With an energetic voice, Hina-chan brought the pestle down, creating a loud sound with a speed and power unimaginable from her youth.
Specializing in Body Strengthening Magic, Hina-chanās physical abilities, even when restrained, were far beyond those of an average adult maleā¦ā¦ Aoi-chan, who was in charge of mixing the mochi, was pale from the overwhelming speed of the mallet.
[Hou~~ As expected of a pro, youāre so skilled. If I helped, Iād just get in the way. Maybe I should leave the zouni-making to Kaori.]
[I donāt mind. After all, Iām technically a professional chef. Iām used to cooking for large groups, so this number of people is no problem for me aloneā¦ā¦ Wait, Akane-san, what are you taking out there?]
[Well, I thought Iād leave the zouni to you and make some takoyakiā¦ā¦]
Elsewhere, Kaori-san was making zouni while Akane-san, who had pulled out the takoyaki maker sheād received from Eden-san, began making takoyaki.
Since it was New Yearās, it was decided that weād take the opportunity to hold a New Yearās gathering with fellow folks from the same homeworld. All the Otherworlders living in Trinia were gathered in the garden of my home, the venue for today.
[Seigi-kun, what are you preparing over there?]
[Eh? Ahh, Iām slicing toasted mochi into smaller pieces and putting them on bread with pizza sauce, cheese, and salami to make a kind of mock pizzaā¦ā¦]
ā¦ā¦Is this guy a genius? I never thought of combining mochi with pizza sauce, but the idea of a mochi pizza sounded really delicious.
While marveling at Seigi-kunās creativity, I mashed sweet potatoes to make kurikinton. We arenāt making a full-fledged osechi meal, but I was preparing various dishes with a New Yearās feel.
(Note: Kurikinton (Candied Chestnuts and Mashed Potatoes) is a staple in osechi ryori, a box filled with a variety of traditional Japanese New Yearās dishes.)
Of course, not everyone was cooking. If everyone joined in, as expected, thereād be too many hands. Shigenobu-san and my parents were taking it easy.
Incidentally, Shigenobu-san and Dad were currently playing shogi, while Mom and Hannah-san watched.
[ā¦ā¦Guh, w- wait.]
[Fufu, alright. How many moves back?]
[ā¦ā¦Eight, please. Man, Kazuya-san, youāre strong at shogiā¦ā¦]
Unlike me, Dad was generally skilled at board games, and apparently, he had even won a small shogi tournament in the past. Though not at a professional level, he claimed to be significantly better than the average person.
[Hmm, maybe I should help out after allā¦ā¦]
[ā¦ā¦Akari-san, Iām not familiar with the rules of shogi, so if you could explain themā¦ā¦]
[Oh, right. I canāt just leave Hannah-san behind, either.]
By the way, one of the reasons why my mom wasnāt involved in the cooking was that she had a unique problem with it. She wasnāt bad in the sense of making terrible-tasting dishes or adding strange tweaks, and she followed the measurements correctly butā¦ā¦ when it came to things like grilling or mixing, her sense was catastrophically off. The result was that she always ended up making dishes that were, in some inexplicable way, just not very tasty.
Hannah-san, who had probably heard about this from Dad, was skillfully stopping Mom from getting involved in the cooking.
On a different note, my mom was terribly bad at board games. It wasnāt like me, where I had no sense for it at all, but rather that she just wasnāt good at games that require thinking.
She had been in sports clubs throughout middle and high school, and despite her small build, she preferred active sports over anything that involved using her head.
[No, Iām almost done here too.]
[Okay, then Iāll go help Neunn-san.]
[Got it.]
After speaking to Seigi-kun, I moved to help Neun-san, who was cooking elsewhere. Naturally, Neun-san was part of the all-Otherworlders gathering.
When I first brought Neun-san along, Akane-san and the Shigenobu couple were quite shocked, but I got told āā¦ā¦I get why you couldnāt tell us before, but can I punch you once anyway?ā by Akane-san.
Neun-san was grilling a whole sea bream and cooking a little apart due to the cooking equipment. When I approached, I found her in a kappÅgi apron.
[Neun-san, weāre almost done over here. Do you need help?]
[Help? Iām just about to finish things up here, so not reallyā¦ā¦ But since youāre here, how about helping me taste-testā¦ā¦ How is it?]
[Itās great. The flesh is tender and delicious.]
[Glad you like it. Then it seems weāre all set.]
[By the way, Mom mentioned something about not eating sea bream on the first dayā¦ā¦]
[Not eating sea bream? Oh, perhaps she was referring to nirami-tai?]
As I helped Neun-san clean up the cookware after taste-testing, I recalled what Mom had said and asked about it.
[Nirami-tai?]
[Yes, isnāt Kaito-sanās mother from Western Japan? I wouldnāt say that this is the case everywhere there, but in Western Japan, thereās a custom called nirami-tai, where a salted grilled sea bream is placed on the dining table and not touched during the first three days of the New Year, only to be reheated and eaten on the fourth day.]
[Heehhh, thatās an interesting custom.]
[The way people spend New Yearās can vary a lot by region, so there are probably many customs Iām not aware of. Now, letās bring the food.]
[Got it. Iāll carry thisā¦ā¦ Ah, no, sorry. I just realized thereās something else I need to take care ofā¦ā¦]
[Oh, I see. If itās her, if itās not Kaito-sanā¦ā¦ Just leave this side to me.]
I was about to carry the food with Neun-san, but as soon as I felt a presence and turned my gazeā¦ā¦ I saw Makina-san, looking like she wanted to join, gazing at us from a bit further away.
Now, what should I doā¦ā¦ As someone who loves her children, Makina-san must want to be part of this gathering where her children are all together. Still, maybe sheās trying to be considerate by not suddenly jumping right into the center?
[ā¦ā¦No, itās not like that. After having a discussion with Shallow Vernal-sama, it was decided that neither Shallow Vernal-sama nor Makina would participate on their own. However, if invited by Kaito-san, then thatās a different matter. It looks like sheās giving you a hint that she wants to be invited.]
[ā¦ā¦Ah, I see. So thatās how it isā¦ā¦]
Alice explained to me, and I fully understood. It seemed like Makina-san was trying to follow the agreement with Shiro-san, but she couldnāt quite let go of the desire to participate. I gave a wry smile while looking at her and spoke to Alice.
[Alice, sorry butā¦ā¦]
[Hahhā¦ā¦ fine, I get it. Just treat me to something later, okay?]
[Thanks, I appreciate it.]
It would be too cruel to exclude Makina-san from participating, but at the same time, if she joined in this situation, sheād definitely go wild.
So, I decided to handle it the same way we did at the previous ship party, telling Makina-san that it would be fine for her to join as Eden-san, but sheād need to follow the same precautions we used back then.
I do feel a bit apologetic to Alice, who would be the one to keep Makina-san in check if she started to go off the railsā¦ā¦ but it seemed like she genuinely wanted to fulfill her best friendās wish, so despite her wry smile, she agreed.
Well, like Akane-san and Kaori-san, the other Otherworlders seemed to have some admiration for Eden-san, so even if Eden-san joined, there would likely be no complaints.
Seeing Makina-san jump with excitement at my suggestion, I exchanged a glance with Alice and couldnāt help but smile wryly again.
[Afterword]
Serious-senpai: [W- What!? Seigi-san got lines in such a short timeā¦ā¦ So this must be the New Yearās Miracleā¦ā¦]
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