The night was cool as water.

Yuzu Arisugawa’s body was also cold.

Was Eisuke Shi really that kind of person?

Speaking words colder than -37°C with a 37°C mouth, completely unaware of it himself. His expression remained cold and indifferent when he was being sarcastic, clearly showing his true feelings.

In the end, he sincerely advised, “I think it would be better for you to withdraw from school now.”

Damn it, that man was incredibly handsome when he was being sarcastic; his voice was enough to make one melt.

Under Yuzu Arisugawa’s twisted and bizarre gaze, the elegant, sharp-tongued young master could seamlessly transition into a whimpering, soft-hearted person, the kind that could make several Yuzu’s hearts melt.

Switching countless times throughout the night, Yuzu Arisugawa suspected he had multiple personality disorder.

Thankfully, Senpai Ryotan’s encouraging and gentle guidance was there, otherwise, even Yuzu Arisugawa, who was so confident as to be narcissistic, would have doubted herself.

Yuzu Arisugawa was grateful for the senpais’ help.

So, when they parted, when Senpai Ryotan quietly asked what she had done to Senpai Shi before dinner, she told the truth.

“I saw a post online. If you don’t want to be scolded or given extra work by your boss, you can shyly confess your feelings to them. That way, they’ll hesitate before speaking each time and won’t do anything excessive.”

“So I tried to flirt with Senpai Shi.”

“But the effect was terrible. I’ve already blacklisted that post. It’s probably a fantasy post people write before they die.”

When it came to messing with people’s minds, Ryotan Kobayashi decided to ignore the thick, visible black aura around Yuzu. Her voice was so gentle, and everything she said was right.

Bidding farewell to Eisuke Shi’s petrified body, Ryotan Kobayashi entered the elevator with the various homemade herbal teas Yuzu Arisugawa had given her.

Even though Senpai Shi was petrified, the several jars of herbal tea he was holding showed no signs of falling.

Senpai Shi really treasures his cooking ingredients.

Yuzu Arisugawa, rarely feeling remorse, decided to comfort him a bit.

Not that she felt guilty; every word she said was true.

But Senpai Shi’s insults were quite on point.

So she decided to appease him.

“Senpai Shi, are you angry?”

The awakened Eisuke Shi made a move to escape back to his apartment. He couldn’t do it; he couldn’t keep up with the junior! He couldn’t play along!

Escaping was shameful, but effective.

Unfortunately, he was stopped.

The moonlight was gentle, and Yuzu Arisugawa’s voice was even gentler.

“Could you please let me finish?”

Eisuke Shi, not daring to move, obediently and pitifully hugged the tea jars. “Y-yes.”

“I retaliated against Senpai Shi because I thought what he said was excessive, but Senpai Shi is serious about cooking, and I am too. I will surpass Senpai Shi in three years.”

Eisuke Shi’s expression turned serious in the face of her declaration, which sounded like a challenge. “Your coffee jelly was perfect. If all your desserts are of this level, graduating smoothly might not be a problem, but surpassing me is unlikely.”

Yuzu Arisugawa only heard the words “graduate smoothly.” “What! Senpai thinks I can graduate smoothly! Senpai is such a good person!”

Eisuke Shi massaged his temples. “If your only goal is to graduate, I regret wasting my time on you.”

Yuzu Arisugawa became even more excited. “Senpai means I can set a greater goal! Senpai thinks so highly of me! I absolutely won’t disappoint Senpai’s expectations! I’ve decided! I’ll become the top of the Elite Ten at Totsuki Academy! That way, I’ll have surpassed Senpai too! It’s perfect!”

Eisuke Shi stopped massaging his head, somewhat bewildered. Did he really mean that?

The top of Totsuki Academy… wait, isn’t that me?!

Eisuke Shi (current top seat): “So it’s a case of a young calf not fearing the tiger?”

Yuzu Arisugawa showed a look of disgust. “Although as a cat person, I’ve always been at odds with dog people, it’s too much to use ‘calf’ to describe me! Is Senpai Shi a tiger person?”

Eisuke Shi thought for a moment, tilting his head. “A tiger… is also a kind of cat, isn’t it?”

Yuzu Arisugawa’s eyes lit up. “So Senpai Shi is a cat person!”

