#691 Red Bean Over Flowers

“You know, manjuu were originally sweets offered to gods who demanded a sacrifice. That’s why the character for ‘head’ is in its name. They’re like fake severed heads.”

“Eww, that sounds so gross.”

“Right? Gods are such jerks, no matter the world you’re in.”

As I casually share this fun trivia, I continue to put effort into introducing Japanese confections, just as I did last time.

The confection I’m making right now is a staple among staples in the world of sweet Japanese treats: manjuu.

Inspired by the elves’ year-long passion for their tea project, my heart is fired up.

“I bet whoever thought up manjuu was like, ‘Sacrifices are a necessary evil.’“

“...”

And just like that, the mood cooled down.

To the side, my eldest son, Junior, is stirring up a southeastern wind, seemingly in respect of the conversation we just had.

...He’s such a talented kid.

Anyway, my inspiration from the elves’ tea to make Japanese confectionary is far from over.

But after making steamed manjuu with sake, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

I’m already tired of sweet stuff.

Any more sugar will be too taxing on my brain, so I’ll pass for now.

I’m going to switch up my approach and start making things that go well with tea.

Eating itself is something I have yet to give up on today.

“I wanna eat something salty...”

I start by steaming and kneading glutinous rice to make dough, which I then roll out thinly and bake.

I set a metal grid (made of mana metal) over a charcoal fire and baked the dough on it.

When it’s heated just right, I brush it with soy sauce, flip it over, brush it with soy sauce again, flip it over again...

And it’s done.

Rice crackers!

This is also a classic snack to have with tea.

After numbing my taste buds with sweet red bean paste, sweet red bean paste, and MORE sweet red bean paste, I can’t resist these crackers' crispy texture and saltiness!

“Uooooooh! This one’s good, tooooooo! The tea moisturizes my mouth, parched by the crispy crackers! A completely different kind of perpetual cycle has been establisheeeeeeed!!!” says Aileron as she munches on the rice cracker.

Isn’t she weirdly energetic today?

She’s always in this peculiar, inexplicable mood when blasting plates, but she seems even weirder today.

It’s like she’s already entering the danger zone.

Please don’t lose sight of your original persona.

And please don’t scatter crumbs everywhere when you eat rice crackers. It’s not a good example for the kids.

“While we’re at it, I might as well try making variations with different flavors. I’ll spread miso on them and make miso rice crackers.”

“Uoooooooooooooooh! That sounds deliciouuuuuuuuuus!!!”

This, too, is a big hit with everyone.

Next, I try sprinkling pepper to make pepper rice crackers. And then, I spread sweet soy sauce to make sweet and salty rice crackers!

Uh oh, I’ve gone back to sweet stuff again!

“Hm? Wait a minute! If miso rice crackers are a thing, then rice crackers smothered with tonkotsu broth could also work! Let’s try it with my precious gonkotsu broth...!!!”

“No.”

Don’t go creating another risky food item. 

A broth made from dragon essence, aptly named gonkotsu broth, is completely banned due to its potential danger to humanity.

Veil, who is constantly trying to use up her gonkotsu broth at every opportunity, shows signs of not wanting to hold onto any more surplus stock.

And with that, snacks that go well with tea are being made in rapid succession.

It’s a lavish feast today.

Did I also lose control, carried away by Aileron’s fervor?

“Everything looks so scrumptious!”

Then, drawn in by the aroma, Bacchus, the representative of the drinkers, shows up.

“Thanks for preparing so many snacks to go with the booze! Today’s cherry blossom viewing session is turning into quite the ruckus!”

“No, um, that’s-!”

Oh right.

Today is the middle of the cherry blossom festival, and the party is still in full swing.

Under the falling sakura petals are dishes and sake cups lined up in every nook and cranny on the spread-out picnic blanket.

What would happen if we also added sweets to the mix?

“Woaaaaah! These sweets go well with alcohol tooooooo! It’s like they’ve been made specifically for alcohooooooooool!!!”

