[Amano Writing Club] I Want to Eat an Eclair

An international exchange meeting—a chaotic gathering by that name—between fairy tale characters from the West and Japan was to be held in Japan.
The European representatives were Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.
Momotaro, Kintaro, and Urashima Taro would serve as the hosts representing Japan.

The guests from the West were so beautiful that the three Taros were left speechless.
Amidst this, Urashima Taro was secretly feeling anxious.
Unlike heroes like Momotaro and Kintaro, he was just an ordinary person.
If things continued like this, he wouldn't get a chance with any of the girls; thoughts mixed with anxiety and desire filled his heart.
He had grown tired of Princess Otohime acting like a big sister. If he could, he wanted to have a girl all to himself—Urashima harbored dark, selfish thoughts.

"Hey, the guests include 'princesses,' you know."

As Momotaro shrugged his shoulders, Kintaro also crossed his arms and groaned.

"It wouldn't be polite unless we take them somewhere with a certain level of class, right?"

"Then it has to be the Dragon Palace. Leave the arrangements to me. My woman runs the place, after all."

Urashima Taro puffed out his chest.

"Oh, that sounds good!" Momotaro and Kintaro agreed enthusiastically.

Indeed, if ladies are coming, a glamorous place is best. It certainly couldn't be a run-down tavern.
Urashima Taro was ecstatic, thinking, "If it's the Dragon Palace, I can run the show!"

And so, the group headed to the magnificent Dragon Palace, and the banquet began with a welcome from Princess Otohime.
However—there is a vast divide in food culture between the East and the West.

"Um... it seems the princesses can't handle alcohol or sashimi."

Momotaro whispered.
Snow White and the others were not holding their chopsticks, but were looking at each other.

"We would like some tea and sweets."

When Snow White said that, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella also nodded, saying, "Yes, exactly," and "That's it."

"Tea... well, if it's tea, leave it to me."

Princess Otohime pulled herself together and immediately began whisking matcha.
The Western team's eyes lit up at her flowing, dance-like movements.

"My, it's tea, yet it's like art!"
"The aroma is so deep!"
"Is this 'omotenashi'? It's wonderful!"

The atmosphere in the Dragon Palace suddenly became vibrant.
Now, the problem was the tea sweets.

"You want something sweet, right?"

"Yes. We would like to have eclairs."
"Me too! Give me an eclair!"
"Of course, me as well!"

The three girls asked for eclairs in unison.

--Eclairs?

Momotaro and Kintaro opened their mouths in surprise.

"Excuse me, what kind of thing is that? Could you draw a picture of it?"

"Oh, alright then."

Snow White quickly drew a picture of an eclair on a piece of paper.
Seeing it, Momotaro and Kintaro tilted their heads.

"What is this?"
"I have no idea."

At this point, only Urashima Taro looked strangely confident.
It was the perfect chance to show off his knowledge in front of the girls.

"...Ah, there's no doubt about it. It's a sea cucumber."

"A sea cucumber!?"

Momotaro let out a high-pitched voice, and Urashima Taro looked smug.

"Sea cucumbers are a high-class ingredient, you know. As expected of Western princesses. You have a discerning eye."

"No, that can't be right. Isn't it a long, thin inari sushi?"

Momotaro countered, but Urashima Taro wouldn't budge.

"Then let's confirm with them. What color is an eclair?"

"It's covered in chocolate, so it's dark brown," said Little Red Riding Hood.

"See? I told you, it's definitely a sea cucumber," Urashima Taro said, convinced.

Then Kintaro said, as if he had just had a sudden realization.

"No, since it's a sweet, isn't this picture a karinto?"

"Let's confirm. How big is an eclair?" Urashima prompted.

"It's about this big," Cinderella indicates with her hands.

"See? I told you, it's definitely a sea cucumber."

Urashima Taro declared triumphantly.

"Sea cucumbers are very expensive. When dried, they are exported to China and can easily cost tens of thousands of yen per kilogram."

Urashima continued to show off his knowledge of marine products in front of the girls.

"But fortunately, we are at the bottom of the sea."

Urashima Taro pointed his finger proudly.

"Sea cucumbers are free for the taking here. If you ask Princess Otohime, she'll get them for you in no time."

Princess Otohime smiled and said, "Leave it to me," then gave instructions to the sea soldiers.

—And a few minutes later.

A large platter piled high with dark, lumpy objects was brought out.

"Here you go. These are the 'eclairs'."

Snow White and the others stared intently at the platter.

"Somehow... eclairs in Japan are a little different, aren't they?"
"They're black all over... that's not chocolate, is it?"
"They look a bit bumpy."

Cinderella asked timidly.

"Um... these 'eclairs'... they have white, soft cream inside, right?"

Urashima Taro beamed with a wide smile.

"You're quite the connoisseur. Do you like konowata (sea cucumber entrails)?"
"...Is 'konowata' what they call custard cream in this country?"

Little Red Riding Hood tilted her head in confusion.
Urashima Taro continued to speak proudly.

"Yes, konowata is soft when raw, and it's a vibrant orange or yellow color.
But when you eat it as a salted delicacy, it has a creamy texture that is simply the best."

The three girls looked at each other.

“I don't really understand what's going on, but... shall we dig in?”
“Yes.”

The three of them took a hearty bite.
Snow White was the first to speak up.

“Wait, this isn't right! This isn't an eclair!”
“But... it's sweet and delicious.”
“It goes well with the bitterness of the matcha, and it's strangely addictive.”

Urashima Taro opened his eyes wide and looked back at Princess Otohime.

“No, this isn't a sea cucumber... Princess Otohime, what on earth is this...”

Princess Otohime smacked him on the head with her war fan with a loud thwack.

“Ouch!”

“Konowata! No, you octopus!” Princess Otohime glared at Urashima Taro.

“As if I could serve a platter of sea cucumbers.
If I did that, a war would break out between the fairy tale worlds of Europe and Japan.”

Princess Otohime looked toward the Western guests and smiled sweetly.

“This is a Japanese sweet called 'ohagi,' arranged in the shape of an eclair.”

Snow White and the others polished off the ohagi on their plates in no time.

“Delicious! May I have seconds?”

This time, Princess Otohime brought out zunda mochi.

“This is a sweet we don't have in the West.”
“Oh my, this green color is beautiful!”

And so, the Dragon Palace became a 'seafloor sweets sanctuary,'
and the fairy tale characters of the West and Japan forged a deep friendship over their love of sweets.
Only Urashima Taro remained with a look of dissatisfaction until the end.

“No... I still think an eclair is a sea cucumber...”

And they all lived happily ever after.

I'm sorry, the AI was a complete idiot and couldn't generate any more images than this.
Little Red Riding Hood is missing. Momotaro and Kintaro have been rejuvenated. A reverse Tamatebako?

I participated in this project. Thank you very much.

Once again, I worried about how to add originality, as thinking about it straightforwardly seemed likely to result in a cliché story, and I lack literary talent. I thought of eclairs and sea cucumbers right away, but I struggled with how to make them into a story without it feeling out of place.
Don't you think Urashima Taro has a nice flavor to him?

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