The picturesque rice cakes are delicious today

I went to the teacher's house that day. [M] Recently, when I was approaching the exam, I was studying exclusively at my teacher's house.

My parents think I'm studying in the library. [M] And even if I'm not in the library, I don't seem to have any particular doubts if the results of the simulation will improve.

That's why I'm stopping by the teacher's house. As usual.

... but it was kind of weird that day.

There was a car parked in front of the teacher's house. I could see people inside, but I passed by the car without worrying whether they were waiting for someone in the neighborhood, looking at the map in the car, or something like that.

Open the gate of the teacher's house, proceed to the front door, and press the ring bell there. I don't remember hesitating to push it anymore, but the usual "ping-pong" sound sounded, but I can't hear the teacher's voice forever.

... I wonder if he's away. But I think the teacher is usually at home at this time.

If you're wondering... heh, you can speak up.

Hey.

When I looked back, there were two people coming out of the car earlier. They open the gate and walk towards me smiling. [M]

One is a woman. The other one is a man. Women are wearing suits, while men are dressed a little rougher.... whoever.

"Utsumi Sensei's kid?

... yes, a woman's voice makes me nervous about the boulders.

"Oh, but you're not married, are you, Professor Utsumi? Does that mean... uh, a relative's child?

"Is Professor Utsumi at home? I'd like to see you. I don't have to answer the call bell. I've been waiting for you there... maybe you're not home?

With a bit of laughter, you can say a lot more, and then, half a step, you can narrow the distance. I backed down aggressively, but behind me was the front door of the teacher's house. [M]

... if the caller didn't answer even if he pressed the bell, the teacher wouldn't answer because he didn't want to. I mean, these people, the teachers, they don't want to meet. Then we can't let these people through.

"... why do I have to answer? Who are you in the first place?

I don't know, but they looked a little embarrassed when I asked them what they wanted to see, even though they didn't want to.

"Um, I'm a business associate....."

... I don't know what to do. Should I ask you more about who he is? But I don't think the teacher wants to see you. So how do we get rid of him?

Because of me, I have to see someone I don't want to see, but I don't want to. I don't want to bother you. Even though you've rented a part of the house, it's more like a boulder.

"Whoa, that's noisy."

When I was in trouble, the front door opened. [M] And the teacher looks at the people standing in front of me with faces I've never seen before.

Then the teacher looked at me and smiled bitterly.

"... here. You go in. Baton Touch."

"But"

"And make some tea. Any tea is fine. I don't remember what tea is in the first place. [M] There may be a mysterious tea in the back of the drawer, so you can dig it up as you like."

When the teacher said so, he pulled up the long arm that had opened the door and quickly put me in the front door from under it.

I was just filled with sorry feelings, but even if I was outside, I wouldn't be able to make things any better, so I decided to prepare tea, as the teacher said.

Beyond the closed entrance door, I heard something talking, but I turned to the teacher's kitchen with it on my back.

"Haah, oh my god. I finally left."

After a while, the teacher finally entered the house.

Um, I'm sorry.

I apologize to the teacher who looked a little tired, thinking that there was nothing I could do about it.

"If I hadn't come here, the teacher would have had to deal with them."

"Maybe. But I don't care. It's more boring that you're not here instead of having to deal with them."

The teacher smiled bitterly because he didn't seem to care.... yeah. I'm so sorry because I knew you'd say this.

"... at all. I didn't expect you to look like this. I feel like sprinkling salt, but I hate it, I'm out of salt. That's why I sprinkled it with soy sauce... No, there was a mysterious salt that I got as a souvenir from Himalaya or Andes or something. There was no use for small, stylish rock salt. He's going to be an ace weapon in World War IV."

World War IV... that is, salt like stone.

"I can't help it. Why don't you just look for it and scrape it..."

The teacher stroked through the cupboard in the kitchen and removed the pink lump from the cupboard. Sure, it's like a stone.... there's a slightly clear spot, a cloudy spot, and it's sparkling, jewel-like and beautiful.

Then the teacher began cutting salt. It's like the one that came with it.

There is a squeaking, squeaking sound. Whether the salt becomes fine powder every time, or whether it cracks and becomes a small mass in the right place, it falls on the underlying dish.

"Oh my God, that's a lot of labor. I didn't expect them to make me do unnecessary labor. At last, they deserve salt..."

The teacher is struggling with the clump of rock salt, making a rough move without going anywhere.

"... who were those people?

Looking at such a teacher, I asked. [M]

As far as these people are concerned, I'm sure they're related to the teacher's work... but the teacher doesn't like them anyway.

