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Apparently, You Can Tell Where Someone is From by What They Call This Food

Translated by: ME

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

Today is the day I made plans to meet with Flora-chan (the butcher).

Since the nature of our conversation is a bit... unconventional, I didn’t exactly want people eavesdropping. If someone overheard us, the two of us together would likely be branded as "delusional, chuunibyou, and cringy girls."

Thus, we decided to have our talk over tea at my place.

***

My home is, technically, a Marquis’s estate.

We are high-ranking nobility. In other words, we’re the "elite."

As a result, the mansion is naturally massive, with a staff of about thirty servants.

「Milady, your friend is arriving today, isn't she?」

My maid, Layla, says this as she struggles to wrestle my stubborn vertical ringlets into a half-up style. She’s pulling and tugging without a hint of restraint, causing my head to jerk back and forth, but this is a daily occurrence.

「Yes. Though we aren't quite close enough to be called 'friends' just yet. I’d be happy if we could become friends, though.」

After all, we played the same game in our past lives—we are, so to speak, kindred spirits. As for her being a MODDER for that game, I have every reason to want to get close to her.

Creating a MOD (Game Modification Program) naturally requires a deep familiarity with the game's content and internal mechanics. She undoubtedly knows more about this world than I do.

Well, rather than "the world," she knows more about that ridiculous game.

I played it quite a bit myself, but that was strictly limited to the management simulation part. I didn't pay much attention to the romance side. I want to ask her how things like flag management actually worked.

「Then, I shall put my heart and soul into preparing you so that you may win over your friend, Milady!」

「...Keep it moderate, please.」

I give Layla a warning through the mirror as she gets overly fired up.

Layla is Franz’s older sister. Franz has an elusive personality, but his sister is quite a piece of work herself.

On the day I first went to the royal castle, she similarly declared, 「I shall prepare you with all my might!」 and she truly did. As a result, she applied makeup so thick I looked like a stage actor and dressed me in a ruffled, frilly, neon-pink passion dress that made me want to ask, 「Where do you even buy this!?」 It took about two hours to fix the damage.

She isn't a bad person. It’s just that her actions are a bit... unpredictable.

「Wait, wait, waaiiiit!! Layla, stop! What do you think you’re doing with that dress!?」

Reflected in the mirror, I saw Layla carefully bringing over a deep purple, glitter-drenched dress from the wardrobe. Seriously, what is that dress!? I don't remember ever buying something like that!

And it’s an evening gown! It’s morning! A refreshing morning!! Flora-chan is coming over just after noon! Not in the evening, but just after noon!!

「What am I doing? Why, I was thinking of having you wear it, Milady...」

「A normal one-piece dress is fine! I don't need a gown!!」

In fact, even if it were an evening party, that dress would be a hard pass! It looks like something an enka singer would wear at an expensive dinner show (not that I'm biased).

Layla visibly slumped, casting her eyes down with a 「I see...」 But I must not be deceived. If I show even a hint of pity and say, 「I’ll wear it next time,」 she will literally force me into it the next time I have to dress up. I have suffered too many psychological scars...

Honestly, I suspect these siblings are just playing with me.

I am a Lady, you know? I am a human being at the very peak of the household hierarchy!

...Though at this point, explaining that to these siblings seems utterly pointless.

Next, Layla brought over a normal one-piece dress and hung it on a rack. See? That’s all you had to do from the start. Why do you have to insert a weird "action" as a cushion every time...?

「The silhouette of this dress is lovely, but the downside is that it is a bit plain...」

「No, it is not plain at all.」

It’s a solid color, so it might be "plain" in that sense. It’s a clean-cut, elegant dress. If anything, gaudy decorations would ruin it.

「How about we decorate the chest with some flowers!?」

Don't 「How about we!?」 me!!

「It’s fine just as it is.」

「Then, adding some lace to the hem...」

「JUST LEAVE IT ALONE!!」

「Yes...」

Layla did another exaggerated slump, but I decided to ignore her.

「By the way, what was with that dress earlier? I don't remember buying it...」

「I stayed up all night sewing it myself.」

It was handmade!?

She spent the whole night making... that...

「...Please make sure you sleep at night. You won't be able to recover from your fatigue.」

「Thank you for your concern. However, I am fine. While I worked through the night to create it, I slept during the day instead.」

That’s not "fine"! Work during the day!!

「Inspiration flows better at night...!」

That’s just called a "midnight high"!!

Sigh... Honestly, what am I going to do with these siblings...?

「I sewed each bead and sequin one by one while thinking of you, Milady, performing fine work with eyes blurred from staying up all night...」

Layla is muttering something in the background that sounds like a curse. La-la-la, I can't hear you.

