October 11, 2019.
Starting in September, Utaha changed her daily routine. She no longer slept in and missed breakfast.
She now treasured the time she spent with Haizaki even more.
And among that time, the three daily meals were the most important.
What she had not expected this time, however, was to see a long-missed golden, tender fried egg.
"It's a fried egg…"
The familiar, nostalgic aroma.
She had not eaten a fresh egg for a full six months.
"They've laid eggs?"
"Yes, they have. And not just chicken eggs—there are goose eggs too. Unfortunately, the ducks are disappointing. They still haven't laid any."
After half a year of waiting, they had finally reached this moment.
Their efforts had finally paid off.
At this instant, the joy far exceeded expectations.
"Hurry and taste it. This is an egg laid by the chicken you carefully took care of."
"Mmm…"
Utaha picked up the fried egg, lightly coated with soy sauce.
The egg's gentle aroma spread across her tongue as she chewed. The savory saltiness of the soy sauce stimulated her taste buds, making her unconsciously squint her eyes as she immersed herself in the flavor.
"If it's good, eat more."
Seeing her reaction, Haizaki knew his choice had been correct. The simplest cooking method preserved the egg's most original taste.
"Thank you."
Only after losing something does one truly understand its value.
Over the past six months, Utaha had gradually adapted to her current life.
The initial anxiety, unease, and distrust toward Haizaki; the later emotional outbursts and intensified conflicts; their repeated disagreements—now, all of that had given way to warm, everyday moments.
She truly enjoyed this simple yet comforting life and hoped it could continue forever.
"Haizaki-kun, now that we have eggs, it seems like we can make many more dishes."
Over the past half year, she had clearly felt how much Haizaki's cooking skills had improved.
If she didn't know that most of his time was spent on shooting practice, driving, physical training, and the like, she might have suspected that he devoted all his free time to improving his cooking.
"Still, you have to control the portion sizes. Don't make too much. If I gain weight, you'll have to take responsibility."
Utaha was becoming increasingly defenseless against good food.
Especially Haizaki's cooking—it kept getting better, making her linger and eat more than she should.
If not for her self-control and her concern about gaining weight, she would have long since fallen completely into the trap of his cooking.
"You really have a lot of demands."
Most people asked for more food. She was asking for less.
Haizaki decided he would just eat more himself.
After all, his daily training consumed a huge amount of energy. If his nutrition didn't keep up, his body would weaken.
"Isn't that… okay?"
"It's fine. But what if one day I stop cooking for you? What would you do then? You can't live on instant noodles forever."
"That would never happen. How could Haizaki-kun possibly be unwilling to cook for me?"
She was dissatisfied with Haizaki's assumption.
"But if Haizaki-kun wants to eat my cooking, I can learn."
Haizaki recalled the night he had been dominated by her dark cuisine.
"No, I think—"
He did not want to experience that again.
"I want to learn. Teach me how to cook!"
That sentence forced Haizaki to recall Utaha's past request to learn how to drive.
"I think I'd better—"
"Don't worry. I'll learn properly. Even if I can't reach Haizaki-kun's level, I still want to have the chance to personally make delicious food."
Although Haizaki's cooking was delicious, and she would gladly eat it for the rest of her life, she suddenly realized that cooking skills were closely tied to a woman's charm.
And so, Utaha made up her mind.
She wanted to learn how to cook.
"After all, one day in the future, I want to become a qualified wife and a qualified mother."
As she said this, her voice grew a little softer.
"With you saying that, I can't really refuse. But I'm very strict."
"Just teach me using the same standards you used when you taught me how to drive."
The corner of Haizaki's mouth twitched.
That was his dark history.
At this moment, he feared that Utaha might still lack talent in cooking, producing dishes that belonged firmly in the realm of dark cuisine.
"Fine. If you give up halfway, I won't let you off."
"Eh, really? Then, Haizaki-sensei, any punishment will be fine with me!"
It was a bit—
Too much.
Haizaki felt that if he stayed with Utaha any longer, his lifespan would be shortened by several years.
…
December 3rd.
Haizaki decided to stop his flight training. His eight-month flight training officially came to an end.
By the final day, his piloting skills were still stuck at C-rank.
This was one of the reasons Haizaki had chosen to stop flying.
The returns were no longer proportional to the risks.
He couldn't continue bearing the ever-increasing danger of flight just to break through the distant and uncertain C-rank ceiling.
Another reason was that the weather had turned cold, affecting the airfield as well.
So Haizaki simply gave up flight training and shifted more of his time to vehicle driving skills, firearms training, and other abilities.
He had hoped that Utaha would learn some self-defense skills as well, especially firearm shooting.
But after inviting her once and being gently declined, he did not bring it up again.
Now, there were only four months left until the end.
In the blink of an eye, Haizaki and Utaha had already spent a full eight months together.
When Haizaki thought back now,
Receiving her email, making the phone call, hearing that familiar voice again—it all felt vivid, as if it had happened just yesterday.
"What are you being sentimental about all by yourself…"
Utaha, sitting across from him and quietly eating, noticed that Haizaki seemed distracted. She waved her hand, and when he didn't respond, she spoke up.
Haizaki rarely lost focus, but whenever he did, it always made Utaha uneasy.
She feared that even now, Haizaki still couldn't forget those two girls who had disappeared eight months ago.
She had never forgotten the two girls Haizaki had once loved in secret. They were her rivals—she couldn't forget them.
"Sentimental? I was just thinking about how fast time has passed. We've already been together for eight months…"
Utaha's expression changed slightly.
Eight months had allowed her to adapt to her current life, but at the same time, she had noticed that memories of people and things she once knew were becoming blurred.
Even her father and mother—her most important family members—had begun to appear vague in her recollections.
If this continued, she might completely forget the people she once knew.
In her future life, there would be only one man named "Haizaki."
It was somewhat romantic, yet carried an inexplicable sense of sadness.
…