Chapter 5: Investigation Concluded
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「We hereby commence Round 3.5 of the Miss Chocolat Cookie Tasting!」
The shabby looking karate club members are making a circle around the cookies.
I moved the piled cookie bags one by one before they gathered here. I don’t want any part in this.
「Commander, isn’t it supposed to be Round 3? What’s the 0.5 for?」
「I ate them myself.」
This is the first time I’m here. I knew the cookies were being sent in large quantities, but I have been keeping my distance from them.
Ignoring requests for a cookie tasting retrial, Arioka-senpai sends another persistent mail.
「If you continue being unresponsive to our requests at your discretion, we shall wrap your textbooks in HQ with dozens of karate robes after practice, as punishment for the obstruction of the Deputy Commander’s duties.」
Furthermore, things don’t look good from these mails.
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I don’t really care either way about your duties, but I can’t take any more.
Karate robes are damp with sweat after practice, and they smell horrible.
I won’t be able to stand it if they wrap my textbooks with those.
They’ll rot.
College textbooks are expensive. Overpriced.
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Being put at a disadvantage, I have no choice but to head to the clubroom.
「Ah, this is good!」
「Whoa! It’s bitter. I ate it thinking it was cocoa. Hey, Deputy Commander Noda, you can have this.」
I join the crowd of cookie tasting members. The cookies that obviously look bad or undercooked have been left untouched.
The karate club members have strong stomachs, so they don’t really have an excuse to do that.
「No thanks.」
「Why not! The burns, the poor shape, the weird-looking wrappings, and the guts to offer them as snacks. Obviously your soulmate made these.」
The club member continues pushing the burnt cookies onto me. I send him flying with a kick.
As he fell near the cookies, other club members punished him by feeding him the nasty looking cookies.
That felt great.
「Arioka-senpai, aren’t you going to eat?」
「Refer to me as Commander. Actually…… I’m tired of the cookies.」
「That’s because you ate them by yourself.」
I move on to the next batch of cookies while rinsing my mouth with bottled green tea.
Having a sensitive tongue for sweets, all the cookies here tasted bad to me.
「Everyone, which cookies were the best among these today?」
As Arioka-senpai asks while peering down at the circle, the members all point to the same cookies.
He picks up the cookies.
The cookies are crafted in the shape of a heart, and is coated with white chocolate and strawberry chocolate.
On top of it is another heart shape drawn with a chocolate pen, decorated with dragees.
These cookies come out on top in terms of cuteness.
「Oh, it’s delicious! What do you think, Noda?」
「It tastes good, but this is probably…」
「Commander! The one who delivered these cookies was Kinoshita Yui! That one!」
The club members are getting excited from reading the card.
The room gets warmer as they chat excitedly.
「Wow! Kinoshita Yui! ………Who was that again?」
「She won the spot for Miss K last year!」
「I’ve seen her before. She’s so glamorous~」
「Uh… no one says glamorous anymore. But it’s true that Miss Kinoshita is super cute.」
Arioka-senpai asks if they have a photo of her. A number of the club members take out their pass holders.
They all contain her photos.
「Whoa! Her cuteness is above expectations…………… Everyone! Thanks to your efforts, this matter has been resolved quickly. We have determined Miss K, Kinoshita Yui, to be the Miss Chocolat of Michel Fran?ois, a.k.a. Sweets Prince. We shall contact the prince asap.」
Everyone takes out their phones and each send a mail to Michel.
I think just one person would have been enough.
magic 「Is it really okay to decide this among ourselves when Michel isn’t here…?」
Today, the key person Michel is absent.
I tried to bring up a valid point, but no one’s listening.
「Wow! I’m glad the case has been resolved, but man, what a lucky prince!」
「Dammit! I’m jealous…!」
「I understand how you unpopular guys feel! However, this too is fate. Michel has long been waiting to meet his Miss Chocolat.」
「How could a popular guy like you understand how we feel, Arioka-senpai!」
The insulted club member begins throwing cookies resembling basalt at him.
It makes a nice crashing sound.
Arioka-senpai retaliates with granite looking cookies with burnt clumps of flour.
As I tell them not to play with food, they stop and begin throwing andesite cookies at me instead.
「Does this look like food to you, Noda?!」
「You’re popular with the girls too! Heh! How could you understand us losers!」
「Michel with the look of a prince, the wild baby face Arioka, the ambisexual jani type Noda. The three of them are too popular to be our friends.」
「Shut the hell up.」
Why do they keep saying I’m popular with the girls.
Are they still holding a grudge against me for receiving the third highest number of gifts last Valentines?
「In any case, we have determined that Miss Chocolat is in fact Kinoshita Yui-san. Pass the cookies to Michel when he arrives.」
「There’s no more cookies!」
「Just give him the empty bag.」
「You guys… oh well. Next on the to do list is uploading Michel’s confession and the results onto the internet.」
「Understood~」
Miss Chocolat’s identity, unanimously approved.
Approved without Michel having tried the cookies.
「Hey, Noda. We’re counting on you to be the intermediary for Michel and Kinoshita-san. That way she won’t keep her guard up. Better than having these guys go.」
For me to get the chance to talk to Kinoshita-san, someone has to gain access to her.
As the club members fight among themselves, they step on the scattered cookies and crush them.
This place is going to hell sooner or later.
「I can’t go along with this.」
The cookies were most likely made from refrigerated cookie sheets. She could have cut out the shapes and baked them.
Anyone could do that without a hitch. Even an elementary schooler.
I thought it was a little despicable of her, but I decide to keep it a secret.