Serving Meals In Another World (Light Novel), Volume 2 Interlude 2

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Volume Two, Interlude: Little Sister and the Fluffy, Melty Takoyaki

I pushed my way through the noisy, bustling crowd, my wooden geta clacking as I made straight for my destination. The sun had set long ago, and the approach to the shrine, usually shrouded in darkness and unbearably eerie, was beautifully illuminated by red lanterns and lights for today’s festival.

But this was no time to enjoy the view.

I had to run. The yukata I wasn’t used to wearing made it hard to move, and the obi my big sister had tied so tightly was suffocating. The straps of my geta were starting to hurt, and the heat of the crowd had already left me clammy with sweat. But my head was full of that round thing, and every cell in my body was urging me to give it everything I had to eat it.

As I ran along the stone-paved approach, panting for breath, the shop I was looking for finally came into view at the edge of my vision.

The popular stall was packed with people.

I forced my body into a gap between two people and squeezed to the front, not caring that it messed up my hair. Then I called out to the man running the stall:

“Mister!”

“Oh, Hiyori-chan! You made it! Here, one for you and one for Akane-chan!”

“Wow, thanks, Mister!”

The stall owner, his face sunburned, flashed a grin and handed me two packs of piping-hot takoyaki. I gave him the thousand-yen bill I’d been gripping and peeked into the pack I’d received.

The scent of sauce wafted up. I broke into a grin, and after only the briefest thanks, I tried to leave. But someone grabbed my free hand tightly, and I stumbled forward.

“Hey. Hiyori.”

“Oh, Katchan.”

The one who had grabbed my hand was Tanaka Katsuya, Katchan, who lived next door. I’d known him since I and my big sister moved to our grandparents’ house. We’d gone to the mountains and the river together, and he was one of my closest guy friends.

“Are you by yourself?”

“Nope. Big sister is waiting in the shrine grounds. We’re going to eat takoyaki together.”

The moment I said that, Katchan’s face clouded over.

“Still all ‘big sister, big sister,’ huh.”

“What? Is that a problem?”

His grip on my hand hurt. I tried to shake it off, but Katchan was strong, and I couldn’t get free.

“How long are you planning to cling to Akane?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s probably because you’re clinging to her that she’s never had a boyfriend.”

“Mind your own business! Why do I have to hear that from you?!”

Kacchan’s words made my blood boil.

—What my sister and I are to each other has nothing to do with Katchan!

The instant I thought that, my vision wavered.

The scene around me changed from the familiar festival crowd into a street where people in strange clothes I’d never seen before came and went. Filthy, exhausted people with a foreign look. The streets were broken and dingy, a gloomy view that had nothing in common with the sparkling festival I’d been in a moment ago.

Startled, I hurriedly looked around. The scenery had completely changed, but Kacchan was still the same. It felt strangely out of place.

Then, all at once, I remembered something I’d somehow forgotten. That realization calmed me down.

—Oh, right. I’d been transported to another world… and become the Saint.

I was working hard to fulfill my important mission of purifying the miasma, and this was the kind of townscape I’d often encountered during the purification journey.

—Oh, it’s just a dream. That was what I thought.

There was no way I could be at a festival in a yukata now. The moment I thought that, the feeling of reality thinned out, and the tension drained from me. But if it was a dream, shouldn’t it end as soon as I noticed? Katchan’s face stayed as stern as ever, and whenever he opened his mouth, he spat out words that blamed me. The words stabbed into me over and over, and tears welled up.

—What a weird dream. A horrible dream. Wake up already!

The moment I wished it with all my might, silence fell over everything.

“What!?”

I looked around timidly. And what leapt into my eyes made me catch my breath.

The festival and the streets of the other world were overlapping. Piles of rubble were superimposed on the food stalls. People in yukata were mercilessly trampling over injured people lying on the ground. Crowds were passing back and forth, yet an ear-piercing silence dominated everything. Ah, my eyes flickered. It was like being forced to watch some poorly made 3D movie. The whole world was so bizarre that I felt like I might get motion sickness.

“Hiyori, are you listening?”

Katchan started talking again, with a scary face.

I flinched, wondering what he would say this time.

In the real world, Kacchan had always been a fun and entertaining male friend. But even if this was only a dream, I hated this version of him who said nothing but awful things.

While I was thinking that, even Katchan’s outline began to blur.

Each time a low, grating vwoom sounded, someone else overlapped Katchan.

Sometimes it was a teacher from school.

Sometimes my best friend from high school. Then a friend I rarely saw after moving, Katchan’s mother, my dead father, my mother, my grandpa, my grandma.

People from the other world began to mix in.

Dazil, Luvan, Jade, Cain… and finally.

“…Hiyori. Hey. Hiyori.”

It took on the form of my big sister and spoke to me.

My big sister wasn’t wearing her usual gentle face. She looked very scary.

She also had cold eyes, as though she were looking at a stranger.

Ah, no. No… No! I don’t know this big sister!

“Listen, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now. You…”

My big sister spoke to me in an awfully cold voice.

“You need to stop depending on me and become independent already.”

I shot upright in bed.

It was quite bright outside the window.

I was drenched in sweat, and my pajamas clung to my skin unpleasantly.

Yesterday I’d come back from the journey to purify tainted land in the neighboring country. Since the start of summer, when I began purifying places everywhere, I’d been rushing around with no rest, so I’d been given two days off. Taking advantage of that, I had been lounging around, doing absolutely nothing.

Today too, deciding I could sleep in, I’d gone back to sleep—and had that nightmare.

“Mmm…”

It was hardly a refreshing way to wake up.

Surely this was the bill for my lazy lifestyle coming due.

Still…

I suddenly recalled the dream and frowned.

Then I jumped out of bed, threw on some random clothes, and ran down the stairs.

“Hiyori! Go down the stairs slowly.”

It was my big sister’s usual voice.

Inwardly relieved, I threw myself at my big sister, who was preparing breakfast in the kitchen, and hugged her from behind as hard as I could.

“Gah!? Hiyori, that hurts…”

“Big sister…”

“What? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

—It’s the big sister I know.

I was thoroughly reassured, and as I enjoyed the feel of my big sister’s slightly squishy belly, I poured out everything I felt:

“Big sister, I had a weird dream!”

“A dream? And?”

“At a festival… well, that part doesn’t matter. More importantly, ugh, I’m so mad! I missed out on eating it in the dream!”

“Pardon?”

“Big sister! I want to eat takoyaki!”

My big sister looked down at me, exasperated.

But I couldn’t be daunted by a look like that. I’d imagined the taste of the takoyaki I never got to eat, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. Takoyaki! I wanted melty, round takoyaki!

—Stupid dream! You could at least have waited until I’d finished eating before starting the lecture!

“Anyway, I feel like I’ll die if I don’t eat takoyaki!”

“Ehhh…”

As if venting the frustration the dream had built up, I demanded takoyaki from my big sister.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

She gave in to my selfishness and decided to make takoyaki for lunch.

She’d been fussing that there was no octopus, but that was solved right away.

Jade, who came to the house, had brought a huge octopus-like tentacle, big enough to take both arms to carry.

“This is a tentacle of a Kraken that the knight order subdued this morning. It had been rampaging in nearby waters, and we finally took it down. Kraken is famous as a delicacy too. I brought some to share.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jade… But aren’t Krakens squid monsters? I always thought they were squid…”

“I don’t know how it is in your world, but here, any giant sea monster with lots of tentacles is simply called a Kraken. Some of them might look like squid, though.”

Listening to them, I poked the Kraken’s tentacle with my finger. The plump tentacle had a pleasant springiness and a feel that could get addictive.

“Hiyori, don’t play with food.”

Just as I was about to touch the suckers, my big sister scolded me. I answered with a careless "Sorry" and slipped away. If I stayed in the kitchen, I’d be dragged into helping, so I decided to go out to the veranda.

A hot wind heated by the blazing sun brushed my cheeks. Beneath the roof’s edge, a hanging wind chime rang with a delicate chiri-chiri, making the whole place feel like summer.

I put on sandals and stepped out into the garden. The sunlight was fierce, but perhaps because the humidity was low, unlike in Japan, it became cool the moment I stepped into the shade. Summer in another world was like heaven.

I wandered about the garden, idly kicking stones. When I’d gone around the house and reached the spot below the kitchen window, I could see Jade and my big sister preparing lunch.

