Kazehara Tetsu nodded after hearing her out, but his very next words returned to that infuriating tone.
"So you stopped learning because your cooking tasted so awful your grandfather didn't like it?"
Kiryuin Fuka turned and stared at him for a while.
"You really don't let anyone off easy... It wasn't awful. What I learned back then wasn't exactly gourmet cuisine, but it at least tasted good. I could make those few home-style dishes quite competently, and my grandfather said they were pretty good too."
"Then why didn't you keep going?"
"No time."
Kiryuin Fuka was blunt. "Later, I had more and more things to deal with. Family matters, my own affairs, one thing after another. I had less and less time to settle down in the kitchen. Cooking takes a feel for it. Leave it alone for a few days, and what little you know starts getting rusty."
"Another thing was that I later realized I really couldn't make my dishes the best."
"I'm the kind of person who either doesn't do something at all or wants to take it all the way. I knew I didn't have the time or the temperament to delve that deeply into it. Since I couldn't be the best, I wasn't interested in being a dabbler either. Once I figured that out, I let it go."
After hearing her out, Kazehara Tetsu said, "Hmm... At least you're pretty devoted to your grandfather."
Kiryuin Fuka turned to look at him again.
"For a junior..."
She narrowed her eyes, her voice unhurried. "You certainly have the nerve to judge your senior. First you made up stories about how awful my cooking was, and now you're calling me devoted. A few words, and you've defined me."
She moved closer, step by step. "Aren't you afraid your