<Zuri>
Bitter?
That fool wouldn’t know bitter if it bit her in the butt!
‘Gods damn it!’
Staring at the uneaten meal set on the kitchen counter, Zuri cursed.
After forcing himself to get out of bed early and prepare breakfast, the least he expected in return was a clean plate. Instead, he got attitude and complaints about the meal made. Cleodora even had the nerve to dash off to work the moment she finished up in the bathroom. Claiming that she would be late for her oh-so-ever-important ‘job’. The disrespect given was beyond an unacceptable level, and Zuri was justifiably annoyed.
‘It can’t be that bad, right?’
Normally, Cleodora would devour whatever he made the second it was laid in front of her.
Today though, she ran like a herded animal.
Taking a sip of the stew, Zuri analysed its taste.
… It wasn’t good. The stew tasted almost like nothing, nothing at all. Oddly bland and plain, it was the epitome of the term 'flavourless'. And with a rougher texture than it should be, the stew was a lot of things, but enjoyable wasn’t one of them.
‘But it’s certainly not bitter!’
Placing the ladle down, Zuri stared at the assortment of ingredients that littered the table.
He knew better than anyone else that he prepared this dish correctly.
The meal, Swecorn, was a classic.
Any Kitsune who dared claim that title could make this. The simple meal was a staple back home.
‘Ugh’
Honestly, he didn’t know what went wrong. Despite following all the correct steps, the meal was off at the initial tasting. At first, he thought his spicing was light, so he corrected it by adding more, but when the taste was still nothing, he asked for a second opinion. After which, Cleodora came in with her wrong opinion before running away. But, as wrong as she was, her opinion was enough to tell Zuri something was up. Naturally, that left only one answer to this whole conundrum of taste.
The ingredients.
Since Zuri's preparation was perfect, the fault clearly lay with the components of the food. The subpar ingredients sourced from who knows where should be to blame. To this day, Zuri still didn’t know how exactly Cleodora got all this food. Given that such could only be found at the kingdom, it was logical to think she got them from there, but… that felt like a stretch. Was it possible for a journey that took them three weeks to be completed in a day? Zuri knew she was the hero, but that felt like too much.
Anyway, the shady ingredients should’ve been to blame, but when Zuri had checked them out, they were fine. Better than fine, really. The cabinets around the kitchen were enchanted with a unique magic. One that suspended the time of the foods placed inside by means of extreme cooling. The food was as fresh as it had been on the first day it was brought.
‘…I need to fix this’
Removing the apron tied around him, Zuri walked over to the bathroom and began running a bath.
He was rather unwilling to toss out the meal a second time and start from scratch. Not only would that be a waste of his time, but he also lacked all the ingredients to remake it again. Supplies had been running low over the weeks, and he hadn’t yet told Cleodora to get some more. This stew was supposed to last them the entire day. Cutting down the use of supplies until more came. Zuri wasn’t sure if Cleodora would be able to restock as fast as last time. He planned to cut down their utilisation until it was certain something was coming in soon.
Alas, not only had he failed at that, but he had also used more resources than originally intended.
Disrobing, Zuri stepped into the warm bath.
Letting the water soak completely around him.
‘A bit bitter, huh?’
The words of Cleodora played back in his mind.
…There was a way to get rid of that bitterness.
One would need to dilute the stew and then find something sweet to counter the bitter.
A simple task if they still had something sweet.
Zuri sank deeper into the water.
‘This was going to be such a pain’
Standing outside the house, Zuri breathed in the fresh mountain air.
With a lei around his neck and a basket full of coins within his grasp, he was ready to do what needed to be done.
‘Right, let’s get this over with!’
Zuri took a determined step forward.
There was only one place where he could hope to source something sweet, and that was the village.
The smelly, disgusting village.
Needless to say, he wasn’t a fan of it. The little memories of his last unpleasant visit were still fresh. Zuri wasn’t so quick to forget the constant stares nor the filth he was caked in after walking the short distance. But, ultimately, after debating endlessly with himself in the bath, he concluded it was still best to go. It wasn’t that the positives outweighed the benefits or anything, but more so Zuri’s desire to fix the soup was far greater than the negatives. Making bad Swecorn felt like an insult to his people.
Nearing the village, the first thing to hit Zuri was the atrocious smell.
He tied the lei closer to his neck.
… If there was one good thing Cleodora had done, then it would be saving this after Zuri had tossed it out.
Exhaling softly, Zuri steeled himself as the village came into greater view.
The game plan was simple.
Go in, grab the sweetener, and leave.
All he had to do now was bring that into fruition.
Easy enough.
