Kakuriyo Light Novel Volume 6, Chapter 1: The perfect taste for the autumn harvest of new rice
This work was translated from this website. All credits go to 友麻碧 and 深夜读书会. I do not own anything.
Whoo, here you go. Volume 6 baby!
This takes place after the anime, so it’s all uncharted territory basically.
“Aoi-san, we’re already at our limit!”
“Um! Do we have to stop here for today……”
This is Moonflower, and the time is late September.
I- Tsubaki Aoi, am frowning due to inner regret, leaning in close to stare at the refrigerator with few ingredients left.
The situation before me is like being cut off by the enemy forces, facing the desperate situation of trying to do everything. Today’s business should be able to do only this much, and we won’t be able to accept any more customers.
As usual, Moonflower’s operations are understaffed, often becoming too busy to deal with. On days where there are particularly many guests, the ingredients may be exhausted halfway, forcing Moonflower to close early; yet if the sufficient amount is prepared in advance, the day’s business might be particularly deserted. It is really difficult to catch a balance.
Furthermore, I’m alone in managing the affairs of the store and I feel like I can’t keep doing so anymore. It’s really a problem.
“Although the previous incident at Orio-ya, including the ceremony details, was quietly covered up, it still caused enthusiastic debate among the citizens of the Hidden World. In all aspects, Aoi-san has managed to become the topic here, receiving even more interest from the ayakashi, leading the name of Moonflower to be passed along to great distance……”
After closing up shop, Ginji-san and I sat on the bar counter for a short break. We bit into the dried persimmons that we got from a customer while sipping our tea.
“Ginji-san, while your tone is full of emotion, I did not voluntarily make a name in the Hidden World.”
“Mmm, I understand. It is the ayakashi who are actively focusing on you…… But thanks to that, Moonflower’s business is flourishing!”
Originally tired, Ginji-san’s expression suddenly changed and showed a face full of joy, but my heart was full of uneasiness at the same time.
From a debt-owing standpoint, of course I would like to see a prosperous business. However, if the operating methods in the store are not adjusted or improved, I have a feeling that it will affect the standard of the meals sooner or later, leading me to feel sorry for the customers that specially come to the door.
Ah…...let’s change the topic for a moment, this persimmon is really delicious. The sweetness exuded from the soft part inside and the slight remain of the bitter flavor is what I particularly like.
Although there are many people who hate persimmons, this is a snack that grandpa used to eat. It has a familiar taste to me.
“It seems…...that it’s almost time for Moonflower to hire a new employee.”
“New employee? But you’re right, relying on just Ginji-san and I, is really a bit tough…...”
I agree with Ginji-san’s proposal. Ever since the opening of Moonflower, it has just been the two of us working hard together along the way.
But Ginji-san also has other departments that he has to manage.
I think the store should just straight up hire new people for help.
“In order to let Aoi-san focus on her cooking, first of all, we should increase the number of waiters in the field. I will try to post a sign on the bulletin board of Tenjin-ya before I start.”
“I wonder what kind of people will come to apply……”
Why am I saying it like I have decided to hire a new person……
“Mistress Aoi is too much!”
A ghost fire suddenly appeared from my necklace. It was Ai.
She puffed her cheeks angrily with the same appearance as me.
“You already have me as a follower, and still want to hire new employees! You should just let me work then!”
“Huh? Do you want to work so much, Ai?”
“Haven’t I always strongly asked?”
Was this the case? I tried to think about it.
Ai showing up from the necklace has basically only been during dinner time, or to find Chibi to play with.
I’ve always thought of her as an ayakashi that has yet to grow up, so I’ve never thought of accepting her as an employee.
“But Ai, you always become tired after coming out for a while, and then run back into the necklace, don’t you? Furthermore, if you have the same appearance as me, it feels like there are two mes in Moonflower, which is very weird.”
“......would it be weird?”
Ai and I both looked at Ginji-san.
