028. Morning Cafeteria

After sending Umaru Doma off to take a bath, Jiang Yu returned to his bedroom and retrieved his backpack for the first time since coming home. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly at how high school in Japan was truly a paradise. At Toyonoki, the school he attended, the homework assigned by teachers could usually be completed during breaks. School ended as early as 3:30 p.m., followed by a wide variety of club activities. There were never any evening self-study sessions, and classes didn't officially start until nine in the morning.

Although there were some students in Japan who aspired to get into good universities and would head straight to cram schools after classes, this was already a dreamlike existence for Jiang Yu, who in his previous life had suffered through the grueling Chinese high school system. He remembered how he used to get up every day shortly after six, had to be in the classroom before 7:30, and had evening self-study starting as early as junior high. Especially in his final year, he would labor over homework until well past midnight, and club activities were out of the question.

Now, free from academic pressure, he spent his days writing light novels, drawing, and making games.

With a wry smile and a shake of his head, Jiang Yu cast aside the complicated thoughts swirling in his mind, opened his backpack, and began searching for something. Before long, he pulled out the sketches he'd drawn during class that day. On the first two sheets were portraits of two girls with utterly contrasting temperaments.

One girl had her long hair braided into two pigtails that rested on her shoulders, her innocent smile reflecting a purity untouched by the world as she gazed ahead. The other girl's long hair cascaded down, covering half her face; the area around her eyes was shaded in darkness, exuding a trace of chill.

These were Jiang Yu's character design sketches for Viola and Elen, drawn over the course of a morning—Viola as she first appeared, and Elen as she was approaching death after becoming a witch. These two characters were the protagonists whom players would encounter most often in the game.

Flipping through the stack, there were also some other designs for Viola and Elen in different forms, although these were much rougher compared to the first two. The last few pages depicted exterior views of the Witch’s House, the castle at the heart of the story, and, of course, the black cat that appeared throughout the game.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Yu took out another blank sheet and quickly sketched the image of a typical European man: robust muscles, clad in linen clothes with a leather breastplate thrown over, holding a hunting rifle with both hands, his gaze steady and fixed on the distance.

Even so, nearly an hour had passed by the time Jiang Yu was satisfied with the hunter character who would serve as Viola’s father in the game. He put down his pencil, took up an art eraser to tidy up some overly complex lines, and finally completed the character design.

Rubbing his somewhat sore fingers, Jiang Yu lifted the drawings from the desk, carefully shook them out, and placed them back into the pile. He rose and stretched, unable to stifle a yawn. Glancing at his phone, he was startled to see it was nearly midnight.

Considering the progress of his light novel, Jiang Yu decided to forgo writing tonight and, for once, go to bed early.

Of course, to honor his promise to Umaru from the night before, Jiang Yu made a point of checking the living room before going to sleep, ensuring there was no sign of her playing games.

A sense of pride as an older brother welled up in him, and Jiang Yu returned contentedly to his room and slipped into bed.

...

The next morning, before his alarm could sound, Jiang Yu sat up in bed yawning and checked his phone. Dozens of unread messages from Aki Tomoya awaited him on LINE.

His lips twitched as he opened the messages...

"Yu! The opening is really captivating—this character, Hachiman Hikigaya, is so unique!"

"Is Yukino Yukinoshita inspired by Utaha-senpai? #sarcasm"

"Yui Yuigahama is adorable! Two contrasting female leads introduced one after another. I underestimated you, Yu!"

"Hmm... Now that I think about it, Hachiman Hikigaya seems to have a bit of you in him, doesn’t he, Author?"

"This story is super interesting!"

"What happens next?!"

"Is there more?!"

"..."

The conversation moved from character analysis to teasing the author, and finally devolved into increasingly desperate pleas for updates. In his mind’s eye, Jiang Yu could perfectly imagine Aki Tomoya's expression shifting from intense concentration to mounting impatience as he clutched his phone.

He couldn’t help but laugh aloud. Putting his phone away and turning off his alarm, Jiang Yu got up to prepare breakfast.

With plenty of time this morning, he decided to try making a typical Japanese breakfast. After all, he was getting tired of bread, milk, and eggs every day.

He took out the salmon he’d bought during his last grocery run and set it to thaw in the sink. While waiting, he rinsed some rice and set it to cook in the rice cooker.

Next, he sliced some seasonal vegetables, boiled them, then wrapped them in inari tofu skins that he’d also cooked, arranging them neatly to one side.

Then he turned to one of Japan’s classic breakfast staples: tamagoyaki, also known as rolled omelette. The basic idea was to cook layer upon layer of egg, each wrapping around the last to form a thick roll. Other fillings like diced ham or mushrooms could be added, but since Jiang Yu hadn’t bought any of those, he settled for a simple version.

With the tamagoyaki complete and set aside, Jiang Yu turned his attention back to the salmon. Fortunately, the store-bought salmon was already scaled and sliced, sparing him any trouble.

His task was simply to pan-fry it. He poured in some oil, waited for wisps of smoke to rise, then laid the fish in the pan, using a small spatula to turn it occasionally so it wouldn't get too charred.

Finally, he reheated the miso soup he’d made the previous night for hamburger steak, scooped out the rice from the cooker, and brought two plates of a classic Japanese breakfast to the table.

After removing his apron and drying his hands, Jiang Yu knocked on Umaru's bedroom door. Getting no answer, he called out, “Excuse me,” and opened the door.

The room was decorated in what could only be called a typical teenage girl’s style—except, of course, it wasn’t. It was unmistakably the room of an otaku: posters of anime characters Jiang Yu didn’t recognize adorned the walls, several figurines pilfered from his own room stood on the desk, and a few light novels were scattered across the table. A slightly open window let in a cool breeze, making the pale blue curtains flutter.

Umaru herself was sprawled messily across the bed, half her blanket nearly on the floor, her pajama top riding up just enough to reveal a hint of youthful charm.

Jiang Yu did his best to avert his gaze as he walked over and gently patted her cheek. “Time to get up, Umaru~”

The combination of his touch and words prompted her to blink open her eyes in a daze. Upon seeing it was Jiang Yu, she closed them again, ready to drift back to sleep.

Helpless, Jiang Yu finally yanked the blanket away, watching as Umaru flailed around the bed searching for it in a comical fashion. With a slight twitch of his lips, he said, “Come on, breakfast is ready! We still have to get to school~”

“Ahhh—good morning, big brother~” The girl propped herself up, still looking lost, yawning as she greeted him.

“...Good morning. Go wash up and come eat,” Jiang Yu replied, putting the blanket back and leaving the room.

Not long after, Umaru emerged looking tired, but at least somewhat refreshed after brushing her teeth and washing her face, and took her seat at the table.

Jiang Yu, having collected his own things, joined her.

Umaru stared at the breakfast before her, her mouth agape in surprise. “Did you make all this, big brother?”

“Of course I did. Who else would get up early to prepare breakfast for you?” Jiang Yu replied, half exasperated by her incredulity.

“Um... hehe, sorry, big brother~” Umaru flashed a sheepish smile.

Jiang Yu picked up his chopsticks, tapped them lightly on the table, and said with a gentle smile, “Eat up~”

“Mm-hmm~” Umaru nodded vigorously, and the two of them put their hands together and murmured, “Let’s eat.”

And so the customary, quiet breakfast at the Jiang household began.