What was that saying again?
The one about things being harder than initially thought.
Ah, right.
Easier said than done.
Standing in the middle of the village, Zuri found himself in quite the puzzling situation.
He had no idea where to go.
It shouldn’t have been too hard to find out where the sweeteners were. If the village was worth a damn, then it should have a small marketplace. But a quick trip around had proved that conjecture wrong. This village had none of the sort. It was devoid of even the most rudimentary of markets. Given how small it was, that shouldn’t have been too surprising, all things considered, but Zuri couldn’t help but be annoyed.
‘I hate this village’
On top of the disappointment, the lingering gazes that accompanied Zuri everywhere he went were getting exhausting. For some reason, it felt like the gazes aimed at him were a lot more shamelessly blatant than in the past visit. The slight discomfort he felt back then couldn’t compare to today. Today the gazes seemed ready to abduct him where he stood.
“It’s her. No doubt about it.”
“Princess! Princess!”
“A-Are we allowed to go?”
Three childish voices pulled Zuri out of thought.
Instantly, he was surrounded by a group of three blabbering children.
“Can you tell us another story, Princess!? Please, pretty please!!”
The energetic girl leading the two gave a desperate plea.
“The history of the Kitsune is quite fascinating. We would be privileged to listen.”
“I-If it wouldn’t be too much trouble….”
It was shortly followed by two more, yet less desperate-sounding, pleas by, presumably, her friends.
A clever-sounding boy and shy girl.
Zuri pinched the bridge as he observed their glittering eyes.
Unlike the other villagers, they had actually managed to approach him instead of burying their eyes in him. It was a commendable fit worthy of praise, yet… Bizarrely asking for something without so much of a greeting was just wrong. It showed a lack of a proper upbringing and was the marker of troublemakers. People who fall outside the norm society typically holds for them. They were often not the best people to mingle with, and Zuri knew this better than most; he was, after all, one of them in the past.
Zuri gave a warm, kind smile to the children.
“Hey, kids. Do you happen to know where I can buy a sweetener?”
Despite not wanting to interact with these children, doing so was the fastest method in order to still leave while getting what he wants.
Like clockwork, Zuri watched the children’s expression melt away after asking them.
“U-Uh, I know! I know!”
The energetic girl, first to recover, grabbed both the other children’s hands and pulled them forward.
“This isn’t what we—!”
“W-Wait a bit—!”
Watching children being pulled off into the building just ahead, Zuri followed behind, a little embarrassed.
It's quite ridiculous how people acted due to his face. Bending over backwards merely to catch a glimpse of it. Generally, Zuri didn’t use it to get what he wanted (defaulting to his title as Princess), but it was the quickest way to get people to comply. In situations where time was of the essence, making use of your quickest weapon was necessary.
The smell of booze hit Zuri the moment he stepped into the building.
A quick scan of the place revealed why.
He had walked into a restaurant.
‘An empty one at that’
Who in their right mind would open a restaurant in an area too small to have an open market?
The sound of boisterous laughter rang throughout the deserted room.
“If you think she’s bad now, you should’ve seen that lively brat as a baby. That kid refusing to sleep nearly drove me mad!”
A hand smacked the table.
A calm, cool voice then spoke.
“That’s nothing. My precious baby boy would prattle on endlessly no matter the time. Talking nonsense for the sake of talking.”
The moment Zuri laid eyes on the group gathered, he got a severe case of déjà vu.
One of the ragtag misfit children that directed him here before running off.
… It went without saying why they suddenly ran away.
“Greetings.” (Z)
Making his presence known, Zuri walked over to the bar counter.
“I am in need of sweeteners.” (Z)
This village appeared to mainly operate from some type of neo-butter trade.
Everything you want requires you to visit the producer directly, but with the added benefit of currency being an acceptable form of payment.
The laughter around the group abruptly died as Zuri approached.
The bar lady, the one who had been complaining about her daughter, returned Zuri’s greeting with a polite bow.
“…How may I assist you, Princess?”
“Give me something sweet.” (Z)
In the blink of an eye, a cup was pushed forward to an empty bar seat.
…He should’ve been more specific.
“Cooking. I need it for cooking.” (Z)
As the woman with a boisterous laugh had an abrupt epiphany, Zuri fiddled with the coin in his basket.
Placing a lump sum on the table.
“Understood. How about you take a seat while I prepare it, Princess?”
“Very well.” (Z)
As much as Zuri wasn’t a fan of sitting in this dingy place, his tired legs cared little for the opinions of his spoilt mind.
“Leave it to me, Princess!”
An awkward silence descended as the bar girl suddenly left the room.
