My Girlfriend is an Evil Woman

The Izakaya didn’t demand much in terms of culinary expertise, as it was primarily a place for drinking and chatting. The food served just needed to be passable. Haruna led Kitahara Hideji around the kitchen for less than half an hour and found that he was a quick learner. He seemed to grasp everything easily, leaving Haruna with nothing more to teach him.

Although Haruna’s cooking skills weren’t that advanced either, judging from the skill name – “Family-style Cooking,” it was at a basic level. But even so, Kitahara Hideji’s proficiency was enough to raise her suspicions. She hesitated for a moment before instructing him, “Please boil seventy eggs, peel the skin off ten radishes, and cut ten others into pieces. Also, prepare five plates of tofu.”

Kitahara Hideji smiled and replied, “Leave it to me!”

He began boiling the eggs in batches, which made Haruna, who wanted to remind him of something, hold back her words. After standing by him for a while with nothing to do, she turned to wash the vegetables. At the same time, she instructed Natsuo and Natsuha, “You two can take the night off today. But make sure to finish your assignments because Onee-san will check later, and you know the consequences if you make mistakes!”

Natsuo and Natsuha were stunned for a moment, their eyes welling up with tears as they trembled, “We…don’t have to work anymore?” Without waiting for Haruna’s reply, they glanced at each other and dropped the vegetables they were holding before rushing towards the exit, inadvertently bumping into each other at the doorway. Neither would give in, so they squeezed and struggled until they managed to run away together.

Meanwhile, Kitahara Hideji stirred the eggs and felt somewhat curious. He couldn’t believe this Izakaya even divided the eggs for boiling just to keep the egg yolks centered – although sticking to the eggshells could indeed be annoying and unsightly. But they were willing to put in the effort, showing that this place had a meticulous approach to cooking!

He looked around the Izakaya, which wasn’t small, with its polished paulownia wood floor, a familiar sight to him. There were seven or eight tables in the main hall, several large beer barrels standing against the wall, and beer posters and handwritten menus on the walls. In one corner of the room hung a small shrine with a fox sitting upright in the center. With its white face, long tail, and red, slanting eyes, it looked like a messenger of the Inari god, or perhaps the Inari god itself. The image of the fox messenger was well-known, often replacing the human form of the Inari god in many places.

He hadn’t paid much attention to Izakaya before, and now he found it quite fascinating. The floor seemed a bit peculiar, giving off an unusual feeling that it didn’t belong there, but other than that, everything else appeared normal.

The Izakaya didn’t demand much in terms of culinary expertise, as it was primarily a place for drinking and chatting. The food served just needed to be passable. Haruna led Kitahara Hideji around the kitchen for less than half an hour and found that he was a quick learner. He seemed to grasp everything easily, leaving Haruna with nothing more to teach him.

Although Haruna’s cooking skills weren’t that advanced either, judging from the skill name – “Family-style Cooking,” it was at a basic level. But even so, Kitahara Hideji’s proficiency was enough to raise her suspicions. She hesitated for a moment before instructing him, “Please boil seventy eggs, peel the skin off ten radishes, and cut ten others into pieces. Also, prepare five plates of tofu.”

Kitahara Hideji smiled and replied, “Leave it to me!”

He began boiling the eggs in batches, which made Haruna, who wanted to remind him of something, hold back her words. After standing by him for a while with nothing to do, she turned to wash the vegetables. At the same time, she instructed Natsuo and Natsuha, “You two can take the night off today. But make sure to finish your assignments because Onee-san will check later, and you know the consequences if you make mistakes!”

Natsuo and Natsuha were stunned for a moment, their eyes welling up with tears as they trembled, “We…don’t have to work anymore?” Without waiting for Haruna’s reply, they glanced at each other and dropped the vegetables they were holding before rushing towards the exit, inadvertently bumping into each other at the doorway. Neither would give in, so they squeezed and struggled until they managed to run away together.

Meanwhile, Kitahara Hideji stirred the eggs and felt somewhat curious. He couldn’t believe this Izakaya even divided the eggs for boiling just to keep the egg yolks centered – although sticking to the eggshells could indeed be annoying and unsightly. But they were willing to put in the effort, showing that this place had a meticulous approach to cooking!

He looked around the Izakaya, which wasn’t small, with its polished paulownia wood floor, a familiar sight to him. There were seven or eight tables in the main hall, several large beer barrels standing against the wall, and beer posters and handwritten menus on the walls. In one corner of the room hung a small shrine with a fox sitting upright in the center. With its white face, long tail, and red, slanting eyes, it looked like a messenger of the Inari Ōkami, or perhaps the Inari Ōkami itself. The image of the fox messenger was well-known, often replacing the human form of the Inari Ōkami in many places.

