Tokyo: Am I the only male tenant?

As he watched, Ginjo Sosuke's thoughts began to drift away little by little.

What would it be like if you could enjoy the delicious food made by this mother and daughter every day?

After some setbacks and discarding a few failed products, they finally made croquettes that were satisfying enough.

Sato Miku arrived as scheduled and faced the eager gazes of the three people. She held knife and fork in her hand and started to inspect the results.

She followed Kana Kobayakawa's instructions and started tasting the round croquette on the far left. After cutting it open with a sharp knife, a pure white cross-section was revealed.

"Hmm, the filling is just potatoes? Pretty simple."

Sato Mika observed it briefly, then put a bite-sized croquette into her mouth with a fork.

"Hmm? It's delicious."

After chewing it carefully, she nodded in praise.

"It's very smooth and mild in taste, a little sweet, but I don't remember anything I've tasted before. Could it be potato? It tastes better."

After eating only half of it, Sato Miho turned her attention to the next croquette. She looked very cautious.

The second plate contained a flat oval croquette, which she also only ate half of.

"This one is sweeter than the previous one, a bit like dessert after dinner."

Sato Miho opened and closed her delicate little mouth while commenting seriously.

"The batter of the previous one was thinner and crispier, is the batter of this one thicker?"

"How should I put it? It tastes like something you would eat at home, and the shape is similar, too. It seems like a croquette you've eaten before."

After finishing half of the second one, she began to try the last one, which was shaped like a cylinder, close to a cream croquette. She cut it in half with a knife, but no cream overflowed from it.

Sato Miho pierced it with a fork and took a big bite.

"Uh-huh!"

Her eyes suddenly opened wide.

“This tastes most like what’s sold in a store. I can’t tell which store it is from, but it tastes like something a restaurant would serve. It’s very authentic and rich.”

After tucking into the third one in big mouthfuls, he ate the remaining half as well. Then, as if to check the taste, he finished the remaining two croquettes as well.

“Phew, every one of them is delicious.”

Sato Mika put down her knife and fork with a satisfied look on her face.

Calculating the time when she had finished eating, Yuriko Kobayakawa considerately offered her a cup of refreshing black tea.

“I don’t have an espresso machine at home, so please have black tea.”

"Thank you, Mrs. Kobayakawa. I'll take anything you want, if you please."

Opposite Sato Mika, who brought the cup to her mouth, Kobayakawa Kana was staring at her excitedly and uneasily.

"Wait a minute, don't be so impatient, Kana! Let me drink my tea!"

"Hey, I'm sorry. Hey, how is it? How does Meihe feel?"

"Really!"

Sato Miho sighed softly, put the cup back on the plate, and then looked up at Ginjō and Kobayakawa Kana who were sitting opposite her with a meaningful look.

"Um, do you really want me to tell you the ranking?"

"It's all right. I just want to know how Meihe feels about not having any worries."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll just say it straight."

Sato Mika answered straightforwardly that she couldn't tell which one was the dream croquette she had been pursuing, and could only rely on her tongue to express her thoughts.

"If I were to eat it in the restaurant, I would choose the third one, because it has the most impressive taste and leaves you wanting more after finishing it."

"The first one tastes refreshing and elegant, and won't make you feel sick. Although it makes you want to eat it, it doesn't seem to have the strong feeling of the third one. But to be honest, the second one──"

"Can I tell you?"

Sato Miwa looked up at Kobayakawa Kana tentatively, and she nodded.

"The second one, how should I put it, feels like it was made by an amateur? The batter is too thick and feels a bit greasy, and the seasoning is too sweet."

"Although the texture is as smooth as the other two, it would be disappointing to go to the store specially to eat such a croquette. Okay, I'm done with this without any scruples."

Sato Miwa let out a long sigh as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

"It doesn't matter. This is Meihe's truest thought after tasting it."

Kana Kobayakawa held her hand and said affirmatively.

"Haha, please don't mind it. I still want to thank you for making these for me. Although I have eaten croquettes from many places, I am just an amateur."

"That being said, the second croquette doesn't look bad. It looks like an amateur made it, but it feels like home and makes me feel nostalgic."

