Juan's POV
3 p.m., and I was looking at the view of the Kantei and Chiyoda from the window of the common room. I can imagine the dream of going to Japan since I was a fan of their anime and kultura. Now, because of the Hakaze Inn Conspiracy, I got the opportunity to travel with Presidente Leo Santos.
And then, Aydan walked up to me. "Merhaba, Juan, how's the view?"
I looked at her while she adjusted her hijab.
She was a Muslim back in Turkey yet had a tenure in their national assembly.
I, on the other hand, was a devout Aglipayan back in the Philippines, a rare one in the Philippine Senado since the majority of the senators are Roman Catholic.
"Yes, evet," I replied. "I had this dream of traveling to this country."
Aydan giggled a bit. "Let me guess, an otaku?"
"Evet, yes. Guilty. Now I have this rare opportunidad to come here."
"It seemed that the Hakaze Inn Conspiracy was the source of opportunity, wasn't it?" one voice came to us.
It was Hafid, who adjusted his peci hat and gazed at the view, and beside him was Boaz Isagani, President Leo's friend from the Baclaran EFCA Church.
"Yes, it was, Hafid," I responded.
"I felt that God works in mysterious ways for all of us to have this opportunity," Boaz replied.
"Is your Senate President Tolentino West busy with his duties back in the Philippines?" Hafid chuckled a bit. "I heard he wanted to travel here yet was busy with paperwork."
"Yeah, and I volunteered," I responded. "But I did promise him to return with Japanese snacks and souvenirs once the summit was over."
"Pasalubong, wasn't it?" Aydan chimed in.
"That's what Filipinos like me do when on a trip," I replied.
Then to Aias. "To you, since you're an Eastern Orthodox while I was an Aglipayan, I guessed you and I were technically in communion with each other or a bit less."
Aias then chuckled. "Probably."
"By the way, for dinner," Hafid responded. "Should we have a meal at the Kantei? Paul suggested we and the other parliamentary attendants should cook our local delicacies there as a feast for the arrival of the other 5 MPC leaders from Italy, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, and Greece."
Another one, Aias of Greece, came in and added. "Yes, guys, if yes, then start planning the menu for the Japanese Prime Minister before he arrives back at 7 p.m. sharp."
And so, we and the rest of the parliamentary attendants planned our multicultural menu for Mr. Motoi and for our MPC leaders to approve before 6 p.m. 6 o'clock will be our cooking time. I included Kare-Kare but we weren't sure if Mr. Motoi was allergic to peanuts or not. Just in case, I crossed that out for Adobo pork and fried eggplants. Giovanni included, of course, Neopolitan Pizza since his Napoli uncle runs a pizza place. Aydan chose the Turkish shawarma, a popular favorite in the Philippines. Hafid chose satay, while Cisco chose Pâve for dessert.
Aias chose a recipe of Greek Spanakorizo while María José, the oldest of the MPC parliamentary attendants at 38 years old, chose the Spanish-Mediterranean Shaksuka.
By 5 p.m., after the short powernaps of our MPC heads of state, we presented our crafted menu to them in the common room. After a thorough review of it, they made a landslide of a consensus and agreed and approved our menu. As a result, in the Kantei, with permission from the bewildered kitchen staff, we were a flurry of activity with aprons. Giovanni made the dough of the pizza early because of the required baking time, while Hafid worked on his Indonesian satay.
I was pretty focused on my Adobo and fried eggplants in egg wash after Aydan finished her Shawarma.
Aias made his Greek Spanakorizo while María José added eggs to her Shakshuka.
Cisco had already put his glass tray of Pâve in the fridge to chill it.
Now, at 7 p.m., in the dining room, Mr. Motoi, though looked a bit haggard from the whole day of work, was bewildered as our dinner spread. The Kantei cooks also made some Japanese omelette to complete the menu. "You guys…" Shinzō whispered, "...are parliamentary members of your respective country's national assembly, yet you cooked a multicultural feast here?"
"Why, we wanted a multicultural feast with you in the same way our MPC agents did at the JSDF headquarters in Ichigaya yesterday morning, and this noon's food diplomacy in Princess Piña's court in the Special Region," Leo said with a soft chuckle.
And so, we and the other MPC leaders sat down. Boaz led the Christian Baptist prayer for the food, and we all said "Itadakimasu" before we took our first bites. Mr. Motoi tasted my Adobo Pork and Aydan's Shawarma, mesmerized by their flavors.
"You guys are really unconventional…" Motoi chuckled while shaking his head, "...and you, Isagani-san, are you a politician yourself?"
"Oh, no, no, I was just a lay preacher on Sundays," replied Boaz while eating his satay with a piece of shawarma, "and had a job in a convenience store in Baclaran for the rest of the week. I happened to be Mr. Leo's friend."
"Oh, I see then," Motoi responded.
"Well, tomorrow's summit will be a 'Big Fish' to be caught," Paulo said.
Motoi blinked. "Big fish?"
"He meant the Big Three envoys getting entangled in our lectures on boundaries and sovereignty." Paraskevas laughed while reaching for a piece of a shawarma.
Some of us tasted each other's cooking while discussing the funny scenarios tomorrow's summit will bring to us.