Everything Begins with Mint Chocolate
All incidents originate from mint chocolate. A dessert crafted solely for Sofia. A chocolate cake overflowing with mint cream. A dessert that only Sofia could possibly digest. It had to be delivered secretly and solemnly, like an offering to a god, so that no one else would notice. If only it weren't mint chocolate, I could have shared it fairly with all the young ladies. Had that been possible, I wouldn't be facing this dilemma now. As expected, the real problem was 'mint + chocolate'. It was a realm ordinary people couldn't easily approach. A refined taste only the extraordinary could enjoy.
That's how I found myself deep in discussion with Sofia, trying to figure out when and where we could enjoy the mint chocolate in peace tomorrow, when—
Knock knock knock knock!
"……?!"
An unexpected sound came from outside. Someone was knocking on Sofia's door, and with quite a bold hand at that, as if demanding the door be opened immediately.
"I can hear you two whispering in there. Mind if I come in?"
The tone and inflection from outside matched the knock. It almost sounded like she was sneering, as if she knew everything.
Creaaak…!
The moment those words ended, the door was yanked open without permission. The owner of the room, Sofia, hadn't even given her consent, yet the intruder had opened it at her own whim. If she was going to barge in anyway, she shouldn't have bothered asking.
"D-Diora…?! What brings you here so suddenly……?"
"Kuhuhu, you two seemed to be having such an interesting conversation, so I thought I'd drop by."
The voice that entered after opening the door belonged to none other than Diora. The brown-skinned girl who had threatened me yesterday, demanding I prepare the same dessert for her as I had for Sofia. The Earth Dragon who had declared she would devour me in various ways if I didn't give her the sweets. The problem was that whether I gave her the dessert or not, I was apparently going to be eaten anyway.
She stepped inside and gave me a wink, as if she knew everything.
"Who said you could just waltz into my room whenever you please…?! Breeder and I were simply discussing dormitory matters—"
"Don't bother with such pathetic lies. Were you planning to brush it off with another story about bugs appearing again?"
"What did you just say……?"
"I never imagined that someone who serves the Primordial Dragon would lie over something as trivial as dessert."
Diora's attitude was utterly confident. She knew all the circumstances, so she easily dismissed Sofia's excuse.
"…H-How did you know about that?!!"
On the other hand, Sofia, who had known nothing, couldn't help but be flustered. She covered her own mouth and lowered her voice.
Thud!
Swish swish…!
The impact must have been so shocking that I thought Sofia had collapsed on the spot. After all, I had heard something hit the floor.
"Huh? Lady Sofia……?"
But Sofia was still standing perfectly fine. Instead, something else was drooping onto the floor. She must have been so startled that her tail suddenly popped out from behind her skirt. The very same tail that had tripped me yesterday. The sudden shock had probably made it impossible for her to maintain her polymorph properly.
Twitch twitch…!
A reptilian tail covered in brilliant golden scales swayed gently behind Sofia's hips.
"Pfft—! As expected, even our student council president is still just a hatchling at heart, huh?"
"D-Don't say unnecessary things and just answer my question……!"
"Well, I suppose it's understandable you'd be surprised. But do you know how I found out? Yesterday, on the day you snuck out without permission, our adorable dorm supervisor confessed everything to me."
"B-Breeder?! Is that true?!"
Sofia turned to look at me with eyes full of betrayal. This was unfair. I was a victim too.
"Lady Sofia? It couldn't be helped…! Lady Diora kept pressing me with questions……. Anyway, I'm sorry."
"Haa? All of this happened in just one night……!"
Sofia's face turned deathly pale. Was it because Diora had caught her weakness, or because of her own pride? After all, as both the class representative and student council president, even this small matter might become a significant stain. If the other students found out, the damage wouldn't be light. The loss of pride as a dragon was inevitable.
"Kukuk…! Breeder, you have nothing to apologize for. If you hadn't answered my question back then, I really would have eaten you—♡"
"What……?"
"The vast earth, like a mother's embrace, can accept all races without discrimination! Devouring a mere human in any way is truly a simple matter, you know?"
Step…!
Diora approached me and casually draped her arm over my shoulder in an arrogant pose.
"Lick, lick……!"
She slowly examined my face while licking her lips with a long tongue.
'What the heck is that weird tongue?'
Now that I looked closely, Diora wasn't in a perfect human form either. Seeing that long, snake-like tongue that hadn't fully transformed into a dragon's made my hair stand on end.
"Huu……. So what exactly do you want from me, Diora?"
"Ah, it's really nothing much. I just want you to let me join in on that too?"
"What? You mean……"
"I asked Breeder yesterday as well. To prepare the exact same dessert that Sofia gets."
Diora patted my shoulder while repeatedly licking her lips, like a starving rattlesnake's tongue.
"Is that your true intention?"
"Of course~ It's not like I'm doing this because I hate you, Sofia. I'm also a legitimate student council president candidate this semester, so I just want to have a serious discussion over some delicious dessert and tea, you know?"
"Diora? That's really all you want, right……?"
Sofia asked with a suspicious look. It made sense—holding such leverage and then asking for something so ordinary felt too simple.
