Day 19 Month Water

  Nnggghh? Is it morning already?

  Nn. As I take a look out the window, I can see sunlight shine through and go straight into my eyes, forcing me to wake up.

  As I lift up my drowsy body and do a little stretch, my eyes slowly adjust themselves and scan my surroundings. The room I slept in was a standard traditional-styled Japanese room with tatami flooring. In fact, I just woke up from the futon so my body is a bit cramped.

  As I look to my left, I can see Shia still sleeping soundly. She looked cute so I decided to not make loud noises that could wake her up and went outside.

  As I opened up the sliding door and left the house, the sunlight's warmth greeted me and blew my drowsiness away.

  …This is still “indoors” right? I mean, I can even feel the gentle breeze caress my cheek, it almost feels like we’re in a really high css outdoor resort. But judging from the door that seems out of pce in the middle of the grass patch to my right, it indicates that we’re indeed inside Kuro-san’s house.

  Yep, this house that can accommodate all of the Returnees, alongside this ndscape, are all just one of the many rooms in Kuro-san’s castle. I mean, when we first got here, we were all skeptical if it could fit all of us at the present, never mind all of the Returnees.

  Well turns out all of the rooms inside Kuro-san’s castle are made with spatial magic that can be expanded according to the caster’s will, so space to sleep was never a problem to begin with.

  Not only that…

  “...Hajime? Are you already awake?”

  “Yeah, Remia and Myuu are eating breakfast at the dining hall right now, you should join.” (Hajime)

  “... Nn~, you haven’t eaten, right? I’ll join you.” (Yue)

  Speaking of breakfast, I heard that Ein-san will cook our meals and it’ll always be readily avaible no matter when.

  …the food also came out like it was freshly cooked. I wonder if there’s a trick to this, but that’s not important right now.

  What’s important right now is the fact that I can have Hajime in a yukata all by myself. The way the sunlight shone on his cheek, the gentle breeze caressing his white hair, his manly figure that is well defined because of the yukata, and most importantly, his neck/nape that was very tempting for me to eat.

  Nn~ truly a salivating sight to seeee~

  Unfortunately this warm and peaceful atmosphere right now is not the right moment for “nightly activity”, so I’ll hold back and enjoy my precious peaceful time with Hajime. Thank you for the food.

  Ah~ the morning sunlight is so warm~

  .

  .

  .

  Few minutes ter, we decided to wake up all of the cssmates and eat breakfast that mysteriously filled up as we ate, like it seriously just filled up the moment we ate it.

  Shia was curious about the limit of these breakfast refills so she decided to take a whole lot of food to eat.

  …The end result was that Shia can’t even move due to overconsumption of omeletts and fried rice.

  Well, we all exasperatedly carry Shia with us since Kuro-san called us, probably for the request she asked us yesterday.

  I wonder if Shia can even taste the sample since she ate too much, but apparently it won’t take too long and the food is around bite sized from what I can gather from Kuro-san, so it should be fine.

  Hmm? What’s that Shia? Go slower or you’ll puke?

  Here, a puke bag.

  What? You’re the one who ate too much, so deal with it. Or rather, you can puke you know, so you have enough stomach space for food sampling ter on.

  By the way, Remia and Myuu won’t be joining as Myuu is still in the dreamnd and Remia is taking care of her right now. Since the sampling won’t take too much time, we will go right back after we’re done.

  Anyway, we’re now on our way towards the sampling area.

  .

  .

  .

  As per Kuro-san’s instructions, we’re now back at Kuro-san's castle’s backyard. At a gnce, there are chairs and tables fitting with the amount of the Returnees. On a closer look, there’s a mini cloche on five ptes on each table.

  Hmm, so the food product will be a secret, is it? Well it adds to the element of surprise so it’s fine I suppose.

  As we gathered around and chose our table, a bck fog suddenly gathered and formed a vortex in front of us. As it dissipates, Kuro-san and Kaito-san show up.

  “Good morning everyone~” (Kuro)

  “Good morning.” (Kaito)

  Nn, Kuro-san looked very cute waving her arms like that with a really cheerful smile.

