There were no customers in the Evening Rain Cafe today either, that was not the case today. A miracle had happened and three seats were filled.

But that said, one was Ryoko-chan and another was Iida-san, the bank salesman, who had become a regular customer. Most of them were acquaintances. However, the last one was a young lady. She looked like a tourist and had been caught in the rain while wandering around here. She had come inside to avoid the rain. She said she was a university arts student from Tokyo.

 

When I explained the concept of this shop, she said it was interesting.

Today’s items are Kakuni Manju and Craft tea.

The Owner had his arms crossed in front of the steamer, waiting for the dough to be steamed until fluffy.

 

I started preparing the tea.

Today, we introduced something called Craft tea. I can say that it is a tea that a lot of effort had been put into. It is a beautiful tea that looked like flowers were blossoming in the water when the hot water was poured in. I brewed this inside a glass pot.

I first poured hot water into the pot to warm it up. After a while, I poured out the hot water.

Then I took it to the customer in that state.

 

「Sorry to keep you waiting. Here, this is Craft tea.」

「Ah, I’ve seen it on TV. It’s the tea that’s like a flower blooming in hot water isn’t it?」

「Yes. It’s Oriental Beauty, a Jasmine Oolong tea.」

 

I poured a small amount of water into the pot and put in the tea leaves, which was like a large seed.

Then I slowly poured in the hot water.

 

The lady, who was an arts student, took out something that looked like a sketch book and started sliding her pencil across it.

After a minute or two, the tea leaves opened up beautifully.

I took the cup that I had warmed up just as the flower in the tea was blooming.

 

「Uwa, it’s beautiful isn’t it……」

「Isn’t that right~. It’s beautiful, as its name suggests.」

 

In the pot, the bud of tea leaves had opened and there were five Jasmines blooming with a Chrysanthemum as its foundation.

 

When the colour of the tea leaves seeped out, I poured it into a cup and held it out.

The lady sipped a mouthful of tea before showing an expression of relief.

I thought that it was about the right time that the steamed manju would be done and went into the kitchen.

 

「Owner, did you manage to finish it?」

「Wait a little longer.」

 

Saying okay, I waited where I was.

 

「A lot of customers came today.」

「More than half of them are people we know.」

「But, I’m still happy.」

 

Because I want to be at ease, I didn’t want this to become a shop where people had to queue up. However, I would like 3-4 people to come each day.

That was because this was a wonderful café and the confectionery and food that were served were very delicious. As for the drinks, because the Owner was very particular about them, I also wanted the customers to appreciate it.

 

「The customers and I were very pleased with the Craft tea. It looked like the arts student was sketching it.」

「That’s good.」

「She was a very friendly person. Would you like to talk with her, just a bit?」

「No, I’m fine.」

「Is that so……」

 

As I thought, the Owner didn’t seem to be looking for inspiration every day. How should I put it, I sometimes wondered if he was really a calligraphy teacher.

 

This western style building, I heard that instead of renovating what was originally here, it was rebuilt instead. Because he could set up such a luxurious shop, he must be quite a rich person. Who on earth was he?

 

「……Hey, what are you thinking.」

「About the Owner.」

「Huh?」

「Somehow, it feels there are many mysteries.」

「……」

 

When I said that straightforwardly, the Owner was silent.

As it wasn’t something I should press on about, the conversation ended there.

It seemed that the Kakuni Manju had finished steaming.

I placed it onto a plate and brought it to the customer.

 

「Thank you for waiting. Here is your Kakuni Manju.」

「Ohh, so this is Kakuni Manju.」

 

It seems she was interested in it because Kakuni Manju had started selling everywhere in town.

 

「Oh, with so many stores to choose from, I didn’t know where to buy it.」

「I understand.」

 

I had gone on a trip to Hiroshima with a friend before and there were so many different kinds of Momiji Manju being sold that I was lost as to which one to buy. Being at a loss, I bought some Momiji Manju that was being sold individually with a friend and tasted it. After that, I bought the ones I liked and brought them home.

A dish called Dongpo pork was stewed until it became pulpy before being sandwiched between two soft oval shaped pieces of manju to make Kakuni Manju. Dongpo pork is also a Shippoku cuisine and seems to have spread into Chinatown. It makes it easy to learn about the traditional taste of Nagasaki.

