Aren’t You Too Sweet Salt-God Sato-San? - V2 Chapter 0
Prologue : She’s my girlfriend, right?
Oumi town, a neighbouring town of Sakuraba city, used to be a castle town. However Oumi castle itself is said to be burned down by lightning strike long ago but the townscape of the castle still retains a strong impression of that time and is famous as a tourist spot.
————The time is late July.
As the heat had finally reached its peak and with the sweltering hot air, the couples in kimono walking down the main street no longer seemed to have time to enjoy their dates.
A little off the main street, through a complicated alley, there is a famous restaurant that is known by those in the know to be a must-see for minsta.
Ukigumodou.
It’s a shaved ice specialty store that opened just last year.
“Thank you for your patience. Here is your French hydrangea shaved ice/Ajisai shaved ice..”
(T/N : images of French hydrangea shaved ice and hydrangea it’s inspired from. Well as for French word in French hydrangea I don’t know so I am just writing it down as it is)
As we both melted in the quiet, air-conditioned store, the smiling lovely female waitress brought us our orders, one by one.
Both Sato-san and I let out a sigh, even though we had already seen it at the Minsta.
It was shaved ice dyed a vivid purple, just like a hydrangea.
“(O, Oshio-kun, Oshio-kun! That’s amazing! The shaved ice is purple! Isn’t it that! It’s called dreamy cute!)”
I don’t know why she is whispering but it seems like Sato-san likes it very much.
She was fidgeting restlessly, her well-formed face changing rapidly with surprise, joy, and anticipation. Seeing her, the clerk smiles.
“It’s colored with a special herbal tea called Butterfly Pea. If you pour this lemon sauce on it, it will change its color.”
“Will the colour change?”
“Yes, the ingredients in the butterfly pea react with the acidity of the lemon……… No, let’s not get into the difficult details. Kanojo-san can’t wait to see it.”. (T/N : kanojo mainly means girlfriend but can also mean referring to a girl.Though generally japanese use surnames/given names with/without honorifics. There is no direct pronunciation for He/She hence I am leaving there as it is due to the following scene)
Kanojo-san?
As I tilt my head at the familiar word and follow the gaze of the chuckling clerk, there was Sato-san looking at shaved ice like a kid.
It was here that I finally understood the meaning of the word.
“Oh, right, she is your girlfriend, isn’t she?”
“?”
“N, no. Nothing”
“……I see. Please take your time.”
Bowing slightly, the clerk withdrew to the back of the store looking a bit puzzled.
After seeing off her back, I looked at Sato-san to see if she had noticed a faint blush on my face…….but it seemed like an unnecessary worry. Sato-san’s eyes were shining glittery in front of shaved ice.
Wet and glossy hair, long eyelashes, sharp nose and soft lips.
Her, I still can’t believe she is my girlfriend now.
The girl in front of me, Sato Koharu, is my lover.
“Sato-san if you don’t try the change now, the shaved ice will melt, you know?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right! Haha! Then let’s eat it~~”
Embarrassed, Sato-san picked up a spoon and tried to stick it into the shaved ice. But,
“Ah! Wait Sato-san”
I leaned forward without a moment’s delay on the table and clutched her hand. Just in time, the spoon didn’t reach the shaved ice.
“Oh, that was close…”
I let out a sigh of relief.
I almost forgot why we took the trouble to take the train to the next town.
“Sato-san, you still haven’t taken the photo of shaved ice, right?….a picture for Minsta……..”
I was in the middle of saying this when I noticed something strange. Her face, which had been slightly looking down became increasingly flushed, then she said in a almost fading voice which could disappear any moment, unlike the lively voice just before.
“……”
“erm?”
“Han….”
Han?
As I furrowed my brow at the mysterious word, I soon noticed that Sato-san’s gaze was fixed on a point.
When I followed her gaze, noticing it was a little strange, i saw my overstretched hand was piled up on top of her spoon holding hand……
“Ah, woah!? I’m sorry!”
I promptly jumped back and sat down like a rewinded video.
Sato-san, on the other hand, was frozen in place as if she had been put on pause.
