Hospitality Comes with a Soufflé 5
There are two important points to note when making a soufflé.
One must whip the meringue firmly properly and ensure no lumps form when making the béchamel sauce.
The former is not so much of a problem, as all you need to do is use a hand mixer to whip the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
The latter, however, is the tricky part.
Mix melted unsalted butter with flour, then gradually add milk warmed to body temperature, stirring constantly.
It’s important not to add the milk all at once; otherwise, the flour will quickly form lumps.
“Little by little, without rushing, carefully…”
Reminding himself, he pours the milk into the saucepan and stirs carefully with a wooden spatula.
“…Good.”
When the smooth, lump-free white sauce was completed, he felt a deep sense of relief.
He gently poured the mixture of bechamel sauce and meringue into the soufflé cups and placed them into the preheated oven.
“I hope it turns out well.”
――Ding-dong.
As he watched the soufflé slowly rise in the oven, the doorbell rang.
“Hello, Sōma-san. Thank you for inviting me today.”
When he opened the front door, there stood Chika in casual clothes, carrying a handbag, and bowing her head in greeting.
“Welcome. Did you get lost on the way?”
“The roads here are easier to understand than around my house, so I was fine.”
“That’s good to hear. Well, come on in.”
“Yes, excuse me for bothering you.”
As Chika followed the invitation and took off her shoes, she stared intently at Sōma.
“Is there something wrong?”
“I just thought you were wearing an apron.”
“Well, I am making sweets, so it’s natural.”
While saying this, he strokes the surface of his navy blue apron.
Originally, he started wearing it because his mother had ordered him to, saying it would be a hassle to wash his clothes if they got dirty, but lately, he found it hard to concentrate without wearing her apron.
For Sōma, it had become an indispensable item.
“You’re not wearing the off-shoulder dress you bought the other day, Chika.”
He had assumed she would wear the off-shoulder dress she bought on their first shopping trip together.
At that, Chika seemed a bit troubled and said,
“My mom stopped me. She said, ‘I don’t know what Sōma-san’s parents will think if you wear that,’ so…”
“My parents? Why are they even coming into this?”
“Well…? She said she didn’t want me to make the same mistakes she did, so I absolutely must follow her advice. Since she was so serious, I decided to listen. So, I went and bought some autumn clothes by myself instead.”
‘What do you think?’ she asked while delicately pinching the hem of her long skirt.
“Huh, you went shopping alone? That’s amazing.”
“Well, it was the store you took me last time to, Sōma-san. I still don’t have the courage to go into a completely unknown store by myself.”
“I kind of understand that.”
It also takes courage for Sōma to buy clothes at a store he’s never been to before, especially since he’s been relying solely on online shopping lately.
“Just so you know, my parents aren’t home right now. They both had to work this weekend.”
“They must be busy. I’ll just have to greet them some other time then.”
“It’s fine, really, greetings and such. If you ever meet them, just saying a simple ‘Hello’ is enough.”
“My mom told me this, too. She said I should make a proper first impression, or I’d regret it.”
“Chika’s mom sounds very polite.”
Sōma had never thought about properly greeting a friend’s parents, nor had his own parents given him such advice.
“My mom is certainly polite, but I feel like there’s another reason behind it…”
As the daughter began to ponder her mother’s intentions with her arms crossed, a beep signaling the completion of the soufflé came from down the kitchen.
“Oh, looks like it’s done. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”
He had invited her over to enjoy the freshly baked soufflé, and it would be a shame if it deflated while they were wasting time here.
“The room right at the top of the stairs is mine, so please wait there.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in a bit!”
Although he should show her around, the soufflé demanded his immediate attention. He apologized and returned to the kitchen.
“Hope it’s baked perfectly——”
Putting on his trusty moss-green kitchen mittens, which he had been using for years just like his apron, he pulled out the tray from the oven.
The soufflé, revealing itself along with a sweet aroma, had formed a beautifully domed shape.
At first glance, it passed the visual test.
Wondering about how well it’s baked, he sticks a bamboo skewer into it.
As he slowly pulls it out, there’s no wet batter sticking to it, and when he touches it to his lips, he can feel a faint warmth.
It seems there’s no need to worry about it being undercooked.
“Good, good. Now it’s all about the taste.”
That was something only the taste tester could decide. He gently placed it on the tray he had prepared and headed toward his room on the second floor.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Please taste it before it gets cold—what, hey!”
A frilly-moving butt jumps into his view as he opens the door.
“Hey, what the heck are you doing crawling under someone’s bed?”
Chika has her head stuck under the bed, rummaging around for something.
She looks like a cat that wants to get into a tight space but is hindered by her butt getting stuck.
“Sōma-san, where is ‘that’ thing?”
“『That』? What are you talking about?”
He asks back to Chika, or rather, to Chika’s behind.
“It’s the graduation album. The graduation album!”
“…Oh”
‘I knew it’, he thought.
“I can’t find it anywhere! Where is it!?”
“That’s strange. Where could it have gone?”
While replying in a monotone voice, he gazes at Chika’s behind.
Looking at it again, it’s surprisingly large.
“I was looking forward to seeing Sōma-san’s graduation album!”
Her behind seemed to express frustration.
Of course, he knew exactly where the graduation albums were.
The three albums from elementary, junior high, and high school were stored in a case in his parents’ bedroom.
They were there because he had moved them this morning.
When he visited Chika’s room recently, he had thoroughly teased her while looking through her graduation album.
Since she was quite upset at the time, he could easily predict she’d seek revenge. He didn’t want to be teased in return, so he had hidden them in advance.
Watching Chika search earnestly, he was glad he had hidden them.
‘This time, it’s my win.’
He secretly made a fist pump in his heart.
“Come on, let’s forget about the graduation album. We should be focusing on the soufflé.”
Hoping she’d finally give up, he playfully smacked her behind with his hand.
“Ouch! Did you just slap my butt!?”
Holding her butt with both hands, Chika pulled her head out from under the bed.
“It looked slap-able, so I slapped it.”
“That’s s*xual harassment! It’s DV!” (TN: ＤＶです, Domestic Violence probably)
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Ignoring Chika’s fuming anger, he placed the soufflé on a small table in the center of the room.
“It should be fine to slap the butt of someone who searches other people’s houses without permission. Be grateful I didn’t hit you with the wooden sword I bought in Kyoto.”
“Ah… Sōma-san, were you the type to get so excited on a school trip that you ended up buying a wooden sword…?”
“Hey, don’t get weirded out by that.”
“I mean, I never even imagined that there would be people who would buy such a thing.”
“Apologize to all the school trip students across the country who bought wooden swords.”
Well, it’s true that he bought it on a whim, and now he’s puzzled over its practical use.
“Forget the graduation album and the wooden sword, just try this soufflé sample for now. It’s going to get cold and deflate.”
“Ah, right. That’s why I came here. I’ll look at the graduation album later.”
She seemed to be quite attached to the graduation album, but as she sat down properly in front of the soufflé, her expression turned serious.