She must have done something embarrassing again. Her face was bright red, and she looked terribly flustered. Jade was watching her with a gentle smile.

—As usual, they’d make even newlyweds turn green with envy!

I really thought so.

Anyone watching could tell how my big sister felt about Jade. And the way Jade treated her was… well, for someone guarding a person under his protection, it was about as sweet as dumping a mountain of sugar into a jar of honey.

—Why aren’t these two dating already?

I tilted my head and thought hard, but no satisfying answer came.

Well, there must be man-and-woman circumstances I couldn’t understand, having never had a boyfriend myself. Oh well, I thought, and hopped up and down on the spot to announce my presence to my big sister. Jade noticed and opened the window.

“Hiyori, what is it?”

“Big sister, is the takoyaki ready?”

“Not yet! If you’re so impatient, come help!”

“I hate to interrupt your private world, so I’ll pass!”

I gave my big sister a sharp salute and ran off.

Her voice calling after me followed, but I didn’t mind. It was true that I didn’t want to interrupt them.

By the time I got back to the veranda, the heat was really getting to me. If I went back into the living room carelessly, my big sister would probably catch me, so I decided to cool off under the cherry tree. I leaned against the trunk and looked up at a cloudless, clear sky. The sound of the cherry leaves rubbing together in the wind was pleasant to my ears. Thanks to the wind and the shade, the faint sweat I’d worked up dried. Lunch prep would take a while yet, and I wondered what to do in the meantime. The TV just showed static when I turned it on, and reading would make the pages stick to my sweaty hands.

Every summer we went to the pool or the sea, but there were no pools here…

The sea was supposedly close, but I couldn’t go on my own. Lost, unable to find anything I wanted to do, I heard voices coming from the other side of the tree.

Curious, I went around the trunk and peeked over, and there were two identical faces, one gold and one silver.

The two of them, whose eyes met mine head-on, slowly put their small hands to their cheeks.

And then.

““Kyaaaaaah!””

They let out a perfectly synchronized, adorable scream.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

A big bowl was filled to the brim with cream-colored takoyaki batter. Next to it sat a heap of green onions, tempura scraps, and diced octopus. …There was no red pickled ginger, which was a shame.

I waited impatiently for the hot plate on the low dining table to warm up.

On either side of me sat the adorable twin princesses. Both of them were gazing at the hot plate with great curiosity.

“Lady Saint, what is this?”

“Lady Saint, is this something wonderful?”

“This is a hot plate!”

““Hot… plate…””

“Right now, it’s been customized with a special takoyaki-only attachment!”

“A special attachment…!”

“Customized…!”

““We don’t quite understand, but it sounds wonderful!””

—Ah, so cute!

The twin princesses listened to me with sparkling eyes.

I was grinning to myself, thinking that this was what it must be like to have a much younger sister, when my big sister called out to me:

“Come on, Hiyori. Why don’t you teach the twin princesses how to make takoyaki?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. I’m, well… going to go sort out a little something over there for a bit.”

My big sister was gazing off toward the veranda with distant eyes.

When I listened closely, I could hear a man’s voice shouting, "Your Highnessessss!”

“So that’s the situation.”

“Eh, big sister, wait!”

“I’m counting on you. Big Sister Hiyori.”

With that, my big sister left the living room with Jade.

I glanced at the twin princesses.

…Ahh! The twin princesses were looking at me with huge, expectant eyes!

What should I do…?

The truth was, I wasn’t very good at dealing with children.

Remembering the New Year’s holidays, when I’d been pushed around by my fickle, easily bored little cousins, I felt weary.

But my big sister had entrusted this to me.

…Well, I suppose I had no choice.

I would use that trick. The one my big sister used to use on me when I was little.

—Secret technique: “Playing Master and Apprentice"!

I cleared my throat with an ahem and put on an air of dignity: puffing out my chest to look bigger and lowering my voice to sound the part.

“Apprentices…”

“…Are we apprentices now!? Sylphy?”

“…Since when are we apprentices!? Selphie?”

The twin princesses, startled by my sudden change in tone, exchanged looks.

I pressed my advantage:

“Do not talk back!”

““!?””

“I am the Flour-Food Sage… a professional in this path! And I am telling you amateurs that I shall impart to you the secrets of takoyaki!”

““…Gulp…””

“Can you keep up… novices like you…?”

I deliberately put on a stern face.

I was picturing one of those masters from movies who passed down a secret technique through a single line of succession. You know, the sort who would conveniently leave the battlefield just before an important fight…!

Then the elder sister, Princess Selphie, looked straight at me.

“I’m ready to follow your teachings!”

“…S-Selphie!?”

“We will follow you…!”

Watching Princess Selphie declare it in a ringing voice, Princess Sylphy hesitated for a moment, then gave a small nod. It seemed she had made up her mind.

“Heh. Then do what I tell you!”

““Yes, Lady Saint!””

“Call me Master!”

““Yes, Master!””

The twin princesses were fully into it, brimming with motivation.

Good, good, I thought with a secret smirk.

If I kept flattering the twin princesses and building up the excitement like a stage play, even easily bored children could concentrate on cooking. When I was little, my big sister had talked me into things the same way, getting me to help with all sorts of chores.

Besides, she would be back before long, so I just had to hold out until then.

I rolled up my sleeves and began planning in my head how to teach the twin princesses.

[Meanwhile]

—In the shadow of the cherry tree in the garden.

“What is that little act, I wonder?”

“…(Isn’t that the same setup I used on Hiyori back then!? How embarrassing! Couldn’t she change it up a little! Hiyoriiiii)”

“Stop it! Don’t hold me back! I’m going to the Princesses right now! I’m going, I tell you!”

“Now, now, Senior Crux, the Saint and the Princesses are all fired up. It would be tactless for adults to interfere.”

“Grr, you rascal! I’m a guard knight! My job is to guard the Princesses by sticking to them thick and close all day long! Don’t get in my way! Besides, the Princesses’ first Master☆ was supposed to be me, and the Saint stole it from me! I can’t keep quiet!”

“Senior… How about you finally shut up? I’m starting to feel a little violent.”

“Huh, Jade? What’s with that face? Where did your usual kind face go? Did something happen? Hm? Hmmm? Don’t casually rest your hand on my carotid artery. Ha ha ha. Jade, you’re so good at jokes. Right, Lady Akane?! …Huh? Why that cold look? Why are you looking at me like that!? It’s cold! Why is it suddenly so cold?! Winter? When did winter come!?”

“…I’ve reported you.”

“To wheeeere?!”

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

When I held my hand over the hot plate, I could tell it had gotten quite hot.

—Good. It’s warmed up enough.

I soaked a brush in oil and began greasing the plate.

“Apprentices… everything begins with applying the oil.”

I moved the brush in bigger strokes than usual, to make it look like I was doing something impressive.

The twin princesses watched with bated breath. Seeing them so engrossed, I hesitated for a moment over how to explain.

…How should I explain this so that children could understand?

The twin princesses were five years old. I needed phrasing that even a kindergartener could follow.

…I decided to leave it to inspiration.

“If you forget this step, later you won’t be able to turn them with a nice little flip. They’ll go squish and crumble into a big mess, so be careful.”

“I see. Flip and squish.”

“I see. They’ll crumble!”

“Got it, you two?!”

““Master! We understand!””

It seemed my explanation had gotten through to the twin princesses just fine.

Perhaps I was cut out for teaching.

For some reason, a clattering noise came from somewhere far away, but it must have been a chicken in the coop flapping around.

I picked up the plate of octopus and dropped the pieces into the holes of the takoyaki pan one by one.

As the octopus touched the heated pan, it let out a sizzle and shrank a little. Once every hole had octopus in it, I poured in the batter.

The illustration’s description: the twin princesses watch with bated breath.

My big sister’s takoyaki batter was made with rich dashi and plenty of eggs. When it’s cooked, it turns truly fluffy and delicious. After pouring in enough batter to overflow the holes, I scattered on plenty of green onions and tenkasu, crunchy bits of fried batter left after cooking tempura. The secret to deliciousness is not being stingy with the fillings.

After that, I just had to wait for the batter to set. Judging the timing was crucial.

Too early, and it won’t flip properly and turns into a mess. Too late, and it sets too hard and won’t be fluffy and melty.

