School Club Registrations

"The Chef's Skillful Hands?" I don't know what that means, but Hori, noticing that I had been focused on something else for a while, asked with a surprised expression if I had a problem.

I didn't have time to answer the question, so without thinking too much, I thought the hologram needed to be turned off, and just like that, it disappeared before my eyes. At the same time, I answered Hori's question.

"No problem, I was wondering about the secret of your delicious dishes."

"Hahah... The chef's secret." She brought her index finger to her mouth and left a wide smile with narrowed eyes.

As we started to clear the dining table, it was getting dark. The orange hue of the sky was visible, with the setting sun's light streaming into the room. We finished clearing the table in about five minutes and started washing the dishes together with Hori.

Before starting to wash the dishes, Hori played a song from her own phone and tapped her foot in rhythm to the music. The song playing on the phone was 'Irokousui' by Yoh Kamiyama.

Throughout the song, Hori was humming quietly. By the time we finished washing the dishes, it was almost dark.

When Hori went to the living room to watch something on TV, I was arranging the plates in the kitchen.

"Hori-nee, I'm going out to take out the trash."

"Hmhm, okay, I'm sorry I have to make you do this."

"No problem."

As I took out the trash, I thought about the system appearing, and sure enough, the system was still in the last state I left it.

<Reward: The Chef's Skillful Hands>

While taking out the trash and returning home, I began to think about what kind of reward this was. At the same time, a different screen opened containing the description of the reward.

<You will now have the ability to cook as deliciously and beautifully chefs. Thanks <Chef's Skillful Hands> ability, you will have memorized all the recipes in the world.>

'Wow...' I thought this way and couldn't help but imagine how I could use this in the future. Maybe when I start to age, I could become a world-famous chef.

Even just imagining it was nice. Thanks to this ability, I wouldn't have to live without money in my future life.

I took out the key from my pocket and opened the door when I got back home. I entered the living room and noticed that Hori had fallen asleep on the couch from exhaustion. She did so much for me today, I'll have to repay her one day. I'll thank Hori for what she did tomorrow.

I unfolded a blanket next to the couch and covered Hori. After turning off the still open television with the remote, I looked at Hori's innocent and cute face and said,

"Goodnight."

As I continued to watch Hori, I started to feel sleepy too. As soon as I began to yawn, I went to my room and lay down on the comfortable bed, falling into a deep sleep.

...

I don't know when it became morning, but the alarm on my phone that I left on the bedside table was ringing.

I opened my eyes and when I looked at the sunbeams streaming in through the window, I realized it was indeed morning. After turning off the alarm, I heard a knock on my room's door.

"Finn-kun, are you awake?"

"Yes, Hori-nee, I just woke up. I'll be there in a moment."

"Okay."

I got out of bed, changed my clothes, and put on my school uniform. I folded the clothes I took off and left them at the corner of the bed. I walked out of my room and went to the living room, seeing Hori for the first time in her school uniform. She was wearing a white shirt under a gray sweater. With a skirt and black stockings that reached just below her knees, she looked even prettier.

'No, leave the bad thoughts behind. She's your cousin...'

"Sorry, I didn't have a chance to prepare breakfast. I'm in a hurry for school. Could you make breakfast for yourself?" Hori took a bite from a pre-made pancake in her hand, slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked quickly towards the entrance of the house. She put on her leather moccasins and opened the door.

"See you in the evening, Finn-kun." Hori waved her hand and closed the door.

When I checked the time on my phone, I saw that I still had some time before I needed to go to school. Perhaps this is an opportunity to try out the <Chef's Skillful Hands> ability I accepted yesterday.

After quickly washing my hands and face, I entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I started thinking about what I could make. I needed something that wouldn't take too much time. After taking the necessary ingredients from the fridge and placing them on the counter, the idea of making a 'Bento' crossed my mind.

At that moment, the system reappeared, providing me with details about 'Bento Recipe'. I felt particularly comfortable using a knife, so I quickly chopped the vegetables for the Bento and placed them in the lunchbox. Meanwhile, I started cooking the rice, turning on the stove.

<With 2 Chef's Skillful Hands, Cooking is Times Faster!>

'With this, I can indeed cook faster.' The rice was done much faster than it should have been. After putting the rice in the lunchbox, it was time to boil the eggs. I placed the eggs in the water to let them boil.

A few minutes later, a message appeared saying '<Eggs are Ready!>'. I took the eggs out of the water, peeled them, and placed them in the lunchbox. Maybe this would be enough, after all, I didn't want to be late for school.

After turning off the stove and cleaning up the kitchen, I put my meal in my school bag. I walked towards the entrance of the house, put on my sneakers, and left the house, heading towards school on foot.

I still had enough time to walk to school, so I chose to take it easy without rushing.

When I reached the entrance of the school, I saw many students making banners to recruit new members for their clubs.

"Oh, isn't that today? Today is the start of club applications."

I could hear the voices of the students as I passed by them.

"Would you like to join our Art Club?"

"If you think you're good at soccer, please play with us."

"We're waiting for you to join our Theater Club."

Since I wasn't very interested in joining clubs, I kept walking and continued to look straight ahead to show that I wasn't particularly interested.

At that moment, a tall and stocky student with a buzz cut and an irritable look cut in front of me, coming dangerously close to my face.

"Huuuuuu..."

"Excuse me, but may I ask why you're standing so close to my face?"

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."

"Oh, Tanaka-san! Please don't scare the underclassmen."

"But Suguwara, this kid is way too charismatic and his body is in great shape. I want him in our club."

"Tanaka-san, as you know, we can't force a student to join a club."

At that moment, the irritable senpai named Tanaka occasionally turned his head to talk to the gray-haired senpai named Suguwara behind him.

He started staring at me intensely again.

"You're joining, right? I'm not forcing you, but you're joining our club, RIGHT?!"

Please stop looking at me like you're going to beat me up if I refuse to join...

"Tanaka, I apologize on his behalf. I'm giving you an application form in case you're interested. Could you please fill it out and bring it to school by the end of the day?"

As I began to examine the form he handed me, Suguwara senpai, who wouldn't leave Tanaka senpai's side, took him by the ear and started dragging him away.

I started to look at the application form to see which club they were from.

'Volleyball, huh?'