Sakuya Sakuma/Browned Heart Tart

Making Cookies from Citron-san's Homeland

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2

Sakuya	And here we go…
	Shoot, they’re completely burnt… Ugh, guess that’s another failure.
Izumi	Oh, Sakuya-kun?
Sakuya	Ah, Director…! I’m sorry, did I wake you up?
Izumi	Not at all. I just happened to see the light was on and was wondering who was in here.
	What are you doing this late at night?
Sakuya	Ah…!
Izumi	…Are those cookies?
Sakuya	…Yeah.
	Um, so, it’s almost Valentine’s Day, right?
	So I thought I’d bake some cookies to give to Citron-san as a gift, since he’s always looking after me as his roommate and all.
	But it’s not going very well… All I’ve managed to bake are a bunch of failures like these.
Izumi	(Yeah, those cookies Sakuya-kun is holding are pretty much burnt to a crisp…)
Sakuya	What do I do? I don’t know if I’ll have any cookies to give to Citron-san if things keep going like this…
Izumi	Hey, Sakuya-kun. Would you like me to help?
Sakuya	Huh? But I can’t let you do that…!
Izumi	Oh, don’t be like that. To be honest, I’d be happier if you weren’t so reluctant to ask for my help.
Sakuya	Director… are you sure?
Izumi	Of course!
Sakuya	…Thank you so much! In that case, I’d love your help!
Izumi	Great! Well then, let’s start making them right away…
Sakuya	Ah, um! One other thing!
Izumi	…? What is it?
Sakuya	Even though they are cookies, I specifically wanna make the kind of cookies they have in Citron-san’s country.
	The other day, when we were eating some cookies together, he said that ‘Japan’s cookies taste different from the cookies in my country.’
Izumi	Ooh, I see. Did he mention how so?
Sakuya	He said they’re not as sweet as Japanese ones and that they’re softer and squishier.
Izumi	A-And you’re sure those are cookies…?
Sakuya	Yeah! That’s what he said!
Izumi	(I really can’t even envision what they’re supposed to be like… But for Sakuya-kun’s sake, I’ll do my best to figure it out!)
	Okay, for the measurements, why don’t we try adding some salt and a bit more milk?
Sakuya	Got it!

Izumi	Alright, looks like they should be done. Let’s hurry up and take them out.
	Here we go.
Sakuya	Whoa! They look really good…! They almost seem like little loaves of bread!
Izumi	…Well, they did sort of end up being that. Should we go ahead and taste them?
Sakuya	Sure!
	…They’re really tasty! These are definitely softer and not as sweet as regular cookies!
Izumi	Hmm… I wonder if these are really what cookies from Citron-kun’s country are like…
Sakuya	I’m sure they’re just fine! Ehehe, I can’t wait to give these cookies to Citron-san!
Izumi	(Valentine’s Day is finally here… I hope he’ll be happy with those little loaves of bread we were calling cookies.)
Sakuya	Um, Citron-san!
Citron	What is it, Sakuya?
Sakuya	The director and I made some cookies for you, Citron-san! We’d really love for you to try them!
Citron	You and the director made them for me…? I am veeery happy! Of course, I will try them!
Sakuya	…! Thank you so much!
Izumi	Nice job, Sakuya-kun!
Sakuya	Yeah! It’s all thanks to your help, Director!
Citron	Ohh, are these a little different than usual? I will take a bite and see!
	Awmph…
Sakuya	H-How are they?
Citron	Mhm, this is some very yummy bread!
Sakuya	T-They’re cookies, not bread…!
Izumi	So they weren’t right after all… I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you, Sakuya-kun.
Sakuya	No, it’s okay. As long as Citron-san is happy, that’s enough for me.
Yuzo	Hey. Is Isuke here?
Manager	Ahh, welcome, Yuzo-san! I’ve prepared your favorite just for today~.
Yuzo	Oh, soft rice crackers! Ya shouldn’t have.
Citron	Saw trice crackers…? How do they saw the crackers trice?
Izumi	‘Soft rice,’ not ‘saw trice.’
Yuzo	Never had these before, Citron? They’re pretty damn good. Here, try a piece.
Citron	Thank you! Awmph…
Yuzo	Well?
Citron	…! These are the cookies from my homeland!
Sakuya	Huh!?
Citron	Yuzo, you must be Zahran!
Yuzo	Hah? The hell’s that supposed to mean?
Sakuya	Citron-san…
Izumi	Those aren’t cookies at all!!

Juju