Mint Chocolate Contract
Mint chocolate. A fusion of peppermint's cool aroma and rich chocolate. A masterpiece of the century that this era has never seen before. In the modern world, the term is most commonly associated with ice cream. Mint chocolate had once earned gold at an old British dessert contest, proving its deep-rooted credentials as a dessert pairing that people had genuinely accepted. Yet, as everyone knows, its distinctive sharp peppermint note splits opinions dramatically. Of course, I was firmly in the "dislike" camp because of that toothpaste-like flavor. It wasn't completely inedible, but every time I ate it, the image of toothpaste and its scent inevitably came to mind.
“Ah, so you know it as mint chocolate, young lady?”
“Pardon? Mint chocolate?”
Yet here I was, about to voluntarily make the very thing I hated. “…I have never heard of it. You mean eating mint together with chocolate?”
“You truly do not know? Even though you love mint so much…?”
“No. This is the first I have heard of it. But how intriguing! The harmony of mint and chocolate—!”
Sofia’s eyes sparkled like a sage who had just uncovered the mysteries of the world, and she let out a delighted cry. Was this how Archimedes looked when he shouted “Eureka!”? Something about this felt terribly wrong. Did mint chocolate not exist in this world? I had not realized how pure this land truly was. And now, because of my quick improvisation, I was on the verge of corrupting that purity with mint chocolate.
“Ah…! It is an unfamiliar combination, so perhaps it really will not do! I should think of something else instead…”
“Slurp—! N-no! Just imagining it makes my mouth water—! Please make a dessert that combines mint and chocolate! Exactly as you first described…!”
The image of a noble saint, Sofia was now swallowing her own drool and licking her lips. The saint had been tainted by a wicked heretic. And by mint chocolate she had not even tasted yet. If she actually tried it, I could already picture her praising mint chocolate in place of her ancestors. Since she was already fixated on it, there was no steering her toward another dessert. It seemed I had no choice but to commit this terrible act with my own hands. My mouth had run away with itself while trying to dodge the crisis…
—Grab!
“Ah, young lady?”
While I was scolding myself, a warm sensation spread through my hand. Sofia had suddenly seized it tightly. Her radiant golden eyes shimmered with anticipation. It was the gaze of a saint welcoming a god.
“To think you would ponder so deeply for my sake…! I, Sofia, the Light’s Guide, am truly moved by you.”
—Ding!
A new target wishes to form a bond with you.
To bond with this target, certain conditions must be met.
Success will grant special rewards along with the bond.
Refusal or failure may cause the target to harbor lifelong hatred toward you.
Do you accept this conditional bond?
‘Conditional bond…?’
Another notification window that appeared whenever I least expected it. She must have been genuinely moved. That meant she was serious about mint chocolate. Yet something felt off. With Derke, simply holding hands had been enough to complete the bond, but Sofia’s message explicitly mentioned “conditions.” Was it because she was SSR rank? As expected, an SSR-grade heroine was this troublesome. Obtaining an SSR rank was just as difficult here as it had been in the game. Accept. I no longer had any other choice. Refusing would earn me her hatred. And not just any hatred—from an SSR-grade dragon. That could only mean death. No matter how much I disliked mint chocolate, it could not be worse than dying. ‘By the way, if I die, will Derke collect my soul…?’
◆ Target: Sofia (Lv.660 / Light) — Neutral Relationship
◆ Bond Success Condition: Fully satisfy the fastidious Sofia’s palate.
◆ Time Limit: Five days from now, until midnight
Once I accepted, a quest-like window appeared. Moreover, even though we were not yet bonded, I could now see Sofia’s basic information. Six hundred and sixty years old. That matched the average age of fourth-year students. And a Light-attribute dragon… Now I understood why she was called the Dragon of Dawn. ‘Still, can I really prepare a dessert within five days?’
The condition itself was simple. Satisfy her with mint chocolate and it would be over. Sofia’s palate might be picky, but once she tasted the new world of mint chocolate, failure was impossible. The only concern was the five-day deadline. “Sofia, I will definitely create a dessert that perfectly suits your taste. With mint chocolate.”
“Haa… From today onward, I see humans in a new light. This is the first time I have met a human with such brilliant wisdom.”
“You flatter me.”
“Very well. Breeder, I shall look forward to it. It will take time to prepare, so… I hope I can taste it within five days.”
