MTL: Dexter, Kael
FTL(Hardest Part): KayL
TLC/Editor: Alisa
Final Editors: Kakarotto (aka G-String)
Note: We are using the Chinese Official Translation and Original Japanese Raw in our translations. Our Editors and Raw Readers (Translators) have done their best to give you the best quality English translation. We hope you enjoy reading Chiramune as much we do!
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16
After that, we leisurely strolled through Kenrokuen Garden, a famous tourist spot along with the Higashi Teahouse District, and returned our rented kimonos before heading back to the station.
About half of the sky had already been painted in indigo blue, and before we knew it, the night had fallen.
It was only a short while ago that the sky would still be somewhat bright at 7 pm. Every year around this time, a similar sense of loneliness tended to linger.
It was a little early for dinner, but since we had eaten lunch early, we bought our return tickets and then entered the oden shop located in the commercial facility at Kanazawa Station.
By the way, when we were discussing what to eat, I absentmindedly said “Hachiban Ramen?”, remembering the restaurant that was in front of Go Go Curry. However, I was instantly shot down with, “Just eat that in Fukui!”
I wasn’t even serious about the suggestion, but wasn’t their rejection a bit harsh?
Yuzuki was the one who brought up that Kanazawa was famous for its oden.
Nazuna and I imagined a place like an Izakaya where adults drink alcohol, so honestly, we were a little hesitant.
But Yuzuki was right on the money, as usual.
She had done her research beforehand, and the restaurant was located just inside the transparent automatic doors of the commercial facility, with an open space that could be seen from the ticket gate. There were no walls or partitions, and chairs were lined up along the counter that surrounded the kitchen in a “U” shape.
The atmosphere was like a small café or Italian bar, and if it hadn’t been for the handwritten menu board at the top, I don’t think we would have noticed it was an Oden restaurant just by looking at the exterior.
Although some people were drinking alcohol, there was a sense of security with the normal pedestrian traffic passing behind, and it didn’t seem like the kind of place where people would stay until they were completely drunk.
It was the kind of place where you could have a quick drink before getting on a train or Shinkansen.
Most importantly, it was an atmosphere where even three high school girls could eat comfortably.
Yuzuki wouldn’t boast or explain about it, but knowing her, she must have considered those aspects when choosing the place. This kind of thoughtfulness of hers was smart and cool.
As I was thinking about these things…
“I’m glad Yuzuki is here,” Nazuna, who was seated to my right, spoke up, “If it had just been me and Yuuko, we might have ended up going to Hachiban after Go go Curry!”
“Hey, that’s mean! I could have done it if I tried!”
“People who are capable usually just get it done without being told.”
“Ugh…”
Well, she had a point.
Some people just have a knack for discovering new and exciting places, like a sixth sense.
I, on the other hand, would have just looked up the top-ranked restaurants on a review site and gone from there. I’d probably try to find a place that looked more like a hidden gem and that would surprise them more obviously.
Of course, Yuzuki would go to those kinds of places too, but at the same time, she could casually suggest tourist-friendly restaurant in such a prominent location in the station. It was impressive.
After all, if you lacked confidence in you own taste, you might feel intimidated for suggesting a place that could be considered too basic.
Take this place, for example. I probably would have walked right past it, treating it like part of the scenery. But after Yuzuki pointed it out, I realized it has a trendy atmosphere and was a perfect spot for girls to enjoy some local specialty oden without worrying about missing the train. It’s perfect for our needs.
Lost in thought, I suddenly realized that our order had arrived. I must have been hungrier than I thought because I ended up ordering a lot more than I intended to.
Among them was “shafu” and “Umegai” which were the signature dishes of Kanazawa-style oden.
As I gazed down at my plate, I asked, “Hey, hey, what kind of oden ingredients do you two like? For me, it’s mochi-filled pouches!”
I remembered feeling happy as a kid whenever I saw those pouches in my oden. I wonder why, maybe because we didn’t really get to eat mochi outside of New Year’s, so it felt like a little treat.
Picking up a pair of chopsticks that seemed fancier than the ones you got at convenience stores, Nazuna opened her mouth.
“Hmm, for me it’s the classic combination of egg and daikon radish. Especially when you buy it at a convenience store, the yolk crumbles and floats in the melted broth with mustard. I always end up drinking it all even though I know I shouldn’t.”
