Shiro-san and Tiana-san seemed to have reached an agreement. With a delighted smile, Tiana-san turned toward us and lightly waved her hand. In response, a cylindrical object resembling a canister for Japanese tea materialized on the table.
Aside from the numerous star-like patterns decorating its surface, it looked like a perfectly ordinary tube.
"Now that Shallow Vernal has given her approval, I’ll present this to you, Kuromueina-chan," Tiana-san said. "And since you're here, Kaito-kun, here is one for you as well."
"Wait... is this the ingredient?"
"Mhm. Or rather, a tool for creating them. Simply handing over raw ingredients wouldn't work well; the environments of our respective worlds are quite different, so many things would be impossible to cultivate here."
Tiana-san placed identical canisters in front of Kuro and me. She then produced another for herself, likely intending to demonstrate how it worked.
"This is a tool that produces a seasoning called Star Powder. If you touch the large star on the lid, it will generate the seasoning over the next twenty-four hours. Any unused or leftover contents are erased and replaced when the next batch is generated, though you can transfer the powder to a different container beforehand. Once moved, it has a shelf life of about a year. As for the generation time, I’m afraid I’ve adjusted it so it can’t be shortened through time manipulation or similar tricks. It would be problematic if it could be mass-produced for wide circulation, after all."
"Otherworld seasoning... I see. Do the smaller stars surrounding the big one have a purpose too?"
"They do. That’s the most important feature. Try touching the surrounding stars... see how they change color? Excluding the large star on the lid, there are a hundred stars on the container. The flavor of the powder changes depending on how many you activate and in what specific combination."
She said it so casually, but the implications were mind-blowing. If flavor profiles shifted based on both the quantity and the specific placement of the activated stars, the sheer variety would be staggering—truly astronomical.
Kuro’s eyes were already sparkling with excitement. She looked completely enthralled by the prospect of exploring these new culinary horizons for her Baby Castella.
"Star Powder is a universal seasoning. You can sprinkle it on top of food, dissolve it in liquids, or even knead it into dough. I think you'll find it very versatile. However, as the name suggests, it’s a glittering, luminous powder. It has a significant impact on how a dish looks, so please keep its glowing nature in mind when you use it. Also, it doesn't require any raw materials. It creates the seasoning by performing atomic conversion on the surrounding air, so there’s no cost involved. Please, have fun finding your favorite combinations."
"Whoa... thank you, Tiana-san!"
"Yes, thank you very much. I didn't expect to get one as well."
It was a fascinating gift, and I was genuinely curious to see what kind of flavors we could discover. Since we couldn't cheat the timer with magic, it would take Kuro a long time to exhaust the possibilities. It seemed like it would be a great conversation starter—we could compare our different combinations and share our thoughts on the results.
Based on what I had overheard during her talk with Shiro-san, only one type of transfer had been permitted. Tiana-san had likely chosen Star Powder because it allowed for a near-infinite variety of tastes within a single item.
A powdered seasoning had countless applications. While Kuro was clearly focused on her Baby Castella, I could see it working for plenty of other things too.
"I’m just glad you like it," Tiana-san said warmly. "I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to this, Shallow Vernal gave me permission to visit this world whenever I wish."
"Whenever you wish? Does that mean you can come back anytime now?"
"Yes. I’ve wanted to see Nebula-san and you again, Kaito-kun. Plus, there are others I wasn't able to meet today, so I had planned to negotiate for future visitation rights. However, a single visit is one thing, but getting permission for repeated visits is usually much harder. I was worried it might be seen as rude to ask, so this was truly a blessing."
Tiana-san was kind and very easy to talk to, so I was also happy to hear we'd be seeing more of her. As that thought crossed my mind, a certain idea occurred to me.
"...Actually, Tiana-san, if you're interested, I was thinking of hosting a tea party soon. Shiro-san and Machina-san are already coming. Would you like to join us?"
"Oh? If you’re sure I wouldn’t be intruding, I’d love to attend."
"You’re more than welcome. I'll let Canaris-san know once we have the specific date and time settled."
"Thank you. I’ll be looking forward to it."
The guest list for my tea party was starting to look impressive. So far, we had Kuro, Shiro-san, Elis-san, Olivia-san... and Machina-san, who had insisted on coming the moment she heard about it.
Since Tiana-san seemed to be on familiar terms with Machina-san, I figured they’d have plenty to talk about. Plus, since Tiana-san was supposedly much stronger, I held onto a small hope that she could help keep things under control if Machina-san started to run wild.
Serious-senpai: "Wait... are you trying to organize a Banquet of the Gods? Is this a lineup specifically designed to execute Eris and Lilia?"