Our expressions seem to be asking for his opinion: “Hey, what do you think?”
“Uh, well…...since Ai knows best what Aoi-san is thinking, I would of course like to have you help. But if you maintain the same appearance as Aoi-san, I think it is a bit inappropriate.”
“Why, why do you say so? Young master, I also want to try my best……”
Ai pleaded tearfully with Ginji-san. Saying that with my face seemed to have confused and panicked Ginji-san. His eyes shifted, and he stuttered a reply: “But…… this……”
“This feels like it will confuse the customers. Mistakenly thinking that it’s me, but it turning out to be Ai; or in reverse, mistaking me for Ai.”
“This is indeed one of the problems…… But, disregarding the operations of the store first, having a follower that can change their appearance to match the master’s is actually extremely precious. This may be better to not share with the world.”
“Mmm. Having a look-alike avatar can serve as your last life saving trump card. But on the other hand, it may also be used unscrupulously by people. So if possible, I hope you will try your best to not highlight Ai’s existence……”
Ginji-san glanced at Ai to see her biting her lower lip with tears like a child, and then scratched his head in distress.
“If you want Ai to work in this store, you may need two conditions- one is that she can’t doze during work hours, and two, she has to transform into a new appearance.”
Ai and I tilted our heads in uncomprehension.
Not being able to doze during work hours is understandable. This was obvious.
“Does this mean that you want her to change into someone other than me?”
“No, it means that I’m asking her to learn to change into a new appearance of her own- also her own original look.”
These words seem to make Ai confused.
“Let me think of how to explain…...For example, Tokihiko-san from Orio-ya. He used to be a small demon fire, and now has his own appearance instead of copying others. There’s a big difference in imitating others and creating your own appearance, so I’m not sure if Ai-san, who is still so young, has such a capability……”
However, Ai raised one hand up high and vowed: “I want to give it a try!”
“I, I will work hard to create my own appearance!”
“Oh……” (T/N: this is said in agreement)
Looking at Ai’s energetic appearance, Ginji-san and I applauded softly to show admiration.
“However, it’s almost time for me to sleep, so I’m going back into the necklace first.”
Ai immediately became a ghost fire, and returned back into the necklace.
The necklace gleamed with gently pulsing light, like the breaths of Ai as she slept peacefully.
“Compared to the appearance problem, this seems to be a bigger one.”
“The reason that she would need to sleep so often may be because she’s still growing. When she grows up, she should be able to stay up like a normal ayakashi, since ayakashi have no need for sleep in the first place.”
“Listening to you say that, the sleep time of the employees in Tenjin-ya is indeed very short. I originally thought it was an illegal business or the like, but it turns out that this is not the case……”
“Uh, no no no! How could it be an illegal business, Tenjin-ya’s treatment can be considered quite superior in the Hidden World. It’s just that the business is busy.”
“Huh? Why does this answer seem to be a bit of a walk through a gray area.”
Forget it, anyway, I get enough sleep every day and have a holiday tomorrow, so I don’t have any comments.
But no matter how, every business day is still very busy. If Ai could help, I couldn’t be more happy.
“That guy” that I referred to was a certain snow woman.
That is, the former young proprietress, now waitress, Oryo. She arrived at Moonflower as usual after getting off work.
“Sorry, Oryo, there is nothing left today.”
“Huuuuuuuuuuhhhh! Again? What about rice? You don’t even have rice?”
“If it’s white rice, I can just cook it again, but we don’t have any dishes. And tomorrow, Moonflower is taking a break. There aren’t any ingredients left.”
“Then just cook white rice for me. Anyway, I like rice the most, and just the new rice will taste delicious.”
If you want to eat just white rice, you can go wherever you want…...Ginji-san and I lowly exchanged whispers.
However, seeing that Oryo had already been lazily sitting on the bar seat, I helplessly spit out a “Really, what should I do with you” and stood up to prepare the white rice.
As Oryo said, it is now the most delicious season for new rice.
