調理室には鼻腔をくすぐる香ばしい匂いが漂っていた。
ジュワジュワという音を立てながら、揚げられたパンが浮き上がってくる。
それがきつね色になったところで、順番に油切りバットの上に移していく。
「副部長、もう食べていいかな? かな?」
「アタシ、お腹空いたよー」
「油が切れるまでもうちょっとだけ待って。というか君達、部長を見習いなさい。あんなに行儀よく待って――」
「あつっ! はふっ、サクサクしてる。美味しー! 最高!」
「......ごめん、嘘だった」
むしろ誰よりも盛大にフライングしてた。
俺の視線に気付いても、
仕方ないか、今日のメニューは部長の大好きなパン系のピロシキだからな。
中身は豚ひき肉、玉ねぎ、春雨に炒めた卵を合わせた物となっている。
ちゃんも、一旦手を止めて揚げ立てを食べましょう? ね?」
「その前に、女性陣は揚げないなら使った器具の片付けくらいしておいてください。男ばっかに任せてないで」
「残念ながらもう終わりました、副部長......」
「載せる皿はこれでいいっすか? 横に置きますね」
料理部の男女比率は男子が四人に対して女子が約十人だ。
そのパワーバランスによる悲哀が感じられる普段の光景である。
細かい雑用のほとんどは、悲しいかな喋ってばかりの女子に代わって黙々と男子がこなすことが多い。
生地を練ったり包んだりは頑張ってやってくれたんだけどな......片付けになると途端に動きが鈍る。
「うん、この皿で良い。そしたらいつも通り、お腹減ってない人は冷めたら包んで持って帰ってくれい」
三年生の男子が居ればもう少し違ったのだろうが、残念ながら料理部男子の最高学年は二年生である。
二年が二人、一年が二人の計四人。
それでもおっとりした井山部長の元、仲良く週一回の活動を続けている。
亘「ちゃん」という呼び方は個人的にやめて欲しいところだが。
「健治、そっちはどうだ?」
揚げ物をしている鍋は二つ。
一つ一つのサイズは小さめだが、大量に包まれたピロシキをどんどん揚げていく。
呼びかけた先に居るのは、俺と同じ二年生の男子である
「まだ三合目。でも、そろそろ運動部を呼んでも良いんじゃね?」
「呼ばなくても、どうせ匂いに釣られて――」
斎藤さんの声が響いて真っ先に女子テニス部の面々、続いて他の運動部もぞろぞろとやってくる。
運動部に比べると少ないが、文化部の連中もまばらにやってくる。
休憩時間がバラバラなのでタイミングは一定ではないが、一時間もすれば二百個近くあったピロシキが全てはけた。
男性陣は一仕事終えた感じで、ようやくそこで一息つく。
「相変わらず、すげえ勢いで無くなるよな......」
「野獣っすよ、この時間の運動部は。野に放たれた獣っす」
パン粉が散らばった皿とテーブルの上を片付けながら、男どもが固まって作業しつつ愚痴る。
女子は女子で料理の写真・レシピ等の活動内容を纏めたノートをせっせと作ったりしている。
「去年までは料理部だけで細々と食べて終わりだったのに、どうしてこうなった」
「そうなんですか?」
「ああ、井山先輩がさ......」
折角作るんだから、もっと沢山のみんなの喜ぶ顔を見れたら嬉しいなぁ......ねえ、亘ちゃん?
というパン屋の娘らしい発想でもって、俺を巻き込みつつ先生方と交渉。
井山先輩が品行方正な優等生だったことも味方し、現在のような特殊な状況を生んでいる。
地元の商店に安く食材の協力をお願いしたり、根回しが色々と大変だった一年生の時の思い出。
「それ、副部長が片棒を担いでいるじゃないっすか!」
「だってお前、あのホワホワした笑顔で迫られて断れるのか? ああ見えて押しが半端なく強いんだぞ?」
「亘は休み時間までクラスに押しかけられてたんだぞ......周りの視線も何のそのだ、あの人」
「うへぇ......」
健治とは去年までクラスが一緒だったので、当時の状況をよく知っている。
その時はまだ部員じゃなかったんだよな、こいつも。
そして俺達もようやくテーブルに座ってピロシキに齧りついた。
少し冷めてしまっているがサクサクとした食感、トロッとした中身の餡が絶妙で......