"Hmm? But now that I think about it, it's kind of funny? The student council president abusing her power just to go out for dessert……? I wonder what the professors would say if they found out—"
"Stop! You'd better not say anything more!"
I had a feeling, and sure enough. Diora's true intentions were indeed sinister. She had been subtly threatening Sofia while beating around the bush.
"Puhaha, Sofia? You're not really in a position to be ordering me around right now, are you?"
"……."
Sofia gritted her teeth and fell silent. This was the first time I'd seen her this cornered. Normally, Diora shouldn't even be able to make a peep in front of her.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble……
The air inside Sofia's room had become ominous. It felt like a heavy low-pressure system had settled in. It seemed like a typhoon accompanied by thunderstorms was about to strike at any moment.
Crackle…!
Ah, there really was lightning flashing. It wasn't metaphorical. Sofia and Diora's gazes crossed, creating intense sparks.
'Are these two really in the same year? Why do they get along so poorly? At this rate, things are going to get seriously dangerous…….'
They say humans get caught in the crossfire of dragon fights, and this deadly battle of nerves was drying up my blood. Well, in a fight between dragons, a tiny human like me probably wouldn't even register in their eyes. Depending on Sofia's choice, a real storm could blow in at any second.
"…Huu, fine. Breeder?"
"Yes? Yes……?"
"For now, tomorrow, please make the exact same dessert for Diora with all your sincerity as well."
"…Understood. I'll do that."
"Great! That's more like it!"
In the end, Sofia chose to back down. Diora cheered in triumph. Then she pulled me toward her chest and continued.
"…Then tomorrow after lunch, let's meet behind the Dragon Training Grounds. We should be able to avoid everyone's eyes there. Ahem-♪ I'm already looking forward to it?"
Diora made a satisfied nasal sound, as if she approved of Sofia's decision, and even set the time and place.
"Fine. By the way, could you let go of Breeder now? He looks like he's having trouble breathing."
"Ah, right. There's something strangely attractive about him despite being human."
"Cough, cough…!"
With Sofia's words, my airway finally opened. Forcibly burying my face in her chest……. It was only for a moment, but I really thought I was going to suffocate.
Anyway…… Damn it, I'm not some café waiter. Now it looks like I'll be going out on delivery with desserts and drinks.
'But what's the Dragon Training Grounds? Does that mean there are no classes after free time tomorrow?'
I was catching my breath and stepping back from Diora when—
"Anyway, I'll head there during the free afternoon period tomorrow. That said, it's definitely a safe place, right?"
"Of course. There's a perfect spot behind the Dragon Training Grounds to kill time. Let's have a deep conversation about the upcoming student council president election while enjoying dessert there tomorrow?"
"Understood. I'll do that……."
The tense tug-of-war finally came to an end. It seemed Diora had caught Sofia's weakness while aiming for the power(?) of the student council president position.
"Well then, I'll be going now. And since the others will probably start coming out soon, you'd better finish roll call quickly?"
Click!
Diora left with a sarcastic remark, closing the door behind her.
"…Breeder, are you alright?"
"Yes. Thanks to you, I'm fine."
"In that case, please do your best to showcase your skills tomorrow."
"Yes?"
"I really want to make sure Diora learns the true essence of mint this time……."
"……!"
Sofia's usually gentle face was, for once, filled with something resembling killing intent.
***
After last night's roll call, I couldn't sleep. I had no idea how time had passed. My heart was uneasy from the pressure. It felt like my soul had been thoroughly shaken by their deadly battle of wills yesterday.
'Last night was really something…….'
Clatter! Clatter!
Squish, squish, squish…!
From early morning, I had been muttering to myself alone while making desserts in the lounge. The mint chocolate cake I would serve to Sofia and Diora later, after lunch.
"Alright, this should be enough mint cream, right?"
Making the cake base and mint cream went smoothly. It was a process I had already done once yesterday. Now all that remained was the finishing touch to bring out the chocolate flavor.
Tap tap tap…!
I sprinkled coarsely ground chocolate like gravel over the mint cream. I generously piled on the chocolate, which was luxurious in its very existence. That's right. I had directly supplemented the sweetness of the chocolate that I felt was lacking yesterday. If the chocolate's sweetness wasn't coming through properly, all I had to do was add it boldly like this. Most flavor deficiencies could be solved by increasing the proportion of the missing ingredient.
'After doing this, there's no way the sweetness won't come through, right?'
The dark chocolate covering the mint looked pretty good too. Anyway, it was finally complete.
Knock knock knock…!
"Hm?"
Normally, around this time, a system message should have appeared with a —Ding! But instead—
Creaaak…!
Instead of a notification sound, the lounge door opened along with a knock.
"Hey, Breeder—! Long time no see!"
Ah, as expected, my regular customer had come to find me today as well.
"Ah, Manager Johnson, you've arrived?"
"Sniff sniff…? But what's this sweet smell?"
"This? It's the special cake I mentioned last time."
"Hoo? If it's a special cake, then surely……?"
"Yes, that's right. As promised last time, would you like to try it first?"
I had been a bit hesitant about making proper mint chocolate myself……. This was perfect timing. I needed someone to taste it for me anyway.