Especially in the land of the Ogre Gate, where the high-end brand rice ‘Ogre Sui Xiang’ is produced, the rice is harvested between late August and early September and immediately polished, launching in the market at this time.
Moonflower also uses this kind of fragrant Ogre rice, its specialty being that every grain of rice is saturated with water.Therefore, the rice can be cooked with lesser water, and will be more delicious. Although I want to let the rice soak for half an hour, I wonder if Oryo has the patience to wait……
Following closely behind was a young girl with chestnut-brown hair, striking raccoon dog ears and a ball of furry round tail.
She is one of the waitresses from Tenjin-ya, Kasuga.
“You forgot your corkscrew in the banquet hall. Oryo-san, you rushed to Moonflower immediately after work, and the new waiters can’t find you anywhere. But I kept it first, and said that I would help hand it over to you.”
“Ah, really? Kasuga, you’re an errand girl in front of even your juniors?”
“The main reason also lies with you, Oryo-san. Everyone is very serious about their work attitudes.”
“Ah, yes yes yes, Kasuga you work very hard too.”
I don’t know whether it was because Oryo was tired after just finishing work or what, but she responded causally without any real interest and patted Kasuga’s hair.
Then she took the corkscrew that had an ice bell hanging from its head, and stuffed it directly into her kimono belt.
‘Dingling~~’ The clear sound of the bell rang out.
“That ice bell is so beautiful.”
“Well, I would never gift it to you, Kasuga.”
“I don’t want it either okay…...I’m just asking you to take better care of it in the future.”
Kasuga replied in frustration and sighed. It was hard to tell who was the senior from this response.
“Ah, that’s right. Young master, the Odanna is looking for you.”
“Eh! Really? Kasuga-san. Right, it could be about the autumn festival…...Aoi-san, I’ll say goodbye for now and head to the main inn.”
“Mmm, you’ve worked hard, Ginji-san.”
Ginji-san quickly nodded to me, and left Moonflower in a hurry.
“Kasuga ah, you’re still the same as before, being entrusted with so many tasks.”
“Yeah, everyone uses me as an errand girl, but I’m used to it, so it doesn’t matter.”
Kasuga lightly sits on the seat next to Oryo. It seems like she also decided on eating plain white rice from the new rice here.
“Aoi, is it not done yet? I’m hungry. I thought using the Hidden World rice cooker would have it done in a matter of minutes?”
“Aiyo, Oryo, wait patiently for a while. It’s rare to use such good new rice, so it should soak in the water for a while.”
“Huh? You don’t have to work so hard. Hurry up, start cooking. I’m so hungry.”
If it was the usual me, I would start cooking because I can’t convince her. But in order to taste the deliciousness of the new rice, I want to do my best and choose the most exquisite cooking method.
However, Oryo’s patience seemed to have reached a limit. She began to smack the counter table.
“Aoi, Aoi~~ rice, let me eat rice~~”
“Hey hey hey, that baby over there! Stop smacking, this table is already an old antique.”
I can’t stand it, Oryo is so capricious.
“Hey, is there anything to eat?”
It was no surprise that Akatsuki would show up now.
Oryo, Kasuga and Akatsuki- the three of them always come here and become food-scrounging ayakashi.
“Akatsuki, I need to apologise first, we don’t have a single ingredient left today. Oryo said she’s okay with just eating white rice, so I’m about to cook it now.”
“Then I’ll have white rice too, do you have any pickled vegetables?”
Akatsuki chose to sit two spaces beside Kasuga, which was the same as usual.
“There are many ingredients for bibimbap. I’ll put it on the table later. There’s no other way to say it, ayakashi really love rice.”
I finally moved the rice cooker onto the stove, and cooked it on the fire. The Hidden World’s rice cooker can cook fragrant rice in less than 5 minutes, which is really convenient.
“Akatsuki, I heard you didn’t use any of your special leaves this year? Do you not even have a girlfriend, and have only work as an interest? Is there really such a man.”
