NABC Page 76
Page 76
"Oh, no need to be so polite, please come in." The old woman warmly invited them into the house.
The guesthouse features a purely Japanese-style interior with tatami mats, sliding doors, and a small courtyard.
The hallway has wooden floors, which are spotless.
"Your rooms are on the second floor." The old woman led them upstairs. "Boys will have one room, and girls will have one room."
The girls' room is a spacious Japanese-style room with tatami mats that can accommodate three or four people. The boys' room is next door and is slightly smaller.
"Wow, what a wonderful room." Eriri stepped into the room and was immediately drawn to the view outside the window. Looking out the window, she could see the sea in the distance.
"It's really good." Kato Megumi was also very satisfied.
Kasumigaoka Utaha walked to the partition wall connecting the two rooms and tapped it with her finger.
"The soundproofing doesn't seem to be very good," she said pointedly.
Eriri's face turned red for some reason.
After hearing the knocking on the wall next door, Itsuka Yuto shook his head helplessly.
After putting down our luggage, it was already lunchtime.
The group went downstairs to ask what good restaurants were nearby.
"Oh, are you going to eat?" The old woman thought for a moment, "Go out from here and turn right, there's a family restaurant there, their seafood rice bowls are very good and the prices are reasonable."
“Okay, thank you, Grandma.” Itsuka Yuto nodded.
"You're welcome," the old woman said with a smile. "You're all students, aren't you? It's so nice that young people like you are visiting Izu."
“We’re here to gather inspiration,” Eriri explained.
"Going on a field trip? Then you've come to the right place. Izu has many beautiful places," the old woman said.
After leaving the guesthouse, the four of them went to the family restaurant recommended by the old lady.
The restaurant wasn't big, but it was very clean, and the owner was very welcoming.
"Wow, this golden snapper rice bowl looks delicious!" Eriri's eyes lit up as she looked at the menu.
"This is good, premium sea urchin rice bowl." Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to the most expensive item on the menu.
"The sashimi set meal looks delicious too," Kato Megumi said.
Yuto Itsuka looked at the menu and finally ordered the restaurant's signature seafood rice bowl for everyone.
The food was served quickly, a bowl full of fresh sashimi, sea urchin and fish roe, served with hot rice, which looked very appetizing.
"So delicious!" Eriri's eyes narrowed as she ate.
"It really is very fresh," Kato Megumi exclaimed, full of praise.
……
After lunch, the four returned to their guesthouse.
"The afternoon is free time; you can all explore the area," said Yuto Itsuka. "Shall we go to the hot springs tonight?"
"Hot spring!" Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes lit up at the same time.
"Are you really going to soak in the hot spring?" Kato Megumi's voice rang out at an inopportune moment.
Yuto Itsuka laughed and said, "Soaking in a hot spring in the summer is like taking a sauna in the summer, which has a different flavor from winter. I don't mind, it's up to you to think."
“However, the hot springs at the guesthouse are separated for men and women,” Yuto Itsuka added.
"Tch, how boring," Eriri muttered under her breath.
"Oh dear, Sawamura-kun seems quite disappointed," Utaha teased. "Did you want to bathe with your junior?"
"I didn't!"
"Alright, let's talk about the hot springs tonight. Everyone, go back to your rooms and rest for a bit. We'll meet downstairs at 3 PM," Yuto Itsuka said promptly.
Back in his room, Yuto Itsuka opened his suitcase and took out a change of clothes.
His room wasn't big, but it was very clean, and the view from the window was of the courtyard.
He lay down on the tatami mat and let out a long sigh of relief.
Take advantage of the trip to get some rest.
……
Volume 1: Chapter 98: Fortunately, there's no debate about whether steamed buns are sweet or savory; everyone loves them.
It was 3 p.m. at the entrance of the guesthouse.
Yuto Itsuka changed into a casual short-sleeved T-shirt and pants and leaned against the door to wait.
Soon after, footsteps could be heard on the stairs.
"Long time waiting~"
Eriri was the first to run down.
She changed out of her morning dress and into a white short-sleeved shirt with a cute cat print, paired with a light blue denim mini skirt, revealing her fair legs and exuding youthful energy.
"Oh, that's pretty fast." Itsuka Yuto straightened up.
“Of course, I’m not like some people who dawdle.” Eriri raised her chin smugly and looked meaningfully at the stairs.
As soon as she finished speaking, Kasumigaoka Utaha appeared at the top of the stairs. She had changed into a black off-shoulder T-shirt that perfectly accentuated her stunning figure, paired with a flowing floral maxi skirt.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting." Shiyu smiled as she walked down, her gaze falling on Eriri. "Sawamura-san's outfit is really... energetic, like an elementary school student."
"You!" Eriri was about to explode when Kato Megumi came down.
She wore a simple beige polo shirt and khaki capri pants, topped with a white baseball cap, a neutral outfit that surprisingly suited her.
"Alright, everyone's here, let's go." Itsuka Yuto promptly interrupted the two rivals' daily bickering.
As planned, they were to stroll around the area near the guesthouse this afternoon to familiarize themselves with the surroundings.
Atami is a charming seaside town with streets built along the hillside, rising and falling, lined with various local specialty shops and old buildings.
They first went to the shopping street in front of Atami Station, which was crowded with various local specialty shops and dessert shops. They hadn't stopped when they left the station earlier because they were carrying luggage, but they came here specifically to browse in the afternoon.
"Itsuka-kun, would you like to try these hot spring buns?" Kato Megumi asked, pointing to the freshly steamed buns in front of a shop.
"Okay."
Onsen manju (hot spring steamed buns) are a specialty snack of Atami. The soft and chewy skin is filled with sweet red bean paste, and they are very delicious.
