“Alright, today we’re making hamburg steaks!”
Wakana had suggested hamburg steaks, the same dish she first prepared for me. She mentioned that it was fun to make, simple, hard to mess up, and gave a nice sense of accomplishment when completed—a perfect choice for beginners.
Maybe this suggestion came from her own experiences.
“Hamburg steaks…”
As Suzuna put on the apron that Mom had prepared, she swallowed nervously. It wasn’t as though the word “hamburg steak” made her mouth water… Probably just nerves.
I could understand. For someone who doesn’t usually cook, hamburg steak seems like something you’d order at a restaurant, making it feel complicated. Wakana said it was simple, but for beginners, it might be a bit intimidating.
It’s a classic menu item at family restaurants, one of my favorites both in my previous life and now… It’s a special dish for me, at least.
Could we really make it? Could it actually be that simple?
Even though Wakana had already walked us through the recipe over the phone, I couldn’t shake my doubts.
With everyone’s hands washed, Suzuna and I watched as Wakana laid out the ingredients in the kitchen.
Ground beef and pork, onions, garlic, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, and nutmeg.
While the first few seemed standard, the latter ingredients didn’t immediately make me think of hamburg steaks. I mean, what even is nutmeg?
“So, I’ll give directions, and you two can work together to make it, alright?”
“Y-Yes. Oh, and don’t hold me back, Eiji-san.”
“I’ll… do my best.”
Whether from nerves or not, Suzuna’s usual teenage sass showed. I was just as tense, though, so I didn’t have the energy to comment.
“First, let’s soak the breadcrumbs in milk.”
Pouring the breadcrumbs and milk into a dish was simple enough. But… what does this have to do with hamburg steaks?
“The breadcrumbs will be mixed with the ground meat later. Soaking them in milk helps make the steak fluffy when it’s cooked.”
“I see…”
Suzuna leaned in, clearly curious, probably wondering the same thing I was.
“Next, we chop the onion and garlic.”
“Chop it finely!?”
We said it together. We knew it was coming, but it still felt like stepping into the danger zone for beginners: the knife part.
“Normally, I use a food processor.”
“A professor!?”
“No, a processor. Not funny, Eiji. Let’s stay focused.”
“I wasn’t trying to make a joke!”
A food processor is a kitchen appliance that quickly chops food into tiny pieces. Apparently, “processor” refers to something that handles or processes things.
“Um, Senpai, if we have something that convenient, shouldn’t we just use it?”
“No way. You won’t get better if you take shortcuts right from the start.”
“Ugh…”
Suzuna, who’d put effort into improving her cooking in games, seemed more afraid of the knife here in real life.
“Alright, let’s each try it. Which one do you want to chop?”
“Any recommendations?”
“Well, onions are bigger and easier to cut, but they’ll make you tear up. Garlic is smaller and trickier to handle.”
“Then… I’ll take the onion.”
“Got it. I’ll handle the garlic, then.”
With our tasks decided, Suzuna went first.
“Hold the knife like this, and don’t keep your left hand upright—curl it like a cat’s paw.”
“Y-Yes.”
Wakana gave her a hands-on lesson as Suzuna gripped the knife. Watching her, I remembered elementary school cooking classes.
Knives are dangerous, so we’d been drilled in safety, though it had left me with a lingering sense of fear. Maybe Suzuna felt the same.
“Ugh… grr…”
Sweating a bit, Suzuna managed to cut the onion. Her eyes watered, as one would expect with onions, but she didn’t seem bothered.
Actually, her expression seemed brighter than before.
“This is… kind of fun.”
“Hehe, it’s surprisingly stress-relieving, isn’t it?”
Some people take pleasure in breaking things or making things, and cooking satisfies both impulses. I remember coworkers who channeled work stress into elaborate cooking projects in my previous life.
It feels like I’m seeing a hidden detail of what makes Suzuna passionate about cooking in games.
“Ouch!”
Just as I was thinking, I heard Suzuna let out a small yelp.
“Suzuna!”
I hurried over to her.
She was just mincing the onion, but it looked like she had accidentally cut the tip of her left index finger.
“Gah…!”
I instinctively took her left hand. Blood was trickling from the cut, but it was only a little.
“Um…”
“You’re fine. It’s a shallow cut.”
I never thought I’d actually say that kind of line in real life. I wasn’t the one injured, though.
I quickly rinsed the wound with water and placed a bandage from my pocket on her finger.
“You had that… prepared?”
“It’s not unusual for accidents to happen in cooking. There, all done.”
After the shock of the injury, I gave Suzuna a light pat on the shoulder as she looked downcast.
Suzuna looked up, startled, and gazed at me with wide eyes.
“Don’t worry. I’m the one who expected to get hurt, honestly.”
“Eiji, you can be pretty rough, huh?”
“Quiet. Now let’s continue. Wakana and I are here, so no need to worry.”
“…Okay.”
Without protesting, Suzuna quietly nodded and took up the knife again. I was relieved as I stepped back to watch. Wakana leaned in and whispered to me.
“You’re doing the big-brother thing right.”
“Well, I am her big brother, whether I do it or not.”
I took it as a compliment and stood tall.
But it wasn’t that I wanted to show off being a big brother.
(Suzuna might be sensitive to blood, but she seems okay with it here.)
She’d lost her family in a car accident, and she’d been in the car with them. I didn’t know if she remembered it, but… I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had some fear of blood.
“I’ll be right back—I need to go to the restroom.”
“Huh? You just went, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah… Sorry.”
With Wakana looking at me strangely, I left the kitchen.
I went to the bathroom and covered my mouth.
I wasn’t going to throw up. I just needed to catch my breath.
My heart was pounding as I took several deep breaths.
“A car accident, huh…”
A wound that cut deep, painful and unforgettable.
Remembering my past life isn’t always a good thing.
Some experiences are meant to only happen once in life… yet I remember them.
I murmured to myself as I took a gulp and slapped my cheeks a few times, trying to pull myself together.