I don’t know if Oryo was bored to craziness or hungered to craziness. She bypassed Kasuga to find fault with Akatsuki. She has such a bad habit, always messing with the younger ayakashi just for the fun of it.
But Akatsuki, who had finished working for the day, was exhausted and returned her comment with an impatient expression.
“You should learn more about how to have some fun. A guy like you, who looks like he has a bad temper and doesn’t know how to relax and have some fun, won’t be welcomed among girls no matter how hard working you are.”
“Wow! You have no respect! I’m older than you in terms of qualifications, and I’m older than you in terms of age!”
“That means nothing. Now that you don’t have the title of young proprietress, you’re just another waitress. Comparing the front desk manager and waitress, obviously I’m greater.”
“Hmph! What a displeasing man!”
“Oryo-san, you’re so noisy.”
Oryo’s high pitched voice was too ear damaging, leading Akatsuki and Kasuga to cover their ears.
However I just listened to their conversation silently, and opened the kitchen refrigerator in the store.
Although there are not enough ingredients to make a decent dish, there are a few frequently prepared side dishes. After taking out these side dishes, I quietly laughed to myself. Ha ha ha, ha ha ha……
“Aoi let out a very strange laugh.”
“......Anyway, she must be thinking about something related to cooking.”
“Don’t even talk about us, she’s an ayakashi who cooks all the time.”
The three who were still quarreling a second ago now began to lowly exchange bad words about me.
But I didn’t pay them any attention.
The long-awaited new rice was finally done. I let the white rice stay in the pot for a while and then opened it. The rising heat was accompanied by the fragrance, which made my stomach grunt involuntarily.
Mix the freshly cooked rice in a cutting motion, then put it into the wooden rice bucket.
I pinched the rice that was sticking on the back of the rice spoon and tasted it. The chewiness and sweetness of the new rice were a real treat.
“If it’s white rice, there are so many shops around for that. Here, eat to your heart’s content.”
I placed the rice bucket on the bar counter and helped Akatsuki and Kasuga to fill up normal rice bowls, while filling Oryo’s in the large bowl that she usually used.
Each grain of rice that was overflowing from the bowl was full and shiny. It really was a tastiness that only new rice had.
“Yeah, I’m going to start!”
Oryo picked up the chopsticks and the big bowl, and without another word, started eating the white rice in big mouthfuls.
Huh…...I can finally close her mouth.
“Kasuga, Akatsuki, both of you are hungry right? Please, eat.”
“Yeah. But to eat it plainly just like Oryo, is a little bit hard to swallow……”
“Do you not have any side dishes or the like, Aoi?”
“Hoho, how about using this for bibimbap?”
I placed a jar in between Kasuga and Akatsuki.
They were stunned at first, then carefully looked at the contents of the jar.
Kasuga seemed to immediately get it.
“Ah! I know. This is boiled mushrooms, right?”
“That’s right. Using the large amounts of mushrooms that were harvested in the fall to make this homemade side dish, it is a perfect match with the white rice. Recently, the autumn orders in the store would order for a match like this.”
I opened the bottle cap, used the wooden spoon to pick up a full scoop of boiled mushroom sauce, and placed them in both of their rice bowls. The cooked mushrooms were the colour of coffee, and slowly flowed down the top of the white rice hills……
This side dish used enoki, beech and shiitake mushrooms, seasoned with the favourite sweet soy sauce of the ayakashi.
In addition to the sugar, mirin and cooking wine, which are necessary ingredients in general practice, I also added red pepper and vinegar to give the sweetness a slightly spicy taste, accompanied by a slightly sour taste.
For frequently prepared side dishes, this is a very good dish that matches everything. Excluding matching it with rice, it is also very tasty to have with cold tofu or boiled vegetables.
Kasuga and Akatsuki half mixed the boiled mushrooms with rice and half swept it into their mouths in big bites.
“Well, eating is especially delicious when you are hungry.”
