Dagashi Kashi 17

141:

第
17th Sweet: Kozakura Mochi
[Translation note: "kozakura mochi" means "cherry mochi".]

==========

142:

…
...

ん
Hmm...?

Ｆ
From: Endou Tou-kun
Subject: Did you know?

「
"Do you remember that pink one? What's it called again? It's pink and square... Erm...

…
...

ま
Anyway, that one! Erm... How many of them was there again? Well, I don't remember, but there's fewer of them now! The number per pack decreased! That's what they're talking about on the Internets right now!"

恐
This sentence is so unintelligible, it's scary...!

イ
"The Internets"...?

何
I have no idea what he's trying to tell me...

ピ
Some pink stuff... But what?! Fewer...? Square...? Pink and square...

わ
Oh! I get it! I get it now!

ピ
He can only mean one thing by "pink and square"!

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143:

「
"Kozakura Mochi"!

[on the kozakura mochi]

こ
Kozakura Mochi

[end of kozakura mochi]

そ
Yeah, that must be what he was talking about, saying there's few-

減
There's fewer of them!!!!

…
...

減
There /is/ fewer of them... Right...?

今
There are 1, 2, 3... 10 of them, and...

ト
*tap*

ト
*tap*

…
How many of them were there before...?

こ
If we fill the lines where there are only two of them, it's 3 columns x 4 lines, so 12 of them...?

い
No, wasn't it more than that...?

あ
Huh?! Wait! I'm getting confused now!

悩
It seems you're troubled, Kokonotsu-kun.

は
Ah! That voice...!

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144:

ほ
Hotaru-sa-

か
Did you just strike a cool pose while entering?!

８
August

こ
It seems the Kozakura Mochi are giving you troubles...

ま
Oh, could it be that you know the answer, Hotaru-san?!

お
It's troubling me a lot!

ふ
Hmph!

モ
Of course I do...

な
If you want, I can also tell you about a dagashi that looks exactly like Kozakura Mochi.
[Translation note: she's referring to Sakuranbo Mochi, which indeed looks very much like Kozakura Mochi.]

そ
Thanks, maybe some other time.

あ
It looks so much like Kozakura Mochi that I even bought the wrong one on a mail order site once.

へ
Wow... Hey, I told you some other time!!

そ
Originally, there were

昔
/18 of them/ in each blister pack.

==========

145:

１
18?!

小
Hotaru in grade school.

ん
Hmm.

い
So many!

３
There were 3 columns and 6 lines, hence 18 of them.

そ
After some time, they got rid of a line, so that number went down to 15.

中
Hotaru in middle school.

店
Mister, isn't there fewer of them...?

あ
Huh? What?

こ
The number of Kozakura Mochi!

こ
The member what?

こ
The Kozakura Mochi!!

そ
And then, another line disappeared, bringing that number down to 12. It's the form we're most familiar with.

最
Not long ago.

や
Wait, they /are/ fewer of them, right?!

婆
Granny, is the meal ready yet...?

ね
Hey, listen to me!

そ
And now, for some reason, they look like this...

１
The era of the 10!

３
Since they'd been decreasing in threes, I was positive the next step would be to have square blister packs with 9 of them...

こ
Like that.

で
But yeah... Now that I take a look at it again, it really feels like there's not as many as before.

な
I think it's a bit sad.

と
I don't think so.

私
I'd even say I feel the exact opposite.

え
Huh...? You really don't feel the same?
I didn't expect that.

確
That's right... There may be fewer of them, but...

==========

146:

満
does eating them provide less satisfaction now than before? I wonder.

満
Satisfaction?

そ
That's right!
For example...

食
If we use the toothpick inside the box to eat them like this...

プ
*twup*

さ
and this...

プ
*twup*

そ
Th-

プ
*twup*

プ
*twup*

プ
*twup*

そ
That's...!!

一
That's the luxurious-looking way of eating them, where you skewer them and eat them all together!!

==========

147:

も
*nom* *nom*

な
That's true... Since you usually eat them all at once, it doesn't really matter how many of them there is...

そ
And that isn't all!!

こ
This dagashi also comes in five other flavors...
/The Five Heavenly Kings of Mochi!!/ (Or so I call them.)

気
His strength changes depending on his mood. /Mix/-kun.

主
Could be the protagonist, but doesn't stand out as much as Kozakura Mochi. /Cola/.

…
...

ク
A cool, mysterious character. Is he friend or foe? /Fruit Soda/.

イ
An honest boy from the countryside who thinks "Fruit Soda is bluer than me". /Green Apple/-kun.
[Translation note: in Japanese, "aoi" means both "blue" (the color of the Fruit Soda Mochi) and "green" (as in "green apple").]

５
The only girl of the group. She's worried because she's the same color as Kozakura Mochi. /Strawberry/-chan.

５
"Five Heavenly Kings"?! It's so awkward!!
[Translation note: there is supposed to be only four heavenly kings: Bishamon-ten, Zōchō-ten, Jikoku-ten, and Kōmoku-ten.]

い
Let's go!

ぎ
Aaaaaargh!!

==========

148:

ふ
Hu hu...

む
*nom* *nom* *nom*

な
The vision I just saw sure was quite dreadful...

で
But...

そ
I see now...

そ
The fact that we all share these sensations and memories is also one of the true charms of dagashi.

こ
Like, "Hey, I used to eat them like that too!"

ふ
Hu hu, that's right.

そ
And the ones thanks to whom children can create such memories are the dagashi shop owners...
Such a wonderful job...

確
I totally agree with that.

そ
And you will perpetuate this cycle and protect this culture with your shop too, Kokonotsu-kun...

ア
I'm so happy... that someone like you decided to take over the shop.

…
...

い
No, I'm not taking it over...

…
...

ち
Tsk!

雰
Hotaru failed to twist his arm with the mood.