Volume 1 - CH 16

Episode 16: Candy Shop.

After a fifteen-minute walk from our house, we arrived at our destination, Ohba Candy Shop.

The shop is an old building with a style  reminiscent of a Showa-era candy shop.

Outside is a row of gacha machines and a freezer filled with ice cream.

We were greeted by a vast selection of candy as we opened the sliding door and entered the store. The shelves were filled with sweets, and nostalgic toys adorned the walls.

"This is Kaho-dono's house......?"

"Well, to be exact, it's a candy shop run by Kaho's family."

"Welcome, you two. You said you had something urgent to do. What is it?"

As we conversed, Kaho emerged from the curtain in the back corridor.

"Seram said she didn't thank you for your help yesterday."

"Kaho-dono, you helped me out a lot yesterday. Thank you very much. Thanks to you, I was able to buy a lot of nice clothes."

"Oh! That's the clothes you bought yesterday!　Yeah, yeah. Even a simple outfit would look cool on beautiful, stylish ladies like Seram-san!"

Seeing how good Seram looks today, Kaho is pleased as if she wore the outfit herself.

If it suits her so well, I guess the person who gave her advice must be happy too.

"Is being cool a compliment....?"

"It's definitely a compliment! Looking cool in a simple fashion is a great thing! I wish I were as slim as you and had long arms and legs like you..."

"Really? I actually admire the slender and cute types like Kaho-dono..."

I suppose human beings are creatures who find what they don't have attractive.

From my perspective, both of them have their own unique worries.

"Just to show my appreciation, here's a long eggplant I picked from the farm."

"Wow! There are so many beautiful long eggplants!"

Seram gave Kaho a plastic bag of long eggplants she had harvested before leaving our house.

Although I bought her clothes yesterday, we came early this morning, so at least we should bring her a gift.

"Still, coming over to thank me. You're so polite. Seram-san."

"It's important to say thank you, isn't it?"

"I agree. Thank you, Seram-san."

"Mm, you're welcome."

Seram looks happy as Kaho expresses her gratitude.

Kaho approaches me and whispers softly.

"If you ever need help picking out clothes for Seram-san again, just let me know, okay?"

Hmm. It seems that Kaho is interested in selecting clothes for Seram. Still, I don't want to be constantly pressured to spend much money on expensive items whenever we shop.

"Seram, it seems that Kaho won't go shopping with me unless she gets a reward."

"I understand. I want to go shopping with her again, but I hesitate because of the expenses."

"Whoa! No, no! I was just joking! You don't need to give me any rewards. Feel free to ask me anytime!"

Seeing the sad expression on Seram's face, Kaho quickly takes back what she said to me.

Alright! Now I can ask her to assist Seram whenever she needs help shopping.

Kaho gives me a protest stare for taking advantage of Seram's innocence, but I brush it off.

"Oh! Isn't that Jin and Seram-san? Hey! You should have told me you were coming to my house!"

Kaito, Kaho's older brother, came out attracted by our lively conversation.

Today, he is wearing an aloha shirt and shorts, a very Hawaiian outfit.

As usual, his fashion sense is flamboyant and eccentric.

"We just came here to say thank you."

"Even so!"

"Well, I've got some business to attend to, so I'll leave now!"

"Mm, sorry to disturb you while you're busy."

"I'll see you later!"

Kaho walked into the back of the room as Kaito came in.

Then she picked up her bag, walked past us, and went outside.

"She seemed very busy."

"Nah, I think she's just enjoying her summer vacation,"

Come to think of it, college students are currently in the midst of summer vacation. As a farmer, I had completely forgotten about that feeling.

"Jin-dono, are all the items here sweets?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Besides sweets, they also sell toys and other things."

"Jin-dono, can I take a look?"

It seems that we can't leave right away.

I told her before that I would take her to the candy shop. Well, I don't mind if we look around for a bit.

I nodded, and Seram looked around the store excitedly.

"One of these is only ten yen!　That's cheap!"

"Because they are snacks sold to children."

"Can you make a profit on that?"

"Don't say such a cruel thing, Seram-san."

Kaito scratches his head with a wry smile at Seram's direct question.

"I've wondered about that myself, but how's it going?"

In the past, things maybe different, but now there are a lot of stores and services available.

The number of people living here has also dropped, and I think the business must be suffering.

Like Seram said, the profit margin might be pretty low.

"To be honest, the profits are almost zero. I earn money from my side job as a freelance video editor, so there's no real benefit running a candy shop."

Kaito relies on his video editing job as his main source of income. The candy shop itself doesn't generate much profit.

"If that's the case, why does Kaito-dono continue to run the business?"

"I like candy shops. It was a place where we could chat to discuss what candy we would buy with our small allowance. Even as I've grown up, this space remains deeply ingrained in my memories."

"This place must be very important to Kaito-dono."

I didn't know Kaito kept the candy shop going for that reason.

Usually, he appears to be a carefree person without much thought. Still, it seems that he has a strong determination of his own. I don't dislike that kind of character.

"Well, enough about me. Have you ever tried any sweets?"

"I've had yokan and mizu-manju!"

"Your food choices seem old-fashioned... If you haven't tried anything else, try buying something here. Wagashi (Japanese sweets) are delightful, but candy is tasty too."

Seram turn to me in response to Kaito's sales pitch. It seems like she is about to ask if she can buy something.

I call Seram over and signal for her to open her palm. I place the money in her hand.

"Yukichi-dono! Can I use all of this to buy candy?"

"No, of course not. This is your salary. You can use it when I'm not around or if you want something for yourself."

"Oh, this is my salary! I understand! I'll use my own money to buy it!"

It would be troublesome if she always broke and kept asking for my permission before buying anything.

Having a wife who asks her husband for everything she wants is weird.

She should have the money to buy what she wants at her own discretion.

Candy is cheap, and she probably won't spend all of her first salary.

Seram takes the money, grabs a small plastic basket, and starts shopping for candy.

"Jin, how about you?"

"Sure, I haven't bought candy in a while."

I haven't bought candy for a while. It's not a bad idea to buy and eat snacks between work.

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Translator note:

> Dagashiya

The title is 駄菓子屋 (Dagashiya).

The literal translation is "Cheap sweets shop."

To avoid confusion, I have used "Candy Shop" as the translation.

"Dagashi" refers to inexpensive sweets such as candy, chocolate, gum, wafer, cookies, and more. For readers interested in learning more about dagashi, I recommend watching the anime "Dagashi Kashi."

"Wagashi" refers to traditional Japanese sweets, such as daifuku, manju, yokan, mochi, and more.

For readers interested in learning more about wagashi, I recommend watching the anime "Deaimon."

>Yukichi-dono

Seram said “Yukichi-dono” when she received her 1st salary.

She was referring to Yukichi Fukuzawa. A famous Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur, and samurai whose portrait was used for 10,000 yen bill.

That means the money she got was 10,000 yen.