Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!, Volume 3, page 3
How strange. It made me think that maybe this world, which I once thought of as completely uninteresting, was actually a fun and amazing place, after all. Maybe I was spacing out. She was apparently expecting a reply, because she nudged me under the table with her bunny slippers. I nodded.
“That’s good, and I’m glad. I want you to enjoy it as much as possible.”
“Don’t mind if I do. Now, let’s eat. The delicious bread is going to get cold.”
She finally released the jam bottle, and I received it carefully. I opened the lid and smelled the sweet aroma of strawberries, and I had a feeling it was going to be absolutely delicious.
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I placed my arms on the brown fence and looked at the surrounding scenery. The sky still had remnants of its morning’s colors, and it was soon to turn into a beautiful blue. The river flowing before me was illuminated with the spring sun, dyeing the rows of trees with recently fallen cherry blossoms. The sound of the flowing river somehow felt different from its counterpart in the dream world. That was likely because they were constructed with concrete here, and there weren’t any boulders or rocks for the water to hit. I loved the uninhibited nature in the fantasy world, and I really loved enjoying the scenery as I spent my time fishing. As for the girl, she had changed into a laced one-piece dress for going out and was crouched down for some reason. Looking closer, I realized there was a cat with tiger stripes squirming around on the ground. The girl’s braids were wavering around at the same time, and the cat was reaching both paws toward them.
“Oh my, just look at you. Your tummy is so round. It must be full of tasty food, huh? I’m envious!”
The cat purred audibly as it continued to wriggle around slovenly, seeming as if it was about to giggle out loud. They continued on like this for some time, but the cat seemed to be satisfied after a while and stood up, then meowed as if to thank her. Marie waved goodbye, and then they parted to enjoy their respective days off. And so, the cat went back to its stroll. The girl walked over to me, not even trying to hide her smile as she said, “So adorable.” I reached out my hand, which she squeezed lightly, and I began walking along the riverbed with the humming elf girl.
“Seems like you’ve really been getting along with that cat. And your hair looks good on you, by the way.”
“Hehe, thank you. I never really paid too much attention to my hair, but everyone has a different hairstyle in this country. I thought I’d try changing things up, too.” She wiggled both her braids as she said so. Her characteristic long elven ears were currently hidden with the magical item Wridra had given us. Thanks to that, Marie was able to enjoy the culture of trying out different hairstyles. “I’ll have to thank Wridra. I’m a bit surprised, though. I thought she would want to come to Japan with us.”
“She said she wants to observe the campsite tonight. They should be explaining the plan on raiding the labyrinth at the night meeting.”
She made a noncommittal noise, and she seemed to still have some doubts as she tilted her head. I felt that her instinct was correct. Wridra didn’t say it outright, but she probably decided against coming here out of courtesy for us. I still distinctly remembered the side profile of her face the previous night. Her expression told me she wanted to come play with us, but had reluctantly given up on the idea. Thinking about it, maybe she was actually a kindhearted woman. Though, she did kill me immediately after we first met, so I couldn’t say much about that.
“Speaking of which, I was surprised when you chose Labor for your secondary skill.” Marie blinked in response. That day, the staff created by the Arkdragon and Neko bestowed a secondary skill, which was different from primary skills, to her. Marie had gained an additional skill slot as a result, and she had selected Labor without hesitation.
“Of course I did. I’m a spirit sorcerer, and when I fought alongside you that one time, it became painfully obvious that I should learn to utilize spirit magic better.”
“That one time? Oh, when we fought those bandits. Now that you mention it, you were shooting magic using those spirits.” She had controlled multiple spirits back then to pin down a monster that was estimated to be around level 100. I suspected this wasn’t something that anyone else could do.
“We’ll have to think about coordinating even better from now on, right? To do that, we’ll need to forget about conventional methods and make the best use of our advantage of having a spirit sorceress on the team. More specifically, not with destructive magic that has a high area of effect, but with spells that will let us maneuver more efficiently.”
“Hmm... I can’t really picture what you’re getting at, but coordinating with you sounds fun. You do have a lot more available options compared to most.”
Marie proudly puffed out her chest. Marie did, in fact, have more than double the amount of options in any given situation compared to other sorcerers. To be more specific, I was referring to the wide array of offensive spells and spirit magic that she could use when the situation called for it. I suspected she’d be able to demonstrate a great deal of prowess as long as she had the time to make preparations.
“But we’ll be constantly moving forward in the labyrinth, so we might not have time to prepare for the most part. Like at a hall closed off with a door. Maybe I should buy some time in such cases.”
“Oh, I was thinking about that, too. You’re good at maneuvering around without taking any damage, so I think we’ll make a good team.”
I was looking forward to it. This feeling reminded me of how I would feel when I played games. Customizing skills and specializing in order to efficiently take out enemies. Even if I failed at first, there was nothing better than overcoming the obstacle by adapting and improving over time. I’d lose sleep―or rather, I was already asleep, and I would find myself completely engrossed in the process. And unlike studying for a test, the results came immediately. The girl seemed to share my sentiment, her eyes twinkling like precious gemstones.
