Regarding the souvenirs for Shigenobu-san, we decided to bring a pair of yunomi teacups made by Nebula and Japanese tea. As for the Japanese tea leaves, Raz-san had cultivated some of them, so I asked her to share some with me.
Thereupon, the day when we will visit Shigenobu-san's house came, and we came back to the frontier town in Hydra Kingdom where I had participated in the Flying Board Competition with Aoi-chan and Hina-chan.
Unlike before, the streets were sparsely populated and the atmosphere was generally leisurely.
[The atmosphere in this place was quite different from when the Flying Board Competition was being held.]
[I guess it was more like things were flourishing back then. Wouldn't this feel more like the usual? It's peaceful.]
As I looked around while answering Hina-chan's words, this scenery with lots of fields and greenery was really nice, and since there's a lot of rice being cultivated in this area, for us Japanese, the atmosphere of this place kinda feels like a countryside area.
While we advanced through the road following the note Shigenobu-san gave us, I saw a few houses in the area with many fields, and among them, I saw a building that looked like a Japanese house.
[Ahh, it's probably that, right?]
[That's a Japanese house after all, so I'm sure that would be it. Shigenobu-san also said we would know if we saw it, and it was indeed as he said.]
Just as Aoi-chan said, a Japanese house would be easy to recognize in a different world. The roof being made of roof tiles, on a building that looked like it held a lot of thought in its creation. A one-story building with the feel of a country house... Hmmm, a house like this is good too.
[Speaking of which, I'm sorry that we ended up leaving the souvenirs to Kaito-senpai.]
[No, I only got them from Nebula and Raz-san anyway.]
[She made Arita-yaki yunomi teacups, right? Nebula-chan really is talented.]
The yunomi teacups that Nebula made really were as beautiful as the starry skies, having a beautiful appearance. The outside design obviously also looks great, but the inside of the yunomi teacups also looked amazing, as when you look into it, you can see something like a small galaxy that seems to draw people in. I guess that's to be expected of Nebula. I can't help but feel proud of her.
As I was walking toward the house with such thoughts in my mind, I saw a familiar man... Shigenobu-san standing in front of the house, probably because I had contacted him beforehand via hummingbird.
Shigenobu-san also seemed to have recognized us right away, as he slightly raised his hand toward us.
Hello, Shigenobu-san. Thank you for inviting us here today.]
[Yeah, I'm sorry for having you come all the way here in the middle of nowhere. I hope you didn't get lost?]
[There's no problem.]
[That's great then. Well, let's not stand around talking here. Come in, you three.]
Saying this with a smile, Shigenobu-san invited us into his home. The Japanese-style of needing to take off one's shoes at the entrance makes me feel a little nostalgic.
Shigenobu-san then led us into the living room. Unlike Blossom-san's room, which was made with her strange knowledge of Japan, this room really was like a living room made with tatami mats. My grandparents' house on my mother's side in Okayama was also like this when we visited them back then, so I felt a bit nostalgic.
[Welcome. Please sit wherever you like.]
When I turned my gaze upon hearing a voice, I saw a kind-looking woman holding a tray of tea. She was a beautiful woman in her 40s with dark brown hair simply tied at the back of her neck, which is probably Shigenobu-san's wife.
[Ah, let me introduce her to you. This is my wife, Hannah.]
[Nice to meet you.]
[Ah, it's nice to meet you, I'm Miyama Kaito.]
[I'm Kusunoki Aoi.]
[I'm Yuzuki Hina.]
After briefly introducing ourselves, we sat down on the cushions placed around the largish short-legged table, and Hannah-san placed the tea she was serving in front of us. It looked like barley tea.
[Ah, that's right. We brought this as a souvenir...]
[Unnn? You went to the trouble of bringing us a souvenir huh. I'm sorry you had to be mindful of us. Thank you... Well, isn't this quite the nice box?]
[No, our souvenirs are the ones inside it. They're yunomi teacups made by a Spirit child living back in my home and some Japanese tea my friend grows.]
[You gonna give me such nice things? No, I'm really sorry... Let's see the yunomi teacups———- Huh?]
Shigenobu-san, who received the souvenir with a wry smile, opened the wooden box and took out the yunomi teacups, when his eyes widened in astonishment.
Arehh? What's with that reaction? For some reason, Aoi-chan's eyes had widened too... Arehh? It's just something Nebula made, so it's not like it's something precious or anything....
[Oi, oi, isn't this... Yohen Tenmoku?]
[N- No, but those aren't tea bowls... No, but when the light hits the inside, you can see its iridescent brilliance. However, since these are made in this world, I don't think you can call it Yohen Tenmoku... but its coloration is just too amazing.]
[...Aoi-senpai, what's Yohen Tenmoku?]
[They're famed for their tea bowls rather than yunomi tea cups, but they're the highest grade tenmoku-style tea bowls. To put things simply, there are quite strict conditions to be considered as Yohen Tenmoku. There are only three in Japan that meet those conditions and are recognized as Yohen Tenmoku, and all of them are designated as national treasures... Anyhow, these yunomi tea cups really looked like those really amazing earthenware.]
[Eeeehhhh...]
Somehow, things are heading in a strange direction, aren't they? This is certainly not a Japanese national treasure. After all, it was made by Nebula... Nebula said, as if it's a matter of course, that "she made it by perfectly calculating how it would look due to light reflection", but judging from Shigenobu-san's and Aoi-chan's surprise, making this must have needed a considerably amazing technique...