He hadn’t paid much attention to Izakaya before, and now he found it quite fascinating. The floor seemed a bit peculiar, giving off an unusual feeling that it didn’t belong there, but other than that, everything else appeared normal.

As he was curiously looking around, the cloth curtain lifted, and Fukuzawa Fuyumi walked out. She had changed her clothes and was now wearing a Kimono with wide sleeves and fine blue fabric, topped with a white apron. She had a snow-white headscarf wrapped around her head, with two corners sticking up like animal ears. Despite her small size, she looked somewhat cute, but her face remained gloomy, not the least bit endearing.

Standing in the middle of the hall, she glanced around, seemingly ignoring Kitahara Hideji’s presence. Suddenly, she called out, “Where’s Yukari? Did she run out to play again?”

Yukari poked her head in from outside the shop and cheerfully said, “No, I’m here! Uh… sister, I just finished moving the stuff!” As she spoke, she twisted her body and seemed to wave her hand, urging someone to leave.

Fuyumi’s expression improved slightly, and she ordered, “Go do your assignments.”

Yukari gave a thumbs up, “Sure thing!” After speaking, she quickly disappeared.

Fuyumi continued to roam around the hall, inspecting this and that, and eventually grabbed a cloth and began wiping, looking every bit like a little proprietress.

Kitahara Hideji stole a few glances at her before focusing on his work. Regardless of whether he had any grudges with the little radish head or not, if he was getting paid, he wanted to do his job well and make sure no one could fault him. He aimed to do his best and have a clear conscience!

Haruna occasionally came by to check on him and noticed that Kitahara Hideji was no less skilled than her. It seemed like he had been working here for a long time, which puzzled her even more. However, she refrained from asking him and kept her curiosity to herself.

After a short while, Fukuzawa Naotaka clapped his hands and said, “Alright, let’s eat first! The customers will be here soon!” Kitahara Hideji stopped his work as Haruna went to get the rice cooker. He quickly stepped forward to take it from her. Haruna glanced at him, lowered her head slightly in thanks, and then led him towards the exit, lifting the cloth curtain for him. Kitahara Hideji took a glance inside the hallway, somewhat surprised that it was quite long and seemed to lead to other places. However, before he could explore further, Haruna led him into a room.

The room appeared to be a shared activity space within the Fukuzawa Family. There was a long, low table with many cushions scattered on the floor. Natsuo and Natsuha were already in the room, working on their assignments together, seemingly copying from each other. On the table, there was also a three or four-year-old boy busy drawing with crayons. Haruna glanced at him and introduced him to Kitahara Hideji, “This is our younger brother, Akitaro.”

Kitahara Hideji quickly calculated in his mind and suddenly realized—no wonder the head of the Fukuzawa Family always seemed weak. They had six children! Fraternal twins Fuyumi and Yukari, the third child Haruna, identical twins Natsuo and Natsuha, and the youngest Akitaro. Six children, impressive! It must have been exhausting!

However, he hesitated for a moment and tentatively asked, “Your mother…”

Haruna’s expression remained unchanged, “She passed away over two years ago.”

“Apologies!” Kitahara Hideji lowered his head in apology. Haruna didn’t say anything more and gestured that he could stay comfortable. Then she turned and left again. Kitahara Hideji sat for a while, with nothing to do, so he looked at Akitaro, the only male descendant of the Fukuzawa Family’s second generation. He noticed Akitaro drawing a monster carefully, full of childlike imagination. Unfortunately, he was drawing on a paper with words on it, and Akitaro wasn’t shy at all. When he saw Kitahara Hideji approaching, he grinned, revealing a gap between his white baby teeth—this little guy was missing his front teeth.

Kitahara Hideji liked children and smiled kindly at him. He watched Akitaro draw a few more strokes and then reached out to pick up a book next to him—there were several books, and Akitaro used them as a cushion for his drawing.

He glanced at the cover and was surprised to find that they were in Chinese—not Japanese with occasional Chinese characters—but simplified Chinese. The book was titled “Essentials of Acupuncture.” In shock, he picked up another book, which was in Japanese, but it was a translation titled “Comprehensive Explanation of Extraordinary Meridians.” He picked up another one, also a translation, titled “Complete Book of Traditional Chinese Medicine.”

Kitahara Hideji was even more surprised when he found that they were all medical books. What was going on? Why did the chef’s family have so many medical books? Wasn’t it a good father to not want to be a good doctor?

