Bonus Short Stories

Morning Routine

The morning sun shined into the washroom where the two of us were brushing our teeth. I was a full head taller than Marie in this world, so naturally, we were positioned with her standing in front of me. Brushing teeth must have been an unfamiliar practice for an elf, but she seemed to like the clean, mint-flavored toothpaste. I’d been living by myself all this time, so it made me smile seeing her baring her teeth as she brushed them.

My stomach was full with breakfast, and the sunlight was nice and warm. The peaceful air of the morning also contributed in making my eyelids feel heavy. As my consciousness began drifting slightly, I heard the sound of someone stifling laughter. When I opened my eyes, I saw Marie clearing her throat with a somewhat pained expression. She quickly finished gargling, then turned to me, red in the face.

“Y-You! How in the world did you manage to make a sleep bubble appear while brushing your teeth?!”

After getting scolded, I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed out my mouth with water. I wiped my mouth with a towel and turned to her.

“What? No I didn’t. I just got a tiny bit sleepy is all. If I really fell asleep, I’d probably be in the dream world.”

Marie had another coughing fit then shot a glare at me. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play, I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine. Just watch.”

Oh, okay... Though I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. Was she going to make a bubble come out of her nose too? She wouldn’t...would she?

The weather was just as nice the next morning, and I began brushing my teeth as usual. Marie, on the other hand, seemed to be up to something as she snuck away from the washroom. What was she planning? Was she serious about what she said yesterday?

As I thought about it, she suddenly appeared behind me. I stared at her in the mirror. She had a confident smile on her face as if she had something up her sleeve. She then raised her finger...and squished up her pretty nose, making it look like a pig’s snout.

“Baaahaha! That’s what the confident look was for? I can’t believe it!”

Taken by surprise, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Marie stood there, her face exploding in red.

“Wh-Wh-What are you laughing at?! This is payback for yesterday, okay? You lose for laughing harder than me!”

She tugged on my back desperately, but I was sorry to say her teary-eyed embarrassment only fueled my laughter further.

“You sure are adorable, Marie. I’m glad I was able to start my day with such a great sight.”

“Nooo! Forget what you just saw! I didn’t know what I was doing!” The elf stomped her feet in a display of frustration and embarrassment.

That was quite a fun event for me, but ever since that day, there was a piece of paper on the wall that read “No laughing while brushing teeth.”

I gargled water at the sink and thought to myself that there was never a dull moment when spending time with her.

It’s Roasted Corn, Ms. Elf

“Say, what are they selling over there?”

I turned when she asked me that and saw a vendor at a food stall cooking something with a towel twisted around his head. The phrase “dumplings over flowers” came to mind, but food stalls with a backdrop of cherry blossoms in full bloom always reminded me of this time of year. People tended to gather around beauty, then became customers for delicious food. I told Marie as such, and she giggled.

“I guess no matter what world you’re in, everyone thinks the same way. They should realize it’s a waste of time to be eating instead of enjoying such a beautiful view,” she said with an expression that seemed to say “Silly humans.”

Cherry blossoms were in full bloom around us, and it was nice and warm out with the springtime sun. Marie’s words were quite convincing, considering it was the most fantastical time of year in Japan.

“That’s true. I’m more interested in enjoying the cherry blossoms that only come out once a year rather than eating.”

“Absolutely. Since they only bloom for a short while, then...”

She stopped mid-sentence, probably because she caught a glimpse of the food. Boiled corn, vibrant yellow in color, was being roasted on a wire mesh. As they were flipped over, the burn marks on the other side became visible, which must have been a strange sight to the girl who came from another world. Her feet stopped moving shortly after she fell silent.

Soy sauce and mirin were poured onto the corn, and white smoke rose into the air with a szzt! In that moment, an eruption of aroma spread throughout the area as the sauce covered the slightly burned corn. The unsuspecting elf took the blow head-on and simply stood there with her mouth agape, her silver hair swaying behind her.

“Ah!”

It just wasn’t fair. The flavorful soy sauce, sweet mirin, and fragrant corn intertwined to assault innocent bystanders. The people who visited this place weren’t there for the food stalls by any means, but that aroma overwhelmed their desire to see the flowers with a need to sate their appetite. A half-fairy elf with no resistance to such an attack would no doubt be easy pickings.

“Um, Marie...it’s totally fine if you’d like to eat while viewing the flowers, you know.”

