The Great Sage Who Did not Remain in Legend - 30.4

“Yeah! Do you have kinako?”

“Yes, we do. Make your own portions.”

“Hehe, I’ll make all I can.”

When they got out of the bath, Iris was awake too.

“Who are those children?”

“Orphans from the slums. This is Kazaf, the one with fluffy hair is Torque, and the last one is Tajiki.”

“I’m Iris, Mergin’s wife.”

Iris, stop joking. People in this world will take it seriously.

“She really is your wife!”

The three kids made a big fuss. I called them the Three Stans. I wondered if there were others named Afga, Uzbe, and Paki.

“Of course not. Besides, I don’t need a wife who doesn’t do any housework.”

“Mergin does everything, so I don’t need to.”

“Then cook today.”

“I will, but it won’t taste good.”

No thanks. I don’t want to eat mushy rice.

“Here, eat this and wait. I’ll steam the rice now.”

“Wow, meat!”

Iris joined the Three Stans in eating. I made a meat-centered New Year’s meal for them.

While steaming the rice, I prepared katsuobushi broth and quickly boiled spinach. The ozoni broth was made with katsuobushi, chicken bones, and kombu. I seasoned it with salt and soy sauce, adding a bit of sugar as a mirin substitute for depth.

“Yes, it’s well made.”

Mergin was in a good mood because the ozoni broth turned out well.

“You took a lot of soup to cook, didn’t you?”

Iris came into the kitchen, mouth full of kuri kinton.

“Swallow before you speak. I can’t understand you.”

Iris swallowed.

“Are you making all that soup from scratch?”

“No, it’s for sharing. Hey, guys, it’s ready.”

“Alright! I’ll make as much as I can!”

The steamed mochi rice was put in the mortar, and Mergin started kneading it, taking charge of turning the rice.

“Alright, pound it well.”

“Yo! Ha! Yo! Ha!”

The three worked in perfect sync, pounding the mochi like pistons.

“Wow, this looks fun. I want to try.”

“Who wants to swap with her?”

“I’ll do it!”

The fluffy-haired Torque volunteered. He was the soothing presence among the three. He seemed like a rich boy.

“Yo! Ha! Yo! Ha! Yo!”

Thud.

“Ouch! Iris, ‘Ha’ is when I turn the mochi. Pound on ‘Yo’.”

“So-sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it, sis.”