“Ahhh, I can’t wait! And with Wridra with us, there’s no risk of losing. That means we can experiment with trial and error as much as we want!” We looked at each other and snickered evilly.
“My, my, how wicked you are, Ms. Elf.”
“Oh, but I’m nothing compared to you. You’re far worse, considering your face has the appearance of being harmless.”
With that, she bumped her butt into me from the side. As we continued messing around, the automatic doors of the local supermarket slid open.
The girl stared at some carrots inside a grocery bag critically while saying, “Hmm...” She flipped it over to stare at the price and fidgeted with it some more. Judging by the look on her face, it seemed she wasn’t just intrigued by the transparent bag around it. Before her was a picture of farmers, with the caption, “This was grown by us.” Below it, there were details of how they operated a farm within the city. I translated it for her in Elvish, and she made another ponderous noise.
There was a reason we were at the supermarket that morning. It was my day off, so I wanted to spend it in leisure. I had asked her if she’d like to cook with me, and she replied immediately with, “Sure!” She’d often asked me about recipes in the past, so I figured she was interested in cooking, but she seemed more eager than I had expected. And so, I decided to have her start off by trying something simple.
“Okay, I’ve decided. Today, I’m going to cook this carrot grown by this Sato person. Now, to pick out some potatoes.”
The carrots went into the basket with the photo of the smiling farmers in the background. There weren’t many people around yet, but many eyes were turned toward the elf girl with the mystical air about her. I could see several of the employees in the back saying, “Did you see that cute girl?” I smiled and didn’t really find it to be a cause of concern. Although they did glance over with feigned disinterest, they never came to bother us. It made me realize how reserved, or I supposed, how committed to service Japanese people were. As I thought about this, Marie turned to look up at me.
“Kazuhiho, did we get all the vegetables we need?”
“Yeah, now we just need the meat and the roux.” She replied with an “Okay,” then gripped the shopping cart and proceeded through the well-lit store. Her eyes looked around busily with the music playing throughout the store and all the vivid signage lining the aisles. I continued following her, not minding when she occasionally stopped to look at something that caught her interest.
Marie stared at a bag full of white “hanpen” with a perplexed expression as she asked, “So, about this curry thing. What’s different about this one from the one you made before?”
“Well, that one was traditional curry, and this one is more of a Japanese style. It’s been refined so it can be made cheap, easy, and tasty.” Marie tilted her head, making a noncommittal noise. She didn’t know the difference between traditional and Japanese-style curry. I actually wondered why Japan was so obsessed with refining and improving everything. Making food taste better than the original is a given, and in some cases, they end up being imported the other way. Like fruits with ridiculously high sugar content, for example. “Speaking of refining, beef is a good example. It’s called wagyu, and it’s so delicious that I hear it’s gaining a lot of popularity overseas.”
“Wa-gyu...” She awkwardly uttered the unfamiliar term, and her pale purple eyes slowly turned toward the shelves. It was the meat section, which was full of packs of wagyu. Anyone could tell at a glance that wagyu was on a different level than other marbled steak.
“Looks deliciou—Ah, that’s pricey!”
“Yeah, unfortunately, the price matches the flavor. Huh, I guess you’ve gained a sense of finances already.” I told her I’d treat her to it on some special day, but her braids shook side to side as she looked up at me.
“N-No, thank you... I don’t think I’d be able to enjoy the taste in peace. So, which meat do we use for the curry?”
“We’ll be simmering it for a while anyway, so we can get something cheap. Let’s go with this minced meat for today.” I pointed at a different one, and she let out a sigh of relief. Come to think of it, she and I had a similar sense of finances, so I supposed she had the sensibilities of a commoner like me. Now, we just needed to get the curry roux and some ingredients for our bento.
With our modest haul in our shopping basket, we headed toward the cashier. The lady at the register seemed a bit troubled as Marie stared at the beeping scanner with her purple eyes, seemingly curious about how the barcodes worked. After making several input errors, she finished ringing us up. What surprised me most was that the lady jogged over to us and handed Marie a piece of candy afterward.
“She said it’s a present for you. It’s a tasty snack.”
“Oh, thank, you. The shop was very, clean.” She stumbled slightly as she spoke in Japanese, and the onlookers around us reacted with an “Oooh.” The worker smiled happily upon hearing Marie’s response and went back to work.
And so, Marie’s first time grocery shopping ended up being a heartwarming event without incident. The sky was brighter than earlier when we stepped outside, with more cars driving around.
“Oh? I thought we were done shopping?” Marie asked when I stopped in front of the convenience store. It was brightly lit to welcome customers in, and the interior could have given the blue sky a run for its money.
“In this country, there’s a rule that says you gotta reward people for going shopping with you. Just like the candy that lady gave you.”
“My, that’s wonderful. So, does this place have those rewards you speak of?”
One could certainly say that. There were all sorts of goods available here, and it was an extremely convenient place for locals, too. I went straight to the register and ordered one vanilla ice cream. Then, I quickly changed it to two orders, because I knew I would get envious when I saw how much Marie was enjoying her ice cream. With two ice cream cones in hand, I stepped back outside. I debated on where to eat it, but decided to disregard proper manners and eat while walking around. I handed Marie her cone, and she gave me a bewildered look.