Eisuke Shi frowned in frustration. “I don’t have a particular preference. Probably, cats are cute, and dogs are cute too, but their fur affects cooking… so…”

Yuzu Arisugawa said goodnight while he was rambling, but Eisuke Shi, immersed in his own world, seemed not to hear, so she left. She needed to rest up for her first official attempt at making other dishes tomorrow.

In the middle of the night, the stars and moon still hung high.

Puff, swinging her chubby legs while sitting on Yuzu Arisugawa’s shoulder, gossiped, “Yuzu, did you fall for Senpai Shi at first sight?”

Yuzu Arisugawa closed the door, simply saying, “He’s cute, but I don’t want him to think I’m flirting with him.”

Puff covered her mouth and laughed. “So you used that post to cover it up?”

Yuzu Arisugawa smiled without answering.

“Yuzu, you’re so mean.”

“You’re so loving, right?”

“Ehehe~”

—

Cooking classes at Totsuki Academy randomly assigned cooking classrooms, with each class working in pairs.

Yuzu Arisugawa fell silent looking at the red-haired boy in front of her.

“I never expected to be paired with Arisugawa-san. Is it because we’re both transfer students?”

Souma Yukihira smiled foolishly, and Yuzu Arisugawa already felt various gazes gathering.

Even in front of her, who had the heroine script, he could still attract attention. Souma Yukihira, a terrifying man.

The teacher for this class was Roland Chapelle, who looked exceptionally serious. The atmosphere in the classroom became tense and hopeless as soon as he entered.

But it didn’t affect Yuzu Arisugawa and Souma Yukihira. They had no real sense of this legendary “unsmiling cook,” nor did they know about his record of expelling 18 students in one class, so they were much more relaxed than the others.

The assignment was “Burgundy Red Wine Beef Stew.”

“Um, Arisugawa-san, are you making this?”

“No.”

“That Burg… what, what is that?”

“I know this. It’s a widely used French red wine. Adding it to ice cream or cream is great.”

“Eh~ Are we using this for beef?”

“Um… well, the recipe is already clear, so it shouldn’t go wrong, right?”

“That’s right. It’s basically just stewing the beef, right?”

Souma Yukihira was all about confident posturing; Yuzu Arisugawa was all about trust.

The classmates who were already worried about Yuzu Arisugawa became even more worried.

Yuzu Arisugawa smiled faintly. It couldn’t be any worse than her.

She could only hold Souma Yukihira back, but she didn’t have the legs to be held back.

Then Yuzu Arisugawa was carried away.

Souma Yukihira, like her, passed the transfer student exam. Yuzu Arisugawa had high expectations of him from the start.

If anyone could easily pass the transfer student exam, it would make her passing seem worthless.

Yuzu Arisugawa didn’t help much, but she stopped Souma Yukihira at the end.

“Coach, I want to learn this!”

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river.

Thinking of Eisuke Shi’s look at the “little trash” last night, Yuzu Arisugawa decided to find this seemingly easy-going person to become her teacher.

Souma Yukihira was indeed as easy-going as he seemed, so Yuzu Arisugawa got a one-day trip to Polar Star Dormitory after Souma Yukihira settled into his dorm.

When Souma Yukihira brought Yuzu Arisugawa into Polar Star Dormitory, his roommates were quite excited, blurting out Yuzu Arisugawa’s new nickname.

“Ragdoll Cat Princess!”

“Souma actually brought the kitty back! Moving!”

Yuzu Arisugawa thought the world was strange. Ragdoll Cat Princess? They couldn’t be talking about her, right?

Ryoko Sakaki carefully noticed her confusion and explained, “Because the person who called you a ‘chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) beauty’ during the afternoon cultural class found out you didn’t like that title, and was attacked by your unhappy expression, so they changed it to Ragdoll Cat Princess.”

Yuki Yoshikawa added in a cheerful tone, “Because she thinks Arisugawa-san is sweet, ethereal, and spirited, just like a ragdoll cat!”

Her? Yuzu Arisugawa remembered; there was indeed a girl who smiled like a lovesick fan and talked to her in the afternoon.

…

To be honest, she thought this nickname was even more chuunibyou than “chuunibyou beauty.”

Her toes could dig out a ragdoll cat statue.

After stating her intentions, Yuzu Arisugawa was warmly welcomed into the kitchen and met the diverse and distinctive members of Polar Star Dormitory. What a wonderful living environment.

She thought of Mari Tennoji.

Her national good roommate, her best friend.

After coming to this world, they communicated through paper letters carried by their respective dessert fairies.

