Chapter 106: Love is War
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: Love is War
We decided to split up and buy food from the stalls.
It seemed more efficient for us to go our separate ways than for a group of eight to move around together.
We played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go with me to buy yakisoba, and after a fierce battle of wits, Sasha emerged as the winner.
"Hmph, as expected of me."
Sasha puffed her chest out proudly, while the losers looked on with envy.
Honestly, I had no idea what all the fuss was about.
"Alright, let's go, Kim Yoo-Sung."
"...Yeah."
With Sasha clinging to one of my arms, I told the others we'd meet back at our designated spot and headed for the yakisoba stall I'd spotted earlier.
*
Yakisoba.
One of Japan's most iconic street foods.
It's a simple dish of Chinese-style noodles stir-fried on a griddle with vegetables and sauce, but its sweet and savory flavor has made it a beloved food for a long time.
You might wonder why it's called 'soba' when it uses Chinese-style noodles instead of buckwheat noodles. The prevailing theory is that yakisoba originated after World War II, during Japan's economic downturn, when Chinese-style noodles were used as a substitute for more expensive buckwheat soba.
It's similar to how in Korea, dishes like tteokbokki, sujebi, and ramyeon were created to encourage the consumption of wheat flour.
Anyway, yakisoba appears so frequently in Japanese subculture that, frankly, any otaku would know about it.
Because of that, expectations for its taste are relatively high, but when you actually try it, the reaction is usually something like this.
"...It's a bit underwhelming, isn't it?"
That was Sasha's assessment after taking a bite of the yakisoba with an expectant look on her face.
"The ones from street stalls are mostly like that."
The ones made properly in a restaurant are a bit better since they add meat or seafood, but the street stall version is literally just noodles, cabbage, and sauce, so the taste can be underwhelming.
Some people also dislike the sourness of the Worcestershire sauce that forms the base of the yakisoba seasoning.
"So it's one of those things people either love or hate."
I said, gently shaking the yakisoba containers I was holding in both hands.
"Still, it's not so bad that I can't eat it. It feels like junk food."
After hearing my explanation, Sasha said as much and slurped up her portion of yakisoba.
We were walking through the shrine grounds together when it happened.
"Hey, miss passing by! How about a round of shooting!"
A stall owner, in the middle of hawking his wares, called out to Sasha as she passed.
"Hm? Are you talking to me?"
Sasha turned her head, intrigued.
I wonder if that man knew. That the person he'd just called over was the daughter of a Russian mafioso who handles firearms like they're an extension of her own body.
If one thing was certain, it was that the prizes at that stall were now Sasha's for the taking.
*
About ten minutes later, we rejoined the others at our meeting spot.
"What's with the teddy bear?"
Karen asked, spotting the large teddy bear in Sasha's hands. Sasha proudly held it out and said,
"It's Kumamon the Second."
Having been lured in by the stall owner's pitch, Sasha had swept the prizes with her god-like marksmanship.
Even to me, someone who completed his mandatory military service in South Korea as a sergeant, her form was perfect—a flawless stock weld and an unshakable shooting stance. She racked up the highest scores one after another, and finally won the teddy bear by repeatedly hitting a target that looked like it was glued to the floor with a BB gun.
The stall owner, who had lost his most expensive prize before business had even properly started, handed over the teddy bear with an expression that was somewhere between a smile and a sob.
Anyway, after we all gathered in one place with our food, we sat down on a bench to share what we'd bought.
Since this was her first time at a Japanese festival, there were many things she'd never seen before. Sasha looked at the food we were sharing and asked with curiosity,
"What's this?"
The one who answered was Karen, who, despite her grumbling, was subtly looking out for Sasha.
"It's a candy apple. It's a whole apple dipped in corn syrup or sugar water and then hardened."
A similar food would be the Chinese tanghulu, but the difference is that this is incredibly hard.
We shared takoyaki, yakisoba, grilled whole squid, grilled corn, choco-bananas, and candy apples.
Topping it all off with a cold ramune, it felt like we had experienced the summer festival to its fullest.
"Senpai, say 'ahhh~'."
"...Can't I just eat it myself?"
"My arm is getting tired."
I had no choice but to accept the takoyaki offered by Minato, who was next to me.
It must have been freshly made, because the inside was piping hot.
As I was chewing diligently, blowing out hot breaths, Rika offered me something else.