  “As you all already know, today you all will be participating in my very own food product sampling! As you all can see, there’s five ptes with a mini cloche pced on top of them to make things more interesting! The only rules here are you take and reveal the dish underneath the cloche in order from right to left and you must eat anything from the cloche you take. If any of you want to surrender then you can simply raise your hand~. Also, anybody who finishes all 5 dishes will be getting a special price! So look forward for it~” (Kuro)

  Nn, seems pretty easy to follow, I can even see a lot of cssmates are eager to start.

  “Ah! And one final thing! For each sample you all finish, I will pay you 1 white gold coin! So good luck, okay~” (Kuro)

  Ah… that line where Kuro-san will pay us makes everyone, including Hajime, really pumped up.

  I mean a white gold coin for each food sample we eat!? That’s literally a steal!

  “Alright! Start~” (Kuro)

  As soon as Kuro-san gives us the go, all of us immediately lift the first cloche. Underneath the mini cloche, there’s a small and spherical sized object with a golden brown colored exterior, the surface looks a bit rugged, but crispy, and it exudes a buttery smell that entices my appetite.

  …isn’t this just a baby castel though? I thought it’s gonna be filled with questionable food samples, but if this is the first sample then it’s basically a free white gold coin.

  As I looked at other participants, I can see that all of them also have baby castel as their first sample while they looked at it with a questioning face. Hajime even has a slightly perplexed face.

  Oh well, just like what Okaa-sama taught me, free stuff is free stuff!

  Nn, this baby castel, is slightly crispy and warm on the outside and puffy soft on the inside, really delicious.

  “Alriiight~ time for the next sample~” (Kuro)

  Nn, it appears that this baby castel is just a normal sample that was used as some sort of control to determine if the next food sample is better or not.

  Anyway, as I lift the second cloche, there’s… another baby castel…

  …is every food sample going to be a baby castel?

  Judging from what Kuro-san ate when we first met her and when we had a tea party with Shallow Vernal-sama, it’s very likely that she loves baby castel.

  Well, this baby castel doesn’t look different from the previous one, so I just put it in my mouth.

  Nn? As I chew the baby castel, I can sense a sweet citrusy taste coming out from it. This taste…

  “...is it orange jam?” (Yue)

  Nn~, while it is surprising, it complements with the buttery taste of the baby castel and makes it delicious.

  “Hrmm!?” (Hajime)

  Nn? I heard Hajime grunted, is there something wrong?

  “Hajime-san? What’s wrong desu?” (Shia)

  “No, I'm just surprised that there’s some sort of chili sauce inside my baby castel.” (Hajime)

  “...Wait, what? Chili sauce?” (Yue)

  “Yeah, I was startled but it didn’t throw off the taste much, so it’s not too bad.” (Hajime)

  …Weird, why is there chili sauce inside a baby castel? Is it to make a savory type of baby castel?

  “Umu, from Hajime-chan’s expression, jam made out from the Capsa fruit isn’t suitable, isn’t it.” (Kuro)

  …Apparently Kuro-san also keeps in touch with our reaction to see if the baby castel we’re sampling is good or not. She even has a note in her hands that she wrote on with a pen.

  “...What did you get, Shia?” (Yue)

  “I got a filling that has the same taste as chocote, how about you Kaori-san?” (Shia)

  “Hmm, I thought it tasted like mango jam, but the aftertaste is more like a banana? It’s a unique taste. How about you, Shizuku-chan?” (Kaori)

  “I got the sweet and sour one, I didn’t like it as much, though…” (Shizuku)

  “Mine baby castel was filled with berry-like jam, it seems like there are some participants that get the weird combination like Goshujin-sama’s. How about thou, Aiko?” (Tio)

  “Ugggh, it’s bitter…” (Aiko)

  Nn, it seems like the second samples are filled with different kinds of jams, including the weird ones like Hajime and Aiko got. As I see the cssmates, some of them also have a slightly distorted face. They must have gotten the weird combination one.

  Well that was unexpected, but it’s still acceptable for consumption and delicious, so, moving on!

  As I lift the third cloche, what’s underneath it is also yet another baby castel… except this time, the exterior is not golden brown colored, but instead it’s jet bck colored…

  …is this even safe for consumption?

  I looked at the other contestant’s baby castel, some have the usual golden brown colored baby castel, some have, umm, “unique” colored baby castels.

  Seriously, there’s even a dual colored one, what the hell is this? Is there even food coloring in Trinia?