Her little Puff had just left with her newly written letter to visit her friend Honey, and wouldn’t be back for a few days.

Decided. She would use the Citrus Honey Soufflé Mari taught her to repay the Polar Star Dormitory classmates who were enthusiastically teaching her.

She, Yuzu Arisugawa, wouldn’t be a freeloader today.

However, there was only ordinary honey here. She always carried a small jar of rose honey in her school bag. Yes, she’d use that.

Rose Honey Soufflé, let’s go!

Yuki Yoshikawa’s eyes were full of stars. “So sparkly! Yuzu’s soufflé is so beautiful. It sparkles in the light.”

Kei Isshiki examined it. “It’s the reflection of the honey’s sugar, isn’t it? It’s beautiful.”

Megumi Tadokoro was puzzled. “Does Arisugawa-san, who has this level of skill, really need tutoring?”

When it came to this, Yuzu Arisugawa felt guilty. She honestly told them that she was still a beginner in other types of cooking.

The others were surprised and patted their chests, expressing their willingness to be her teachers.

Ryoko Sakaki: “It’ll be so awesome to tell people that we’re the cooking teachers of the dessert master, Arisugawa Yuzu!”

Kei Isshiki, with his natural air of being the eldest, extended an invitation. “That’s right, Polar Star Dormitory always welcomes you, Yuzu-san~”

Yuzu Arisugawa looked at him, trying to express her gratitude, then saw the man’s white torso, only wearing an apron.

“Ah! Filth!”

Realizing what she said, Yuzu Arisugawa hurriedly explained, “Sorry, the word ‘filth’ has been appearing in my mind too often these days. It was subconscious…”

Yuki Yoshikawa comforted him on behalf of Kei Isshiki. “It’s okay, Yuzu didn’t describe it wrong.”

Kei Isshiki was very hurt.

Yuzu Arisugawa sent condolences to the male mother of Polar Star Dormitory. “Don’t be sad, Senpai Isshiki, your figure is great.”

。。。。。。

Yuki Yoshikawa and Ryoko Sakaki whispered, “Senpai Isshiki was being flirted with, right? He absolutely was!”

Kei Isshiki was unusually embarrassed. He had seen many shocked and cracked expressions, but this was the first time someone had complimented his figure after seeing it, and the other person was a beautiful girl.

He quickly changed the subject, inviting Yuzu Arisugawa to take a walk in his vegetable garden.

“But, I’m here to learn cooking, right?”

Kei Isshiki disapproved. “Yuzu, understanding how ingredients grow is an indispensable part of cooking.”

Thinking of the beehives she had raided and the cows she had milked in the past, Yuzu Arisugawa readily accepted.

Kei Isshiki’s vegetable garden was neat and tidy, and the thriving life force brought joy to the heart.

He picked a tomato for Yuzu Arisugawa and Souma Yukihira.

Yuzu Arisugawa looked around for a faucet, but Kei Isshiki rubbed his apron, indicating: See, it’s clean.

Yuzu Arisugawa: No, it’s not clean.

Souma Yukihira helped her when she hesitated for a long time, pushing the tomato he was holding to Yuzu Arisugawa’s mouth.

Yuzu Arisugawa closed her eyes and bit into it.

“Mmm, so sour.”

Souma Yukihira agreed. “Yeah, yeah, the tomato you gave me yesterday was so sweet.”

Kei Isshiki’s time for explanation: “Yesterday’s tomato was a different variety, but the sourness of tomatoes is a widely used flavoring agent in cooking.”

Yuzu Arisugawa took a couple more bites, muttering, “So it seems tomatoes are vegetables, not fruits.”

Souma Yukihira indicated with a question mark above his head asking for an explanation.

Yuzu Arisugawa raised her index finger to explain. “Various fruits are used in dessert cooking, but tomatoes are almost never seen. But it’s super important in savory cooking, isn’t it?”

The dessert field was still unfamiliar to Souma Yukihira. “Really? Now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a tomato-flavored cake. I’m curious what it tastes like.”

Yuzu Arisugawa’s “Pika~” radar went off. “I can try. I’m suddenly curious too. Will it be delicious, or strange?”

Kei Isshiki enthusiastically promoted his tomatoes. “How about using my tomatoes? Plenty of supply~”

Yuzu Arisugawa refused. “I think it’s better to try tomatoes with higher sugar content first.”

“Why~?” Kei Isshiki’s regret.