My words didn’t seem to reach her, because her purple eyes simply stared at the soy sauce soaking into the roasted corn. Then, she gulped loudly.

“Oh, uhh, I’m sorry. Were you saying something?”

“...This is called roasted corn. It’s said that eating them while viewing cherry blossoms makes the experience all the more enjoyable. Would you like to try one?”

“Ohh, yes! That’s a good idea! I think this is a great opportunity to learn more about Japanese culture!”

That was way more enthusiastic than I imagined. The vendor and I almost laughed at the sight of her waiting with restless excitement while I paid for the corn.

We finally got our food and headed toward a bench when she eagerly asked, “How do we eat it? Where do I start?” The look on her face alone when she took her first bite... It was like the girl had no intention of letting me enjoy the cherry blossoms in peace.

As she ate, her eyes widened and she let out a “Mmmfff!” while kicking her feet with childlike glee. Well, I felt like I’d gotten much more than my money’s worth, so I couldn’t complain.

“My, I’m definitely going to gain weight if I stay in this country for too long!”

As she said so, she took another big bite of her roasted corn. So, this was the meaning of “dumplings over flowers”. I looked up at the gorgeous sky and cherry blossoms and heard “Mmm! Deliciooous!” from beside me.

Do You Like Chutoro, Ms. Elf?

Looking around at my surroundings, I was in a cozy, brightly lit restaurant with seafood going around on a conveyor belt.

Marie had a dumbfounded look on her face as she moved her head from right to left, then uttered, “I...didn’t expect this sort of ‘rotating’.”

“What do you mean? Here, I’ll start ordering some fish I recommend.”

Just as I’d promised the other day, I brought Ms. Elf to a rotating sushi bar for her to enjoy. She seemed a bit restless sitting at the counter, but I was sure she’d settle in once we began eating. It didn’t take long for the sushi chef to bring us our orders.

“Here’s your chutoro! Enjoy.”

Marie had just begun learning Japanese, but I smiled at the sight of her mustering out a “thank, you.” The chef also smiled happily and told us, “Please feel free to order more.”

But the elf seemed somewhat glum.

“I’m still nervous about eating raw fish. I may get food poisoning...”

“Just try one. Trust me,” I told her, and she nodded hesitantly. She struggled a bit with her chopsticks, but managed to dip the chutoro into some soy sauce and bring it to her mouth.

This is a dish that’s quite popular in Japan and means “medium-fatty tuna.” As the name would suggest, the fatty meat melted in your mouth just from biting softly into it. The fish was slick in texture, and there was no mistaking the taste of in-season tuna. It was full of high-quality oils and completely free of unpleasant odors. It filled my mouth with umami as it lost its shape. It dissolved with the rice in my mouth, and its natural sweetness dominated my taste buds.

The elf was elated. Her worried expression from earlier had vanished, and she was fully enjoying the flavor with her eyes closed shut.

“Mmm! It’s melting in my mouth... Aaah! What is this called again? ‘Chutoro’? Okay, I’m going to remember that!”

Her eyes were shining as if she’d just made a grand discovery, which made me happy for some reason. She seemed to have the same effect on the others around us, who were listening in with smiles on their faces. She may have been speaking Elvish, but they seemed to understand her enough from her facial expressions.

An employee who’d been watching us was also smiling as she chimed in, “Today’s otoro is delicious too. It depends on your preferences, but it’s a grade higher than chutoro.”

Marie tilted her head, so I translated for her and her eyes widened. “Umm, I-I’d like one of those, please!” she said as she raised her pointer finger, making me and everyone else smile at the cute sight.

When the otoro arrived, her purple eyes seemed to sparkle even brighter.

“I can’t believe there’s something even greater than chutoro... Well, here I go...”

She put the piece of sushi into her mouth. She was handling her chopsticks better than earlier, and I figured her increase in finesse could be credited to being around tasty food. Then the girl stopped chewing. Marbled fatty tuna would melt in your mouth as soon as you began eating it, so as it instantly dissolved in her mouth and filled it with umami, the flavor of fresh fish sent a shiver through the elf’s body.

Seeing this, I said to her, “You know, there’s another grade above that called kama toro.”

She shook her head from side to side as if to say “No no no! I’m sorry, but I couldn’t possibly! That would be too much for an elf like me!” It was hilarious to see for some reason, and I had a very hard time trying to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst out of me.

On the way home, I heard the term “sushi” more times than I could count...