Since Toru had made a reservation, an employee escorted us to a dimly lit room. Marie exhibited plenty of curiosity the entire time, and I couldn’t blame her. We could see the kitchen, where they used a circular wok to fry food over a roaring fire. That must have been quite an unusual sight for Marie, as she stared adorably while clutching my suit. Although we hadn’t been seated yet, I wanted to pique her curiosity further.
“Flash frying with high heat like that is called bao in China. Some of the kanji you’ve been learning might come in handy tonight. Chinese cuisine requires mastery in handling fire, so many frying and cooking methods are written in kanji on the menu,” I whispered in her ear.
Marie’s eyes lit up even more, and her smile widened. Seeing that I had successfully stimulated her curiosity, I couldn’t help but smile. Marie looked restless and giddy as we got seated.
I removed my outerwear and sat down after the Ichijos. “Excited?” I asked Marie.
Her brilliant amethyst eyes met mine, and she said, “Yes, very! I love that I get to learn more about Asian culture while having dinner.”
“Places where people gather to eat are always rife with culture, not just in this world. I love coming to these places because it feels like you’re getting good value when you can learn and enjoy food. But I always cook my own meals in Japan since eating out can be pricey.”
From what it appeared, Marie couldn’t wait to see what the menu had to offer because she had already taken one of them off of the table. She looked at me with exasperation and said, “I don’t understand you sometimes. There’s so much delicious food in Japan. I feel like it’s a waste.” Her expression told me she truly didn’t get it. Of course the food here was good, but a humble office worker like me had to be careful about spending.
Shortly after, I glanced at the menu in her hand. Sure enough, it was full of kanji. Even though it was difficult to read even for a Japanese person, Marie eyed it with a look of studiousness, which I found adorable.
I also looked at Toru, who was seated next to me, and said, “You always know the best restaurants.”
Toru took his glasses out of his pocket, grinned, and remarked, “When it comes to food, I’m your man. I guess that’s why my stomach ended up like this.” He exaggerated his laugh and rubbed his stomach, making the girls laugh as well.
Kaoruko and Marie seemed closer compared to when they had first met, and they sat physically closer to each other than usual due to the circular table. Currently, Kaoruko wore a dress with a subtle color and a long skirt to complement her black, shoulder-length hair. She was usually off work on Mondays, and Marie had been taking the cat to hang out with her. Maybe that was why they seemed more like friends now rather than just neighbors.
“Toru is paying tonight, so please eat as much as you want,” Kaoruko told me.
“Ha ha ha, the best way to eat Chinese food is to stuff your face without holding back. You’ve shared food with us before, so think of this as my way of thanking you.”
Now that he mentioned it, I had shared some food with Kaoruko whenever I cooked too much or my family sent me things from home. She had already given us more than enough in return, so Marie and I looked at each other and bowed our heads to thank them. It was best to accept their kindness and show gratitude in these situations. Besides, this was Marie’s first time trying Chinese cuisine, and I wanted her to fully enjoy it.
I noticed a pair of purple eyes staring at me. With the menu still in hand, Marie moved her face so close to mine that I could feel her breath. “Which kanji is the cooking method you mentioned earlier?”
Her closeness preoccupied me, but she was far more interested in the menu. I stared it for some time, then pointed at the characters 葱爆羊肉. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how to read it and only recognized 爆, the kanji for bao. I also knew the items with 炒, or chao, in the name were quickly fried dishes like fried rice. I taught her these characters individually, and it must have looked like I was reading her a picture book from the Ichijos’ perspective.
Toru was so amazed that he had forgotten about deciding what to order. “Your speaking skills are impressive already, but you’re also learning kanji? I’m impressed. You’ve only been in Japan for about half a year, right?”
It was indeed impressive. Marie was intelligent and incredibly quick at picking things up. I had gotten used to it already, but her learning speed was shocking for anyone who didn’t know her well. Marie counted with her fingers and said, “Has it been seven months already?”
I nodded. Marie had been living in Japan for about that long.
“It’s fun learning kanji when you understand their meaning, and I think it’s been helping with my pronunciation. I don’t think it’s so bad once you get used to it,” she said. She looked at me for agreement, but I didn’t think so. It had taken us years to learn kanji. She was only saying that because she was a genius, and Japanese definitely wasn’t an easy language to learn. Toru seemingly felt the same way and gave me a look that said he couldn’t believe how smart she was.
“That’s amazing,” he said. “You’ve been going to Kaoruko’s library, haven’t you? I think that’s great. Yeah, I’m glad.”
Toru seemed genuinely happy for her, but something was odd about his reaction. He wasn’t just pleased because he nodded to himself with a wide smile as if his spirits had been lifted. Marie also looked confused, and I felt like there were hidden implications to Toru’s words. I had once told him Marie was a distant relative here on a homestay program, and it looked like he suspected something else was happening. But I might have been overthinking it and just been on edge because he worked a government office job. I met Marie’s eyes, and she nodded, as we were apparently thinking the same thing.
“I think people who aren’t good at Japanese should watch anime!” she said confidently.
“Huh? Anime?” Toru and I said at the same time. I was surprised to discover that we hadn’t been thinking similarly at all. Yet Marie’s confidence didn’t waver. In fact, she placed a hand on her chest with a brilliant smile on her face.
“Yes, anime. You have so much fun while learning that time just flies by. It’s a lot easier to get in the habit of learning by absorbing anime and manga rather than reading difficult textbooks. It’s very easy to pick up simple phrases for conversation this way.”
Toru blinked a few times, then looked at me as if to ask, “She’s joking, right?” But no, she was completely serious.
It had actually gotten her into anime, and she had been knee-deep in otaku culture ever since. But I was glad that she enjoyed it, although I wondered if it was right to introduce it to a beautiful and mythical being like an elf.
So I finally gave in and nodded as Toru laughed out loud and stated, “Ah, I see. That reminds me, you did mention you like anime. It’s not just popular in Japan but all over the world. Some people visit this country because of their love of anime. I grew up watching children’s anime shows, and it’s good for learning. But I would get weird looks if I recommended anime to foreigners.”
Recommending anime to a friend or an acquaintance was one thing, though it would be hard to bring that up to someone he was interacting with through work. I would probably feel taken aback if it had happened to me.