Chapter 613: 100% Buckwheat Noodles, And The Open-Air Bath.

The ryokan, sharing the same name as the familiar inn, was a building with the atmospheric charm of an old, traditional Japanese inn. The design was reminiscent of the Taisho or early Showa eras, but that was only the exterior; the inside smelled very clean and newly built. It was a three-story wooden structure. The interior was furnished with retro-style furniture and the like.

 

“It resembles the atmosphere of the Orphen Dragon-Phoenix Kingdom.”

 

Hilda mentioned as she looked around the lobby, which had an atrium extending to the second floor. Indeed. The Orphen Dragon-Phoenix Kingdom had a culture with a strong blend of Japanese and Western styles. It shares something in common with this ryokan.

 

“Eh, is it reserved just for us today?”

 

“Yes, we only have twelve rooms. Since the group that canceled had reserved the whole place, we left it as is. You can use the banquet hall as well.”

 

Mom, who was checking in early at the lobby, was surprised by Iori-san’s words. Reserved, huh. In a way, I’m grateful since we don’t have to worry about other guests. We have a lot of children. There might be people who dislike noise.

 

“Please have some tea for now.”

 

Tea and sweets were laid out on a table in the lobby that looked like a waiting area. It seems they had already prepared it to match our arrival. Is this what they call a welcome drink?

 

“Let’s eat! Yuuuummy!”

 

Steph, who sat down faster than anyone else, opened the wrapper of the Japanese sweet placed there and took a bite. Is it a brown sugar manju? I also sat down and had some tea and a manju. The hot tea and sweet manju seemed to relieve the fatigue of the journey and make me feel relieved. Mom, who had been talking with Iori-san at the counter, came over to us.

 

“About the room assignments. Even if two people stay in one room, there seem to be enough rooms, but what should we do?”

 

It seems it’s fine to use one room for two people, but the question is whether the children will get lonely. Hmm, at the castle, they sleep with their parents or in groups as needed, so I don’t think it’s a problem, but maybe being just two people in a room at a travel destination is a bit lonely?

 

“Then let’s have four people to a room. It would be bad to trouble them by using too many rooms. You decide on the specific assignments.”

 

Deciding that, Mom returned to the counter again. After that, we all decided on the room assignments. We decided to pair up mother and daughter, so Elze mother-daughter & Linze mother-daughter in one room; Sue mother-daughter & Sakura mother-daughter in one room; Yae mother-daughter & Hilda mother-daughter in one room; Lu mother-daughter & Leen mother-daughter in one room. Up to here was decided smoothly, but the remaining combination of Dad, Mom, Fuyuka, Yumina, Kuon, Allis, and myself caused a bit of a dispute. Naturally, Allis started saying she wanted to be with Kuon, but even if they are engaged, if we let these two sleep in the same room, there’s no telling what that father, Ende, would say. Of course, me and Allis in the same room is out of the question too. Most likely, being with Dad would also be out according to Ende. Sorry, but as long as Allis is here, we concluded that separating by gender is the least problematic. With that flow, it was decided to split into a room for me, Kuon, and Dad, and a room for Mom, Fuyuka, Yumina, and Allis. Umu, maybe it’s better not to have to worry about others with just men.

 

“Then, I will guide you to your rooms first.”

 

Once the room assignments were decided, Iori-san guided us to each room. It seems she reserved the entire second floor for us. Apparently, no one is scheduled to stay on the third floor today.

 

“Starting from the front, we have the Pine, Plum, Cherry Blossom, Wisteria, Iris, and Peony rooms. The Pine and Peony rooms have large windows, but the room layout is the same.”

 

Iori-san explained in front of the hallway lined with sliding doors to the rooms after going up the retro-style stairs.

 

“Are the room names perhaps from Hanafuda cards?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. The third floor has the Bush Clover, Susuki Grass, Chrysanthemum, Maple, Willow, and Paulownia rooms.”

 

Iori-san answered Dad’s question. I see, Hanafuda. They took the names from the designs on the cards for January to December.

 

“I want the Cherry Blossom room.”

