Sweet Hunt - Chapter 5

Niki: ♪~♪~

C'mon! On a journey to the cola~♪ (Hum-hum-hu~m ♪)

Mao: You're really excited about this, huh~?

Even though you were just griping about how Amagi-senpai acts… You got like this as soon as we started heading towards Gardenia. You sure are hyped about the cola~

Niki: ’Course I am! Besides, the more I think about how close I am to getting to that cola recipe, the less I care about Rinne-kun’s actions, I guess?

But man, the nerve of him— He pushed me into coming all the way out here and then just left me to go play the slots… Ugh, that's peak selfish, isn't it? You agree, right?

Mao: Ahaha… I'm kinda used to getting pushed and pulled around, so I wasn't that bothered by it.

Subaru and Ritsu are both pretty unruly people… Maybe they're rubbing off on me.

Mao: Like, check out this video. It's just Ritsu asking me to take care of him, right?

He's being a lot more considerate of me nowadays, but this used to be our usual.

Niki: Nhahaha, you an' me are like two peas in a pod, huh?

I make food for Rinne-kun pretty often, but he seems to think I'm just some kind of personal meal-dispenser. He's suuuch a pain in the ass.

All I did to get into this mess was take care of him when he passed out…

But there's no way I could've slept easy if I'd just left some poor, collapsed person alone, you know~?

Mao: Ahaha, kinda like how you’re acting right now, huh?

Niki: Well, maybe it's just fate… Or I guess, all that was decided the moment we happened to meet.

I got used to how outrageously inconsiderate he is.

Mao: I totally get it, Shiina-senpai. If I was a chef like you, I feel like I'd end up being forced to cook every single day too...♪

Niki: ...Whoops. There's no point in thinking about Rinne-kun this much, right? C'mon, let's go find someone from Gardenia and hit 'em up!

Natsume: .......

Mao: Oh, check it out. Yo, Sakasaki!

Natsume: If it isn't Sally-kun… Judging by your TONE, you were looking for ME… What do you WANT?

Hm? You've got Shiina-senpai with you, TOO… What an interesting combination this IS.

In that CASE, are you going to ask about the vegetables and herbs Gardenia supplies — the ones used as cooking ingrediENTS?

Niki: Oooh, that's Sakasaki-kun for you… A fortune teller who knows exactly what you’re here for. I did have a question about that, actually.

Natsume: Which IS?

Niki: Mm, I wanted to ask about the herbs you guys left in the common room the other day.

I need to know which ones they were so I can recreate the phantasmagoricola Ritsu-kun made… I just know I can figure out the recipe for it if I have that info!

Natsume: Hmm… Recreating the drink's flavor — is that IT?

There's an urban legend that commercially available cola used to have cocaine in IT… Perhaps he put in some herbs with hallucinogenic properTIES?

Niki: Ha-hallucinogenic!?

Mao: Wh— Hold up, just what kinda crazy stuff is Gardenia even growing!?

Niki: Yeah, what he said! I agree that something hallucinogenic would definitely explain this phantasmagoricola, but! That’s a line you shouldn’t cross, y’know!

Natsume: Heheh ♪ Don’t tell me you actually fell for IT? There's no way something like that would be TRUE ♪

Or what — did you really think it WAS?

Niki: ...C-Crap, I totally forgot! You're a dirty liar!

I've lost count of how many times I was fooled by this kind of thing during Date Plan! Ughhh, and it happened again…!

Natsume: You're just so simple-minDED, I can't help but pick on YOU...♪

But to get back on track — the herbs in the common room must be the same ones that grow around HERE.

Some of them have been picked since last I LOOKED… That's probably Hajime-kun's doING, and then he brought them to the common ROOM.

Mao: Thanks a ton. We're gonna grab the rest, so could you just point 'em out to us?

Natsume: Hmm, SURE. This may not be the fairest trade-OFF, but in exCHANGE, how about you grab a little extra for ME? I was just thinking about collecting some herbs mySELF.

Do we have a DEAL?

Niki: You're a real lifesaver! As long as I've got the ingredients on-hand, I should be able to make tons of progress in figuring out this recipe… I swear on my tongue I'll succeed!

Natsume: What an amazing amount of confiDENCE. That's a chef for YOU—

NormalLY, I would've considered this too much of a hassle to deal with, BUT… I'll give you a little HELP, seeing as we were in the same Shuffle proJECT.

《I'm rooting for you, Shiina-senpai.》

—Well, in my own WAY ♪