Kays Translations

 Chapter 33: Stewed tripe and Acorns

　A curtain was lowered between the seating area and the kitchen, so unless you openly try to peek inside, you can’t see inside the kitchen.

“This is good.”

　Sophia-chan hasn’t come yet. Karin-san said she would take care of her at home for a while. I thought it was a good idea. It’s up to me if I want to take care of her.

　The customers are slowly coming back, but it’s not as busy as it was before the heavy rain.

　It was already past noon, and it was already 2pm, but Henry hadn’t come. He must be busy. I put down the sign saying I was taking a break and went to a nearby beech tree to pick up some acorns.

　After picking up the acorns and filling my sack, I headed to the market. I gathered up the ingredients with the intention of bringing in some more goodies today. Today, I plan to bring motsu-ni (stewed pork cutlets). I would have preferred to stew them in a rich and thick sauce of hatcho miso (soybean paste), but this country has its own taste. The offals dish in this country uses garlic, ginger, red wine, rock salt, and chicken broth.

　I bought a large quantity of pig offals and carried them in a wooden carrying case.

　The lid and the body of the pot are closed with the bread dough wrapped around the pot. By applying pressure, the motsu becomes melty, so even children and the elderly can eat it. Just peel off some of the bread dough as you check it.

　The offal dishes in this country make you wonder (when is it time to swallow them?). Japan had that type too, but I prefer soft stewed offal.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　I made a pressure cooker using an iron pot and made two large pots of stewed tripe. I also made lots of pickled carrots and turnips to cleanse the palate. After all the work was done, I drank a cup of coffee that I had made myself.

　It tasted different from the coffee at Café Riyo. I guess it’s impossible to faithfully reproduce something I know.

　I was about to load all the dishes on the cart and head out when Henry came in. (Oh, he looks so tired.) I wonder if he is sleeping well. 

“Mr. Henry, it must be hard for you to go back and forth for miles to carry the food. I do it because I like to, so you don’t have to use your precious lunch break, okay?”

“I’m doing this because it’s what I like to do as an assistant.”

　When he said that, I couldn’t say anything, but I felt a bit uneasy.

“Is it a nuisance to you?”

“ I’m not saying it bothers me.” 

“Um, what’s that smell?　It smells fragrant. I’ve never smelled it before.”

“It’s the aroma of coffee. I made the same thing I drank every day in my original world, but it has a slightly off-putting taste, and I was wondering why. Would you like to drink it? It’s bitter though.”

“By all means.”

　I offered him a cup of coffee, and Henry took his time to savor the aroma before drinking it.

“It’s bitter. But it smells good.”

“The real thing has a much cleaner, richer flavor. Maybe acorns aren’t good enough.”

“Did you use acorns as an ingredient?”

“Yes, I did. I converted it into coffee beans, but somehow the taste is a little different.”

　Mr. Henry looks at me as if he wants to say something.

“What is it? Is there something else I don’t know?”

“Did you play with acorns as a child, Mai?”

“I think I did. But I didn’t play with it very hard. Why?”

“It’s a little hard to say. But……”

“Oh, no. What?　What’s the horror story?　You don’t tell me that the acorns in this world are poisonous, do you?”

“No, not that.”

　After hesitating for a while, Henry began to speak with a strangely gentle look on his face.

“When I was a child, I once brought home a bunch of acorns. I forgot about them and left them on my desk, and after a while there was an incident that caused the maids to scream. My foster mother warned me, ‘You can play with acorns, but you can’t bring them into the house. Acorns are nutritious, after all.’”

　After about ten seconds, I realized what he was saying, and ran over to the sink and spat out my coffee. I was in front of a nobleman’s son, but I couldn’t be bothered.

　　I had no idea!　I did know that sometimes there are acorns with holes in them!

　I rinsed my mouth out carefully many times, but it’s too late now. I had drunk so much.

　I see. If it were made from pure acorns, the flavor might be different. Let’s give it a try.

“I learned a lot. Thank you.”

“So There are things even you don’t know, Mai-san.”

“There are so many things I don’t know.  The only thing I know about is cooking. And I’ve only taken a correspondence course on the human body.”

“What is a correspondence course?”

　A brief explanation of correspondence education was given.

“Grandma said, ‘I will pay for it. If you have knowledge of how the body works, even if we have to give up this store and building,  you’ll be able to get a job and still be able to make a living.’ But I was having so much fun with the store that I didn’t make much progress in my studies. I studied all I could, but I came here without any experience. Mr. Henry, what about lunch?”

“I’ll eat. Let’s get going.”

　Mr. Henry answered casually as we walked down the street in the evening.

“Do you have people peeking into your kitchen?”

“Oh, that cloth?　No, nothing like that.”

“That cloth must be a bit of a nuisance when you’re busy. Maybe something happened, so you must have installed it knowing it would be in the way.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to lie to you, but I can’t tell you the reason for the cloth.”

“Really? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you that.”

　I was impressed that he was as sharp as ever. And I can’t mention Sophia-chan.

“Sorry. I can’t tell you.”

“No, I’m sorry. And one more thing, I know I’m asking an intrusive question, but can I ask you something?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Your boyfriend didn’t come running when the flooding was happening, right Mai-san?”

　Why are you assuming I have a boyfriend? Come to think of it, during the heavy rain, you asked me if I was alone.

“Does your boyfriend treat you well, Mai-san?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.　Why do you think I do?”

“Huh?　You were talking about the Spring Festival in “ Romi’s Bar” remember?”

“Yes, I did. I didn’t know about the Spring Festival, so I asked her to tell me about it.”

“You said then that you would ‘enjoy it with your lover?’, right?” 

　No, I didn’t. Romi said something along those lines, so I just nodded  along appropriately.

“That was because I was worried about what people would think of me, since I didn’t know anything about the Spring Festival. I just said yes and went along with what she said.”

“…ehhh.”

　In a very quiet voice, Henry is surprised. I wonder if this means that he likes me. Maybe I’m being too self-conscious.

　　But I reminded myself, I made Henry into “a man who got dumped by a woman he didn’t even like” at the end of last year. What did Henry say then?

　

　I think he said something like, “Don’t worry, I know you’re not conscious of me as the opposite sex.” By “don’t worry,” doesn’t that mean, “don’t worry, I don’t see you that way either”?

　Ah! I don’t know!

　When I fell silent, Henry fell silent too. Falling silent here means you don’t have any feelings like, “Well, what about me?” Making Henry a man who was dumped by a woman he didn’t love again is unacceptable as a diner owner.

　All the customers at “Café Riyo” would casually say things like, “Isn’t there a good guy for Mai-chan? Maybe I should take it up  then,”.　Even now, you say you’re here as an assistant, so that means you’re here with good intentions, right?

　To be honest, I’m not sure about Mr. Henry’s feelings or my own, so I’m not going to say anything unnecessary here.

　The stewed offal was a big hit that day, so I went home thinking I’d make it again.

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