026 – For Whom is the Club Room #3
I, Ha Seung-ri, didn’t particularly like sweet food.
However, I considered it essential in life.
After working hard and resting, a clean and light dessert could relieve fatigue.
But, too much of anything could cause problems.
Everything in moderation, right?
So, in that sense, the creation I made was the perfect fit for a light dessert.
“Where do you think it was around here?”
Enio, who was following me, asked as I glanced around.
“What are you doing here, Victor? This is the girls’ dormitory. They let you in just to look around.”
The girls’ dormitory was a strictly “no men” zone.
Without permission from delegates or student council executives performing public duties, any man entering could face severe consequences.
“Look at that. A man is here.”
“What? Is that Victor? Wasn’t he supposed to be resting after his injury?”
“Miss Enio of Blackstar is with him. What’s going on?”
“More importantly, why are they together?”
Even without listening, the chattering of the girls looking around and gossiping about us echoed loudly. It reminded me of the time I used to work at a convenience store at a high school.
“Victor, did you want to get attention from the girls on campus? How sinister.”
It seemed like Enio had misunderstood something strange. But instead of explaining, I thought it would be better to show her, so I headed to the back of the dormitory.
There, there was a garden with a variety of flowers in full bloom, perfect for a new semester spring day. It truly had the feeling of a women’s garden.
The girls’ high school where I had worked part-time was nothing like this, but it was evident that this place matched the image from the game.
Quite romantic.
But those guys over there were a bit different.
“Hey, you there. Smoking magic herbs on school property is against the rules.”
“Look, it’s Victor.”
“Quick, put out the fire.”
Girls with blonde and blue hair looked at me and promptly extinguished the flames of what they were holding in their mouths.
Then, someone with an impressive eyebrow piercing frowned and spoke.
“Victor, you’re not an enforcer anymore. Why are you acting so strict?”
“Magic herbs have the effect of increasing magic power, but they are harmful to the body. And even if I’m not an enforcer, anyone has a duty to report illegal activities.”
“Ellie, let’s just go. Enio is here, and this is getting annoying.”
“…Ugh, I just threw away my herbs.”
The good-looking female students casually discarded the magic herbs on the ground. It was bad to litter like that. These were some bad individuals.
Should I pick them up for now?
They might come in handy.
Enio, who had been observing this process, asked.
“Victor, why did you come here? You’re not an enforcer anymore, so you didn’t come to crack down on students smoking magic herbs, did you?”
“Where there are many flowers, butterflies, and bees tend to gather. Look over there, Enio.”
I pointed to the dormitory wall.
There was a fairly large beehive on the high eaves, larger than I had expected, about the size of a child’s torso.
It was really big.
Buzz… Buzz…
As if they had sensed that an intruder was approaching, the bees came out and show their vigilance.
The size of the bees, individually the size of a palm, was quite threatening.
In reality, D&A’s Bashkir bee swarms were quite challenging monster groups to deal with.
If they stung, there was a high chance of falling into a Level 3 poisoning state, which was quite painful.
The HP drained by 3 points per second.
Given that the average HP of first-year students was 50, you could roughly estimate how severe it was.
“What’s that? Were there such things at the back of the dormitory? It looks really dangerous…”
Enio didn’t seem to know anything about the beehives that occupied this flower bed, perhaps because he didn’t live in the dormitory.
I decided to give Enio a clear explanation.
“It’s a Bashkir beehive. I’m going to take it.”
“That…? It looks extremely dangerous.”
“It’s okay.”
I had dealt with beehives in my original body before.
* * *
I borrowed a ladder from the girls’ dormitory’s maintenance equipment shed.
I used it to climb up, and before I knew it, a crowd of girls had gathered, eager to watch as I approached the hive.
“That guy, what is he doing now?”
“Collecting beehives. I think they’ve finally decided to address the complaints we submitted to the Student Council! Now we can manage the flower beds properly!”
“But that guy isn’t a Student Council executive anymore. Is it really necessary for him to do this?”
“That’s true. But he always gives his best to finish the task he’s taken on, right?”
“If it’s Victor, I can understand why. His sense of responsibility is kind of cool…”
“What? You like that kind of thing?”
The female students were chattering excitedly, but they were all wrong.
I wasn’t collecting this beehive for the sake of everyone.
The real objective was inside this beehive.
Buzz… Buzz…
As I climbed the ladder, the bees began to swarm me. I couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of bees the size of my palm sticking to my body.
「Quirk «Steel» activated」
If I didn’t have the Steel Quirk, I would never have attempted this reckless act without protective gear.
Although my neck and shoulders stung a bit, I could endure it.
“Even though the poison is terrifying, the Bashkir bees’ attack power is relatively low.”
With stingers around 2-3 cm long, they couldn’t penetrate my tough skin.
Even if they managed to pierce my skin, Victor had resistance to poison.
“Still, my eyes are stinging a bit.”
The bees sprayed their poison like gas, which made my eyes uncomfortable.
In my original world, I had always worn protective gear when collecting beehives, and even then, it was never a pleasant experience.
It was better than making 「Spring Sauce」, but there was no need to keep getting stung unnecessarily.
“If you don’t want to get stung, stay back.”
I cautioned the nearby female students who were watching.
After the troublesome students had discarded their magic herbs earlier, I blew smoke behind the beehive.
Wooosh…
As a result, the Bashkir bees couldn’t endure the smoke and flew away.
Taking advantage of their retreat, I firmly grabbed the beehive and detached it.
What I wanted was the honey inside.
「Bashkir Bee Honey: A sweet reward that can be obtained by defeating fierce bees. It boasts a delightful sweetness that might become even more enjoyable with a special cooking method…」
Good.
I had what I came for.
Bashkir Bee Honey was a tier-one ingredient, unlike the easily obtained honey from regular beehives. It was challenging to find Bashkir hives and their effects were excellent, which is why they were always in high demand.
But thanks to the subquest “Beehive Incident”, at least one Bashkir hive would always appear near the female dormitory.
It was as I was descending from the ladder.
“…Hey, Victor. Thanks for taking care of the beehive. I couldn’t manage the flower bed at all because of the bees.”
Someone came up to me.
“You must be Rose.”
She was a simple student with brown hair braided into one braid and wearing glasses.
Rose was the flower bed manager.
When you completed the subquest “Beehive Incident”, she would give you a flower or herb every time you encountered them growing in the female dormitory.
The flowers and herbs she provided were quite helpful as they could be used in cooking, furniture, and as item ingredients.
“Victor, this is my small token of appreciation.”
Rose handed me a small herb.
Of course, it wasn’t an ordinary herb; it was a four-leaf clover with heart-shaped leaves.
It perfectly matched the reward received from completing the “Beehive Incident” subquest.
Did it have the same effect?
「Four-Leaf Clover: An easily recognizable symbol of good luck. It increases Rene’s acquisition rate by 5%.」
A straightforward effect.
It increased the rate at which I acquired Rene when defeating monsters or clearing dungeons by 5%.
It might not seem like much, but when it accumulated, it could turn into a significant sum.
“I’ll gratefully accept it.”
Receiving the reward for completing a subquest felt strangely satisfying.
I had suspected this even as the main character, Luke, but it seemed that even without Luke, completing subquests could yield rewards.
This information could be quite helpful in various ways.
“Alright, Enio, let’s head back to the club room.”
“Oh? Okay. I’ll come with you.”
* * *
It would be nice to have a fireplace or a heating device in the club room.
But for now, we made a campfire in front of the storage room that was being used as our club room.
“Let’s get it heated first.”
I poured the honey I obtained from the beehive into a pot and started boiling it.
In the real world, heating regular honey could destroy its components, but in this game, it seemed fine. After all, it was monster bee honey we were dealing with.
“Victor, what are you going to do with this?”
Enio looked at the captured queen bee inside the woven reed basket and tilted her head curiously.
Well, I didn’t really know what to do with a queen bee.
To be honest, I didn’t think I could even catch one in the first place.
━Buzz… Buzz…
Capturing the queen bee that hadn’t escaped from the beehive was purely a coincidence.
I thought I could use it somewhere, so I put it in the basket for now.
It seemed that Enio was intrigued by the queen bee.
“This one seems calmer compared to the aggressive worker bees from earlier.”
“Most queen bees have a less aggressive nature. They conserve their energy for the survival of the species.”
“Is that so? I had no idea.”
“Nevertheless, they can sting, so don’t mess with it.”
“Hmm…”
Enio, as if losing interest in the queen bee at that moment, turned her head towards me.
Then, she lightly brushed her hand over my shoulder.
“To confront those terrifying bees… You would go to such lengths just to make my dessert. Honestly, it’s quite touching.”
“Don’t talk to me. This is a critical moment.”
From this point on, I had to vigorously stir the honey.
Otherwise, I might fail.
This was a rare find, Bashkir Bee Honey.
I couldn’t confidently predict when I would obtain the next batch of it.
As I stirred the honey, it started emitting a sweet fragrance, unlike the sensation I had just experienced, which was unforgettable. The simmering sound was a reminder of the hard-earned flavor.
Bubble bubble.
The once amber honey began to shine brilliantly in golden hues.
As I continued to stir, the golden liquid in the pot gradually diminished until…
It finally turned into a ball of dough, about the size of a candy.
“Victor, is this…?”
“This is the dessert you wanted. At the moment, I can’t make anything better than this.”
Using clean hands and sanitary gloves, I shaped the dough. After giving it a round shape, I let it rest for a while, and it was done.
Poof-
「Done! The dish was successfully completed! 」
「Honey Candy: Candy made with special honey. Proper cooking methods have eliminated toxicity and greatly increased its sweetness. But there may be a way to make it even better…」
I had completed the 1-tier dish, 「Honey Candy」.
By the way, combining 「Honey Candy」 and another ingredient, 「Snowflake Shaved Ice」, would create a legendary-tier dish, 「Honey Candy Shaved Ice Harmony」.
However, I couldn’t make it right away, which was disappointing.
Nevertheless, this should suffice for a light dessert.
“Candy. I think like I’m eating it for the first time since I was on the mainland. Is it really delicious?”
Enio gave a slightly wary look at the round candy.
Did she get upset because I told her not to talk to me while I was making candy?
Enio rolled the candy around in her palm, smelled it, and then frowned.
“Gold. It almost reminds me of someone’s eyes. Let’s try it.”
Ah, she opened her mouth, revealing her crimson tongue.
The candy on top of it looked like beads on a fox with many tails.
In reality, it was probably quite similar.
Enio might be more dangerous in some ways than a fox with many tails.
Gulp.
Finally, the gold candy disappeared between Enio’s lips.
Her crimson, gem-like eyes widened.
Access 10 Chapters ahead of the Novelupdates release on our Patreon. <3
