Now serving Kanata's handmade traditional Japanese sweets! Eat up, ladies!

Oh, how lovely!

These are amazing! Great use of color. The red-to-white gradient is so smooth.

And they're put together so delicately. I could never make folds that intricate by hand.

Heh heh. I'm a lot more dexterous than I look!

They're not just for show, they're tasty too! Go ahead and dig in, you two!

All right. If you insist!

Let's eat!

*Chomp*

Mmm, it's nice and sweet. So with these traditional Japanese sweets, the black paste inside is the star of the show, right?

Very observant, Mia! You know your stuff.

The gyuhi mochi wraps shouldn't be overlooked either, though.

I suppose you could say you need a strong supporting cast for the star to shine. Both parts bring out the best in one another.

Right on the money! And now it's time for a new star to join the cast. Help yourselves to some matcha. The hint of bitterness pairs perfectly with the sweets!

*Gasp* It's delicious. My whole mouth feels refreshed.

The sweetness and bitterness makes for an interesting combination.

I know, right? And now that you've had a taste, it's time for our main topic at hand.

How can I make my traditional sweets more uniquely autumn?

Your assignment from the life design course wants you to express autumn through Japanese confections, right?

Yup. I've already tried a bunch of different things, but I want to fine-tune it even further. I'd love to get your opinions.

Maybe you're thinking too much into this. I'd say they're good enough already.

No, they're still not good enough for me. I want everyone who eats these to really feel the spirit of autumn. I'm very particular about this kind of thing.

I've tried all sorts of different colors, wraps, fillings… But I still feel like something's missing.

So you want to try and figure out what that is?

Please, tell me anything that comes to mind, no matter how small it is!

Hmm. This is tough.

Oh, I know. What do you think of this?

Did you think of something, Shizuku?

What is it? Tell me, tell me!

Autumn isn't something we carry inside us. It's external.

So why don't we go out and discover autumn together?