In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 154

Chapter 154: Harvest Time

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A fluffy wolfdog plush pouch. Yui had an unexpectedly strong reaction to the souvenir I got during the on-location shoot.

“Wow! This one’s super cute ♡ I want it~”

Huh? Super cute? This?

Yui was giving me her best puppy-dog eyes. When she pulled that move out, that meant she was dead serious. The Tamaran pouch, with its chibi three-heads-tall proportions, had a certain charm compared to the full-sized costume that emphasized its wildness.

But still, it’s super buff, you know?

It had a big head, sharp eyes, and a wide mouth split all the way to its ears with a pink tongue lolling out. It had the classic bad-guy face you’d expect to see squatting in front of a convenience store in some old-school coming-of-age movie.

“If you want it, you can have it. But Yui, do you even like macho guy and stuff?”

I tried asking.

“Yay! Thank you! Umm, it’s not like I’m into macho guy or anything… I just think strong guys seem attractive. I mean, they feel reliable, you know?”

Yui quickly hugged the Tamaran pouch close to her chest. The mini Tamaran, squashed in a bear hug, looked more like it should be yelling “Gweh! Let go of me!” or “You’ll pay for this!” than someone you could actually rely on.

“I see. So it’s about being dependable, huh? Being strong makes someone seem reliable. Got it.”

Sad news. No matter how hard I racked my memory, I couldn’t recall anyone ever saying that about me. Even though I had some muscles myself.

“Oh, but Onii-chan, you’re already insanely cool just the way you are! You and Tamaran, who’s pretending to be tough, just have different appeal.”

My capable little sister Yui immediately threw in some damage control. But still, as her older brother, it stung a little that I’d lost in terms of dependability to a wolfdog with his tongue lolling out to the side. Maybe I should start working out again—I had been slacking lately.

I quickly retreated to my room and got pretty into doing squats and stretches. My circulation improved, and my body started to feel nice and warm.

“Phew. Time for a little break.”

I flopped onto the bed and closed my eyes. The pleasant fatigue felt good. I didn’t mind this lazy post-exercise feeling at all.

《Linkstar. Awaken.》

“Huh? God? Long time no see.”

When I opened my eyes in response to the call, I saw the giant pudding chick, riding on a luxurious glass boat, right in front of me. Still as delicious-looking as ever… Or maybe even more so.

Maybe because of the season, it was now extravagantly decorated with glossy, bright red giant strawberries. The ice cream assortment had grown too—there was now strawberry ice cream with fruit bits and pastel pink soft serve.

《It seems you’ve been spreading the faith quite well as an apostle. Your daily efforts are worthy of high praise. But do not let your guard down. The most grueling and unwavering day of the year is drawing near.》

Unwavering…? Isn’t that just National Foundation Day?

“What exactly happens on that day?”

The irresistible vanilla aroma and sweet scent of strawberries filled the air. Just breathing seemed to make it soak deep into my pores, not just my nose. I felt giddy from the heady sweetness.

《Theobroma Cacao—on that dreadful day, the followers of the rampaging titan of the sweets world, Cacao God, will run rampant. Their power will flood across Japan, bringing joy and despair to the masses and draining enormous energy resources.》

“You mean… Valentine’s Day?”

A spoon. Right. I needed a spoon.

《Indeed. The father god of that faction, Cacao-sama, is a fearsome strategist. After all, he orchestrated an entire national-scale event to promote his faction by manipulating the confectionery industry.》

“Sounds like the Cacao faction has a lot of followers.”

A fork would do, if a spoon wasn’t available.

《Enough to form a powerful faction. But now, a crack may be forming. According to intelligence from a double agent, a low-ranking god is plotting an uprising with the support of—⟪???⟫—》

“There are uprisings in the sweets world too, huh? That sounds intense.”

So was my appetite right now.

《Due to the nature of sweets, many belong to multiple factions. Our faction is pretty tolerant. Under the broad concept of ‘Pudding,’ we openly accept sweets who are unsure of their identity. Thanks to that, here in Japan, we’ve gained even more influence than the Mother Goddess.》

“Who is the Mother Goddess of your pudding faction?”

Grabbing it with my hands felt a little too uncivilized.

《Vanilla Planifolia. Commonly known by the affectionate name Vanilla-sama. A goddess full of compassion.》

“That makes sense. Vanilla is essential to pudding.”

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind diving into that glass boat myself.

《Exactly. But because she is so beloved, some impudent people have started using ‘vanilla’ to mean ‘plain’ or ‘boring.’ An unforgivable insult. Yet, one could say it happened because our faction has been lacking in information warfare. But that ends now. The world of sweets advances by the day. Those who control information gain the greatest advantage.》

“Information strategy, huh. I’m no good at that stuff, so I probably won’t be much help…”

Wasn’t there any useful cutlery lying around?