「ねえ、亘ちゃん。今、私の話をしてなかった?」
我らが部長殿はのんびり屋であらせられる。
ツーテンポくらい遅いです、井山先輩......。
「はい、では今日の料理部の活動を終わりまーす。お疲れさまでしたぁ」
「「「お疲れ様でしたー」」」
先輩のゆるっとした締めの挨拶と共に、その日の活動は終了。
俺と健治は教室に一度戻り、荷物を取ってから校門までは同行する。
その途上、ドタバタ走る音と共に大声が背後から迫ってきた。
「わっち! わーーーっち!」
「あ? おい、アホが呼んでるぞ亘」
渋々振り返ると、健治の言う通り廊下を駆けてくる
帰宅部のこいつがこんな時間まで残っている理由を、俺は既に知っている。
「よう、補習野郎。もう補習は終わったのか?」
「変な呼び方しないでよ! あ、健治も居たんだ。ちーっす」
「何、お前補習だったの? 馬鹿だなあ、知ってたけど。知ってたけど」
「それ二度も言う必要ある!?」
本当にな......あんなに頑張って教えたのに、結局秀平は二教科で赤点を出した。
かといって教えなかった場合、もっと悪い結果になっていたのは目に見えているが。
なので「二教科で済んだ」と考えた方が俺の精神衛生上マシな気がする。
「ま、まあいいさ。丁度良いし一緒に帰ろうぜわっち! あ、健治も一緒に帰る?」
「秀平お前、俺が逆方向なのを知っててワザと言ってんだろ? んじゃまたな、亘。あ、あとそこのアホも、あばよ」
「おう、またな健治」
「あばよー!」
別れの挨拶を残し、健治は校門を出たところで俺達とは逆方向に去っていた。
その様子を見送ってから、俺達も並んで歩きだす。
「そうそう、わっち。TBの新イベントの詳細来てたよ」
「......いつも思うんだけど、お前はどのタイミングで公式サイトをチェックしてんの? 毎回俺よりも知るのが早いよな」
さては授業中だな。また赤点取る気かこいつは。
それはそれとして、アイテムコンテストの詳細が来たのか。
どういう審査を行ってどんな報酬が得られるのかは未定だったから、気になっていたのは確かだ。
「歩きスマホは危ないから、帰ったら詳細を見るわ」
「ならネタバレは控えることにするよ。んでさ、ギルドホームの改造の件なんだけど」
「またかよ。もう既にあちこち忍者屋敷みたいになってんのに、これ以上どこを弄るんだよ?」
「いやいや、まだまだ。今度は一部屋丸ごと、隠し部屋にする計画が――」
「そんなことしても、リコリスちゃん達の玩具にされるだけじゃねえかな......」
隠し扉からスッと出てこられるとビクッとなるから止めて欲しいんだが。
彼女達は前言通り頻繁にこちらのホームに遊びに来るようになった。
前よりも賑やかになったホームで、ここの所は各自生産活動にのめり込んでいる。
......そんなTBのことは一度置くとして、それより今夜の夕飯は何を作ろうかな......?
家に残っている食材を思い出しながら、俺は秀平と夕日に染まる道を歩いた。
In the kitchen, there was a stimulating aromatic smell drifting in the air.
The bread that was being fried, rose up while making a satisfying sound.
Since they had turned golden brown, I proceeded to place them on top of a tray so that the oil could be drained.
[Vice-president, is it OK for us to eat them already? Is it?] 
[I'm starving...] 
[Just wait a bit longer until the oil dries out. Besides, you guys should learn from the club president. Look at how she's patiently wai-] (Wataru)
[So hot! Fuh fuh, so crispy. So tasty! They are the best!] 
