Chocolate de Familia 8
“Hmm?”
His eyes caught on a newcomer, a small cat stuffed animal that seemed to lean against another stuffed animal.
It was an aged rabbit stuffed animal, seemingly to be the oldest among all the stuffed animals.
Its fur, which was probably once snow-white, had turned completely dark and appeared tousled and fluffy.
The ears that were supposed to stand tall were now drooping weakly.
“Something about it feels familiar…”
The stuffed animal was wearing an orange fluffy dress, and the feeling of familiarity seemed stronger than the stuffed animal itself.
The sewing is slightly uneven, and the size doesn’t quite fit.
There are no tags, so it’s probably handmade.
That means it’s likely a one-of-a-kind item, which is strange because he feels a strong sense of déjà vu.
‘When and where have I seen it before…?’
The memory should be somewhere in his brain.
But he has no idea where it could be.
As he scratched his temple, feeling a discomforting haze in my mind, it happened.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
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From downstairs, he heard a high-pitched scream.
“Chika!?”
In the next moment, he rushed out of the room——
As someone who spends time in the kitchen every day, Sōma can easily imagine the reason for a scream coming from there.
If it’s just a black bug that appeared, it can be treated as a funny story, but if it’s an injury or a fire, it’s a completely different matter.
The sense of duty to help Chika was moving his body without him even thinking.
He rushed down the stairs, ran through the short hallway, and finally reached the aged but brightly colored appearance dining kitchen.
The kitchen racks and shelves were neatly arranged with polished tools, which would usually make Sōma’s eyes shine, but right now, he paid no attention to them.
“Chika, are you okay!?”
“Sōma-san…”
Chika was sitting on the floor, looking up at him with a face that seemed about to cry.
“I messed up…”
“A failure? Oh, I see…”
From the stainless steel frying pan she was holding, something dark was emitting a burnt and smoky smell.
“I looked away for a second, and it turned out like this…”
She slumped down, feeling dejected.
He felt relieved that it wasn’t an injury or a fire.
However, he soon realized that this was also a serious matter.
This was a big mistake.
“Chika——”
As Sōma tried to find the right words to speak to her, Chika’s parents, who heard the scream, came rushing in.
“Chika, what’s wrong!?”
“Chika-chan, are you okay!?”
When they saw their daughter, they seemed to quickly grasp the situation.
“Dad, Mom… I messed up…”
As Chika weakly said this, her parents immediately understood.
“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, are you hurt?”
“No burns?”
“I’m sorry…”
Still holding the pan, Chika apologized with a lack of strength.
Her parents gently placed their hands on her shoulders, patted her back, and caressed her head to comfort her.
“There’s no need to apologize. Chika, you did your best.”
“That’s right. Chika-chan, you don’t need to worry at all. Hand me the pan, and I’ll clean up.”
Looking at the loving expressions of her parents, it was clear that they truly loved and cherished their daughter.
To them, she was their treasure.
“Oh, right. Dad will order something through delivery.”
“Yes, that sounds good. Chika-chan, is there something you want to eat? Just tell us anything you like.”
The two parents swiftly tried to comfort and take care of their daughter.
The father went to get the tablet for food delivery while the mother started to clean up the burnt pan.
They were gently comforting their daughter and providing accurate support for her failure.
Truly wonderful parents.
Usually, even if their son had made a mistake, a few words of ‘That’s fine, just clean up properly’ were enough to handle the situation.
Other parents should definitely learn from them.
However, there was a question arising.
Is this the right answer in this case?
As I looked at Chika, who was staring intently at the contents of the pan, such a doubt crossed my mind.
Chika’s eyes were not dead yet.
She hadn’t given up. There was still a faint but burning flame deep in her eyes.
“Now, Chika-chan, hand the pan to Mom.”
As the mother gently persuaded her, she tried to take the burnt pan from her daughter’s hand.
——Yes, tried to take it, that’s how it looked.
Chika’s precious possession, her potential, was about to be taken away.
“Wait——please wait.”
Sōma found himself saying those words without even realizing it.
The three members of the Satomi family focused their gaze on Sōma.
“Who are you to meddle in our business, a total stranger?”
Chika’s father glared at Sōma, causing him to flinch for a moment.
The gentle look he had towards his daughter instantly turned into a sharp and hostile gaze, as if he could shoot someone with it.
Is this person really a pastry chef?
He seriously starts to doubt whether they had a dangerous occupation before becoming a pastry chef, and he feels pressured and wants to apologize and run away.
But that wouldn’t be helpful for Chika. He made a promise to support her in doing what she wanted.
Above all, he doesn’t want to abandon someone who’s working hard for their goals.
He gathers strength in his stomach to stand his ground.
“Yes, I’ll intervene. Please don’t interfere with her.”
“Interfere? We’re just concerned about our daughter——”
“She hasn’t given up yet. She can still do it. Right, Chika?”
He looks at Chika.
“Sōma-san…”
“Are you the kind of weak person who gives up so easily?”
When Sōma meets my eyes, the flames in her eyes gradually grow stronger and bigger.
“…Yes, that’s right, Sōma-san! I haven’t given up yet. Failure is just a step towards success!”
She says firmly, gripping the handle of the pot, which continues to emit a burnt smell.
“Chika…!”
It’s the first time she has clearly shown her intentions and rejected her parents’ help.
Both of them look at her with disbelief.