落とし穴２２掘：寒くなってまいりました (Part1)
The temperature has dropped.
Food porn.
I take no responsibility. It's not my fault!!
The temperature has dropped.
side: Yuki
"Ngh, it's cold."
I woke up in the morning, my body completely chilled.
Instinctively, I reached for the futon, only to find Riel curled up in it next to me.
Ah, Riel's also naked, and it wouldn't be right to forcibly take it from her.
Soon, I'll need to prepare two futons instead of one, or I'll freeze.
For now, I'll get dressed.
I take out clothes from the dresser and put them on.
Before bed, I usually wear a yukata, but it's gotten cold, so I'll bring out the trump card.
"Riel, wake up. It's morning."
"Mmm. Yuki-san, kissy?"
Riel is quite clingy and tends to be very attached when it's just the two of us.
She seems to have an image of herself as generally lively and energetic, and she only acts this girlishly in front of me.
I like this side of Riel too, so I gently wake her up.
"Thanks."
"Yeah."
She finally seems to be awake, and she mumbles as she drops the futon she was wrapped in.
"Ugh, it's cold, isn't it?"
"It is. Here, put this on."
"Mm, what's this?"
"It's the customary thing to wear at home when it gets cold."
"Customary? From Yuki's other world?"
"Yeah."
Since she's seen how I wear it, she puts on the outer garment without any problem.
"What do you call this?"
"It's called a 'wata-ire' (quilted jacket). 'Hanten' is the more common name. On cold days, we wear this at home. It can be used for going out, but a jumper is warmer."
"Jumper? I don't know what that is, but this hanten? is warm."
However, the function of this hanten is not limited to just that.
Wouldn't everyone have done this or had it done to them at least once as a child?
"Riel, come here."
"?"
Riel tilts her head and approaches, and I wrap her in the hanten I'm wearing.
It's like a precursor to the "two-person hag" technique.
Everyone has probably experienced something like "combining" or sneaking into a family's hanten or jumper.
"It's warm."
"Right?"
Riel happily rubs her face against my chest from inside the hanten.
Then, looking at Riel, I'm suddenly reminded of when I was a child.
Were my father and mother like this?
I can't see them anymore, and I probably don't remember them, but I can convey this warmth to someone.
"Alright, face forward and let's go."
"Yeah!!"
Riel, with only her face sticking out of my hanten, walks forward.
"Onii-chan, Riel-onee-chan, good morning... Ahhh!! That's cheating!! Cheating!! I'm so jealous!!"
"What's wrong, Asurin, Onii-sama!! Me too!! Me toooo!!"
The two of them started chirping like baby birds.
My gaze naturally met Riel's, and she gave a slightly troubled look before quickly looking away.
"Well, I've had my fill. Come on, come on, you two should have Yuki do it too."
"W-me first!!"
"Onii-sama, me!!"
The two of them immediately rushed towards me.
I was wondering who to do first, but seeing the two small figures, I had an idea.
"There!!"
" "Hya!?" "
I wrapped both of them in the hanten at the same time.
This is something I can do because they are small.
"It's warm."
"Onii-chan's scent~!!"
Both of them, like Riel, rubbed their faces against my body.
"...My, my, what a terrible betrayal. To think you'd have fun doing that without including me."
And then, Labyris appeared with a dark expression.
She's quite weak in the mornings.
"Alright, Asurin, Firia, pull Labyris in."
" "Understood." "
With that, Labyris was also squeezed into the hanten, barely?
"Mm, thank you."
Labyris also looked happy.
Well, if I keep doing this, I won't be able to make breakfast, so I was supposed to finish in the kitchen, but...
"Good morning. Yuki-sa...ma."
"Asurin, Firia, good... morning."
Kirue and Shera's eyes lost their light, and they stared at us enviously.
For now, since it was scary and wouldn't hurt anyone, after releasing Asurin and the others, I immediately wrapped Kirue and Shera.
Their moods immediately improved, but did I step on a landmine?
After that, breakfast ended normally, and I secretly had a hanten hug with Seraria when we were alone.
"...Do it for everyone else too. If they find out you hid this, even I wouldn't forgive you. This scent of yours, this warmth, to be able to feel them at the same time, hanten are wonderful."
Like everyone else, Seraria sniffed deeply inside the hanten and told me to do it for the other wives.
Yeah, if Seraria says so, it must be right. I realized at that moment that not doing so would leave a lingering resentment.
The hanten incident was later resolved by me hugging each person for an hour.
Honestly, it was tiring. I think it's best to do it spontaneously for a short time, not for extended periods.
After that, I proceeded with my usual duties.
We are on the move with the Marauders, and we are also operating secretly, but our arrival is still three days away.
What I'm thinking about now is tonight's dinner.
I have a general idea.
However, this dish involves a wide variety of ingredients. There are too many kinds.
A winter staple. And there's even an exaggerated title for the person in charge of it: a general.
A representative winter dish of Japan.
Nabe (hot pot).
There's probably no Japanese person living in Japan who hasn't eaten this.
Yosenabe, Yudofu, Kamo Nabe, Mizutaki, Shamoi Nabe, Chanko Nabe, Sukiyaki, Suki Nabe, Botan Nabe, Motsunabe.
Just by me saying it lightly, that's the number. And there are as many original nabe as there are households!!
"That's right, original!!"
I had an idea.
Of course, popular nabe would be good.
But a nabe unique to our family would be something we could enjoy together.
I started jotting down the necessary ingredients, recalling the taste of the nabe I ate with my family long ago, though I don't know how well I can reproduce it.
The soup is the most important thing. Since we cook and eat the nabe on the spot, there's no time to adjust it.
"Ria, let's go home."
"Eh? Ah, yes."
"Steve, I'll leave the rest to you."
With that, I had Steve, who had come to report, sit in my place and left.
"What the heck is going on!!"
Forgive me, it's for my wives' dinner.
I'll make it up to you someday.
Today, I'll use DP to gather ingredients.
Since it's nabe, there are some things I can't get at Ratz's shop. I'm using DP for things I don't buy at the store, as time is precious.
First, to make the soup, I'll prepare miso, mirin, and kombu.
"Um, this is miso, right? And what is this? A drink? And this black one too?"
"This is mirin, a cooking sake. It's sake adjusted for cooking. The black thing is kombu, a type of seaweed that makes a good broth."
"The sea? I've never seen it."
Yes, this continent is quite large, and the five major nations occupying the center are not facing the sea.
Therefore, it's inevitable that they have no opportunity to see the sea.
Reproducing the taste of Japan is a bit difficult here.
But I have DP!! For this moment, I'll be grateful to Luna!!
"First, put this kombu in the pot and simmer it."
"Haa."
In the meantime, I'll have them chop the chicken and other ingredients.
After a while, the kombu starts to release its broth, and a pleasant aroma fills the air.