ようこそです

…Peeled it, nya.

Waaah~♪ Thanks Miko-chan (≧∇≦)

Itadaki-maaaaas~

crunch crunch——

…

Hey Miko-chan, something’s… kinda itchy inside my mouth?

…Where exactly, nya.

Uhh, back of my tongue, roof of my mouth… and the inside of my lips too.

…The apple looks fine, nya. Nothing wrong with it, nya.

Is something wrong with me then? Like, some kinda reaction?

…Is that an apple?

Wanna eat some, Luna-chan?

…I don’t eat them-dess.

Oh, you don’t like them?

…My mouth gets itchy-dess.

——

Luna-chan too!?

…For years now.

Years? What’s that suddenly about?

…Not suddenly-dess. It’s the shirakaba pollen-dess.

…Shirakaba? The tree?

…You didn’t know?

I thought Hokkaido didn’t have hay fever! The sugi stuff is always Honshu news, y’know?

…Sugi is rare in Hokkaido, nya.

Yeah, exactly, right?

…There’s just a replacement, nya.

…A replacement.

…Shirakaba-dess. From late April through June, it just keeps flying-dess.

…That’s NOW.

Okay hang on, lemme look this up.

Hokkaido Institute of Public Health… 2019 sugi hay fever prevalence — national average 38.8%, Hokkaido 5.6%.

That’s literally one-seventh of Honshu!

…Nya.

And for shirakaba hay fever — oral allergy syndrome, OAS — co-occurrence rate 40 to 50%.

Sugi is only 7 to 17%. Shirakaba is WAY more likely to make your mouth itchy.

…Nyaruhodo, dess.

…Luna-chan, stop copying Miko, nya.

…Sorry-dess.

The protein in shirakaba pollen is called Bet v 1 — and it has a really similar shape to proteins in apples, peaches, cherries, celery, carrots… basically a bunch of rose-family fruits.

The immune system goes “that’s pollen!” and reacts by mistake. That’s why your mouth gets itchy.

…The apple isn’t at fault, nya. It just happens to look like pollen, nya.

…So that means Netsuki might…

…ようこそ.

EHHHHH!? Luna-chan’s been giving me the senpai face this WHOLE time!?

…Senpai by several years-dess.

Hey, why does Hokkaido have so little sugi anyway?

…Cold, nya.

That’s it?

…After the war, Honshu planted sugi and hinoki. Hokkaido planted todo-fir and larix, nya.

…Sugi doesn’t grow well in the cold, so they picked different trees, nya. That’s all, nya.

So shirakaba wasn’t planted on purpose?

…Always grew here natively, nya. They even use it as a street tree in Hokkaido, nya.

…So trees that were already here are the ones making me itch, huh.

…Native-dess.

Is it true that people who move from Honshu to escape sugi just find shirakaba waiting for them here?

…Not everyone reacts, nya. But there’s a real probability of developing sensitivity to new pollen, nya.

…There’s just nowhere to escape, huh.

…The trees that were always there were always there, nya. Trees don’t wait for transplants, nya.

So Netsuki can’t eat apples anymore? But they’re so good and crunchy…

…Heat them and you can, nya.

Huh?

…The protein that causes OAS breaks down in heat, nya. Once its shape collapses, the immune system stops making the mistake, nya.

So baked apple is okay?

…Fine, nya. Jam, compote, apple pie — all fine, nya.

…I eat apple pie too-dess.

Luna-chan’s been running a whole permit system! (ﾟ∀ﾟ)

…I’m not the one giving out permits-dess.

…I’ll bake the apple we have, nya. Cinnamon, a little sugar, butter, nya.

Waaah~ YES! Miko-chan I love you SO much♪

…This was already going to be the snack anyway, nya.

…Hey, Luna-chan.

…Yes?

Do you remember the first time your mouth got itchy?

…I remember-dess.

…Cherries-dess. A gift from Yamagata.

Yamagata! Those are expensive~

…I noticed on the very first one, and couldn’t eat any more-dess.

…What a waste.

…They made it into compote for me-dess.

Huh——

…So I guess I’m stepping down from the raw-fruit world a little, and stepping up into the cooked-and-baked world.

…The world didn’t change-dess.

…If you cook it through, an apple stays an apple-dess.

…Luna-chan, you’re really cool today.

…Senpai-dess.

…Done, nya.

Waaah~, smells amazing♪ All golden (≧∇≦)

Itadaki-maaaaas~

nom——

…

…Any itching, nya?

Not at all! Sweet and all melty~, soft and squishy where it used to be crunchy. And the butter-and-cinnamon smell♪

…It’s a different food. Even though it’s made from the same apple.

…A different food-dess.

…Should we close the window?

…Closing it, nya.

From today through June, it’s shirakaba season.

…You’re home-dess.

Netsuki hasn’t come home to ANYTHING yet!?

…To the family-dess.