Hospitality Comes with a Soufflé 10
“Sōma-san”
As his face turned completely sideways, Chika, looking somewhat fed up, poked the back of his hand with her mechanical pencil.
“You’re not focusing at all.”
“Sorry. You’re right.”
When he honestly admitted and apologized, Chika put her hands on her hips and said,
“Then, let’s just finish classical literature. We’ll take a break once we’ve completed pages thirty-one and thirty-two of this workbook.”
“Can’t we take a break right now?”
“Even I could get angry, you know?”
“…I’m sorry.”
He apologized once more and seriously began working on the designated problems.
But it wasn’t even five minutes before he got stuck.
” ‘Choose three items from the following that do not match the content of the text’…?”
It’s a question that can be easily solved by interpreting both the text and the question. However, the crucial interpretation is what he cannot do.
Sōma was originally inclined towards the sciences and struggled with liberal arts subjects.
Classical literature, in particular, was a terrible match for him. The meanings of words have changed too much from the past to the present, causing him confusion.
Take the typical example, “あはれ” (aware). In modern Japanese, it means “pitiful” or “pathetic.” Yet, in classical literature, it means “deeply moving” or “wonderful.” Sometimes, it can even mean “pitiful” in the same sense as it does today.
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It’s just too confusing. He feels like complaining that one word is being used too conveniently for multiple purposes.
He hated the vague sensation of something that looks like Japanese but wasn’t Japanese.
“Sōma-san?”
Noticing that Sōma had become completely immobile while staring at the workbook, Chika, who had been diligently solving problems across the table, looked up.
“Could it be, are you stuck?”
“Completely.”
“Which part don’t you understand? Please tell me-please tell me!”
Leaning forward, Chika’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.
It seemed she was thrilled to have the chance to teach him something.
“Everything.”
“Ah… I see.”
She nodded in response.
“This is something I picked up from Miki-chan, but a quick way to learn classical literature is to hammer into your head the summaries of all the frequently covered works. If you know the content, you will still have a starting point for solving the problems even if you don’t understand every little word during a test.”
“That’s quite a brute-force approach for the top student’s study method.”
He glanced briefly at Miki, who seemed to be tossing Shōhei’s character around.
“That study method makes sense, but it’s still hard for me to grasp. I have absolutely no interest in classical literature.”
Most of the works dealt with in classical literature are from the Heian period.
Unlike the Sengoku period, where numerous warlords aimed for national unification, or the end of the Edo period, where the Restoration patriots and the Shinsengumi were active, he just couldn’t find any interest in the Heian period, where nobles were involved in messy politics and romances.
He can remember countless confectionery recipes, but even when he thinks he has memorized a work from the Heian period, which he has no interest in, he completely forgets it by the next day.
“It’s actually quite interesting if you look carefully at the human relationships.”
“No way, I just can’t get interested in stuff like that.”
“Hmm…”
Chika groaned and turned her eyes toward Miki. However, the top student engrossed in her fighting game did not even try to look back at her best friend.
After pondering for a while, Chika eventually clapped her hands.
“That’s it. How about I read it to you?”
“Read it to me?”
“It’s exactly what I said. When learning things, it’s said that using all five senses rather than just vision makes it easier to remember. Let’s use not only our sight but our hearing as well.”
He has heard of that study method before.
It’s said that when trying to memorize something, using other senses like hearing or touch in addition to reading silently can help the information stick better.
The way elementary school students repeatedly write and recite multiplication tables to memorize them is probably the prime example of this.
“Well, I guess it might stick in my head better than just reading it silently.”
“Right?! Let’s try it-let’s try it!”
Happy with her own idea, Chika quickly took out a supplemental reading book from her bag and began to choose which piece to read.
On the other hand, Sōma was a bit reluctant. The idea of sitting close and listening to her read is pretty embarrassing, especially with Shōhei and Miki around.
“But that’s like a parent reading a picture book to a child. I don’t want to go that far.”
“Just give it a try. You’ve never done that kind of learning method before, have you?”
“Well, no, but…”
Despite showing reluctance, Chika was unstoppable and couldn’t help but want to quickly try out the learning method she had come up with. She excitedly moves around the table.
“Hey, wait?”
Just when it seemed like she was going to sit next to him, for some reason she circled behind Sōma and sat down.
“Reading aloud works better from here.”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, she wrapped her arms around him from behind.
It was as if she was a mother reading a picture book to a baby, or perhaps it should be called a back hug.
“Your head is in the way; I can’t see the book. Can you move down a bit?”
She tried to push Sōma’s head down with her hand, as it was obstructing her from reading the book.