The Eve of the Mint Chocolate Storm

“Hoo? A special cake, you say? Could it be…?”

“Yes, exactly. As promised last time, would you like to try it first?”

I held up the cake I had just finished and offered it to Johnson. The dessert was brimming with mint cream hidden beneath a generous layer of chocolate chips.

“Hooo…! It looks promising just from the appearance!”

Johnson’s tiny, bean-like eyes sparkled as he approached. He had clearly taken the bait.

‘Perfect. I needed someone to taste-test it anyway.’

Johnson was my assistant for the day. In exchange for repaying the debt from the dessert recipe book, I wanted an objective opinion on mint chocolate from someone with an ordinary palate from another race. Of course, his palate wasn’t entirely ordinary—he had praised my special-syrup coffee as delicious, after all. Still, I couldn’t ask the young ladies to taste it. Derke was out of the question. If I had, her worship-level favorability or the Dragon Pact might have been rendered meaningless as she openly despised me.

So Johnson made for an excellent test subject. I was genuinely curious about his reaction.

“Please have a seat and wait a moment. I’ll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bring it right out.”

“Sounds good! My mouth’s already watering……!”

“As expected, you have a discerning eye.”

—Clatter, thud…!

I set the cake down on the table prepared near the front of the kitchen. And just then—

—Ding!

The system message flashed belatedly. At first I thought it hadn’t recognized the mint chocolate. Or perhaps the dessert was so indescribable that nothing appeared at all. But no.

‘What the heck is this? No star rating?’

I couldn’t help but be surprised after reading the description. It was already surprising that it recognized mint chocolate, but five question marks instead of stars? The system’s explanation was unfamiliar too. There was no taste description whatsoever. It merely stated “It is not recommended to casually discuss its flavor,” as though the system itself was reluctant to evaluate it. Well, taste preferences can’t be objectively defined, after all.

“Hoo—! Even the exterior looks radiant…! Have you finally completed your masterpiece?!”

“Do you like it already?”

“Of course—!! It looks delicious just from the shape alone!”

The stocky Johnson plopped down on the chair and let out an exclamation of admiration. His face resembled that of a dwarf discovering an ancient relic or rare ore.

“Right? It looks tasty, doesn’t it?”

“Of course! And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this stuff on the surface… don’t tell me it’s real chocolate?!”

Johnson fussed about, stroking his curly beard. He seemed so excited that he had been roughly tugging at it for a while now. Stop that—you’ll get curly hairs on the cake.

“Yes. I put some real skill into it.”

“To use such a precious dessert so generously for me… Don’t tell me, Breeder, you even succeeded in making homemade chocolate from cacao beans?!”

“Haha, that’s a trade secret. Go ahead and try it.”

Johnson’s reaction to the mint chocolate chip cake wasn’t bad. In fact, he seemed genuinely delighted. His face looked as though he were experiencing infinite gratitude toward me. That made sense—the chocolate chips were hiding everything. They concealed the mint cream, the very essence of the cake, and were clouding Johnson’s vision.

“Alright, I’ll know once I eat it. Well then……”

—Slice, slice!

Using a fork and knife, Johnson cut the cake into a fan shape for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easy eating. The moment he lifted a slice, his hand froze.

“Huh? The color inside looks unfamiliar. Black cake with teal-green cream… what is this?”

Tch, that’s why I hate sharp-eyed dwarves.

“It’s my special cream. Don’t doubt it—just try it.”

I smiled brightly and offered the cake. This wasn’t my usual business smile. It was the first genuine smile I had shown Johnson. After all, my petty revenge for how harshly he had treated me during the break was right around the corner. The secret, small-scale revenge against Johnson was about to be completed.

“If it’s your special cream, there’s no reason to doubt it! I know your skills better than anyone!”

Feeling unnecessarily guilty, Johnson showed me infinite trust and opened his mouth wide—!

—Nom!

Johnson finally tasted the cake. Without hesitation, he shoved the entire piece in, carefully so as not to spill any of the expensive chocolate.

—Crunch, crunch…!

After safely landing the cake in his mouth, Johnson began moving his jaw to chew.

—Thump! Thump! Thump!

I wasn’t the one eating, yet I felt strangely nervous. I was so curious about what kind of reaction he would show—

“Gweeeeeeek…! Guaaaak…!!!”

“???”

—Thud!!

After gulping down the mint chocolate chip cake, Johnson let out a sudden shriek and collapsed forward, face-planting right into the precious (?) mint chocolate chip cake.