《Everyone has their role. You are doing well. Once your spirit creates the Ultimate Pudding, you too will gain greater power. Soon, you’ll obtain a crucial key in this. When cracks form in Team Cacao’s unity, it will be our chance to expand. Complete the Ultimate Pudding and captivate the world!》

“Ultimate Pudding, huh. I’ve never made sweets before, but I’ll try it with help from someone close to me.”

Agh. I missed my chance to eat again.

《Linkstar. You seem rather dejected. But there’s no need to despair. As a token of appreciation for your efforts and encouragement for the future, I shall grant you a small reward. Now, take it.》

When I looked at my hand as instructed, I found I was holding something. I held it up in front of me. It was a tiny plastic spoon, shockingly pink in color—and somehow familiar.

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“Huh? Did I fall asleep?”

I felt like I’d had an incredibly happy dream. A shame I couldn’t remember it. I was a bit hungry from the workout, so I went downstairs to the living room. For some reason, Yui was standing like a guardian statue in front of the greenhouse cabinet.

“Oh! Onii-chan, look, look! The vanilla pods are turning yellow!”

“Seriously? Wow, that means it’s about time, huh.”

It was said that from the time vanilla flowers bloomed to when they were harvested took nine months. Seven to eight months from when the pods formed. That was because it took a long time for the pods to mature.

At a glance, the eight long pods looked like overgrown string beans. They had started out dark green, but now they were a lighter green overall, and the tips were turning yellow.

“Onii-chan, can I go ahead and harvest them?”

“But vanilla pods are a huge pain to process, right? What are you going to do about that?”

I remembered that when Yui had mentioned it before, I got curious and looked it up. It turned out the reason vanilla was so expensive was because processing it took an enormous amount of time and effort. You had to soak them in hot water, sun-dry them, manage nighttime temperatures—it was a lot. The fermentation and aging process—what they called curing—took weeks.

“These are special vanilla pods, so Dad said that as long as you’re around, it’ll be fine.”

“Huh? What does he mean ‘as long as I’m around’?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask for the details, so I’m not sure.”

《Master, it seems it’s time to use the divine skill 【Blissful Curing】.》

Ah—right. That skill. I had completely forgotten about it. Ever since that skill appeared, people around me had started saying I gave off a sweet and pleasant scent, so I just assumed it was some kind of fragrance-type ability.

How was I supposed to use this skill again?

《The divine skill 【Blissful Curing】 is a passive skill. According to information obtained from Mr. Kousei’s diary, harvesting vanilla beans will automatically activate the proper effects.》

So I didn’t know what exactly would happen?

《Seeing is believing. Rather than debating, let’s actually try harvesting.》

Fair enough. But… was it really okay to do it right in front of Yui? I couldn’t exactly explain the skill to her.

《Since Mr. Kousei described it as a special plant, if anything unusual occurs with the vanilla beans, she should assume it’s just a unique characteristic of this particular vanilla.》

I see. That made sense. Better to act quickly—so I picked the vanilla pods and placed them into the tray Yui had prepared. The moment I lined up all eight of them, it happened.

♪~ Curing, curing, vani-vani-vani~ ♪

♪~ Pudding, pudding, bean-bean-bean~ ♪

Haai! (Haaa—i!) ♪

Dora! (Dora!) ♪

♪ Rise rise rise rise~ Vani-laaaaa!! ~ ♪ Hai!

(Rise rise rise rise~ Vani-laaaaa!!)

A strange, uplifting chorus-like song echoed in the air, and a creature that looked like a tiny green rabbit with white butterfly-like wings appeared. The rabbit-like creature spun midair in a whimsical dance, twirling a sparkly, glowing ribbon wand in circles over the vanilla beans—then vanished.

“Whoa, amazing. The curing finished in an instant. I wonder if we can already use them as flavouring now?”

Huh? Yui didn’t seem to notice the strange phenomenon just now? It wasn’t like I’d imagined it or heard things, right?

《It was probably a being known as a skill fairy. If that’s the case, then only the skill holder would be able to perceive it.》

A skill fairy. So those existed in this world too, huh.

“What about the scent—how is it?”

“I’ll give it a sniff. Whoa, it still has the pod on, but it already smells incredibly rich and fragrant.”

I picked up one of the vanilla beans, now turned brown, and took a whiff myself.

“This is… Well, it definitely smells like vanilla, but beyond that characteristic sweetness, there’s this elegant floral note to the flavour—it’s like a bouquet bursting into bloom. It’s so pleasant, I could just keep smelling it forever.”

“It kind of smells like your body, Onii-chan.”

“Wait, what? No way—I mean, I don’t think I’d swoon over my own scent.”

Still, it really was an extraordinary fragrance.

《Vanilla Ultimate. A supreme flavour, fermented and matured through divine power. Its flavour evokes a heavenly garden, and when used in sweets, it is said to bring a sense of ascending to the skies to those who eat them.》

The ultimate flavouring, huh? Honestly, it smelled divine enough that I could believe it.

“Onii-chan! Dad said we could use it however we want once it’s harvested, so let’s make pudding with these special vanilla beans!”

“Great idea. I bet we’ll end up with the most irresistibly delicious pudding ever.”

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