By A Slight Mistake

「35」
Thanks to Yakumo’s hint, I decided to make sweets in bulk.

I was thinking of doing caramel lollipops about the size of my pinkie finger, something small and easily mass produced.

The caramel would be set in pumpkin and bat modes to harden.

It was the pastry chef Sakata’s idea.

I thought dice shaped molds I fell in love with them the moment I saw them would’ve been fine, but Sakata’s molds better matched the Halloween theme.

It seems that there were various methods of candy art, and it was exciting listening to her explanation.

By the way, Ms. Sakata was an elderly lady.

She was a craftsman who had a friendly atmosphere around her, but she never compromised on her sweets. When I was younger, I saw Sakata working from a distance, and her craftsmanship was a beautiful and magical sight to behold. Even now, I occasionally stopped by the kitchen to watch Sakata work.

My parents made me promise to not get in the cooks’ way while they were busy working. The kitchen was full of boiling water and sharp pieces of cutlery. There was also the difficult task of maintaining hygienic working conditions.

Anyway, I was taught how dangerous their workplace could be for children. So, even if a sweet and delicious smell drew me to the kitchen, I was told not to enter without a chef’s permission to do so.

There was no sweet reward for keeping my promise.

Well, thanks to my frequent visit, I was on reasonably good terms with the kitchen staff and was comfortable asking for their help at times like this.

On the scheduled date, everyone arrived with their own set of materials. Of course, since we were beginners, none of us would be making anything too tricky.

Naturally, they did bring that much with them.

“Shizuki, wash your hands and put an apron on.”

Tachibana gave Ariwara warning shortly after entering the kitchen.

“I’ll enlarge the recipe, so it’s easier to read.”

I followed after Tachibana.

“Ah! I got it. I’ll wish my hands again.”

Once inside everyone placed what they brought on the prep table, and I’d brought a tablet with all of the recipes downloaded on it.

Off to the side, Sakata chuckled at our antics.

“What are you making, Okabe?”

Hayate was the only one that hadn’t sent me a recipe, so Ariwara took notice of that fact.

“Huh? Caramela.”

“Huh?”

“Carmela. Don’t you know what it is?”

“Is caramela related to caramel?”

Ariwara tilted his head in confusion.

“Ara. Why Caramela, Hayate-san? It’s such a nostalgic flavor.”

Sakata narrowed her eyes as she smiled at Hayate.

“Yes. My grandmother passed it down to me.”

“Well, that’s nice. Please let me taste it later.”

“Yes.”

“……Co-me-On!! What’s carmela!?”

Ariwara stamped his foot and repeated his question.

“It’s made with zaramé, egg whites, baking soda, and water. It’s a traditional snack. Hayate’s grandmother made it for us when we were little. it’s sweet and delicious.”

It was a simplistic and gentle taste. I heard it was standard fair food quite some time ago. It was pretty rare in this world.

Hayate was aiming at my blind spot.

“……Zarame? Jiyuusou?

Ariwara, why that!?

“Are you going to share it after you’re done? Ah, wash your hands.”

Tachibana chased Ariawara away.

The Sugawara twins watched Tachibana with the same expression.

“…… Okan?”

“Chiaki, choose your words carefully. This is a fragile balance.”

I unintentionally chastised her.

I don’t think so, too! I thought the same! I didn’t say anything out of pity.

“I heard what Chiaki was doing, but what about you Chikage?”

“Mini-donuts. If you’re courageous enough to ask me for treats, you should get something special in return, right?”

Apparently, people thought Chikage was difficult to approach.

“Can you really call those sweats?”

“Of course. Do you like donuts, Mizuki?”

Naturally, I nodded my head.

I was thrilled

“Yeah. Plain cake donuts are my favorites.”

“It’s difficult to get the flipping time just right. I can give you some advice on that.”

Chikage glanced at Sakata when she said that.

I see

When I thought about it for a moment, it made sense.

The oil would sap the taste the longer they were allowed to sit, I probably wouldn’t notice unless I were aware of the mistake.

“Well, should we get started? We’re losing time.”

After a bit more talking were finished our preparations and began making confectioneries, carefully following the recipes at every step. The sweets making process was very reflective of one’s character.

Cautious or daring.

Sakata spent most of her time with the daring individuals. They would immediately follow up on whatever ridiculous idea that they come up with. Ariawara was making gummy candies and had brought over various berry flavorings and iron Kannon to work with. However, halfway through filling the molds he thought his candy could be livened up with flowers petals.

