Most puddings contained lots of cream that would melt in the mouth, and while they were delicious, Amane preferred the harder ones with lots of eggs, the type to not break even with a scoop.
The pudding maintained the original taste of eggs, along with a rich creamy taste, but thanks to the slightly bitter caramel, the slightly excessive sweetness was not overbearing.
Instead, the taste was refreshing, and tempted him into eating it over and over again.
Amane did not really have a fondness for sweets, but Mahiru's homemade pudding completely captivated him. In a blink, the pudding on the plate was gone.
"Woah, it's delicious."
"Thank you for the compliment. It is my honor."
The pudding was served after dinner. Amane finished it, and it was not enough, so he had another one.
He did not really have much appetite for a high school boy, but Mahiru's homemade pudding was something he could keep eating despite being full.
He touched his belly as he felt much more satisfied than the servings of pudding, his delight clearly shown on his face.
"You really can do anything."
"I was taught everything after all."
Mahiru did not seem proud of it, but she really could cook various dishes, sometimes even making dishes Amane did not know of.
Of course, they were delicious and not overbearing. It was wonderful that someone like Mahiru could stay beside him and cook for him.
"But seriously, thanks to you, I'm really blessed."
"...Blessed?"
"Yeah. I get to eat such delicious food every day. How can I not be considered blessed? This is my daily enjoyment."
Mahiru's cooking was half of his daily joy, and he could forget most of his unhappiness by rounding off the day with Mahiru's cooking.
He truly was blessed to have her cooking every day, but she did not realize it much. She probably would not have realized the value of her cooking if Amane did not lavish praise on her.
Also, it was etiquette to praise delicious food. He should convey his thoughts honestly.
"...I-I see."
Mahiru blushed a little when faced with this honest praise, and shriveled back.
"...I am happy to be praised by you, Amane-kun."
"I'll praise you however much you want if I can. Is my praise for your delicious cooking not enough? I can go into more details if you want."
It was said that disagreements between husband and wife were often because they forgot to thank each other.
Amane and Mahiru were not husband and wife, but Amane was always the one to receive food, and could never forget to thank her. The taste too was sufficient motivation for him to thank, so if Mahiru wanted to listen, Amane was willing to go into the details.
However, Mahiru shook her head in refusal.
"N-no need for that...I may die."
"You're overexaggerating."
"I am not overexaggerating. This much is enough."
"Really? But I will have to rely on your cooking every day, so I better thank you. Thanks for everything till this point."
Amane's food was all due to Mahiru, so he remained grateful, and would never forget to repay her. It was all thanks to her.
Without Mahiru, Amane would continue to remain a rotten man. He hoped Mahiru would continue to stay alongside him; if he was any greedier, perhaps forever.
He smiled with utter graciousness, and Mahiru shivered like a vibrating smartphone before she stood up.
"...Amane-kun no baka."
For some reason, Mahiru called him an idiot with a cute voice, took the dishesand went to wash them. Amane followed her, and put his cutlery in the basin.
It was too sudden, and Amane was confused, thinking that Mahiru did not have to cover for his washing duty, so he grabbed her elbow. She suddenly turned towards him.
Mahiru was blushing more than before, and it intensified after she saw Amane's face, which left the latter restless.
"...I-I'll handle these. Wait for me at the sofa. Okay?"
Amane patted Mahiru's head, and chased her out of the kitchen. Mahiru murmured something, and hurried towards the sofa, burying herself into it.
Seeing how unusually restless Mahiru was, Amane blinked away.
He then recalled her prior blushing face, and began washing the dishes with cold water to cool his head down.
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