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odorekijin[Western Country—Rural Town]
Akira: Thank you for checking out the harvest festival with me, Oz.
Oz: …You need not thank me.
Akira: The festive spirit has spread throughout town, and that excitement seems to have reached the townsfo-...Hm?
Wait, that person over at that corner stall, chatting away with the vendor, that’s...
Bradley: Hey, Sage… Ah damn, Oz there too?
Oz: …
With a wine glass in hand, Bradley’s expression turned sour the instant he caught sight of Oz.
Akira: Oz and I were exploring the festival just now, and you just so happened to be around the corner…
That being said, is this stand some kind of wine shop?
Bradley: You curious?
Bradley tilted his chin, sneering back at me with a tease spread across his lips.
Bradley: Wine’s wine, but they run stuff different ‘round here: in this stall, ‘n this stall only, you can get yer hands on a bottle for yer future self.
Akira: “For the future me”...?
Bradley: Look over ‘ere.
Bradley directed my attention back to the stall: inside, a variety of grapes were lined up.
Akira: Wow! That’s quite the stock they’ve got there.
Bradley: The owner’s real picky with his fruit. The customers come in to pick the variety they want from that selection, ‘n order wine made from those same grapes.
Wine-makin’ needs time ‘n these bad boys need some to mature too, ay? This whole biz lets you pick up yer wine any time during one of the harvest festivals, as long as it’s within the decade after yer order.
Akira: I see, so you can’t consume it right away… That’s why you called it a “wine for your future self,” I understand.
Bradley: Hey, Oz, you like yer booze and good shmooze, don’tcha? How’bout you get yerself one of their bottles?
Oz: …What are you scheming?
Bradley: Oh c’mon, stop bein’ so suspicious ‘bout every little thing for a hot sec’, ‘kay? I ain’t plottin’ nothing ‘ere, just askin’ a simple question.
Bradley had barely finished his sentence when he exchanged a brief look with the stall’s owner, a silent request to bring him an empty bottle.
Akira: Huh, this bottle… It has a brand-new label on it.
Bradley: Yup, yer s’posed to sign it yerself there. See? Like so.
(Writing)
Bradley: This one’s gonna be the bottle that’ll be filled with my order. The whole trick’s that the customer keeps the bottle ‘n shows it to the future owner as proof of the past order.
Akira: So basically… The bottle in itself serves as a reservation receipt.
Oz: How could you, a prisoner, come to retrieve your due?
Bradley: Mind yo’ business, I'll sneeze my way out ‘n do whatever it takes to come ‘n fetch it.
After signing the label, Bradley set the bottle on the nearby counter.
Bradley: By the time that wine has matured ‘n is ready to be popped, the Central prince ‘n the other shortstuff outta be old enough to enjoy booze, ay?
You should buy ‘em the good stuff for you bunch to drink together.
Oz: …Who I drink with is none of your business.
[Western Country—Rural Town]
Keeping an eye on Bradley and Oz’s back and forth, the owner brought us two glasses of wine and some grapes.
Stallkeeper: Thank you for waiting, here is some wine made from Ruby Dot. Enjoy!
Bradley: Yo, here they are—those are top-tier picks we’ve got ‘ere, y’know?
Bradley's tone abruptly turned enthusiastic; even passersby, one by one, stopped at the sound of his excitement.
Akira: These grapes are so little, yet their skin looks pretty thick, a bit like… Like blueberries.
Bradley: The Ruby Dot kind tends to be kinda small, yeah, but they’re packed with flavour. The owner recommended that variety specifically, though they’re rare to come around.
The chap even told me that he only had two glasses left from a five years old cuvée.
Oz: …
Bradley: Why are you starin’ at me? There’s only one thing yer s’posed to do when some good booze is served to ya, catch my drift?
Oz paused, considering Bradley’s words for a moment: elegantly holding the glass between his fingers, he carefully brought the cup close to his nose.
Oz: …It has quite a rich aroma, yet the hints of fruit add a tinge of freshness to it.
Akira: Those grapes also smell great, and as for their taste…
…Erk, they’re super tart!!
Bradley: Hahaha! Look atcha with yer face all scrunched up. Eat ‘em raw like that and it’s a mouthful of their fatal acidity you’ll get.
Akira: (Y-you could have told me that before though…!)
Oz: Here, I have removed the alcohol from this glass. It’s safe to drink.
Akira: Oz…! Thank you very much!
Without skipping a beat, I gulped down the wine to cleanse my palate.
Akira: (Ah, wait, but that wine is also made with those super-acidic grapes. Then this is also…)
It’s… Wait, that’s not sour at all! I mean, there’s some acidity to it, but it’s so smooth in mouth… Just how can these grapes do that?
Bradley: Haha, they’re really one-of-a-kind, ain’t they? Kinda like they’ve got magic goin’ on in there.
Their thick skin, seeds, and acidity make ‘em impossible to eat as is. But if ya put in the time ‘n effort, they’ll show their true colours and develop their flavours.
Wizard or human, miracles that feel like literal magic spells can happen in winemakin’.