However, in his previous life, Itsuka Yuto was from the South, and every day for breakfast he ate steamed buns, soy milk and fried dough sticks. He had eaten all kinds of fillings, including red bean paste, custard, tofu, chives, braised meat, pickled vegetables, vermicelli, shrimp, cabbage, radish, mushrooms, and green vegetables.
For a period of time, he would deliberately eat different fillings every day, and he ate them for more than half a month without repeating a single one.
So why do steamed buns have fillings?
Yuto Itsuki only vaguely remembered that in his hometown in his previous life, there was no such thing as "baozi" (steamed bun); they were all called "mantou" (steamed bun). Meat buns were called "meat mantou," and tofu buns were called "tofu mantou."
It wasn't until he went to other places that he learned that only those without filling are called steamed buns, while those with filling are called baozi.
……
Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha were drawn to a shop selling handmade items, which were filled with a dazzling array of goods.
"This wind chime is so pretty!" Eriri picked up a wind chime with a goldfish pattern on it.
“This blue one suits you better,” Itsuka Yuto said, walking over and pointing to a sea-blue wind chime.
"Huh? Is that so?" Eriri paused for a moment, then quickly bought the blue wind chime.
Kasumigaoka Utaha watched from the side, a playful smile on her face.
After strolling through the shopping street, they arrived near a shrine.
Yumae Shrine, as its name suggests, enshrines the god of hot springs.
Japan is said to have eight million gods, a whole host of them, big and small, including some rather eccentric ones.
For example, there is an earthworm shrine in Nagano Prefecture that enshrines the earthworm god.
Also in Nagano Prefecture, there is a shrine that even enshrines a gilded sculpture of excrement. It is said that touching it symbolizes "bringing in wealth and treasures," but worshippers only laugh when they see it, which in turn fits the folk saying "laughter brings good fortune."
There are all sorts of strange gods, so it's not surprising that there's a god of hot springs.
"Itsuka-kun, would you like to toss in a coin and make a wish?" Kato Megumi asked in front of the donation box.
As a former Chinese who believed in "believing when it's useful and criticizing when it's not," Yuto Itsuka remained noncommittal about customs such as visiting shrines.
With a "what's the harm in trying?" attitude, he took out a five-yen coin from his wallet and threw it into the donation box.
The Japanese pronunciation of 5 yen is "dog e," which sounds like "destiny" or "fate."
After putting in the money, he shook the bell above, then clapped his hands, closed his eyes, and made a wish.
Eriri and the other two followed suit and tossed in a coin to make a wish.
……
As we left Yuzen Shrine, the setting sun had already begun to paint the horizon with a faint orange hue.
On the way, Kato Megumi suddenly asked, "So, what wish did Itsuka-kun make?"
Yuto Itsuka was stunned for a moment.
His mind went blank when he inserted the coin, and he just blurted out, "I hope this trip goes well."
"It's a secret." He smiled deliberately. "If I tell you, it won't work."
“Oh my, junior, you have such an innocent side.” Kasumigaoka Utaha twirled a strand of hair with her fingertips. “I thought you would make some… more practical wishes. Like, I hope the second volume sells well, or… I hope some ‘accident’ happens at the inn? Something like that.”
"Kasumigaoka Utaha! What are you thinking about all day long?!" Eriri immediately jumped up and down. Her wish was "that Yuto's book will sell well, and..." but she cut off the rest of the sentence herself.
"I'm just speculating about what a male high school student might be thinking," Shiyu said dismissively. "Sawamura-kun is so excited, is he making some kind of secret wish? Like, hoping to get closer to someone?"
"N-no, I didn't!" Eriri's face instantly turned red.
Yuto Itsuka sighed. Whenever these two got together, the atmosphere always became tense.
He explained briefly: "Rather than hoping my work will sell well, I prefer to rely on my own abilities."
This is what he means.
Just like how, although he has a system, he never relies on it excessively, even though the system gives him various abilities, some useful and some useless.
He looked at Kato Megumi and asked with a hint of curiosity, "What did you wish for, Kato-san?"
"Me?" Kato Megumi tilted her head. "I hope everyone has fun."
"...That's so typical of Kato-kun."
“Alright, let’s go to the waterfront park.” Yuto Itsuka checked the time on his phone. “Now is the perfect time to go and watch the sunset.”
The group returned to the bus stop in front of Atami Station and boarded a bus heading towards Atami Port.
There weren't many people on the bus, and the four of them found seats and sat down.
The bus traveled along the coastline, with the shimmering Sagami Bay visible through the window.
About ten minutes later, they got off at the Waterfront Park stop.
It is said that because Atami and Sanremo, Italy, are sister cities, the entire water park was designed with the theme of "Mediterranean resort".
As soon as you step into the Sky Deck of the First Work Area, you can see the red brick walkway on the ground, and looking at the bay not far away, it really has the atmosphere of the French Riviera in Southern Europe.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" Eriri ran to the railing, and Haifeng blew up her twin ponytails, which shimmered in the sunset.
"It's a great place for taking pictures." Kato Megumi picked up her phone and took a few pictures facing the sea.
At the heart of the park is a platform called "Moonlight Balcony," from which you can enjoy a panoramic view of the entire Sagami Bay.
By this time, the sun had already sunk halfway down, turning the sea surface into a golden hue.
"Junior, can you take a picture for me?" Kasumigaoka Utaha walked up to Itsuka Yuto and handed him her phone.
“Okay.” Itsuka Yuto took the phone.
Shi Yu leaned against the railing, the sea breeze blowing her floral dress, outlining her graceful figure. Her long black hair danced in the wind, and she slightly raised her head, her eyes carrying a hint of languor.
"Click."