“......This is really delicious.”
The chewing sounds of enoki mushrooms from the both of them made a crisp and sweet sound.
Oryo was possibly sick of eating just white rice, and felt curious about the boiled mushrooms that Kasuga and Akatsuki were enjoying. She had been secretly eyeing the jar from the beginning……
“Oryo, take it if you want to eat it-”
But Oryo didn’t even listen to me finish, and had already snatched the jar away.
“Oryo, you really took it for yourself! This is too low!”
“Kasuga, Akatsuki, don’t be worried. I still have some here.”
I couldn’t bear it, and found several side dishes that went well with rice to bring to them.
There are plum meat hijiki fragrant pine, miso puree with lotus root added, and vinegared kombu white radish……
The daily set meal in the eatery will always have side dishes that pair well with rice, so I usually make several kinds of preserved spares.
“This is personally my highly recommended side dish. Dried hijiki boiled in water and crispy dried plum meat chopped randomly are fried together with bonito broth until it is dry. It is very good with white rice.”
Bearing the painful loss of the boiled mushroom sauce, Akatsuki then tried to use the plum meat lamb lettuce fragrant pine to pair with the white rice.
The crispy taste and sourness of the plum meat together with the rich and fresh sweetness of the hijiki, covering each grain of rice, was another delightful taste. This fragrant pine alone could give people a type of satisfaction without need of any other side dishes. In addition, it is also recommended to mix it with white rice and knead it into a rice ball to enjoy. The taste will also be very good.
One after another, Akatsuki also tried some minced-miso meat and pickled kelp white radish. Seeing that these side dishes were being eyed by Oryo again, I took a small dish and separated a little for her.
With an increase in the varieties of side dishes, it painted a colourful vision that could be enjoyed fully by the viewers. There was also a hesitation of deciding what to eat next, which made me jump for joy.
It’s nice to occasionally enjoy the pure taste of new rice like this.
I decided to also have dinner like this, so I walked back to the kitchen to get my usual rice bowl. At this moment……
Right, there were still two pieces of autumn salmon fish freezing in the refrigerator, usually used in the cooking of the employees’ breakfasts.
It just needed to be taken out and thawed, and I could make one more side dish!
“Hehehe, when it comes to the classic ways of accompanying rice, of course it has to be the salmon floss……”
Without saying anything else, I put the salmon pieces on a demon-fire powered defrosting disc to thaw, removed the skin and dry fried its surface, adding salt, broth, mirin, wine and other seasonings before turning it down to low heat. I then used the wooden spatula to loosely separate the salmon pieces and stir fried it, easily serving it. Hehe, hehehe…….
“Weird, Aoi is laughing in the kitchen again.”
“I can smell fried fish.”
“Hey, Aoi! Why are you secretly frying salmon in the kitchen alone! Don’t think you can fool my nose!”
“......Don’t worry, Kasuga, Oryo, Akatsuki, I made enough for everyone to eat together.”
Coming to the final step before starting the pan- after the salmon meat has dried and become loose, pour the white sesame and sesame oil into the pan, and stir-fry it slightly.
And the homemade salmon floss is completed. It’s just that simple to make it.
“I’m ready to start! This is the invincible rice buddy- the dry-fried salmon bits loved by men, women and children. You would better understand it by straight-up calling it fragrant salmon, right?”
Bringing the fragrant salmon bits before them, Oryo and Akatsuki immediately exclaimed.
Their rice bowls were already empty, and they were trying to get another bowl. Really, these two. This time, they started to quarrel over grabbing the rice spoon in front of the rice bucket, so Kasuga automatically ran to get another. At the end of the day, she really is the most mature person here…...
“Ah, it’s finally my turn to sit down and eat a meal!”
After a lot of work, I finally picked up my rice bowl and added some white rice, and deeply savoured supper.
First of all, let’s taste the fluffy and delicate, fresh fragrant salmon bits.
