Sweet but Deadly Showcase
*Sniff, sniff*... Something smells sweet...
Of all times to smell something sweet... It's making me hungry...
Just as Charlotte said, a suffocating sweetness washed over us the moment the door opened.
This is...
I looked around. Lights illuminated the stage, while people sat in the dim seating beyond it.
I hadn't noticed last time, since I'd gone up onstage, but this was definitely...
The hall of Deep Field.
So that corridor connects to the hall. I wasn't expecting that... or such a large audience.
Are you familiar with this place?
This is where they were planning to hold the event featuring the golden chocolate.
But with the chocolate missing, they shouldn't be able to hold the event...
Oh! Look, there's someone up on the stage!
I looked where Charlotte was pointing and saw that the host had taken the stage.
The event... will begin... shooortly.
We ask that... every one of you... take a seaaat... in the audience.
Our distinguished guests at the doooor... kindly settle into your seats as weeell...
O-Of course! Sorry!
You don't have to answer so loudly, Charlotte.
Hehe... I do it out of habit, I guess. Sorry!
Captain, let's take our seats for now. Everyone is staring this way.
With guards likely still roaming outside, we couldn't leave right away anyway.
After finding seats for the three of us, I sat down and caught the sound of people chatting close by.
It's finally being revealed. How exciting!
Likewise. If the rumors prove true, I'll pay any price to have it.
You must have a wish you'd like fulfilled?
Certainly. Money is no object when it comes to creating a world without Voidborns.
Oh, such admirable sensibilities. I was wishing for the same thing!
...Well nooow, thank you all for waaaiting...
We would like to express our heartfelt... gratitude...
For taking time out of your precious daaay... to join us heeere...
For some reason, the host's delivery sounded a bit awkward.
Befooore the main event begins, as a token of your appreciatiooon...
Weee... have prepared a veeery special gift...!
Fine handmade chocolateee... for a delicious taste of Valentine's Day's sweetneeess...!
As the host spoke, staff passed through the audience and handed us small pieces of chocolate.
*Sniff, sniff...*
Oh, this chocolate must be where that sweet smell in the hall was coming from!
Ugh... The smell is almost sweet enough to make my head hurt...
First that sweet aroma, and now free chocolate samples...
With the golden chocolate gone, they appear to have switched to a different chocolate event.
...Argh! This was supposed to be the moment for my Valentine's Premium Chocolate!
Mmm. The flavor is undeniably refined. I'd love to buy some for friends if it were available.
Hehe. That clean, sweet aroma is just what I'd expect from Deep Field.
Mmm... The audience seems pretty pleased.
...Will your business be all right, my lady?
Tch. A little competition isn't going to threaten my business.
Really...?
Even without trying it, I know it falls short of my Valentine's Premium Chocolate.
Still, it's not often you get a chance to sample a competitor's product.
Well then, I'll help myself—
Ahh...
Frey opened her mouth, and she was just about to bring the sample chocolate to her lips.
J-Just a moment, Lady Frey!
Hmm? What is it?
It's suddenly gone so quiet! All the stage lights have gone out, too...
All these people... They're acting strange!
...
Charlotte was right. Everyone in the audience was staring blankly at the stage, their faces expressionless.
Just then, a dark silhouette revealed itself onstage.
*Fwoosh!*
Desire is chocolate in all its sweetness.
The instinct that makes you keep reaching for a moment's bliss, despite knowing the bitter end to come.
As the stage suddenly lit up, the person standing there was...
Wait, isn't she...
The magician from earlier...?
You have all come here with that instinct wrapped up tight in your lovely gowns and fine suits.
But the harder you try to suppress your innermost desires...
Haven't you found yourself wanting, more and more, to reveal every dirty thought you hide within?
A cold atmosphere settled over the audience as the magician posed the question.
Wh-What's going on...?
Aren't the guards going to intervene? Even with a staff member saying such outrageous things?
You are free to be honest at last.
For now begins your chance to freely reveal those pure desires...
Let the golden chocolate showcase begin!
Wait a minute.
The golden chocolate showcase? Wasn't it supposed to be stolen?
Come! Lay bare your desires to your heart's content!
The golden chocolate inside will embrace any desire you have!
The magician cried out and raised the box high in the air.
The golden chocolate... is in that box...?
It was too far away to make out clearly, but something about that box...
...Doesn't it look a lot like Frey's box of chocolates?
Waaaah!!
Huh?!
The hall suddenly shook with thunderous cheers as the entire audience surged toward the stage.
A-Ah...! Please stop pushing!
*Thump*
Caught in the unexpected rush, Frey lost her grip on the box she was holding.
*Clack*
The impact knocked the box partly open, revealing the defective chocolate through the gap.
Ugh... I need to keep it in the best condition possible if I want a proper refund...
Huh?
What's wrong?
...Well, it's this chocolate. Something... isn't right.
It seems like... even more of the squares have gone yellow, doesn't it?
What? That can't be!
*Stare...*
Our eyes turned to the chocolate lying on the floor.
There was no mistaking it. A larger portion of the chocolate had clearly changed color since our first look.
It had turned golden.
I-I don't remember it glittering like this before...
What's going on...?
All of you, hiding behind hypocrisy in public while indulging your filthy desires behind closed doors...!
But that's all right. The golden chocolate will help me peel away the masks you hide behind.
So, to turn this chocolate golden...
Unleash your desires with everything you have!
I'll be the richest person in Lavistar! Everything belongs to me! Hehe...!
None stand above me! You must all take your place at my feet!
Oh, tell me more about how beautiful I am! Look up to me even more...!
Wooooo!!
As the commotion escalated, another square of the defective chocolate began turning gold.
Its gleam was unmistakably different now, catching the lights with a sharp flash.
C-Captain...? Lady Frey...? Are you two seeing this...?
Yeah. Apparently...
There's nothing defective about it.
This is the golden chocolate...!