"Uh, Nii-sama, the one with the fried shrimp on top!"
"...I'll take this 'ara-jiru' fish bone soup."
"Salmon roe battleship rolls!"
"Fatty tuna!"
"...Inari sushi!!"
Right now, dressed in sushi-chef style, I am busy pressing sushi for the little fledglings of my household.
To be honest, I screwed up.
Look, I've never worked part-time at a sushi place, nor have I ever been an apprentice. It's just that, since we were having a sort of "sushi party" at home, I decided to get fancy and actually make order slips to set the mood.
The result? Everyone, having their first taste of sushi, went into absolute raptures. Now, a storm of orders is brewing, and I'm stuck pressing sushi indefinitely...
God, I want to punch the "me" from a few hours ago!
* * *
A few hours ago
"Man, honestly, I look forward to mealtime every single day. Onii-chan, what are you serving up today?"
I had met up with Ratz on the way back to the inn, and we were talking about dinner.
"I'm starting to run out of material, though..."
"Is that so? Well, even if you serve what we've had before, it's still plenty delicious."
"Hmm, run out of material... Ah, material! The toppings!"
Just like that, a brilliant idea hit me—I could almost feel the lightbulb pop over my head. Little did I know, I was just tightening the noose around my own neck.
"Ratz, get everyone gathered in the banquet hall. I'm going to go prep."
"Oh! Did you think of something tasty? Leave it to me! I'll take responsibility for getting everyone there!"
I was totally full of myself. I didn't realize the fatal flaw.
I am the only person who knows what sushi is. Therefore, I am the only one who can make it.
Despite that, I went out of my way to spend DP on several sashimi knives, a refrigerated display case like the ones you see in sushi bars to show off the toppings, a specialized cutting board, seaweed, and a mountain of various toppings prepped for slicing. I had the rice cookers running at full capacity to make a ton of rice, and I even made the signature vinegar-seasoned sushi rice!
The Shari (rice) is the life of the sushi! (Sorry to the pros back home, I just really wanted to say that.)
Anyway, I was in high spirits during the preparation. Looking back, I should have just used DP to summon the finished product. But at the time, I felt I had to do it myself. I mean, sushi is the soul of Japan, right?!
Then, the moment of destiny arrived...
When everyone entered the banquet hall, they stared blankly at my appearance and the tools surrounding me.
"Huh? Is the food not ready yet? I thought I heard it was done?"
Ratz tilted her head as she looked around at my setup. Hehe, well, I suppose that's a fair reaction. If you don't know what sushi is, you wouldn't think you could eat immediately just by looking at these tools. Allow me to show you the results of my brief practice session!
"No, the preparations are complete. Behold!"
For dramatic effect, I tossed a ball of rice into the air, caught it, and slapped a slice of tuna on top. Then, I placed it on the prepared set. (I'd already finished the portions for the others).
I set the sushi down in front of everyone. To start with the basics, I had plated one each of tuna, sea bream, salmon, squid, fatty tuna, flounder, and egg.
"Uh... it's just slices of raw fish on top of rice, right?"
"Naive!"
"Hya!?"
"Pour some soy sauce into the small dish in front of you, dip the sushi... and eat the rice with the fish on it!"
Led by Ratz, they tentatively dipped the sushi in soy sauce and brought it to their mouths.
" " " !!? " " "
Heh. The first seven pieces vanished in the blink of an eye. Having finished instantly, everyone looked over at me to see if that was it... and then they noticed. The display fridge was still packed with sliced toppings...
"O-Onii-san... c-could it be..."
"This is the menu. Order whatever you want. I'll press it for you right here!"
" " " !!? " " "
Everyone's eyes snapped to the menu. Well, I'd pressed a fair amount in advance, so I figured the amount I'd actually have to hand-press wouldn't be that much.
In the beginning, it was my overwhelming victory. First came the classic Chawanmushi (savory custard), clam soup, and hot green tea! I handed out the things individuals seemed likely to enjoy first...
"Th-this is!?"
"It's called Inari-zushi—a collaboration between sushi and the fried tofu skin you like so much, Kaya!"
"A-Ah..."
"It's okay, there's plenty. Don't worry, eat your fill!"
Kaya, in particular, was demolishing mountains of Inari-zushi.
* * *
Present Time
The stock has run out, and I am stuck hand-pressing everything.
"Coming right up!"
"Squid!"
"Here!"
"Egg—"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Dammit, is there going to be any left for me to eat?
As I press the sushi, I've made a solemn vow to my heart: I am never hand-pressing sushi ever again.