[...Sorry, that was a lie] (Wataru)
On the contrary, she was the first one to get a headstart.
Even if she noticed my gaze, I couldn't stop president Iyama's hands from moving.
Can't be helped, after all the president loves bread and today's menu is Pirozhki .
Inside them were grounded pork, onions and eggs fried with Cellophane noodles .
[Wataru-chan, how about you stop working and eat while they are freshly baked?] (Iyama)
[Before that, if you girls are not going to fry them, you should at least clean the tools that are being used. Don't go leaving all the work to the guys.] (Wataru)
[Unfortunately, we are already done with that, vice-president...] 
[Is this plate good enough? I'll place it down.] 
The male to female ratio of the cooking club was of four guys and around ten girls.
Sadly, this sad display of the power balance in our club was something normal.
Regrettably, while the girls were all talking, the times the guys did the chores instead were frequent.
Well, they did work hard at kneading the dough and wrapping it...but they turned lazy when it came down to tidying up like they currently were.
[Yup, this plate is fine. Like always, it's fine for those that are not that hungry right now, to wrap them and take their portions back.] (Wataru)
Things would be different if there was a third year male, but sadly, the oldest males in the cooking club were 2nd years.
Two second years and two first years, making us four in total.
Even then, with the calm president Iyama as the leader, we continued our once a week activities while getting along.
Personally, I would prefer if she stopped calling me[Wataru-chan]  though.
[Kenji, how are things on your end?] (Wataru)
We were currently deep frying in two saucepans.
Each one's size was on the smaller side but a large amount of wrapped Pirozhkis kept rising up.
I called up the person in front of me, he was called Mashiba Kenji and was the other second year apart from me.
[I'm still working on the third batch. However, isn't it about time we called the sport clubs?] (Kenji)
[Even if we didn't call them, they would still get lured by the smel-] (Wataru)
Along with Saitou-san's voice came the entire girl's tennis club, following that, the rest of the sport clubs came over.
While they were less than the sport clubs, some people from the literature clubs also came over.
Their break times were all over the place so it's not like they came at the exact same time, but the close to two hundred Pirozhkis were all gone within an hour.
 It seems like the guys have all finished working so we can finally get some rest.
[As always, they sure are gone in a flash...] 
[They are like wild beasts, the sports clubs around this time. They are like beasts set free in a field.] 
While tidying up the plates full of breadcrumbs from the table, the guys complained while doing their work.
The girls being them, had taken photos of the food and were diligently writing down the activities and recipes in a notebook.
[Last year it was only the cooking club eating the food and it ended with that, how did it become like this?] 
[Is that so?] 
[Aah, you see, Iyama-senpai...] (Wataru)
"While we are at it, I wish we could cook tons more and see everyone's happy expressions...right, Wataru-chan?".
Having that kind of idea as you'd expect from the daughter of people that owned a bakery, I was dragged around and we negotiated with the teachers.
Since Iyama-senpai was an honor student with good conduct, they supported her, and that's how it gave birth to the current special situation.
There were things like asking local shops for their cooperation in order to get ingredients at a cheap price, those are memories of a year where we were really busy doing a lot of stuff behind the scenes.
[Isn't that just the vice-president being dragged around!?] 
[I mean, would you be able to refuse if she asked you with that pure smile of hers? If you pushed her away half-heartedly after seeing that, she would end up coercing you, you know?] (Wataru)
[She barged in even when classes were having breaks and called on Wataru you know? ...That person doesn't care about what other people think of her.] (Kenji)
[Uheh...] 
Kenji was in the same class as me last year, so he knew about the situation well.
This guy wasn't a club member at the time either.
Finally, we could take a bite of the Pirozhki s placed on the table.
They had gotten slightly cold but the texture was crispy, and the sticky red bean paste inside them was superb...
[Hey, Wataru-chan. Right now, you were talking about me, right?] (Iyama)
Our club president was an easygoing person.
