Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 74 – Luna’s Helping Paw
Today is the day I promised to bake crackers with Luna.
She’s been looking forward to it so much, so I’ve prepared a little surprise.
With Martha-san’s help, I’m confident nothing will go wrong!
“Hello.”
As I greeted them, I got the feeling that Luna had probably been coming to the door at every sound she heard.
“Welcome!”
She greeted me cheerfully.
Just inside the entrance, there was a small round wooden stool. She’d probably been sitting there waiting.
Today, Luna was wearing a light blue dress with a white apron—adorable as ever. She looks like Alice in Wonderland.
She must have chosen this apron with the work she will be doing later today in mind. The apron is neat and not overly frilly, which is a nice touch.
Her silky hair was also braided today, too. Ah, that tail isn’t a simple braid… What was it called again? It’s more intricate. Martha-san must be quite skilled.
“Saki-san, come on, come on!”
She took my hand and led me inside. Her small hand was warm, radiating that unique energy children have. I couldn’t help but smile.
Martha must have heard my voice, as she soon showed up.
“Saki-san, welcome.”
“Thanks. Is Jude-san around?”
“He stepped out for a bit. Said he’d be back soon.”
Ah, out for a while, huh? He’d probably make it back by the time the crackers were done baking.
Together with Martha-san and Luna, we headed to the kitchen to review today’s plan.
Today I’m going to have Luna make and bake crackers.
Martha-san and I would prep the ingredients, but the actual work would be Luna’s job.
Even if she messes up, we can just eat it anyway. Most things taste fine once they’re baked!
The only time I really messed up was when I confused sugar with salt—classic mistake. Even baking couldn’t save it, and finishing it was brutal.
I still kinda hold a grudge against my dad for laughing about it for years. Whenever he brought it up, I’d counter with the time he confidently said “Leave it to me!” on a family trip and still couldn’t find the hotel, even had to take a taxi for less than a meter away. I guess being directional challenged runs in the family
I’m the type of person who, once I enter a store, I immediately lose track of which way I came from.
I probably couldn’t live in a big mansion. I’m also not a fan of those inns that have been renovated a million times and become a maze.
For today’s surprise, I swapped the usual black sesame for white sesame in the cracker dough. Just a little black sesame was prepared on the side.
First, we washed our hands. Then, I had Luna mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
“Make your hands like this and mix,” I said.
“Like this?”
She asked, forming her hands into little “cat paws”—too cute. You only need one hand, but both in that pose? Cuteness overload.
I kind of wanted her to say “meow” like that too.
“Yep, just like that. Now, keep mixing the flour with your hands.”
Luna mixed the flour while Martha and I watched.
It’s cute how she mixes it so seriously.
Luna carefully goes through each step, adding oil, crumbing the mixture, adding water, and combining.
Then I finished rolling out the dough thinly with a rolling pin.
At that point, I brought out the cookie cutters: metal ones I once bought at a 100-yen shop—they were in the shapes of a squirrel, a hedgehog, and a rabbit. If you add the round cutters, isn’t 100 yen for four cutters such a great deal?
Let’s see if she likes them. I don’t know if hedgehogs exist in this world, but cute animal shapes are probably universally beloved.
“Ooh, it’s a bunny!”
Luuna’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the cutters. Great, she likes them. Since Normal rabbits that aren’t horned rabbits are raised for meat here, she’s probably seen them before—even if the butcher’s shop version is… less cute.
Usually, I just make creases in the cracker dough, which is simple and good, but today I want to add a little fun to it.
We split the dough—half for normal scoring, and half for cutting out.
With a cheerful “Here I go!” Luna gave it a firm push, and the cutter neatly cut out the dough.
Even though it’s a cheap mold from a 100-yen store, the cutter worked great.
“This is so cute,”
Martha-san said, clearly impressed.
“I’m done!”
Luna beamed proudly.
“Let’s add eyes too,”
I said, handing her some black sesame seeds.