It was a grilled whole squid, with about a third of the head part already eaten.
"Have a bite of mine, too, Ryu-chan."
"Wait, I still have takoyaki in my mouth."
"Are you saying you won't eat what I'm giving you?"
"......"
Fighting back tears, I took a small bite from the surface of the squid.
This was hot, too.
Sasha, who was watching, said,
"An indirect kiss. You're sneaky, Rika."
Rika's face turned red as she retorted,
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about! That wasn't my intention at all!"
"It seems you don't realize how unconvincing you sound when you're stuttering."
"None of your business!"
The two of them, bickering away as usual.
It feels like just a little while ago, she was like that with Karen. Now, the target of her bickering has changed.
I guess that means the two of them have gotten closer than before, right?
"By the way, what time do the fireworks start?"
Karen, who was eating a choco-banana with a water balloon yoyo on one hand and a Pr○Cure mask tilted on her head, tilted her head and asked. Sakamoto's younger sister, Yuika, was the one who answered.
"Oh, as far as I know, they start at 9. It's 8:30 now, so we have about 30 minutes left."
"Really? We have some time then."
Karen nodded with her arms crossed, then looked over at us and asked.
"After we finish eating, want to go goldfish scooping? I heard someone I know is running a stall."
"Sounds good."
"I'm in!"
"Mmph!"
"Sasha, swallow what's in your mouth before you talk."
As Karen chided her, Sasha gulped down the food in her mouth and said,
"I've heard of it. At Japanese festivals, you use a small net to catch goldfish, right?"
Hearing that, a sudden question popped into my head.
"What kind of fishing do you usually do in Russia?"
"In my case, I did a lot of salmon fishing. The bears we keep at home love it."
Hearing this, Yuika asked in surprise,
"You keep bears at home?"
Sasha nodded and said proudly,
"In Russia, bears are like dogs. Every household keeps at least one."
"Wow! I want to see one!"
We stared at Sasha in disbelief as she fed this false information to the innocent Yuika.
What Russia was she even talking about?
*
After we finished snacking, we decided to head back the way we came to go goldfish scooping, just as Karen had suggested.
"There are so many people."
"The fireworks are about to start."
Unlike when we first arrived, the crowd had grown so much it was hard to breathe.
It felt like everyone who lived in the area had shown up.
We held hands to avoid getting separated and moved forward.
In the process, another dispute almost broke out over who would hold my hand, but rock-paper-scissors knew the answer.
And this time, the one who held my hand was Karen.
"Your hands are big."
"I get that a lot."
Karen, who is not even 160 cm tall, had hands that felt like a baby's compared to my own pot-lid-sized ones.
It's not easy to notice because of her fierce impression and sharp aura, but Karen is quite small.
She probably wouldn't look out of place in a middle school uniform.
Just as we were moving forward, feeling the warmth from each other's hands,
an excited voice suddenly called out from behind.
"Excuse me, are you Minato Nao?!"
It was the first time someone had recognized Minato.
She'd said that if she acted confidently instead of trying to hide, people would just be unsure, but it seemed she'd run into the wrong person.
In an instant, all eyes were on us.
"I'm a huge fan! Can I get your autograph?"
Minato seemed flustered and stammered, "Uh, um, well..."
"Oh, you don't have a pen! Then how about just one picture!"
The frivolous-looking man said, pulling out his smartphone and shoving it forward.
Just as I was about to step in,
"Excuse me."
Yaguchi, who happened to be standing next to Minato, intervened.
"Minato-san is spending her private time with us right now. If you're a fan, could you please be a little more considerate?"
The man who had asked for a photo lowered his smartphone, looking embarrassed.
"Ah, yeah."
Then, as he walked past our group, he muttered loudly, as if making sure we could hear him.
"She's acting so high and mighty."
"That bastard!"
Hearing that, Ryuji spun around with an angry expression, but Yaguchi stopped him.
"Calm down, Ryuji. If you deal with every single person like that, it'll never end."
Ryuji muttered, "What kind of guy is that?" and started walking again.
The atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Minato, noticing our expressions, fidgeted with her hands and said, "I'm sorry. Because of me..."
At that, Rika and Sasha, who were next to her, defended Minato as if they'd never been fighting.
"No! That guy was the weird one!"
"In Russia, he would've been shot by now."
Minato looked at the two of them with a touched expression.
It seemed a strange sense of camaraderie had formed between the three of them.