Translator: Moongirl
1
I had no plans on the third of January, so I lazed around at home .
「Is pizza for lunch okay?」 Mom asked, and I replied with a yes, heading to the kitchen .
As I took out some frozen pizza from the fridge, Mom started loudly kneading the dough .
「…… . . 」
I liked pizza, but it would take 2 hours to make from scratch . It’d take 1 hour just for the dough to rise .
「Dad, Mom is making homemade pizza for lunch . 」
Dad smiled wryly, came to the kitchen and persuaded Mom to make udon for lunch and leave the pizza for dinner . Getting started on the sauce, Mom also realized we needed some more ingredients for pizza .
2
I wondered how Dad would work out the udon from scratch, but he got some store-bought noodles and cooked them for 10 minutes . We sat in a cozy, happy circle as we slurped our udon .
「Osechi is good too, but I just felt like eating pizza . 」
「You just get tired of it, don’t you?」
「Really? I never get tired of it . 」
Mom and Dad had gotten tired of osechi, but I could still eat it all day .
「Well then, can I have some of the osechi we have?」
They said it was fine, so I mailed Mizuhara, asking if he wanted to eat some osechi and if I could come over . He surprisingly replied in a few minutes .
The subject said 「Datemaki . 」 Maybe datemaki counted as a pastry for Mizuhara?
3
Mizuhara’s mails were just as difficult to understand, even in the new year .
「It’s like I have to play catch with words!」
「Catch and release!」 my mother helpfully added as I fumed .
「Yeah! ……Yeah?」
I didn’t really understand what she said, but I started putting the osechi into a plastic box anyway . 「I’ll be back for pizza!」 I said, and headed towards Mizuhara’s home .
There was no answer when I rang the bell .
「No way… He isn’t home?」
This had never happened before . I groaned, waiting at the door . Deviina was walking around just then, and snuggled into my coat to warm herself .
Mizuhara returned after 40 minutes, holding some large luggage . 「Why are you here right as the new year starts?」 He frowned, letting me in as I shivered .
「You sent a mail that said ‘Datemaki’ so I thought you’d be home!」
「How does ‘Datemaki’ mean I’m home?」
「………Are you saying it’s my own fault?! It’s your fault for replying with ‘Datemaki’ when I asked you if I could come over!」 I yelled, standing at the front door and rubbing my hands .
「I’m kidding . You just came earlier than I expected . 」
Mizuhara turned on the electric carpet and untied the strings of his luggage . Inside was a small electric heater .
Freezing, I cheered and jumped to it .
I walked around Mizuhara as he opened up the cardboard and then handed me the heater . I took off the plastic and styrofoam, plugged it into the socket, and felt the air around me warm up .
「Aah, it’s a high speed type, and so effective…」
Mizuhara, sitting in front of me as I delighted in the heat, looked somewhat tired . 「Are the appliance stores always this crowded?」
「They’re more crowded than usual since there’s new year’s sales everywhere . 」
「They’re more crowded than usual since there’s new year’s sales everywhere . 」
Elated at the warmth, I began to set the osechi onto the table . I’d eaten udon already and I was a moderate eater, but I still felt like digging in right away .
「Here’s the datemaki . 」
Mizuhara first started work on the datemaki, then the kurikinton . Then he pointed his chopsticks at the datemaki, then the kurikinton . Then again, the datemaki, and then the kurikinton .
4
「Rotating is prohibited!」
I took away the two dishes, and pushed the rice, some boiled dishes, kamaboko, and dried anchovies towards him .
「Give me the datemaki . 」
「Like it, don’t you? Mom made this . 」
「So it’s not store-bought…」 Mizuhara closely observed the datemaki, admiring it .
「Mom made a lot of these . Not the kamaboko or herring, though . My dad made the rice . And my grandmother made the black soy beans and anchovies . 」
5
「Hmmm . Is there anything you made?」
「Aah… I did think of making something for new year’s, but the garnish looked like a drowned corpse so I threw it away . 」
「Aah… I did think of making something for new year’s, but the garnish looked like a drowned corpse so I threw it away . 」
「A wise decision . 」
I thought some sort of chemical reaction had occurred, and it changed into something other than food .
「I made these sweets that my grandfather loves . 」 Sponge cake with brown sugar, made through trial and error to get the texture perfectly delicate . My grandfather had lost his appetite as he grew older, but even he could eat this .
It went through several improvements since I kept wondering, should I use wheat flour or bread flour? Should there be less butter? What if I used honey instead of sugar so it’d be healthier?
「The seniors club, protectors of fortune and sweets, would love this . 」
「You’re in the seniors club?」
The mystery that was Mizuhara kept growing further, but since I didn’t want to start worrying right at the beginning of the new year, I stopped asking further .
TL Note: Osechi refers to traditional Japanese food made for celebrating a new year . Most of the dishes mentioned in this chapter are osechi . TL Note: Udon are a kind of thick wheat flour-based noodles, frequently used in Japanese cooking . TL Note: datemaki is a kind of osechi: sweet rolled omelette mixed with fish paste . TL Note: Kurikinton is sweet mashed potatoes with sweet chestnuts . TL Note: Kamaboko is processed fish paste, used often in other dishes . It can also be enjoyed as ‘fish cake’ on its own .
