Ch.66 Kaito with His Childhood Friend and Neighbor who Loves Stalls 2

When I returned to where I left him, Shuuto was moving right and left, as if he's doing a short shuttle run.

Perhaps it was a rehearsal for the upcoming shuttle run.

It's gonna be measured after summer vacation... Hmm? Will we? I can't remember.

"Hey, Shuuto! I bought something."

When I called out to him, he stopped moving and turned towards me.

You know, he's like a monster in a horror game that appears in reaction to your voice.

If he mived like them it would be complete.

"Where have you been, Kaito? We're moving together, so at least tell me where you're going before you go."

"I thought maybe I should go look for you, but if Kaito comes back here too soon after leaving this place, we'll miss each other, which makes me worried," Shuuto said quickly.

I wondered if there was really something to worry about, but you never know what's going to happen in this world.

It's just a game, so even if I got PK'ed or something I'd just respawn at church anyaway.

"Sorry for worrying you. Anyway, here you go. Let's eat together."

I raise the bag I'm holding to his eye level.

Shuuto's eyes flicked back and forth between me and the bag that had suddenly been thrust in front of him.

Mmm, what a nice smell. The smell rises as I lift it. It stimulates our empty stomach.

"Uh, sure... No, wait, When did you buy it?"

"I already told you I just bought it. I bought it while Shuuto was lost in thought."

"Ah... I see. I see."

"That's right."

"I was thinking of discussing what to eat... Oh well, whatever. It's the usual thing. So how much was it? I'll pay half."

"No, it's fine. I just bought it because I wanted to eat it. But let's eat it while it's still hot. It won't taste half as good if it gets cold."

As I approached the stalls wondering what to order, I was drawn in by the delicious aroma of the sauce.

Something hot in the hot summer. That's good. Makes me want to eat it.

"Haa, I get it. Then next time I'll... hmm? Kaito, do you have anything to drink?"

"Drink?"

"Yes, a drink. Takoyaki would definitely makes you thirsty, right?"

"Ahh, cuz it's dry. A drink, huh..."

I place my hands inside my magic sack and close my eyes.

The items that were in it kept popping up and disappearing in my head, but I couldn't find anything drinkable.

Apparently we drank them all when he fought the turtle.

"There's nothing in here. I'll go buy some."

I had forgotten. As Shuuto had said, eating strong-tasting takoyaki would definitely make us thirsty.

I head towards the food stalls to buy some.

"Wait. Then let me buy them. Kaito already bought me some takoyaki, after all."

"Don't worry about it."

"Sit on the bench and wait. I'll be off then."

With that, he walked off towards the food stalls without waiting for my reply.

"Oh come on. I bet he just wanted to look around."

As he heads towards the stall, Shuuto's face is one of excitement. That's the look on his face because he loves food stalls.

He always has that face when he comes across a food stall. I wonder if it's because it feels out of the ordinary and fun, that's why he ends up with that expression.

In reality, you only see them at festivals or venues, and they're not something that's done frequently in public.

No matter how hard I tried to chase after him, I couldn't find him in the crowd.

I had no choice but to look for an empty bench in resignation.

"Oh, I found one."

It didn't take long before I found a single bench right below a tree that no one was sitting on.

There were quite a lot of people sitting on benches in the square to take a break, so I was lucky. I'll sit down there.

I'll hold off on eating until Shuuto comes back.

I lean my body back on the bench and swing my legs alternating between left and right.

After doing that about 30 times, Shuuto's back.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, orange juice."

He sits next to me and hands me the plastic cup he is holding in his right hand.

There's a hole on the lid with a red straw stuck in it.

"Oh, juice?"

Wait a minute, does orange juice go well with takoyaki? This is my first time trying that combination.

"Orange juice goes really well with takoyaki."

"...I see. First time hearing it."

I was given a large plastic cup, filled to the brim with orange juice, of course.

I can see some of the pulps... Are these freshly squeezed?

"These little dots..."

"That's the flesh of the fruit. The brawny muscle salesman was squeezing them right in front of me. Oh, with plastic gloves on, of course."

Brawny muscle? What is brawny? (TL : He's not this dumb in the raw, I promise. I just can't find the right word for this part)

Like, full of muscles?

