The rich aroma of red beans mingled with the sweetness of syrup, wafting through the air.
For Tama, who rarely had enough to eat, that fragrance was a deadly poison-and a salvation she could not resist.
Yet as she looked at the exquisite treat pushed before her, despite the desperate longing in her clear, wide eyes and the way she kept swallowing uncontrollably, she suddenly shrank back as though shocked.
"No... no... I can't!"
Tama frantically waved both hands in front of her, shaking her little head like a rattle.
She bit down hard on her lower lip and forced her gaze away from the bowl of red bean soup, her voice stubborn yet almost pleading:
"Please take it away, ma'am! I... I can't pay for it! I could never afford such precious red bean soup!"
Grrrrumble!
As though protesting her stubbornness, Tama's empty little stomach chose that moment to growl.
The sound was painfully loud in the quiet teahouse. Tama flushed scarlet, wishing she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.
Watching the little girl cling so fiercely to her meager dignity and principles, Atsuru felt a complicated pang of sorrow.
She pushed the bowl of red bean soup a little closer, her smile growing gentler.
"It's all right, little one. You don't have to pay. Come on, eat it while it's hot!"
"No! I absolutely can't!"
Tama sprang to her feet, clutching the hem of her worn kimono as tears welled in her eyes.
"It's too precious! I'm sure you and Kiku haven't been eating properly either! In this town, food is more precious than life. How could I eat yours for free?"
"Oh, I told you it's all right! Why are you so stubborn, child? There's no need to be polite!"
Atsuru kept trying