Kays Translations

Chapter 95 – A Small Party (Part 1): Dress Code and Summer Vegetables

“Mimi, Kirara, thank you for your hard work. Luna, you too—thank you so much.”

We were already increasing production of Yogimogi-Sashimo, and on top of that, added rapeseed. It really was a lot.

I pulled through because everyone was there to help. Especially Luna—her efforts were incredible. Like, seriously incredible.

”Did I… help?”

”More than help. Really, truly, thank you so much.”

What would be the superlative of “helpful”? Like, soared off with a bang! (whatever that means…) I want to express my gratitude to luna, but I just can’t find the right words. I need a bigger vocabulary.

So instead, I convey my heartfelt gratitude with every ounce of feeling in the word “thank you”

Luna instantly brightens up with a radiant smile.

”Thanks, everyone, for everything. Since things have settled down for now, let’s have a little party to celebrate!”

I thank everyone, and Mimi and Kirara clap. A moment later, luna joins in too. Jude-san nods. Yes.

Not just luna—Mimi, Kirara, and Jude-san all helped so much. That’s why I wanted to throw a little party, just within our small circle.

You know, it’s that kind of party where you wear clothes that make you wonder, “When am I ever going to wear this?”

Okay, so maybe it’s not all that different from a picnic in the canola flower fields, but still.

Today, I’m wearing a sari. Well, not a real one—just an imitation.

I found a stunning, deep-blue piece of long cloth and bought it on impulse.

Now I’ve just wrapped it around myself loosely. Even if it comes undone, it’s fine—I’m wearing shorts and a tank top underneath like a petticoat.

I remember when I once got dressed in a sari at an outdoor folk museum in Aichi—it struck me how well Japanese people look in saris. All my friends looked great in them.

Togas, saris— type of garment with a single piece of fabric you pleat and drape around yourself. I feel like everyone has tried that at least once.

Like wrapping yourself in curtains and pretending it’s a gown—that childhood playfulness comes rushing back with these clothes.

When it was cold, I would wear a blanket like a toga too. Before wearable blankets came along, I would tie it around my waist with string. I also did this with towel blankets. I think I played with sheets too.

So even though I just wrapped it around myself randomly, it looks very much like a sari. I had at least watched some sari-draping videos online.

Kirara is wearing a never-before-seen Otohime-style outfit, and Mimi is dressed in a gothic-lolita-inspired dress. Both look absolutely adorable.

I really wanted luna to wear something cute too, so I consulted Jude beforehand about the dress code for the small party.

And this is what he said:

”The formal, full-dress attire for catfolk is full beast form transformation. It would be easier to dress in casual attire and expose the upper half of the body, but we’ve been told not to do this around humans. Would it be okay to wear this attire for festivals?” 

…He said that after a moment of thought.

I mean, I’d love to see him transformed into full beast mode, but judging by the flow of conversation, it sounds like full transformation means being completely naked. I mean,  yeah, that makes sense. Still, showing up nude is… you know, a bit much. Even half-naked makes it hard to know where to look.

Also, I’m sure that once you transform into a beast, your sense of taste might change too.

My main goal was to dress up luna, but Jude-san’s attire matters too. Hmm…

So I asked him to

”Please just wear your festival outfit, and stay in human form. Also, I’d love to see luna in that  adorable outfit again, pretty please!”

　So, Jude-san is dressed very gentlemanly and sharply today. A three-piece suit? He’s wearing some kind of vest. A good vest is truly a wonderful thing.

He has a broad chest, and it really suits him.

And of course, luna’s cuteness is next-level

At the festival, she wore a very cute dress with thin, fluffy, fluttering fabric that spread out like white feathers. Today she’s wearing a different, cute dress. It’s sleeveless and has a ribbon. It’s so cute, like a princess, I wanted to crown her with a tiara.

The color of the dress was a hazy blue, like the eyes of a kitten—matching luna’s own eye color.

It even feels like it matches my sari, which makes me happy. Maybe that’s why I fell in love with that fabric instantly—it reminded me of luna’s eyes.

Even though it’s just a little party, the food is mostly vegetables—not super party-like. But I hope they’ll forgive me.

It’s just that summer vegetables are starting to come in, and I wanted to use them up.

I prepared some crackers topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and ham—probably the most “party-like” item. Oh, I also have some pizza! I baked some in something that’s kind of like a Dutch oven.

Then there’s: Corn on the cob, Edamame beans, Pumpkin, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Zucchini. All cooked and ready.

Corn is truly a magical crop.

This might be the most party-like thing. Oh, I also have some pizza! I cooked it in a Dutch oven-like thing.

For me, summer means corn!

That’s how much I love it.

The best time to harvest corn is early in the morning, and then boil it as fresh as possible.

There are various  ways to boil corn, but I personally like to keep it simple: add 2% salt to water, bring it to a boil, add the corn, and boil for about 10 minutes.

My favorite corn variety is one that’s miraculously sweet. If grown well, the sugar content exceeds 20%, though even if it doesn’t get that high, it’s still plenty sweet.

The problem is that the germination rate is not good, and the seed price goes up every year, which is frustrating.

Luckily, I found a record of 2 deciliters of seeds I’d bought to split with someone who had a nearby field.

I feel like deciliter is not a unit that is used much anymore.

I don’t think I saw it much after learning about it in school until I started buying seeds as an adult.

At least, because I had that history, I was able to buy the seeds quite cheaply.

It’s really just boiled, but it’s so delicious—I made lots.

I’m also happy about the bountiful harvest of edamame beans that I used to grow at home, which I sowed and grew. Edamame beans are seriously delicious. But, sometimes stink bugs suck the pod and it turns out weirdly flavorless, which is disappointing—but when they’re good, they’re so good.

They’re a bit of a hassle though—you have to snip the tips of the pods, rub them with salt, and then boil them.

I use more salt than with the corn—about 4%, I think.

By the way, why do vegetable varieties often have names like hime dano, taro, or hyoui- names that sound a bit old fashioned? I’ve also seen names like Musume and Maru. Some are almost punny—it’s kind of fun.

Honestly, if you have corn and edamame, that’s already enough for a summer party, don’t you think?

But to round it out, I also made stuffed mini pumpkin bowls. I actually wanted to fill them with pumpkin pudding, but I couldn’t remember the recipe.

The first time I made it, the pumpkin paste sank and it split into two layers…

I also made mapo eggplant, since we had a ton of eggplants harvested. I used that seasoning packet—the one with the name that sounds like a chicken clucking in English.

It’s normally pretty expensive, but I found a purchase record from a sale where I got it for 102 yen.

It’s so easy to get the flavor just right with it, so I used it often.

Because even if I bought those three “jiang”; “doubanjiang” (fried chili bean paste), “tianmianjiang” (sweet bean paste), and “gochujang” (red pepper paste), I’d never be able to use them all up…

Finally, I made ratatouille, just by throwing in whatever summer veggies I had and stewing it down. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all it takes to call it ratatouille.

Drinks include carbonated juice for children and carbonated barley drinks for the adults.

I absolutely love this beer called “Caught in a Sudden Summer Shower”—beer sometimes have such interesting names.

There was even a beer named after a cat.

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