Two of them arrived at a secluded hallway on the fifth floor.
Cass stood up straight, making himself look even more serious than usual. “Ba Er, is there something you need my help with?”
“Ah… actually…”
Agatha kept her head lowered, sneaking a glance upward.
“Hm? No way, that’s not…”
“Ba Er?”
“Um! If I’m wrong, I apologize!”
Agatha took a deep breath before speaking. “What I’m about to say is definitely not a confession to you!”
He had to admit, Cass really thought Agatha was here to confess, and he’d even prepared to turn her down. Hearing her blunt words, Cass felt ninety percent of the tension in his heart lift.
“Actually, I’m a member of the Cooking Club. I came to you today because I made a few too many cookies in the Home Economics Classroom yesterday. Could you help me get rid of some?”
She pulled her other hand out from behind her back, revealing a transparent plastic bag of cookies.
“Is it okay if I take these?”
Agatha blushed deeply, head bowed, only lifting her eyes slightly to look at Cass.
“Oh, oh… thank you, Ba Er.” Cass took the bag of cookies, looking a bit hesitant.
“Ah… I’m glad…” Seeing him accept, Agatha placed a hand on her chest and let out a faint smile.
Cass held the cookie bag, his face thoughtful. Siloque had mentioned that members of the Evil Demon Society might be lurking within the school. He was wary of unfamiliar food. To be precise, ever since drinking the milk tea Myut had brewed back then, food of unknown origin—especially from young girls (not counting cafeteria aunties)—triggered an instinctive alarm bell in his mind.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t told Siloque about Agatha yet. But too many girls confess to me, and reporting each one to him would probably make him think I’m annoying.’ Cass had recently realized that bragging about his popularity with girls to other guys would only get him hated, so he didn’t dare bring it up.
“Hm? Ba Er, were these cookies baked yesterday?”
“Yes.” Agatha’s smile was still sweet.
Cass felt the bag was warm. He guessed it was from Agatha holding it too long, but the heat felt more like it was radiating from inside the bag, as if freshly made.
“I’ll take them back to share with my friends. I should probably get going…”
“Um, Benor, could you try one now? I’d love to hear your thoughts.” Agatha still kept her head down, fidgeting with her hands and bringing them together to cover her mouth.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Cass’s face. ‘In this atmosphere, not eating it would be more suspicious.’ It wasn’t that Cass doubted Agatha; he simply didn’t want to eat unfamiliar food.
“My stomach’s been acting up lately…” He couldn’t help but lie again.
“That’s perfect! I made monkey head mushroom cookies—they’re good for the stomach.”
“Can you even make monkey head mushroom cookies in the Home Economics Classroom?!” Cass was at a loss for words. Agatha kept stealing hopeful glances at him, and at that moment, Cass kind of missed Siloque. If it were him, he wouldn’t care about social niceties or relationships—he’d just turn and walk away without a second thought.
“Benor… do you just not like cookies?” Agatha said, sounding dejected.
“No, not at all.” ‘Dragging this out any longer would be too weird.’ Cass hesitated, then opened the bag, took out a cookie, stared at it for a moment, swallowed a gulp of saliva to brace himself, and opened his mouth—
“Sorry, Benor, I just remembered I have something to do. Let me know what you think of the cookies next time, okay?”
Agatha bowed, left a shy smile, and then ran off.
Cass was at a bit of a loss, but he put the cookie back into the bag.
“What was that all about…”
“Good morning, Cass Benor.”
Turning around at the voice, a girl with her bangs pinned back by a hair clip smiled at him with gentle, narrowed eyes. Cass was slightly surprised. “Vice President? Ah, good morning.”
“Looks like I interrupted your little rendezvous.”
“No, not at all. You actually saved me.”
Sharp let out an awkward smile. “I went to your class to find you, and asked around until I got here. When I saw you talking with Ba Er… maybe she noticed me and felt too embarrassed to keep chatting.”
Cass stored the cookies back in his Ring Chart and asked, “No, she just made too many cookies and gave them to me to clear out—just avoiding waste, nothing more. Speaking of which, Vice President, you said you were looking for me?”