Layla reached for the dress still hanging by the wall. ...Hm? Some kind of string is coming out from the chest area...?

「If you pull this string...」

As she spoke, Layla gave the mysterious string a vigorous tug.

And what do you know...!

The deep purple sequin dress transformed into a golden sequin dress!!

Incredible!! It’s like Gold-Li-tan!! It’s amazing, but I absolutely do not want to wear it!!

「You would surely monopolize everyone's gaze.」

...I’m sure I would. I’d monopolize their "curious" stares, certainly. Why the proud look on your face, Layla? Did you think I’d be happy about this?

Seriously, what are you making while staying up all night? How does that quick-change gimmick even work? Pa-trasche, I’m so tired... (of nitpicking).

***

I already feel a pointless sense of exhaustion, but this is a daily occurrence, so I’m used to it. It should be about time for Flora-chan to arrive.

I’ve asked the maids to set up a table in the garden with tea and snacks. Starting with the Layla-Franz siblings, the servants in this house are all a bit "off." "Off" is... well, to put it bluntly, they’re crazy. Their thought processes are beyond the comprehension of a common-sense person like me.

Surely, there won't be any strange gimmicks at a table set for a guest... No, it’s too early to relax. A true professional always acts while considering the worst-case scenario.

...Though I’m not sure what I’m a professional at.

「The guest has arrived. I am guiding her to the garden.」

Layla appeared, gave a bow, and announced.

「Right. I’m coming.」

「Milady.」

As I stood up from my chair, Layla stopped me. I turned around with a 「What now?」 only to see Layla holding that purple dress in both hands. Where did she even pull that from!?

「It isn't too late! Wouldn't this outfit be much better...!?」

...There isn't a single part of this that I don't want to nitpick. But I can't keep Flora-chan waiting. Especially not over something as trivial as this.

「This dress is fine. ...Now then, we mustn't keep a guest waiting. Let’s go.」

「Yes...」

Hey! Did you just 「Tch」 at me!?

***

「Thank you for waiting.」

As I approached the table where Flora-chan sat all alone, she looked up with a relieved smile.

Ahhh... my soul is being cleansed... What a lovely smile.

「U-um, thank you very much for inviting me today!」

Flora-chan stood up and gave a quick bow.

Ad-or-able.

「No, not at all. Thank you for coming.」

「Um, this! It’s just a small thing, but please share it with everyone!」

She held out a box.

If it’s "for everyone," it must be food.

It felt slightly warm when I took it.

「May I open it?」

「Y-yes. Um, it’s really nothing special, though...」

I wonder what this beautiful girl’s gift is. With a bit of excitement, I opened the lid.

Inside were rows of round, brown objects.

T-this is...!

「What delicious-looking Oban-yaki. Thank you.」

At my words, Flora-chan made a 「Eh?」 face.

No way... even after coming to another world...

「It’s 'Kaiten-yaki,' right?」

I KNEW IT!!

Even after reincarnating in another world, the "you can tell where someone is from by what they call this" debate follows me!!

「No, it’s 'Oban-yaki,' isn't it?」

「No, normally it’s 'Kaiten-yaki.'」

We both found ourselves arguing, neither willing to back down.

However, a conversation between us two reincarnated people wasn't going to settle anything. I looked at Layla, who was standing by.

「Say, Layla, do you know what this sweet is called?」

Layla is a native of this world. She isn't like us, dragging along baggage from a past life.

Layla looked into the box, looked puzzled, and tilted her head slightly.

「Those are Imagawa-yaki, aren't they?」

Hearing that, I looked at Flora-chan.

「In that case, to avoid pointless conflict, let’s go with 'Imagawa-yaki.'」

「Yes. Understood.」

Flora-chan nodded in agreement.

Layla was born and raised right here in the capital of the Sei-Sene Kingdom. If she says so, then 'Imagawa-yaki' is likely the popular term in the capital.

Phew...

Good thing Layla was here. At that rate, it might have actually turned into a war.

(Though, that food is definitely 'Oban-yaki.')

In any case, I urged Flora-chan to take a seat. Just then, the maids arrived with graceful steps, pouring tea into cups and setting out the sweets.

...I was careless! I should have asked beforehand what they were planning to serve!!

The maid placed a wooden confectionery tray in the middle of the table. Already strange, but fine. On it was a colorful assortment of snacks.

Starting with light brown rakugan (pressed sugar sweets), then jelly (agar) sandwiched between pink, yellow, and green wafers. Those small gold and silver wrappers are probably chocolate. No, there’s a chance those wrappers are fake and contain incredibly salty tuna instead...

Wait, that’s not the point!!

The tea Layla poured into the cups had an unusually toasted aroma.

I mean! Can't we just normally prepare scones and black tea on a three-tiered tray or something!?