Whether it is used for making rice balls or as a side dish of a bento, it is a very popular bibimbap ingredient.
Generally, bottled salmon floss is also available on the market. Although the ready made ones are also really good, I will still try to make them myself so that I can adjust the taste and texture to my liking.
Use a spoon to scoop up a spoonful of bright pink-orange salmon floss, put it on the freshly cooked white rice, and sweep it into the mouth while mixing.
Ah ah…… this autumn salmon that brings with it delicious fat, really is the taste of autumn. Although I chose to mash the whole piece of salmon into minced meat to make fragrant loose bits, the deliciousness and saltiness match the sweetness of the white rice really well. In addition, the added white sesame and sesame oil also work, releasing a compelling aroma in the mouth along with the taste of salmon.
“Ah, this is really delicious, I feel like I can have another big bowl of rice……”
“Oryo-san will get fat if you continue to eat, but I also want to have another bowl……”
“Sure enough, eating salmon in the autumn is a must. It really goes well with rice.”
Everyone seems to be very satisfied with the fragrant salmon floss.
Ah! Damn. Mouthful after mouthful of white rice, I couldn’t stop myself…… I’ll end up consuming too much carbohydrates like this……
Adding the miso minced meat with lotus root was also great. The rich miso-flavored ground meat was paired with crispy lotus roots, altogether with rice. If you want to eat something refreshing to change up the taste, come try pickled kelp white radish and enjoy the crispy taste……
At this moment, Sasuke, the gardener of Tenjin-ya, came to Moonflower.
Sasuke was still clad in his ninja uniform, but carried a big bamboo basket with him.
What was inside turned out to be fresh red-shelled eggs.
“This is a batch of eggs laid by the cassowary in the evening. The Odanna told the young master that it was unbearable to see that the lot of you have only rice to eat, so he ordered me to send the eggs here. That way, you can mix it with your rice.”
We felt an electric shock like a flint was struck.
Raw eggs. This is the best product among all others in accompanying rice, crowned.
Not good. Suddenly there’s TKG (Note: TKG is the abbreviation of ‘raw egg bibimbap’ in Japanese, taken from the first letter of its Roman pinyin.). I didn’t expect to be able to make raw egg bibimbap with new rice…...
“Ah, I want another bowl.”
“Ah! Oryo, you’re too deceitful, I want one too.”
“I want one too, since there are now eggs.”
These lot of ayakashi continued to eat bowl after bowl of rice in the dead of night. Forget it, I don’t intend to stop them.
“I would also like to fill my stomach with rice to my heart’s content.”
“Yeah, Sasuke, come and sit down too.”
Everyone at the scene couldn’t hide their expectations for the raw egg bibimbap.
Make a hole in the middle of the hot white rice and beat the egg in, so that the moving raw egg fills the gap perfectly.
The yolk of the cassowary eggs is bright yellow. The plump and shiny outer membrane is full of irresistible charm.
Ahh, just by looking at it, I already knew this was going to taste absolutely delicious!
“Raw egg bibimbap is definitely best matched with sweet sauce from the Hidden World.”
I chose the most classic combination.
“Soy sauce is also not bad, but a few drops of sesame oil is also great.”
Oryo really took the rich route.
“Is eating it with tsukemen sauce and green wasabi a minority route……”
Akatsuki glanced aside and muttered, but it sounded good.
“I always eat it with citrus vinegar and soy sauce. If there are bonito flakes and fried noodle balls, I will also add them.”
Kasuga’s preferred taste always brings a feel of Tanuki color. (Note: ‘Tanuki-color’ - In Japanese, the pronunciation of “Tanuki” also refers to “oolong or soba noodles with fried noodle balls”.) (T/N: I have NO idea what this means, but I’m pretty sure it’s a pun?)
“I always eat the original flavor.”
Sasuke’s preferred taste is very simple and neat.
“Yeah, good. Let’s all enjoy it the way we like.”
In response to the needs of everyone present, I prepared various seasonings and placed them in the center of the table.