Hmm… the sesame eyes were cute, but maybe just poking holes with a toothpick would’ve been easier. Maybe it was difficult to position them properly, but the rabbit ended up with a bit of a… deadpan stare.
“It’s cute!”
Well, if Luna’s happy, then that’s what matters.
The leftover dough from the cutouts was simply scored and set aside to bake. No need to fuss with it more. In the end, as long as it tastes good, the shape doesn’t matter.
Still, when you take the time to shape or decorate baked goods, they do feel extra special.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t care, and there’s also a part of me that wants to decorate it a little.
Wearing mittens, Martha-san put the tray in the oven and began baking it on low heat.
Jude-san’s house has a magical oven tool. How convenient!
While it baked, we washed the utensils we used.
Move the step stool from in front of the workbench to in front of the washing area.
We washed everything while I taught Luna the steps. There weren’t many items—just the bowl, cutters, containers, and rolling pin—so it went quickly. Washed, dried, put away—done.
“You did such a great job cleaning up,”
I praised luna, and she beamed with pride.
Before long, a delicious fragrant aroma began to waft through the room.
Luna climbed up on the stool to try to peek into the oven, but couldn’t quite see inside.
Still, I get it—you want to see, even if you can’t.
“I think it’s about ready.”
Even though she couldn’t see inside, Martha-san took out the tray at the perfect moment. The crackers were baked beautifully. Perfection.
How did they all bake so beautifully despite being different sizes and shapes? they were touching each other a little just before putting them in the oven, was she adjusting them before baking to match the oven’s hot spots? Amazing.
While the crackers cooled on the tray, we set up tea.
Just as the crackers cooled to the perfect temperature, Jude-san returned.
Time for a tea party!
The crispy crackers were baked to perfection. We started by tasting the leftover bits from the cutouts.
They crumbled delightfully in the mouth—flaky and crisp. The rich flavor of flour and the nutty aroma of sesame, with a gentle sweetness from the sugar, spread through my mouth.
Mmm, they turned out great.
“Luuna, these are delicious. Thank you.”
When I said that, Luna, who had been seriously savoring the crackers she made,
replied with a smile,
“They’re yummy!”
“They really are delicious. I’ve never had anything this good before,”
Martha-san added with a smile.
And the tea she brewed was also ridiculously good. It didn’t seem like she used super expensive tea leaves, so how is it this good?
“Delicious,”
Jude-san said, his hand moving at a remarkable speed to bring another cracker to his mouth. His face softened with joy. Yeah, of course it’s delicious. The fact that Luna made them is an incredible bonus.
For her very first batch of crackers to turn out this tasty—Luna might be a prodigy!
The animal-shaped crackers baked up so cute. Luna said she wasn’t going to eat any today because they were so cute.
“I’ll eat it tomorrow.”
—so we set those aside. For now, we’d eat the plain ones.
I see, so they were too cute to eat. Maybe floral shapes would’ve been better for eating?
While munching on the crackers, I asked something I’d been wondering—and yep, it turns out Jude-san was the one who took down the Lesser Dragon deep in the forest.
Amazing. A real Dragon Slayer.
“Between the Mad Bear and now this, the monster appearances lately are strange,”
Jude-san commented.
I probably won’t be going that deep into the forest, but I’ll stay cautious anyway.
Then, Martha-san brought up the summer festival.
“The summer festival is coming soon.”
It’s held before the true heat of the season sets in, meant to ward off evil and pray for a good harvest. Hopefully it helps calm the monsters too.
“This year, Luna-chan will be able to go,”
“Yeah! I’ll help decorate with flowers!”
What a lovely conversation. Festivals really are great, aren’t they?
Just listening to them talk about it made me excited for the festival too.
After hearing about what kind of festival it was, the tea gathering ended on a pleasant note.
Tl note:
“Neko no te” literally means “cat’s paw,” but the proverb “I want to borrow a cat’s paw too” (neko no te mo karitai) means I’m extremely busy and need help from anyone.