The days passed and it was October in no time.
While I was busy preparing for the cultural festival and submitting reports, my work at the Evening Rain Cafe became a time to relax.
Recently, the number of customers had been increasing.
The reason for that was because Iida-san had been advertising in various places.
The new customers were mainly people from the neighbourhood, both elders and customers my age came to meet up with each other.
Their support for their hometown was amazing.
They were proud of the land of Nagasaki and I wanted to learn their spirit of valuing traditional food and customs.
It was a changing environment, but the Owner was still the same. Unsociable in the shop.
However, he picked me up whenever I had work and we went for dinner several times. I was also able to see the night view that he promised and enjoyed it from a quiet spot.
Ryoko-chan said that it was strange that we still weren’t dating.
I’ve never dated a man before, so I can’t tell.
Speaking of that, Komada-san, who had been interested in the Owner, seemed to have found a new boyfriend shortly after and did not press me further. I was relieved.
But, we haven’t talked since that day, so maybe I did antagonise her.
Well, that was what happened.
I tried to think of it as the price I had to pay for her to lose interest in the Owner and the Evening Rain.
It was raining today.
It was early into the autumn season and it was getting a bit cold at night. Because it was raining, I felt that even more.
Holding the sign to say that we were open, I picked up an umbrella and went outside where I saw the figure of a man.
「Welcome–oh, Iida-san.」
「Hidaka-san, good evening~.」
It was Iida-san who was standing in front of the shop gate.
「Were you waiting?」
「No~, I just arrived.」
「That’s good.」
As the rain suddenly got heavier, I immediately guided him into the shop.
Today’s menu was chocolate Castella and hot milk.
When I told the Owner that Iida-san was hungry, he cut three thick slices of Castella onto a plate. Iida-san has a sweet tooth, so he would be happy.
「Uwa~, this is the first time I’ve eaten chocolate Castella.」
Iida-san happily slipped his fork into the Castella.
「Mm, it’s delicious.」
Involuntarily, I replied with a ‘That’s right~’.
The patissier of baked confectionery that the Owner knew was really good. I was allowed to taste some of it before we opened. The crispy texture of the sugar coating, the fluffy dough and rich chocolate flavour delighted my mouth.
「Castella, I like it a lot and want to eat it everyone now and then, but it’s quite hard to eat one all by myself.」
「I know that very well!」
There are supermarkets and convenience stores where you could buy different sized portions to eat, but they couldn’t compete with the taste of ones made by skilled craftsmen.
Of course, I also like the taste of simple Castella, but sometimes I miss the taste of luxurious Castella.
「Castella wasn’t a Portuguese confectionery, was it?」
「That’s right.」
Surprisingly, castella wasn’t a Portuguese confectionary.
Castella was first created in the late 15th century in the kingdom of Castilia, the predecessor of modern Spain.
It seems that it was called Castella because it came from there.
At that time, there were only hard confectionaries like biscuits, so fluffy confectioneries with meringues were something revolutionary.
「It seems that Castilia was pronounced as Castella in Portuguese, so that is probably where the name came from.」
「Are there any other origin theories?」
「Yes, there are some others.」
Because the egg white was whipped until it stood up on corners, the cake came to be named after castle (castillo) because of how it looked like a castle, leading to “castella”.
There were other interesting things I also found. When whipping the egg white during the cooking process, it was explained that as much air should be beaten into it as possible, ‘bata as claras castelo’, the last word reached the ears of the Japanese and resulted in it being called Castella.
「Bata as claras castelo, it sounds like a magic spell. So cool.」
「It certainly feels like something you would want to say aloud.」
Iida-san also said it was an interesting origin.
As the conversation was going well, the Owner came over.
He held a tray with a hot drink on it.
「Ah, Owner Mukai, good evening.」
The Owner was deadpan as he said thanks before placing the hot drink in front of Iida-san.
It seems that he had brewed some plum kombucha.
「After the sweet stuff, salty stuff is irresistible.」
Iida-san whispered as if relieved.
He seemed tired and his face seemed to have more shadows than usual.
The Owner seemed to have noticed and asked what had happened.
「Actually, there is an important deal the day after tomorrow, but it is unlikely to go through, it’s a bit depressing.」
Even though Iida-san is always easygoing, it seems there were also days where he looked like this.
I heard that it was someone that he had met with with several times and neither side was giving in.
「It may seem like a demotion from the main office, but actually, the Nagasaki branch’s sales have been slumping for a while, so coming here was actually a promotion.」
「A promotion is it?」
「It seems to be the case.」
Iida-san said that he couldn’t fail here because he was carrying expectations.
「A Castella is too simple for a gift, isn’t it?」
「It has to be a local specialty though.」
「I agree.」
Iida-san said that he would like to gift something from Nagasaki that would make the discussion a little smoother.
The other party had never agreed with him no matter how many times he had tried to strike a deal.
Was he a stubborn person?
I think it would be difficult to change such a person’s mind in a day or so.
The Owner folded his arms and frowned his eyebrows in deep thought.
Nagasaki’s specialties: Castella, Gosanyaki Castella, Yori Yori, Sheath Cake and Pao Doce.
I thought that Kangiku would be something rare and pleasing, but that confectionery was mainly sold by pre-order and it was usual to have to wait several months. Ryoko-chan said that it wasn’t something easily available.
「……Confeito.」
「Yes?」
The Owner muttered a mysterious word.
Iida-san asked if it was a foreign confectionery.
「It is said to be one of the three great foreign confectioneries.」
The first is, needless to say, Castella.
The other is Marubouro, which is now a famous confectionery in Saga.
And the last one, is Confeito–.
「It’s Confeito.」
Confeito is a Portuguese word that means “confection”.
It is a spiky sugar confection made from repeated sugar coats using fine granular sugar. The Owner told me that this was something introduced during the Muromachi period.
「It is said that the sweet was presented to Oda Nobunaga by the missionary Luis Frois.」
The Owner said that if Iida-san told the other party it was something that was giving to Oda Nobunaga, they should be happy to receive it.
「|The Confeito in the German glass jar might have captured the heart of the demon king of the sixth heaven.」
「That’s great!」
While listening to the Owner’s story, I realised that Iida-san’s expression gradually cleared up.
Owner also introduced a shop that was famous for its Confeito.
「Well, what matters isn’t the gift, but your negotiating skill.」
「That’s–that is true. However, the Confeito is a great encouragement.」
Iida-san immediately expressed his determination to buy some tomorrow. The Owner said that he would pray for his success.
「Thank you for your time today. The castella was delicious and I heard some valuable information. It was really nice to come here.」
He gave a deep bow and said that he would come again a different day to report on the results.
「Then, see you next time.」
「Yes. We look forward to your next visit.」
Iida-san waved his hands as the Owner and I saw him off.
The rain stopped before long and the Evening Rain Cafe closed for the night.