Chapter 71: Tuna Mayo Corn Bread

Chapter 71:
Tuna Mayo Corn Bread

It was still early in the morning and a bit cold out.

Shota slowly pushed the handcart with “Bakery Kimura” written on its side through the alley.

Oof… It’s chilly.

The temperature had dropped quite a bit recently, and all signs of summer were completely gone. Shota’s body trembled in the cold as he pushed the bread-filled cart, his feet light.

His destination was Western Cuisine Nekoya, a restaurant in the area.

Even before Shota’s father was born, Bakery Kimura had had a long working relationship with Nekoya, their biggest customer. The restaurant bought large quantities of butter rolls and crustless sandwich bread pretty much every day.

I wonder if she’s there today…

Once Shota finally made the jump to junior high, he’d at last begun his formal training as a baker. Delivering orders to Nekoya was part of that process. Up until last year, it was little more than a pain in the butt.

Nowadays, however, Shota found himself looking forward to Saturday deliveries.

It took about three minutes for Shota and his handcart to reach the back entrance of the building. As always, Shota pressed the button for the large transport elevator.

He waited for it to arrive. As soon as its doors opened, he plunged in with the handcart, heading straight for the first-floor basement.

Arriving in Nekoya’s familiar kitchen, Shota could hear and smell beef stew cooking. Once he realized nobody was in the kitchen, he was ever so slightly relieved.

“Excuse meeee! I’m here from Bakery Kimura! I have your bread!” Shota yelled, announcing his arrival clearly and concisely.

It didn’t take Aletta long to appear from the dining area. She was probably in the middle of her morning cleaning.

“Good morning, Shota!”

Shota trembled in surprise at the smile Aletta flashed as she greeted him. He did his best to hide his blushing face.

“Y-yo. Um, I brought the bread. Could you take it?”

“Of course! Could you help me put it in here?”

Aletta stood next to him so that she could carry the bread.

Shota’s nose picked up the scent of soap from Aletta’s beautiful golden hair, making him gulp. As always, she wore her black hair accessories as well.

Aletta’s Japanese was good, but judging by her name, she was likely a foreigner. For some reason, Shota had only ever seen her working on Saturdays since she was hired last year, even though Nekoya technically wasn’t open on Saturdays.

Thanks to Aletta, Shota had begun to enjoy helping out with the family business on Saturdays—and Saturdays alone.

Crap! Work. This is work.

Staring at Aletta while she put the bread loaves onto racks, Shota finally snapped to his senses and began to help her. They needed to put away a lot of bread, since Nekoya offered free refills on bread and rice. With two of them working, however, it didn’t take long to finish.

“I really appreciate the help.”

At Aletta’s almost-apologetic tone, Shota panicked, waving his hands back and forth. “I-It’s no big deal! Not at all!”

Clearing his throat, he attempted to complete his other goal for the day.

“U-um, so… Here.”

Now that Shota thought about it, this was his first time ever giving a woman a present. Well, other than his mother.

He was a little nervous, but he managed to hand Aletta the bag he’d loaded onto the cart.

Aletta wore a somewhat puzzled expression, since she had little experience receiving gifts.

The bag was warm to the touch. Aletta assumed that it contained some kind of bread, judging by the aroma coming out.

“Oh! Is this…bread?”

“Yeah. Um, tuna mayo corn bread,” Shota replied, his cheeks red.

“Tuna mayo corn bread?”

“Yeah.”

Shota worked up every last ounce of courage he had to hold his head high and reply to the puzzled girl in front of him.

“This morning, the old man finally told me, ‘This is good enough to sell.’ So, I wanted to give you some.”

Bakery Kimura primarily sold filled and stuffed breads to office workers and students. Every day, they made large quantities of staples like chocolate cornets, curry bread, all manner of sandwiches, and of course, tuna mayo corn bread. The latter, in particular, was considered a staple among staples.

It took a lot of training to get the bread’s quality to an acceptable level. Shota was objectively better at baking bread than the average person. But even so, it took countless attempts before his father was finally satisfied with his work.

At last, Shota had lived up to his father’s high standards and made bread good enough to sell at the bakery. His father had given him permission to bake the shop’s daily batch of tuna mayo corn bread on his own.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Shota nodded at Aletta’s question. “I figured, if I’m gonna have anyone eat my baking, I’d want someone like you, Aletta… Er, never mind.”