Sofia firmly set the five-day limit. For a dragon, she was surprisingly patient. But for me, every moment counted. “Understood. I will not disappoint you.”
“You had better not. Well then, it is getting late…”
—Slide…
Sofia released my hand with a satisfied smile. Since our conversation was over, she was clearly asking me to leave. But I could not end things here. Ironically, fulfilling this condition required Sofia’s help.
“Um, young lady? Given my humble status, there is a limit to what I can do… Would it be all right if I asked for one small favor?”
—Squeeze!
I grabbed Sofia’s hand again and dropped to one knee, showing proper respect to a noble lady of higher standing. This much was necessary to preserve a dragon’s proud pride. “Ah?! What favor could you possibly have for me…?”
When I refused to let go and knelt, Sofia asked in surprise, her face looking as though she had just received a proposal. “How could a mere human like me dare to ask this…”
“W-what is it? Let go of my hand first and then speak. It is no discourtesy at all…”
Still, it was good that I had made such a fuss and knelt. Look at her now—completely flustered because I had shown her proper respect. Her cheeks were even tinged with a faint blush. If I had simply asked without ceremony, she might have blasted me with breath for daring to be insolent as a human. “You already have plenty of the mint leaves you like, but as a servant I cannot place an order for high-grade ingredients like chocolate through the supply department. So…”
“Ah, I understand. You want me to obtain the chocolate for you?”
“Yes, exactly.”
As expected of an SSR rank, she caught on quickly. She was not student council president for nothing. If I could get the chocolate, I could handle the rest myself. “Very well. I shall try to procure the chocolate.”
Sofia answered solemnly, like a saint who had received a divine revelation from the Mint God. “Th-thank you!”
“In return, you must satisfy me properly. Creating an inferior result with ingredients I personally obtained would be the same as tarnishing my pride…”
That pride of hers again. What was pride worth? What about my own pride, forced to make mint chocolate? “O-of course! Please do not worry.”
I gave a confident reply that was the complete opposite of my true feelings and left her room. It was almost bedtime now. Honestly, I had no confidence. A dessert using mint chocolate…? I had no idea what to even make. The current kitchen equipment made ice cream impossible. And because I personally disliked mint chocolate, I worried whether I could properly bring out the ingredients’ natural flavors. Still, I could not disappoint a dragon. The stage was already set; I had to succeed. Forget conquering an SSR rank—if I wanted to survive, I had no choice.
“Roll call complete. It is lights-out. Have a good night.”
Once I stepped into the hallway, I announced the end of roll call on each floor in a weary voice. At my words, dragons from every year retreated to their rooms.
—Click!
I also entered the night-duty room to rest. I needed rest. Sweet sleep. The moment I stepped inside, I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the bed. But…
“Hey, Breeder. Finished roll call properly?”
“H-huh…?!”
A massive lion was sitting on my bed with its back against the headboard. A white-maned lion that spoke human language. The creature even had its arms crossed like a person, and its rough boots were still on as it bounced one leg restlessly on the bed. “Kahaha! You really get startled over nothing. In the wild, that kind of carelessness would have gotten you killed already.”
“B-Berman, sir? What brings you here…?”
The one who had climbed onto the bed with shoes on was none other than Berman, the lion beastman. I never imagined a beastman would be so steeped in chair-sitting culture. He was the chief of the academy’s security department. Most of the security staff were predatory beastmen who focused on maintaining order within the academy. Protecting dragons was contradictory in itself, so the security department was mostly assigned to night patrols and odd jobs—like the time they had dragged in Yugo, the wolf beastman who had been on duty last time. “You know Yugo got hurt yesterday, right?”
“Yes. How is he doing?”
“Minor fracture on the back of the neck. Fortunately, it is not serious.”
“Whew, that is a relief in many ways.”
It would have been better if it had broken completely. How dare he try to dump stable duty on me? “But even with our beastmen’s excellent recovery, it will probably take him two days to heal.”
“I see. But you did not come all the way here just to tell me that, did you?”
I asked, suddenly sensing something ominous. This did not feel good. “Kahaha! You have sharp instincts for a human. You know we are short on hands, right?”
“Ah… Surely not?”
“They say your influence was not entirely absent from Yugo’s injury. It is unfortunate, but while Yugo recovers, you will have to take over the dormitory night shifts.”
Damn it…? Then when was I supposed to sleep??? The moment vacation ended, every single day felt endlessly long. Just like the clock hands at the Ministry of National Defense.