Chapter 170: The Bear Is Taught How to Make Tea

Chapter 170:
The Bear Is Taught How to Make Tea

 

THE DAY AFTER the shortcake tasting at Noa’s house, I returned with Nerin.

“Yuna,” she said, “are we really going to learn how to prepare tea at the lord’s manor?”

“Yep. I’m going to make sure you learn everything about prepping tea, Nerin.”

“But to go to the lord’s manor…” Nerin shuddered.

“No need to be worried. It’s the maid, Lala, who’s teaching us, not Cliff or something.”

“That’s still got me nervous!”

After thinking about where we’d learn to make tea, considering where the tools, tea, and instructor were, we’d decided against asking Lala to run all the way to the shop. We ended up going to the estate. It wasn’t like I could let Nerin go to the lord’s house alone, though, so I’d decided to go with her.

“Um, why am I here too?” Fina asked uncertainly.

“Because Nerin said she doesn’t want to do it alone,” I said. Fina was basically the only person for the job, considering her history of visiting the estate. “Plus, aren’t you and Noa friends?”

“We’re friendly, but…friends? Can I really say that?”

“I think you can. If you said you weren’t, you’d definitely make Noa sad.”

“Okay,” said Fina with a happy nod. “Good.”

 

Once we got to Cliff’s estate, Lala was there to greet us.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I see you brought Fina too.”

Fina bobbed her head. “Yes, thank you for having me today.”

“This is one of Morin’s relatives,” I said. “She’s going to make the cake at the shop.”

“I-I’m Nerin. Thank you for having me today.” Nerin bowed her own head like Fina.

“I am the maid, Lala, and it is my pleasure to work at this estate. It is I who is thankful to have you here.” Lala bowed her head, and Nerin followed suit again. “I have finished the preparations. If you could come this way?”

She led us to the kitchen. “I have prepared three varieties of tea,” she continued. “I believe that any of them would suit the cake Ms. Yuna has made, but each of them has subtle differences in how they must be prepared. Take care to remember them.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

Lala gave Nerin a gentle smile. “You do not need to be so nervous.”

 

And like that, Lala started her tea-making workshop. She explained the varieties of tea, how much to use, the temperature at which to boil the water, and how long to steep each type of tea. Meanwhile, Nerin and Fina took frantic notes.

To serve as a model example, Lala had them immediately try the tea she had prepared.

“It’s delicious,” said Nerin.

It tasted great to me, too, considering I was more a tea lover than a coffee person. “It really is good.”

“Um, I’d like some sugar, please,” said Fina.

Lala chuckled. “Help yourself!” She brewed her another cup with extra sugar.

“It makes me want something sweet to eat,” Fina said after trying it.

“Then would you like some of this?” I pulled the shortcake out onto the table from my bear storage, and the three of us had the tea alongside the cake.

“Even less-expensive teas pair well enough with cake,” said Nerin.

“Mmhm! It’s real good.”

It didn’t seem like the quality of the tea would be an issue.

“Now, please prepare the teas for one person at a time, in the same way I did.”

I thought Nerin would volunteer, but she shook her head. I ended up going first. Well…if I did learn, I’d be able to enjoy some great tea from the comfort of my own home, which couldn’t hurt. So I did my best to brew the tea just like Lala had.

“Is this okay?” Once I was done, I picked up the teapot and poured tea carefully into a cup.

“Yes, excellent, Miss Yuna.”

“Could you try it? As my teacher?” I placed the cup of tea in front of Lala.

“Ha! I warn you, I’m quite the harsh critic.”

“You can take it a little easy on me…”

Lala chuckled at that, and took a slow, thoughtful sip. “Miss Yuna, is this your first time brewing tea? Simply put, it is delicious. I daresay I can give you a passing grade on your first pour.”

Wow, that quickly? Well, she’d taught me how much tea to use and what temperature to brew it at, so it wasn’t like there was much room for mistakes.

After that, Nerin and Fina took turns at brewing tea. Nerin’s nerves got to her at first, and she messed up, but she nailed it on the second try.

“It seems you are all fast learners.”

“We have a good teacher. It helps.”

She’d covered everything for us in such detail that I felt confident we could brew great tea as long as we followed her instructions to the letter. I wonder how long it had taken Lala to figure out how to do this perfectly?

“I’d like to thank you in some way, Lala. Is there anything I can do for you? Give you all the cake you can eat or something?”

“That’s quite the charming proposition, but all I ask is that you occasionally come to play with Madame Noire.”

“Are you sure that’s enough?”

“Yes. Not every day, of course, but it seems Madame Noire enjoys herself very much when you and Fina visit, Miss Yuna. Please do come by.”

“I will.”

“Me too,” added Fina, “as long as Lady Noa doesn’t mind me coming!”

Lala smiled. “Thank you very much.”

