Volume 4 Chapter 62 The Request
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Let’s work hard and make something delicious, okay?”
”Yeah! I’m gonna grab Maa-kun’s heart through his stomach!”
The cake wasn’t actually for me, but since I’d probably get to share some of it, it was bound to end up in my stomach sooner or later.
So, under the direction of Mother—who had taken the video camera from Mio-san—we started making a birthday cake for one of Mother’s coworkers.
Since Suu-chan and I were doing most of the heavy lifting this time, we set a step stool in front of the kitchen counter.
We’d watched or helped Mio-san make cakes for every one of our birthdays, so the general process was already pretty well etched into our brains.
First up was melting the butter.
It usually takes a while, but the process was already underway, with the butter and milk sitting in a double boiler.
The heavy cream and chocolate¹ were being prepped right alongside them.
”Suu-chan, can you crack the eggs for me?”
”Time to show off all my practice…” Suu-chan said.
Her face was tight with focus.
Even though she practiced every day, her success rate was still hovering around fifty percent.
Luckily, we didn’t need to separate the yolks from the whites today, so things would probably work out no matter what.
Cr-crack.
She tapped the egg against the counter until a fissure appeared.
Then, pressing her tiny fingers into the break, she put her whole heart into prying it open.
(I’m getting tense just watching her…)
”……I did it,” Suu-chan whispered.
”Perfect!” Mother said.
”Way to go, Suu-chan,” I added.
The beautiful egg dropped safely into the bowl, and Mother and I broke into applause.
”One more…”
But she must have been too wound up for the second one; the yolk burst.
”Want a do-over?” I asked.
”Mm. I’m doing it,” Suu-chan replied.
I was supposed to crack some too, but since she looked so frustrated, I stepped aside and let her have the win.
It definitely wasn’t because I was running away from a potential failure.
I’m actually quite good at cracking eggs.
I took the whisk to the four eggs—half of which now had broken yolks—after giving my hands a quick wash.
”Okay, Suu-chan, add the sugar.”
”Mm,” she chirped.
As I whisked, Suu-chan added the sugar bit by bit from the side.
Doing it alone is a bit wobbly, but with two people, it’s a breeze.
We kept the bowl over the double boiler to melt the sugar down.
Once it dissolved, it was time to whip it until it frothed.
This was a total battle of endurance.
”Go, Maa-kun, go! You can do it!” Mother and Suu-chan cheered.
My arms were absolutely screaming.
”Suu-chan, switch!” I gasped.
”Got it!” Suu-chan said.
My arms were pure lead.
We probably could have finished this in seconds with a hand mixer², but our household’s educational policy was that if you take the easy way out from the start, you never learn to appreciate the work that goes into things.
That’s just how we were raised.
After swapping back and forth with Suu-chan several times, the eggs—initially a deep yellow—slowly turned pale.
Still, they wouldn’t quite peak.
That was the cue for the hand mixer to make its entrance.
(Learning is great and all, but if we don’t actually finish the cake, we’ve got nothing. If we don’t whip this right, the sponge won’t rise.)
”Suu-chan, you take the honors,” I said.
”Mm!” she replied.
I held the bowl steady while Suu-chan manned the mixer.
In the blink of an eye, it was foamy.
It’s hard not to wonder what all that manual labor was for, but I guess that’s just life.
We should just be grateful for the technology.
We sifted in the cake flour and cocoa powder, folding it all together.
Then we added the melted butter and milk and mixed again.
Once the batter was smooth, we poured it into the mold.
Suu-chan handled the pouring while I used a chopstick to poke the batter into the corners to make sure it was even.
Finally, I gave the pan a light tap to knock out the air bubbles.
With that, the cake went into the oven-range, and the hard part was basically over.
After a thirty-minute break, the sponge was done.
I had Mio-san prick it with a chopstick to confirm it was baked through, then we pulled it out to cool.
Next was the chocolate frosting.
We just kept stirring the cream and chocolate over the double boiler.
It really felt like a day of endless stirring.
Since it would seize up as it cooled, we took turns mixing it over the heat, over and over.