 

Sakura, who shares the same name, said. No, well, that’s fine. In that case, should we have taken the Susuki Grass room? The Susuki Grass card in Hanafuda is paired with the full moon. It’s the card commonly called ‘Moon over Susuki’ or the ‘Baldy’ card. Our name is ‘Mochizuki’ (Full Moon), after all. Well, if you say that, everyone is a ‘Mochizuki’. Anyway, the Susuki room is on the third floor, so we can’t choose it. Iori-san opened the sliding door to the Pine room and guided us inside. The room size was twelve tatami mats. In the alcove, a hanging scroll and a flower arrangement were displayed. In the center was a large red sandalwood desk and legless chairs, and beyond the shoji screens at the back was a sunroom area (hiro-en) with a small table and two chairs commonly found in ryokans. Next to the entrance, there was an anteroom of about four tatami mats and fusuma sliding doors; presumably, the futons were inside there.

 

“It’s quite a nice room.”

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

Passing by Mom and Iori-san talking, I headed to the sunroom. From the window, I could see the panoramic view of the steaming hot spring town; it was a sunroom with a very nice view.

 

“Then, Touya-ichiro-san and the others can use this room. Alright, let’s go see the next room. Everyone, meet in the lobby later after putting down your luggage.”

 

Saying that, the women all headed to the next room, leaving only me, Dad, and Kuon behind. Intending to take a break, we put down our luggage, sat on the legless chairs, and poured tea from the teapot that was placed there.

 

“Good grief, we finally settled down.”

 

“Kuon, aren’t you tired?”

 

“Not that much. Since I was riding vehicles the whole time, I feel my body has become a little stiff, though.”

 

I unintentionally smiled bitterly at my son’s reply, which sounded like an old man’s. Suddenly, Kuon turned his eyes to the hanging scroll displayed in the alcove. Drawn by him, I also looked there, and there were two cranes painted on it.

 

“…? Ah, I see, Pine and Crane.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Perhaps wondering why I muttered to myself, Kuon asked for the reason.

 

“In Japan, there is a card game called Hanafuda, and ‘Pine and Crane’ is one of the designs in it. Patterned after that, the ‘Pine Room’ has a ‘Crane Hanging Scroll’. I think the other rooms are probably like that too.”

 

I bet the Plum room next door has a Bush Warbler scroll. …Then does the Cherry Blossom room have a Curtain scroll? What is a ‘Curtain’ scroll…?

 

“But why the combination of Pine and Crane?”

 

“Both Pine and Crane are auspicious and symbols of longevity. They were considered very celebratory for January, the beginning of the year.”

 

“I see. So it represents longevity and prosperity…”

 

“Also, since cranes mate for life and stay together, they are said to be symbols of a happy marriage.”

 

“Ah, that’s why there are two cranes in this picture.”

 

While I was pondering the scrolls in the other rooms, Kuon started a complicated conversation with Dad. Being a manga artist (?), Dad is surprisingly knowledgeable about this kind of trivia. I leisurely drank tea while listening to the conversation between grandfather and grandson. Somehow, this is nice. After finishing our tea, we went out to the corridor and returned to the lobby on the first floor. Everyone, having quickly put down their luggage and become light-footed, came over with Iori-san.

 

“Come to think of it, what about lunch?”

 

“Ah, we haven’t eaten yet.”

 

Looking at the wall clock in the lobby during Mom and Dad’s conversation, it was already well past noon. Nearly 2:00 PM. We didn’t have the timing to have lunch.

 

“If you go back the way you came for about ten minutes, there is a handmade soba shop. It’s a 100% buckwheat soba shop that uses only buckwheat flour without binding agents.”

 

“Ooh! That sounds good, degozaru! Soba, is it!”

 

Yae reacted with shining eyes to Iori-san’s words. At the same time, her stomach also reacted with a guuuu.

 

“Th-The manju kickstarted my stomach, degozaru…”

 

Turning red, Yae desperately made excuses.

 

“I believe they are open for lunch until 3:00 PM, so they should still be open.”

 

“Alright, let’s go there then.”

 

Since there were no particular objections, we all left the ryokan in a group. While walking down the gentle slope, we enjoyed the nature-rich scenery. The children were laughing and enjoying conversations on the road heading to the hot spring town where a river flowed through the middle.

 

“Will magic beasts appear?”

 

“Linne, there are no magic beasts in this world.”

 

“But they said on TV that there are dangerous animals. Like tigers.”

 

“Tigers? They aren’t dangerous at aaaall?”

 

…What a disturbing conversation. Is the perception that tigers aren’t dangerous due to Kohaku? This is bad; I have to teach them properly that tigers are dangerous animals… No, from these children’s perspective, maybe they aren’t dangerous or anything…? Even in a state where they can hardly use magic, one or two tigers would probably be instantly killed… While I was starting to question my children’s crisis management abilities, we arrived at the soba shop shortly.