—I have to show the twin princesses something cool. I’m the master, so failure is out of the question.

I’d definitely nail it!

Gradually, the batter began to bubble. …But not yet!

We watched the batter in silence. The living room was hushed, and only a chicken’s cry could be heard in the distance.

—Now!

I slowly picked up a skewer and, with a sharp swish! motion, gripped it in reverse, just like an assassin in an anime drawing a weapon. I was about to start working on the takoyaki that way—but in the end, I switched back to holding it normally.

“Master, what is the meaning of that motion?”

“Master, what deep meaning does that motion have?”

“Heh. It is a teaching: live honestly, without showiness!”

““Ohhhh.””

…I was just trying to make it look cool, but it made the job harder!

The twin princesses looked at me with such sparkling eyes that I couldn’t help grinning.

Every reaction of theirs was so fun that I couldn’t stop overplaying it. Unlike my brat cousins, the twin princesses listened to me earnestly. That was probably one reason I was getting carried away.

—Ah, they’re so cute.

The golden and silver twin princesses were beautiful and adorable, like dolls. And those girls were looking at me, lively and happy, with complete trust.

…Besides, I’d always longed to have a younger sister.

I’d secretly dreamed of becoming a warm and kind older sister, just like my big sister. I’d always wondered what it would be like if I could be that sort of person… And even if it was only for this brief moment, I was genuinely happy that my dream was coming true.

I managed to tighten my relentlessly loosening cheeks and slid the skewer into the batter.

I gently gathered up the batter that had spilled over the edges, then flipped each piece just ninety degrees with a quick turn. The outside had begun to set, so that part now stood upright against the side of the well, while the still-liquid batter remained pooled inside.

“What a strange shape, Sylphy. Only halfway?”

“How curious, Selphie. Only halfway?”

To the twin princesses, whose looks said “Wouldn’t it be better to flip it all the way?” I just lifted one finger and slowly waved it left and right. “No, no, no.”

“Heh heh heh. This creates an empty space inside, apprentices. The batter in that hollow gets steamed, making the center wonderfully melty when you eat it! This is the secret to making takoyaki that’s both soft and fluffy… Remember it well!”

“Melty…”

“Fluffy…”

““Wonderful!””

While the twin princesses marveled at my explanation, I quickly began to turn the remaining pieces. Once I’d finished about half of them, I handed the skewers to the princesses.

They hadn’t expected to do it themselves, perhaps, and looked at each other with reddening cheeks.

“Now, try it!”

““Yes, Master!””

The twin princesses put their hands on the low table and stretched their bodies out, clumsily gathering the batter with the skewers and flipping it, struggling all the while.

My mouth and hands almost moved on their own, but I forced myself to just watch.

…It’s really annoying when someone steps in while you’re working hard.

Each time they finished one, the twin princesses exchanged comments like “I did that one really well!” and “Mine is better!” They happily competed as they continued flipping the batter. By the time they’d finished their share, the pieces I’d turned earlier had firmed up nicely, so I gave them another turn.

“It’s round! Sylphy!”

“It’s round! Selphie!”

The surface of the batter began to turn golden brown, sizzling as it browned. The oil-glossy round shapes had finally started to look like proper takoyaki.

Once I’d finished turning all the pieces, I kept rotating them with the skewers to make sure they didn’t burn. Every now and then, one would have too little batter and expose the octopus inside, but that was just part of the charm.

—My big sister is taking a while.

The takoyaki were almost done, but she was still nowhere to be seen. After thinking for a moment, I went to the kitchen and brought back the sauce, aonori seaweed, bonito flakes, and mayonnaise.

“Let’s taste-test before my big sister and the others come back!”

““Taste-test?””

“That’s right! We get to eat before everyone else. Taste-testing is a special privilege for the people who made the food!”

““Privilege…””

When they tilted their heads, I explained that a privilege means something special, and their faces lit up, and they looked at each other happily.

I sprinkled sauce and aonori on the tasting takoyaki and topped them with bonito flakes. At once, the flakes started dancing in the heat. The twin princesses saw it and let out a cheer: “Whoa!”

“It’s moving! Sylphy!”

“It’s like it’s alive! Selphie!”

Honestly, I was so hungry I couldn’t stand it, so I more or less forced the amazed twins into silence. Then I clapped my hands together, pan!—Itadakimasu!

Fuu, fuu. I carefully blew on the takoyaki lifted on my skewer.

I knew the inside was hot like magma. I knew that careless eating would burn me. But waiting for it to cool was out of the question. The deliciousness of this thing lies beyond that heat. I steeled myself and popped one whole piece into my mouth in a single bite.

“Hot…!”

As I bit into the crispy batter, molten batter flooded my mouth. My tongue and my whole mouth tingled from the heat. I frantically huffed out the heat, hafu, hafu, barely enduring it, and once I’d gotten used to the heat, the flavor finally came through.

—The best part of takoyaki is the batter.

The batter, with its solid dashi of bonito and kelp, was a perfect match for the sweet sauce. The texture of the egg-rich, fluffy layer beneath the crispy outside was a joy to eat.

The melty center spread richly in my mouth, and I loved the faint saltiness of light soy sauce sneaking through. The flavor of plenty of green onions was a nice accent too.

As I savored the batter, I eventually reached the chewy octopus. I couldn’t forget that part. After all, this was takoyaki, and the octopus was one of its pleasures. At first, its flavor was overwhelmed by the sauce and batter, so I could barely taste it. That meant I could only enjoy its texture. But as I chewed and savored each mouthful, all the batter surrounding it gradually disappeared down my throat, leaving only the octopus behind. Only then did its natural sweetness finally come through.

The more I chewed, the more the octopus’s flavor came through. And whenever I unexpectedly found a particularly large piece, it was enough to make my heart leap.

Then I suddenly realized.

—I forgot the mayonnaise!

Oh no. Forgetting the golden combo of sauce and mayonnaise—that was not like me!

I hurriedly put another takoyaki on a plate. This time I poured on plenty of mayonnaise and sauce and ate it in one bite. By then the takoyaki had cooled nicely, so I didn’t have to writhe from the heat. The rich umami of the sauce and the tangy, mellow flavor of the mayonnaise blended into a melty mix that was irresistible! The duet of mayonnaise and sauce was the real pleasure of eating flour-based food.

—Yeah. Pretty good, if I do say so myself.

I swallowed and narrowed my eyes.

These were every bit as tasty as the takoyaki my big sister made. At least, that’s what I thought.

When I looked at the twin princesses, they were still battling the takoyaki in their mouths, struggling with the heat.

It was their first time tasting it. I’d been nervous about their reaction, but from what I could see, their plump cheeks were bright red, their eyes were narrowed dreamily, and their eyebrows drooped. From their faces alone, it was obvious they thought it was delicious.

Still, I didn’t know yet what they’d say. Heart pounding, I waited for them to finish.

The twin princesses swallowed almost simultaneously and looked at each other, as they always did.

Then they turned to me at the same moment.

““Master! It’s so delicious!””

And their faces broke into a bright, dazzling smile like the sun.

I was so happy that joy surged up from the bottom of my body.

I think it couldn’t be helped that my mouth went slack and my face turned goofy.

“Hiyori!”

Just then, my big sister returned with Jade and a knight I didn’t recognize.

The knight, with white-streaked hair, was probably the twins’ guard knight. He was delighted at being told things like "Gross" and "Stay away from us" by the twin princesses.

…A pervert? Maybe.

“Wow, that looks delicious! Nice work, Hiyori.”

My big sister peered into the hot plate and seemed rather pleased.

“Why don’t you try one before saying that? Though there’s no way they could taste bad!”

“Well, I was the one who prepared the batter and ingredients…”

“The cooking is what matters, the cooking!”

I patted my upper arm with my hand, puffing myself up. Then my big sister grinned and said, "Well then, let’s see the Master’s skill.”

—Y-You saw it all!?

Seeing me turn bright red, my big sister clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

“Well then… Itadakimasu!”

The takoyaki was a hit with Jade and even the pervert, and it disappeared in no time.

During the next round, the twin princesses taught the pervert how to make it, and my big sister sneaked a beer, and it was quite rowdy, but that day’s lunch was without a doubt the most fun I’d had in a long while.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

After seeing off the twin princesses and the pervert, whose name was apparently Crux but whom I didn’t think I’d remember, I sat on the veranda and drank cold barley tea.