However, the redness of her face is currently beating her personal best. A little more and she will be going to spew out steam from her ear like a kettle.
Since earlier she was someone who easily blushed but still, it was never bad like this. I was so embarrassed that I looked away from Sato-san.
“………”
If you put this lemon sauce on it, it will change its color. The shopkeeper’s words flashed through my mind.
I thought it was a strange thing, but this was even stranger.
It was just skin to skin contact and yet her face was now as red as strawberry flavored shaved ice.
Butterflies change color when they react to acidic substances, so what ingredient is she reacting to?
It’s obvious to and that’s,
“I, I Will put lemon in it”
Sato-san said, unable to withstand the awkward atmosphere. The voice was turned inside out.
“I will put lemon into it ok!? Haha! It’s like karaage! Isn’t it interesting, no?” (T/N : karaage, japanese deep fried chicken)
It’s not interesting at all. But since it sounded like a call for help, so I replied with a stiff smile which makes me want to cry.
“It’s interesting”
“Then I will take a video of it”
“Ahaha, take it properly, okay? I’m going to cast a spell on this shaved ice now!”
The tone of voice was mischievous unlike usual Sato-san but the sentence in the end was so shaky that I felt a little sorry for her.
Apparently she was so overwhelmed from earlier embarrassment that she didn’t even know what she was saying.
I can’t stand this kind of atmosphere! I’ve got to get a video of this!
“Well then, let’s go~!”
Sato-san, who had gone off on a crazy tangent, slowly dripped lemon sauce onto the top of the purple snow mountain.
I hurriedly started filming the video and watched the scene through the display of my smartphone.
“Ohh…….!”
“Wow…!”
This was certainly magic like.
The lemon sauce made a hole in the snow mountain and taking it as core, the purple colour of the shaved ice turned into the pink colour in a twinkle of the eyes.
Both I and Sato-san become so fascinated that we both unconsciously forget ourselves while looking at the magical scene.
“Amazing………”
However, that may not have been a good idea.
The mountain of ice crystals served in a little bowl slowly melted and started to fell apart.
“Ah”
“It’s melting”
I quickly leaned forward from the table and successfully caught a lump of ice that was about to fall down with my spoon.
“Safe………”
Just in time. I looked up, inwardly praising my reflexes.
However, soon I realised that I’m in a position where the tip of the spoon that was stretched out was sticking out in front of Sato-san, whose face had turned red and she was trembling.
No matter how you looked at it, it was in the “Ahn” position.
“Ah…..”
Instantly, my thoughts soon spin around.
Should I pull the spoon back, even if I have to force it a little? Or should I just casually say ahh? No, isn’t this creepy?
Putting the crumbled ice back where it belongs? Or should I just make a joke out of it and eat it myself? No, no, no, didn’t it too self conscious or disgusting?
Go! Go! The time you spend wondering already smells like a virgin!
However, in reality this lasted only 0.01 seconds.and next moment,
“Sa, Sato-san, say ahn……”
After I said it, I immediately felt a rush of regret and shame that made me want to bite my tongue off, but …… But it was already too late.
“Ahn……”
Sato-san’s eyes widened in surprise, and then she slowly opened her trembling lips.
I can’t back down anymore. Fearfully, I inserted the spoon into her mouth and very carefully dropped a lump of ice onto her tongue, then slowly pulled it out.
What the hell is this ritual?
“Is it tasty? Sato-san…..”
Sato-san closed her mouth awkwardly and after moving her mouth a few times……
“So……”
“So?”
She squeezed her lips tightly and said,
“It’s sour, Oshio-kun……”
“That’s because the syrup is extra…..”
I turned around after hearing the voice from behind to see the clerk from before standing there smiling kindly
“Yes, you can have this syrup or condensed milk as you like. Now, please enjoy your time once again”
The giggling clerk set up the various types of syrup on the table and once again retreated back to the store.
Sato-san and I couldn’t look up at each other until almost half of the shaved ice was just colored water.
Of course, that’s because we both were embarrassed.
T/N : Next update – 2/10
Actually this is a prologue but due to numbering problem, I am naming it as chapter 1 and so on.