He nearly let the cat out of the bag but managed to catch himself before it was too late.

“Well, I gotta go help the ’rents out, so I’ll be on my way!”

Shota grabbed his cart, dashing into the elevator as though fleeing the scene of a crime.

Aletta stood in the kitchen, bag in hand, just as confused as she had been moments ago.

“Um… What should I do?”

In the end, she decided to talk to the master about it. The master chuckled after hearing the details.

“Whoa. Shota from Kimura’s place, eh?”

Nekoya’s relationship with Bakery Kimura went back a long, long time.

The restaurant had started selling bread from the bakery well before the master was even born. In fact, when he was a student, he’d regularly dropped by the bakery for bread.

He’d even known Shota, who’d just entered high school, since the young baker was a baby. Shota was next in line to take over the family business.

They go and grow into adults before you know it.

“Well, if Shota’s pop said that tuna mayo corn bread is good enough to sell, it must be pretty dang tasty,” the master mused as he prepared the corn potage he’d cooked earlier that morning.

“You should dig in before it gets cold,” he added. “Tuna mayo corn bread’s still good at room temperature, but it’s especially delicious fresh out of the oven.”

The master would know. When he was younger, he’d indulged in more than his fair share of tuna mayo corn bread.

***

Aletta’s breakfast that day was a fresh vegetable salad, corn potage, and the tuna mayo corn bread Shota had given her.

“Let’s dig in.”

“Okay!” Sitting across from the master, Aletta said grace. “Thank you, oh god of demons, for this, my daily bread. I offer you my gratitude.”

She began to eat.

What bizarre bread… It is bread, right?

In the bag decorated with otherworldly script were two pieces of bread.

They were both exactly the same, as far as Aletta could tell. Their aroma tickled her nose.

She inspected one piece, picking it apart with the knowledge she’d gained during the last year.

Hmm. If I remember correctly, “tuna mayo” is tuna fish mixed with mayonnaise, and corn is a type of grain.

The light brown loaf was about the size of a person’s fist. The various ingredients in its center included oily tuna mixed with mayo and yellow specks of corn.

They rested atop the bread’s crust and had a positively enticing aroma.

Aletta gulped as she held the bread in her hands. It was still warm. Clearly, not much time had passed since it left the oven.

Bringing the tuna mayo corn bread to her mouth slowly and taking a bite, she was met with the baked bread’s crunchy mouthfeel and the smell and aroma of wheat.

Ah, this is tasty.

The loaf was made of the otherworld’s high-quality white bread. There was a soft, slightly sweet center beneath its crunchy surface.

However, this particular bread’s true value was in eating it with the ingredients at its center.

The slightly browned tuna mayo on the loaf’s surface fused pure, savory tuna and soft, sour mayo.

When the mouthfeel occasionally got crunchy, Aletta momentarily tasted sweetness wrapped in heat, likely from the inclusion of minced raw oranie. Plentiful, almost fruity sweet corn was also mixed into the bread.

All the fillings meshed well with the bread, making Aletta crave more. It didn’t take her long to finish the first piece.

“Phew… Ah.”

After enjoying the tuna mayo corn bread and sweet corn potage thoroughly, Aletta lowered her hands and noticed the master looking at her. She turned bright red.

For as long as she could remember, she had been poor. She’d struggled for food all her life. So getting tunnel vision when she was eating was a habit she wanted to break.

Despite the fact that she was in front of her boss, Aletta had indulged in the unfamiliar bread completely unselfconsciously.

But all the master could do was think about how charming Aletta was.

He’d known this waitress from the other world for a whole year now.

At first, he’d worried about whether things would work out. Nowadays, however, Aletta was a fundamental part of Saturdays at Nekoya. As far as the master was concerned, she was also a charming young lady and a customer who enjoyed his cooking wholeheartedly.

“Well? Is it good?” he asked. “The bread from Kimura’s place is great. One of these days, I’ll treat you to some other delicious bread.”

The master let the words slip from his mouth casually, watching Aletta.

A mess of breadcrumbs around her mouth, Aletta smiled and nodded.

“I can’t wait!”