But juice made from crushed oranges?

I feel like you need a lot of strength to do it.

"That performancea seems to resonate with a lot of people."

"I don't know, but I think everyone should see it at least once. It's worth it. Yeah."

"I see. I'll go see it next time I have the chance."

The store clerk seems like an interesting person.

"Oh, that's right, takoyaki. There were several kinds, but I went with the classic one."

"I like the classic version. It's good. If you say takoyaki, I'll buy that one too."

"Yep. By the way, my second recommend would be the one with green onions."

"I guess It's the one with the squid in it for me."

"Is that even takoyaki anymore?" (TL : for those who didn't know, "tako" Means octopus)

"It'd become Ikayaki. But that name already exists for a different dish." (TL : Ika means squid)

"Would it be called Ikayaki balls then?"

While we were talking, we fumbled around and took out the takoyaki I had just bought from the bag.

When we remove the rubber band and open the pack, we're greeted by the rich aroma of takoyaki.

The balls are already topped with sauce and mayonnaise, and the two-tone color that blends together makes it even more appetizing.

I was given the choice of having it poured at the stall or having the individually wrapped ones poured on later, so I decided to have the staff pour it on.

The bonito flakes are individually packaged so we can add it as we're about to eat.

When we open the bag and put it on, it will dance back and forth just as you would expect.

"Looks delicious"

"Right?"

We remove the bamboo skewers that were secured with scotch tape from the pack and hold one in each hand.

""Itadakimasu""

After our overlapping prayers, we pick up a takoyaki with the bamboo skewer.

The outside is crispy and a little firm, and when we poke it and lift it, it doesn't get loose and collapse.

We both pop the still hot food into our mouths at the same time.

"Ahhhhh..."

"...Huff...Huff..."

Crispy on the outside, melty on the inside. This is a description you often see on TV, and it fits these takoyaki perfectly.

The rich sauce, slightly sour mayonnaise, and bonito flakes combine with the lightly flavored dough and octopus, spreading throughout our mouth with every bite.

We were hungry, so instead of eating it bit by bit, we just throw the whole thing into our mouths, but hot food is hot.

We open and close our mouths to try and cool it down a bit.

Then we poke in another one, bring it to our mouths, and swallow it with all our might, huffing and puffing.

"It's delicious. It's not something you should eat in the middle of the day during the hot summer months, though."

"That's true."

The two of us laugh.

Even if it's hot, if what you want to eat at that time is hot, then there's no other way. Eat it without hesitation.

"But this is pretty good, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

We each eat 4 takoyaki and refresh our mouths with orange juice.

It was a surprisingly good combination.

I put the bag, the pack, bamboo skewers, and still-filled plastic cup in my magic sack and stand up from the bench.

"All right, we've eating so let's go to the weapon shop."

"We only have an hour left, after all."

Shuuto's standing up with an orange juice in his left hand and started walking next to me as I start walking. It seems he's gonna drink it as we walk.

The weapon shop is a little further from here.

We go through the square and continue straight ahead.

If we continue on this path, we'll come across the mayor's large house, but there is a road in front of it that we can go either right or left on, and our destination is on the right.

We turn right onto the road in front of the mayor's house and go 6 houses down the road to find a weapon shop and blacksmith shop run by a husband and wife called "URUDO & LEANNA".

This is the shop that has been taking care of us ever since we started playing this game.

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〘Stall: Hand-Squeezed Fruit Juice Specialty Store〈Koshibori〉〙

A food stall run by a 230cm tall, brawny muscle human named Darn.

The 2 part-timers he employs are also muscular. You can't get the job here without muscles.

They squeeze the fruit with their hands to produce juice.

They will juice any fruit that is available at the stall, including pineapple.

"It's not enough to just squeeze it. It's nonsense to destroy the fruit with all your might and let the pulp and juice fly everywhere. This is how you squeeze it to make it look appealing."

When a new part-time worker joins, he says this and demonstrates squeezing the fruit, but it seems that the pulp and juice would still fly away from time to time.

The success rate is 80%. If you become a part-timer, you might see the owner getting depressed while trying to control his strength.

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