“Oh, that worked instantly.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected this reaction. I had only anticipated a look of discomfort, but he suddenly collapsed as if going into shock?

“Um, Johnson Manager?”

“……”

“You’re not actually dead, right……?”

For a moment, I really thought Johnson had died. No matter how much I slapped his cheeks or shook him, he showed no reaction. He remained unconscious, like someone who had ingested poison and gone into shock. Still, true to his sturdy dwarf physique, he didn’t die easily.

—Wheeeeze… Wheeze… Wheeeeze……!

Fortunately, his breathing was steady, so his life wasn’t in danger. It took about thirty minutes for Johnson to regain consciousness. It was a huge relief. I had almost faced a much heavier sentence.

‘If I had known he’d react this violently, I wouldn’t have fed it to him… Was the prank too much?’

Anyway, the moment Johnson woke up, he was furious and scolded me. How could I waste such high-quality chocolate in this manner? Yet even while complaining, he picked out and ate only the chocolate parts that weren’t covered in cream. I had only wanted a small revenge, but I had nearly taken his life. Still, it was fortunate he got back up unharmed.

After regaining his senses, Johnson nagged at me for a while before leaving the lounge.

‘That was the grumpiest I’ve ever seen him. Anyone watching would think he’d been betrayed by an old friend.’

Still, I felt a bit sorry, but it worked out. He must have felt properly betrayed. He probably wouldn’t show up at the lounge much from now on. And if he reacted that strongly, it was proof that the mint flavor had come through perfectly.

—Clink, clack…!

The moment Johnson grumbled his way out, I cheerfully began preparing drinks. Drinks to serve to the young ladies today. Fried crackers alone would obviously make them thirsty. They were already salty and addictive as drinking snacks, so matching beverages were essential. I would have loved to serve beer with them. But then everyone would get drunk. It would recreate last night’s scene of debauchery. That would lead to suspensions or expulsions for all of them. I wouldn’t be safe either. Serving alcohol in any form was out of the question. Besides, it would be hard to obtain anyway.

—Glug…!

I drizzled honey into an ordinary latte. The same special honey I had used in the misutgaru yesterday. I had deliberately chilled the latte in advance to wash away the salty thirst clinging to the throat. It was a lifelong regret that there was no ice machine. If only there had been ice, I could have made something even more refreshing than beer.

Anyway, yesterday had been a combination of sweetness and savoriness. Today would be sweet-salty-sweet-salty.

—Ding!

High-quality ingredients ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really do make all the difference. I only added it, yet the rating went up. If I had also added Derke’s dragon-hand taste, it would have been perfect. In many ways, surpassing three stars wasn’t easy.

‘Tch, if only I had time, I would have tried making a dalgona latte……’

Time was tight today in many ways. I had to prepare cakes for Sofia and Diora in the morning…… That’s why I had no choice but to go with a simple latte. The cakes were already neatly packed in paper boxes. All preparations were finished on time, yet a vague sense of unease and discomfort lingered. Thinking about the latte’s rating made me slightly anxious about the mint chocolate chip cake as well. It was a little worrying that I had to compete with a dessert made entirely by myself, without Derke’s dragon-hand taste correction.

‘Anyway, it’s about time.’

「Ding-dong—!」

They arrived right on schedule today as well. It was time to greet the young ladies.

—Rumble rumble rumble……!!!

As expected, the fourth-year young ladies arrived at their usual precise time.

—Wasn’t lunch pretty good today?

—Yeah. It’s been a while since we had a proper meal.

—See? You have to speak up for them to listen.

—It was fine. The fried chicken today……

—I wish every day could be like today.

Oh? The reactions were better than usual today. That Ram-Ji guy must have finally pulled it off. He seemed to have endured lunch hour well, just as I had instructed.

—Creak…!

“Hey, Breeder? The dessert’s ready, right?”

Once everyone was seated, Diora—not Sofia—asked on their behalf. She was probably referring to the dessert they would be served separately later.

“……”

Meanwhile, Sofia said nothing. She merely gazed at me with her golden eyes. Her look seemed as though she had let something go. Perhaps because of yesterday’s events, Diora appeared to be subtly leading the fourth-year atmosphere.

“Yes, of course. If you’ll remain seated, I’ll bring out today’s dessert and drinks.”

I was already curious. I wondered what kind of reactions Sofia and Diora would show after tasting the mint chocolate.