 

「Here, have some mustard if you like.」

「Thank you very much.」

 

Because Dongpo pork uses a sweet seasoning, if will have a different taste if mustard is added.

It was one of my favourite traditional Nagasaki dishes.

However, I still have yet to try all the different Shippoku cuisine.

 

After eating the Kakuni Manju, she started to draw in her sketchbook again. She seemed to be drawing the interior of the cafe.

It was a moment I could have taken a photo with my smartphone, but I didn’t. I think it would have been a glimpse into the life of a university arts student.

 

After finished serving, Ryoko-chan finished reading her manga and called for the bill.

At the same time, Iida-san also called for his bill.

Iida-san lined up next to Ryoko-chan and started talking.

 

「It’s late at night and suspicious people might come out. If you don’t mind, why don’t we go to the station together?」

「Eh~, you’re quite suspicious yourself~.」

 

At Ryoko-chan’s rude remark, Iida-san just laughed refreshingly.

They had met here several times and were familiar with each other.

The two of them paid off their bills and went back side by side.

 

I called out to the university arts student lady who was sketching the interior of the cafe.

 

「It’s almost time for the last tram, will you be okay?」

 

There was still the choice of a taxi, but I told her about the Nagasaki tram schedule first. Compared to Tokyo, the last tram was much earlier. In the case of trams, 11pm was the last one.

 

「Ah, I will go back by tram!」

 

She rushed to pay her bill in a fluster.

 

「Will it rain tomorrow?」

「The forecast says it will rain.」

「In that case, I will come again.」

「I’m glad!」

 

It seems she liked the shop.

 

After the university arts student lady left, I went to look outside. Since the rain had stopped, I brought the sign back in from outside.

 

I cleaned up and got ready to go home.

I tried to call a taxi today, but the Owner said he would send me home.

 

「Um, I can go back by taxi today……」

 

Ever since the incident last time, he always picked me up or dropped me off by car. I felt apologetic, irresponsibly indulging in his kindness. However, the Owner took my bag that was on the table and walked out.

 

「Ah, please wait!」

 

In the end, I let him drop me off by car.

 

The Owner’s car was small. But because there are many narrow roads, a small car seemed to be easier to drive around than a regular car.

 

「I feel you’re good at driving.」

「When oncoming traffic appears, I get nervous.」

「I see.」

 

It seems he was quite concerned about other people. I thought he was surprisingly sensitive.

 

「What are you having for dinner?」

「……Rice with Furikake, I’ll make a salad and maybe some grilled fish.」

 

I don’t sharpen my rice. I think it’s a bit troublesome. Although I could buy a bento at a convenience store, my money saving brain told me that it would be a waste with ingredients still at home.

 

「–Mm?」

 

The car passed by the road we usually turned onto.

Looking at the Owner’s face, he had an expression as if nothing had happened.

 

「Owner, sorry, could you turn right at the next road?」

 

Without pointing out that he had made a mistake, I tried asking politely, but he also went straight ahead at the next junction.

 

「O-Owner……?」

「We’re going to eat ramen.」

「Ramen, is it?」

 

What to say about the way he acted.

It seems he wanted to eat all of a sudden.

 

Don’t tell me he was going to take me to a fancy ramen shop, this socialite! I was worried about that, but it was just an ordinary ramen store.

 

Surprisingly, there were no customers in the store.

Opening the menu, there was a large variety, including soy sauce, miso and pork bones.

There were also various types of gyoza. There was gyoza with prawns, shiso and kimchi flavours.

 

「Mm~~. It has to be pork bones after all……but miso is hard to give up.」

「You may have two.」

「Would I be able to eat both though?」

「Who knows?」

 

As a result of hesitating, I ended up adding bean sprouts, corn and butter topping to miso ramen. The Owner ordered soy sauce ramen. I also selected prawn gyoza.

 

Both the ramen and dumplings were delicious and tasty.

The feeling of eating ramen on an empty stomach soaked through me.

 

However, as I watched the clock strike midnight, I felt shivers.

If I eat at a time like this, I will definitely get fat.

 

The ramen I ate in the middle of the night tasted of sin and despair.

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