 

“Welcome! Err, how many people?”

 

“Twenty-three. Can we sit?”

 

“Ah, yes. It’s fine!”

 

The staff member in front of the register looked surprised for a moment at the number of people following behind Mom, but immediately returned to a business smile. Perhaps because it was past lunch time, there were hardly any people inside, so it seemed okay for our number to enter. Naturally, we couldn’t all sit together, so we split up into tatami seats and table seats. I sat at a table seat with Kuon, Yumina, and Allis, and immediately opened the menu.

 

“Umm, Sarashina soba, Inaka (Country) soba, and there is Dattan soba too.”

 

“What is Dattan soba?”

 

“It’s slightly bitter but healthy soba. Look, it says so here too.”

 

In response to Yumina’s question, I pointed to where it said ‘100 times more Rutin’ on the edge of the menu. Rutin is a type of polyphenol, and if I recall correctly, it’s good for preventing lifestyle-related diseases.

 

“The Inaka soba is black because they milled it with the husks on, right?”

 

“You know well…”

 

“Mother-Lu said so a long time ago.”

 

I was surprised by Kuon’s knowledge, but I see, it’s second-hand knowledge from Lu. Since we are here, I ordered Dattan soba (Zaru style). I’ll add tempura too. Yumina ordered Sarashina Zaru, Allis ordered Duck Nanban, and Kuon ordered Inaka Zaru.

 

“This tea is delicious.”

 

Kuon leaked such an impression after taking a sip of the tea served. I also took a sip and thought it was indeed tasty. Soba tea. It has a nice aroma.

 

“Sorry for the wait.”

 

After a while, the staff member brought our orders one after another. Oh, this looks delicious.

 

“Wow, looks delicious! Let’s eat!”

 

Allis took the first bite of the Duck Nanban. Well then, I shall partake as well.

 

“Let’s eat.”

 

First, without adding wasabi or green onions, I ate just the soba as is. Unlike Kuon’s Inaka soba or Yumina’s Sarashina soba, Dattan soba feels slightly yellow. I dipped just the tip of the noodles I picked up into the dipping sauce and slurped it down. Yep, delicious. After eating one more bite, this time I added the condiments. With the addition of green onions, it became even tastier. At this point, a piece of tempura. The tempura consisted of pumpkin, eggplant, green pepper, shrimp, and a round fish? Or something like that. Curious about this unidentified small round tempura, I ate that first. Dipping it in the tempura sauce, I took a bite. Ah, it’s kamaboko (fish cake). Kamaboko tempura is rare. But delicious.

 

“Here is the Soba-yu (hot buckwheat water).”

 

While alternating between eating tempura and soba, occasionally taking a break with pickled radish, the female staff member brought the Soba-yu.

 

“What is that?”

 

“It’s Soba-yu. The water left after boiling the soba. It’s packed with soba nutrients, so after finishing the soba, you mix it with the dipping sauce and drink it.”

 

“Heeh…”

 

“You know a lot despite being small.”

 

While I was explaining to Kuon, the staff member who brought the Soba-yu laughed impressedly.

 

“Umm, my grandpa taught me.”

 

“I see—”

 

I hurriedly made an excuse, but it wasn’t necessarily wrong. Most of my knowledge about soba was taught by Grandpa. Grandpa loved soba, enough to make it himself. Come to think of it, that soba-making set is probably still at the house… No one will likely use it, so maybe I can give it to Lu. Putting in wasabi and grated daikon with chili, I slurped up the remaining soba. Delicious. This soba shop was a hit. After finishing eating, I poured Soba-yu into the remaining sauce and drank it, and finally drank the Soba tea, letting out a phew. Umu, satisfied, satisfied.

 

“Thank you very much.”

 

Everyone seemed satisfied as we left the soba shop. Dad offered to pay the bill, but I firmly declined, saying I would pay properly later. Even so, I am the breadwinner of a family. Even if he is a parent, I have to be polite there. I’ll pay for yesterday’s credit card bill properly too. At the checkout, Dad looked at his wallet with a slightly twitching smile; just how much soba did Yae and Frei eat…? We are over twenty people to begin with… Yeah, I’ll pay properly later. Leaving the shop, I suddenly noticed Kuon holding something preciously.

