, whose relationship was built based on monthly greetings with an awkward neighbor, who slowly became warm and close, then a lover, for Wakana, their relationship was originally just a normal, professional transaction, but as her smile healed him during his heavy days, after he was transmigrated to this world, he viewed her as his friend.
As for seeing her as his lover, it was already brutal enough that he had slept with many women, so would he also sleep with the owner of the laundry in his neighborhood?
"....."
Yes, it was possible, but somehow, it felt wrong, especially when he had kept sleeping with many women.
Still, he quickly shook his head again, as he had always been overthinking, but somehow, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop this bad habit.
"Ah, no, no!"
Wakana quickly tried to comfort him, especially when she saw how sad Nifuji was. "It's just..."
"It's just...?"
"You are the first ever person who said those words to me."
Her voice was so gentle, warm, yet somehow contained a fragility.
"...I am the first one?"
Yet, Nifuji was dumbfounded.
Was he the first?
Then, what about her past?
Was she a shut-in, or had she had a bad past that she lacked friends before?
Or was she an introvert?
However, when Nifuji thought about how gentle and bright her smile was, instead of something that was trained or fake, he knew that it was genuine, and because of that, when she smiled at him, reacting to his words, he just couldn't look away.
Her hands clutched tightly on the fabric of her apron, as her eyes were a little misty, yet her smile was as bright as the blooming sunflower.
"Thank you for saying that. I am happy that you can be my first friend."
"...."
Yup, if someone hurt her, Nifuji would beat them to death, he thought.
Why were you so precious, Friend W?!