"Maybe we should have a grand Hina-matsuri on the third..."
Jin decided to hold a Hina-matsuri at Jin Castle and immediately set to work on the preparations. His plan was to set up a doll stand in the Great Hall, spread out a scarlet felt runner, and seat automata dressed as the obina and mebina dolls upon it.
"I think Pothos from the Secret Mobile Unit would be perfect for the obina."
"Mm. And Dahlia for the mebina?" Elsa added.
"After that, I remember there were the Three Court Ladies, the Ministers of the Right and Left, and the Five Musicians..."
He assigned members of the Secret Mobile Unit to those roles as well. Jin didn't know the formal names or the traditional arrangement perfectly, so he focused on what looked best. By the end of the day, everything was ready.
On March 2nd, a notice was sent to every household in Kaina Village.
"A Hina-matsuri will be held in the Great Hall of Jin Castle starting at 10:00 AM on the 3rd. While this is a festival for girls, boys, parents, and everyone else are more than welcome to attend."
Since he couldn't prepare the traditional sweet white sake, he opted for various juices instead. As it was a daytime festival, no alcohol would be served.
"Oh, that's right. Since it's also known as the Peach Festival, we should decorate the place with Persica flowers."
He ordered branches of Persica flowers from the orchard on Hourai Island, taking them as part of the regular pruning process.
"Hmm, I've forgotten what the bonbori lanterns looked like."
Jin gave a wry smile. Since the banquet was during the day, he compromised, deciding they weren't strictly necessary.
"Should I lay out a red carpet on the floor for the rest of the hall?"
Elsa called a halt to that idea. "Jin-nii, I think that would be too much for the eyes."
"I suppose so... then let's just stick to a simple tatami layout."
"Mm."
The Great Hall was designed to switch between wooden flooring and tatami mats depending on the occasion. This time, they decided to go with tatami mats and zabuton cushions.
"Now for the food. Hishi-mochi and hina-arare rice crackers...?"
Naturally, he didn't know how to make them.
"I can make the crackers, but just making them sweet wouldn't be quite right..."
After a bit of thought, Jin decided to compromise on this point as well, given that they were on Planet Ars.
"In that case, what should I make instead?"
A different treat immediately came to mind.
"Let's go with sandwiches."
His idea was to cut the bread into diamonds instead of rectangles, serving them as a substitute for the traditional rice cakes. He tasked Perido with the preparations, telling her to provide as many varieties of fillings—vegetables, ham, salad—as possible.
"Next, I'll make popcorn instead of hina-arare."
Corn didn't grow well in Kaina Village, so popcorn hadn't become a common snack there. However, now that Erik's Shop was in business, Jin thought he might buy corn specifically for popcorn as a way to put his earnings to use.
"It would be great if I could make it caramel-flavored as well as the usual salt."
Jin didn't know how to make chewy caramel candies, but he knew how to make caramel sauce.
"Now that I think about it, I wonder what the technical difference is between the candy and the sauce."
In the kitchen of Jin Castle, Jin muttered to himself as he worked on the sauce with Reiko as his assistant. Making the sauce was simple enough: dissolve sugar in water and boil it down until it turned brown. Of course, if you boiled it too much, the bitterness would increase; if you kept heating it after the water evaporated, it would simply turn into bitter charcoal.
"I remember the Orphanage Director scolding me for playing around with this when I was a kid."
He had ruined a pot back then, so the scolding was well-deserved.
"Alright, that should about do it."
Jin took the sauce and tried pouring it over the popcorn Reiko had prepared, but...
"Hmm, it's not hardening."
It remained stubbornly sticky.
"If I boil it any more, it'll get bitter... maybe I should try mixing in mizuame or using less water."
As Jin continued his trial and error, Elsa and Lishia arrived.
"Oh, something smells wonderful."
"Hi, you two. Are the decorations finished?"
He had left them in charge of the venue, including the doll stand.
"Mm. Finished."
"So, what are you making?"
Jin explained his project to the two girls.
"That sounds delicious. But it also looks difficult..."
"...If it's too difficult, why not use Craft Magic to remove the moisture this time?" Elsa suggested.
"You're right..."
The reason it stayed sticky was the high moisture content, so Elsa's suggestion to eliminate it was sound.
"Let's give it a try. 'Dry'."
He tasted a piece that was no longer sticky.
