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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