Volume 1 Chapter 64 Cozy Mushroom Rice Balls ~with A Touch Of Loss~
I wash the mushrooms, slice them thin, and cut them a bit smaller than bite-sized pieces.
I chop Takeri Matsutake, Hirahira Maitake, and Oni Shimeji into small pieces and put them into the rice cooker after washing the rice.
I toss in finely chopped carrots and some fried tofu that Mr. Tsukuyomi gave me the other day, then add dashi made from katsuobushi, sake, and soy sauce.
I set the rice cooker on the stove and light it with a flame stone.
In the meantime, I boil water in a pot, add minced chicken mixed with finely chopped green onions, and grated ginger, kneading it well into small dumpling shapes and dropping them in.
I take a good amount of chicken mince in my hand, shape my thumb and index finger into a tube, and squeeze it, letting the pale pink chicken pop out between my fingers.
*Squish, squish, plop.*
Something.
Something feels like it's missing──.
"Lydia, you gathered quite a lot of mushrooms, huh?"
"Y-yes...! There's a mushroom paradise in Fetoru Forest... Oh, this is a secret. It's a secret place with Mr. Lucian..."
"A secret place...!?"
Sir Roxas, sitting quietly at the counter, almost drops his cup of hojicha.
"A-are you okay...?"
"I'm fine, I already finished drinking. A secret place..."
"Yes, in the secret place, there are so many mushrooms, and they are really thick, big, and long, it's amazing..."
"Lydia, I think that way of saying it is a bit much. Also, don't hold mushrooms in both hands."
"Sir Roxas, do you want to see a big mushroom...?"
After finishing making chicken meatballs, I washed my hands and held the mushrooms in both hands to show Sir Roxas.
For some reason, Sir Roxas looked very flustered and his gaze wandered. And then, he got mad.
I was just holding the mushrooms.
"So... where's Lucian?"
While sitting on a chair in the kitchen and watching me, Sir Ciel said.
After washing the mushrooms nicely, Sir Ciel was sorting them by type.
He seems to be bad at cleaning up, but he's good at organizing things.
The mushrooms we picked were piled up on 3 plates, sorted by type.
"Um... yes, he brought me here, and... then we said goodbye."
Right── we said goodbye.
But why? I thought we would eat together.
Mr. Lucian, yes, he said he had work and went home.
"Did Sir Roxas and Sir Ciel not see Mr. Lucian?"
"No. I thought it was about time for the mushroom picking to be over, so when I came here, Ciel was here, but I didn't see Lucian."
"I didn't see him either. I remembered I promised Ms. Lydia to eat mushroom dishes, so I came here, but I ran into Sir Roxas at the entrance... and by the time I got here, it seems Lucian had already gone home."
I tilted my head.
I wonder, it feels a bit strange.
Yeah, right. After coming back and washing the mushrooms, Sir Roxas and Sir Ciel showed up.
So I politely declined Sir Roxas's kindness of offering to help by serving tea, and I was getting help from Sir Ciel instead.
Even though it just happened a moment ago, my head feels a bit fuzzy.
I wonder if I'm tired from going to the festival. I walked a lot in the forest too.
"Mr. Lucian should have eaten too..."
I split the mushroom in my hand right down the middle.
The mushroom breaks apart pretty easily. It looks a bit rough when you break it by hand, but it soaks up the flavor and tastes delicious.
I put the broken mushrooms into the pot.
I season it with sake and soy sauce, then pile on a lot of thinly sliced green onions on top.
The sound of the pot bubbling and the rice cooker boiling fills the kitchen, and the nice smell of mushrooms fills the air.
"Sir Roxas, um, if you could speed up the pot and rice time by about 30 minutes, it would be ready soon..."
"Do you think I'm just a handy tool?"
"I think Sir Roxas is... um... really amazing."
"You're doing that on purpose, Lydia...!"
Sir Roxas is angry.
What was it again? I can't seem to remember.
