Chapter 6 - Mako's Kitchen
"Well then, it's time for cooking!"
Kanon suddenly slipped into full cooking-show-host mode, standing in front of the two backpacks packed with ingredients and cookware.
"Our star chef today is the incredibly versatile Mako-sensei, with yours truly as her assistant. So, Mako-sensei, what are we making today?"
"B-but... am I really the chef? K-Kanon-chan, you're a pretty good cook too..."
Mako sounded embarrassed.
That was technically true, but Kanon's cooking repertoire mostly consisted of simple dishes, cookies, cakes, and other Western-style sweets. Mako, on the other hand, could handle pretty much anything—Japanese, Western, Chinese, and a whole lot more. More importantly, she actually knew how to cook food from a wide range of countries.
"I can make the usual stuff, but I don't know nearly as many dishes as Mako-chan."
"T-today we're making... p-paysanne. Everybody's probably heard of it. I-it's really easy to make, too."
"Paysanne? That's French, right? Little diced vegetables sautéed in a pan?"
"Y-yeah. You just dice carrots, onions, and potatoes into pieces about half an inch across and sauté them. Seasoning is just... salt and pepper and other basic stuff. S-so give it a try at home, everyone."
Mako opened one of the backpacks and pulled out a cloth bundle tied shut with a cord. When she spread it open, several knives were neatly arranged inside.
"Wow, Mako-chan. You came prepared."
"C-cheap knives are bad. They ruin the ingredients, and they're dangerous, too."
"Now, I ain't much of a cook, but tell me you got more than vegetables in there. Where's the meat? I ain't gonna feel like I ate unless there's meat involved."
Natsume had grown up in Texas, and her idea of a balanced diet had always been a little questionable. Vegetables were basically something vegans ate, and if she had her way, she'd happily eat meat with a side of meat.
She'd gotten much better about it since getting together with Kanon and Mako, who made sure she ate something resembling a balanced diet. Left to her own devices, though, she'd fall right back into a diet of junk food.
"Of course I got meat for my resident carnivore," Kanon said. "Right, Mako-chan?"
"Y-yeah."
Mako pulled a large chunk of meat from the cooler and dropped it onto the cutting board with a heavy thunk. She picked up a massive butcher knife.
The meat was still completely raw, but somehow it already looked like it was going to be incredible. Natsume swallowed hard.
It was the kind of lean, heavily textured red meat Natsume preferred, rather than the heavily marbled beef Kanon had grown accustomed to in Japan. Kanon wasn't particularly fond of it herself, but if Mako was cooking it, she was willing to give it a chance.
"N-Na-chan likes lean meat with lots of muscle fiber more than the heavily marbled beef Japanese people usually prefer..."
Mako went to work.
Pots and pans came out. Knives flashed. She prepared two, then three dishes at once, moving between them with practiced efficiency.
The sound of knives hitting cutting boards filled the air.
For once, there were no gunshots.
LIVE CHAT
:Wait... "basic seasonings" my ass.
:Who keeps dried thyme in the house?
:I don't even own bay leaves.
:Cumin powder? Oregano? Y'all got spice racks or something?
:Maybe that's just because we're all single dudes.
:I'm married. Asked my wife. We don't have any of that shit either.
:Is Mako-chan a professional chef?
:Dunno. I heard Natsume used to bartend at a lesbian bar in Japan, but I've never heard what Kanon-chan or Mako-chan did for work.
"Actually, I don't have a job," Kanon said cheerfully. "I'd like to work, but if I got a job somewhere, Grandpa would probably pull strings and cause trouble for whoever hired me. And working for Kuze Group would just be... ugh."
"Well, hell. Kanon's the wife in this deal—keeps the home straight. I'm the husband, bringing in the cash. That's the arrangement."
She grinned.
"But real talk? Kanon's got more damn savings than me and Mako combined. She's the rich one."
LIVE CHAT
:Seriously? Kanon-chan's a NEET?
:She's the Kuze heiress. What'd you expect?
Mako hesitated before speaking.
"I-I... w-work... at a... a s-supported work f-facility."
LIVE CHAT
:What does that mean?
:Like a regular workplace?
:Probably some kind of vocational or welfare facility?
