Sizzle~
The mixture of batter, oil, and various ingredients released an enticing aroma as it cooked on the iron griddle.
Instantly, the hungry group started swallowing their saliva.
Shiro had even taken out his fork, ready to dig in.
With the final fried egg placed on top of the batter, the famous Osaka street food—Okonomiyaki—was complete!
"Hey, it's done!"
Azusa placed the dish on the table, drawing gasps of admiration from the three newbies.
Shiro wasted no time and immediately took a bite with his fork!
"Mmm! This is amazing! Your cooking skills are on par with professionals. Azusa-nee, let's open a restaurant together! Who needs school?!"
After tasting it, Shiro's eyes lit up. He seriously thought this was a great business opportunity. Back home, there was a guy selling pancakes outside his university, making over 210,000 yen a month—it was basically a high-paying job!
"Hehe, it's not that amazing. Besides, I'm already in my second year, so there's no way I'd drop out for this."
Azusa put down her spatula and ruffled Shiro's hair. Unlike him, she wasn't some rich landowner's kid.
Iori and Kohei also took a bite and were genuinely surprised at how delicious it was!
"Are we selling Okonomiyaki at the Spring Festival?"
"This is seriously good!"
Connecting the dots with what the seniors had mentioned about the Spring Festival, they guessed this must be one of the items they planned to sell.
"Haha, if it wasn't delicious, we'd be in trouble."
"The money we earn from this will go towards the club's activity budget."
The two seniors laughed as they explained that their club's budget was raised through activities like this.
"So today, you first-years are going to learn how to make Okonomiyaki!"
"Make sure to learn properly from Azusa."
Making Okonomiyaki was practically a PaB club tradition. Everyone in the club knew how to make it. Since they didn't recruit any new members last year, they had worried that this skill might be lost. Fortunately, this year, they got some promising newcomers!
Just as Azusa was wondering why Tokita and Kotobuki weren't joining in, the store manager called out to them from his car on the street.
They had to go help prepare equipment today, so they couldn't be there. But at noon, the rest of the club members would arrive, so no matter how much they made, it wouldn't go to waste!
"Take care, you two~"
Azusa waved them off enthusiastically. This was a great chance for her to get to know the new members better!
She was already quite familiar with Shiro and Chisa. But the other two newbies? She hadn't interacted with them yet. From what she had heard, they were pretty solid recruits!
"Alright, let's begin!"
Azusa tied her apron. As much as she wanted to chat, she needed to focus on the task at hand first!
"Understood!" ×2
Chisa and Shiro followed behind Azusa like two obedient elementary school kids.
Chisa was naturally well-behaved, while Shiro had no choice; Azusa had warned him that if he didn't take this seriously, he'd be dead meat...
Meanwhile, Iori and Kohei, still unaware of Azusa's personality, whispered to each other at the back.
They had a big move planned for today!
'Let's do this, Kohei!'
'No problem, Kitahara!'
-------
This morning, while Azusa was still asleep, Tokita held a meeting for the three newcomers.
It was about the competition.
Although the two seniors believed that if Shiro participated, he would have a high chance of winning; after all, he had no qualms about this kind of competition—
What a joke! A contest that would instantly make the girls in school remember his handsome face? How could Shiro possibly refuse? Never underestimate a popular guy!
However, to cater to all audience preferences and prepare for any unexpected situations, the seniors thought it would be better for Iori and Kohei to enter instead!
But!
Since the two seniors weren't complete devils, they understood that forcing a hardcore otaku and a crossdresser to enter was a bit too cruel. So, they came up with a way out for them!
There was a counterpart to the contest, a beauty pageant for girls! If they could get Chisa to enter that competition, they wouldn't have to participate in that accursed contest at all!
Thus, Iori and Kohei devised a meticulous plan!
First!
They had to get rid of that bastard Shiro! That guy was absolutely not on their side!
They had no doubt that scumbag wouldn't keep their secret!
They could already imagine his sinister smile!
'What do we do, Kitahara?! How do we get rid of that bastard Kamishiro?!'
Kohei kept sending desperate eye signals. The main issue was that Shiro was too hard to deal with; if they couldn't take him out in one move, they'd be exposed immediately!
'Relax! Leave it to me!'
Iori responded with a firm expression. He had already figured out a way to deal with Shiro!