When I asked, the teacher looked a little like thinking. [M] Maybe he's thinking about how to be brief and explain it to me to the best of his ability.

"Ah... well, people at work. Very enthusiastic. I refused one job I didn't like a little bit, but they pushed me home to rethink it."

"... Utsumi Sensei's child? I was told."

"Yeah, well, I guess so. What did you say?

"Why do I have to answer that?"

I can't say, "Yes, I'm a child." If I were a teacher's child, how many would the teacher have married? [M]

"Hahaha! Excellent! Well done! That would have worked well for them! If a guy like you sees a suspicious person, he'll notice his thickness in a boulder! It makes sense that they were weak enough to push!

Well, if it helps me too, I'd appreciate it.

"Well, I'm sure these guys were enthusiastic, but they don't use words very well anyway."

... all of a sudden, the teacher sighs and starts talking like that. Maybe I want to be a little stupid, so I'll ask.

"He tells me how they feel, but nothing comes out that moves us. It seems that there is not much thought that I will move if I say something. [M] I feel a little bit traumatized by being exposed to that feeling. To the extent that I use my time away."

I see.

I remember that. Somehow, I know what the teacher is trying to say.

"Words that convey feelings do not always match words that move people. But few people understand it.... too many people believe that if you keep telling them how you feel, they will change. I'd say it's your ego, but basically it doesn't make sense to say that to someone like that. It's unreasonable."

That's right.

When she nods from the bottom of her heart, the teacher nods back to it.

"... that's what I'm talking about. No matter how much he and the others have told me, I don't feel like doing injustice, and I don't feel like going to a battle that isn't properly valued."

"Illegal"

A little surprised to hear back, the teacher began to shred salt again with a bitter face.

"Well, that's right. We're talking about getting into a race where the winners are decided. Speaking of marketing, that's it, but fraud is fraud.... because I want to be properly valued. I don't have a stepsister to do that."

That's what I thought. [M] I don't really understand the feeling of wanting to be evaluated.

"It's better to have more good reviews than bad ones. Well, I feel better. And if you say more, you don't need a rating you don't need, but it's better to have more ratings you want."

... while listening to the teacher's words, I feel kind of... amazing, nice, and filled with such thoughts, and immediately afterwards, my thoughts are completely black.

"... Togo? What's the matter with you?

When you see me start thinking, the teacher asks me that.

... it's none of your business what happened to me. But the teacher seems to like hearing my thoughts. [M] Weird, I know.

That's why I decided to ask him this time.

"I feel like getting a first prize or rating is not very good, and I feel like I want something bad."

When I started, the teacher nodded at me with interest. [M] That's why I'm easy to talk to.

"I don't think you should want a rating."

The teacher blinked several times at my word. [M]

"May I ask why you think so?

Then he asked me that.

"Um... dirty? Shallow? Because I feel that way. I can't really explain why I feel that way."

I'm not good at explaining. I'm not good at speaking, and I think I'm not good at using words in the first place. But the teacher seems to like listening to my thoughts, so I tried my best to arrange the words.

"I see, some interesting and discreet sensitivities."

While saying that, the teacher thought for a moment... and then started drawing something in his notebook.

It's a triangle. The triangle is then divided into five stages. That's a five-stage pyramid.

"All right, Togo. Have you ever heard of Mazlow's five-step desire?

"... I've heard of it somehow."

When I answer that, the teacher nods satisfactorily and then writes his name on each layer of the pyramid.

"Mazlow's five-stage desire theory, self-realization theory, is that, in very simple terms, human desires are divided into five stages, and higher desires are created when lower desires are satisfied."

While saying so, the teacher wrote "Eat and sleep" at the bottom. And on top of that, 'safety'.

"The bottom stage is appetite and sleeping cravings. And on top of that is the desire for safety.... well, in modern society, this won't be enough. Great thing is, we modern people don't suddenly get attacked by mammoths and die, and we can eat meat without dangerous hunting. Rather, it's a time of hunger."

That's right.

The teacher drew something next to the notebook. It's probably a mammoth, but I look like a hairy bun. Ah, I got fangs in the buns...

"This is more of a creature's desire than a human being."

"Yeah."

I know that. Because the desire for life support and safety is just to stay alive.

"... well, we sometimes flip the steps around here. Mainly about diet and sleep, which are essential for life support, and which we should consider first...."

"Yeah."

We're human, so we can fly around. I'm glad I'm human. It's boring to have to eat to draw.

