The Heroines Can Read My Secret Diary

Erina, her face rosy, placed the dish in front of Hakuto and the others.

Hakuto looked at Erina and reminded her, "Don't use Heart of Cooking again for a short while."

Erina gently hummed in acknowledgment.

Senzaemon frowned as he looked at Hakuto, 'This guy not only seemed to get along well with my granddaughters but also seemed very knowledgeable about Heart of Cooking. Could it be...'

Senzaemon took a deep breath, then looked at his two granddaughters, and then inwardly gritted his teeth.

Two granddaughters… and both were being given away to this dog!

"Eight-Flavor Illusion Mapo Tofu. Please enjoy it."

Erina held her head slightly high.

Hakuto was somewhat surprised. "Erina, did you come up with this yourself?"

"Of course. Six-Flavor Illusion Mapo Tofu is a recipe from hundreds of years ago. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to always use a recipe from hundreds of years ago?"

Hearing Erina's words, Hakuto gave her a thumbs up.

'Good. This tsundere personality is so you.' But Hakuto thought it was more likely that Erina had gotten the recipe from him, felt unhappy using it like that, and then made some slight changes. He just didn't know if the changes were good or bad.

"Eight flavors. Can you tell us what the eight flavors are?"

"Spicy, hot, boiling, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and alive."

[My wife Erina is truly a genius. She actually deduced the Eight-Flavor Mapo Tofu on her own. This was a recipe only finalized after modifications by countless generations of chefs over hundreds of years.]

[As expected, my wife Erina is amazing!]

"Alright. Mapo Tofu should be eaten hot. It's only most delicious when it's boiling hot."

Senzaemon interrupted the interaction between Hakuto and Erina.

Hakuto glanced at this old man, then unceremoniously took his portion of Mapo Tofu.

As the spoon entered his mouth, the Eight-Flavor Illusion Mapo Tofu, with its spicy, hot, boiling, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and alive flavors, immediately stimulated Hakuto's appetite and even stirred the two Spirits residing within him.

Hakuto's left eye turned black-gold, and a black smoke emanated from his body.

Tsukasa looked at Hakuto, then at the dish before him, and a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He had lost. Completely and utterly.

Senzaemon and Dojima also looked at Hakuto with some surprise.

Senzaemon's displeasure towards Hakuto began to change slightly.

Although it was very realistic, this was how the world worked.

If Hakuto were still the same simp as before, Senzaemon would never allow Hakuto to be with his two granddaughters.

But now, Hakuto had shown his value and strength. So Senzaemon needed to reconsider the relationship between Hakuto and his two granddaughters.

"Excellent Mapo Tofu."

Hakuto said very seriously to Erina.

Erina smiled, but there was a questioning look in her eyes as she looked at Hakuto.

"So, do you have anything to say?"

"A very warm Heart of Cooking. But the will you want to convey is still too weak. You need to keep working hard, Erina."

Erina's brow furrowed tightly, and she looked at Hakuto with suspicion.

[Why is my wife Erina looking at me like that? Could it be that she's blaming me for not understanding the meaning her Heart of Cooking wanted to convey through the dish? Can I help it? I've tried really hard to feel what my wife Erina wants to convey, but her Heart of Cooking is still too weak right now. I really can't help it.]

Erina gritted her teeth as she looked at Hakuto, a hint of displeasure in her eyes.

Hakuto looked at Tsukasa. "I think you understand the outcome without me saying anything."

After speaking, Hakuto looked at Senzaemon.

"Well, old man, I'll be going now. Erina has already won anyway."

After saying this, Hakuto winked at Alice.

"Let's go."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? You brought me here. Shouldn't you be the one to show me out?"

Alice smiled, then said, "Then let's go."

Erina looked at Hakuto with displeasure, but didn't stop him. Her competition wasn't over yet.

Just as Hakuto was about to leave, Senzaemon suddenly spoke, "Soon, Totsuki will have a new student training camp. If you're interested, you can come and be an instructor then."

Hakuto paused slightly, then replied, "Okay."

[The training camp? Maybe I can take some advantage. That girl Tadokoro Megumi has probably comprehended Heart of Cooking too, right?]

Alice's body stiffened slightly.

"Alice, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Taking a deep breath, Alice's smile was slightly stiff.

Hakuto reached out and took Alice's hand.

"It's because Erina awakened her Heart of Cooking, right? Don't think about it. No matter what Erina is like, you are you. And if possible, I hope you never awaken Heart of Cooking. Awakening Heart of Cooking is dangerous. You saw what happened to Erina just now."

[When I set up this Heart of Cooking system, I must have had a hole in my head. The first hurdle to awakening Heart of Cooking is consumption—consumption of spirit, energy, and vitality. Someone with poor health could die instantly on the spot. The healthier the body, the higher the success rate of awakening.]

[And that's just the first hurdle. After passing the first hurdle, the second hurdle is that the nature of Heart of Cooking will imperceptibly influence a person. The good become kinder, the evil become more evil. Wanting to abandon Heart of Cooking like Saiba Joichiro is probably impossible.]

[There's no helping it for my wife Erina, but I really don't want my wife Alice to comprehend Heart of Cooking either. One misstep, and something will go wrong. This really is "try and you'll die".]

Hakuto suddenly felt a pain in his waist.

Then Hakuto saw Alice's somewhat annoyed eyes.

"Uh, sorry. I was distracted."

Alice snorted cutely. She wasn't angry about that. She was angry that Hakuto, this idiot, had come up with such a Heart of Cooking system.