The seasonings for the miso soup made such a dispute among us, but Bartolo and I were able to safely make breakfast.

  Finally, after we make the familiar tamagoyaki for each person, we left the rest to the waitress - Mina and Sara.

  The adjustment of seasonings for the important miso soup is left to Bartolo, and I sat in the dining room.

  All of the family members have already seated themselves before me.

  I’m so hungry. Won’t they quickly bring the food out? I’ve been working since the morning, and I’m feeling awfully hungry - perhaps because I’ve been tasting and smelling the dishes we made.

  And maybe because Nord-tousan, Elna-kaasan, and Sylvio-niisan had tasted the food before that they look hungrier than usual today.

  The three of them are talking with each other indirectly, but their gazes were always directed toward the kitchen.

  Though I feel the same way, so I keep on looking toward the kitchen while having conversations with everyone.

  And after a while. Mina and Sara brought the food to the dining room.

  「We apologize to have kept you waiting!」


  In front of our eyes, there are rice, tamagoyaki, salt-grilled salmon, nameko miso soup, and spinach nibitashi lined up.

  Ooh, to think that there would be times when Japanese food will be served in the mansion like this. As someone who belongs to the Japanese-food-in-the-morning camp, this is truly a happy thing. Western food is also fine but as expected, for someone who was Japanese in my previous life, I want to occasionally eat Japanese food.

  「Looking at dishes lined up like this, they are quite colorful aren’t they」


  「Each and every one of them seems like they will go well with rice」


  「That’s because today’s menu are made so that they will go well with rice」


  I want them to enjoy the side dish that goes well with rice first.

  Since we’re already familiar with the taste of rice, I wanted them to feel the taste again with another dish.

  「Now then, shall we eat?」


  Nord-tousan says that as if to hurry us a bit when we’re still exchanging our impression about the dishes.

  Everyone here, we are all hungry. So no one objects to Nord-tousan’s suggestion and we quietly started to eat.

  First of all, let’s get the steaming hot miso soup. After all, miso soup is tastier when they’re hot rather than warm. Firstly, slowly tilt the bowl so I can hold the soup in my mouth.

  After that, the small, slimy nameko immediately entered my mouth. And the taste of soup that has been

  soaked with the flavor of nameko and miso simultaneously spreads in my mouth.

  It’s like the sticky nameko are dancing inside my mouth, but they give me an interesting texture when I bite them.

  While chewing the nameko, I swallow it together with the miso soup.

  Aah, the taste of this miso is unbearable. I knew it, drinking warm miso soup really calms your mind.

  「「……fuu」」


  「「……haa」」


  When I try to glance at everyone else, I saw Nord-tousan, Sylvio-niisan, and Elna-kaasan breathe a sigh of relief after swallowing the miso soup just like me.

  It felt great when you can feel relaxed and become absent-minded after drinking miso soup, isn’t it? I think it’s such a calm feeling just like when you drink green tea.

  After that, I take a sip, then a second sip of the miso soup, and start to eat the rice.

  It’s the white rice Bartolo cooked on the kamado.

  There is no moisture on the rice and they are cooked until it’s fluffy.

  When I scooped the rice and eat it, I faintly felt the sweet taste of the rice. The taste came out the more I

  chew on them, I can keep on eating this even if there are no side dishes to accompany it.

  After enjoying the flavor of the rice, I took a mouthful of rice and hold it inside my mouth, and then I sipped on the miso soup.

  The rice and miso soup are mixed together inside my mouth, and the rice slowly melts inside my mouth.

  Such an irresistibly delicious taste.

  「……aah, sure enough, the compatibility between miso soup and rice is the best」


  「I could eat as much rice as I wanted to with just miso soup alone 」


  Elna-kaasan muttered as if she was impressed with the taste, perhaps she was imitating me.

  I mean, miso soup and rice are really the best after all. So it’s not an exaggeration for her to say that.

  「It’s going to be easy to eat if you chilled the miso soup and take it with rice even when you have no appetite to eat in the summer 」


  「That sounds nice. I want to try drinking a second serving of cold miso soup 」


  Looks like Elna-kaasan immediately wants to try the cool way of eating rice with miso soup.

  It’s currently summer after all. I somewhat understand how it feels when it makes you want to eat cold food.

  「I’ll chill them later, that being the case, I recommend the spinach nibitashi. It’s cold and tasty」


  When I told them that and recommended the spinach nibitashi, the three of them starts to silently take the spinach nibitashi.

  「Ara, it’s really cold and delicious」


  「It feels pleasant to chew, crispy with juice in it」


  「It also goes well with soy sauce」


  It appears that Sylvio-niisan and Nord-tousan took a liking to it.

  I put the spinach nibitashi on top of my rice and happily eat it.

  It’s great that we can have chilled miso soup, but still, this is the season when fresh vegetables are delicious. There are still a lot of vegetables to eat.

  「Ara? I’ve eaten all my rice portion」


  「This tamagoyaki and salt-grilled salmon are so delicious to eat with rice, it’s no wonder all the rice are eaten up」


  Looking at Elna-kaasan and Nord-tousan’s bowls, I saw that their rice had disappeared.

  I guess it’s proof that they like the combination of the small dishes and rice.

  「……so this is the essence of Kagura’s dishes, huh. The rice magically disappear」


  Elna-kaasan stares at the empty bowl.

  No no, that’s because everything had entered Elna-kaasan’s stomach.

  「It’s good eating it with meat, but I guess I prefer to eat them together with the side dishes with such a mild flavor」


  「Me too!」


  Not only Nord-tousan, Sylvio-niisan also showed a strong reply.

  It’s truly an unusual sight for the two of them since they usually don’t show such a strong reaction to food. It appears that they liked Kagura dishes more than I expected. Especially Sylvio-niisan who appears to have taken a liking to the spinach nibitashi. He’s been heartily eating it together with the rice since a while ago.

  「……I prefer to eat the rice together with something with a strong flavor, but it’s also not a bad thing to eat them together with these side dishes」


  It seems that Elna-kaasan - despite belonging to the strong flavor camp - also recognized the light flavor camp’s taste and compatibility of Kagura’s dishes with rice.

  「By the way Mina, please give me another helping」


  「Me too please」


  「Yes」


  Being called by Nord-tousan, Mina - who had been standing by - approaches him and receives the empty bowl.

  And once Sylvio-niisan and I realize that the rice has decreased, we hurriedly eat the rest of the rice in our bowl and ask for more.

  「……aah, Sara. It’s so tough serving people while enduring your empty stomach」


  「Please do your best to endure it, Mina. It’s precisely because we’re working here that we can eat delicious food」


  Mina went to get the rice while her stomach is growling.

  Since Mina and Sara are the maids who work here, they will have their breakfast after us.

  Looking at the pace Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan are eating, there’s no doubt that they will also ask for another serving of the side dishes, not just rice.

  I can’t bear to see the two of them getting hungry like that, but it seems that they will have their breakfast a bit later than usual.