The room with Tsudzura-chan is… lessee.
It’s a pointlessly large mansion, so there’s a chance I’m mistaken, but I think it was this room.
Of course, I’d rather let sleeping girls lie, so I keep my voice down and inquire across the door.
Kei: Tsudzura-cha~n, are you still awake—?
Tsudzura: ……Who is it?
The answer comes fast.
That’s good. It looks like she hasn’t gone to sleep, yet.
That anxious tone in her voice… she must have learned to be cautious, being on a lone journey and all.
Kei: It’s me, it’s me. Kei-oneechan.
Tsudzura: Kei-oneesan?
Kei: Yep. I’m coming in for a bit—
Kei: Good evening, Tsudzura-chan.
Tsudzura: Good evening to you.
Tsudzura: So then, onee-san, what brings you here at a time like this?
Kei: Yeah, I was also thinking it’s really late— but it turns out it really isn’t.
Tsudzura: Ahh, I see now. Onee-san, you are suffering from jet lag.
Kei: Eh? Were there time zones in Japan?
Tsudzura: ……There are none. The farthest reaches of Hokkaidou and Kyuushuu differ by more than fifteen degrees, but they standardized their time to the 135 degree east longitudinal line.
Tsudzura: This depends on the spirit of the times, however, as from 1895 to 1945, the country was divided into central and western time zones.
Kei: Wow… you sure do know a lot, Tsudzura-chan……
Tsudzura: Well, I would at least know that much—— although…
From the top of her head, she takes Obana-chan and sets him on the floor.
……In other words, “setting that aside…”?
Tsudzura: I mean to say that there is a time zone in this house. It was left alone all this time, and the flow of time has changed within it.
Kei: You mean like… in those old stories——
Tsudzura: ——Fufu, it is much like a wandering house, you know~…
Tsudzura-chan, please, your face right now is scary, okay!?
Tsudzura: There are rumors that the inhabitants were spirited away, you see~. For you as well, Kei-oneesan, it is too late to leave without incident, you knoow~?
Kei: Eeeeek!
Tsudzura: This… would be said in jest. Because there is no electricity, here, when you get used to it, your style of living changes.
Tsudzura: The lifestyle of this Tsudzura now, you see, awake before dawn and asleep before sunset— would be an exaggeration, but was a completely natural schedule in the past.
Kei: So that’s it. Actually, I have a friend who’s pretty early to bed and early to rise.
I wonder, if I devote myself to a natural lifestyle like this, will I start speaking as fluidly and unceasingly as this girl does?
In fact, when I’m talking to a person like this, all I have to do is nod and the conversation goes along on its own.
Tsudzura: Well, you will end up this way yourself, Kei-oneesan. After all, you can’t read books when the sun goes down, and compensating with battery-consuming items like flashlights is pointless.
Kei: That’s true.
Tsudzura: In that case, what was it you came to do?
Kei: Eh?
Tsudzura: I mean, why would you be awake at a time like this?
Kei: Ah, about that. I was wondering if maybe you were hungry.
Since I first thought of this, my stomach’s been on the back burner for some time, and is really beginning to complain.
Kei: I have sweets I was planning to pass out to the neighbors, but would you like to eat them with me?
*peri peri* Peeling away the wrapping paper and opening the box, I rush the advance guard and bite an angle into the first of twelve arranged snacks.
Kei: ……*hamu!*
Uuu! It really is good.
Kei: *paku paku mugu mugu* (nibbling and chewing)
Eating through one before I can say “ah!” I reach my hand for the next.
And Tsudzura-chan——
—still isn’t eating, yet.
Kei: Come on, this is the sign that you can get close. By all means.
She drops her eyes and stares at the remaining eleven arranged in the box.
Tsudzura: …………
Kei: Could it be you don’t like manjuu?
Tsudzura: It’s not that I don’t like them……
Tsudzura: ……it could be… I’m afraid.
Kei: Ahaha, if you’re saying “manjuu and hot tea are scary,” I’m afraid this is all I have.
……?
Ah, maybe that’s it… the tea.
Kei: I’m sorry, Tsudzura-chan. They’re hard to eat without a drink, aren’t they? But this is the only one I have……
My half-sized PET bottle is down to half empty. Not only that, but I’ve put my mouth on it, too.
Tsudzura: Please, pay me no mind. Water and salt are the rudiments of survival, so I have proper stores of both, yes.
Kei: Water and manjuu, huh……
Tsudzura: No, no, water alone is enough. In that case, I will humbly partake.
From the corner where I’d taken mine, she takes the next in line in her hands and eats.
Tsudzura: Hoho~ this is quite delicious…
Kei: Well, it’s my region’s signature snack, after all. There are some really good specialty snacks, you know—— wha?
When I reach my hand for the second, the manjuu has a tufty feel to it.
Kei: ……?
It’s strangely ticklish and feels nice.
Tsudzura: Kei-oneesan, that might be edible, but it’s better if you don’t eat it.
Kei: Arya?
It turns out to be Obana-chan. Apparently he was sniffing away at the manjuu smell.
Kei: Does he want to eat some?
Angered at my intervention, the *fusa fusa* sensation runs away.
Uuu… I kinda want to give him a good rub.
Kei: Hey, Tsudzura-chan. Is it alright if I give him a manjuu, you think?
Tsudzura: I think it is. They are an omnivorous species, and they do say “adzuki for foxes.”
Kei: That’s the same as saying “catnip for cats,” right?
Tsudzura: That is correct. And the red bean jam in manjuu is made with adzuki beans.
Kei: Now that you mention it, even in The Fox Prince, the gift they take to see him is botamochi, isn’t it? (TN: Botamochi – Mochi (rice cake) filled with adzuki bean paste.)
(TN: The Fox Prince – as stated already, some foxes are said to be shape shifters, and love to play tricks on humans. One of the more typical stories involves a fox treating a human to a feast, only to have it revert to horse dung when the spell is broken. The Fox Prince turns the tables, with a man who spies a fox taking a woman’s shape, and decides to feign ignorance. He offers the fox a meal at a restaurant, gets her/him drunk, and takes off, leaving the fox prince to pay the bill. When the villagers awaken it, the fox is so surprised, its ears and tail appear, and it’s chased off. The man later hears that a fox is dangerous to cross, so he visits the fox prince and his mother, leaving a gift.
The fox prince says, “Look, mommy, botamochi! It looks so delicious!”
The mother snaps, “Don’t touch that! It could be horse shit!”)
“In that case,” I think, pinching off about a mouthful’s worth from the one I was about to eat, and wave it in front of his eyes.
Kei: Here you go, come closer~ It’s a manjuu~
Tsudzura: Ah, but you know——
So she’s about to speak, and the minute I take my eyes off of him…
My pointer finger floods with heat.
Kei: Eh?
The manjuu falls from my fingers. Before it even hits the ground, Obana-chan jumps back *sutan!*, and lands a great distance away.
Feeling a brimming incongruity with the hand I move to cover my fingers, I lower my eyes.
Moving to puddle in the crease of my life line, a red color spreads out.
Tsudzura: Taha— I knew it. Obana is really the shy type, you see.
Tsudzura: I’m sorry, Kei-oneesan.
Hearing those words, the pain in my finger finally flares to life.
| 素直に謝る | とにかく驚く | 負けてたまるか |
| Apologize honestly | At any rate, be shocked! | Like hell I’m gonna lose! |