Once the frosting was ready, it was time for the arts and crafts phase.
”Muu… this is hard…” Suu-chan muttered.
We were trying to spread the frosting over the cooled cake, but it was surprisingly tricky.
Suu-chan was a whirlwind, peering at it from the top, then the side, then the top again.
I started worrying she might fall right off her stool.
”Maa-kun…”
”Got it,” I said.
The SOS had been received.
”Hold the spatula right here, and don’t move an inch, okay?”
”Mm. I’m a rock,” Suu-chan replied.
Just as I told her, she pressed the spatula against the lumpy side of the cake, gripping it with both hands.
She didn’t really need that much force, but I suppose it was a display of her iron will.
”Okay, stay right there—” I said.
I carefully rotated the cake plate, making sure the axis didn’t wobble.
Apparently, there are things called turntables for this, but the Totsuka family didn’t own one.
Mostly because Mio-san never needed it.
Mio-san is incredibly steady.
I actually heard from Mother that she wanted to be a pastry chef when she was a kid.
Apparently, she gave it up when she realized she’d “probably get fat from all the taste-testing.”
”Ooh…!” Suu-chan gasped.
As the spatula smoothed out the frosting, her little mouth hung half-open.
Wanting to see more of that reaction, I gave the plate two extra, unnecessary spins.
”How’s that look?” I asked.
”It’s so smooth!” Suu-chan cried.
”You two are naturals!” Mother said.
It was a solid job.
The messy sides had become sleek in seconds.
Even Mother was impressed.
”Okay, now for the top,” I said.
”Mm, leave it to me. …Like this?” Suu-chan asked.
Without even being told, she pressed the spatula onto the top.
”Yeah, just like that. Perfect,” I said.
”~♪”
”…Suu-chan, the spatula is tilting,” I noted.
”Ngh…! Focus,” Suu-chan grunted.
After smoothing the top and sides a few more times, we had nice, sharp corners.
Those crisp edges really made it look like something from a bakery.
”Alright, decoration time!” Mother announced.
She handed us a piping bag filled with whipped cream.
”Want to try, Suu-chan?” I asked.
”Mm, I’ll do it! Suu is good at this!” she said.
”Then I’m leaving it to you,” I replied.
”Mm.”
I stepped back for Suu-chan.
I had her twist the end of the bag so the cream wouldn’t leak while I funneled the rest of the chocolate frosting into the open end.
”Ready to go?” I asked.
”Yep, all set,” she said.
With a look of deadly seriousness, Suu-chan hovered over the cake.
Holding the bag vertically with both hands, she squeezed in a tiny circle and then pulled up gently.
The chocolate stars emerging from the tip finally gave the plain cake some personality.
”You’ve got a real knack for this, Suu-chan,” I said.
”Yeah, almost as good as Mio-san,” Mother added.
”Mm. I practiced a lot with the cookies,” Suu-chan said.
The hard part was the consistency.
She had to keep them the same size and spacing all the way around.
”Next,” Suu-chan whispered.
”Ah, wait a sec…” I said.
I stopped her before she aimed for the second spot.
Balance is everything.
I used a toothpick to mark little guide holes so the spacing would be even.
”You can do it.”
”Mm,” she replied.
Following my guides, she carefully crafted each star.
She wasn’t fast, but she was steady.
”Phew… finished!” Suu-chan chirped.
”It’s perfect, Suu-chan,” I said.
”What a great job!” Mother said.
”Mm♪ Perfect,” Suu-chan agreed.
A ring of nearly identical decorations now circled the cake.
Suu-chan let out a big, satisfied sigh.
All that cookie practice had paid off.
Once we sprinkled some grated chocolate inside the ring, we were down to the final step.
”Last is the message plate,” Mother said.
I pulled a chocolate plate and a softened chocolate pen from the fridge.
”Suu-chan, I know you’re ready to go, but… Maa-kun was actually requested to write this one. Maa-kun, is that okay?”
”Wait, me?” I asked.
(A request? For me? They’ve never even met me…) I tried to read Mother’s face, but she looked like she was dodging the subject, so I let it go.