“…Made too many cookies, huh.” Sharp gave a meaningful smile, and Cass shyly avoided her gaze.
“Benor, can you come with me to the Student Council Office? Of course, if you’re hungry, you can eat first and come by after class at noon.”
Hearing it wouldn’t take long from the Vice President, Cass decided to go now since he had things to do after school.
When they reached the Student Council Office door, Cass let Vice President Sharp go in first while he headed to the restroom.
Checking for any signs of life and ensuring no one was around, Cass quickly slipped into a bathroom stall and locked the door. He sat down on the toilet seat, which was so clean it reeked of disinfectant.
‘Hertanid, are you asleep?’
‘…I had just closed my eyes. Is it dinner time? I wouldn’t mind a bunch of bananas before bed.’
‘Sorry, it’s not bananas!’
‘Then I’ll sleep. Goodnight.’
‘Don’t sleep yet! Hertanid! Hear me out, I need a small favor.’
‘How troublesome. What is it?’
Cass pulled the cookies Agatha gave him from his Ring Chart.
‘Help me test these, Hertanid. You can detect the scent of a Refined Tree Nest, right?’
‘That rotten stench? Yeah, it’s really foul.’
Cass had learned about the Evil Demon Society from the documents Siloque had sent him. Having Hertanid taste-test these cookies was to check if they were safe.
In the blink of an eye, a small girl with a silver ponytail appeared to his left.
Ailulu! No, it was Hertanid.
‘…Every time I appear, you send off a strong wave.’
‘Please ignore the little things.’ Cass held back the urge to grab her and ruffle her hair.
The thought of Ailulu appearing in an inappropriate men’s bathroom stall made Cass swallow. A strange, inexplicable thrill welled up inside him, like sprinkling salt on watermelon—it felt wrong, but it only highlighted the sweetness.
‘Can’t you wait until night? And the cleaner smell here is too strong—it’s not suitable for eating.’
‘Bear with it for a second! Just try one to see if it’s normal.’
‘Fine, but you owe me two bunches of bananas as an offering for waking me up.’
‘Ah, I was planning to manage your weight, you know…’
The silver-haired girl with the long ponytail shot Cass a cold glare. ‘I knew the banana count was off. Don’t meddle in my affairs. Get your own self-indulgence frequency down before you worry about me.’
‘Whoa! Hertanid, you—!!’
Ignoring Cass, who was about to cry, the expressionless girl picked up a cookie. ‘I know… you’re just taking advantage of me, Hertanid.’
The baked cookie had a beautiful golden-brown hue—a proper cookie, as refined as Stregna’s handmade ones.
Hertanid tossed it into her mouth, crunch, crackle, munch, munch…
‘How is it, Hertanid?’
‘Hard to say. I need to keep testing for poison.’
Hertanid just kept shoving cookies into her mouth, eating, eating, eating…
‘Alright, rest assured. It’s a tasty cookie with nothing unusual about it.’
‘You ate them all?!’
‘Goodnight. Don’t forget my bananas.’
The silver-haired girl nodded contentedly, even ate the plastic bag, and then vanished instantly.
‘So… Agatha’s probably fine. She just gave me cookies. I’m being too paranoid.’
Feeling a bit sorry for Agatha that her kindness had been consumed by a banana-loving god, Cass washed his hands in the bathroom and tidied up a bit before heading to the office door and knocking rhythmically.
A sophisticated voice came from behind the door. “Come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Cass stepped into the Student Council Office.
A tall figure rose from the desk at the far end of the room. With striking violet hair and an enchanting aura that seemed to push the air away from her entire being, her slender purple eyes fixed on Cass quietly.
‘Why is she looking at me like that?’ It felt like a Swordmaster about to draw their sword, yet Cass’s heart tightened.
“Student Council President…”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Cass’s back.
“I called you today because—”
The President had barely taken two steps out from behind the massive desk piled with documents when she tripped over her own left foot and stumbled forward.