Making chocolate seems like a terribly wasteful act.
If you melt and harden bought chocolates, you will only end up with chocolates with a different shape. If that is the case, it is better to eat the chocolates as they are.
Homemade is just a hassle.
But Sendai-san insists on making things by hand.
And the chocolates she made last year and the year before were delicious. I think it is something worth making.
Surely, perhaps, maybe, no, absolutely.
This year’s chocolates must be delicious.
AD
「Miyagi, are you sure you rounded the ganache properly?」
「I’m getting it right.」
The ganache, made by mixing melted chocolate and cream, is chilled, divided into small portions, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled again. Now that it is moderately hard, I roll it in the palm of my hand, but there are too many similar tasks. I doubt that we really need to go through this process in order, but with Sendai-san watching next to us, we can’t afford to skip it.
「You didn’t. Make it round like this.」
A neatly rolled ganache is placed in the palm of Sendai-san’s hand.
「I’m making it round.」
「You didn’t. It’s a weird shape.」
A terribly rude word comes flying from next to me.
It’s just a ganache rounded like a ball with triangular ears, not a weird shape. Roughly speaking, she didn’t say I can’t put ears on truffles.
「…I get it. Cat or dog ears, right? Are you making a face?」
AD
「It doesn’t matter what it is.」
「Well, there’s also something called animal truffles, and if Miyagi wants to make them, that’s fine, but you should put some eyes on them anyway—— Ah, I’ll coat it and you won’t be able to tell if it’s on.」
「Isn’t this all over if you round it up?」
「As I said before I made them, there’s more to do. When you roll it up, put cocoa powder on it, coat it with melted chocolate, put cocoa powder on it again.」
「…I don’t think I can repeat the same thing that much.」
「I guess there’s no way to avoid it, you know? It was written in the recipe.」
Perhaps making chocolate is like a discipline of the mind. As I repeat similar processes, my miscellaneous thoughts must melt like chocolate and I must feel beautiful.
While I was thinking how silly I was, Sendai-san was rounding the chocolate nicely and dipping it in cocoa powder. I too rounded up the rest of the chocolate, put on the ears, and dipped them in cocoa powder.
When all the chocolates were dipped in cocoa powder, new chocolates appeared, and Sendai-san started talking about roasting the chocolates in hot water and tempering them, and even brought out a thermometer.
Eventually, the chocolate is melted in a bowl, and the ganache dipped in cocoa powder is dunked into it. The ganache, coated in glossy chocolate, rolls through the cocoa powder again, completing the truffle.
AD
「This is an extra.」
As she said this, Sendai-san made two large dots of melted chocolate on some of the truffles on my plate.
「…Thank you.」
「You’re welcome.」
The truffle with dots on it is a truffle I made in the shape of an animal with ears, and the two dots are probably eyes.
「In this way, the animal truffles are pretty, too.」
Sendai-san says with a smiling face.
But I don’t think I could have done it so cutely.
My truffles are terribly snooty.
AD
What should be ears appear to be just protrusions.
In comparison, the truffles made by Sendai-san on the same plate are as beautiful as she is. They are round like the moon in the night sky.
「I’ll clean up. Miyagi, sit down and wait.」
Sendai-san smiles and says.
「Okay.」
I answered in a small voice, washed my hands, and then sat down in a chair.
I look at Sendai-san’s back.
The length of her hair, in a half up-do, is the same as it was in high school.
Her hair is well groomed and shiny. It reminds me of a well-groomed Borzoi.
I don’t know myself whether what I wanted to make with truffles was a cat or a dog. But I think I just wanted to make something beautiful like Sendai-san.
I rest my heel against the leg of the chair and exhale thinly.
AD
My Sendai-san, who is like a dog with a good ear, has a well-defined face and, perhaps, is popular, but she is mine and does not and should not belong to anyone else.
But there are so many things I don’t understand, even though she is mine. I don’t know what she like and what she don’t like. Sometimes I don’t even know if her words are true. I know it is impossible to understand Sendai-san fully, but I sometimes feel frustrated with her for not giving me even a clue to understand her.
I want to wait until she makes up her mind about what she likes and what she doesn’t like, but I don’t think I can wait that long.
「Sorry for waiting, Miyagi.」
After washing up, Sendai-san comes toward me.
