Bitter and Sweet
Huh...?
How did this happen?! How did the chocolate end up with us?!
...Now that I look closely, this chocolate box...
It looks almost identical to the boxes for my Valentine's Premium Chocolate, but it's a different one.
Pardon?
The size, color, and pattern are almost the same, but...
Look here. My chocolate boxes should have my personal crest printed inside.
But this...
This crest is completely different from yours...
Huh? Then what happened?
I've never heard of there being two golden chocolates. In that case...
Wait, surely not when...!
Does something come to mind?
Well...
This was during the day, when I arrived here at Deep Field.
...
...
What are all those boxes for? I bet you can barely see where you're going.
Let's say they're work essentials a part-time bunny girl needs for the job.
There's nothing you need to worry about. I'll just let myself in.
Hold it! Think you can talk your way past me with an answer like that?!
I need to check what's inside. All the boxes, on this table.
Ugh... You really won't budge, will you?!
*Thud* *Clatter...*
Easy with those! You're not the only guest with belongings here!
Let's see. This one's chocolate, and this one's also chocolate...
That one as well...
Well, nothing wrong with the contents. You're clear to enter.
Naturally! That's exactly what I said, wasn't it?
Well then, keep up the good work.
Phew, what a handful...
...Huh? Wait. What happened to the box I was keeping here?
Oh, here it is.
What a relief. That bunny girl nearly took it away with her boxes.
Still, hiring such a pushy girl... Is it really okay to have her dealing with guests?
...There was that incident.
That's obviously when the boxes got switched!
Wh-What do we do? This is the legendary golden chocolate that supposedly fulfills your every desire...!
Could we still return it and admit there was a mix-up...?
As much as I wanted to do exactly that...
Do you feel it? The thrill of being set free?
Now, it's time to put an end to that little act of sophistication.
Let loose all those ugly desires you used to satisfy behind closed doors!
...There was no telling what would happen if the real golden chocolate appeared in that chaos.
Oh, look! More of the chocolate is turning gold!
I looked at the chocolate we were holding. Another square was filling with a golden hue.
By now, very few sections were still ordinary chocolate.
...It seems to be turning completely golden.
In other words...
Are you saying that the golden chocolate is created by absorbing people's desires?
I think... that might be it.
Um... Captain, but we're the ones holding the golden chocolate, aren't we?
Then why is the magician still stirring up the crowd?
...Could she be unaware of the mix-up?
Wooo! Yeah!
Excellent, just excellent! I can feel this box of golden chocolate getting heavier and heavier!
Ahahahaha!
...Yep. Looks like she clearly doesn't know.
...Hmm.
In that case, we should slip out now without her realizing.
Huh? What about the audience?
Just look at their eyes. They're already out of their minds.
What's more, discovering that the golden chocolate up there isn't real might only make things worse.
Captain, let's get outside first and find a way to bring this situation under control.
Perhaps the best option was to let the guards outside spot her.
Whether it was real or not, claiming to have the golden chocolate amounted to admitting she was the thief.
Precisely. You certainly understand how everyone's interests align, Captain.
Such talent is hard not to covet...
...Huh?
O-Oh, nothing. Never mind.
Anyway, we'd better hurry. There's plenty to be done.
Bunny bunny!
Aaaah?!
Lady Frey, get behind me!
Deep Field's bunny girls aren't enough for me!
I'll be just like him! I'll get my very own personal bunny girl!
Yikes...!
...I vaguely remembered the man who lunged at us. He came on so fiercely that I kicked him without thinking.
You all right?
Th-Thanks for that, Captain...!
Though... we seem to have drawn her attention.
Hmm? Why do I still see people who aren't being true to themselves?
The crowd parted, still shouting their desires, and the magician slowly walked through.
I see. I take it you didn't try the chocolate you were offered?
How do you expect us to eat that when everyone who did immediately started acting weird?!
Heh... Such keen senses. Your body is certainly true to its instincts.
Well, it hardly matters.
*Snap*
At the snap of her fingers, I suddenly found a round piece of chocolate resting on my palm.
Should you decline, I'll make you eat it anyway.
The chocolate popped open, its sticky filling wrapping around my fingertips.
Then...
...Gah!
A red haze swept across my vision just as a dizzyingly sweet scent flooded my senses.
To lose myself in that drowsy sensation and just...
Pursuing... nothing but my own desires.
...?
...Or so I felt, until the fog in my head cleared in an instant.
...Huh?
*Snap...*
*Snap* *Snap*
Looking flustered, the magician snapped her fingers again and again, but...
...?
The dreamy sensation faded more quickly each time...
*Snap*
...Until, finally, I felt nothing at all.
I-It seems there's something unusual about your constitution. A man immune to my tricks...
...Grr.
Very well. I need only try something else, then.
C-Captain...
Captain, is it...? So that's what they call you.
Spend enough time among those who have cast aside their pretenses, and eventually you'll have to be honest about your own desires.
Until then, please remain here while I finish the golden chocolate.
Captain.
*Poof*
The magician vanished in a puff of smoke. My eyes fell on Charlotte and Frey, both standing motionless.
...
Captain...
Captain! Captainnn!!