Translator: Moongirl.
1.
I had no plans on the third of January, so I lazed around at home
「Is pizza for lunch okay?」 Mom asked, and I replied with a yes, heading to the kitchen
As I took out some frozen pizza from the fridge, Mom started loudly kneading the dough
「…… 」.
I liked pizza, but it would take 2 hours to make from scratch . It’d take 1 hour just for the dough to rise
「Dad, Mom is making homemade pizza for lunch . 」.
Dad smiled wryly, came to the kitchen and persuaded Mom to make udon for lunch and leave the pizza for dinner . Getting started on the sauce, Mom also realized we needed some more ingredients for pizza
2.
I wondered how Dad would work out the udon from scratch, but he got some store-bought noodles and cooked them for 10 minutes . We sat in a cozy, happy circle as we slurped our udon
「Osechi is good too, but I just felt like eating pizza . 」.
「You just get tired of it, don’t you?」.
「Really? I never get tired of it . 」.
Mom and Dad had gotten tired of osechi, but I could still eat it all day
「Well then, can I have some of the osechi we have?」.
They said it was fine, so I mailed Mizuhara, asking if he wanted to eat some osechi and if I could come over . He surprisingly replied in a few minutes
The subject said 「Datemaki . 」 Maybe datemaki counted as a pastry for Mizuhara?.
3.
Mizuhara’s mails were just as difficult to understand, even in the new year
「It’s like I have to play catch with words!」.
「Catch and release!」 my mother helpfully added as I fumed
「Yeah! ……Yeah?」.
I didn’t really understand what she said, but I started putting the osechi into a plastic box anyway . 「I’ll be back for pizza!」 I said, and headed towards Mizuhara’s home
There was no answer when I rang the bell
「No way… He isn’t home?」.
This had never happened before . I groaned, waiting at the door . Deviina was walking around just then, and snuggled into my coat to warm herself
Mizuhara returned after 40 minutes, holding some large luggage . 「Why are you here right as the new year starts?」 He frowned, letting me in as I shivered
「You sent a mail that said ‘Datemaki’ so I thought you’d be home!」.
「How does ‘Datemaki’ mean I’m home?」.
「………Are you saying it’s my own fault?! It’s your fault for replying with ‘Datemaki’ when I asked you if I could come over!」 I yelled, standing at the front door and rubbing my hands
「I’m kidding . You just came earlier than I expected . 」.
Mizuhara turned on the electric carpet and untied the strings of his luggage . Inside was a small electric heater
Freezing, I cheered and jumped to it
I walked around Mizuhara as he opened up the cardboard and then handed me the heater . I took off the plastic and styrofoam, plugged it into the socket, and felt the air around me warm up
「Aah, it’s a high speed type, and so effective…」.
Mizuhara, sitting in front of me as I delighted in the heat, looked somewhat tired . 「Are the appliance stores always this crowded?」.
「They’re more crowded than usual since there’s new year’s sales everywhere . 」.
Elated at the warmth, I began to set the osechi onto the table . I’d eaten udon already and I was a moderate eater, but I still felt like digging in right away
「Here’s the datemaki . 」.
Mizuhara first started work on the datemaki, then the kurikinton . Then he pointed his chopsticks at the datemaki, then the kurikinton . Then again, the datemaki, and then the kurikinton
4.
「Rotating is prohibited!」.
I took away the two dishes, and pushed the rice, some boiled dishes, kamaboko, and dried anchovies towards him
「Give me the datemaki . 」.
「Like it, don’t you? Mom made this . 」.
「So it’s not store-bought…」 Mizuhara closely observed the datemaki, admiring it
「Mom made a lot of these . Not the kamaboko or herring, though . My dad made the rice . And my grandmother made the black soy beans and anchovies . 」.
5.
「Hmmm . Is there anything you made?」.
「Aah… I did think of making something for new year’s, but the garnish looked like a drowned corpse so I threw it away . 」.
「A wise decision . 」.
I thought some sort of chemical reaction had occurred, and it changed into something other than food
「I made these sweets that my grandfather loves . 」 Sponge cake with brown sugar, made through trial and error to get the texture perfectly delicate . My grandfather had lost his appetite as he grew older, but even he could eat this
It went through several improvements since I kept wondering, should I use wheat flour or bread flour? Should there be less butter? What if I used honey instead of sugar so it’d be healthier?.
「The seniors club, protectors of fortune and sweets, would love this . 」.
「You’re in the seniors club?」.
The mystery that was Mizuhara kept growing further, but since I didn’t want to start worrying right at the beginning of the new year, I stopped asking further
. TL Note: Osechi refers to traditional Japanese food made for celebrating a new year . Most of the dishes mentioned in this chapter are osechi . TL Note: Udon are a kind of thick wheat flour-based noodles, frequently used in Japanese cooking . TL Note: datemaki is a kind of osechi: sweet rolled omelette mixed with fish paste . TL Note: Kurikinton is sweet mashed potatoes with sweet chestnuts . TL Note: Kamaboko is processed fish paste, used often in other dishes . It can also be enjoyed as ‘fish cake’ on its own .
Chapter end
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