Door Town Journey 4 #LittleStory SNV-008-4

Chapter 4

Do these pauns
have a flavor?

It seems I have no choice but to choose by appearance.

Choosing a few from the ten digits
from 0 to 9
honestly felt very difficult.

In my life
from birth until today,
here and
there,
numbers have existed
to such an extent...

When I think about it again,
it even starts to feel
like I am swimming
in a sea of numbers.

I felt that if even one were missing,
something would be lost.

If I knew the flavor of each paun, I would choose from them, but
their appearance,
well, they were just shaped like numbers,
and the colors were almost the same.
There doesn't seem to be any
written explanation about the flavors anywhere.

How about I just buy them all
and taste every paun?
That way, I'll know each flavor.

I couldn't help but feel that
these small number-shaped pauns
were appealing to me...

I felt a strange magnetic pull from these pauns,
as if they were connected to an entrance to the future.

My mind
was overflowing
with imagination and delusions.

Why did Owl-san
decide to sell these number-shaped pauns...

What kind of person is making them...

There is delicious blueberry jam
in the fridge at home.
If I spread it on the pauns,
the taste won't be wrong.

I've decided!
I'll buy them all!

The moment I decided,
I felt my body
become lighter.

I carefully picked up the pauns with tongs, arranged them on a tray in numerical order, and as I approached the checkout counter, Owl-san quickly appeared from a door beside the counter and efficiently processed my payment.

"I didn't know what these pauns tasted like,
so I decided to buy them all...
So...
what do they taste like?"

"They are the taste of numbers.
They are the taste of numbers according to the person."

"The taste of numbers according to the person eating them...?"

"Yes. It seems that the flavor of these pauns
also changes
depending on the order in which you eat them."

"The order in which to eat...?"

"Also, if you don't eat it by 12 o'clock tonight..."

Click...

The door beside the cash register opened.

A large man wearing a white coat peeked his head in. Perhaps he was the craftsman of this shop. His tall, well-built physique left an impression.

He gave us a small nod as a greeting, then spoke to Fukurou-san.

"It's time, so I'm heading out." "I see. Take care."

As Fukurou-san called out to him, the muscular Paun craftsman replied,

"I'm off!"

he said.

Fukurou-san, while sliding her silver-rimmed, engraved glasses down a little,

"Please give my regards to the old man in the village of Eichi as well."

When she said that, he returned to the back of the door, flashing a cool smile with the corners of his mouth pulled tightly to the side, as if it were a sign meaning "Understood!"

"I'm sorry. Interrupting our conversation."

"It's fine. ...What happens if I don't eat it by 12 o'clock?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself. But rumor has it that you might turn into a small animal, or maybe not? That's what the craftsman who makes them says."

"A small animal? That would be a bit of a problem. Though, I suppose it would be fine if it were a cute animal."

"That's why I said you should eat it today. It will taste like you, and only you. A taste unlike anyone else's, just for you."

"I understand. I will eat it as soon as possible. I'm starting to look forward to the taste of the Paun."

"Then, have a good day."

"Thank you. Have a good day too, manager."

I passed back through the tunnel-like stairs I had entered from and left the shop called "Paun's Forest," which was wrapped entirely in royal green.

※

My steps were light. Where and how should I start eating the number Pauns... From which number, and in what order should I eat them... I'll decide to eat them by 9:00 PM... The remaining time is about half a day... Today's meals will likely be all Pauns. I have to move my body and use my brain to burn energy, or the scale tomorrow will be a disaster. But today might just be the day of destiny where I eat a "10-digit" number.

I started walking toward the station, retracing the path I had come this morning, while looking for a place where I could eat the Pauns.

To be continued...