I couldn’t think of anything more delicious than gulping down barley tea in the middle of summer, though I was sure my big sister would insist that beer was the best. I was idly mulling over such things when my big sister sat down next to me with a serious look.

I stole a glance at her. When she wore that expression, whatever she had to say was often heavy.

—What, what? What did I do? Did she find out I ate the precious snacks in the cupboard!? Or that I borrowed her clothes without asking and returned them dirty!?

I had too many guilty memories, and a bad sweat broke out.

But it was none of those. To me, pale with dread, my big sister said:

“Hiyori… I know it’s still a way off. But what are you going to do after the purification journey is over? You’ll go back to our original world and go to high school… right?”

Startled by the unexpected words, I stared at my big sister.

Her face was tense, as though she were nervous. It was as if she wanted to hear my answer but was afraid to.

There was no point in speculating, so I told her my honest thoughts.

“Hmm. Honestly, I won’t know until it’s over. Going back and enjoying high school life is an option.”

“…Yeah.”

“Staying in this world and traveling from country to country to see scenery I could never see back there would be great too!”

My big sister’s expression clouded at my words.

“…But Hiyori, you’re still a high school student. I just assumed you’d go back once your role as the Saint was done.”

“Well, I’ll decide when the time comes. Part of me wants to continue studying, but I’ve also met so many wonderful people in this world. It feels like a waste to throw that away so easily.”

My big sister fell silent, apparently deep in thought. Was something troubling her?

…Was she anxious about the future?

My big sister had a habit of keeping everything to herself, crying alone, and trying to deal with everything on her own.

Considering everything my big sister had been through, perhaps it was only natural that she acted that way. Still, was it presumptuous of me, after causing her so much trouble over the years, to wish that she’d stop bottling things up and talk to me instead?

‘Become independent already.’

I remembered the words from the dream.

I didn’t need anyone to tell me. I knew I leaned on my big sister too much and depended on her.

After our parents died, she had looked after me as a stand-in parent all this time. Grandpa and Grandma were there too, of course, but whenever I was lonely, the one beside me was always my big sister.

She was precious to me, someone I loved more than anyone. She was the closest family I had. But she couldn’t be my mother. Just like me, she must have wanted someone she could lean on, too.

So I had to become independent soon. I wanted to grow strong enough to cheer her on, so I wouldn’t get in her way.

Suddenly, the twin princesses’ smiles from earlier came to mind.

When I finish my work as the Saint and stand at a crossroads in my life…

I want to choose a path where I can see lots of smiles like that.

I truly felt it from the bottom of my heart, so the words slipped out naturally:

“If I hadn’t come to another world, I’d probably be going to high school and then university, or getting a job. But, big sister, we’re in another world now. Don’t you think there’s no need to force ourselves to stay bound by the ties of the old one?”

At my words, my big sister went blank for a moment.

“That’s true. We’re in another world now…”

“Exactly! Big sister, we’re experiencing something completely extraordinary right now!”

I spread my arms wide and looked up at the deep blue sky.

Even though this was another world, the sky was just as vast as the one back in Japan. No, with the air being so much cleaner here, the blue almost seemed more vivid! And flying through that sky weren’t airplanes, but enormous dragons and all sorts of mysterious monsters! The air wasn’t filled with PM2.5 or exhaust fumes, either. Instead, it was infused with the mysterious power of magic.

“When the purification journey ends, I bet the choices we can make are way more than ordinary people get. I don’t know what they are yet… so worrying about it from now is a waste.”

“Hiyori…”

“Back in the old world, I was always protected by you, big sister. But in this world it’s different. I have power, and there’s a lot only I can do. I want to accomplish what only I can do! I want to do what I want to do!”

—That’s right. I want to choose my own path, not one laid out by someone else!

“I’m selfish, aren’t I? Always about myself! But I’ll take care of myself.”

…I’ll become independent from my big sister. When the purification journey is over, I’ll do it.

I decided just now! That settled it. Maybe I’d made the decision on impulse, and perhaps I’d regret it someday, but that was fine with me.

“So you don’t have to keep putting up with me, big sister. …And you can stop worrying about me and choose the path you want to take. I will absolutely support whatever you want to do!”

When I finished pouring out my feelings all at once, my big sister was biting her lower lip, looking like she might cry.

I’d never seen her like this before.

Had my selfish wish hurt her?

But I’m sorry, big sister. This is the one thing I can’t give up.

I laid my hand over my big sister’s, who stayed on the veranda.

My words might hurt her sometimes, but surely they could help her too.

If it meant helping my big sister, I’d say those words as many times as necessary.

I wanted to be a support for her, the way she’d always been for me.

“I’ll cheer on what you want to do, big sister. That’s what a little sister does!”

The instant I said it, my big sister’s face crumpled, and with a clumsy smile she said, "…Thank you.”

Ever since, my big sister had occasionally been lost in thought.

…I’d always thought she was a super-adult who always chose what was right and never hesitated.

But I was wrong. Even my big sister had things she struggled with and felt uncertain about.

Big sister… I wonder what will become of us. When the time comes for us to choose our own paths, what choices will we make?

Under the sky of this unexpected other world, our future still remained unclear.

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Serving Meals In Another World (Light Novel), Volume 2 Chapter 2

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Volume Two, Chapter Two: Highball and Lovesick Heart

Even after finishing her first purification journey, my sister kept leaving the house over and over to purify the tainted lands nearby. Each time I saw her off, my unease grew.

Would my sister, who had set off so cheerfully today, come home safely? Would she get hurt? Would she fall ill on the road? Even though I knew the fairies who served Titania were protecting her, I couldn’t quiet that anxiety, and I could no longer drink carefree the way I used to.

Then, one day…

My little sister summoned me to the living room, made me sit formally on my knees, and stood over me with her arms planted on her hips.

“Big sister, you haven’t been having your evening drinks lately, have you?”

My sister jabbed a finger straight at me, looking displeased.

She had hit the nail on the head, and I quickly looked away.

“…Well, you see. You’re risking your life out there, Hiyori. It would be wrong for me to be drinking myself silly, wouldn’t it? So…”

I loved alcohol. I loved it very much. But it wasn’t as though I’d die if I didn’t drink. Perhaps I might have had a drink if Titania had come to visit, but she hadn’t shown up again since that day.

Besides, I felt guilty somehow.

Watching my sister work so hard, I couldn’t help wondering: was it really enough for me to just cook meals for her? Was waiting at home all I could do? Those questions kept circling endlessly through my mind, refusing to leave me alone. To be honest, that was the main reason I hadn’t been drinking.

As I mumbled and evaded, my sister came closer, snorting indignantly.

“Listen. I know you’re holding back because of me, but, big sister… your skin has been looking dull lately.”

“Eek!”

I clapped a hand to my cheek and yelped.

True enough, my skin had been rough lately, and it felt like I had more blemishes. At my age, I’d even gotten acne.

“You’ve got dark circles under your eyes too. And you sigh a lot. It’s obviously stress… If this keeps up, you’ll fall apart, big sister! Drink! Go on and drink!”

“H-Hiyori…”

My eyes welled up at her words.

What a good girl my sister was…!

There couldn’t be many sisters who worried about their big sisters this much. Her smile was dazzling. Surely the halo I was seeing around her was no illusion. Ah, an angel, there was an angel here!

As I stood there, eyes misty with emotion, my sister flashed me a thumbs-up.

Then she winked one eye, bam!, and said proudly:

“I like you when you’re drinking, big sister. You’re like a boozy middle-aged guy!”

“You fallen angel!!!”

I struck her in the solar plexus with a straight punch packed full of maidenly pride.

Big sister. No more holding back on my account, okay? I don’t want you giving up things for my sake. Just be yourself, like always. This house, with the same old you in it, just like when we were back in our old world—that’s my home. It’s where I belong.

At my sister’s words, tears seeped from my tear ducts, which had grown thoroughly loose lately.

I had thought I was supporting her with all my might, but I’d ended up worrying her instead. Ever since she was little, she had been someone I had to protect, and I had unconsciously always thought of her as a child. But after coming here and experiencing and learning so many things, my sister seemed to have grown up quite a lot without my noticing.

—Ahh. I’m trying so hard, but I’m getting nowhere.

