“That was so delicious……!”
“Glad you liked it. It’s not good to do any physical activities such as swimming right after having a meal. So let’s take a little break first to give time for the food to settle down our stomachs.”
We left the maidroids to clean up after the meal, and we decided to lie down on the beach chairs for some after-meal rest. The stories about getting stomach cramps when one swims right after eating are pretty much fake, but it is true that one will sometimes feel uncomfortable when swimming with a full stomach due to the water pressure, and that can be dangerous in certain circumstances. And hurling the contents of your stomach because of that doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience at all.
“That was a great meal. I still can’t believe you had such a skill.”
“Like I said, all I did was grill stuff. Everybody can do it with a bit of practice. All you have to do is make sure you don’t grill the food too much, sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper, and eat them with some sauce. It’s pretty simple, really. And I still don’t think something as simple as that can be called cooking.”
“Do you actually know other more complicated cooking techniques, Hiro-sama?”
“I can show you as long as I have appropriate ingredients and seasonings.”
I’ve been living alone for quite some time back on Earth after all. But stuff like making dashi from niboshi and konbu to use for bouillon is a bit beyond my culinary skills. I can at least blend some spices to make curry though.
“Then, I want Hiro-sama to cook some food tonight!”
“We just ate lunch and you’re already talking about dinner…… Anyway, can I even actually do that?”
I turned toward the maidroids who have just finished cleaning up, and one of them exchanged gazes with me and nodded.
“Yes. Some of our guests here insist on only eating dishes that their personal chefs have cooked, so we always have ingredients and cooking equipment prepared to cater to them.”
“That’s right. For imperial nobles, especially those of high standing, often employ exclusive chefs as a sign of their status. I believe this resort implemented such a service in order to cater to those noble’s demands.”
The maidroid confirmed that it was possible for guests to cook for themselves, and Chris followed up with an explanation of her own. I see. So that’s how it is. Okay then. Guess I’ll consult with a maidroid in order to decide what ingredients I’ll use for dinner. After consulting with the maidroid, she also offered to assist me later.
“What should I cook then…? Well, since I’m doing this anyway, wouldn’t it be better to go all out?”
How about boiled fish…? Nah. The girls may not be used to eating fish with a lot of fish bones in the meat. I can already imagine Mimi, who’d only ever eaten synthesized fish meat via auto-cooker, getting teary-eyed because of a fishbone stuck on her throat. Should I make sashimi then…? But can the fish on this planet actually be eaten as sashimi? Guess I’ll just ask later.
So the main dishes are tentatively sashimi and fried food. I don’t know what meat they have available, but I should be able to make tonkatsu or karaage if they have pork or chicken. Since I’m planning to make sashimi and fried food, I would like some rice to go with them as well. I wonder if they have rice available? It would be better if they also had a rice cooker too… I’ll ask the maidroid about it as well. Miso soup would complete the meal, but do they have miso though?
“I have a few questions for you.”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
I proceeded to ask about the ingredients and the cooking equipment they have available, and the maidroid gave me some detailed answers. It looks like all the ingredients I wanted were available. They didn’t have a rice cooker, but they offered to serve us some freshly cooked rice instead.
“Thanks for the answers. They were very detailed.”
“I am glad to be of service.”
“Amazing. That sounded very professional.”
“Hiro-sama is a mercenary, but he’s also a skilled chef, isn’t he?”
“Well, considering Hiro’s background, I guess him knowing how to cook isn’t something so far fetched after all…”
“Are you familiar with Hiro-sama’s background, Elma-san?”
“Just a bit. But I’d like to refrain from talking about it freely since that would be bad manners.”
It seems the girls were discussing something as well while I was busy talking with the maidroid about this evening’s meal. I wasn’t really keen on talking to Chris about my background though. There wasn’t much merit to talking about it with her, and it would pose some risk as well. It seems Chris does hold some level of affection for me, but no matter how you look at her, she’s younger than Mimi. Or was she? I haven’t really found out her exact age yet, but I’m pretty sure she’s younger.
After I finished ordering the ingredients for tonight’s dinner, we hit the water again.
I actually wanted to do some fishing and use what I would catch as ingredients as well, but I’m sure Mimi and Chris would want to tag along if I did. And their current outfit, in other words, their swimsuits, would be quite inconvenient for such an activity. Coming to the reefs in just swimsuits and sandals wouldn’t really pose a risk to one’s life, but it’ll still pose a risk of injury. It’ll be even more so if one fell down on a bad spot.
And so, we continued to play in the sea in the afternoon.
“Sooi! Hahaha!”
“Kyaaah! Take this too!”
I splashed sea water onto Mimi and the others, and they hit me back. Afterward, we did some light swimming. Due to her experience using the float earlier, or maybe because of her two natural chest ‘floaters’, Mimi was able to master swimming in the water unaided quickly.
Once you’ve mastered floating on the water, learning to swim would be fairly easy. I wanted to let her get used to having her face immersed in the water, so I taught her the breaststroke first. It’s a form that allows people to get used to swimming at an instinctive level after all.
“I can swim! I can swim now!”
“That’s amazing, Mimi! You’re a very fast learner!”
I didn’t forget to praise her to build confidence. I praised her a lot even if she was only able to move forward by two meters. Praise is important after all. And anyway, I wasn’t really all that good at swimming myself.
It’s fun to watch Mimi having a blast. Yep. It’s quite fun. I could ogle at those chest floaters of hers as they bobbed up and down on the water as much as I wanted. There were also plenty of ‘skinship’ opportunities as well. Yep. It’s good. Very good.
“Kuuh……”
“Don’t let it get to you too much.”
“Hiro-sama, please look at me as well!”
As I watched over Mimi swimming at a spot where the waves were gentler, Chris approached and pulled on my arm.
“Well, uh, y’see Chris… I have a nagging feeling I’d be arrested if I look at you wearing that swimsuit too much.”
After all, it was a classic style school swimsuit with『Chris』written on the white strip on the chest area. It was just plain criminal. Anyway, even if she wore a more standard swimsuit, I feel like I’d still be reported to the police if I ogled Chris unreservedly. Yes. It’s quite dangerous.
“We’re the only ones here, so who would even arrest you?”
“Uh, Miro?”
“You won’t get arrested if you act within reasonable limits, you know…”
Elma let out an exasperated sigh. Well, that’s true. That’s true, but… Acting all excited after seeing an underage loli in a swimsuit just doesn’t feel right y’know. And I definitely won’t act like that no matter what.
“But it does feel unfair that I’m only focusing on Mimi.”
“That’s right.”
“It’s good that you’ve noticed.”
Chris and Elma nodded in agreement. Chris is one thing, but you also want me to pay more attention to you, Elma? She turned away with a red face when I tried matching gazes with her.
“……What? Isn’t it fine just for a little bit?”
“Yes. Please pay attention to us as well.”
I nodded at their request. But I only have one body after all.
“Okay then. I’ll start with Chris first. Can you watch over Mimi for the meantime, Elma? She’s a complete beginner when it comes to swimming after all.”
“I understand.”
Elma’s maturity shines at times like this. I left Mimi with Elma and brought Chris to the rubber float corner.
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