Game Developer in the World of Anime

After rinsing the ribs, Ichin brought them into the kitchen to blanch them. Once that was done, he placed them in cold water and set them to boil for 30 minutes. Covering the pot with a lid, he left the kitchen to observe what everyone else was up to.

Kō Yagami appeared to be preparing tempura—a clever and relatively safe choice. After all, deep-fried food, when handled properly, rarely disappoints. As long as the oil temperature was controlled, and the food was fried to perfection without overcooking, it was bound to turn out delicious. Especially since she was using shrimp, an ingredient that already has a naturally sweet and fresh flavor.

Watching Kō diligently peeling shrimp, Ichin turned to Rin Toyama beside him.

"Rin, did you teach her?"

Rin smiled and nodded. "I just gave her a simple rundown on how to fry it better and demonstrated it once. The rest depends on her own practice. I'm curious to see how she does!"

Meanwhile, Aoba Suzukaze was planning to make a simple home-style dish: potato stew with beef. However, her movements were clumsy, suggesting she was still a beginner. Standing beside her was Sakura Nene, cheering her on and offering encouragement.

On the other hand, Yun Iijima was impressively confident, planning to make sake-steamed clams. Watching her skillfully clean the clams, Ichin walked over with a smile.

"Do you cook often at home?"

"Of course!" Yun beamed. "I usually cook for my family on weekends. Over time, I just got good at it."

"Wow, that's really impressive," Ichin praised before glancing over at Shinoda Hajime nearby. What he saw left him speechless.

In front of Shinoda was a large piece of salmon and a pot of freshly washed rice.

"Hehe, I washed the rice as soon as you arrived, Ichin. Now I just need to put it in the rice cooker," she said cheerfully, carrying the pot of rice to the kitchen and returning shortly after.

"Are you making sushi?" Ichin asked.

"Yep!" Shinoda gave a big thumbs up and grinned. "This counts as cooking, right? Plus, I figured most of you might not cook well, so I'll handle it for you! And I bought top-quality salmon, so it'll be delicious!"

Alright, she got away with that one.

Next up were Hifumi and Umiko.

Hifumi had bought a variety of ingredients: chicken breast, taro, carrots, potatoes, and lotus root.

When Ichin walked over, her hand trembled, nearly dropping the knife she was holding. Thankfully, she didn't hurt herself, though the sight made Ichin's heart skip a beat.

After a slight mishap, Hifumi resumed cutting, her head lowered as she murmured softly, "I-I'm making stew. I make it sometimes at home."

"Alright then, good luck," Ichin replied, deciding not to linger. He was certain that if he stayed, her cutting would go even more off track.

Finally, it was Umiko's turn.

Thud!

The sound of a cleaver hitting the cutting board drew everyone's attention. Umiko had just halved a rack of beef ribs along the bone with a single powerful chop. Looking up, she calmly said,

"Grilled beef ribs. Anyone interested?"

She raised her hand holding the cleaver as she spoke.

Wait a second—what's with the model handgun in her other hand?

In the next moment, everyone instinctively raised their hands in unison.

Satisfied, Umiko nodded, set down the toy gun, and resumed preparing the beef ribs. This time, her movements were noticeably more restrained.

Eriri, who had been following Ichin, went around observing everyone's cooking efforts. She couldn't help but mutter softly, "Are we sure this is all going to turn out okay?"

Suddenly, Hazuki appeared beside Eriri, wrapping her in a hug and laughing. "Don't worry! With Ichin and Rin watching over everything, it'll be fine. Come on, Eriri-chan, let's go play games over there. This is going to take a while!"

"Eh? W-Wait! Yukino, help me!"

Eriri turned to Yukinoshita Yukino for rescue, but the latter merely turned away without a word, ignoring her completely.

It wasn't that Yukino didn't want to help. If she intervened, Hazuki's attention might turn to her instead. Hazuki was precisely the type of person Yukino struggled to deal with—uncannily similar to her older sister in certain ways.

"Sorry, Sawamura-san. I need to focus on cooking," Yukino replied curtly, leaving Eriri to Hazuki's playful antics.

Hazuki, ever the troublemaker, pulled Eriri away. The rest of the group remained focused on their cooking.

Once the ribs were cooked, Ichin returned to his station to continue working. At the same time, he explained the process to Rin, who had come to learn from him. Surprisingly, Yukinoshita Yukino also joined in, eager to pick up some tips.

Their involvement didn't go unnoticed by Utaha, who had been silently observing Ichin. Though she appeared to be watching his cooking techniques, it was obvious she was keeping a close eye on the other two.

Seeing Rin taking diligent notes, Utaha asked curiously, "Rin-san, do you really enjoy cooking that much?"

"Hmm? Not really," Rin replied with a smile. "It's mostly because of Kō. I usually go to her apartment on my days off to cook for her. If I didn't, who knows what she'd be eating. She used to work overtime all the time, and if she didn't manage her meals properly, she'd end up malnourished."

As Rin spoke about Kō, a special light filled her eyes, leaving Utaha momentarily stunned.

That look… Something's not right.

No, it's very not right.

From the looks of it, Rin wasn't much of a threat.

Time passed, and everyone's dishes began coming together. A medley of delightful aromas filled the room, mingling in the air.

Eriri, still playing games with Hazuki, caught a whiff of the food and couldn't resist rubbing her stomach. "I'm getting hungry," she muttered.

Hazuki chuckled beside her. "Then let's head over. They should be just about done."

At the dining table, three plates of sushi were already laid out—Shinoda Hajime had finished first and was visibly proud of her work.

"Hehe, Hazuki-san, try my sushi!"

"Not bad at all," Hazuki said with a smile as she inspected the plates. "But let's wait for everyone to finish so we can eat together."

Aside from Umiko's grilled ribs, which were still in the oven, the others gradually brought their completed dishes to the table. With a few additional takeout items to round out the spread, the food was enough for everyone's lunch.

Looking at the table brimming with dishes, Ichin clapped his hands. "Alright, Umiko's dish will be ready soon, but let's start sampling and scoring. Don't forget, the person with the lowest score today will be responsible for the studio's cleaning duties for the next month—mopping, wiping tables, cleaning windows, and everything else!"

"Ah! I almost forgot about that!"

Shinoda Hajime yelped, her confidence replaced with sudden nervousness.

...

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