Those weren’t edible! Also, stop shouting.

In any case, we now needed to order some edible flowers for next time.

It would be a massive problem if flowers from our garden caused someone food poisoning.

Also, iron kannon was for making tea.

Though I couldn’t help but pity Tachibana as he rained Ariwara in, a small part of couldn’t help but laugh at their antics.

Tachibana was like a fussy mother. He really seemed to like taking care of other people. Hayate and Chikage were too absorbed in their own work to worry about the runaway Ariwara.

Oh, how I envied those two.

After a bit of internal debuting, I started removing the cooled caramel from its mold.

I carefully used a stainless steel scraper to remove them.

I thought using a kitchen knife would be more comfortable, but I was taken back by how neatly the scraper worked.

It was just like the pro did. Sakata, at least, seemed to favor using plastic and steel scrapers. I’ve studied her techniques thoroughly. I’d be happy if she’d pass on more of her practical skills to me.

There were 100 molds on a single sheet. Even in this world, 100 was considered an average. For the first time in quite some time, I was moved by something being similar to my past life.

Although the names of the shops and products were slightly different, I still felt nostalgic. The stationery standard of 100 was something I liked quite a lot. That was especially true for sticky notes and flashcards.

Although the fact that pen ink too so long to dry was a bit of a problem. Sakata actually chuckled when she found me lost in one of my nostalgic episodes. Her philosophy was that it didn’t matter of a tool was expensive or not, it was fine so long as it served its purpose. There wasn’t that much of a difference in quality unless the item was made by a prominent manufacturer.

Was that really true?

If the price was higher than the quality should’ve been better right? Perhaps that way of thinking was the result of living in a technological age? Nevertheless, I didn’t have to knowledge to refute my teacher’s words.

Naturally, the tasting party followed sweets making. Tea in one hand, criticism of each other’s treats in the other.

I was the one that brewed the tea, not Sakata.

It was something I couldn’t entrust to anyone else. Tea making was one of the skills I could boast about. Thanks to my efforts in learning the basics, I could serve tea confidently. I’d master the ability to blend tea sooner or later. Making delicious tea for those, I cared for had a healing effect on me.

I treasured their satisfied looks as they enjoyed their drinks.

My friends gradually began to unwind in front of me. The leftover treats would be given to our acquaintances. People should be able to enjoy the sweets without having the weight of knowing they were for Halloween on their shoulders.

“Hayate, can you pass this to Satsuki?”

I hand Hayate a couple of wrapped caramels.

“You don’t have to give her anything.”

Hayate’s face turned slightly bitter.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? The middle school doesn’t have a Halloween event.”

“It’s too sweet!”

“I’m happy you can be honest with me.”

Recently, Hayate hasn’t been very emotional.

Therefore, him being flustered over Satsuki was all the more cuter.

Of course, I knew calling a boy cute would just make them angry.

“Such a childish response. How can we stand on our own if we can’t control our emotions.”

In other words, I didn’t want Hayate do doing anything in half-measures. Even if he didn’t show it, Hayate cherished his little sister.

“Do you think being honest is such a good thing? Oh, that’s right. Okabe is frustrated by the way Mizuki treats his little sister.”

Chiaki grinned as she teased Hayate.

“That’s separate. Mizuki has always treated Satsuki the way she is now. If Satsuki is seen as a burden, she’ll be removed immediately.”

Chiaki seemed to lose interest after hearing Hayate’s indifferent reply.

“Chiaki, I’m ready to leave.”

Chikage intervened before things got any more awkward.

“Yes. Well, Mizu-chan. Thank you for today and have a good night.”

It seems Chiaki wouldn’t be sharing her chocolate with her other friends.

She was only going to prepare enough treats for her closest friends on the day itself.

While I was worried about her recognition criteria, there was no need to rush things.

“I’ll do my best on that dayー.”

Ending with that, the twins peacefully returned home.

Tachibana and Ariawara quietly left after cleaning up.

“Sakata-san, thank you for today.”

I didn’t forget to show my gratitude to the chef that took time out of her schedule to help us.

“No-no. I found all of this enjoyable. I hope the treat making is a rousing success.”

“Yes. I’ll do my best next time.”

I nodded my head and checked to see of the clean up had been done correctly. Then, the day before Halloween, I made all my treats by myself.