"Yeah, this is pretty good."
The crunchy texture, the faint sweetness, and the slight hint of bitterness provided a nice accent. Jin felt it was subtly different from the caramel corn he remembered from the past, but it was delicious in its own right.
"Oh, it's tasty."
"Mm."
Since Lishia and Elsa liked it too, Jin decided to go with this version for the next day. As a side note, Perido and the others would later refine the recipe by using brown sugar and mizuame, but that was a development for the future. Jin also decided to prepare things like fried chicken and fried topopo.
"Since we're doing this, should we invite the children from Toka Village too?" Jin suggested to Lishia that evening.
"Is that really alright?"
"Of course. It's short notice, so maybe not everyone can come, but you can bring them over tomorrow morning on Konron 3."
"Thank you so much!"
"In that case," Elsa added, "I want to invite Saki-nee, Marcia, and most importantly, Yuri-chan."
"Good idea. Let's invite Sion and Marikka as well."
In the end, he decided to invite the entire Jin Family, including Louis and Beena, Stearena, Vivienne, and Milowina.
The day of the Hina-matsuri arrived.
"Wow, it's so beautiful!"
"How lovely!"
Almost all the residents of Kaina Village, the entire Jin Family, and fifteen children from Toka Village gathered in the Great Hall of Jin Castle.
"Um, today is Hina-matsuri. It's a festival for girls," Jin began, explaining the purpose of the event. "By the way, I plan to hold a festival for boys on May 5th. This is a day to wish for you all to grow up healthy. It's also a celebration of the coming spring."
Everyone listened in silence.
"Well then, please enjoy the day together with our guests!"
Jin kept his greeting brief, knowing that long-winded speeches were never popular at parties.
"Ooh!"
"Yay!"
As soon as he finished, the room erupted in cheers.
"It's a wonderful atmosphere. I'd like to do this in our village next year," Lishia said, looking a little envious.
"Yes, yes, that's Jin for you. Greetings are always better when they're short," Saki remarked with her characteristic "kufu" laugh.
"I believe I saw records of the Magus speaking of similar celebrations," Goose added.
"What interesting costumes," Vivienne said, staring intently at the Hina dolls.
"Juliana, grow up to be a good girl!" Reinhard cheered.
"Yuri-chan has started smiling a lot more lately," Mine noted.
"Yes, and her crying at night hasn't been too bad, which has been a blessing," Berche replied as they doted on the baby.
"This is delicious!"
"Try some of this too."
"Yeah, thanks!"
Hanna was having a wonderful time, inviting the children from Toka Village to join the local Kaina children.
"It's such a peaceful and happy sight. Thank you, Jin-kun."
"Not at all. Please, make yourself at home." Milowina accepted a greeting from Jin a short distance away.
"Gatherings like this are wonderful."
"I want to hold one in our territory too!"
"Just let me know when you do. I'll help," Sion and Marikka chatted with Elsa.
"Honestly, when I heard the story about those dolls, I didn't think it would turn into a festival like this."
"But everyone looks like they're having fun, don't they?"
"That's true." Marcia and Rodrigo watched the happy children while enjoying their sandwiches.
"This kind of atmosphere is nice."
"It really is." Toa and Stearena also seemed to be soaking in the festive mood.
"This popcorn is amazing! I'll have to ask Jin for the recipe later."
"That's a good idea. It'll add some variety to our shop's specialties." Beena and Louis talked as they munched on the snack.
"Ah, it's so much fun. Honestly, until Jin came along, I never imagined the village would become this lively."
"Indeed. You could say the village as it is now exists because Martha and Hanna found him."
"Yes, truly. Jin-kun is a mysterious man." Martha enjoyed the festivities alongside Village Chief Giebeck and Sally.
"Man, there's nothing like this festival even in the royal capital."
"Fufu, this village is a special place, isn't it?"
"It sure is. If I told them about this, my father and grandfather would be green with envy." Erik and Barbara also seemed to be having a great time.
"Hey, hey, try eating this. It's yummy."
"Wow, thank you!"
"Look, the view from that window over there is great. Let's go see?"
"Yeah!"
Rita, Sonia, Luu, Kana, Sema, Berta, Kune, and Luluna had all settled into village life perfectly, chatting happily as they enjoyed the feast.
Spring was finally about to arrive in the northern Kaina Village.