“Umm, can you teach me how to eat this? Knowing you, I’m sure it’s delicious.”
“You’re right about that. You can either bite right into it or lick it.” I demonstrated by licking my own ice cream, and then the girl moved her lips closer to hers. Hesitantly, she scooped up a piece of the white ice cream with her tongue. It had a shade of yellow to it, which seemed indicative of the rich flavor. Its wavy structure melted away upon the tongue and dissolved into milky deliciousness. Vanilla was my favorite ice cream flavor, with its simplicity that made one appreciate the richness of the flavor all the more. That convenience store carried great ice cream, and it was hard to believe such a delicious treat was readily available on the street corner. The girl had stopped walking, and she swallowed a mouthful of ice cream before giving her impression.
“Ah...! S-So sweet, delicious... Why, y-you, you made me let my guard down by telling me it was just a reward for going shopping with you!” Her words implied that she was upset, but she had a strange expression on her face, with flushed cheeks and wonder in her eyes. Yup, women were definitely the cutest when they were eating tasty or sweet foods.
“Would you go shopping with me again if there are more treats like this waiting for you?”
“I like shopping. I wouldn’t mind if there’s no reward, but... Oh, never mind. You need to carry through with promises, and rewards are important to have. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but that’s to be expected in exchange for labor.” She looked up at me with a look as if to ask, “Understand?” I nodded in response, and we slowly made our way back home. All the way back to my room, the girl continued to educate me about the deliciousness of ice cream.
As expected. I was really glad I ended up buying her some. Now, on to the cooking.
I usually cooked in the evening, but doing it while it was still bright out was a refreshing change of pace. The girl next to me had a piece of cloth tied around her head, the image of which was reminiscent of home economics classes. However, her long ears pointing straight up gave her away as an elf, and I was too old of a businessman to relive my grade school days. There was a determined look to her face as she tied the strings of her apron.
“Okay then, let’s wash them in order. Then we’ll peel off the skin and chop them into pieces. This part isn’t too different from what we do in the other world.” Marie was staring at the potatoes with a critical look as I explained, then replied, “Got it,” while turning on the faucet. I’d been worried about her at first, but it seemed she was getting used to modern devices over time.
I was particularly worried about her using kitchen knives, but she’d always cooked for herself, so it didn’t seem to be a problem. Still, it seemed to be in my nature that I couldn’t help worrying about her anyway. I mean, anyone would feel the same when they were with a girl like her.
“You’re a bit too overprotective. When will you realize that I’m not a child anymore?”
“I know that already, of course. Oh, you should make sure the blade isn’t pointed toward your finger. Like this.”
“As, I, was, say-ing, I’m far older than you, and a very competent spirit sorceress... Ah, m-my eye. I need to put the knife down... Waaah, help me, Kazuhiho!” Ah, so the great spirit sorceress needed help. Tears began streaming down her face as the onions irritated her eyes. I quickly took the knife from her hands in a fluster and began preparing the meal instead. I could hear her blowing her nose behind me. She sniffed, red around the eyes. Seeing her like this, it was hard to believe she was over a hundred years old. Considering her strait-laced personality, I doubted she was lying about her age, though. It was a bit troubling to find she had gained a distrust for onions because of this incident. Seeing her pacing back and forth around the onion but maintaining a certain distance reminded me of a child’s behavior, too.
“What do you wanna do? Should I go ahead and cut it?”
“I’d like to learn how to cook, but unfortunately, I’ll have to pass on the onions. I suspect elves don’t like onions in general. We probably just aren’t compatible.” Yeah, humans probably weren’t compatible with onion juices in their eyes, either. Though, you could avoid this by holding the knife at an angle so the juices would fly away from the eyes. I gave her such pieces of advice as we proceeded to make preparations for the meal. After slicing ingredients into bite-sized pieces, Marie looked up at me, as if to ask if she was doing okay. Each time she did, I replied with some simple advice, and the colander became filled with vegetables. The ventilating fan spun noisily as we cooked the vegetables in a large pan. Then, we added some water and skimmed the foam... though there didn’t seem to be any need to explain all that.
“The ingredients are nearly cooked through, so let’s add the roux we bought.” The girl began breaking the roux apart with her fingernails and put the pieces into a large pot with a serious look on her face. If she had been wearing a different outfit, she may have looked like she was in the middle of performing alchemy. As she began mixing the roux with a ladle, the kitchen became filled with a scent that was softer than that of traditional curry. I could see Marie’s nose sniffing the air, seemingly enjoying the unique and faintly spicy aroma. And so, Ms. Elf’s cooking was complete.
“Ah... It smells so good... It’s making me hungry... Wait, it’s done already?!”
“Yup, it’s ready. After all, Japanese curry was created with convenience and deliciousness in mind. Not that traditional curry is too hard to make, either.” Even the traditional curry I made a little while back didn’t take too much time. It did take some effort to draw out the sweetness from the tomatoes or adjust the spice levels, but the actual cooking could be done in the time Marie finished taking a bath. Popular dishes had a tendency to become more convenient over time.
