Obachan brought over several nori samples for us to try.
There was raw nori, dried nori, nori processed into sheets, and nori tsukudani.
Apparently, it wasn't exactly seaweed, but a type of bacteria.
I wondered if it was similar to Suizenji-nori? That was a freshwater variety, though, whereas this came from the sea.
First, I tried the raw version.
It had a flavor similar to sea lettuce. It was delicious.
The dried version was also good.
But the nori tsukudani? That was absolute perfection.
"Obachan, you're the best!" I said, giving her a thumbs-up.
"Hey, why were you keeping this a secret?" Claire asked, looking dissatisfied.
Well, part of it was because I knew Claire tended to go a bit overboard, but...
"I planted them late in the season, so I only expected a small harvest. It was just an experimental cultivation, after all."
I hadn't even known if they would grow on Chronos. It really was just a test run.
I had been prepared for the whole crop to be wiped out; I was mainly just looking to collect the data. Since it was a project I’d started on a whim, the rice paddies hadn't even been finished until late in the season. I’d only recently learned that nori was consumed on Chronos as well.
In the first place, both the rice paddies and the nori farm were just hobby projects. If a serious agricultural enthusiast like Claire had heard about it, she probably would have been furious, shouting, "It's far too late in the season to plant!"
"I have this as well," I added.
I produced some river shrimp. These weren't crayfish, but small freshwater shrimp.
I handed out portions that had been prepared as karaage.
"These are shrimp that naturally gathered in the rice paddies. The people of Chronos don't really eat them, but I confirmed they weren't poisonous."
"Uoooooooooooooooooooh!"
Isono wailed in a fit of emotion.
Nakajima began to sob as well.
"W-What is it...?" Claire asked, startled.
"To think... we could eat fresh Japanese food on Chronos... that isn't frozen..."
True, we had udon, soba, and various hot pots, but items like this had to be made from scratch. My former classmates from the military academy were weeping openly. Even Eddy was looking solemn, while Minerva-chan and Lady Hanazawa were in floods of tears.
Was it really that big of a deal?
"Er... in that case, maybe I should hold off on showing you this?"
I had a special treat held in reserve. Suddenly, Wifey grabbed my shoulder with a vice-like grip.
"What did you make? I have heard nothing of this."
A low, rumbling pressure—gogogogogo—emanated from her.
"Ah, yes. It's something from the land."
Obachan brought over a green mass.
"Y-You! That's...!" Even Eddy raised his voice in shock.
The green mass was wasabi.
"This is also an experimental cultivation. Since we can import soy sauce from the Empire, if we have this..."
"S-Sashimi? Is sashimi actually possible!?"
The look in everyone’s eyes changed instantly, starting with Wifey. Theoretically, even sushi was now on the table.
"W-What about water-grown wasabi?" someone asked.
Water-grown wasabi was the high-grade variety cultivated in running water. The expensive stuff.
"I'm currently in the middle of the acquisition procedures for the land usage rights."
I had purchased a mountain under the pretext of forest protection. What I was currently negotiating for were the water usage rights for that area. Since it involved the government, the paperwork was a significant hurdle.
"Uoooooooooooooooooooh!"
Our hearts became as one. Sashimi—it was a true paradise for the soul. Fortunately, I had discovered local fish with flavors similar to tuna, horse mackerel, and mackerel. I had even found a shellfish that tasted like squid. They were all varieties that were safe to eat raw. All that was left was octopus.
"W-What about fugu?" Isono asked, fidgeting expectantly.
So that was his favorite...
"Not yet."
"Nuoooooooooooooooh!"
I mean, tuna, horse mackerel, and mackerel had to be the priorities.
"What about salmon?" Melissa asked. Despite her family serving strictly traditional Japanese meals, she claimed to be a member of the bread faction.
Actually, if she wanted salmon, they were already farming freshwater trout on Wifey's battleship. That would work perfectly well. Wasabi had been the only missing piece due to cultivation issues.
"About that... I haven't found any yet. For now, at least. There are fish with similar flavors, but they're freshwater fish."
