Traditional Candy Shop

After walking for about fifteen minutes from home, we arrived at our destination, Oba’s Traditional Candy Shop.

The building had a retro design reminiscent of a traditional candy shop from the Showa era.

Outside, there were capsule toy vending machines and freezers filled with ice cream.

I slid open the entrance door and stepped inside, where rows upon rows of inexpensive sweets filled the entire shop. The shelves were packed with treats all the way to the top, while nostalgic toys hung from the walls.

“So this is Kaho-dono’s house…?”

“More precisely, it’s the candy shop run by Kaho’s family.”

“Welcome, you two! What’s up? You said you needed to see me about something?”

As we were talking, Kaho appeared from behind a traditional curtain hanging in the hallway at the back of the shop.

“Seram realized she hadn’t thanked you properly for yesterday.”

“Kaho-dono, you helped me a great deal yesterday. I wanted to express my gratitude. Thanks to you, I was able to purchase so many wonderful clothes.”

“Oh! You’re already wearing the clothes we bought yesterday! Yep, yep! When you’re as beautiful and well-proportioned as Seram-san, even a simple outfit looks incredibly stylish!”

Kaho seemed as delighted with Seram’s outfit as though she’d been the one wearing it.

Seeing how well the clothes suited Seram must have been gratifying for the person who’d helped choose them.

“Is being called stylish supposed to be a compliment…?”

“Of course it is! Looking that good in such a simple outfit is amazing! If only I were as slender as you, Seram-san, with those long arms and legs…”

“Really? I’ve always admired petite, adorable girls like you, Kaho-dono…”

Human beings were probably creatures who naturally found qualities they lacked in themselves attractive.

From my perspective, both of them seemed to be worrying about things most people would consider blessings.

“This is just a small token of my appreciation. These long eggplants were freshly harvested from our fields.”

“Wow! There are so many beautiful long eggplants!”

Seram handed her a plastic bag containing the long eggplants we’d harvested before leaving home.

Technically, buying Kaho that outerwear yesterday had been more than enough compensation for accompanying us, but since we’d come to visit so early in the morning, it seemed appropriate to bring a little gift.

“Still, coming all the way here just to say thank you? You’re really conscientious, Seram-san.”

“Expressing one’s gratitude is important, is it not?”

“You’re right. Thank you, Seram-san.”

“Indeed. You’re very welcome.”

Seram looked rather pleased when Kaho thanked her.

Meanwhile, Kaho leaned toward me and whispered.

“If you ever want me to coordinate another outfit for Seram-san, just let me know, okay?”

Hmm. Having someone I could entrust Seram’s shopping needs to was certainly appealing, but I couldn’t afford to have Kaho demanding another reasonably expensive piece of clothing every time.

“Seram, apparently Kaho won’t go shopping with you again unless she gets paid.”

“I-is that so? I was hoping we could go shopping together again, but considering the cost, I suppose I can’t casually invite her…”

“Whoa! I was kidding! Just kidding! I don’t need any payment, so feel free to invite me whenever you want!”

Seeing Seram’s saddened expression, Kaho hurriedly took back what she’d whispered to me.

Excellent. Now, whenever Seram needed something else, I could ask Kaho to look after her again.

Kaho shot me an accusing look, clearly protesting my scheme to exploit Seram’s pure heart, but I ignored her.

“Oh! If it isn’t Jin and Seram-san! Hey, why didn’t you tell me you were stopping by?”

Drawn by our lively conversation, Kaito, Kaho’s older brother, appeared.

Today, he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, giving him a distinctly tropical appearance.

As usual, his fashion sense was flashy and utterly incomprehensible.

“We just stopped by to say thanks, that’s all.”

“Still, you could’ve told me!”

“Anyway, I’ve got somewhere to be soon, so I’d better get going!”

“Indeed. My apologies for disturbing you when you’re so busy.”

“Onii, take care of them!”

As though switching places with Kaito, Kaho retreated into the back of the shop.

A moment later, she emerged carrying her bag, walked past us, and headed outside.

“She seems awfully busy.”

“Nah, she’s just enjoying herself now that summer vacation’s started.”

Come to think of it, university students were right in the middle of their summer vacation. Farmers didn’t get summer vacations, so I’d completely forgotten what that was like.

“Jin-dono, are all the things here sweets?”

Now that our business was finished, I was thinking of heading home, but Seram asked that question with sparkling eyes.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“We also sell toys and all sorts of other stuff besides candy.”

“Jin-dono, would it be all right if I looked around for a little while?”

Ah, this was one of those situations where we wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.

I’d promised to take her to a traditional candy shop before, so I supposed there was no harm in letting her browse for a bit.

When I nodded, Seram eagerly began exploring the shop.

“Only ten yen for one of these!? How inexpensive!”

“Well, these sweets are meant for children.”

“Can you truly make a profit selling them at such low prices?”

“You’re asking some tough questions, Seram-san.”

Kaito scratched his head with a wry smile at Seram’s blunt question.

“I’ve been wondering about that too. How’s business actually going?”

Things might have been different in the past, but nowadays, there were all sorts of shops offering a wide variety of products and services.

The number of people living around here had also changed considerably, so I wondered whether keeping the shop running had become difficult.

As Seram had pointed out, the profit margin on each item was probably extremely low.

“Well, to be completely frank, I barely make any money from it. I earn my living from a side job, so there’s not really any financial benefit to running the candy shop.”

Kaito worked as a freelance video editor.

He earned money editing videos and doing similar work from home. Virtually all his income came from that, while the candy shop barely brought in anything.

“Then why do you continue running it, Kaito-dono?”

“Because I love candy shops, you know? This place where kids can clutch their little allowances, agonize over what to buy, and talk it over with their friends… Those memories have stuck with me even after becoming an adult.”

“So this shop is a precious place to you, Kaito-dono.”

I hadn’t known that was why Kaito continued running the candy shop.

He usually seemed like a carefree guy who never gave anything much thought, but apparently, he had convictions of his own. I could respect that.

“Well, enough about me. Seram-san, have you ever eaten traditional Japanese candy?”

“I’ve had sweet bean jelly and water dumplings with sweet bean filling!”

“Those are some pretty old-fashioned choices… Well, if you haven’t tried anything else, why don’t you buy a few things? Traditional Japanese sweets are great, but these cheap snacks are delicious too!”

After hearing Kaito’s sales pitch, Seram turned toward me.

She was probably asking whether she was allowed to buy something.

I called Seram over, told her to hold out her palm, and placed some money in her hand.

“Yukichi-dono!? May I really spend all of this on sweets!?”

“Of course not. This is your salary, Seram. If you need something when I’m not around, or there’s anything you want for yourself, use this money to buy whatever you like.”

“Oh, so these are my wages! Understood! I’ll try buying something with my own money!”

After all, if she remained completely penniless, she’d have to ask my permission every time she wanted to buy something, which would be a hassle.

Besides, a wife having to ask her husband for permission to buy even the smallest thing would look incredibly unnatural.

It would be better for her to have some money she could spend on whatever she wanted at her own discretion.

Traditional candy was inexpensive, so there was little danger of her squandering her first wages on it.

And so, with the money clutched in her hand, Seram picked up a small plastic basket and began browsing the sweets.

“How about you, Jin?”

“Good idea. I guess I’ll buy some too, for old times’ sake.”

It had been quite a while since I’d last bought any traditional candy. Picking up a few treats to snack on during breaks from work didn’t sound like a bad idea.