What is this!? It’s the 「snacks you get when you visit your grandma's house during the Obon holidays」! And this tea is bancha, isn't it!?

Honestly... what is with this house... I wanted a normal "Naro-ppa" (web novel) reincarnation. Don't serve snacks from a grandma in the countryside to a guest...

「Layla, about these sweets...」

As I turned toward Layla, she gave me a bright smile.

「These are the 'Top Three Favorites' prepared by Irina-san.」

「I see...」

I was going to ask if she could swap them out, but...

Irina-san is the oldest maid in our house. She is eighty-one years old.

They were snacks literally prepared by a grandma...

Grandma Irina has a hunched back, but she’s still full of energy. She has declared herself 「active for life,」 and she’s a stubborn old woman who won't rest no matter how many times we tell her to.

I can't just brush off Grandma’s kindness...

「Flora-san... if you’d like, please have some.」

「Thank you. It reminds me of my grandmother’s house; it’s quite nostalgic.」

I thought so.

This is a Marquis’s house, though... it’s not a grandma’s house...

At least put in one kind of chocolate... Grandma’s snack selection is way too old-fashioned.

The maid brought out the Oban... Imagawa-yaki I just received from Flora-chan, beautifully arranged on a plate. It was served with thin tissue paper so it could be eaten by hand. I don't really need the paper, but as far as Lady-like etiquette goes, it can't be helped.

「Well then, Flora-san...」

「Ah, um!」

Interrupting me, Flora-chan gave a slight, wry smile.

「I’m sorry for interrupting, but could you call me 'Hana' instead?」

「I don't mind, but why?」

Well, since it’s 'Flora,' I can see the connection to 'Flower' (Hana).

Flora-chan—now Hana-chan—continued with her wry smile.

「With the name 'Flora,' there are two other girls who look just like me, aren't there? Also, my surname in my past life was 'Hanada'...」

Ah... if she’s Hanada-san, then she’s definitely Hana-chan. If we were at school or work together, that’s exactly what I’d call her, for sure.

「Then, Hana-san it is.」

「Yes.」

Hana-chan smiled brightly. So cute.

「Please call me 'Ann.'」

Hana-chan nodded readily and then stared at me intently.

「Ann-san, are you the character who was called 'Roll-chan' on the internet...?」

「Most likely. I have the financial leeway to purchase high-priced items... and then there’s this vertical roll...」

The character that was probably me was called 'Roll-chan' online. Naturally, the idea came from the vertical roll hairstyle. It definitely has nothing to do with those long, thin roll cake pastries. (Though they are delicious.)

Once Roll-chan starts appearing regularly at a shop, it becomes quite profitable, so she was a fairly popular character. Similarly, there was another character called 'Old Gentleman' who would buy large quantities of expensive goods. I’ll probably run into him somewhere eventually.

Now then... what should we talk about first?

*****

Again, this is more like cultural reference corner rather than a gag joke explanation....

Antoine and Hana (Flora) immediately get into a heated argument over whether the snack is called "Oban-yaki" or "Kaiten-yaki. In Japan, this is a legendary "civil war" topic. Depending on which prefecture you are from, the name changes (Oban-yaki, Kaiten-yaki, Imagawa-yaki, Oyaki, etc.).
Antoine expects a high-class "Afternoon Tea" with scones and silver platters but receives a wooden tray of Rakugan and jelly-sandwiched wafers. This is a classic Japanese trope called "Grandma’s House Snacks" (Obaachan no uchi no okashi). These are traditional, often dry or overly sweet snacks that are staples in elderly households but considered "uncool" or "old-fashioned" by younger people.
Layla stays up all night making a dress that is purple, glittery, and has a "quick-change" gimmick into gold. Antoine calls this "Midnight High" (the state of mind where you think a terrible idea is genius because it’s 3:00 AM).
TAntoine says, 「Patrasche, I’m so tired...」. This is a famous quote from the ending of A Dog of Flanders. It is the go-to line for any Japanese person who is exhausted by someone else's nonsense and is "ready to see the light."
Antoine sees gold and silver wrapped candies and suspects they might be "salty tuna." In Japan, there is a common snack called "Maguro bites" (cubes of seasoned, dried tuna) that are wrapped in metallic foil exactly like expensive chocolates. It is a common "trap" for children looking for sweets.
Antoine complains that she wanted a "Normal Naro-ppa reincarnation. Naro-ppa is a portmanteau of Narou (the website "Shousetsuka ni Narou") and Europa. It refers to the generic, idealized, pseudo-European fantasy setting used in most Isekai.She is annoyed because her "European Fantasy" is being constantly interrupted by "Japanese Rural Grandma" energy.

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