"But how we scratched our feet, we're humans. It's a creature. That's why it's better to stack it properly from the bottom and stabilize it with less blur under its own performance. I can't do anything too busy when I don't sleep well."

"... yeah"

I think that's a little bit.

Because we are humans and creatures. That's why I can't concentrate without sleep. Observation eyes are dull. I don't see the shape of the motif well, and I feel that the sense of screen composition is poor.

"Well, let's just leave aside what we think of ourselves as a little creature... the pyramid."

The teacher apparently remembered what he did when he was out of bed, but he continued with a smile that he couldn't tell him to put the lid on.

"From the top of the flight steps we often fly is our desire as human beings... but the first one is our desire to belong. It seems that humans don't want to live alone. So I want to belong to a society or a group. That's what I want. Don't say the desire for love. And then...."

The teacher said while writing on the third stage of the pyramid.

"A desire for approval."

"In other words, approval is something anyone who belongs to and loves must want."

... my desire to approve seems like a bad thing. I can't explain why.

It's probably bad because it's obvious.

"I am. I think we need a lot of evaluation to meet this fourth stage. And why it's necessary to fill the fourth stage is to realize the top of the pyramid."

However, the teacher said so with dignity and wrote on the fifth stage of the pyramid, "self-realization."

"Humans are creatures that chase their endless desires to become themselves, but we have a lot of things to chase around, especially because our hearts are hungry. Instead of chasing two rabbits, I feel like I'm chasing about twenty."

"Yeah."

I want to do a lot of things. I want to try oil painting and sculpture. There are many things to chase around. It's full of rabbits.

"But if you're going on an adventure after all, you can't go on an adventure without a house. There's a place to go, and we can go on an adventure. And the ground at the place of return should be firm. This is the kind of ground I can build alone... because it must be like a floating island."

Ukijima. It certainly sounds like that.

... the teacher is out of the world, right? That's the atmosphere. There is nothing to grasp and there is no core, so I can stay with you with peace of mind. But sometimes it feels like it's fluffy. Somehow.

"When we are loved and valued and our place is firmly consolidated in this way, we can realize ourselves for the first time. I can go on an adventure to be myself. Ukijima may be good for a vacation home, but if you're going to live well, the ground should be solid and spacious."

"... I like Ukijima."

I see. Well, you were probably like Floating Island or Mizusa, too. Then let's get along with two floating islands and have fun floating around. I just need a lake to float and a land to make a lake, Togo. "

I really like this floating island... but I don't think that's enough. The teacher is like my villa, and I really have to live in a decent house. We need something to support us. Yeah, I know.

... and then the teacher laughs with a slightly lonely face.

"If the time comes for you to want a lot of ratings... then you can be happy. It's evidence that you belong and are loved enough."

"... I see."

"Oh, yes."

Still, there's resistance to trying to get a rating.

... why am I reluctant to get a rating because I'm not loved? What if I want love? That's... uh, it's not good after all.

But... perhaps one day, the time will come to understand. Yeah. Someday, I'm sure.

"Well, here's the salt. I mean, not anymore. My hands are threatening me with muscle aches."

Eventually, a small pile of salt powder and small lumps was born on the plate in front of the teacher.

"This feels like accomplishment. It was worth the effort. Exactly the crystal of sweat and tears... No, I can't use this expression against salt. The sophisticated rock salt is going to become more and more dirty sodium chloride."

Uh-huh. That's right. It's hard to use words.

The teacher looked at the pile of salt that had changed the crystals of sweat and tears... fu, he said.

"Speaking of which, I had you prepare the tea, and I didn't drink it. I forgot. Togo, what about you?

"I haven't drunk it yet. I completely forgot."

That's right. I was preparing tea. [M] I completely forgot.

"Ha ha ha. Well, let's get it over with. Um...."

It's in a barley teapot.

I see. Barley tea. I like barley tea less than an hour after it's brewed. It tastes real..... "

While saying that, the teacher poured the barley tea I had just put in the barley tea pack and water and left it in the cup from the barley tea pot....

"... wait a minute, Togo. What kind of tea is this?

I looked strange.... that.

"Um, I put in a barley tea pack... the one in the back of the drawer. Um, wasn't that barley tea?

I found something like tea in the nonwoven fabric from the back of the drawer, so I thought it was old barley tea, so I tried making tea...

"... Togo. Thank you. You're the best."

The teacher took a cup of tea while slowly looking back at me with a smile on his face. [M]

"And this tea is great. Rich aroma. It certainly feels delicious. Very good."