「I’m getting tired of waiting」
「It didn’t take that long, did it?」
「It did.」
She get up and reach out and touch mine.
AD
She check the blue piercing, stroke my cheek, and crawl her index finger to my lips.
It is the same, but not the same.
She should be the same person as me, but everything is as different from me as a freshly made truffle. That’s why I want to make sure she is mine.
「What?」
「I just touched it.」
She says quietly and removes her finger from my lips.
「If I touch it more…」
「We’re done.」
I push on Sendai-san’s shoulder, but instead of moving away, she comes closer.
AD
「Don’t step on my foot this time, okay?」
Sendai-san combs my hair and traces my neck with her fingertips.
She brings her face close to mine and closes her eyes even though I don’t close them. Then she kisses me without permission, even though I didn’t ask for it or allow it.
The first time is lightly.
The second time, longer.
I feel Sendai-san’s body temperature.
I don’t mind kissing her.
The homemade truffles must be delicious.
To be precise, the truffles made by Sendai-san are delicious.
Wanting to touch others.
AD
To be precise, to want to touch Sendai-san.
To feel comfortable kissing.
To be precise, a kiss with Sendai-san should feel good.
Some of these things are feelings that I didn’t know until I met Sendai-san, and some are feelings that I didn’t want to know. If I trace the feelings that arose in me, I will almost always find them in Sendai-san. The thin threads connected to her are growing in number, and before I know it, they have turned into thick threads. It doesn’t look like it will break easily, but it is getting to the point where we cannot allow it to break on its own.
Our clinging lips part and I tug at Sendai-san’s clothes.
Soon after, she kisses me for the third time.
The tip of my tongue is pressed against the overlapping lips, and when they open thinly, Sendai-san’s body heat flows in along with the slickness. Softly, gently, the tip of her tongue pressed against mine, and when I pushed back, she gripped my hand tighter.
Sendai-san’s lips never left mine.
The tip of her tongue mingles with mine, and my breath becomes labored.
I feel as if all of my skin is attached to her, even though the only things that are attached tightly are my lips, tongue, and clasped hands. Both the parts that are attached and the parts that aren’t attached are burning hot.
AD
——This can’t go no more.
I push Sendai-san’s shoulder.
「Miyagi.」
Our bodies move apart, and I hear a slight snort. This time, I bring my lips to Sendai-san’s neck and suck on it.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
She called my name but I sucked hard and left my mark on her neck before leaving.
「You don’t have a part-time job tomorrow, do you?」
AD
I stroke the little red mark that I made to let someone I don’t know well know that Sendai-san is mine, and bite down on it, adjusting my teeth so that they don’t bite into the flesh too much.
「Yes, but…」
An indistinct voice comes down and pats me on the back.
A hand crawls under my shoulder blades, traces my spine, and tickles the nape of my neck. As I looked up, feeling a twinge under my skin, Sendai-san took a truffle from the plate and shoved it into my mouth.
「Is it delicious?」
Delicious.
Very, very so.
This year, I can have these delicious truffles all to myself.
Not only Ibaraki-san and the others, even Komatsu-san can’t eat them.
Although it is to be noted that if Sendai-san’s words,「I don’t plan to see Mio for a while, so I won’t give it to her,」were true, it would be.
AD
「Miyagi. Wasn’t it delicious?」
「…It was delicious.」
The words I uttered do not lie, but now is not the time to eat truffles. I must make my mark on Sendai-san.
「Well, I’ll give it a taste then.」
Sendai-san eats one of the snoring truffles and raises the corner of her mouth,「Delicious.」
「Why are you eating that? Why don’t you just eat this one?」
I was more interested in what Sendai-san had eaten than in the markings, so I pointed to the round truffle. Instead of eating something that can’t be called a cat or a dog, she should eat a truffle that is properly round like a ball.
「I thought we could have some lovely truffles. I’d like to eat them more slowly, and we can eat them either in my room or Miyagi’s room.」
「It tastes the same no matter where you eat, just here.」
「Not good. Pick one or the other.」
「…Then, my room.」
When I replied in a small voice, Sendai-san said,「Okay,」and then took the liberty of kissing my cheek.
Making chocolate seems like a terribly wasteful act.