Upon hearing that, Yuzuki looked past me towards Nazuna, “Really? Well, that’s a relief. Apparently this place prides itself on its ‘drinkable broth’.”
“Wow, that’s a strong claim.”
“Don’t worry, oden is low in calories.”
“Not that it matters too much after we just had Go Go Curry for lunch.”
Feeling the weight of their glances from both sides, I unconsciously scratched my cheek.
“Well, it’s not that I eat them because they’re healthy, but…” Yuzuki continued, “Personally, I love shirataki noodles. Although they’re so thin, I can’t fit an entire bundle in my mouth at once, so I end up untangling them.”
“”……Pffft!””
With our hands covering our mouths, we couldn’t help but laugh.
We tried to keep it down since we’re in a restaurant, but that only made harder to suppress.
Nazuna’s shoulders were shaking as she spoke up, “Don’t spring weird stuff on us out of nowhere.”
“And in such a serious tone too.”
At our unexpected reaction, Yuzuki bit her lips as she looked down shyly, “R-Really? I thought it was a pretty common…”
I patted her shoulder, “I know what you mean. But imagining you excitedly searching for the untangled shirataki was just adorable.”
“I-I’m not that excited about it!”
“Were you like ‘oh, there’s still one left!‘ or something?”
“How much do you like shirataki, Yuzuki?”
The three of us laughed for a while before finally starting to eat the oden.
Yuzuki immediately reached for the shirataki noodles, but then quickly switched to the daikon radish as if she remembered our conversation from earlier. It felt nice to see her act like a regular high schooler once in a while, especially since she’s usually so composed.
As I looked at the pot, wondering what to eat first, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“Wait, do people in Kanazawa put mustard on their oden?”
I had assumed that the yellow spice served on the side was just regular mustard, but upon closer inspection, I noticed tiny brown grains mixed in with it.
“No,” Yuzuki replied, checking the menu. “It says here that it’s a local specialty from Fukui called jigarashi. They grind whole mustard seeds, which makes it look like mustard.”
“Oh, I see. You know, it feels a bit strange to see something Fukui-related outside of the prefecture. It makes me proud for some reason.”
“Yeah, I guess I can understand that feeling.”
“It’s not like it has anything to do with us, though,” I added, taking a bite of chikuwa with a dab of mustard.
The texture was chewy, and the taste of dashi filled my mouth. It was a delicate and gentle flavor compared to the fish sauce I tasted in Higashi Teahouse District, which had a unique flavor.
The mustard from Fukui had a much stronger spiciness and fragrance compared to the tube version. It was delicious, but I was glad I didn’t put it on too much.
“I wonder…” Nazuna muttered, “When we become adults, do you think we’ll come to places like this to drink after work?”
Looking around, I saw businessmen with their large suitcases, perhaps on their way home from a business trip, and women in suits enjoying their beer and sake.
I put down my chopsticks before answering, “I can’t really imagine it, but it does sound kind of appealing. My mom always looks so happy when she’s drinking wine at home.”
With a mischievous look, Nazuna gazed at me and lifted the corner of her mouth, “I find it harder to picture you working than drinking alcohol.”
“Eh, I think I could rock a suit and red-rimmed glasses.”
“Setting aside that I’m not talking about fashion, what you just described sounds like cosplay.”
Yuzuki, who had been listening, chuckled in amusement.
“I can already imagine her calling me to Izakaya and talking about her work problem, ‘Hey Yuzuki, how do I use the printer?!’“
“Wait a minute! Isn’t that level of problem a bit too low?”
After I pointed it out, Nazuna chimed in.
“Well, at least it would feel like she’s growing in her job, but I can still imagine her struggling with love as an adult. Like, ‘Recently, Saku has been too busy and won’t reply to my texts.’“
“…Just to be clear, are we dating by that point?”
“Nope, it’s still a one-sided love.”
“How many years will it have been by then?!”
We laughed and joked around.
On this night of our trip, in a restaurant that was just a little bit fancier, and the unfamiliar air of a faraway land.
Perhaps due to these factors, our moods were more excited than usual.
“Speaking of which,” Nazuna said, “Do you think we’ll still keep in touch even after we start working?”
There was a sadness in her tone, somewhat akin to resignation.
When I found myself at a loss for words, Yuzuki answered.
“It’s not uncommon for friends who used to hang out every day in high school to lose touch once they graduate,” she said in a tone that was more matter-of-fact than sentimental.
