I Suddenly Became Rich, But I Have No Idea How to Spend the Money

“Here is the true horse mackerel and summer vegetable tabbouleh.”

As the waiter placed the dish in front of us, I muttered to myself.

“…What even is tabbouleh?”

Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud. It would make me look ignorant.

“This tabbouleh looks delicious!”

Wait, does she actually know what tabbouleh is?

I had secretly assumed we were on the same level in this regard, so her comment completely caught me off guard.

“Yeah, this is a good tabbouleh.”

A “good” tabbouleh? That doesn’t even make sense. But I played along.

“Earlier, the waiter brought out something called a ‘seafood cocktail with seawater écume’ or whatever. What even is écume?”

I continued eating while grumbling internally. Though technically, I was holding a knife and fork instead of chopsticks.

The food was delicious, no doubt. But I had no idea what I was eating.

Modern Western cuisine is just too complicated.

“This tabbouleh has a nice écume-like quality to it, too.”

“Akira-kun, you’re just saying écume because you like the way it sounds, aren’t you? Well, I guess you could say couscous has an écume-like texture.”

Hitomi chuckled at me.

I actually knew what couscous was! It’s that grainy, pasta-like thing, right? Wait… does that mean écume is also some kind of grain?

“Well, that’s… one way to look at it.”

I was sweating bullets inside.

There were just too many unknown elements on my plate.

France must be some kind of culinary abyss.

—

After finishing our meal (though I wasn’t entirely sure I was satisfied), we stood up to return to our room.

Before we could leave, a passing hotel staff member told us, “There’s going to be fireworks tonight!”

Hitomi and I decided to go watch them.

The hotel staff even offered to take us to a special viewing area reserved for guests. We gladly took them up on it.

According to them, the Atami Seaside Fireworks Festival is incredibly popular, and they hold it throughout the year, in every season.

“Huh, fireworks in every season? That’s pretty unusual,” I thought as I imagined the upcoming display.

—

The festival was quite large, and the venue was packed with people.

When the fireworks began, the night sky bloomed with dazzling colors, accompanied by thunderous sounds.

It’s a cliché, but it was breathtaking.

I turned to my side and saw Hitomi’s face, illuminated by the glow of the fireworks.

She must have noticed me staring because she turned to look at me.

“If we knew we were going to a fireworks show, we should’ve worn yukatas.”

She said it with a childlike smile, and all I could do was whisper to myself, “What a sight to behold.”

—

After the fireworks ended and the crowd started heading home, the hotel’s car took us back to our room.

“That was amazing! It feels like we did everything summer has to offer in just one day.”

Hitomi beamed with joy, and I felt truly grateful that I got to experience this trip with her.

“Yeah, honestly. I think this might be the most fulfilling day of my life.”

“Right? So, Akira-kun, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, we’re heading to Tokyo for some shopping!”

“Got it!”

Wrapped in the warmth of satisfaction, we ended our second day.

—

The next morning, we woke up early, had breakfast in our room, relaxed a bit, and then set off for Tokyo.

“So, what are we buying today?”

“Suits! Since we’re here, I figured I’d get some high-quality suits and shoes. I also want your opinion!”

“I see. Very well, I shall coordinate your outfit to perfection.”

“Thank you very much.”

I couldn’t help but grin at Hitomi’s adorable enthusiasm.