  Aahh, I’ll just shove it in my mouth and pray for Shallow Vernal-sama and Isis-san for the best!

  …

  Nn?

  Upon chewing the weird colored baby castel, rather than weird, it just tastes a bit bitter. In fact, after I chewed it a bit more, the bit of sweetness came out and complements the bitter fvor.

  Hmm, this one is actually pretty tasty, on the contrary to its slightly disturbing appearance…

  AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

  Nn? What’s going on?

  Upon looking at the source of the scream, I saw a big human shaped fire from it, filing as if it begged for help.

  After Kuro-san came and doused some water on top of the fire, I can see one of the cssmates that was charred, but didn’t leave any burn damage on his body, lying on the ground, fainted due to shock.

  “Hmm, so powder that was grinded from the explosive seashell from the southern region that was infused into the baby castel flour is quite dangerous for consumption on high dosages, huh? It was popur as a special spice that was sold by the Roka tribe for a small amount, but it would spontaneously combust if it had contact with water under high dosage. Unn, noted.” (Kuro)

  “...” (Everyone)

  …Did I just hear Kuro-san say that she added some sort of powder from a creature called “explosive seashell” to the baby castel flour?

  AAAAHHHHH!!??

  NOOOOOOO!!??

  What is it this time!?

  As I took my gaze at the source of the scream yet again, there’s a male cssmate that fainted with his mouth frothing while a female cssmate drops and starts to mumble something incoherent with spiraling muddy eyes.

  After Kuro-san cured both of them, she then took out a note and started writing something while mumbling to herself.

  “Hmm, the liquid secreted from the giant Agave, while giving it a refreshing taste, also showed poisonous attributes when mixed with milk from the Great cow. While flour made out of olive mushroom also gives a hallucinatory effect if it is consumed. Unn, noted.” (Kuro)

  “...” (Everyone)

  I see~ Now I get why Kuro-san’s family was looking at us with such pity yesterday. It seems like Kuro-san’s obsession with baby castels knows no bounds as she desperately tries many combinations from countless ingredients to make baby castels, even if such ingredients can be considered poisons.

  I see…

  “...Hajime, I love you.” (Yue)

  “Yue… Yeah, I love you, too.” (Hajime)

  “Hey don’t just say it like we’re about to die! I mean there’s no way Kuro-san will just let us die, right!? right!??” (Kaori)

  “Well~ I figured you all are pretty tough so I decided to experiment with many things this time, I also make sure you all won’t die so you all can go ahead and take all of the sample, so good luck, okay~” (Kuro)

  “...We’re definitely gonna die, aren’t we.” (Aiko)

  “It’s been nice knowing you Tio-san.” (Shia)

  “Umu, It’s been nice having thee as thou family, everyone.” (Tio)

  Yep, since it comes to this, we have no idea if the next baby castel is an edible one or the one that will blow us up on the inside, and that’s if we’re lucky that it will end us quickly. Judging from the spontaneous combustion, us spontaneously exploding or slowly dying from anything else doesn’t seem to be impossible at all.

  With a heavy heart and resolve, I lifted the fourth cloche and what’s underneath it blew my expectation away.

  Like, what the hell is this? Is this even baby castel anymore? Why does it shine with a gold color?! Why does it smell fishy!? And most importantly… Why does it pulsate as though it was alive!!??

  As I panicaly looked at Hajime’s table, the fourth sample Hajime got, is less of a baby castel and more like a ball shaped void that sucks in everything including light like a miniature bck hole, while Shia’s fourth sample is a rainbow colored baby castel that even shines in iridescent color. Kaori got a pearl white one that reflects light off the surface like a mirror and… a halo? I don’t understand how that works at all. Tio got one with… bat wings? Anyway, she got the one with bat wings attached to it, it even fps a bit and it scares me a little. Shizuku got one that has rabbit ears and even had a flora pattern on the surface. Aiko got a copper colored one, surprisingly this one is the most normal looking one amongst the Nagumo family.

  Even so… the most normal looking one might be the most dangerous of all…

  Yes… this is just like that deadly game from Hajime’s world that involves a gun called “Russian Roulette”, I think? Well this is more of “Baby Castel roulette” but the consequence does not change if we got a hit, or it can even get worse….

