Dried Goods Shop
After having a meal, we walked around the town to look for souvenirs for mother and others.
“Phew~ I'm stuffed. Maybe I ate too much?”
“No doubt about it, you definitely overate.”
“Seriously, I’m amazed you managed to eat that much.”
“Is your stomach okay?”
Zack and Sarah looked exasperated, while Anny showed concern.
We stopped by general stores and such to buy souvenirs, and as we wandered further, we reached the outskirts of the shopping district.
“Miss, past here, there’s only this run-down shop run by some old lady who talks weird.”
“What kind of shop is it?”
“Uhh, like dried seaweed and dried mushrooms and stuff?”
Isn’t that a dried goods store? Dried seaweed, like kombu, right? And dried mushrooms—like shiitake?
“I wanna go!!”
Sure enough, the shop looked run-down. Honestly, it was so shabby, you couldn’t even call it “quaint” as a compliment...
“Excuse me~”
“If ya gonna be a bother, ya might as well leave–”
“Aighty~... wait, what the heck!?”
[Ehhh~~~!?]Zack and the others were stunned by my exchange with the old woman, who seemed to be the shopkeeper.
Oops, I accidentally did a manzai-style comeback like in a comedy sketch.
“Ahahaha, you’re a real lively gal, huh. So, what is it? You just window shopping?”
“I’m not just browsing. But before that... do you know a merchant named Taiki?”
“Taiki? ‘Course I do—he’s my grandson. What, you his girl or somethin’?”
The old lady raised her pinky finger.
“No, I’m not. Sorry for the late introduction, I’m Joan, eldest daughter of the Lampail family.”
“Well, well, how polite. I’m Sachiko. You’re Stanley’s daughter, huh? Yeah, I heard from Taiki—you made him some real tasty meso soup. Thanks a bunch.”
“No, no, I should be thanking you. Thanks to Mr. Taiki supplying us with soy sauce, miso, and katsuobushi, I’ve been able to cook a much wider variety of dishes. I really appreciate it.”
Anny already knew about Mr. Taiki, but Sarah and the others didn’t, so I gave them a quick explanation.
“So? What brings you all the way out to a place like this?”
“I heard you sell dried seaweed and mushrooms, so I thought maybe this was a dried goods shop?”
“Bingo. Right now, I’ve got kombu, shiitake, daikon, chili peppers, and some kraken. Oh, and stingray too—”
“I’ll take everything!!”
[Huh!?]Everyone, including Sachiko, was shocked by my big-spender declaration.
“I mean, both kombu and dried shiitake make great broth, kiriboshi daikon is super versatile, chili peppers add that special kick, and dried squid and stingray fin are the best snacks ever! When should I buy it? Right now!!”
I clenched my fist and spoke with passion.
“Pffft, ahahaha! You’re just as funny as I heard. Alright then, I’ll give you the lot. Take it.”
“I’m not that funny... But, how much is it?”
“Didn’t I say I’d give it to you? It’s free.”
“No way!! Nothing’s scarier than ‘free’! … But, at least give me a little discount. And throw in a bonus too.”
“... Heheh, you’re sharp. Alright, how about this? And here’s your bonus. I’ll give you some candy.”
“Thanks. Then, here—this is from me.”
I took out some dried sweet potatoes from my storage.
“What’s this? Dried sweet potatoes? Isn’t it the wrong season for that? I dunno though.”
There it is—the auntie catchphrase: “I dunno though.”
“I made these during the fall. My storage has a time-stop function, so they haven’t gone bad. Probably. I dunno though.”
“You dunno either, huh. Well, thanks. I’ll take ‘em. Oh, hey, wait a sec... Found it! Here, want this, girlie?”
Sachiko brought something out from the back—it was white, square, and hard.
“Is that... mochi!?”
“Knew you’d recognize it. Yup, mochi. You asked Taiki to look for rice, didn’t ya? I was lookin’ too, but this was the only thing in season.”
“Rice is harvested in fall, right? Wait, does that mean we can eat rice in the fall!?”
“Yup. Fresh harvest. Taiki said he’ll go pick it up once it’s ready, so he’ll probably bring it to you after that.”
“Yay~ Thank you, Sachiko!”
“No problem. Oh, but don’t call me Sachiko—call me Sacchan.”
“Ehehe. Thanks, Sacchan.”
We said goodbye to Sachiko—er, Sacchan—and left the store.
“Miss, you’re amazing. Getting along with that old lady. Usually when someone tells you to leave, you’d actually leave.”
“Oh, that? That’s just Sacchan’s way of greeting. She’s not serious—she’s joking.”
“Really? Huh... So, how do you eat the stuff you bought earlier?”
“Well, you soak it in water and stuff. You’ll get what I mean after you try it. I’ll use them for tonight’s dinner.”
“Huh? You can cook, Miss?”
“Guts, almost all the food we’ve eaten since we got here was made by Joan.”
Kira explained to Guts.
“For real? I thought Mack came up with it all... Man, now I’m really looking forward to dinner.”
“Yeah, I’ll make it good.”
As we chatted, we passed through the mansion gates and noticed someone standing on the porch.
“Huh? Brother Noel? And Brother Gene too. What’s going on?”
“Wait, my big bro’s here too.”
Zack had apparently stopped calling Nathan “big brother” and now just called him “big bro.”
“Joan, the three of them have their arms crossed and are standing like statues...”
Anny pointed out.
Looking closely, they were indeed standing firmly, arms crossed.
“We’re back~”
“Joan, what did you do this time?”
Brother Jean asked with a half-smile.
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“Let’s all head to the living room first. Everyone.”
Brother Noel said with a smile... that didn’t reach his eyes.
[Eh.]Everyone in the group said in unison.
What do you think about this chapter?
