Curious about the way of tea, Shirabe says she wants to try the ceremony. Shirabe wants to show off her courage with the bitterness of tea in her first personal experience, but……
Shirabe: *sip
sip sip*…… oof–!
Maria:
……watch your manners after you drink, Shirabe.
Shirabe: Th-the tea was rather……
Maria: Fufu,
bitter, wasn’t it? It’s fine even if you don’t put your all into it.
Maria:
Wanting to experience a tea ceremony for yourself…… It’s an unexpected
thing to take interest in, even for you.
Shirabe: I’ve
heard that the etiquette the girls of this country possess feels
similar to the tension one gets from fighting.
Maria:
……I’m sure you’ve likely heard as much from Tsubasa. We got ahold of this
room thanks to her connections, so we won’t be bothered.
Maria: All
right, shall we start from the beginning once more? Do you remember
the procedure?
Shirabe: Yes,
I’m fine.
Shirabe: *sip sip sip*…… oof–! Th-the tea was rather……
Maria:
Bitter, isn’t it. Drink a little of
mine.
Shirabe:
Mm……m!? It, it’s not bitter……
Maria:
……well? Alright, isn’t it?
Shirabe:
……but why? We prepared them the same way……
Maria: The
way you prepare your tea can alter how bitter it is. Thus, if you can
prepare it well, you’ll have very little bitterness.
Maria:
……well, I don’t have that kind of ability, so I just dumped some
of this in.
Shirabe: This
is- sugar! But putting sugar in this tea is a violation of the
ceremony……
Maria: So it
is. Of course, when I told Tsubasa, she seemed angry, but it’s
important to get used to the etiquette first, right?
Shirabe: I
suppose……?
Maria: Fufu,
you’ve done well with this tea ceremony you wanted to experience. Alright, so shall we
try again like this?
Shirabe:
……umm…… Maria-
Maria: Hm?
What’s the matter, Shirabe?
Shirabe:
……could you put some sugar in my tea too, please?
Maria: Mm, I
understand.
Been a while – life catching up again, but con season’s over and releases will be back! Very brief, but a great little Shirabe & Maria moment.
TL note: The phrase Shirabe’s trying to get out is “Kekkou na otemae (desu/deshita/de arimasu/de arimashita)”, which is spoken as part of the tea ceremony proceedings as a recognition of the quality of the tea one has just consumed. Different forms noted due to a degree of uncertainty, but those should be reasonably valid.
This time around, it’s @dlartistanon on QC! I’m incredibly thankful for the assistance in keeping everything sounding like something that people actually say and not just a mishmash of grammar book explanations!
levelingtogether 