I bit my lip hard. I wanted to do something for my sister, but my actions wouldn’t follow. I wanted to do something about it, but there was nothing I could do.

—Well, it can’t be helped. First, let me start by spending my days as usual, so my sister won’t worry.

I’d be grateful to my sister and enjoy my drinks to the fullest, just like always. Maybe a path would turn up in time.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

My first evening drink in a long while. Now then, what should I make?

Before that, though, I stood in the kitchen, pondering what I wanted to drink.

I’d been drinking nothing but beer since early spring, so I wanted something different for once.

Yes, there was no need to deliberate. A hot summer… If not beer, what I wanted to drink was that.

—A highball!

The fizzy texture on the tongue. The strong alcohol. The scent of whiskey wafting up through the nose. These days, izakaya pubs offered all sorts of flavored highballs, but for me, nothing beat a simple one made with just whisky and soda. Whether to add lemon was a tricky question. Depending on the whiskey, lemon can bring out the aroma, so I had to judge carefully.

As a certain commercial had shown, strongly flavored fried food was the perfect accompaniment to a highball. Not fried chicken exactly… Today, I’d chosen chicken wings. I’d give them a spicy, punchy flavor.

—This is what pairs so well with a highball.

Hehehe, I was entranced just imagining the taste. And of course, edamame. Not the standard salted kind, though. I planned to prepare something a little out of the ordinary.

I stepped down from the veranda into the garden, red with the sunset.

Jade had gone back to the knight order’s barracks for a while, so he hadn’t arrived yet.

I had to take advantage of that gap to procure it.

In our garden grew a cherry tree about thirty years old.

This spring had been hectic in many ways, and before I knew it, the cherry blossoms had scattered. Next spring, I hoped we could all go flower-viewing together.

“Mame!”

I was wondering whether oden would be a good thing to eat while viewing the blossoms when I realized I’d already reached my destination. The dryad peeked out from the trunk of the cherry tree.

Since that day, the dryad had taken a liking to our cherry tree and settled there. She didn’t play any pranks or wander off on her own, and seemed to just stay holed up inside the tree, so I’d left her alone, thinking that was fine.

“Mameko, thanks for today too.”

“E-aa-mame!”

Now and then I came by like this and had her make edamame from soybeans.

With Mameko around, I had an unlimited supply of edamame. Mameko was such a good girl! A drinker’s best friend!

By the way, I was the one who named the dryad Mameko. I thought it was an absolutely adorable name.

When I handed Mameko the soybeans, she grew plenty of edamame for me again today. I harvested them in high spirits, thanked her, and was about to climb back onto the veranda when…

“Hey! Missy, I’m here!”

Dazil came toward me, his face full of laugh lines.

“Oh, you’re awfully early.”

“Well, you haven’t invited me lately! I was looking forward to it. Been fidgety since morning, and I finished my paperwork at double the usual speed. You should’ve seen the Vice-Captain’s face!”

“Heh. Finishing work early for the evening drinks… the basic behavior of any drinker.”

When I’d worked at an office back in my old world, whenever I’d decided on an evening drink, my coworkers were amazed at how frighteningly fast I got through my work.

“Mr. Dazil, I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch for so long. Let’s have a good time drinking today!”

“Of course! And I brought a gift.”

Saying that, Dazil pointed behind him.

Then a man popped out from the shadow of the cherry tree and held out a bottle in his hand.

“This is wine from a particularly good year, ten years back. Delicious beyond words. I brought cheese too, so we can nibble on it together. It’s expensive, mind you. Costs about three months of my pay… Look forward to it.”

Dazil was in high spirits, explaining the wine.

But honestly, I couldn’t pay attention to that. Because when I saw the face of the man holding out the wine bottle, I froze.

Dull blond hair, and familiar eyes that were, sure enough, blue. A dignified, handsome middle-aged man, exactly how that one might become with age. The sumptuous cloak he always wore was nowhere to be seen; dressed head to toe in black, the man stood there with a gentle smile.

“Um. …If I’m not mistaken… this is the King, isn’t it…?”

“…Hm. Found out already? How dull. You said she wouldn’t notice, Dazil.”

At the King’s words, Dazil looked thoroughly sheepish and scratched his head roughly. Unlike Dazil, the King laughed merrily despite his identity having been discovered. It looked like he found Dazil’s and my reactions funny.

Well, it wasn’t as though there was much of a disguise to see through. The king and I had met face-to-face when I was summoned to this other world. This was the first time we’d met since then, but there was no way I could mistake him for someone else. —This man was none other than the king of this country.

“I am here incognito today. Pay me no mind.”

The king folded his arms and declared this with a smug little “hmph.”

—I do mind!!! And this is the castle courtyard! What does incognito mean in his own house!?

My inner voice nearly burst out, so I pinched my thigh with my fingers to hold it in. If I vented everything I felt and got accused of disrespect, I’d be in real trouble. I managed to put on a smile and looked at the King, who, apparently finding our house curious, was looking around, making a one-man commotion over this and that.

—Ah. Again, during my evening drinks, such a huge figure…

First, the commander of the knights, then the Prime Minister, then the Fairy Queen… and now, finally, the King.

Where had my quiet, treasured little secret drinking sessions gone…?

Feeling a sense of emptiness swiftly eating away at my heart, all I could do was give Dazil, who had dragged in yet another troublesome person, a dead-fish stare.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Jade, who showed up in the kitchen late, understandably looked pale.

“Am I mistaken, or is the highest authority in the kingdom currently lounging on the living room sofa?”

“Yes, your understanding is correct, Mr. Jade…”

“Ahaha! Sorry about that! He caught me just as I was heading here!”

Dazil, laughing with his mouth wide open, showed not the slightest sign of remorse.

“What do you mean, caught?”

“The King, Luvan, and I go way back. Childhood friends, as they say. …So I’ve been reporting on your evening drinks to him for a while now.”

“And what exactly would lead to the person himself descending upon us?”

When I stared straight into Dazil’s blue-gray eyes, he abruptly looked away, as if he had something to feel guilty about. Suspicious!

“Mr. Dazil!”

“Well… I might have bragged a little?”

“Excuse me?”

“I boasted every chance I got. Said the booze and snacks from the other world are delicious.”

“What!?”

“Well, I couldn’t help it. It was a moment of weakness. And then he starts saying it’s unfair that only I get to have them! Never thought the King himself would move! You never know how the world will turn out!”

Ha ha ha! He laughed heartily as I jabbed him in the side.

But his steel-like abs blocked it, and he seemed unharmed. Dang.

“Akane, if you stick your middle finger out a little when you make a fist, make it firm, and keep jabbing the same spot, the damage accumulates nicely.”

“Thanks for the advice!”

“Hey, Jade. That’s the kind of thing that actually starts to hurt after a while. Come on, now. Don’t give people advice on how to attack your superior!”

An exasperated voice came from above my head, but I ignored it and kept jabbing. But "My side will turn red, so stop, stooop it," he said, brushing me off lightly. It seemed physical attacks weren’t getting me anywhere. In that case, I thought, and said to Dazil with a smile:

“Mr. Dazil, no alcohol for you today. I’ll prepare some tap water. Drink your fill, all right?”

“What!?”

“Fresh from the tap, nice and lukewarm. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“S-Stop it…”

There was no better way to attack a drinker.

As expected, Dazil’s eyes quickly teared up.

Wearing a blazing smile that was almost too enthusiastic for summer, I chased Dazil out of the kitchen as he resisted on the verge of tears.

I swallowed a sigh that nearly escaped and set the King problem aside for now. If I didn’t start cooking, I’d never get to drink.

“Mr. Jade, would you help me prep the edamame?”

“Yes. Of course.”

The edamame that Mameko had eagerly grown for me was, again today, plump with beans packed into every pod.

I put them into a colander and glanced sideways to hand it to Jade, and my eyes met his honey-colored ones head-on. My heart instantly started racing.

“P-Please…”

“Yes. What should I do?”

Bewildered by my pounding heart, I explained the edamame prep steps to Jade. And as I explained, I secretly stole a glance at Jade beside me.

His black hair, a little longer than when we first met. His always gentle honey-colored gaze. Sharp eyebrows and thin lips curved in an arc. He looked slender, but his body, trained in the knight order, was far sturdier than it appeared. He stood about a head taller than me. The fingers touching the edamame were rough, calloused from the sword, the skin thick here and there. … I couldn’t stop noticing every little thing Jade did, every movement and gesture. It was as though I was trying to sense his very presence with my entire body.