Iori, wearing a bright smile, approached Shiro, who was practicing making okonomiyaki. Just as he was about to speak, his eyes started burning!
The black smoke from the griddle immediately stung his eyes, making him tear up and forget what he was about to say!
"My eyes!"
Iori covered his eyes and staggered backward in confusion.
What was that just now?!
A new biological weapon?! Why did his eyes feel like they were on fire?!
Kohei stared in horror at the griddle in front of Shiro. He swore he had just seen a skull emerge from the smoke!
Wasn't this supposed to be cooking?!
Shiro glanced at Iori curiously, unsure what the idiot was freaking out about.
But he didn't have time to deal with Kitahara right now!
He felt like he was in the zone, he was finally about to perfect his okonomiyaki!
Thick black smoke continued to rise from the griddle in front of Shiro. What was supposed to be a soft, golden pancake had turned into a lump of charcoal!
The shrimp, cabbage, carrots, and other ingredients were completely unrecognizable—everything had turned into coal!
And yet, this demon was still adding more mayonnaise and hot sauce on top!
Stop! That's no longer okonomiyaki! That's a witch brewing a potion!
At this moment, Shiro, in everyone's eyes, looked exactly like a medieval witch—grinning eerily while performing his dark cooking rituals.
With that unsettling expression and the endless stream of black smoke, even Azusa and Chisa didn't dare to approach him.
Could humans even eat something like that?!
Azusa now understood why Shiro always showed up at mealtimes, if he cooked for himself, he'd probably poison himself to death!
After a series of strange and horrifying actions, Shiro finally presented his special okonomiyaki!
"Come on, everyone, dig in! I think I outdid myself this time. It's definitely delicious!"
The group fell silent, staring at the lump of charcoal in front of them.
It was their first time witnessing such a catastrophic level of cooking failure. How could someone mess up okonomiyaki this badly?!
And that "fried egg" on top—was it really an egg, or was it some demon's excrement?!
This was the first time they'd seen an egg that had turned the entire surrounding area black while somehow remaining raw in the middle.
They were convinced that Shiro shouldn't be making okonomiyaki, he should be practicing alchemy instead. Surely, alchemists would welcome a prodigy like him!
Faced with Shiro's smiling expectant gaze, nobody knew how to take the first bite.
"Haha… I feel a little hungover. I must have drunk too much last night. I can't eat anything greasy right now, so you guys go ahead!"
Azusa immediately bailed, even though she hated wasting food. But this… this thing wasn't food anymore!
Hearing her excuse, Shiro didn't press the issue and instead turned his gaze to the remaining three. His narrowed eyes radiated immense pressure!
"Umm… Actually, I'm already full! And it's my turn next, so I'll go clean the griddle!"
Chisa tossed out an excuse and bolted at lightning speed.
She admitted it, she was scared!
Even in gym class, she had never run this fast!
Shiro didn't push her either, leaving the pressure on Iori and Kohei.
The two of them exchanged frantic glances.
'Kitahara! Think of something! If we eat that, we're going to die!'
'I know! My eyes still hurt, damn it!'
'Then hurry up and think! Those two already ran off! If we stay here any longer, it won't just be our eyes suffering!'
'Kohei! Let's run! Split up!'
'Got it!'
Bang!
Both of them bolted in opposite directions, but the next second, they both tripped and crashed to the ground!
Before they even realized it, their ankles had been connected by a pair of handcuffs!
!!!
Iori stared in horror at the pink handcuffs on his foot!
When did these get put on?!
Shiro stood before them, smiling while holding his special iron plate dish.
"Trying to run? No chance. I put these on while you two were exchanging glances~"
Devil!!!
That was the only word in Iori's mind at the moment!
"You know, using handcuffs without permission is illegal, right?"
Kohei struggled; he hadn't even met his favorite voice actress yet, how could he fall here?!
"Well, silver ones are illegal. These are pink~"
Like that makes a difference! And why the hell do you even have pink handcuffs on you, you scumbag?!
Shiro kept smiling as he approached them, the black lump of coal in his hands getting closer and closer.
Then, in a low, devilish whisper, he said, "If you don't eat this, I'll tell Chisa you guys want her to enter the beauty pageant~"
!!!
Demon!!!