Chapter 38: Die Together
Two bottles of Coke arrived quickly. They were the glass bottle kind, and two straws were inserted.
After taking a satisfying sip, Eriri looked at Kaede across from her and asked, "Asakura, do you eat here often?"
"My parents used to bring me here; they discovered it first. Because of his work, my dad often travels around neighboring countries. If it happened to be during my holidays, my mom would take me along to travel. We also went to China frequently. Comparing the two, the food here is very authentic, and I started coming more and more often."
"Ah! Traveling abroad."
Eriri pondered and said, "I don't have that much interest in it. Flying back and forth is exhausting. My mom, however, has traveled to China and said it was much more fun there than in Japan."
"That's true. After all, Japan is quite a small place, and it's crowded. Since I was little, I've basically visited all the places worth seeing."
Kaede also said with feeling, "Not to mention places like Mount Fuji. Okinawa, Hokkaido, Nara—they're all old news. In the end, I realized that staying at home is the most interesting thing, and occasionally going out for some exercise is enough."
"Isn't that too much of a shut-in lifestyle?"
"At least I go out to exercise, things like kickboxing. Eriri, do you consciously exercise?"
Eriri looked at Kaede's healthy physique, then glanced at her own thin arms and legs, and huffed, "Beautiful girls don't exercise! They don't, understand? I definitely don't want muscles!"
Kaede wouldn't genuinely try to force Eriri to exercise; after all, such things rely on self-motivation, and forcing someone is useless.
After a while, the proprietress came over carrying a tray.
"The Guo Bao Rou and Chicken Tofu Pudding are here!"
The steaming Guo Bao Rou was placed on the table, along with two bowls containing a white, tofu-like substance called "tofu pudding."
After thanking the proprietress, Eriri first glanced at the Guo Bao Rou, which was radiating an appetizing sheen. Then she looked down at the small bowl in front of her and asked, "Asakura, what is this? Tofu? Isn't it Chicken Tofu Pudding? Where's the chicken?"
"That piece in the bowl is chicken."
"Huh?"
Eriri was a little stunned; it looked exactly like a block of tofu.
The proprietress, who hadn't left yet, smiled and said, "It is chicken. Chicken Tofu Pudding is a traditional famous dish from our Sichuan region. Its specialty is using meat to mimic the appearance of vegetarian food, making it impossible to tell there's meat in it."
"That sounds amazing! And Sichuan? I thought all Sichuan cuisine was spicy. I'm going to eat!"
Picking up her spoon, Eriri scooped a bit into her mouth and immediately widened her eyes. "It's delicious! The flavor is so fresh!"
Seeing Eriri eat so happily, the proprietress also smiled cheerfully, then leaned toward Kaede and whispered, "She's a very cute girl. Just looking at her makes one happy."
Eriri looked up and saw the proprietress and Kaede talking about something, but unfortunately, it was in Chinese again.
The proprietress didn't linger; she quickly went back to the kitchen to bring out the other dishes, so they could finally start eating properly.
After bringing over two bowls of rice, the proprietress said, "Kaede, once the weather gets warmer, our restaurant will start serving hot pot. Remember to come and try it! The ingredients are the most authentic, flown in by air freight."
"They're finally going to have hot pot?" Upon hearing this, Kaede immediately nodded and agreed, "No problem, I'll definitely come to visit then."
"Well, you two enjoy your meal. Just let me know if you need anything."
After the proprietress left, Eriri swallowed the Guo Bao Rou in her mouth and asked curiously, "Eating hot pot in summer? Really? Won't that be incredibly hot?"
"What's wrong with that?"
Kaede picked up a slice of fish, ate it, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Let me ask you this: when you're in your room during the summer, you definitely turn on the air conditioner, right? Do you ever set the AC low and then wrap yourself in a blanket while playing games? If you're cold, why do you keep the AC on?"
"..."
Eriri thought about it and reluctantly agreed. Setting aside what eating hot pot in summer felt like, various confusing human behaviors were always abundant.
Kaede smiled and said, "Since you're so curious, why don't we come and try it once the hot pot is available here? The ingredients the boss uses are all flown in, traditional Sichuan hot pot. I guarantee it will be worlds apart from what you've previously eaten and called hot pot, let alone something like sukiyaki."
"Hmm... Will it be very spicy?"
Eriri sniffed. Just the Pickled Vegetable Fish in front of her was almost too much for her to handle. With authentic hot pot, she figured she'd be completely obliterated after eating it.
Seeing Eriri look curious yet afraid to try, Kaede smiled happily. "It's fine, you have to be brave and try everything! Besides, didn't you say you could handle spice, Eriri? We can just drink some yogurt to counteract the heat then."
Handle spice... Eriri realized she really couldn't keep up the pretense; she had completely trapped herself.
Having no choice, she braced herself and said, "Fine, let's come together then. Why don't we invite the rest of the Art Club members? If everyone comes, we can treat it like a club gathering."
Driven by the thought that if they were going to die, they should die together, Eriri put forward this suggestion.
Kaede glanced at Eriri in surprise, detecting that exact meaning in her eyes.
Recalling the thrilling sensation of authentic spicy hot pot, a smile appeared on Kaede's face. "Alright, everyone will come then!"
Seeing Kaede agree so readily, Eriri nodded contentedly and continued eating.
The two of them had four dishes, counting the Chicken Tofu Pudding, and the portions of Guo Bao Rou and Pickled Vegetable Fish were generous. By the end of the meal, Kaede and Eriri were too full to move.
Leaning back in her chair, Eriri let out a satisfied breath and said, "It's rare for me to eat this much. I guess I'll have to eat less tonight."
Kaede squinted, took a sip of Coke, and said, "Should we head to the Maid Cafe later?"
Shaking her head, Eriri said, "Let's walk around for a bit first. If you make me go right now, I don't think I'll have the energy. But we definitely have to go."
The Maid Cafe was the main event of the day. Although the restaurant Kaede brought her to had stolen some of the spotlight, Eriri was still very determined to go.
Rest up, and then they would go!
Meanwhile, the two mothers, who had originally intended to follow their children to observe the situation, had now arrived at a restaurant and sat down to eat lunch.