”Do mine for my birthday, okay?” Suu-chan said.
”Mm!” I replied.
I soothed her, and as I was about to sketch a draft with a toothpick, I paused.
I was going to write “Happy Birthday!” in English, but was that right? Mother knows I can write English, and it looks more stylish, but the recipient isn’t family.
If a normal five-year-old wrote this, it would be in simple, blocky Hiragana.
They requested a five-year-old, so they probably want it to look like one wrote it.
I decided to check with the local expert.
”…Suu-chan, what would you write?”
”? Hmm… ‘I love Maa-kun.’ …Hehe,” she giggled.
”Suu-chan, you can’t use ‘I love you’ this time. It’s for someone else,” Mother said.
”Whuh!? …Oh, right,” Suu-chan realized.
”Maa-kun, I think a normal ‘Happy Birthday’ is fine,” Mother suggested.
”…Then I’ll do that,” I said.
I counted the letters to make sure I wouldn’t mess up the spacing.
After a light scratch with a toothpick to set the lines, I traced over it with the white chocolate pen in my best ‘kid’ print.
”I think that’s it…” I muttered.
”It’s done!” Suu-chan cheered.
”It really is!” Mother said.
With a safe, standard message nestled in the center, the chocolate cake made by Suu-chan and me was finally, officially complete.
—
Summary:
Maa-kun and Suu-chan collaborate to bake a birthday cake for one of Mother’s coworkers. They work through the entire process from whisking the sponge to the final chocolate decorations. The chapter ends with a mystery regarding why Maa-kun specifically was requested to write the message.
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Trivia:
- The Totsuka family does not own a cake turntable because Mio-san is skilled enough to bake without one.
- Mother’s coworker requested Maa-kun specifically for the message plate, despite never meeting him.
- Mio-san gave up on being a professional pastry chef because she was afraid of gaining weight from taste-testing.
- Maa-kun deliberately mimics a child’s handwriting (Hiragana style) even though he is capable of writing English/Kanji
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Character Insight:
Maa-kun shows a high level of social awareness by adjusting his ‘performance’ as a five-year-old to match expectations, while Suu-chan displays growth in her motor skills and focus.
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Lore And Worldbuilding Context:
The educational policy of ‘doing things by hand’ highlights the mother’s desire to ground the children in hard work before using modern conveniences.
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Glossary:
Notes:
• Maa-kun – A young boy in the Rabbit Group at Hinomori Kindergarten. He is highly intelligent, capable of second-grade math and multiplication. He is described as calm, stoic, and helpful, often acting as a ‘handler’ for more energetic children. Akari’s son, nearly five years old. An extreme polyglot and polymath who secretly studies news, martial arts, and multiple languages. Highly sensitive to his parents’ moods. Also referred to as Makoto-kun. Narrator’s son in the Rabbit Group. Popular with other girls but maintains distance. Previously protected Suu-chan during the ‘April Incident.’
• Mio – Mio, postpartum and stylish in gray, baby‑faced with a G‑cup silhouette, is wife of Mitsuhisa, childhood friend and neighbor of Akari, and Totsuka council chair. Mother of Suzuki, twins Fuuka & Kyouka, and an older kindergarten child. Playful yet grounded, she bakes with the kids, cooks, mentors Maa‑kun in UV‑protected hair‑drying, encourages Shiho, confides in Akari, and teases them on film. Publicly affectionate with Mitsuhisa at the grill, she dislikes crowds and keeps a quiet, close‑knit home presence.
• Suu-chan – A refined young girl with soft skin who values etiquette and ‘lady’s grace.’ She holds Makoto to a high standard of grooming.
• Suu – A female student in the Rose Class. Very close to Makoto (Maa-kun). Has mud on her cheeks and makes high-quality dorodango.
• Totsuka – Totsuka Mio is the wife of Mitsuhisa Totsuka and mother of Suu-chan. She is a hardcore gamer, part of the neighbor family that supplies hand‑me‑down consoles to the protagonist’s household. Mio attends parent‑teacher conferences and worries about her daughter’s growing dependence on Makoto.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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