Eri's requested "milk tempura" sounded bizarre, but it was just fried milk. Despite seeming like some dark culinary experiment, the finished dish had a crispy exterior and a tender, creamy interior, bursting with rich milky flavor in every bite.
The recipe wasn't hard. Shuichi Hayashi mixed milk and coconut juice, brought it to a boil, added a bit of sugar for taste, then slowly stirred in cornstarch to form a paste. Once it was scalding hot, he poured it into a container to cool, then froze it in the fridge.
Meanwhile, he diluted tempura flour with cold water to make a batter. He cut the frozen milk-coconut mixture into small cubes, coated them in the batter, and fried them slowly in oil until golden brown before scooping them out.
"All done, milady!" Shuichi said, placing a plate of fried milk in front of Eri.
The rich milky aroma was irresistible. Eri eagerly grabbed a piece and bit into it. "Ow, hot! So hot!"
"You had the nerve to laugh at Kogoro," Shuichi said with a chuckle. "Eat the ones at the bottom first. The top ones look cool, but they're still scalding inside."
"I know," Eri said, a bit embarrassed. "I just couldn't wait."
"You're eating so fast you got some on your face," Shuichi said, grabbing a napkin from the table to wipe the corner of her mouth.
Having grown up together, such gestures were second nature to them.
But at that moment, the door swung open, and Yukiko Fujimine stepped in with a paper bag. "What's that smell? It's—"
She froze mid-sentence.
From Yukiko's perspective, Eri was sitting with flushed cheeks (from the hot fried milk), while Shuichi stood in front of her, wiping a white, creamy substance from her mouth with a napkin.
This… this looked all kinds of wrong!
"Sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!"
Yukiko's face turned beet red as she spun around, ready to bolt out the door.
"Wangcai!" Shuichi called.
The dog darted to the entrance, blocking her path.
"Shuichi Hayashi, don't go too far!" Yukiko said, red-faced and stomping her foot. "If you're doing that, why drag me into it?"
"Doing what?" Shuichi asked, puzzled. "Eri wanted fried milk, so I made it for her. What's the problem?"
"Making food?" Yukiko blinked, stunned. "That's… that's it?"
"What else would it be?" Shuichi said, exasperated. "Where's your mind going?"
Yukiko turned, eyeing them closely. Shuichi's clothes were neat, and he was still wearing his chef's apron—hardly the setup for anything scandalous.
"Heh, my bad. I misunderstood," she said with an awkward laugh, walking to the table to change the subject. "Is this the fried milk? You can make tempura out of milk?"
She reached for a piece to try, but before she could touch it, Eri slapped her hand away. "This is what Shuichi made for me."
"Tch, stingy glasses girl!" Yukiko huffed. "And here I brought you a gift!"
"You? Bring me a gift?" Eri said, full of skepticism. She turned to Shuichi, only to catch him sneaking toward the kitchen. "Shuichi, what's going on? Why's this curly-haired vixen in the shop?"
"Uh…" Shuichi glanced at Yukiko. "You'd better explain."
"We'll talk about that later!" Yukiko snapped, slamming the table. "Who're you calling a curly-haired vixen?"
Eri didn't respond, just twirled a lock of her own hair pointedly.
"Damn glasses girl!"
"Flashy curly-haired vixen!"
"Nerd!"
"Scheming fox!"
The two girls traded barbs, each retort sharper than the last. Shuichi stood by, wondering how to defuse the situation, when the izakaya door swung open again. Kogoro Mouri walked in. "Oh, you're all here?"
Sorry, brother!
Shuichi apologized mentally before diving in. "Eri, you weren't here yesterday, and we were short-handed. Yukiko happened to pass by while shopping, so Kogoro suggested she help out."
"He even gave her your work uniform. But since it didn't fit quite right, Yukiko altered it a bit."
"That's the story. I'm off to prep tonight's ingredients!"
With that, Shuichi bolted for the back storeroom.
Kogoro stood dumbfounded. "Shuichi, you traitor—"
"Oh, and Kogoro was raving about how great Yukiko's alterations to your uniform looked!" Shuichi added, poking his head out.
"Ko-go-ro!" Eri growled, her face darkening as she enunciated each syllable.
"I-I didn't mean—" Kogoro stammered, backing toward the door with a nervous laugh. "I didn't expect Yukiko to mess with your uniform! Hey, Eri, why don't you check it out? Her work's really good, it looks great—"
Thwack!
Eri hurled a piece of fried milk, hitting Kogoro square in the forehead. The hot, creamy filling oozed out, scalding him as he yelped, "Hot! So hot! Ow!"
Seeing Eri's fury over the uniform, Yukiko realized why Shuichi had been so grumpy yesterday when she'd altered it. Knowing she needed Eri's approval to work at the izakaya, Yukiko seized the moment while Eri was distracted with Kogoro. She dashed to the kitchen, grabbed something from the counter, and pushed open the storeroom door.
"Give me the key to the upstairs room!"
"For what?"
"To convince glasses girl, obviously!"
Shuichi handed over the key. Before he could ask more, Yukiko snatched it, marched to Eri, and dragged her outside.
Caught off guard, Eri didn't resist and was pulled upstairs to the living room.
"Have you had enough?" Eri snapped, her temper flaring. In one swift move, she grabbed Yukiko's arm with a judo hold, pinning her to the table.
"Ow, that hurts, glasses girl!" Yukiko yelped, raising the bag in her other hand. "I'm trying to apologize for real!"
"What's in the bag?" Eri asked, easing her grip slightly.
"Just open it and see!"
Eri snorted, releasing Yukiko's arm and opening the paper bag. She pulled out its contents.
"This… is a work uniform?"
Eri stared at the garment. Compared to the izakaya's plain original uniform, this one was far more stylish. The bulky waistline had been tailored to a slim fit. Though still pure white, the front now featured two lively cats playfully tussling over a ball of yarn, with cloud-patterned trim adorning the collar and cuffs…
(End of Chapter)
------------------------
🔥 Want more chapters right now?✨ Support me on Patreon and unlock advanced chapters early!
👉 patreon.com/TripleCrown07
Join in, get ahead of the story, and enjoy exclusive perks along the way 🚀📖