While saying that, the teacher came to me with a barley tea pot... and opened the lid of the pot and showed me the inside.

"And it's not barley tea, it's a soup pack."

"... I'm sorry. Wrong."

"No, no! I told you, it's great! Hahaha, hey, I feel so happy all at once! I knew you were the best!... ah, let's put the salt in here. Sounds like a sucker. Uh... yeah. Just fine, just fine. I see. That's why I shredded the salt!

The teacher is laughing at the shards, dropping freshly shredded salt into a glass and drinking dashi.

"I knew you'd better eat salt than sprinkle. Let's make the most of salt!

That's what the teacher says, so I'll get some soup too. I'll get some salt, too.... yeah. Unexpected and delicious.

"In order to remember this pleasant feeling from time to time, I would like to mix the soup pack with about 10% in the barley tea pack...."

I think it is better not to do that.

... I thought I'd stop, but then sometimes the barley tea that I drank at the teacher's house turned into dashi.

But every time, we could have enjoyed it, so maybe it wasn't too bad.

Chapter 5: Love from a continent with a floating lake

I got a letter from Mr. Safir and it took me a few days. Faye looked into everything.

"Go on, I don't like this."

And you made a nasty report.... I see, I don't like it. I don't know.

"In the meantime, there are about three people in King's Landing in the" Tougo Uesora "that I have studied."

... I've grown. I don't know.

"Are you filled with corn?

"Yeah, I guess so...."

We were just in time for a snack, so Faye also talks around the snack seat.

Today's snack is a fairy Madeleine.... it seems that Madeleine was born as a result of researching cookies from Safir's house. I wonder why. Didn't you guys make cookies? No, I like the big, cute, delicious Madeleine.

"What are you going to do with that corn? Those guys."

Lian also said that she was stunned while eating Madeleine in the first place. That's right. Amazing, isn't it? Yeah... I feel kind of more complicated before I'm stunned. I wonder what this is.

"Of these, four and five corn are about to show up."

I don't like it. I don't know what to say about more boulders... hmm, it's a complicated feeling. I don't know why I don't like it, but I don't like it.

Um... I'm just saying, "Actually, I'm Corn Uesora," about fake corn numbers 1 and 2. It's not like I'm drawing a picture, it's just a little bit like "Tougo Uesora."

... no, I don't know right away. What makes you pretend to be me when you don't draw? Does that make any sense? So, how do you name me?

"... and that fake corn number three could be a bit troublesome."

However, Fay sighed deeply.

"He's under the protection of a nobleman."

"Aristocratic asylum?

What does that mean?

"In other words, he named the painter in question, Corgo Uesola, and took his achievements and fame as a stepping stone to become a leading nobleman."

... mmm. I mean, do you think I got a job because of my background fraud? That's not good. Not to me, but to my employer.

"By the way, which nobility is it?"

"The Brompa family. The point is, it's a high-ranking house in the royal castle. I don't get it, but it's a house with money and power."

Is there such a nobleman?... I suppose it's like the house of Mr Shale, who was Mr Crowe's employer.

That's a mess.

"Am I right? This is going to be a little bit of a hassle... it's better than ours..."

Hmm... for now, I know it sounds embarrassing.

If you go to court badly, you may lose to someone with a strong noble backing, and when that happens, the Red Gard family will be in trouble...

"... how do the fakes treat the paintings that Corgo paints?"

When I was in trouble, Faye asked Laocles how she looked like a plaster statue. [M]

"Uh, fake corn, number one and number two, they say, 'I'm the one drawing it, but I'm sending it to the woods once to hide my identity, and selling it.'"

When Faye answered, Laocles became more and more like a plaster statue. Hmm, it's steep...

"Fake corn number three... I don't know yet. Are you saying that you painted the corn yourself, or are you treating the corn as a fake..."

"... I see."

Hmm... the more I think about it, the less I know how they feel.

What the hell do they want?

"... well, that's fine. Let's start with fake corn. What do we do with one and two?"

When I was confused, Mr. Crowe smiled and said so. [M]

"Oh, Mr. Crowe, can you do something about it?"

... Ah, Mr. Crowe, a woody smile. This is the smile under the chandelier. A smile on a jewel, or a face in the alley of the city at night illuminated by street lights. Yeah, this is great.

"Yeah, I got it. That's what I'm good at."

Reliable.

Apparently, Mr. Crowe came up with something. By the way, I have nothing in mind. [M] I mean, I don't understand the feelings of the people who call me.

"Corn. Why don't you go on a little trip to King's Landing? Painting in the square of King's Landing."