With freshwater fish, you had to worry about parasites and disease unless they were farmed in a strictly controlled environment. If that was the case, the trout from the battleship was the safer bet.
And so, we drew closer to our dream of a sashimi set with real wasabi.
However, we were blissfully unaware of the chaos unfolding elsewhere. At the exact moment we were losing our minds over wasabi, Zashiki-warashi-chan's Shrine suddenly began to glow.
The Shinto priest of the Galactic Empire who witnessed this was struck with utter amazement. Though his legs gave out from under him, he managed to report the event to the Galactic Empire's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. He was so panicked that he failed to notify Chronos or the military. There was no manual for such an event, and no one had expected anything like this to happen.
Furthermore, the sacred tree planted by Suematsu-san—Himorogi-chan—also began to glow. The Archbishop of the Chronos Religion saw this and promptly collapsed, requiring transport to the hospital. In the ensuing confusion, the Chronos Religion contacted the ruling Royalist party of the Chronos Assembly instead of the Chronos Army. Specifically, they contacted a Senator who had a personal connection to one of the bishops.
Naturally, a Senator wouldn't understand the significance of a report saying, "A tree is glowing." He contacted the Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry of the Environment decided, "This isn't our department," and forwarded the report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. That ministry replied, "Why are you telling us? Reconstruction work takes priority over a glowing tree," and quietly moved it to the bottom of their list.
A series of simple mistakes and a broken communication chain meant that by the time we returned with the polished rice and the offerings for Zashiki-warashi-chan, none of us knew what had happened.
It was already night.
"Surely we can't cook the rice now..."
"Cook it!" I was shouted down by the idiots with bloodshot eyes.
Since we had frozen karaage, I served that as a side dish along with the tsukudani and wasabi. The river shrimp were also fried up. Wasabi bowls were an option too! I had left nothing to chance.
I left the cooking to Nina-san—who had become like a wounded beast from hunger—and Kevin, who was weeping with joy. Meanwhile, I headed to the Palace Shrine.
Zashiki-warashi-chan was there... and she looked truly divine.
"Leo-kun!"
Whoa, her voice was much clearer than before.
"My rank went up!"
"O-Oh. Well, I brought an offering."
"Rice!"
She was delighted. Zashiki-warashi-chan was no longer the childlike entity she had been. She now had the appearance of a human woman, and even her garments had shifted into something reminiscent of a goddess from ancient myth.
While I was taking this in, Suematsu-san arrived.
"I have arrived before you," he said, addressing Zashiki-warashi-chan rather than me.
In his hand was a bottle of the Great Ginjo Sake-sama that we exported to Latarnia. He poured it into a Sacred Sake Decanter he had obtained from somewhere.
"His Majesty Leo. I have heard that my family was originally of a line of Shinto priests. That said, I have received no formal education. I do not know if this is the correct ritual."
"It's fine. The feeling is what matters," Zashiki-warashi-chan replied.
So that was the reason for Suematsu-san's many eccentricities? I had ignored them because they were harmless, but they actually had a deeper meaning.
And so, a Guardian Deity had arisen to protect Chronos. I wasn't sure how to categorize her since the local religions were different, but a divine event had undoubtedly occurred.
However, the communication failures were about to complicate matters. A Zen God Race spy reported on our activities. It was already widely known that we had mastered technology that theoretically allowed for immortality. While the Galactic Empire's religious values led them to reject it, the Zen God Race suspected it was our hidden trump card.
Now, we were showing an obsession with rice. Furthermore, there were numerous reports of the temple glowing. The spy's report reached their leadership long before the news reached us. Consequently, the Zen God Race designated the rice production facility as their primary target for attack.
No one knew this yet. However...
"Lord Groom, dinner is—wait, eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?"
Wifey arrived and was struck dumb by the sight of the transformed Zashiki-warashi-chan. It was only then that she noticed the first anomaly. Shortly thereafter, the news of the changes at the shrine and with Himorogi-chan finally broke on the Chronos national broadcasting news.