人与ZO〇交

"And who\'s this escort?"

I had grown accustomed to this exchange. Every time Leon came to the store, Ayano-san would tease him like this. She knows that Leon can change his appearance into that of a cute cat.

"I have something to discuss with you today, Ayano-san. May I have a moment of your time?"

"No problem. I just saw the last of my customers."

Ayano-san switched the store\'s sign to "In the Process of Preparations".

We were taken to the usual private room, where Ayano-san brought us sweets and tea.

"...So, tell me, what\'s the deal?"

"Well, we have decided to hold a Peace and Harmony Sweets Cafe as part of the school festival. I would like to make some Hinoshima confections for the class, do you have any confections that are easy to make?"

Ayano-san tilted her head and thought about it.

"Yurie and Chris can make sweets, but the problem lies with the other children. They must have grown up in aristocratic or wealthy families, right? They probably have never been in a kitchen before."

"That\'s not a problem. After the summer festival, baking became popular among the girls in our class. Most of the girls in my class can do simple cooking."

"That\'s not a problem then."

After the festival, the girls of Class A would gather in the school\'s kitchen two or three times a month to bake sweets.

The first time was when I started teaching Alice and Sophie, with whom I had become good friends, how to make simple sweets. Word of mouth spread to the other girls, and now almost everyone enjoys making sweets together.

"However, the wagashi is very pretty, but it takes a lot of time and effort, so it\'s not easy for beginners. Oh, yes! What about fried sweets that you can send home?"

"Deep-fried sweets?"

Ayano-san invited us into her kitchen and showed us how to make them.

On the worktable, I saw an unfamiliar pastry. It looked like a manju bun, but it smelled savory.

"Ayano-san, what kind of pastry is this?"

"Ah. That. It\'s called tempura manju. All you have to do is dip the bun in batter and deep-fry it. Would you like to try it?"

All three of us picked one up to taste it. Ah, Leon has one in each hand, so that makes two.

The batter was still hot from being fried. When we took a bite as it cooled down, the batter made a nice crisp sound and the bun on the inside smelled amazing.

"Delicious!"

"Hey, Chris. Do you think we can sell these tempura buns?"

"Certainly. If we wrap them in paper, we can sell them as take-out, which might be good."

And they go well with green tea.

"Hey. Hey, I\'m taking these tempura buns home. Ayano, get them ready for me."

There should have been about five more buns left on the plate, but they were all gone. Leon had devoured them with a single gulp.

"Those are not for sale. Those sweets are a part of a tradition that doesn\'t exist in this country."

"What kind of tradition?"

Ayano-san explained with a troubled face.

"In Hinoshima, we have \'\'Higan\'\' days in spring and autumn, when we remember our ancestors and the deceased.

On Higan, we make these tempura buns and offer them to the deceased. I make these tempura buns and offer them to the deceased during the "Hishigan" period, but this is a custom practiced in a region of Hinoshima called Shinano."

According to Ayano, her maternal grandfather was from that region.

"I like these tempura buns so much that sometimes I feel like eating them, even when it\'s not higan."

"I see what you mean! They are delicious. Ayano-san, can you teach me how to make tempura buns?"

"What! You are going to serve this at the school festival? They are not considered auspicious, so I don\'t recommend it."

The original purpose is as an offering. But I liked them too because they were savory and tasty.

"It doesn\'t matter in Finlandia. I like these sweets too."

"Yes. Well, then I won\'t stop you. ......"

"If it\'s an offering, shouldn\'t it be offered to me?"

Leon is missing the point.

As Ayano was teaching me how to make tempura buns, a familiar voice sounded.

"O~i! Ayano around? I came here to eat some sweets."

It was Tojurou-san.

"She\'s in the kitchen! You can come in!"

With Ayano-san\'s permission, Tojurou-san stealthily entered the kitchen. He was followed by Kikuno-sama.

"Oh, you\'re here too, Kikunon?"

I could hear the ground shaking behind Kikuno-sama.

"Ayano, how many times have I told you to stop calling me that in public?

"Ehh! Don\'t you think it\'s cute though!? Ah, not this! Please stop! Kikunon. Kyahahahahaha ......"

"Bad children who don\'t listen will be punished."

Kikuno-sama started tickling Ayano-san. It seems that Kikuno-sama\'s punishment was a tickling.

"What happens when you do something bad?"

"Kya~! Hahaha! Gu~~! Hahaha! Sorr~~y~~!

"Very well"

When Ayano-san apologized, Kikuno-sama stopped tickling her.

What? You guys were here too?"

Tojurou-san, seeing Chris and me deep-frying buns in his line of sight, picked up a freshly fried tempura bun and started eating it.

"Oh my! It\'s a tempura bun. This brings back memories."

Kikuno-sama also took out her chopsticks from the pocket of her kimono and picked one up. She always carries chopsticks with her.

We invited Sotaro-san from the blacksmith shop next door and drank tea while eating the freshly fried tempura buns.

"Yurie, I haven\'t seen you since the Royal Ball, how are you?"

"Yes. Sorry for worrying you, Kikuno-sama."

The day after the royal ball, Kikuno-sama sent me a letter through Tojurou-san.

---I can\'t come to visit you because of work, but I want you to be careful.-- The letter was written in flowing letters and asked me to rely on her if I needed anything.

"Even the classmates were also...... worried ...... about Yurie, and they were ...... clamoring ...... crunchcrunch. ...... munch. They want to keep her away from the ...... gulp!

"Either you talk or you eat."

Sotaro-san jabbed at Tojurou-san, who was talking while eating a bun.

"Totally ...... gmogugm...... Hikoshiro is ...... crunchcrunch...... badly behaved. ...... gulp!"

"You too, Leon."

Tojurou-san and Leon are doing the exact same thing, and I\'m the one who\'s doing the poking.

"Yurie, that was a disaster. They say a rumor lasts 75 days, so you\'ve got about two and a half months to go."

"Ayano, that\'s no consolation at all."

Kikuno-sama poked Ayano-san this time.

I started to laugh.

"Ayano-san is right. The nobles like to talk about new things, so I\'m sure it will be forgotten soon enough."

"Don\'t worry! I will protect Rio for the rest of my life."

"And I will be with you! I\'ll be with you forever!"

Everybody\'s concern made me so happy that I felt something hot flowing from my eyes even though I was laughing.

For the record, Leon did not win the lottery that day either.

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T/N:

ec914064-05c1-47bd-a3e7-a483bdc2e7f2.jpg Neri-kiri (練り切り) Wagashi

Higan: “​is a Buddhist holiday exclusively celebrated in Japan during both the Spring and Autumnal Equinox. It is observed by nearly every Buddhist sect in Japan. The tradition extends from mild weather that occurs during the time of equinoxes, though the origin of the holiday dates from Emperor Shomu in the 8th century. People who normally worked in the fields had more leisure time to evaluate their own practices, and to make a renewed effort to follow Buddhism.”

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TL: Hey guys~ another heartwarming chapter, hope you enjoyed! And happy reading~!