Aug 31, 2024
Author's Commentary #180:
Time to talk about Chapter 180: Cooking up trouble.
To clarify from the get-go for those who don't know, Rika is actually a former assassin, hailing from a branch of one of the most infamous assassin families in the world. As such, she has the ability to tell when someone's killed, as well as how much they've killed. So when she saw Iori, she took no chances. And thus, this will begin the hostilities between Rika and Iori. Now let's talk about the characters that showed up in this chapter.
稜之 シナモン (Ryono Cinnamon) is how Cinnamon's name is spelled in Japanese.
Her birthday is February 5th, which she also shares with her twin sister, who briefly appeared in this chapter. The date was chosen at random, so there's no greater significance behind why this date is their birthday.
She doesn't play chess yet, though like her mother and older brother, the knight is most likely her favorite piece, due to it reminding her of the horses on the merry-go-round she like to ride at the mall.
稜之 佑海 (Ryono Yumi) is how Yumi's name is spelled in kanji. 佑海 means "protect" and "gathering place". It's also a pun on "Yummy".
Her birthday is September 23rd, which is also the day the first chapter of Spice of life was published. In fact, it's the EXACT date to the year as well.
She doesn't play chess yet, but her favorite piece would likely be the king.
白姫 紅姫 (Shirohime Benihime) is how her name is spelled in kanji. Her first name, 紅姫, means "crimson" and "noblewoman" while 白姫 means "white" and "princess". A large inspiration for her character was Constance von Nuvelle from Fire Emblem Three houses.
Her birthday is June 21st, which is national wagyu day. This is fitting since wagyu is her favorite meal.
She doesn't play chess, though is about to and as such, her favorite piece will quickly become the queen.
撫養 里瀬 (Muya Rize) is how Rize's name is written in kanji. 里瀬 means "hometown" and "rapids", while 撫養 means "comfort" and "nurture".
(If I made any mistakes with the translations, feel free to correct me).
Her birthday is August 2nd, which she shares with Asahi Saiba from Shokugeki no Soma. Ironically, she's more heavily inspired by Rindo Kobayashi from the same series.
It's a mystery whether she's played chess or not, but her favorite piece would likely be the queen.
This Side Story will be longer compared to the first one, but that also means there will be more games showcased. First up is Iori's grudge match against Rika. Obviously, this was a one-sided slaughter as Rika has never played chess before. Though in terms of assassin skills, Rika outclasses Iori despite being 9 years older than her. The next game will pit Iori against one of Rika's daughters though.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
![Spice of life [Remake] cover](https://honeyfeed-novel-images.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/novel_image/file/14558/cover_thumb_e0f19edc-753a-4f65-bd0e-b68dc349af99.jpg)