 

Noa wandered into the kitchen while we were snacking down on the cakes and tea we’d made. “Oh, I knew it. Yuna and Fina are here…and you’re all eating cake on top of that! Why didn’t you call me? That’s so unfair.”

“You had your studies, Madame Noire.”

“You didn’t have to leave me out just because of that.”

“It wasn’t like we were trying to leave you out,” I said. “And you know it. We came by to learn how to make tea today.”

“Ugh, I do know, but…it’s unfair seeing everyone enjoying themselves and eating cake.”

“In that case, how about Fina and I brew you some tea?”

“As long as it isn’t bitter…”

She wound up drinking our tea and liking it just fine. When Nerin had found out Noa was the daughter of the Lord, though, she just shook her head. “I could never brew tea for the lord’s very own daughter.”

Well, she’d have to get used to it. Noa was going to come by the shop sooner or later, so she’d eat the cake Nerin baked and drink the tea she made anyway. I guess I could keep her in the dark for now.

Other than Noa’s intrusion, Lala’s tea workshop ended without any major issues.

Now all we had to do was practice at home and at the shop. Since Lala had prepped the tea-making tools, we could practice at home…and I could also make great tea for myself whenever I wanted. The only issue was that it was a bit of a bother. Tea bags would be way more convenient, but that wasn’t happening.

 

Thanks to Cliff’s introduction and Milaine’s work, we got the tea for our shop on the cheap. Really helps to know political big shots like the lord and the Merchant Guild master when you’re in a pinch, it seems.

After consulting Milaine, Tiermina, and Morin on the details, we decided to sell the cakes by expanding the counter space where we stocked the bread.

 

Debut day for the cake finally came and the customers filed in, aiming to buy Morin’s bread like usual. But with them came other customers who were there for the cake. Several days before, we’d asked the customers who were coming in for the bread to try bite-sized free samples. Okay, it was partly a way of getting rid of the practice cakes, but it paid off. Thanks to the free samples, the shortcakes were selling like hotcakes.

We’d set things up so that it’d be a little cheaper to order the tea with the cake than separately—a sort of combo. The customers could still buy the milk or the juice too, of course. We’d also prepped some salted potato chips they could add as a side. A cake and chip combo—the most powerful of all combos, though just thinking about it made me feel heavier. Sure, it was great for business to let them eat cake, but maybe I could also make a poster warning people about the dangers of overeating?

Ehh, I’d save that until someone like Milaine came by and started eating six slices or more.

Tiermina calculated the price based on ingredients and cooking time. We’d priced it so that it was more than affordable for everyday people, but it still cost more than a piece of bread.

I mean, we had to make some kind of profit.

 

Cake selling was going well—we’d successfully sold out our whole stock. I decided not to mess with what was working; I wanted to see how things went over time first, then consult with Nerin, Morin, and Tiermina. Stuff like that.

“I’m beat.” Nerin plunked down onto a seat.

“How was it, seeing the cake you made yourself selling?”

“Oh, it made me really happy. When I see people eating my cake with a smile, saying that they enjoy it, it makes me want to try some tomorrow.”

“Looks like the tea is popular too,” said Morin.

Tiermina nodded. “It kept us pretty busy, that tea. We’d have to prep it as orders came in.”

That couldn’t be helped—we couldn’t leave tea to sit if we wanted it to be any good.

“It’ll make things easier if you teach the kids how to make it next time.”

“Nerin, I can learn!”

“Me too.”

“Ohh, you’re all such good kids.” Nerin gave them a big bear hug. I agreed with her. They were all way too good.

“Nerin, everyone,” Karin called out in the middle of the break, “we’re going to prep for tomorrow in a few.” The kids energetically answered, and before long, were on the move again.

“Sure is nice being young,” said Nerin with a sigh. We watched the kids throw themselves into their work.

“You’re fifteen, Nerin, aren’t you?”

“Watching the kids just made me feel old.”

“Then what, Nerin, does that make me a grandmother or something?”

“Auntie Morin?!”

Morin, who had been listening in on the conversation, was now staring at Nerin.

“Um, not at all! You’re young, Auntie Morin! No one’d think you were a granny.” Nerin waved her hand frantically this way and that, denying it as loudly as she could.

“If I’m young,” said Morin, “then you must be even younger, Nerin.”

“That’s...”

“And despite being so young, you’re trying to make all the kids do all your work for you?”

“I’ll—I’ll start getting stuff ready for tomorrow right away!” Nerin got right back to work.

Morin watched with a smile. “She’s far more diligent than she looks. Don’t be too hard on her.”

“As long as she gets along with the kids, it’s all fine by me. And you’re watching over her when it comes to that, aren’t you?”

“I am. And I’ll make sure to teach her well.” With that, Morin got back to her own work.