Chapter 1: Seasons Change, Strawberries Ripen
“I’VE eaten so many delicious things over this past year.” I smiled as I turned the pages of my recipe book.
I’d returned from my homeland of Elltoria to the kingdom of Wolfvarte, where spring had come at my royal villa. I gazed at the recipe book from my seat on the sofa by the window.
Sponge cake, shortcake, sandwiches, salt-crusted fish, chocolate fondue.
The taste of each meal returned to my mind as I flipped to a new page.
My recipe book—full of tasty, delightful memories—was my treasure. Each one brought joy to my days, thanks to the help of many people and my own past life memories. I had over twenty recipes using strawberries alone.
Strawberries are just so delicious.
They were my favorite fruit of them all. Not only were they a treat when eaten fresh, but they were wonderful in a jam or a dessert…
Although, the more I recalled these strawberry sweets, the stranger I started to feel.
Why? When did this start?
It was impossible to remember the cause of my intense love for strawberries.
I stopped turning the pages and pondered it for a moment.
Somewhere along the way, it simply became my favorite food. That was a perfectly reasonable explanation, and yet something still felt off. I tried racking my brain for any past life memories related to this subject, but it was no use.
As I furrowed my brow, trying to process a sensation almost like something was stuck in my throat, I suddenly felt a tug on my dress.
“Meow meow!”
“What is it, Berry?”
Berry stared up at me with her light green eyes. I knew that look—she wanted to join me on the sofa. I scooted over to the left and watched her jump up to my side.
“Mraw!”
I stroked her gently, down from her tiny head to her neck like a massage. Berry squinted her eyes and folded her ears back to make it easier for me. She was utterly adorable.
I was enjoying my fill of her fuzzy coat when she seemed to have enough, leaning forward toward my recipe book. She began to skillfully turn the pages with the pads of her paws, careful to keep her claws retracted and not tear the paper. As much as I wanted to praise her with more petting, I decided not to disturb her. She was staring closely at each illustration in the book.
“Meow, meow, meow. Mraw mraw meow meow meow…”
“Not this one. Or this one either,” she was saying, apparently looking for something in particular.
It had been just over a year since I arrived at the royal villa. All four seasons had passed now, and Berry had the blissful dilemma of how to utilize our second strawberry season together.
“Meow! Meow meow meow meow meow!”
“Hm? What is it? You want shortcake? No, something else? Plain strawberries? No… Ah, I get it now. You want a dessert that leaves the strawberries preserved in their original shape.” I translated her gestures and motions into human-speak.
Berry, despite looking exactly like a gray tabby cat, was actually a Mythical Beast known as a Gardener Cat. They were very clever creatures, able to understand most of what humans said to them even if they couldn’t speak themselves.
“I just made shortcake three days ago, and Gilbert and I were going to make tarts the day after tomorrow. What else would fit…?”
The two of us put our heads together to come up with a good treat for today. Then it came to me at last.
“What about something like this? It’s pretty simple to make, and I think it’s exactly what you’re looking for.”
“Meow meow?”
It was something I had yet to come across in this world, but I knew Berry would love it.
I gave her a brief explanation, and with Berry’s approval, I headed to the kitchen.