  Naturally, we all had a really horrified expression, for an obvious reason. Kuro-san said that she won’t let us die but painful stuff is still painful…

  At this point it’s all about gambling. With an extremely heavy heart, I put the live baby castel and put it in my mouth.

  …

  It… tastes like… normal baby castel?

  !!!???

  IT’S SO SOUR!!!!????

  Water! Is there any water!?

  “Here you go~” (Kuro)

  *Glup glup

  PWAH!? What the hell is that!? That is the most sour thing I’ve ever put in my mouth! I seriously felt like my mouth turned into a desert and I’d die of dehydration!

  “Hmm, while Golden Lemon does give baby castel samples a reflective golden light, it also increases the sourness by a thousand fold. Hmm, I need to find an alternative for that, huh.” (Kuro)

  “...K-Kuro-san, where did you even find these ingredients?” (Yue)

  “Oh, the Demon realm has a vast variety of species, there are all kinds of pnts and creatures that are unique in each province of a region. The Golden Lemon that was used in your baby castel sample, for example, was harvested in the forest near the center of the Demon realm. I also pnt and am involved in many kinds of agricultural projects so I have plenty of ingredients for baby castels~” (Kuro)

  “...And why did you even try to use them for baby castel?” (Yue)

  “See, Yue-chan, the baby castel has infinite possibilities, and I’m here to go beyond even those possibilities, for the best baby castel there is.” (Kuro)

  Uwaaa… even though Kuro-san’s golden colored eyes shine like beautiful jewels, I can feel a tinge of madness behind those eyes.

  “I’m actually gd that you all volunteered, since the only one who’s tried my baby castel creations is Kaito-kun, so I got tons of data at once!” (Kuro)

  KAITO-SAAAAN!!?? Why didn’t you try to stop your wife’s obsession!? I mean, Kaito-san ate all of these horrendous baby castel by himself!? Is he even alive after he ate all of these!?

  As I looked at Kaito-san with a surprised gaze, he could only shrug with a wry, yet gentle smile.

  Kaito-san… to think you went through so much to make Kuro-san happy… This Yue is truly amazed by your willpower…

  Never mind that, I wonder what happened to Hajime and the others. As I looked at Hajime, I quickly approached and examined his body since his baby castel looked like the most dangerous one.

  “Hajime! You’re… alright?” (Yue)

  “Yeah… somehow…” (Hajime)

  As I looked at his body, there seemed to be no physical abnormalities. I checked his internal body with magic and there’s nothing unusual, I even used soul magic to check his soul and it didn’t have any changes.

  “Or rather, the baby castel I ate didn’t even have any taste. What the hell was that?” (Hajime)

  “Hmm, I actually infused the baby castel Hajime-chan ate with a bit of my power, but it just nullified all of the aspects in that baby castel, huh?” (Kuro)

  “...Pardon?” (Yue and Hajime)

  Wait, Kuro-san! What you did to that baby castel is extremely dangerous, you know!? I mean, you infused your godly power into that baby castel, you know!? I heard from Alice-san that your magic power is even more dangerous than Isis-san’s death magic aura, so isn’t your magic power supposed to be extremely destructive!?

  As we’re still appalled by Kuro-san’s statement, Kaito-san approached her.

  “Kuro, don’t do something like that again, okay? You know how dangerous your power can be.” (Kaito)

  “Don’t worry about it, it just affect the baby castel, Hajime-chan isn’t affected by my power so take it easy okay~” (Kuro)

  “I know, but you didn't know that before, and if I’m the one who will eat that baby castel, will you let me eat it?” (Kaito)

  “...Muuuu, alright. I’m sorry, both of you.” (Kuro)

  I’m shocked that Kaito-san, who spoiled Kuro-san by eating the crazy baby castel she created, scolded her for going too far. Well she did infuse her power that was supposed to be deadly into baby castel.

  As Kuro-san bowed towards us, we could only sigh and accept her apology.

  I mean, Kaito-san did scold her, so she must’ve been deeply repenting for her actions.

  “...Nn, apology accepted.” (Yue)

  “Yeah, by the way, how about the other?” (Hajime)

  Ah, I forgot to check on Shia and others. As me and Hajime looked at her table, I saw Shia shine iridescent light around her body just like the baby castel she ate.

  “Awawawa!? My body!? It glows!?” (Shia)

  Naturally Shia was perplexed by her current situation, Kuro-san then approached Shia and pced her hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, the light dissipates and Shia returns back to normal.

  “Hmm, so powder made out of rainbow dragon feathers can achieve such an effect, huh? This is intriguing, it might be used in high css cuisine.” (Kuro)

  “I’m sorry, scales from WHAT!?” (Shia)

  …I feel like the more baby castel we eat, the more outrageous ingredients would pop up. I mean, rainbow dragon feather? Isn’t that an extremely rare species of dragon that has a popution of less than 10? Did she pluck the feather from Se-chan?

  As we’re still appalled by the super exclusive ingredients that were added to Shia’s baby castel…

  “FUHAHAHA! THE CULINARY DELIGHTS OF THIS FEAST TRANSCENDS THE MUNDANE, ENRAPTURING MY SENSE WITH THEIR DIVINE ESSENCE!"

  Wait, who said that?

  Judging from the chuuni lines, I thought Endou had escaped Alice-san’s grip and somehow showed up but the sound is more woman-like, or rather, it sounds like Tio.

  With horror on my face, me, Shia, Hajime and Kaito-san slowly moved our gaze towards Tio, and there she was.

  I don’t know what the hell happened to her, but her garment changed from a bck kimono into a Victorian style gothic dress with tons of frills that still reveals her bountiful bosom cleavage for some reason. She wears an eyepatch and has a bandage wrapped around her left arm. Not only that, her eyes turned from light amber colored into crimson feverish colored irises that glow, she even grew fangs like a vampire. She was smiling devilishly like one of those cliche vampires in novels and mangas.

  I don’t know what just happened, but she looked incredibly chuuni right now. It makes Hajime kneel down on his knee trying to suppress his bck history and even Kaito-san looks pale just from looking at her.

  “FUHAHA, NOW THEN MY MINION! BRING THIS MASTER OF YOURS MORE OF THESE DELECTABLE TRE–” (Tio)

  “Yosh~” (Kuro)

  Nn, luckily Chuuni Tio was short-lived as Kuro-san touched her and she reverted back to normal Tio with her kimono and all.

  Tio then slowly fell down on all four with an extremely embarrassed face while trying to curl like a ball.

  “...Please kill me…” (Tio)

  …It seems like even though Tio was reverted to her normal self, she retains the memory of when she turned into a chuuni.

  “Hmm, I’m actually surprised that the powder made out of feathers from the winged tribe head can change a person to this extent. This is an interesting phenomenon, I might consult with Shalltear for this.” (Kuro)

  “DON’T!!!” (Everyone)

  “Ehhh?” (Kuro)

  Wh-what a horrifying idea, to consult with Alice-san about a feather that can make anyone a chuuni. We can only shudder at the future where a portion of people are permanently changed into chuunis. Kaito-san was also horrified that he rejected Kuro-san’s idea with us.

  “Awawawa!?” (Shizuku)

  Apparently Shizuku is next in line, and when we took our gaze towards her direction, we were immediately perplexed.

  I mean, Shizuku not only grew rabbit ears, her outfit which is supposed to be a tight fit like the usual turned into a sundress with a floral pattern. She looked incredibly embarrassed right now evidently as she covered her beet red face with both of her hands.

  “W-woah… to think you’re secretly one of the Haulia tribe, Shizuku-san desu.” (Shia)

  “I am not! This is clearly the effect of this weird baby castel!” (Shizuku)

  “I mean, this outfit fits thou, no?” (Tio)

  “N-n-n-n-no!? T-take it off please!?” (Shizuku)

  Nn, Shizuku became even more flustered when Shia and Tio commented on her current outfit. To be honest, I’m kinda jealous that Shizuku got the good one. It looked really good on her that Hajime even whistles and also teases Shizuku a little.

  Ah, Hajime got sent flying.

  “Yosh~” (Kuro)

  Ah, it looks like Kuro-san canceled the effect of the weird baby castel and reverted Shizuku back to normal. I don’t think I saw it correctly but I saw a tinge of disappointment on Shizuku’s face.

  “Hmm, interesting, when magically infused rabbit eared flower petals coupled with its nectar were added to the flour, it can change the appearance of the consumer to this extent, can't it? This is a truly interesting phenomenon!” (Kuro)

  R-rabbit eared flowers? Just how many unique species are there in the Demon realm!? Is there one that can turn you into a dragon or a slime too!?

  ROOOOOAAAAR!!??

  Wait what’s that!? Is that a dragon that came out of nowhere!?

  “Ah, speaking of, I did add a dragon scale tree bark into one of the baby castel samples. I’ll go revert her back to normal, okay~”

  …

  SO IT DOES EXIST!?

  M-my word… to think that a way to turn yourself into a dragon actually existed in this world. I’m actually lost for words…

  “Yosh~” (Kuro)

  Thankfully Kuro-san managed to revert the student who I presume had consumed the baby castel that has an ingredient that will turn the consumer into a dragon, without any damage.

  To my surprise, the dragon is actually Yuuka.

  “H-huh? I-I’m back?” (Yuuka)

  Looks like even though her physique is completely changed, her memory is preserved all the same.

  I mean there’s a way to turn yourself into a dragon without any drawbacks!? Even Hajime and Tio were shocked!

  “By the way, where’s Kaori and Aiko-chan-sensei?” (Shizuku)

  Now that I think about it, Kaori and Aiko didn’t even let out a sound. I presume that there’s no visible change with their body after they consume the sample but that’s unlikely.

  And sure enough…

  “K-Kaori-san turned into a shining ghost desu!?” (Shia)

  “Wh-what’s more, Aiko-dono turned into a bronze statue.” (Tio)

  Yep, just like I thought, Kaori turned into a ghostlike being that shines white light so she can’t make any sound, while Aiko turned into a copper statue in an awkward pose.

  “Yosh~” (Kuro)

  Thankfully Kuro-san reverted them back to normal.

  “T-to think I experienced being a ghost for the second time…” (Kaori)

  “A-awawawa! I thought I was stuck like that forever…” (Aiko)

  “Hmm, I was thinking of combining God of Fsh and God of Soul’s power into a baby castel, but the result is that, huh? And using the essence of copper rice can turn one into a copper statue if it’s potent enough? Hmm, this needs further evaluation.” (Kuro)

  …Did she just say she infused two gods’ power into baby castel?

  Scary… the sight of Kuro-san gathering data for her baby castel addiction while mumbling some crazy things like the super bizarre ingredients she used for the baby castel samplings while also having those eyes filled with a tinge of madness is scary…

  I’m sure the Nagumo household is also scared like me, since they’re all looking at her with fearful gazes.

  Also, not only us, other Returnees also had troubles like some of them glow unnaturally, some of them turned into monsters or had their personality completely altered. The Hero even had his personality changed into a workaholic that only lives to work.

  Luckily, or unluckily, Kuro-san reverts them all back to normal.

  “Alright~ time for the fifth sample~ by the way I’ll give anybody who eats the fifth sample 10 white gold coins! So good luck~” (Kuro)

  Nn… while Kuro-san raised the price, it seems like a lot of returnees are backing down. I mean, after the chaos that unfolded after they ate the fourth sample, it’s understandable that they’ve given up and returned to their room.

  It’s also pretty surprising that there’s still no casualties so far…

  Although a lot of people forfeit, the Nagumo family plus the Hero, Ryutaro, and Suzu are still staying.

  “Heh, so you haven’t quit yet, Amanogawa? You still haven’t returned from your personality as a workaholic yet?” (Hajime)

  “Quiet, you!” (Kouki)

  “Hey Ryu, don’t you think we should just forfeit?” (Suzu)

  “Well, as a man there’s no way I can lose to Kouki or Nagumo!” (Ryutaro)

  “Uuuu, I’m really scared of lifting the cloche.” (Kaori)

  “Then how about we lift it at the same time?” (Tio)

  Nn, Tio suggested that we lift the cloches at the same time, to which everyone agreed.

  “Alright, on go. Three… two… one… go!” (Hajime)

  As soon as Hajime gives us the signal, we all lift the cloches and beneath it…

  This… looks like a normal baby castel again? I take a look at other baby castel samples and it’s all the same, are there any mispcements?

  Wait…

  “...Hajime” (Yue)

  “Yeah, I can feel it on my skin…. that this thing can kill me.” (Hajime)

  I have no idea why, but for some reason my instincts are sounding a really loud arm when I look at this baby castel sample, and it’s telling me very clearly that I shouldn't eat it. This is the first time I’ve felt an extremely ominous aura from a very pin looking thing.

  “Umm… Hajime-san…” (Shia)

  “Ah? What’s wrong Shia?” (Hajime)

  “M-my future sight is activated… and, umm, do you remember when I told you about my future vision when we were in the ruins back on earth desu?” (Shia)

  “When we found a box filled with the virus, right? What about it?” (Hajime)

  “Well… what I saw in my future sight if we eat this baby castel… it’s worse than what I saw in the vision if we opened that box in the ruin desu…” (Shia)

  “...” (Everyone)

  I heard from Shia and Hajime before that they found a box containing an ancient virus that is capable of miraculous healing, but if it’s used wrong, it’ll eat the victim’s flesh, inflicting excruciating pain to them. In fact, I heard that it was used as a weapon of mass murder and was sealed due to how dangerous it was.

  …

  Are you telling me right now that this baby castel is more dangerous than the super dangerous virus that wiped out an ancient civilization?

  Cold sweat ran down our face just from hearing Shia’s premonition. Since her future sight only activates when she senses immediate danger, it should be accurate.

  “...” (Hajime)

  “H-Hajime-san! What are you doing desu!?” (Shia)

  To our surprise, Hajime picked up the super ominous baby castel and brought it closer to his mouth. The closer the baby castel is, the harder his hand shakes, presumably to throw the ominous baby castel away from him, yet he holds on through sheer will.

  “Heh… I’ve already gone this far… I had Iron Stomach skill and also ate tons of monsters that could’ve killed me… I’ll take the chance!” (Hajime)

  As soon as Hajime said that, he quickly swallowed the sample and put his hand on the table while presumably embracing for excruciating pain.

  …

  Nothing happened?

  “What? Is that i—!!!???” (Hajime)

  “HAJIMEEEEEEE!!??” (Yue)

  “He’s convulsing with bubbles foaming in his mouth!?” (Shia)

  “K-Kaori-dono!” (Tio)

  “I-I can’t heal him!?” (Kaori)

  “A-awawawa!? K-Kuro-san please!” (Shizuku)

  “Yosh~” (Kuro)

  To our surprise, Hajime immediately fell down with foam pouring out of his mouth while his body started convulsing like crazy. It looked like one of those scenes in movies where the characters fall down like Hajime after they ate something poisonous.

  Luckily, Kuro-san immediately cured Hajime. Since Hajime, who has the Iron Stomach skill and also has quite the immunity towards poisons, succumbed after eating that ominous baby castel, we immediately gave up and went back to the room while carrying the unconscious Hajime with us.

  “... I’m so gd I didn’t eat it out of petty pride…” (Kouki)

  “Hey Ryu-kun, what’s that again about losing to Nagumo-kun or Kouki?” (Suzu)

  “Ah yeah, even I’m not stupid enough to eat something even Nagumo can’t eat…” (Ryu)

  .

  .

  .

  Day 20 month Water

  Yesterday was a really eventful day, and by eventful day, I mean it’s probably the most chaotic day we lived through in Trinia yet.

  That’s right, it was even more chaotic than that time when me and Hajime had a spar with Isis-san and completely caused chaos everywhere by breaking most of the cssmates’ minds.

  Speaking of yesterday, Hajime woke up just before dinner feeling hungover as if he was heavily drunk even though he shouldn't get drunk easily. It goes to show how outrageous Kuro-san’s weaponized baby castels are.

  I, by all intent and purpose, truly thought that Kuro-san was trying to cause mass casualties through baby castels. I have no idea that she truly wants to test the limitations of baby castel creation.

  I mean, I heard from Kaito-san that even he isn’t exempted from Kuro-san’s cursed baby castel creation’s effect even though he has Shallow Vernal-sama’s blessings.

  …It goes to show that Kuro-san is out of this world. Literally.

  Anyway, today, me and Hajime are at Kuro-san’s house’s front wn to meet with her for the prize we got from the baby castel roulette.

  I also heard that since Hajime is the only one who completely finished the baby castel sampling, Kuro-san has something special prepared for him, apparently.

  …Is it baby castel again? I feel like that's what the special price is considering Kuro-sans obsession towards baby castel.

  Anyway, we’re here and Kuro-san is waiting for us there alone without Kaito-san this time.