 

“It is Soba tea. Grandfather bought it for me.”

 

“Ah… You liked it.”

 

“Yes.”

 

As usual, my son has austere tastes… Is this child really Grandpa’s reincarnation, as his name suggests? No, Grandpa wouldn’t be this thoughtful. As I was dealing with indescribable emotions, Mom walking in front turned back.

 

“What do we do after this? Go back to the inn?”

 

“Hmm, I want to rest, but I also want to look around the hot spring town…”

 

Although dinner will be served at the ryokan, there is still time. I want to take a peek at the shops in the hot spring town.

 

“I think it is better to leave touring the hot spring town for tomorrow and heal the fatigue of the journey today. I think you can relax more if we enter the hot spring first and then have dinner.”

 

Thus spoke Yumina. That also has a point. Certainly, I want to enjoy the inn’s dinner leisurely after soaking in the hot spring. I’m tired from just traveling today. Ultimately accepting Yumina’s suggestion, we decided to return to the inn.

 

“Is the hot spring reserved too?”

 

“Seems so. Apparently, there is a large public bath and an open-air bath…”

 

“Open-air bath! That’s exciting!”

 

Mom walked up the gentle slope back to the inn with Yumina and Lu on her left and right. The hot spring is reserved too. Well, since we are the only guests, it inevitably becomes so. Returning to the inn, the women immediately moved to enter the hot spring. Dad, Kuon, and I—the male group—also took towels, bath sets, and the yukatas provided and left the room to enter the hot spring. I hesitated between the large public bath and the open-air bath, but since we are here, we decided to go to the open-air bath.

 

“Ooh, this is quite…”

 

The open-air bath was located behind the ryokan, with a privacy fence and a shed roof installed in the forest. Surrounded by stone pavement and rocks, a voice of admiration leaked out at the quintessential open-air bath. Naturally, it is separated by gender. It is too luxurious to be reserved for just me, Dad, and Kuon.

 

“Ku, ah, aahhh…”

 

When I soaked in the hot spring after washing my body, a weird voice came out. It soaks in, it really soaks in… Was I more tired than I thought? My stiff body feels like it’s being loosened.

 

“Kuon-kun, isn’t it too hot?”

 

“I’m fine. It is just the right temperature.”

 

Dad and Kuon also seem relaxed, stretching their legs. By the way, the women’s bath is in a separate location. Even so, the voices of my wives and children can be heard faintly here. It seems they are enjoying themselves too.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to a hot spring… I feel alive again…”

 

“I went a few times in the other world.”

 

Imitating Dad, who broke his posture and soaked up to his chin, I also lay down and soaked up to my chin.

 

“So there are hot springs in the other world too. Natural open-air baths after all?”

 

“No, over there magic beasts appear normally, so if you soak carelessly, you’ll get attacked. We place pipes enchanted with teleportation magic at the source and pull only the hot spring water to the castle’s large bath.”

 

“My goodness, really anything goes…”

 

Anything goes. It’s magic, after all.

 

“I heard there are normal open-air baths in Eashen.”

 

“The people there have a different level of enthusiasm for baths, just like us Japanese…”

 

“What is Eashen?”

 

“It is Mother-Yae’s hometown. An island nation located in the east of the continent…”

 

Three men, getting lively with trivial talk while soaking in the bath. Perhaps interested in the other world, Dad asked this and that. Kuon answered in detail, and with me supplementing, the bath became longer than expected. Getting out of the bath before getting dizzy, I changed into the yukata I brought. I’m grateful there are children’s yukatas too. There is even a haori properly included. I walked along the wooden corridor from the open-air bath to the main building. The wind blowing from the side was cold and pleasant. Back in the room, I had a glass of cold water from the fridge. Haa, paradise, paradise. As we were relaxing, the sliding door of the room suddenly opened with a clatter without a knock, and Allis and Linne appeared. Both were wearing yukatas like us. Ours were navy blue, while theirs were light pink.

 

“Kuon! They said there is a shop and a game corner on the first floor! Let’s go together!”

 

“Eh, right now?”

 

Kuon, who was taking a breather, was abducted by Allis and the other in the blink of an eye. Having a fiancée with initiative is tough…

 

“Is it okay, Touya-kun?”

 

“Well, let the young ones be with the young ones…”

 

“That’s not a line for you to say.”

 

Dad looked at me and smiled bitterly. Fair point.