“What nonsense! These were meant to go with tea! That’s why they’re tea snacks! Sweets! Drinkers should stick to nibbling on dry snacks and let their teeth go baaaaaaaaad!”

“Whaaaaaaaat?! My divine teeth are still in good condition, mind youuuuuuuuu!”

The situation is becoming more chaotic.

Sweet things go well with alcohol too. I agree.

It’s said that candies and chocolates are good companions to brandy and whiskey. If that applies to Western alcohol, this combination should also be valid for Japanese sweets and sake!

Rice crackers, for instance, are made of rice and go well with Japanese sake, which is also made from rice.

I can drink! I can handle alcohol if it’s sweet!

And so, standing in the way before the longstanding rival of tea and coffee is alcohol. 

With cherry blossom viewing generally involving drinking parties, tea is at a disadvantage.

But Aileron, carrying the hopes of all tea enjoyers, bravely challenges the god of alcohol.

In such times, the middle ground goes to—matcha-hai, A.K.A. shochu with matcha!

“CHEERS!!!”

And so, the conflict between the alcohol and tea factions was resolved by mixing the two together.

While the elf quarreled with the demigod, the cherry blossom viewing party was lively and vibrant.

The laughter mixed with the scattering cherry blossoms was a vivid sight to behold.

The cold winter atmosphere had disappeared, giving way to the spring experience.

The vibrant colors of the flowers—colors you could never see during the winter—gave the sensation that the season full of life had come after the cold.

In addition, the various colors of the food added to the vibrancy, and with a wide variety of alcohol and tea, the colors of spring were enhanced even more.

The feeling of spring is so overwhelming...

“Let me die in spring under the blossoming tweeees.”

...Junior recites another poem.

Honestly, I thought things might go awry when the elves barged in, but I’m glad it turned out to be a success.

“Thanks to the amazing tea you provided, my inspiration for sweets has increased, and I’ve created various creations. It looks like I’m in for a hard time.”

What’s hard is that the farm residents who have come to know the taste of yokan jelly, manjuu, and rice crackers will long for the same taste again.

Since this has happened several times with cakes and ice cream, I need to always have the ingredients ready to meet their demands...!

“Nonetheless, the elves made some incredible tea, huh?”

I don’t know how they did it, but they managed to produce tea leaves from Yggdrasil, incorporating its benefits in the process...

I wonder what kind of benefits a tea extracted from such leaves would have...

Would a dead person come back to life if they drank it or something?

“If such an omnipotent drink were to enter the market, there’d be a sudden and dramatic increase in sales... If that happens, the elves’ year-long preparation would have paid off well, but...!”

I feel anxious for a different reason. 

In the meantime, Aileron herself seems to have gotten a good response from this unveiling...

“If you have recognized our work to this extent, then the Yggdrasil tea leaves are as good as sold! From here, we will start selling it far and wide!”

“I’d rather you don’t get too ambitious...! But out of curiosity, how do you plan to sell it?”

Are you going to consign it to the Pandemonium Trading Company like the other products?

“I could get my Maidens to sell it for you if you want,” suggests Bacchus.

The demigod, who has lived for thousands of years, is both the founder and the deity of the cult that worships him, and he sells his alcohol widely via his followers’ network.

But if tea were incorporated into that, it would undoubtedly be turned into a matcha-hai drink.

“No worries! I already have a plan on how to sell the tea!”

“Huh? You do?”

“We used to be bandits! We’re considering utilizing the know-how from those days to develop our unique marketing method!”

...

Upon hearing this, an illegal aura began to fill the air.

I started to feel uneasy.

How on earth are they planning to sell tea using their banditry know-how?!

“First, we sneak into a residential house in the middle of the night-”

“Mm-hm.”

It already sounds criminal from the get-go.

“We leave some tea leaves there, and then we leave.”

“What’s the point of doing that?”

It seems like a somewhat overbearing and mysterious way of pushing samples onto people.