Chapter 658: TELLING STORIES
The lack of information about Shio Emi puzzled Yagi. Despite Forest’s goofiness, he was a reliable source, and he had never failed before. If he said he could find nothing, not many people could.
This led to one conclusion: Shio Emi was not a simple teacher.
The revelation should have scared Yagi because he did not like uncertainties. Unknown factors in his life meant danger. He could not count the number of times the police and other task forces in the government sent undercover agents to infiltrate his operations.
However, when it came to Emi, he just felt curious and fascinated.
The image of her appeared in his mind. He wondered what secrets the little lady had.
Shio Emi did not know someone was thinking about her with a wicked smile. However, once in a while, a certain person would come to her mind. The constant flitting of his image in her mind kept frustrating her.
Fortunately, she had a lot of work, so she did not have time to obsess.
.....
On Thursday, she found her workload increasing when her colleague asked her to cover a home economics class. The teacher requested leave because her son was in the hospital. It was urgent, so she had not made arrangements.
Emi agreed to cover for her without another thought.
In truth, she knew most subjects, but she could not say that she had ever learned anything about home economics. However, the lesson plan was quite simple, and Mrs Naoki had told her she just needed to teach basic baking.
Grade 8A was not like her 5F.
Her students were young and cute, like wild but adorable cats. Class 8A had good older students, but they were also teenagers. Their thoughts were a little more complicated, and they were already trying to find their place in the world.
“Good afternoon, I will be covering this class for Mrs Naoki due to a personal emergency.” Teacher Shio spoke while looking at the bored faces of the students.
She could see that no one enjoyed this class. No one had even looked at the ingredients on the table at the front. One of the students raised her hand.
“I think since the teacher is not in, we can just use the period to review notes on classes that matter.” The girl said with conviction.
There were murmurs of agreement throughout the class. Everyone was clearly against learning how to bake. Shio wondered if Mrs Naoki had not escaped the lesson intentionally. She felt terrible for even thinking about it, but there was a possibility.
“Does everyone think that home economics is a waste of time?” Shio asked.
“Yes!” the answer was almost unanimous.
Emi leaned against the desk. “If I understand correctly, home economics is a class that teaches students the basic skills to take care of a house and oneself. Why do you think it is not necessary?”
Numerous hands went up in the air. Teacher Shio admired the discipline a lot. Her class was full of imps, so they would have just shouted answers randomly. Then, arguments would break out within seconds. She pointed at a boy in the middle.
“Why do I need to learn how to cook, clean and sew? I will have a wife to do all those things for me in the future.” He said with cocky confidence.
The girls immediately booed him loudly while most of the boys laughed and even clapped for him.
One of the girls spoke up. “Do you think you are in an isekai harem novel? Knowing you, you will be lucky to find a wife at all, let alone one that can cook. And who says a girl cannot marry a man who can cook?”
Immediately, the boys booed while the girls clapped.
“Why are the both of you complicating everything?” Another girl joined in. “You can hire people to do all these things for you.”
There were resounding agreements around the class. Discussions broke out around the class, and no one noticed that Teacher Shio was copying the recipe on the whiteboard. A vanilla cake was quite simple, so she finished quickly.
She turned from the board and clapped her hands.
“You make reasonable arguments. I agree with most of you. But...” She paused for a long moment. “Get your ingredients and follow the recipe on the board.”
The entire class groaned, but they were in a good mood after the argument. Therefore, despite the complaints, they still behaved properly and picked their ingredients. Still, they continued to complain about the useless nature of home economics.
“Alright, alright. I will make it simple. Most people claim cooking is a gift, and for a few, it is. But not everyone can become a Michelin-star chef. For the lazy and the normal, think of it as a science, not an art. Follow the time-tested theories. Do not try to be fancy. Start!” Teacher Shio said.
The class groaned again.
“Aren’t you going to encourage us to learn home economics diligently for the sake of love and family? Mrs Naoki always tells us that no one wants to live with people who cannot cook or clean.” One of the boys made a joke.
Teacher Shio laughed lightly. “Well, Mrs Naoki is right. But I think most of you cannot understand that concept right now. But if you want encouragement, I can tell you a story as long as you keep working on the recipe. Do you want to hear it?”
The students did not hesitate. It was rare to have a brief respite from Mrs Naoki’s nagging.
“A few years back, there was a rich man from a powerful family. He had a good wife and five children. The family was harmonious and happy, but unfortunately, the good wife died. The youngest of the five children was around your age, so it was not devastating.”
“They could survive without a lot of trouble. Moreover, they had a reliable butler and a cook who had been with them for a long time. They were well-paid and could take care of everything at home.” Teacher Shio told the story while walking around the class, checking the work.
“The family did not have major disagreements despite their loss, but they no longer had the mother watching over everything. It was quite sad. Fortunately, they were not alone. They could on the butler and the cook for everything. Slowly, they got used to the mother’s absence, but they would always return home to have their meals together.”
“They felt that the food the chef made was so good, and the coffee brewed by the butler was like ambrosia. Eventually, they even started working from home so they could enjoy food at home instead of restaurants or take-out food. Everything was taken care of by the two workers, and the family felt comfortable and happy. Until...”
Teacher Shio paused to check the oven and make sure it was preheated. “Make sure that the ingredients are completely blended. I can see clumps in some bowls. And remember, we are using one oven, keep up.”
The students were startled because they were so absorbed in the story.
“So, what happened?” A certain girl asked.
Teacher Shio smiled.
