Chapter 53: Everyone’s Smiles

“Thank you for waiting. Here’s the pizza, fried chicken, and shrimp pilaf. There’s also tonjiru (pork miso soup), so let me know if you’d like some.”

“This is amazing! I’m so happy to eat pizza again!”

“Seriously, thank you so much. We can’t thank you enough, Sato-san.”

“You made all this? I brought a little something as a gift, but it’s nothing compared to this feast.”

Everyone’s eyes sparkled with excitement and joy.

It made all the effort worth it, and just seeing their smiles made me glad I went all out.

“This is my first time seeing these dishes. Judging by everyone’s reaction, I assume they’re a feast?”

“They’re beyond a feast! Velvet-san, you’re absolutely going to love them!”

“Everything Sato-san makes is delicious! I even snuck a little taste while helping out earlier, and—it was insanely good!”

“I can’t even imagine you sneaking food, Sheila. But if everyone says so, then I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Alright then, let’s eat before it gets cold. And for drinks, let’s toast with the juice Velvet-san brought.”

She had brought an entire case of some fancy-looking bottled juice.

The bottles were decorated with gold embellishments, so it had to be something special.

“Wait, is this the Marukame-do mixed juice?”

“Yes. I splurged a little on it. But now I’m worried that, thanks to Sato’s cooking, it won’t taste as good as I remember.”

Sheila seemed to recognize the drink.

Marukame-do mixed juice.

Even from the name, I had no clue what kind of juice it was.

It was definitely citrus-based, so it couldn’t be bad, but…

“Alright then, let’s enjoy the night. Cheers!”

“”Cheers!””

At my cue, everyone raised their glasses, officially kicking off the Christmas party.

I took a sip of the mysterious juice first.

…The taste was hard to describe.

It wasn’t bad, but it had a unique flavor that some people would probably hate.

I didn’t dislike it, but if someone asked me whether it was delicious, I wouldn’t be able to confidently say yes.

“…Huh. I remember this being so much better when I had it years ago.”

“Same here. I thought Marukame-do’s juice could hold its own, but maybe our taste buds have already been spoiled.”

“I think it’s pretty easy to drink. Velvet-san, thank you for bringing it.”

“Yeah! I think it actually makes Sato-san’s cooking taste even better!”

Shoji grinned and gave a thumbs-up, though his comment wasn’t exactly reassuring.

Well, it wasn’t like Velvet-san made the juice herself, so I guess there was no need to defend it in the first place.

“It’s honestly kind of scary how quickly I’m getting used to another world’s food. …But that won’t stop me from eating.”

With that, Velvet-san reached for a cheese-covered slice of pizza.

Since everyone else here had already tried my pizza before, they all eagerly watched her reaction.

“—Wha… What is this?! It’s pure concentrated umami! This might be on a whole different level of deliciousness!”

“Pizza is the best, after all. I’m glad we got to see a great reaction from Velvet-san.”

“Even a princess thinks so, huh?”

“The food in this world is pretty underwhelming, after all! Even if you’re royalty, there’s no way you’d find something better than Sato’s pizza!”

Seeing Velvet-san truly enjoying herself put a smile on everyone’s face.

…But then, when she reached for a second slice almost immediately, everyone else panicked, worried they’d lose their share.

“If we don’t grab some now, there won’t be any left!”

“Hey, Ren! Don’t take the biggest piece!”

“First come, first served.”

“Relax, everyone. I can always bake more pizza.”

Smiling at the sight of them scrambling for my food, I turned my attention to the shrimp pilaf and tonjiru.

I made shrimp pilaf quite often, but this time I had cooked it in a rice cooker, so I was a bit nervous about how it had turned out.

Judging by how it looked when I plated it, it should be fine, but…

I took a bite, feeling a little tense.

—Yep. It’s good.

I had added a bit more consommé than usual, which brought out a richer umami flavor.

The shrimp had infused into the rice perfectly.

I took a sip of tonjiru next, and the miso flavor warmed me up from the inside.

When it comes to soups, miso soup really is the best.

Enjoying the comforting taste, I savored the tonjiru down to the last drop.

After dinner, we moved on to dessert—pudding and vanilla ice cream—which was a hit.

Then, we had a board game tournament, playing everything from classic card games to more obscure board games.

By the time we exchanged gifts, which Ren and the others had prepared, the Christmas party had turned out to be a massive success.

The preparation had been more work than I expected, and I ended up using a lot of NP (currency), but seeing everyone’s smiles made it so worth it.

And now… with the Christmas party over, spring was just around the corner.

Winter had been fun, especially with this party, but I was really looking forward to working in the fields again.

It almost felt too good to be true—like life was just one happy moment after another.

But that only made me more determined to cherish this happiness and keep moving forward.

—This really was an amazing party.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter