Episode 2: That Guy’s a Cakewalk, Y’know.
The mochi pounding had been getting quite lively, but Kazuma and King were too busy fooling around and hadn’t given the mochi a single thought.
As a result, the mochi had vanished from inside the mortar.
Kazuma and King looked at each other, wondering where on earth it could have disappeared to, but the mystery only deepened, and it seemed certain to become a cold case.
Just then, Honoka, who had been working indoors, came to see how the mochi pounding was going.
Seeing Kazuma and King both looking perplexed, Honoka asked if something was wrong.
“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”
“Well, the mochi disappeared.”
“Huh?”
Honoka was dumbfounded, completely unable to understand how the mochi could disappear while they were pounding it.
For a brief moment, Honoka couldn’t comprehend it, but before her stood the troublemaker Kazuma and King, who was in sync with him.
True to the saying “birds of a feather flock together,” it was common knowledge that King, like Kazuma, was a bit of a goofball.
Taking that into account, Honoka unraveled the mystery that should have become a cold case, like a master detective.
“You two, with how much force and speed were you pounding the mochi?”
“How much… I guess, like this?”
“Yeah. About like this.”
Asked by Honoka, Kazuma and King demonstrated the actual force and speed they had been using.
There was no mochi, but King swung the mallet as if stopping just short, and Kazuma inserted the motion of flipping the mochi in time with him.
Watching their actions, Honoka let out a heavy sigh and then whacked Kazuma on the head as if pounding mochi.
“Think about the mochi a little, will you!”
“Ouch—!”
“Didn’t you even notice partway through? That the mochi was getting smaller.”
“I did notice that. Like, ‘Huh, it’s smaller than when we started~’.”
“Why didn’t you stop then?”
“I kinda figured this is what mochi pounding was like…”
“You utter fool!!!”
“Gwahh!”
This time, he received a fist to the head, and Kazuma was completely taken down.
Glancing at Kazuma, who had a bump on his head and was lying face down, Honoka then cautioned King.
“King.”
“Yes!”
“Hitting you would cause various problems, so I’ll just stick to a lecture. Maintain moderation and don’t do anything dangerous. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am!!!”
“I’m going to prepare the next batch of glutinous rice, so help me.”
Watching Kazuma, who was far stronger than himself, be defeated so helplessly before his very eyes, King understood.
That the truly strongest was a mother figure.
Realizing he shouldn’t defy her, King obeyed Honoka’s words and carried the newly steamed glutinous rice from the steamer basket to the mortar.
Once the glutinous rice was ready, Honoka kicked the fallen Kazuma in the butt to wake him up and had them resume the mochi pounding.
“This time, do it properly and carefully.”
“”Yes!!!””
Kazuma and King replied energetically, then kneaded the mochi, kone-kone, and pounded it, pettan-pettan.
Unlike before, they pounded the mochi very carefully and precisely, and it didn’t get obliterated by their strength.
Kazuma judged the right time, and once the mochi was done, he transferred it to a large tray they had prepared.
Alicia, Charlotte, Momoko, and Sakura Hakanai, who were waiting there, received the tray of mochi from Kazuma and, along with the children, began dividing it into suitable sizes.
The friends Kazuma had invited, feeling it would be rude to just watch, also joined in, and the work of dividing the mochi progressed.
Those who were left took turns with Kazuma’s group pounding mochi, continuing to switch out until the last of the glutinous rice was gone.
And so, all the processes were finished, and all that remained was to eat.
They seasoned it with ingredients like kinako, sugar-soy sauce, and anko, and then it was time to dig in.
“Erm, well then, Happy New Year! Let’s eat, hoping for another good year!!!”
“Let’s eat!!!”
At Kazuma’s command, everyone began to eat the mochi.
They spent a fun and boisterous time, nearly burning their tongues on the freshly made, piping hot mochi, or almost choking from eating too much.
Alicia and Charlotte approached Kazuma, who had stuffed his mouth full of kinako mochi and was moving his mouth like a hamster.
“Hey, Kazuma! Say ‘ahhh’!”
“Kazuma-san. Please say ‘ahhh’!”
Kazuma had mochi dipped in sugar-soy sauce and mochi topped with anko pressed towards him from both sides.
He still had mochi in his mouth, so he couldn’t speak or eat more.
Desperately moving his mouth to swallow quickly, Kazuma gulped down the mochi and then wondered which one to eat first.
It wouldn’t make a difference whether he ate Alicia’s or Charlotte’s first, but it was certain to cause trouble later.
“Kazuma.”
“Hm?”
Suddenly called by name, Kazuma turned towards the voice to see Kaede scooping zenzai from a bowl.
“Kaede, huh? Long time no see!”
“Mm, long time. Here, say ‘ahhh’.”
“Mmph…”
“”Ahhhh—!!!””
The moment he opened his mouth, Kaede poured zenzai into it.
Kazuma savored the zenzai that was mercilessly poured into his mouth, even as he nearly burned his tongue.
“Th-that was sudden…”
“Kazuma, I’ll give you another bite.”
After a hard struggle, Kazuma, who had eaten the zenzai poured by Kaede, had tears in his eyes.
Just as Kaede was about to deliver a follow-up attack by bringing more zenzai to Kazuma’s mouth, she was interrupted.
“Hold on a sec~! I’m next!”
“What are you saying! I am next!”
Alicia and Charlotte blocked Kaede.
The two of them were quite angry at Kaede for suddenly cutting in when they had been the ones competing initially.
“Whoa, whoa, both of you, calm down.”
“”Then, here you go!””
“Bffwoah!”
Just as he tried to calm them down, the two forcefully shoved mochi into Kazuma’s mouth.
Caught by surprise, Kazuma was sent flying backward, but he didn’t spit out the mochi in his mouth.
This was the moment the results of Honoka’s training—that Kazuma should never waste food—were demonstrated.
“I’m gonna be killed by mochi~…”
While whining, Kazuma, perhaps still having some leeway, mumbled and chewed the mochi he received from the two.
Just as Kazuma finally finished eating the mochi, what awaited him next was the arrival of his disciples.
“Hey, Kazuma-kun. Thanks for the invitation.”
“Oh, President! Are you having fun?”
“Yeah, of course. By the way, what’s your relationship with King?”
“Apparently, he came to scout me. Said he saw my performance in the Academy Battle Tournament and really wants me in America, y’know.”
One had to take their hat off to the lies that flowed so smoothly.
However, it sounded plausible, so Hayato couldn’t see through the lie.
“Is that so! As expected of you. It’s amazing that King would come in person, isn’t it?”
“Hehe~, that’s right, y’know~.”
“Normally, one would be modest there, but… that’s just like you, Kazuma-kun.”
Shiori was exasperated watching Kazuma, whose face was beaming from Hayato’s praise.
Nevertheless, she accepted that this was just who Kazuma was.
“”Kazuma-kun!””
And then, Yukihime and Karin appeared.
They too were victims, having been made into Modified Fiends by Kazuma.
However, compared to Charlotte, they were somewhat inferior, but they had still grown sufficiently strong and robust.
“Ah, hello. Are you two enjoying yourselves as well?”
“Yes. Of course, we are.”
“The mochi is very delicious. Thank you for inviting us.”
“Not at all, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“By the way, what’s your relationship with the Witch and the Holy Maiden?”
“I’m really curious, you’ll tell us, of course, right?”
“They’re both my friends! We became close during the Academy Festival and the Academy Battle Tournament!”
What Kazuma was saying wasn’t wrong.
Since not a single part of it was incorrect, the two of them couldn’t press him further.
“Hey, what do you think?”
“Judging from that earlier exchange, there’s no way they’re just friends!”
“Should we do it too?”
“Ehh~… Isn’t that embarrassing? There are so many people here, you know?”
“But if we don’t, we’ll just end up as senior-junior, master-disciple!”
“Ugh~, I somehow don’t like that!”
“Then, we have to make our appeal here too!”
The two, whispering furtively in front of Kazuma, formed an alliance.
They decided that now was the time to appeal that they too were attractive women.
Having made their decision, the two tried to feed Kazuma mochi just like the other girls, but since he was in high demand, he had disappeared while their backs were turned.
“Ah~… If you’re looking for Kazuma-kun, he was taken away by some of his classmates.”
“”N-No way~~~””
“W-Well, you still have chances, so do your best!”
Hayato and Shiori would be graduating this year and thus no longer at the academy, but Yukihime and Karin were second-years.
In other words, they had a grace period of one more year, and the chance to win Kazuma over still remained.
However, with formidable rivals like Alicia and Charlotte, it probably wouldn’t be that easy.
Although, Kazuma was easier to win over than the easiest capture target in an otome game.
His only flaw was that he was quick to lose interest.
As long as that much is understood, ensnaring Kazuma is a simple matter.