If you melt and harden bought chocolates, you will only end up with chocolates with a different shape. If that is the case, it is better to eat the chocolates as they are.
Homemade is just a hassle.
But Sendai-san insists on making things by hand.
And the chocolates she made last year and the year before were delicious. I think it is something worth making.
Surely, perhaps, maybe, no, absolutely.
This year’s chocolates must be delicious.
AD
「Miyagi, are you sure you rounded the ganache properly?」
「I’m getting it right.」
The ganache, made by mixing melted chocolate and cream, is chilled, divided into small portions, wrapped in plastic wrap, and chilled again. Now that it is moderately hard, I roll it in the palm of my hand, but there are too many similar tasks. I doubt that we really need to go through this process in order, but with Sendai-san watching next to us, we can’t afford to skip it.
「You didn’t. Make it round like this.」
A neatly rolled ganache is placed in the palm of Sendai-san’s hand.
「I’m making it round.」
「You didn’t. It’s a weird shape.」
A terribly rude word comes flying from next to me.
It’s just a ganache rounded like a ball with triangular ears, not a weird shape. Roughly speaking, she didn’t say I can’t put ears on truffles.
「…I get it. Cat or dog ears, right? Are you making a face?」
AD
「It doesn’t matter what it is.」
「Well, there’s also something called animal truffles, and if Miyagi wants to make them, that’s fine, but you should put some eyes on them anyway—— Ah, I’ll coat it and you won’t be able to tell if it’s on.」
「Isn’t this all over if you round it up?」
「As I said before I made them, there’s more to do. When you roll it up, put cocoa powder on it, coat it with melted chocolate, put cocoa powder on it again.」
「…I don’t think I can repeat the same thing that much.」
「I guess there’s no way to avoid it, you know? It was written in the recipe.」
Perhaps making chocolate is like a discipline of the mind. As I repeat similar processes, my miscellaneous thoughts must melt like chocolate and I must feel beautiful.
While I was thinking how silly I was, Sendai-san was rounding the chocolate nicely and dipping it in cocoa powder. I too rounded up the rest of the chocolate, put on the ears, and dipped them in cocoa powder.
When all the chocolates were dipped in cocoa powder, new chocolates appeared, and Sendai-san started talking about roasting the chocolates in hot water and tempering them, and even brought out a thermometer.
Eventually, the chocolate is melted in a bowl, and the ganache dipped in cocoa powder is dunked into it. The ganache, coated in glossy chocolate, rolls through the cocoa powder again, completing the truffle.
AD
「This is an extra.」
As she said this, Sendai-san made two large dots of melted chocolate on some of the truffles on my plate.
「…Thank you.」
「You’re welcome.」
The truffle with dots on it is a truffle I made in the shape of an animal with ears, and the two dots are probably eyes.
「In this way, the animal truffles are pretty, too.」
Sendai-san says with a smiling face.
But I don’t think I could have done it so cutely.
My truffles are terribly snooty.
AD
What should be ears appear to be just protrusions.
In comparison, the truffles made by Sendai-san on the same plate are as beautiful as she is. They are round like the moon in the night sky.
「I’ll clean up. Miyagi, sit down and wait.」
Sendai-san smiles and says.
「Okay.」
I answered in a small voice, washed my hands, and then sat down in a chair.
I look at Sendai-san’s back.
The length of her hair, in a half up-do, is the same as it was in high school.
Her hair is well groomed and shiny. It reminds me of a well-groomed Borzoi.
I don’t know myself whether what I wanted to make with truffles was a cat or a dog. But I think I just wanted to make something beautiful like Sendai-san.
I rest my heel against the leg of the chair and exhale thinly.
AD
My Sendai-san, who is like a dog with a good ear, has a well-defined face and, perhaps, is popular, but she is mine and does not and should not belong to anyone else.
But there are so many things I don’t understand, even though she is mine. I don’t know what she like and what she don’t like. Sometimes I don’t even know if her words are true. I know it is impossible to understand Sendai-san fully, but I sometimes feel frustrated with her for not giving me even a clue to understand her.
I want to wait until she makes up her mind about what she likes and what she doesn’t like, but I don’t think I can wait that long.