It was then soon broken by the detached voice of the woman sitting on his right.
“Greetings, Princess.”
“A-Ah, yes! Greetings, Princess.”
And the quiet woman sitting on his left.
Zuri acknowledged their greetings with a subtle nod.
He wasn’t in a talking mood and couldn’t be bothered to do much more than that.
“Alright! Here you go!!”
‘Does she need to shout everything?’
Ignoring the activities she’s doing, Zuri uncapped the small jar passed to him and took a whiff.
Immediately, he was disappointed.
“Not sweet enough?”
Zuri sighed.
“Got anything sweeter?” (Z)
“…Are you perhaps trying to drown out something bitter?”
At the bar lady’s word, Zuri narrowed his eyes at her.
She merely chuckled at his glare.
“Surprised? Don’t be too much. We’ve all been there.”
The boisterous woman motioned to the other women.
The cool woman nodded, then spoke, followed shortly by the quiet woman.
“It will pass.”
“T-The first time is always the hardest.”
Zuri furrowed his brows.
‘What are they on about?’
It felt like he was missing something.
“…What are you getting at?” (Z)
It was then an obscene gesture was made.
The boisterous woman mimed a great, rounded stomach with a wide sweep of her hands.
Zuri instantly shot up from his seat.
“I will have you know I am not—!” (Z)
Catching himself mid-rant, he coughed lightly and then sat back down.
Silently fuming.
‘That bastard!’
He should’ve known she’d do something like this, but still…!
Why would she tell the villagers of all people!?
Soft apologies were muttered as Zuri buried his head in his hands.
“…In any event, I would advise getting a second opinion for meals moving forward.”
“Y-Yes. It may come in handy when you least expect it.”
“That would be best.”
Zuri didn’t know what exactly kept him in the chair.
Whether it be the shock that Cleodora might’ve told someone about him or the fact that they already knew, Zuri found himself completely unable to move.
“You need to be stubborn about it! Don’t let them win. Make them sit with you at the table the entire night if you have to!”
“What are you talking about? If they don’t want to eat, starve them until they do.”
“T-That’s not good, guys. If they don’t want to eat, they don’t need to make them.”
But his inability to move didn’t stop the conversation from earlier from continuing to flow.
The gathered women carried on as if he weren’t present.
‘What is wrong with these people?’
Was that how one conducted oneself in front of royalty? Sure, the treatment was better than being ogled like some spectacle, but it was still majorly disrespectful. Them pretending like he wasn’t there and carrying on wasn’t right. Not to mention, the topics they chose to discuss were as questionable as the response they gave. Like, come on, Zuri wasn’t even a parent, but he definitely knew there was something wrong with their responses.
Who force-feeds a child? No, even before that. Who doesn’t feed them at all!? Their methods of parenting overall seemed severely lacking. Two sides of a terrible coin flip. And, adding to the mess was the last response. There was something about being too agreeable that needed to be tackled. A child still needs to eat a little something no matter how they refuse to do so. If you leave everything up to them, they might never eat again.
‘What am I even thinking about?’
Sitting up, Zuri decided to leave.
He had wasted enough time here.
Plus, he already got what he came for a long time ago.
Zuri placed his hands on the counter and pushed himself up—
“…You’re all wrong.” (Z)
On a whim, he decided to correct the misconceptions held by the women as he headed.
As a person with some modern sensibilities, such nonsense was hard to ignore.
The conversation between the women paused as soon as Zuri spoke.
“If a child refuses to eat, then the cause needs to be identified immediately and eliminated. Causes could vary greatly from being already full to a dislike of the food, but once it's identified, treatment is simple. Forcing food creates aversion, withholding it creates fear, and allowing them choice only leads to bad decisions.” (Z)
The boisterous barwoman leaned on the bar counter and grinned.
“Is that so?”
“It is so.” (Z)
Zuri decided to give some illustrations.
“A dislike for the food can be treated by preparing a different meal, while a full child just means feeding is not necessary.” (Z)
“I understand.”
The cool woman interjected.
She posed a rather interesting question.
“But what if I am unable to make another meal? Or the food will spoil, and I can’t guarantee another one soon?”
Zuri paused.
Right, modern sensibilities only apply in a modern world.
“A-And choice isn’t always a bad thing. Children can be capable if you give them a try!”
“Hm.” (Z)
At the word of the quiet woman, Zuri fell into thought.
She wasn’t wrong in her assessment, but it was undoubtedly a double-edged sword.
“There never is a right answer, is there, Princess?”
The cup that was previously poured out for Zuri was pushed closer to him.
“Care to join us for a chat?”