Chapter Two: “The Princess Wants to Appeal to the Prince” — Part Two

“Excuse me—”

I announced myself out of habit as I pushed open the home economics room door. Yuuri and Kanami-senpai were already there.
I’d only asked Yuuri for help — but somewhere along the way, Kanami-senpai had ended up joining in too.

“Oh, Himena-chan, good morning! Sorry for making you do all the shopping, okay?”

Kanami-senpai stood up, pressed her hands together, and gave a small apologetic bow. Her soft, fluffy hair swayed with the movement.

“Not at all! I’m the one asking for the favour in the first place.”

We’d agreed that a weekend delivery would be better, so they’d given up their Saturday to help.
Doing the shopping was the very least I could do.

“Don’t worry about it. If anything, having something specific to make was a treat for the home economics club too. Wasn’t it, Yuuri-chan?”

Yuuri, addressed directly, gave a vague nod. I suppose so.
Normally she’d say something like what an absolute imposition without batting an eye. But not in front of Kanami-senpai, apparently.

Yuuri is just different around Kanami-senpai, isn’t she?!

Our eyes met, and Yuuri gave me a small glare. The message was plain: don’t you dare say anything unnecessary in front of her.
Honestly. What a troublesome childhood friend.

“Right, let’s get started! The recipe for lemon honey preserves is actually very simple.”

Kanami-senpai smiled warmly and showed us the recipe on her phone. The only ingredients were lemons and honey. The steps were straightforward too — nothing to go wrong.
That said, I could already tell that a first-timer going it alone wasn’t going to produce anything worth giving.

“First up — slicing the lemons into rounds. Let’s do our best together, Himena-chan!”
“Yes!”

I took three lemons out of the supermarket bag. Kanami-senpai brought over a knife, and Yuuri set out three chopping boards.

How do you cut these into rounds again….

I had a clear picture of the finished result in my head, of course. But cutting a round lemon into neat slices turned out to be considerably harder than imagined.

S-somehow… these are not thin at all?!

I glanced left and right. Yuuri and Kanami-senpai had both produced textbook-perfect rounds, straight out of a recipe book.

“Y-Yuuri, what do I do with these?”

I tugged urgently at Yuuri’s sleeve. She looked at my lopsided lemon slices without laughing — which was unlike her.

“Are you moving the lemon while you cut?”
“What? No, I’m just holding it still with my fingers curled…”
“With a rounded shape like this, try rotating it a little as you go. It’s easier to control.”

Following Yuuri’s advice and turning the lemon as I cut, the next slices came out noticeably smoother. Still nowhere near as neat as the ones Yuuri and Kanami-senpai had made, but better.

“You give such good advice, Yuuri-chan.”

Praised by Kanami-senpai, Yuuri lowered her head with a straightforward thank you and no trace of her usual deflection.

“All that’s left now is to layer the lemon slices into the container with the honey and leave them to soak.”

Kanami-senpai brought three containers down from the cupboard. Lemons in, honey over the top, and that was it — done.

“…Hey, Yuuri.”
“What?”
“Can we swap? I don’t want to give Iori-senpai the misshapen ones.”
“Fine by me. Are you sure, though?”

Yuuri fixed me with a steady look. I instinctively glanced away — and at that moment Kanami-senpai gently took my hand.

“Himena-chan. What matters most is the feeling behind it, don’t you think?”

She tilted her head as she said it, and her hair swayed with a faint sweet scent.

“…But I want Iori-senpai to think well of me, even a little.”

Deep down I was clumsy, and cooking was not my forte. But I wanted to put on a good show for Senpai. Because I loved her.

“I see. Then why don’t we go through all three batches and pick out the nicest-looking slices?”
“Is that all right?”
“Of course. That’s its own kind of love, I think. Isn’t it, Yuuri-chan?”
“…I suppose.”
“Then it’s decided — let’s find the prettiest ones and put them in this container!”

I nodded, and set about choosing the lemons worthy of Iori-senpai.