—Ah, no good.

—What’s gotten into me?

My heart was about to burst. My face was hot, and I couldn’t settle down. Stealing glances like this was fine, but honestly, I couldn’t look him straight in the eye.

—I’d first noticed this change in myself a little while after my sister returned. Jade was always by my side as my guard knight, and before I knew it, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

…This was probably what people called love. After agonizing over it for ages, I’d come to that conclusion. And yet, I still couldn’t bring myself to honestly acknowledge the feelings that had begun to take root inside me.

—Because once my sister’s purification journey is over, I’m going back to the other world.

The King said the final decision on whether to return to our original world was left to us. He even said that whichever we chose, we would be given ample reward. But my sister was still a high school student, so I assumed she would, of course, go back to attend school. Besides, even if we stayed in this world, I couldn’t begin to imagine how I’d make a living.

“…Haah.”

My friends used to say that love was fun. Since I did nothing but work and hadn’t had the romances people my age have, my friends all urged me that it was a wonderful thing. In the end, I hadn’t met anyone suitable back in our old world, and love… let alone a boyfriend, had been utterly beyond me.

—Love is fun? Love is wonderful? That’s… a lie.

If this feeling really was love, then why did it hurt so much? Why did it make my heart ache like this?

As I was vaguely pondering this, Jade, who had been snipping off both ends of the edamame with scissors, suddenly looked at me and asked with a soft smile, "What’s wrong?”

Beautiful honey-colored eyes. They were looking down at me gently. I could feel something hot spreading from deep in my chest. Ah, no good. A part of me was happy about it.

—But…

Along with the warmth, something bitter also welled up inside me.

I knew it would not be rewarded, a feeling that showed me nothing but a painful future. I couldn’t give myself over to it.

—What should I do about this feeling?

I even wanted to seal it away altogether. But as if to say it refused, my heart gave a squeak of protest, and I could do nothing but struggle to cope with it.

Once the edamame was prepped, I boiled it the usual way: in a generous amount of water.

In the meantime, I mixed together sesame oil, minced garlic, sliced chili peppers, and soy sauce. Once the edamame was cooked, I drained it while it was still piping hot, added it to the sauce, and mixed everything thoroughly.

At once, the toasty aroma of sesame oil wafted up.

—Wow. That smells amazing.

Savoring the sesame oil, I stirred vigorously with my cooking chopsticks. Once it was well mixed, I finished it with a generous shower of black pepper. —And that was it, done.

This was the quirky edamame I’d gotten hopelessly hooked on ever since a friend made it for me when we drank at her place. According to her, it was Taiwanese-style.

When you’re drinking a highball, the more stimulating the food, the better. Well, that was just my personal opinion. Something strongly flavored, spicy, or peppery went perfectly with it.

Which brought me to the next dish: chicken wings with a bold seasoning.

I seasoned the wings with salt and pepper and dusted them with potato starch. Then I fried them until they turned golden brown.

…Sizzzzle…

The cheerful sound of the wings frying filled the kitchen. With that sound as my background music, I started on the sauce.

I warmed soy sauce, sake, mirin, and honey in a small pot and simmered them down. Once the sauce had thickened to just the right consistency, I tossed in the crisp, fragrant wings. I shook the whole pot until the sauce clung to them, then sprinkled on black pepper.

The golden-brown wings, coated in the sauce, turned a glossy, amber-colored sheen. The sweet scent of honey and the savory aroma of soy sauce wafted up and whetted my appetite.

And that was it: fried chicken wings. I’d actually made them in the style of a certain restaurant in Nagoya. This was what fried chicken wings were supposed to taste like! Adding garlic to the sauce was delicious too, but since I’d already put plenty of garlic in the edamame, I decided to leave it out this time.

The glossy wings had a destructive power that made my mouth water just looking at them.

—Ugh. I want to eat one! I want a taste!

I glanced at Jade. He was standing beside me, peering at the plate and saying, "They look delicious.”

…Honestly, I wondered what a man thought of a woman who gleefully snacked on food under the pretext of “taste-testing.”

That thought flashed through my mind for a moment.

…Come to think of it, I’d already done plenty of enthusiastic snacking before. And I remembered being so greedy that he had been exasperated with me. Oh no. I wished I could travel back in time and give my past self a stern lecture.

As I quietly despaired, Jade chuckled softly.

“Tasting is the cook’s privilege, wasn’t it?”

True, I had said something like that once. And surely I’d said it with a smug look on my face. It hurt. It hurt so much. Me, passionately lecturing the person I liked about my greedy enthusiasm for sneaking bites, a thing unbecoming of a maiden! Ugh, I wanted to start over from before I was born…!

While I fought the urge to flee from sheer embarrassment, a fried chicken wing entered my field of vision. I looked up and saw Jade’s smiling face and a plate piled high with wings.

“Shall we taste them while they’re piping hot? I can’t wait any longer.”

With that, he pressed one fried wing into my hand.

The freshly fried wing was so hot that it was difficult to hold with my bare hands. I reflexively tossed it from one hand to the other, going, “Hot, hot!”

“Come on, let’s eat. Itadakimasu.”

“…Itadakimasu…”

Jade bit into his wing right away. Watching him, I took a bite too.

Beneath the sticky, chewy skin was a burst of rich meat juices and tender, springy chicken. The fried skin had absorbed the sauce, turning wonderfully soft and yielding. The sweet-and-savory glaze coated it all, while the generous black pepper brought a fantastic spicy punch. That sharp peppery heat and the sauce complemented each other so perfectly that I could happily polish off an entire plate.

“Mmmmm! Ooh!”

It was so delicious that the moment I bit in, all thoughts of maidenly behavior flew out of my head.

There were so many things to love about chicken wings. The meat wasn’t plentiful, but because it was close to the bone, it was packed with flavor. That precious meat disappeared in no time. But the cartilage was wonderful too. Its crisp, crunchy texture was a delight in its own right.

I licked my fingers with a smack.

Even the oil on my fingers was delicious. Ah, I longed for a highball! I wanted to drink already!

“This is the kind of flavor that makes you crave a drink…”

“Right? Ahh… pure happiness.”

All the maidenly embarrassment I’d felt just moments ago had vanished. What slipped out of my mouth was my honest feeling.

“I couldn’t agree more. It tastes like happiness.”

I looked up at Jade, who was smiling cheerfully beside me.

—Yes. Just for this moment, I’ll let myself enjoy being happy.

There were still all sorts of feelings smoldering deep in my heart. But just this once, I sincerely felt that way—and for the first time in a while, I was able to smile naturally in front of him.

When I carried the dishes on a tray to the living room, the King and Dazil were nowhere to be seen.

Looking toward the veranda, I found the King there. The low dining table had been moved onto the veranda, and he was lounging on a huge pile of fluffy cushions he’d brought in from somewhere.

He hadn’t touched the tea I’d served him. Instead, he was elegantly drinking with a wine glass in hand. He had apparently already opened the wine.

—Wasn’t that supposed to be a gift?

Bringing what you want to drink and calling it a present, and then the one who brought it enjoys it most. …Ah, what a hopeless human being. That’s the true drinker. But I understand it so well.

—Though, finishing the entire bottle you brought is going too far, I think!

I shot a lukewarm look at the King, who was holding the empty bottle, put the tray on the table, and went looking for the other person who should be here, Dazil.

“Huh? What are you doing, Mr. Dazil?”

“Oh! Akane! You’re here! I’ve been waiting forever!”

For some reason, Dazil was building a bonfire in the garden. Sweating, with his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders and his muscular arms exposed, he was diligently feeding firewood into the flames.

Chairs and even a table had been brought into the garden from somewhere, making the whole place look like a campsite.

—This is the castle courtyard; is that really okay? And how much stuff did you bring in? Is Mr. Dazil some outdoorsy dad who’s gotten way too excited about his day off?

As for the bonfire, since the highest authority said nothing, it was probably fine.

“Akane, later we’ll skewer some cheese and toast it over the fire. It gets all melty. It’s delicious.”

What? That sounds wonderful!

My heart leapt at Dazil’s suggestion.

