Does This Love Suit Your Taste? - Volume 1 Chapter 5.1

Date 1

Toui was being bullied shortly after entering elementary school.

『Le-Let me join in too…』

Little Toui wiped his tear-stained eyes with the back of his hand while looking up at the boys on the playground equipment.

Due to his parents’ education, Toui was made to attend a lot of lessons, leaving him with absolutely no time to interact with his classmates.

Even if he managed to find time to visit a friend, Toui himself was not good at communication, so it was even harder for him to enter the circle of friendships that had already been established.

『Being alone is not fun!』

『Hey! Go home!』

『Ugh, uwaa!』

Thrown a ball they had been playing with from above, Toui was chased away from the spot.

『『『Ahahahahaha!!!!!』』』

The children’s innocent yet cruel laughter echoed under the clear sky.

Not being allowed to join in the play, Toui gave up and trudged away from the park.

Toui had always been alone since around this time.

But there was one thing that Toui always looked forward to.

That’s right, times like these call for a visit to the shop. Surely then, Toui would be able to meet that person.

That was Toui’s daily routine, and it was his daily joy.

Instead of going home to an empty house, Toui headed to a shop run by his parents called Maison.

Upon arriving at the shop, Toui reached up to turn the doorknob and open it.

As he did, Camille, who was in the middle of preparations, noticed the sound of the entrance bell and came out of the kitchen.

『Toui-kun? Oh my, what happened? Why are you crying?』

『Camille-san… uhh, uwaaaah!』

『Ah come here, yohi-yoshi (pat). Were you bullied again…?』

Camille embraced Toui. Camille gently stroked Toui’s small head over and over.

Toui loved Camille’s warmth.

Melted by her warmth, Toui finally regained his composure.

『Are you alright now?』

『…Yeah.』

『Alright, if the same thing happens again, Auntie will deal with those kids!』

『Ah… Camille-san, you might lose…』

『Oh my, that’s not true, okay? Looks can be deceiving.』

Seeing Toui looking not quite convinced by her words, Camille hummed, ‘Hmm…’

After a moment, she placed her fist on her palm and asked Toui with a smile.

『That’s right! Toui-kun, do you want to eat Dessert?』(desēru)

『 Dessert?』

『 Dessert (Desēru), you see, is what they call ‘Dessert’ (dezāto) in French.』(TN: The word ‘Dessert’ originates from French.)

『 Dessert!? I’ll eat~!』

『Toui-kun loves sweets, right? I’ll make it right away, so sit down and wait.』

『Okay!』

Having stopped crying, Toui struggled to climb up onto the tall chair at the counter seat in the shop.

As he sat there, he swung his feet back and forth that didn’t reach the floor, eagerly awaiting his Dessert.

『Here you go, sorry to keep you waiting!』

『Wow!… Huh, what’s this?』

However, what appeared before Toui was far from the Dessert he had imagined.

On the small plate was something that looked like nothing more than milk for a cat with chocolate powder sprinkled on top.

When he scooped up the soup with the spoon, which from the smell was maybe milk, he realized that it was not a liquid but rather some kind of soaked fluffy solid.

『Those little grains, you see, are rice.』

『R-rice~!? That’s not a dessert!』

Toui was disappointed with the Dessert.

Rice is a meal, and the combination of rice and milk, a seemingly incompatible duo, also diminished Toui’s appetite. Not to mention the chocolate powder on rice.

Toui scooped some up with a spoon, then put it back, scooped it up, then put it back again, hesitating over and over whether to eat it or not.

『Give it a try, even if you think you’ve been tricked.』

『Ehh, it looks yucky…』

『Uwahh, Auntie worked so hard to make it though…』

Even as a child, Toui felt it would be too cruel to diregard Camille’s efforts.

So with a sense of resolve, Toui took a bite of the Dessert——

—Munch!

『…it’s delicious!? What is this~!』

The cold milk was well absorbed into the rice, and the sweetness of the sugar and chocolate gently melted in his mouth as he chewed.

It perfectly suits Toui’s taste for sweets.

『Right? I’m glad you like it. That’s a dessert from my hometown where I grew up. It’s something unimaginable in Japan, right?』

『Yeah! It’s really surprising!』

Watching Toui eagerly dig into the Dessert, Camille smiled softly and squinted her eyes.

『Cooking can’t be understood just by looking at its surface. You have to taste it and savor it to truly know everything about it. It’s the same with people; you can’t judge someone just by their appearance. Auntie is happy that Toui-kun ate and appreciated it.』

Toui, being a child, didn’t quite understand the meaning of Camille’s words and let the conversation flow past him as he asked about something else.

『What do you call this Dessert?』

『It’s called—』

◇◇◇

“—nami! Kiminami!!”

——Then I woke up.

That’s right, I was in the middle of a Japanese history class.

“You’re always sleeping during class. Do you even have any motivation?”

It was the teacher who recently got furious about my earring, Kondo.

Motivation should be saved for the things you want to do. I’m going to be a chef in the future, you know?

I don’t care what people in the past(like him) did or said. It has nothing to do with my future.

——My gaze is not cast upon the past but fixed on the future ahead!

Damn…

I’m so cool… I love it…

“Ah? Shut u—”

I was about to talk back when I stopped myself.

I realized something. The notes that I was supposed to be copying down (assigned by S-Hime) were still incomplete.

And from her seat in the center of the classroom, S-Hime was glaring in my direction…

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Hmm, surprisingly obedient… Well, fine. But I won’t forgive you if you fall asleep again…”

As I was immersed in the past, I tried to catch up with the modern times that had moved on by copying the blackboard’s contents into my notebook.

I frantically ran my pen, finishing the section I had transferred to my notebook. Just as I was about to move to the next, I looked up at the blackboard, and suddenly, the face of a familiar person from the dream I had just had flashed through my mind.

…I wonder why I have such a dream now after all these years.

◇