Akira: And such a miracle could only happen over the course of five years...
Bradley: Yup, a wine’s bouquet and taste depends entirely on the quality of the grapes and how much they get t’ mature.
In this biz though, you hafta assess every single one of the varieties yerself—basically, you gotta be yer own specialist.
But when the timing and the grapes you’ve picked work out just right to make that miracle happen? That ain’t a feelin’ you can taste just by buyin’ some off-the-shelf wine.
Akira: It’s a miracle that only your future self will be able to taste, right? That’s almost like a bet then; that sounds exciting.
Bradley: Heh, see? You get it.
[Western Country—Rural Town]
Oz: ...
The last of his drink emptied, Oz headed over to the owner. A broad smile spread across Bradley’s face as he watched Oz signing a bottle.
Bradley: That’s one of ‘em in the bag...
Akira: Huh...?
Bradley then turned around, looking straight at the mass that had somehow crowded around us. Rousing the audience as his only goal, he pointed at the storefront with his chin and declared:
Bradley: Listen up, you bunch! If you wanna know what that wine smells like, y’all better get in line.
The grapes are hella limited: it’s gonna be first come, first served.
Female passerby: Um, me, I want to order!
Male passerby: Me too! I want the same stuff you guys were drinking just now!
Dodging the customers rushing into the stall with ease, Bradley boastfully snuffed:
Bradley: Heh, guess I won my bet.
Akira: …? A bet? What do you...
Bradley: I made a bet with the stall’s boss, see if I could bring in ten customers to fill his empty biz.
If I lost, I’d buy ‘im a bottle of his wine, but if it’s my win, then yo man gets his wine for free.
Yer loud reactions really sold the deal though, y’know.
Akira: Wait, that means you got me involved in your scheme too!? That’s… pretty embarrassing…
Bradley: Oh, c’mon, dun’ mope around like that.
Hey, look, I’ll letcha sign the one and only, my very own bottle in return. Take it as a special lil’ treat.
Akira: …! Really? Are you sure?
Bradley: Gotta reward a subordinate that’s done a good job, dun’ I?
Akira: Ahaha, thanks a lot, boss. Well then, don’t mind if I do!
(Writing)
Akira: …
Bradley: Whatcha smilin’ for?
Akira: Ah, was I?
I’ve got no other way to put it, really: being able to do this makes me really happy. I was thinking, you know, how even if I no longer am in this world once that wine has matured…
How, well, that bottle would still exist—it’d be a sort of proof that I was there, at some point.
I returned the bottle to Bradley, now labelled with both of our names. He rose an inquisitive eyebrow at me:
Bradley: …How… “Akira”? That’s how yer s’posed ta read that, ay?
Akira: Yes, that’s how we write my name back in my world.
Bradley: Hm…
Bradley gazed at the bottle for a moment before holding it high up to the sky.
Bradley: Then this bad boy of a bottle is hella precious, a league of its own, even.
Akira: …!
Bradley: Who knows what the future will have in stock fer us before that wine gets to fully mature.
But if yer still by my side when we pick it up, then—and only then—I’ll letcha pour some of that wine fer me.
A contemptuous smile crept onto Bradley's features once more. He then ruffled my hair, casual and messy, with the same familiarity that he always will have.
The Correlation Between Flavours and Feelings
[Bradley’s Room]
Akira: Your room is always so cool to me, with all these different guns and alcohols you’ve got on display.
The things on your shelves over there are especially stunning... Oh! That’s our bottle from the other day!
Bradley: Yup, spot on. You should be honoured, the great Bradley decided to add it to his personal collection.
Akira: Ahaha, and I am. Oh, by the way, I know you’ve got all sorts of different alcohol in your possession, but do you have a kind of wine that you like in particular?
Bradley: I've lived fer so long, man, we’d be here all day. Like, there’s this one called “White Horn,” made with unicorn horns...
Akira: A unicorn! Sounds like this one wouldn’t sell for cheap.
Bradley: I also used ta have a glass of this one hella nice wine back then, I’d even pair it with somethin’ kinda like meat pie, but…
Damn, can’t put my finger on its name… Well, anyway, guess the grub ‘n the ambiance ‘round it back then made it taste better to me.
Akira: Hmm, right, your experience would obviously change depending on when and who you’d be drinking with...
What makes good alcohol is not determined purely by its flavours, is it?
Bradley: Bingo. The booze I down after Oz zaps the lights outta me, ‘n the one when the twinsies geezers kick my ass sure tastes different, though they come from the same bottle.
Akira: U-uh, I mean I get the idea, but you could have taken a less radical example, you know…!?
Bradley: No matter the amount of glass shared ‘n sipped dry, you’ll always get ta find new flavours in yer cup—that's why I’ll never get sick of drinkin’.
Hmm, I wonder when I’ll get to drink the wine sealed in that bottle though...
Akira: (...I hope that, when he does get to uncork it, that wine will become one of Bradley's favourites.)
Honoured much? I, the Bradley, will keep you in his memories.”