You take too long to react, Iyama-senpai...
[Alright, this concludes today's cooking club's activities. Good work everyone.] (Iyama)
[[[Good work everyone!] ] ] 
With senpai's speech, today's activities were over.
I returned to the classroom first along with Kenji and after picking our bags we headed towards the gate.
On our way, someone shouted at me when I heard the sound of heavy steps approaching me from behind.
[Wacchi! Waaaaaacchi!!] (Shuuhei)
[Ah? Hey, that idiot is calling you, Wataru.] (Kenji)
When I reluctantly turned around, like Kenji had said, the figure of Shuuhei (idiot) was approaching us from the other side of the hallway.
The reason why someone who's not in any club was still here at this time, I already knew.
[Hey there, supplementary lessons guy. Are you done with them already?] (Wataru)
[Don't give me some weird nickname! Ah, Kenji was with you. Hi there.] (Shuuhei)
[Oh, you had supplementary lessons? You are so dumb, though I already knew that. Though I already knew that.] (Kenji)
[Was there a need for you to say that twice!?] (Shuuhei)
Really...even though I tried so hard to teach him, Shuuhei ended up getting failing grades in two subjects.
Though, if I hadn't taught him, I could see the results being much worse.
That being the case, I think it would be better for my mental health if I thought of it as [It ended up being only two subjects] .
[Whatever. Let's go back together, Wacchi. Ah, want to go together, Kenji?] (Shuuhei)
[Shuuhei, you...you said that on purpose knowing that I live in the opposite direction right? Well then, see you, Wataru. Ah, to that idiot over there too, laters.] (Kenji)
[Yeah, see you, Kenji.] (Wataru)
[Laters!] (Shuuhei)
After exchanging goodbyes, we went in the opposite direction after Kenji left the school gate.
We walked side by side.
[Oh right, Wacchi. New information about the TB event has been released.] (Shuuhei)
[...I've been thinking about this for a while, when are you even checking the official website? You always seem to know about this kind of thing faster than me.] (Wataru)
So he does it while we are in class. So he plans to get failing grades again, this guy.
Leaving that aside, so...there's new information about the item contest.
How they are going to review the items and what rewards will be given haven't been said yet, it's true that I'm interested in those.
[It's dangerous to look at the phone while walking, so I'll take a look at the specifics once I'm back home.] (Wataru)
[Then I'll refrain from spoiling anything. By the way, about remodeling the guild home...] (Shuuhei)
[That again? You've already turned various places into something akin to a ninja residence, what else are you going to touch this time?] (Wataru)
[No, no, it's still not enough. This time, I plan to turn an entire room into a secret chamber an-] (Shuuhei)
[Even if you were to make that, it would only end up being something like a toy for Lycoris-chan and the rest to play with...] (Wataru)
If he jumped out of a hidden door, people would get scared so I wish he stopped.
Like they stated before, they had come over to play quite often.
The guild home has become quite lively compared to before and lately, everyone has been absorbed into their own crafting.
...Leaving the matters of TB aside for now, what should I make for dinner today...?
While remembering the ingredients I had left at home, I walked through the road dyed by the evening sun along with Shuuhei.
VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～
ＶＲＭＭＯの支援職人　～トッププレイヤーの仕掛人～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/vrmmo-no-shien-shokunin-%ef%bd%9etop-player-no-shikakenin%ef%bd%9e/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Slice of Life
Adventurers Beautiful Female Lead Blacksmith Brother Complex Calm Protagonist Childhood Friends Clan Building Cooking Crafting Curious Protagonist Dense Protagonist Elemental Magic Fantasy Creatures Game Ranking System Gamers Hard-Working Protagonist Healers Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Love Rivals Male Protagonist Misunderstandings MMORPG Ninjas Possessive Characters Priests Siblings Siblings Not Related by Blood Sword And Magic Virtual Reality Younger Love Interests Younger Sisters
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4014ds/
二階堂風都