I still pursued the classic, dripping a few drops of soy sauce on the egg yolk, and mixed it with my rice after piercing it with my chopsticks. What is it with the moment of happiness that emerges at this?
First of all, to taste the unmixed mixture, I first dig up a mouthful of the egg yolk that has not completely dissipated.
“Ah ah…… the texture of the first bite of the raw bibimbap really is different.”
This is the moment when you can most enjoy the rich flavor of the egg yolk. Eat this first bite first, then fully stir the egg white and rice well, and enjoy the authentic raw egg bibimbap.
“Hey, listen to me, this lotus root miso meat mash is super good with raw egg bibimbap!”
Kausga’s new discovery brought everyone’s focus to the miso mash.
Oh oh, the two really match, what an amazing discovery!
Raw egg bibimbap is really a great invention. Just the egg with rice is so delicious, and a little bit of thought on the seasoning can create a variety of different flavors and become even more amazing.
“It seems that you are all eating with gusto.”
The Odanna and Ginji-san came to Moonflower together.
Oryo, Kasuga, Akatsuki and Sasuke, who in the previous second had forgotten me and had been greatly gulping down their food, now stopped their movements to stand up and bow deeply to the Odanna.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, you should all continue eating, it’s rare to get so many eggs after all.”
They seemed to have been waiting for this sentence of permission from the Odanna, and immediately returned to their positions and continued to eat.
“Hey, what’s the matter with you, Odanna-sama? It’s been a while since you showed up here. Do the both of you want to eat raw egg bibimbap too? There are still a lot of eggs and white rice.”
“No thanks, I just had a meal at the banquet party just now.”
“I also had a few drinks. The alcohol is a bit strong, so…… well, please let me start later.”
Both Ginji-san and the Odanna do seem to be a little bit drunk.
The need for socialising at work is necessary, of course, but everything seemed fine, so why was the Odanna here?
Taking advantage of this conversation, the Odanna suddenly offered me an invitation.
“Aoi, Moonflower will rest tomorrow, right? If you have time, why not go out on a date with me.”
The four who had been eating before now momentarily stopped their chopsticks.
But the Odanna, who had voiced out the sentence and seemed to be in a good mood, just continued on with a smile:
“After the incident at Orio-ya, I haven’t been able to reward you well, and even continued to let you keep busy with the business in the store. And I myself wasn’t able to spare you any time, so I feel sorry for you. Personally, I hope to create a happy time for you, Aoi, my newlywed……”
“But I’m happy every day.”
“Right! Let’s go enjoy ourselves at the orchard. Pick some grapes or apples or something, and we can even use them as ingredients- what do you think!”
The Odanna held my shoulders tightly. I’ve always felt that his expressions were always too strong.
Asking me how I feel, I also……
“Apples and grapes huh……”
I pressed my index finger to my chin, and began to imagine it in my mind. These two fruits are indeed the seasonal specialties that are particularly delicious in autumn.
“Yeah, let’s go then, Odanna-sama- I’m really interested in the orchard!”
“Aoi, I’m so glad you agreed.”
The Odanna breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
The lot that were eating their raw egg bibimbap behind me also resumed moving their chopsticks.
“Aoi-san, the orchard is located in the mountainous area at the junction of our northeastern land and the neighboring northern land. The maple season arrives earlier on that mountain. I heard that it has all turned red already. Please be sure to enjoy the beautiful scenery tomorrow.”
“Ginji-san, you’re not going?”
“Ginji, you have also been too busy to take a vacation because of what happened at Orio-ya last time, right? Do you want to come together tomorrow?”
The Odanna also offered him an invitation. Ginji-san looked at the two of us however, then smiled slightly and shook his head.
“No thanks, I…… I want to stay in the inn, and help guard Tenjin-ya for the both of you, who will be out.”
Ginji-san’s response was just like his usual style.
But as he was rejecting the invitation, he did not look at me at all.
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