Perhaps Yuzuki, who was much more mature than me, had already accepted this as a natural part of life.
“True,” Nazuna continued, “Besides, we don’t even know if we’ll be still in Fukui.”
“Aside from Yuuko who hasn’t decided yet, since both Nazuna and I want to attend colleges outside of the prefecture, isn’t it possible we might just end up working here instead?”
“Wait, does that mean if I find a boyfriend at Kanazawa University and we get married, this place will become my home? I can’t even imagine that.”
“At least you wouldn’t have to worry about where to buy clothes anymore.”
“But wouldn’t that be a bit boring?”
“Well, these kinds of nights won’t last forever.”
“Then…”
Before I knew it, the words had slipped from my mouth.
“──Let’s make a promise.”
I could feel the two of them turning towards me.
Staring off into the distance, I continued as if handing them a letter.
“Let’s meet here again in ten years, at the end of summer, the three of us.”
Of course, no one knew if this promise would ever come true.
There was no assurance that the promise we made as children would still be important to us as adults.
Even if we did remember, it might be something that could be easily broken with a trivial excuse like being busy with work or feeling tired.
Even so, I continued.
“Let’s go shopping together, walk around the streets in kimono, and eat Go Go Curry and Oden.”
…One day, we might look back on this night and use it as a clue to return to those days.
We would listen to the J-POP that we’re listening to at the moment, reminisce about the school blazers that we’d soon wear as the change of season approached, and talk about the boys we liked.
It would be like the time we gave our parents a massage coupon with no expiration date when we were little.
Just when we had forgotten about it, someone might pull it out, teasingly saying “remember this?” and we still would reluctantly do it.
I felt like leaving at least one promise like that tonight.
“That’s a great idea,” said Nazuna, propping her chin up with her hand and looking at me, “I wonder if we still can play around in kimonos ten years from now.”
“You’ll definitely still wear clothes that show your belly buttons.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Or maybe we’ll be amazing moms taking care of our kids by then.”
“Now that would be crazy! What if someone end up in matching outfits with their kids?”
Clunk. The ice cubes in Yuzuki’s oolong tea cup made a sound.
“Alright, let’s make a promise. The three of us will drink and reminisce about our seventeen-year-old selves until morning.”
She placed her glass down and extended her pinky finger.
“And when that time comes, no matter who ended up with whom in life, there won’t be any grudges. If Yuuko finds happiness, tell me all your complaints that could make me feel disillusioned.”
I gently wrapped my pinky around hers.
“Then if Yuzuki ends up happy, tell me a super sweet story that will makes me believe that my love wasn’t a mistake.”
Hey, who is the person you like, Yuzuki?
I nearly blurted out the question that I already knew the answer to.
It wasn’t meant to be a warning or a declaration of war, but simply because I wanted to talk about the person we liked with this girl.
But for now, let’s put that on hold and entrust it to our future selves, ten years from now.
Instead of words, we rubbed our pinky fingers together, almost as if to confirm each other’s thoughts.
Ah, I see. There’s an interpretation like this too.
Suddenly, a knot was tied, and our lives become intertwined.
Perhaps this was how it would always be, the two of us weaving a pattern with the single red thread between us
Please, let me pray for it.
──To wish that this is our game of cat’s cradle.
No matter who held the last string in the end, I hoped we could smile and say it was beautiful.
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Translator notes:
おでん (oden) is a traditional Japanese one-pot dish that consists of various ingredients, such as boiled eggs, daikon radish, konjac, and fish cakes, stewed in a light soy-flavored dashi broth.
車麩 (shafu) is a type of wheat gluten that is shaped like a wheel and often used in Japanese cuisine as a meat substitute or as an ingredient in stews and soups.
梅貝 (umegai) is a type of pickled plum that is commonly used as a topping for oden and other Japanese dishes. It has a sour and salty flavor that can add a tangy kick to the dish.
しらたき (shirataki) is a type of noodle-like ingredient that is commonly used in Japanese cuisine and is also a popular ingredient in oden. It is made from konjac yam, which is a type of root vegetable.
Chikuwa is a type of fish cake that is commonly used as an ingredient in Japanese oden. It is a tube-shaped cake made from a mixture of fish paste, wheat flour, and seasonings, and has a slightly chewy texture. Chikuwa is usually sliced into rounds and simmered in the broth of the oden along with other ingredients.
Plebian Translation 