:Maybe something for people with disabilities?
:You can tell from the way Mako-chan talks, can't you?
:She's got a stutter, right?
"Y-yes. Th-th-th-that's why. I-I'd... I'd cause trouble at a regular workplace..."
"Hey, don't make it sound worse than it is," Natsume cut in. "Mako's got a stutter. Other than that, she's perfectly normal. Her mental health is just more fragile than jelly or tofu."
Is a mental state more fragile than tofu really "normal"?
She's comparing herself to Natsume. That woman has a nickel-chromium-molybdenum-steel psyche.
Compared to Natsume, we're all made of tofu.
"Hey, hey," Kanon said, wagging a finger at the camera. "Natsume's a girl too, you know? She gets hurt by things sometimes. Don't be mean to her."
Kanon arranged Mako's finished dishes on plates and set them on the folding table, then gave the camera an exaggeratedly cute little scolding.
"Besides, these guys are always way too hard on me," Natsume said. "Not that I give a damn what some random strangers on the other side of a camera think. It's not like I'm ever gonna meet any of 'em again. Not after getting dumped into another world."
"See? That's exactly why they're hard on you," Kanon replied. "They're our viewers, and they've supported us. They even send Super Chats."
"Yeah, well. That's 'cause of you and Mako."
"That doesn't change anything. If they really hated you, they wouldn't support me and Mako just because you're the one they don't like."
LIVE CHAT
:Exactly. We don't hate Natsume. We just like Mako-chan and Kanon-chan more.
Natsume's gun nerd lectures are still fun.
Same with her shooting tutorials.
There are a ton of channels like this, but there aren't many Japanese ones.
And even fewer women doing it.
Plus all three of them are gorgeous.
Bob, the father-in-law, used to appear on stream too.
The Texas arc was fucking awesome.
Watching retired military guys put them through Spartan training...
Then they actually built an apocalypse-ready base.
And Natsume started that shit when she was TEN.
Still can't believe a girl was the one building a secret base.
Forget the base. Bob and the other vets seriously debating zombie preparedness was peak content.
"Y'all know building a secret base ain't exactly unusual in America, right?" Natsume said. "Folks over there take preparedness seriously. When the news gets tense, shelters sell out faster than you can blink."
As she spoke, Natsume reached over, pinched a piece of crispy, sauce-coated meat from one of the plates, and popped it into her mouth.
"Hey, Na-chan! No stealing before we eat."
"Mmph..."
Natsume's eyes widened.
"Holy shit. That's good."
She swallowed and looked at Mako.
"I ain't never had anything this good. And I grew up in Texas—the home of barbecue. Maybe I had it backward this whole time. Wherever Mako is, that's where the real barbecue's at."
LIVE CHAT
:What does "the real barbecue" moving locations even mean?
:So basically Mako-chan's just an amazing cook.
:Remember when Mako-chan and Kanon-chan cooked Japanese food during the Texas arc? Bob and the other vets kept going "OMG."
: How is Natsume this impressed when she eats Mako's cooking all the time?
"What? Barbecue and everyday cooking ain't the same thing," Natsume shot back. "If you went to some fancy Japanese restaurant and then ordered junk food afterward and it turned out amazing, you'd be impressed too. You'd be like, 'Wait, even the junk food is this good?'"
:She just called Texas barbecue junk food.
:Isn't barbecue literally Texas soul food?
:Is this woman okay?
"Oh, come on. What y'all call BBQ is just grilling meat outside. Real barbecue is a whole different animal. Mako's BBQ is proper Texas-style."
"N-Na-chan... d-do you like it? I-I don't really have... m-much else I'm good at. Cooking is... pretty much all I've got."
"That's bullshit. You're damn good at it," Natsume said. "Me? The only thing I'm really good at is shooting. And that ain't exactly useful in Japan. Hell, if we're being honest, I'm probably the most useless one of the three."
LIVE CHAT
:We know.
:She's finally useful now that she's in another world.
:Seriously. If they hadn't gotten isekai'd, she'd just be a horny lesbian.
Natsume snorted.
"Now, eat before it gets cold. Y'all can sit there eating your cup noodles while you watch us enjoy Mako's cooking."
