Since it's already decided that we'll visit Shigenobu-san's house, while we're at it, it's natural that we would want to bring at least one souvenir.
When I consulted about this with Kaori-san, she gave me the lackadaisical advice that Shigenobu-san generally likes Japanese-style items. I also discussed this with Aoi-chan and Hina-chan, but since we couldn't come up with anything good right away, so we settled on finding something that each of us thinks would be good, before discussing it again later.
[...Milord, you're pondering upon something?]
[Oh, Nebula. Unnn, I'm going to visit the house of someone from the same homeworld, and I'm wondering what souvenir to bring.]
[I see. I think it's the thought that counts, but that aside, I suppose something that will make them happy would be good. If the recipient is from another world, wouldn't they also feel nostalgic for items related to that world?]
[Indeed, if you exclude Neun-san, Shigenobu-san has been living in this world the longest, and he probably misses things from Japan.]
Although I haven't heard about him in detail, since he played the role of Hero even before Akane-san, he has probably been living in this world for more than 50 years.
If that's the case, Japanese items may be quite rare for him. There are indeed many products from our world that have been passed down to this world, but there are some that are difficult to obtain or hard to find. Just as how Kaori-san was surprised at the rice produced by Raz-san, it may be difficult for ordinary people to obtain especially high-quality products.
Fortunately, I have a lot of contacts, and just when I thought it would be good to search for a souvenir in that direction, Nebula, seemingly having come up with something, suddenly spoke.
[Come to think of it, Milord. I made some pottery from the world Milord was from the other day.]
[Japanese pottery? Now that you mentioned it, we did talk about it a bit, didn't we?]
[Yes. I made yunomi teacups based on what Milord told me and the materials I borrowed from Illness-san... Here it is.]
[Oh, whoa... It's amazing. It's glamorous, yet austere and cool. The feel and weight are also just right.]
[I made this piece in reference to Arita-yaki, which is characterized by their indigo color. It was easy to use techniques that were originally used to make teacups and other earthenware items.]
(T/N: Arita-yaki yunomi teacup)
The yunomi teacup Nebula held out to me had a black base with indigo and white accents, making it look like a starry sky.
Eh? No, isn't this awesome... I didn't know yunomi tea cups could be made this beautiful and cool... They're so good that I want to use them myself. Nebula really is great.
[Nebula is amazing. You haven't been making pottery that long, and yet you can make such beautiful pottery.]
[I'm Absolute after all!]
[Ahaha, I see.]
While I patted Nebula's head, as she proudly puffed out her small chest, I thought... Wouldn't this be a good souvenir? I'd have to confirm with Nebula first, but I think Shigenobu-san would be delighted to receive something like a couple-designed cups.
Also, after seeing this yunomi teacup, I just remembered... Neun-san should have Japanese tea. I'm not sure if Raz-san was making it or not, but I can at least be sure that Japanese tea exists.
Blossom-san and Kaori-san also had such tea, so I'm certain that they're at least in general circulation. In that case, Japanese tea might be a good souvenir for Shigenobu-san.
I'm sure Neun-san will be able to tell me what's good if I ask her... like, if I brought high-end Japanese tea….. Gyokuro tea or something like that, I'm sure Shigenobu-san will be happy.
[...Nebula, do you have any more of this yunomi teacup?]
[We have a lot of them. We have made a variety of teacups with different designs.]
[Do you have something that can be used by a pair?]
[Yes! We also have pair designs prepared. If you want to bring them as souvenirs, I can make a box to put them in.]
[I'd appreciate it if you would. Is it alright to ask you that?]
[Yes! Please leave it to me!]
For the time being, it seems like asking Nebula for the yunomi teacups is alright, so all that remains is to contact Neun-san and ask for her recommendation for Japanese tea leaves.
It would also be nice to buy some for myself... Enjoying Japanese tea with the yunomi teacups Nebula made sounds nice. I should also buy some Japanese confectioneries to match it... Ah, come to think of it, I think I saw some Japanese items being sold in that store where the hanging scrolls Neun-san wrote were displayed.
I never really looked around that place, but after I call Neun-san later, I suppose I could check that place out.