「Sorry for waiting, Miyagi.」
After washing up, Sendai-san comes toward me.
「I’m getting tired of waiting」
「It didn’t take that long, did it?」
「It did.」
She get up and reach out and touch mine.
AD
She check the blue piercing, stroke my cheek, and crawl her index finger to my lips.
It is the same, but not the same.
She should be the same person as me, but everything is as different from me as a freshly made truffle. That’s why I want to make sure she is mine.
「What?」
「I just touched it.」
She says quietly and removes her finger from my lips.
「If I touch it more…」
「We’re done.」
I push on Sendai-san’s shoulder, but instead of moving away, she comes closer.
AD
「Don’t step on my foot this time, okay?」
Sendai-san combs my hair and traces my neck with her fingertips.
She brings her face close to mine and closes her eyes even though I don’t close them. Then she kisses me without permission, even though I didn’t ask for it or allow it.
The first time is lightly.
The second time, longer.
I feel Sendai-san’s body temperature.
I don’t mind kissing her.
The homemade truffles must be delicious.
To be precise, the truffles made by Sendai-san are delicious.
Wanting to touch others.
AD
To be precise, to want to touch Sendai-san.
To feel comfortable kissing.
To be precise, a kiss with Sendai-san should feel good.
Some of these things are feelings that I didn’t know until I met Sendai-san, and some are feelings that I didn’t want to know. If I trace the feelings that arose in me, I will almost always find them in Sendai-san. The thin threads connected to her are growing in number, and before I know it, they have turned into thick threads. It doesn’t look like it will break easily, but it is getting to the point where we cannot allow it to break on its own.
Our clinging lips part and I tug at Sendai-san’s clothes.
Soon after, she kisses me for the third time.
The tip of my tongue is pressed against the overlapping lips, and when they open thinly, Sendai-san’s body heat flows in along with the slickness. Softly, gently, the tip of her tongue pressed against mine, and when I pushed back, she gripped my hand tighter.
Sendai-san’s lips never left mine.
The tip of her tongue mingles with mine, and my breath becomes labored.
I feel as if all of my skin is attached to her, even though the only things that are attached tightly are my lips, tongue, and clasped hands. Both the parts that are attached and the parts that aren’t attached are burning hot.
AD
——This can’t go no more.
I push Sendai-san’s shoulder.
「Miyagi.」
Our bodies move apart, and I hear a slight snort. This time, I bring my lips to Sendai-san’s neck and suck on it.
「Hey, Miyagi.」
She called my name but I sucked hard and left my mark on her neck before leaving.
「You don’t have a part-time job tomorrow, do you?」
AD
I stroke the little red mark that I made to let someone I don’t know well know that Sendai-san is mine, and bite down on it, adjusting my teeth so that they don’t bite into the flesh too much.
「Yes, but…」
An indistinct voice comes down and pats me on the back.
A hand crawls under my shoulder blades, traces my spine, and tickles the nape of my neck. As I looked up, feeling a twinge under my skin, Sendai-san took a truffle from the plate and shoved it into my mouth.
「Is it delicious?」
Delicious.
Very, very so.
This year, I can have these delicious truffles all to myself.
Not only Ibaraki-san and the others, even Komatsu-san can’t eat them.
Although it is to be noted that if Sendai-san’s words,「I don’t plan to see Mio for a while, so I won’t give it to her,」were true, it would be.
AD
「Miyagi. Wasn’t it delicious?」
「…It was delicious.」
The words I uttered do not lie, but now is not the time to eat truffles. I must make my mark on Sendai-san.
「Well, I’ll give it a taste then.」
Sendai-san eats one of the snoring truffles and raises the corner of her mouth,「Delicious.」
「Why are you eating that? Why don’t you just eat this one?」
I was more interested in what Sendai-san had eaten than in the markings, so I pointed to the round truffle. Instead of eating something that can’t be called a cat or a dog, she should eat a truffle that is properly round like a ball.
「I thought we could have some lovely truffles. I’d like to eat them more slowly, and we can eat them either in my room or Miyagi’s room.」
「It tastes the same no matter where you eat, just here.」
「Not good. Pick one or the other.」
「…Then, my room.」
When I replied in a small voice, Sendai-san said,「Okay,」and then took the liberty of kissing my cheek.
