No matter how close they were, people tended to drift apart over time.
Well, I suppose drifting further apart wasn’t much of an issue for people who weren’t particularly close to begin with. The paths they took in life would continue as they were, sending them in different directions.
But when people who were rather close experienced the same thing, it could create some conflict. Because they were so close, even a slight disconnect could feel immense, a distance they would have otherwise ignored entirely had it been someone less important to them.
I wasn’t sure if that was related to the current situation, but Old Gon and Mizuyo had been fighting the night before, and I didn’t know why.
Sure, I was the closest person to these two at the moment. Ever since meeting Old Gon here in Outo, the two of them had effectively been taking care of me. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have any time alone together. I went to the forge during the day, and I would often retire earlier in the night than Old Gon if I started feeling too drunk.
It didn’t seem to me like the fight was a huge matter. There was no sign that Mizuyo would return home to Shin because of it, nor did Old Gon make any effort to force her to leave. Fights like this were probably an ordinary, if not necessarily common, occurrence in their long relationship, so I had no intention of sticking my nose into the matter by trying to mediate or take anyone’s side. Getting involved could end up complicating things further, to where even if it looked like the problem had been resolved, my interference would leave a lingering sense of awkwardness. If the two of them had a problem, I wanted them to work it out by themselves.
That said, with both Old Gon and Mizuyo in a bad mood, things became quite uncomfortable for a freeloader like myself, so I really hoped they’d work it out sooner rather than later. Not that a little bit of discomfort would send me packing or anything.
“Hey Acer, let’s go into town for a bit.”
Early one afternoon, Old Gon invited me out into town. Mizuyo gave no reaction at all to our departure as she saw us off, leaving me totally in the dark as to the situation between them.
Interpersonal relationships were quite the enigma. If I were personally involved, I would make its ups and downs my responsibility so that I could move things along as best I could. It went without saying, but there were far more relationships in this world than those I had a part in, as intriguing and troublesome as they could be.
I quietly followed Old Gon through the streets, having no idea where we were going. He didn’t appear particularly upset now that we had left. Were we just going out to drink to help him feel better? As I thought that, he stopped.
“Ah, here we are.”
To my surprise, what we were standing in front of was a tea house. But really, they focused mainly on light meals and desserts...so it was closer to something like a dessert café. Of course, there were no coffees or black teas served here, only various types and qualities of green tea. The food naturally was made to match, comprising things like mochi, dango, and manju.
“My guys say this place is really good. Can you taste some of their stuff for me and tell me what you liked? I really can’t handle sweets in the least,” Old Gon said, looking slightly apologetic.
Ah, now I get it. So that’s what’s happening.
He was here because he wanted to buy something for Mizuyo, but since he wasn’t fond of sweets himself, he needed me to find a good option for her. I didn’t know if this was just an attempt to get back in her good graces, but I had no reason to doubt Old Gon’s motivations. I was sure she’d be happy with the gift.
Though channels were built throughout the city to allow merfolk to come and go, that didn’t mean it was all that easy for her to visit shops like this. While the city made plenty of accommodations for skyfolk and merfolk, only the largest stores could afford to have top-floor entrances or storefronts that faced the canals.
At any rate, if that was what he was after, I was more than happy to help. As much as I liked alcohol, I still loved my sweets.
I had mentioned before many differences in Fusou’s culture from what I was used to when it came to architecture, alcohol, noodles, fish, and even the pickled vegetables we ate here as snacks, but the dessert culture here was also quite unique. Obviously it was different from what you would find in the center of the continent, but there was quite a gap between Fusou and the Ancient Gold Empire as well.
When I took a bite of my first order, a sticky sweetness filled my mouth. A mouthful of tea to follow it up gently rounded out the flavor. Out of curiosity, I asked one of the waitresses how they sweetened the food here. Aside from sugar, there was also a kind of ivy sap that they could turn into a sweet syrup, as well as candy made from sprouting rice.
Mochi with soybean flour or honey, dango drizzled with its unique sweet-and-salty sauce, manju with red bean paste; all of them used expensive materials and were quite time-consuming to make, so they had the price tags to match. But this was all on Old Gon’s dime, so I wasn’t going to hold back.
My fingers stuck slightly to the mochi, the dango, and the manju as they brushed across them. When I pressed on them lightly, I could feel a flexible tension. Would these be soft enough to cushion the conflict between Old Gon and Mizuyo? Would these confections be enough to help them stick back together? I hoped so.
While I explored, Old Gon drank some tea, lightly picking at some seaweed-wrapped mochi that wasn’t sweet. I was a bit concerned whether he’d choke on it, but he seemed to be in a good mood at least.