In an anime I’d watched ages ago, there was a scene where melted cheese was spooned over bread, and I’d envied it as a child. What Dazil was proposing now was every bit as romantic. Honestly, he was starting to look more and more like an overenthusiastic dad on a camping trip. If he eventually suggested toasting bread or roasting marshmallows, I wouldn’t mind being a child of the Dazil household.

“Mr. Dazil, you can drink alcohol again!”

“Ha ha ha! Alright!”

Swept up in my excitement, I lifted his ban without thinking, and Dazil flashed his white teeth in a grin and gave me a thumbs-up.

Once everything was ready for our evening drinks, I decided, since we had the chance, to drink around the bonfire. Drinking in the dark, in the orange glow of a bonfire, made my heart dance as though we’d come camping.

On the table sat the fried chicken wings and the Taiwanese-style edamame. Since everything was so strongly flavored, I’d also prepared a quick-pickled cucumber and daikon radish.

With the food ready, it was time to make the drinks. Finally, the moment to prepare my beloved highball.

Making a delicious highball required a little care. You had to keep the ice from melting as much as possible, and you had to keep the soda from going flat.

First, I put ice in the glass and stirred it around with a bar spoon. The glass chilled and clouded white. This helped keep the ice from melting too quickly. It was best to pour out any water that had melted from the ice at this stage. Chilling the glass in the freezer from the start worked too. Then I poured whiskey into the glass of ice and stirred again to chill the whiskey as well. Finally, I poured soda gently, aiming away from the ice. The ratio of whiskey to soda was roughly one to two. Last of all, I gave it just one turn with the bar spoon. The key was not to stir too much. If the soda went flat, the highball would be ruined.

Fizz, pop. The bubbles burst inside the glass. The amber of the whiskey kept its beautiful color even when diluted with soda, and together with the fine rising bubbles and clear ice, it looked wonderfully cool.

I prepared one highball for each person and handed them out. At the rich aroma of whiskey rising from the glass, the King and Dazil widened their eyes and relaxed into smiles.

I narrowed my eyes and gazed at the glass in my own hand.

—Tonight’s evening drink is a highball, by the highball, for the highball.

Every snack was something that went with a highball. My expectations only swelled.

I wanted to drink so badly I could hardly stand it, and when I looked around, everyone else was holding their glasses, equally unable to wait.

Usually, the person of highest rank was supposed to lead the toast at a time like this. I looked expectantly at the King, but he merely grinned and jerked his chin toward me, as if telling me to do it.

—Hmm. So it’s been left to me.

With no choice, I cleared my throat with ahem and gave a brief toast:

“Well then, let’s dig in. Cheers!”

Clink, the glasses met, and the clear sound rang out into the summer sky.

And so, our evening drinking session began.

“Ohh. This liquor mixed with sparkling water is easy to drink. And it goes down quite nicely. …Mm. The aroma suits my taste too. There was a liquor brewed by the dwarves with a similar flavor. How nostalgic.”

The King drank the highball and smiled happily.

Most of the alcohol drunk in this country was wine. Distilled spirits such as fire liquor were apparently drunk often in the dwarves’ land, but they weren’t drunk much in the Kingdom of Gilberta. Perhaps one reason was that wine was Gilberta’s specialty product.

…It wasn’t a very expensive whiskey, so honestly I’d been nervous, but it seemed he liked it.

Relieved, I took a sip of my own highball.

The ice-cold highball made me forget the heat of the day, with a refreshing coolness perfect for summer. The soda bubbling in my mouth refreshed a body worn out by the daily heat.

And then, once the sting of the carbonation faded, the rich aroma of the whiskey wafted up, along with the pleasant touch of moderate alcohol. There was a faint sweetness on the tip of my tongue. Even the woody scent that passed through my nose had a hint of sweetness, and the soothing, mellow taste brought a gentle tipsiness.

—Mmm, it’s so good…

Basking in the lingering taste of the highball, I reached for the snacks.

Naturally, I started with the edamame. I put the edamame, soaked in its spicy sauce, in my mouth and popped the beans out with a chu. Biting into the crunchy beans, I got the intense aroma of minced raw garlic, the tingling sting of the chili, and the savory fragrance of soy sauce and sesame oil, whetting my appetite.

The punch of raw garlic was tremendous. In an instant, my mouth was dyed with garlic. Yet this edamame had an addictive quality that made me stop caring about the smell. Pulled along by the lingering flavor, I kept popping them in, and my mouth grew gradually saltier, so the drinking went on and on. It was a dangerous detonator made exclusively for drinking.

When my mouth hit its limit of garlic, I gulped down the highball. The refreshing sting of the soda spread through my mouth and washed away the sharpness, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

…But my mouth soon began to miss the stimulation, so I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching for the edamame again.

—Edamame really is the thing for booze. Thank you, Mameko!

While I was basking in the joy of eating edamame and eating nothing but that, I noticed the King watching me with keen interest. Knowing the highest authority was watching made it very hard to eat.

“What is it?”

“Ah. Forgive me. It’s just so rare to see a woman drink so deliciously that I couldn’t help watching.”

“…It’s all right. But in this country, do women not drink much?”

“No, that’s not it. Wine accompanies meals, and drinks are always provided at social gatherings such as balls. —It’s only that the women I know take a sip or two with a composed face, and that’s the end of it. As far as I know, you are the only one who drinks happily from a large glass.”

I see. Commoners aside, to a king living in noble society, the women he usually met were ladies who knew their place and had etiquette drilled into them. He probably never had the chance to meet a woman who guzzled alcohol…

“Hm?”

At that moment, I realized a certain shocking fact.

I glanced at Jade, who was on the other side of the bonfire, chatting happily with Dazil.

That’s right, Jade was a noble too. Surely every woman he had ever met had been demure and beautiful, delicate maidens who loved tea and flowers more than alcohol.

I shuddered at the thought of how I must look to Jade.

—Not much of a beauty.

—A heavy drinker.

—With no ladylike manners to speak of.

—A coarse woman who sneaks bites under the name of tasting.

Oh… I was finished. I was really, truly finished.

Tears welled up. At the same time, dry laughter bubbled up too. Unrequited love? How ridiculous. There was a much bigger problem before that—to Jade, I was out of the question as a woman!

“H-Hey… What’s the matter? Suddenly tearing up and then laughing… are you in your right mind? It looks as though I’ve bullied you. Oh, honestly. Here, wipe your tears with this.”

In a great flurry, the King pulled a silk handkerchief from his breast pocket and pressed it into my hand.

—Wow, so smooth.

The luxurious texture, suddenly thrust into my hand, distracted me from my thoughts. It made the tears recede for a moment, but at the King’s next words they welled up again.

“What I said just now, I didn’t mean it badly, you see? Ah… um… What I mean is, a woman who drinks more than the men around her and enjoys her drink is rare, so I found it interesting.”

“That’s no consolation at all! And now you’re treating me like some kind of r-rare animal!? Ugh… Well, I suppose I am something of a rare creature from another world!”

“Why are you crying even more!? You’re surprisingly negative-minded, aren’t you? That’s not what I meant, oh, honestly. The tears won’t stop. If Dazil finds out, he’ll tease me endlessly. …Wait a moment.”

Saying that, the king pulled an absurdly ornate knife from his breast pocket, sliced some of the cheese he’d brought as a gift, skewered it, and began roasting it over the bonfire.

“You seem to have a weakness for delicious things.”

When the surface of the cheese began to bubble from the heat, the King started to twirl the skewer.

“This is cheese fermented with a special mold that lives deep in the dungeons. When you toast it over a fire like this, it becomes unbelievably soft.”

The melting cheese, spinning around, took a round shape from centrifugal force and ended up looking like a lollipop. The King gazed with satisfaction at the perfectly spherical cheese, then quietly held it out to me.

“Here, it’s delicious. Eat. …And stop crying, please.”

“…”

Sniff. I sniffled. The King’s eyebrows, as he looked at me, were drooping all the way down. I’d clearly caused him a great deal of trouble. I took the skewer of cheese and, since it looked hot, blew on it. Then I gingerly bit into the ping-pong-ball-sized morsel and pulled the skewer away from my mouth, and the cheese stretched out in a long string!

—Whoaaaa!

I was simple-minded enough that this alone instantly lifted my spirits.

—Amazing! This stretchiness, it’s the kind you always see on TV!

