Chapter 312: Chestnut Rice and the Whispers of Autumn!
"Everyone, come and try it."
Ryohei Tanaka walked into the kitchen, placed the freshly made sugar-fried chestnuts on the table, and greeted everyone.
A burst of joyful cheers instantly erupted in the kitchen, and everyone put down what they were doing and gathered around.
Elma reached out and picked up a sugar-fried chestnut that was still steaming. With a slight force along the crack with her fingertips, a crisp "crack" sound was heard, and the chestnut shell split open.
In an instant, a more delicate and warm sweet fragrance wafted out with the steam, lingering at the tip of the nose.
"Mmh-hmm—!"
Elma couldn't wait to put the chestnut wrapped in a layer of dark brown, slightly shiny sugar coating into her mouth. After chewing a little, her big finned tail behind her couldn't help trembling slightly.
Her large eyes, blue as the sky, lit up leisurely. The expression on her face softened rapidly, then became one of enjoyment:
"It's so delicious! Soft and sticky with a slight chewiness, sweet and dense... these sugar-fried chestnuts are addictive!"
(Ò～Ó)
Elma subconsciously reached out and grabbed another sugar-fried chestnut.
"You should say it's addictive for dragons."
Ryohei Tanaka, peeling a chestnut in his hand, turned his gaze to Elma and corrected her jokingly.
Yurine tilted her head and played along:
"So sugar-fried chestnuts are actually equivalent to dragonnip?"
Ryohei Tanaka was about to say something when Lucoa suddenly leaned over.
She bent down naturally, her warm lips enclosed Ryohei Tanaka's fingers, and with a gentle lick of her soft tongue, she swept away the chestnut kernel he had just peeled.
"Stare—!"
Yurine immediately narrowed her eyes halfway and looked over.
"Ara—!?"
Lucoa spread her five fingers and placed them on her luscious lips in feigned surprise. She lifted her eyelids and said in astonishment:
"So strange! I don't know what happened just now, my body moved on its own to eat the chestnut Ryohei-kun peeled..."
"Big sister is so cunning!"
Quetzalcoatl's face was expressionless, and her tone was flat, but her words fully reflected her disapproval of Lucoa's behavior.
"Indeed cunning. We were joking, and she deliberately took it seriously."
Yurine expressed strong condemnation.
"Cough."
Ryohei Tanaka coughed lightly to attract everyone's attention and said: "To appease public anger, I have decided to punish Lucoa!"
Everyone's gaze involuntarily turned to him.
Lucoa raised her hand and couldn't help but say: "Chotto matte! How did it escalate to public anger? Was what I did that excessive?"
Ryohei Tanaka ignored her complaint, pointed to the remaining sugar-fried chestnuts on the table, and said: "I punish you to peel all these chestnuts, but you are not allowed to eat them, only watch us eat."
"That works!" Yurine clapped her hands in support.
"What kind of punishment is this? It doesn't hurt or itch!"
Lucoa picked up a chestnut and said nonchalantly.
"Why, do you think the punishment isn't severe enough?"
As Ryohei Tanaka's voice fell, he was fed a chestnut kernel by Lucoa.
"I didn't say that."
Lucoa neatly peeled a second chestnut, placed it in her palm, and asked: "Who wants it?"
As a result, several hands reached out.
"Forget it, do it yourself to have ample food and clothing!"
Elma's hand paused in mid-air, then she decisively turned to the remaining sugar-fried chestnuts and grabbed one.
Minos smiled and followed suit: "I'll do it myself too!"
Finally, that peeled sugar-fried chestnut fell into Kanna's mouth.
Kanna lifted her soft little face, her eyes squinting happily into crescents: "Arigato!"
"Click—!"
Just then, a crisp shutter sound rang out.
Everyone looked towards the sound and saw Persephone II holding up her phone.
She sent the photo to the LINE group, @Jashin-chan, and added a message—
Sugar-fried chestnuts, super delicious! (¯﹃¯)*
Looking up and finding everyone staring at her, Persephone II shook her phone with a grin: "I sent a photo to Jashin-chan."
"Hmm..."
She glanced at Jashin-chan's reply and said: "Jashin-chan says she wants to eat too and asked Lucoa to deliver them to her."
"Tell her to wash up and go to sleep; dreams have everything." Yurine said unceremoniously.
Ryohei Tanaka expressed support: "Gamblers don't deserve to enjoy the fruits of our labor!"
"Then I'll reply to her like that."
Persephone II tapped her slender fingers on the phone screen, replying cheerfully to Jashin-chan.
She just wanted to see the other party's impotent rage from wanting to eat but being unable to.
"..."
After briefly tasting the sugar-fried chestnuts, Ryohei Tanaka continued his work.
Soon—
The time arrived at 12:30 PM!
Lunch was ready, and the group began dining in the restaurant on the second floor of the complex building.
"The legendary chestnut rice..."
For some reason, chestnut rice had been upgraded to legendary food in Kanna's mind.
She used chopsticks to pick up a small mound of chestnut rice, said "Itadakimasu" in her soft, milky voice, and with an "Aww", sent the chestnut rice into her mouth.
"Oh oh—!"
Kanna's big azure eyes instantly lit up.
She raised her left hand to gently cup her cheek, her expression becoming incredibly intoxicated: "Super—delicious!"
At the table next door—
Elma also felt it was super delicious!
The rice was cooked to perfection, each grain crystal clear and full, soft upon entry yet still retaining elasticity, as if every grain had absorbed the fresh sweetness of the chestnuts and the profound umami of the kelp stock.
And the chestnuts were the finishing touch—
The steamed chestnuts lost their raw crispness and became powdery, soft, and dense. With a gentle press against the roof of the mouth, they melted into delicate sweet granules, like golden warm sun scattered among the rice.
Occasionally biting into semi-melted chestnut bits created a subtle grainy texture, interweaving with the softness of the rice to create rich layers of texture!
In terms of taste—
The natural fresh sweetness of the chestnuts was like the whispers of autumn, not showy or cloying, intertwining with the elegant savory taste of soy sauce, outlining the reserved beauty of the mountains and fields.
The stock made from kelp injected a profound foundation into the whole dish, perfectly balancing sweetness and savoriness, gentle and lingering upon entry...
"..."
"Whoosh—!"
A crisp autumn breeze suddenly brushed past, bringing the coolness of the mountain forest.
Elma's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her beautiful eyes suddenly widened—
She found herself in a completely unfamiliar mountain wilderness!
As far as the eye could see, there were mountains covered in burning red leaves, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves. And she was completely naked, stepping barefoot on the piled fallen leaves.
The slightly cool air touched her skin, and the soles of her feet felt the crisp and delicate touch of withered leaves...
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