Sir Roxas's magic is hard to recall.
"It's Soul Stealing magic, Ms. Lydia."
"It sounds cute, like a hug (dakkon)."
Sir Ciel gently corrects me, and I smile.
Unlike Sir Roxas, Sir Ciel doesn't get angry. He's kind.
He's my very first friend.
My very first──.
My second friend.
Did I tell them that Mr. Lucian is my friend?
"Should I pick you up and take you home...?"
"Sir Roxas, kidnapping is only allowed once per person, you know."
"What? Is that the rule? So it's okay to kidnap just once?"
"No, it's not really okay even if it's just once. But I can't say much about it myself."
Sir Roxas walked into the kitchen, looking annoyed.
I was half-listening to him and Sir Ciel arguing about something.
The mushroom dish would be ready soon. Still, it felt strange. Maybe it was because Mr. Lucian had gone home, even though we were supposed to eat together.
When Sir Roxas reached for the pot, he said, "Time's magic, Soul Stealing."
In no time, the rice was cooked, and the pot was boiling.
Soft mushrooms and green onions, along with floating chicken meatballs. The oil from the meatballs shimmered in the soup.
I moved the mushroom rice from the rice cooker to a bowl to cool it down a bit, then squeezed it tightly with both hands.
The rice had soaked up the flavor and turned a light brown, filled with lots of mushrooms, and the oil from the fried tofu made it shine. The bright color of the carrots looked appetizing.
"It's done! Cozy mushroom rice balls, with a touch of loss. And a pot full of ingredients and mushrooms!"
"Touch of loss?"
Sir Roxas said with a puzzled look.
"Y-yes... it just feels a bit lacking..."
"That's probably because Lucian, who was supposed to go mushroom hunting with you, isn't here. You wanted him to try your cooking, right, Ms. Lydia?"
"...Yeah. That's right. Mr. Lucian, I thought he seemed down... But, I really wanted Sir Ciel and Sir Roxas to eat the mushrooms we gathered, so that's true...!"
I wondered if I had said something rude to Sir Ciel and Sir Roxas, who had come all this way.
As I hurried to correct myself, Sir Roxas, who had been thinking with his arms crossed, picked up a rice ball from the plate.
"Lydia, open your mouth."
"Ha...? W-What...!?"
As I looked up at Sir Roxas, wondering what he was doing, he pushed a rice ball into my half-open mouth.
What is this, Sir Roxas?
Is he some kind of pervert who enjoys shoving rice balls into people's mouths?
I blinked in surprise while chewing the rice ball that had been forced in.
The salty rice was soaked with the sweetness of fried tofu.
The aroma of mushrooms filled my nose, and the carrots were sweet and delicious.
"Mm..."
"You must be the most tired after walking in the festival and then through the forest. Since you cooked afterward, you should eat first."
I ate the rice ball that was shoved into my mouth.
I could have eaten by myself, and honestly, I would have preferred to sit down and eat without it being pushed in.
I thought that, but with each chew and swallow, my foggy mind felt clearer, and my memories started to come back.
"..."
After finishing one rice ball, I covered my mouth with both hands.
Then──crying, I hugged Sir Ciel.
"What's wrong, Ms. Lydia? Ah, you were scared, weren't you? Sir Roxas did something rough to you..."
Sir Ciel, sitting in a chair, holds me close.
He gently pats me, but I shook my head to say it's not that.
"Sir Ciel, it's not that. I remembered... I forgot... Mr. Lucian...!"
About Mr. Lucian. I don't know why, but I completely forgot.
I forgot about being attacked by monsters in the forest, and about roasting mushrooms over the campfire together.
I forgot all the stories Mr. Lucian told me.
"Calm down. Please talk slowly."
"Lydia, I was closer to you. Why are you hugging Ciel...?"
Because Sir Roxas is scary when he shoves rice balls into my mouth.
I was sad and confused, but I still knew what was going on. Even I do.
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