I shook my head from side to side, struggling to tear off the cheese. I used my lips to nibble the dangling strands back into my mouth, and finally managed to take a proper bite. The already melted cheese grew even gooier from the warmth inside my mouth.

A rich, milky aroma drifted through my nose, while the cheese’s deep, mellow flavor spread thickly across my mouth.

“Mmmmm!”

…Ah, so unbelievably delicious!

As I writhed in the joy of the cheese, the King handed me a wine glass.

When I looked, he held the wine he’d brought as his gift.

—Oh, the one worth three months of Dazil’s pay!

It seemed there had been a second bottle, and the King poured it into a wine glass for me.

With a pleasant glug, the wine filled the glass.

Ideally, I would have thanked the King for the gift before drinking, but my mouth was in a state of emergency from the taste of cheese. I gratefully decided to accept the wine.

I swirled the glass and sniffed. It was a white wine, tinted pale gold. A rich grape aroma floated up.

—Mm. What a lovely scent…

I narrowed my eyes and took the wine into my mouth.

At once, a fragrant, floral aroma passed through my nose. It was very light on the palate, with little acidity or astringency. Thanks to its more-than-ample fruitiness, it was an easy-drinking kind of wine. The depth and lingering finish that remained softly on the tongue went perfectly with the cheese.

My tears were gone in an instant, and I sat enchanted, basking in the wine’s afterglow.

“Ha ha. So you’ve stopped crying. Delicious, isn’t it? This cheese goes well with a wine of strong fruit character like this.”

“Yes. It’s so delicious… My mouth is happy.”

“Happy, you say? I’m glad to hear you say that of the wine our country takes pride in.”

The King’s eyes, as he said this, were endlessly gentle.

—He truly loves his country.

“The liquor of your world is quite good as well. …If I may be greedy, I would like to try it straight, undiluted.”

The King said this with a sly grin.

On a handsome, dignified middle-aged man like him, such an expression was frankly so alluring it was practically cheating.

I made an effort to look bold and grinned back.

“…This whiskey is better on the rocks than straight. The aroma stands out more.”

“Oh ho. That’s intriguing.”

“…I’ll prepare some nuts too.”

“Hmm. That sounds good. Akane, while you prepare them, I’ll toast another piece of cheese.”

“Your Majesty himself… I couldn’t possibly.”

“Heh. Don’t mind it… We are practically pals, are we not…?”

“Heh heh heh… Your Majesty, you too…”

—You really are a lover of drink.

And with that, the two of us wore sly, wicked grins. For some reason, it felt like we were corrupt magistrates.

…How impressive of the King to keep up with this banter.

I suspected the King and I shared the same preferences when it came to alcohol. Our passion for drink felt somehow alike. It felt like striking up a conversation with some guy at a pub and discovering that you got along perfectly.

…Well, I suppose it was not right to put the King on the same level as some random drinking buddy.

To think I’d make this kind of connection in another world.

I was so easily won over. Just like that, I’d recovered completely.

“Then I’ll go get the drinks and snacks!”

I stood up in high spirits and headed for the kitchen.

As I left, I caught snatches of the men talking among themselves.

“What is our King doing, making such a young woman cry?”

“…Dazil, so you noticed after all. She’s smiling again, so it’s no problem. Good drink and good snacks are the best medicine.”

“Still, give her something delicious, and she’ll stop crying, huh…? Looks like she could be tamed with treats…”

“What are you saying, Commander? Think carefully about your own situation.”

“Hmm? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The ones who’ve been tamed with food are us.”

“Ha ha ha! Exactly right! And you were the very first to be tamed. Am I wrong, guard knight?”

“I am aware of it.”

“Don’t say it so proudly, Jade.”

I couldn’t hear the last part well because I was in the kitchen, but it seemed the men’s conversation was lively in a pleasant atmosphere. When I returned to the bonfire with the liquor and pistachios, everyone welcomed me with a smile.

—Ah, what a good night.

A night when the drinks tasted this good made my heart soar. Even if only for a little while, I felt as though I could forget the worries weighing on my heart. Savoring that small happiness, I made another round of drinks.

The orange flames of the bonfire wavered in my glass, and it was very beautiful.

Drinking together, laughing and trading jokes, we spent a pleasant stretch of a summer night.

The bonfire burned out, and the cleanup was more or less done.

I served sobering tea in the living room, and afterward saw everyone to the front door.

“It was quite delicious. I shall come again.”

The King was fully intent on a return visit. I forced a wry smile and nodded.

Dazil and Jade had already said their farewells and gone outside. The King had started to step out, but he suddenly turned around and said:

“Even so, your cooking is wonderful. You intend to return to your original world once the purification journey is over, do you not? It would be a great pity to lose the chance to eat this.”

“Yes, that’s my plan. Um. I’m honored that you praise my humble home cooking so much.”

As I answered with deference, the King rubbed his chin with a finger as though something had occurred to him.

Then he grinned.

“I know. If you are willing, why not stay here after the purification journey ends?”

“—Huh?”

“Your livelihood would be guaranteed. If possible, why not spread the cooking methods and recipes you know throughout our kingdom?”

“—Eh?”

“Opening a restaurant would be good too. Your cooking would surely appeal to commoners as well, and in that case, we would provide the funds to open it. Yes! If we build a special room for the royal family, I could visit incognito whenever I like. Is that not a splendid idea?”

I hastily stopped the King, who had suddenly started making arbitrary plans.

“No, um. A lot of my cooking uses seasonings made in my original world, and eventually I’ll run out. Then I’d have to cook with what’s available here, and I can’t imagine I’d be able to produce the flavors I want, so being told this so suddenly—”

“…Hmm. I see.”

…Had he accepted it?

I looked at the King with hope, but he was still grinning, clearly amused.

“Well, leaving the cooking aside. If you yourself are willing to stay, you may stay, you know?”

“…!”

“Our kingdom owes the Saint and you, her sister, a debt we can never repay. I only thought that with a clear purpose such as cooking, the option of staying might be easier to choose. If you do decide to stay, the reason does not matter. We will welcome you sisters at any time. We will lend you whatever help we can. It’s only that you seem to think of nothing but the Saint, and your own future has not crossed your mind. At the very least—”

The King lowered his voice and went on.

“If there is someone you care for so deeply that the mere thought of having disappointed him brings you to tears, then I believe staying here is an option worth considering.”

With that, he glanced toward Jade in the back.

After seeing the King off, when I was alone, all the strength suddenly drained out of me, and I sank down in the entryway.

…Stay in another world…?

Those words whirled around and around in my head.

The purification journey had only just begun, and it was foolish to think about what came after.

I didn’t imagine for a second that my sister’s journey would fail, but I had always taken for granted that we would return to our original world afterward.

That was precisely why I had been trying and trying to suppress my feelings for Jade…

—In the first place! Hiyori is only sixteen! She’s a high schooler, so she has to go to school, and if she says she wants to go to university, I’d have to look after her—

‘You seem to think of nothing but the Saint, and your own future has not crossed your mind.’

At that moment, the King’s words came back vividly, and I grimaced without meaning to.

Hiyori, Hiyori, Hiyori.

Ah, he was right. I had thought only of my sister and nothing of myself.

Looking after my sister was not wrong in itself. It was what I had to do.

But what if, just what if, my sister stopped needing my hand—

What would I want to do then?

“—Akane?”

I raised my eyes and saw Jade, wearing a worried expression.

It seemed he’d come back because he was worried about me.

“You were crying earlier, right? You may be tired from everything that’s happened. Why not take a day off from the housework and rest for once?”

“But Hiyori’s meals—”

“Lady Saint may like to eat the castle’s food once in a while, too.”

He said that with his usual gentle smile.

Tears threatened to well up again, and I hurriedly lowered my head.

—How kind he is… No good, it hurts. But no. Absolutely not, this one thing…

My head felt as if it would go haywire with thoughts of Jade.

The King had suddenly thrown at me the option of staying in this world.

—Is it all right for me to simply admit that I love this man?

An option I’d never considered. My own future, which I had stopped thinking about.

Regardless of my will, a sweet feeling began slowly spreading from around my chest.

At the same time, an unbearable anxiety about the future assailed me without mercy.

—Me, I…

No matter how much I tried to think with my muddled, spinning head, I couldn’t seem to find an answer anytime soon. Listening to Jade’s concerned voice, I was left completely at a loss.

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