80 — Observation Really Was…

“Even so… I can’t teach you right now.”

As she said that, Aria quickly let go of Kikori.

“Huh? What do you mean—”

“I’m not being mean, okay? It’s just that using it indoors is extremely dangerous.”

“It’s not even in any book,” Aria added as she checked how the stew was simmering.

“If it isn’t in a book, I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Right. You can practice something like Sword Breaker, but Mjolnir would… kind of destroy the house and bring the guards running.”

“That much…?”

“It’s flashy. In more ways than one.”

Aria turned off the heat and quickly ladled the stew into bowls.

“Anyway, I’ll teach you tomorrow. In the field.”

“In the field… does that mean you’re going adventuring tomorrow too, Aria-san?”

“More like Kuon-san stays home. I’m teaching only you, Kikori.”

When Aria asked, “That’s okay, right?” Kikori answered, “Of course.”

He had planned to go to the Adventurers’ Guild tomorrow to ask about the outcome of the Big Goblin incident anyway… but still, all he could do was apologize to Kuon with everything he had.

“Alright—let’s eat the stew!”

“Yes.”

He carried it to the table and took a bite, and Kikori immediately realized, “Yeah, I can’t win against this.”

“It’s delicious…”

“Right? I’m kind of confident about my stew.”

“I don’t think mine would ever turn out like this.”

“Heehee. That makes me happy.”

It wasn’t flattery. He meant it.

Even if Kikori used every scrap of knowledge from his previous life, it wouldn’t come out like this.

Sure, the cheese melted into the stew helped the flavor… but even so, it was incredibly good.

Even the potatoes were cooked perfectly.

Soft enough for a spoon to slide through easily, while still keeping a bit of texture.

More than that… Kikori realized something.

Had she figured out his exact taste?

“Oh, Kikori—you’ve got the face of someone who noticed something.”

“No, it’s just…”

“Hm?”

“Did you… maybe figure out the kind of flavor I like?”

When Kikori asked timidly, Aria smiled warmly.

“Kikori. Observation is the greatest power for winning at everything, you know?”

“So you have figured it out…”

“I’d like you to figure out my preferences too, you know.”

“Ugh… yes.”

As he said that, Kikori glanced around the room’s furnishings. The color theme was white.

Aria also wore a lot of white.

So… the best he could do was guess that she probably liked white.

That was… honestly too half-hearted.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to it. By the way, I do like white quite a lot. You’re right.”

Aria laughed brightly, and Kikori nodded, deciding he would seriously train his powers of observation.