  “Good morning~” (Kuro)

  …I still can't believe this cheerful bishoujo is a baby castel addict that is capable of creating baby castel that even Hajime can't eat.

  Anyway, Kuro-san pulled out a sack and gave it to us. As we looked inside it, it’s full of shiny white colored coins.

  “As per my promise, here’s 130 white gold coins. Spend it carefully okay~” (Kuro)

  Oooh! It seems like all the accumution of the returnees sampling the baby castel has generated this much money. Now we’re good for a whole month!

  “In addition, since Hajime-chan finished the sampling, I’ll give you the special reward~” (Kuro)

  Nn, I was wondering what this special reward is all about. From what I think, it should be more money? Well, more money is always a pleasant gift, especially since Hajime colpsed just from eating one of them…

  “Hmm, I was thinking of giving you more money, but that won’t be fun wouldn’t it?” (Kuro)

  Oh? Looks like there’s another option? I wonder what it will be?

  As me and Hajime are still wondering what Kuro-san is thinking, she suddenly pulls out an even bigger sack that I presume is also full of money.

  “Okay, the initial pn is to give you all 200 white gold coins, but I have a thought in mind about different rewards.” (Kuro)

  “...And that will be?” (Yue)

  “Fufu, I know what your goal is after you all discovered the dungeon that was made by Shalltear. You all are trying to clear the dungeons alongside the hidden dungeon at the center of the Demon Realm, isn’t that right?” (Kuro)

  Nn, it was not a secret that we are interested in clearing the dungeons alongside the super hidden dungeon that was supposed to be located at the center of the Demon Realm, but I’m still confused as to why Kuro-san is asking us this?

  As we’re further confused, Kuro-san wryly smiled.

  “Well, here’s my proposal. I will let you choose, either you accept these 200 white gold coins immediately, or receive my help.” (Kuro)

  “...Receive help?” (Yue)

  “That’s right Yue-chan, I’ll help you all in clearing the dungeons, starting from the living accommodations, travel expenses, to even personally training you all. Basically, I’ll be sponsoring all of you to clear the dungeons, how about it? Ah, but some expenses like equipment will not be paid by me.” (Kuro)

  Now that’s an interesting turn of events. To think that Kuro-san will be helping us clearing the dungeons, and even give us necessities while we’re clearing the dungeons? That’s a score right there.

  Though some questions remain…

  “Why did you decide to sponsor us?” (Hajime)

  “Hmm. One of the reasons is because I troubled you all with what happened yesterday, but most importantly… I’m curious.” (Kuro)

  “...Curious?” (Yue)

  “Yes, I’m curious how far you all can go, also you all most certainly will try to conquer the secret dungeon at the center region of the Demon Realm, right? I can help you all achieve that since right now, none of you can clear it.” (Kuro)

  While I understand the first reason, I don’t understand why Kuro-san was so sure that we can’t conquer the secret dungeon? Does it have anything to do with the Six Kings?

  “Well, that’s the gist of it. Right now, all you need to do is choose, so which one you will pick?” (Kuro)

  …Nn, this is a very tempting offer. From what I heard, Kuro-san is an amazing teacher that is even better than Alice-san, so having her as our guidance to become stronger is something we will never experience ever again.

  So, the obvious choice is…

  “We’ll take the second option, and so, we’ll be in your care.” (Hajime)

  “Fufu~, I’ll be in your care, too. I’m looking forward to you surpassing your limit.” (Kuro)

  And just like that, we will be living in Kuro-san’s castle for now until the end of the month when we have to return to the Human Realm. Within that timespan, we’ll be dungeon diving while training under Kuro-san’s guidance.

  “...Hopefully you’ll be the first one to clear the dungeon.” (Kuro)

  For some reason I can hear Kuro-san mumbling with small voices and with a mischievous smile on her face.

  …Is this secret dungeon that difficult?

  Oh well, we’ll find that out after we gather all of the clues.

  I wonder what she will prepare for us though? I’m pumped!

  Afterword:

  ???: You actually went through with this idea huh?

  Author: Well they could at least feel the tip of the iceberg that is Kaito-san’s struggle of making Kuro-san happy.

  ???: Seriously, Kaito-san is actually a monster to eat those baby castels that not even m—Alice-chan could eat…