He hadn’t seen simplified Chinese characters for a long time, and he felt a sense of familiarity. He absentmindedly flipped through the pages, unexpectedly coming across a dialogue box: “Do you want to learn the skill [Acupuncture: Southern Style]?”

Acupuncture? It didn’t seem very useful!

However, Kitahara Hideji still selected yes, planning to find a way to get to Initial Rank and earn a few attribute points. He felt dizzy for a moment and then opened the book “Comprehensive Book of Traditional Chinese Medicine,” and once again, a prompt appeared: “Do you want to merge [Pharmacology] and [Acupuncture: Southern Style] into [Medical Skill]?”

Having already learned the skills, Kitahara Hideji found that merging them had even better effects. He had no hesitation and selected “yes” to merge [Pharmacology] and [Acupuncture: Southern Style] into [Medical Skill]. A surge of information almost overwhelmed his mind, and he felt dizzy and nauseous. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and learned all the books that were in front of him.

Amidst the dizziness, he heard a soft and cloying voice calling, “Onii-chan…” The voice was not only sweet and coquettish but also had a resonating echo effect.

Kitahara Hideji rubbed his temples and realized that his [Medical Skill] experience had increased by 1. He was left speechless for a moment, but then he saw Natsuo and Natsuha had somehow come and knelt in front of him.

They had similar appearances, with oval faces, delicate eyebrows, and round eyes, making them incredibly adorable. Their rosy cheeks and long straight black hair with a faint layer of fuzz on their ear tips added to their innocent charm. They both had straight-cut bangs, and their shiny black hair beautifully complemented their fair and tender skin.

Now they sat before Kitahara Hideji, blinking their big eyes, their eyelashes trembling gently, their small hands held in front of their chests, looking utterly cute and innocent. It was hard to imagine that they had a vicious and vindictive side when they had been ready to fight with sticks not long ago.

They truly looked like two innocent little angels, but Kitahara Hideji felt his hair stand on end when they addressed him. He smiled and asked politely, “What can I do for you, Miss Fukuzawa?” After all, they were the daughters of his employer, and he needed to show some respect.

“Just call me Natsuo (Ha), Onii-chan!” They tilted their heads and said in unison, their voices sweet to the extreme. Then they extended their exercise books towards him and pitifully asked, “Onii-chan, can you tell us the answers to these questions? You’re so smart, please help us!”

Kitahara Hideji glanced at the exercise books, roughly estimating that they were around the level of a third or fourth grader. Despite feeling a bit dizzy and confused, he didn’t feel any pressure. He quickly calculated the answers and said, “One-eighth for this question.”

“What about this one? This one is so difficult. Onii-chan, do you know the answer?” They worked in tandem, one asking while the other recorded the answers in their exercise books.

“A arrives first, nine minutes before B.”

“You’re amazing, Onii-chan!” The two little girls squeezed beside Kitahara Hideji’s knees, admiration shining in their eyes. “What about this one?”

“This one is…” Kitahara Hideji had just absorbed a vast amount of information while learning the skills, and his head was a bit overwhelmed. Now he realized that these two little girls were using him to help them with their homework!

If he were to teach them genuinely, following his principle of being kind to others, Kitahara Hideji would likely patiently explain the answers. But if they were just trying to cheat, he would feel a bit embarrassed.

After pondering for a moment, he smiled and said, “This one is indeed a bit challenging. The answer is 89.” The correct answer’s units digit + 1.

“And this one?”

“It can be divided into 9 groups, and the remainder is 25.” A half-correct, half-wrong answer.

Natsuo and Natsuha exchanged glances, both showing a smile on their little faces. However, they quickly concealed it and said in a sweet voice, “Onii-chan is really amazing, the supreme Onii-chan… And this one?”

“To complete the bridge with an additional 300 workers, it will take 90 days. With 500 more workers, it will take 160 days to complete.”

“Wow, you’re so…” They complimented him halfway but suddenly, their ears twitched together. Without any hesitation, they rolled over the table shoulder to shoulder and continued doing their homework as if nothing had happened.

Kitahara Hideji chuckled helplessly. The Fukuzawa Family is full of talented individuals! He turned to look towards the door and sure enough, saw Yukari rushing in with a stack of dishes and a large food container in her arms. She greeted them with a smile, “Sorry for the wait! We chatted with Onee-san for a while, and the mealtime got a bit shorter.”

Kitahara Hideji got up to help Yukari set the table, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask about the sisters’ private conversation. So he just smiled and asked, “Yukari, what’s the deal with these books?”