As Sato Miha spoke, she narrowed her eyes unconsciously.

"So, Meihe, do you think this contains the dream croquette you've been looking for? Or how do these three croquettes compare to the dream croquette?"

Kana Kobayakawa asked without stopping for a moment.

"Comparison? Well... if we really want to compare..."

Sato Miho suddenly laughed and shook her hand with glittering nails.

"Excuse me, of course the Dream Croquette is better. Huh? What are you looking at?"

Ginjo Sosuke and Kobayakawa Kana looked at each other tacitly, and all of this was seen by Sato Mika.

"Ahem, to be honest, this..."

Clearing her throat, Kana Kobayakawa was about to explain everything to her.

"The first one is a frozen lily root croquette that Sosuke and I bought at the Makkari no Hana, a rest stop in Makkari Village, Kutchan Town, and fried at home."

"Lily root, is it the bulb of lily? Is that also an edible ingredient?"

Sato Mika asked curiously.

"Yes, lily bulbs are a specialty of Shinkariya Village. It takes about six years from planting to harvesting. It is a very high-end food."

"In order to make good use of the lily roots that are not suitable for sale, the people in the village specially developed this product."

"This is the first time I've heard that the elegant flavor comes from lily roots."

Sato Mika smacked her lips, as if she was still savoring the taste that had just remained in her mouth.

"The third flavor is something my mother and I tried out ourselves. We added fresh cream to the steamed lily roots to increase the richness."

"In order to emphasize the saltiness and sweetness, instead of using flour, they are coated with a thin layer of cornstarch before frying."

“So that’s why it’s so crispy and has such a rich flavor.”

Sato Miho listened to Kana Kobayakawa's explanation and nodded continuously.

“And then the second croquette…”

Kana Kobayakawa deliberately paused for a moment as if to keep the other person in suspense.

"It's made by adding sifted and crushed lily roots to sugar, coating them with a thick layer of flour and frying them. This is how Miho's former aunt, Ms. Miura Reiko, taught us how to make it."

Hearing this, Sato Mika opened her mouth in a daze.

"The village of Makkari where lily roots are produced that I mentioned earlier is where Ms. Miura Reiko lives now. Sosuke and I have already gone there to meet her."

Kana Kobayakawa slowly walked behind her and said as if to reassure her.

"How could it be possible...to lie!"

Click! Sato Miho hurriedly stood up from her chair.

"No, that's not it! It doesn't taste like this!"

“Although the smooth texture is somewhat similar, and the slight sweetness is also similar, it is still a little different from what I eat.”

"I remember eating it very warm, just eating that..."

Sato Miho put her hands on the table and became more and more excited as she spoke.

"As long as you eat that, you'll feel at ease, isn't that right?"

Kana Kobayakawa patted her shoulder gently, as if trying to comfort her.

"Yeah, that's it."

"But this is really the croquette that Ms. Reiko made for you."

"How is that possible! Is Kana now saying that I remembered it wrong?"

"No, that's not it, your memory is correct."

"In that case, why..."

“I now think that the sense of peace of mind may not come from the taste of the croquette itself.”

Facing Sato Mika, who was standing there deeply shocked, Kobayakawa Kana continued speaking quietly.

"Ms. Reiko in Makkari Village told us about your childhood."

When Sato Miha heard this, her eyes widened and she took a deep breath.

Kana Kobayakawa continued speaking slowly, choosing some words that she could accept.

"In order to comfort you while you were crying and calm you down, Ms. Reiko made mini lily root croquettes as a snack."

"So... the memory of the Dream Croquette... might be the added flavor of the sense of security you experienced."

Sato Mika just stared at her stupidly for a while.

There was another small click and she sat back in her chair.

"What... Is it just because of this? So that's how it is..."

As if the words accidentally spilled out of her lips, Sato Miho lowered her head and muttered to herself.

"In other words, it wasn't a dream dish at all. It just tasted good because I ate it at that particular moment."

"Haha...what...I feel like the magic has been broken..."

Sato Mika smiled self-deprecatingly.