Lichten Academy.
Newspaper Club Room.
Once one of Lichten’s top ten core clubs, it now seemed like a relic of past glory.
The Kirtos Network was the reason.
Since the bulletin boards became active, the number of people looking for the school newspaper had plummeted.
… Therefore.
[Newspaper Club President // Brody]
In the highest seat of the club.
Brody, who was sunk into the luxurious legacy of a leather chair, sighed softly as she looked out the window.
“Haah… Can’t something newsworthy happen?”
They needed an incident that would stir the Academy.
Something like a grade assessment ceremony or a disciplinary committee.
By covering such big events, the newspaper club barely managed to survive.
Rustle.
Brody’s rich brown hair rustled with boredom as she looked out the window.
“…Huh?”
A small question popped out of her mouth.
Someone was running toward the third club building.
Of course, there were many clubs in the third club building.
“But no one would rush here except us.”
She smelled it.
The scent of a big story.
Sure enough.
— Bang!
The door swung open roughly, and a girl appeared.
A freshman in the Mezai class, Janet, who was Brody’s childhood friend despite being in a different grade.
“Brody!”
She grabbed Brody’s hand and pulled her up.
“W-What’s going on!”
“Just run!”
Instinctively, Brody grabbed her camera and reporter’s notebook.
‘A true journalist must be ready to handle any situation!’
Thus, Brody was dragged to the Academy’s central garden.
“What on earth is happening?”
“You’ll see.”
The garden should be quiet around lunchtime, but today, for some reason, it was crowded. People were gathering from all directions.
Was there an event?
Brody had never seen Janet this frantic.
Brody, ready to take pictures at any moment, followed Janet’s lead.
“Ah, over there!”
Janet shouted brightly.
Following her pointing finger, Brody saw hastily written letters on a wooden plank.
[Dessert Research CLub]
There was a small stall.
In front of it, about twenty people were lined up.
‘Is it a club performance presentation?’
She had never heard of this club.
Brody stood at the end of the line with Janet and whispered softly.
“…Did you make such a fuss over a club performance presentation? Why is the line so long?”
— Smack!
Her forehead suddenly throbbed.
As her vision returned, she saw Janet in a flicking pose.
“W-What’s with you!”
“Brody.”
“…Yes?”
“Just taste it. Would I have brought you to a strange place?”
“Well, no, but.”
To Brody, Janet seemed enveloped in a subtle madness.
It wasn’t just her.
Everyone in this line seemed the same.
‘…What on earth?’
It smelled dangerous.
It was the instinct of a journalist.
Brody cautiously took out her reporter’s notebook.
Even if her instinct was wrong, the fact that about twenty people gathered for a club performance presentation was enough for a small paragraph in the newspaper.
People continued to gather.
“…F-Finally. I saved my allowance for today.”
“I can’t forget that white powder…”
The crowd swarmed in like a horde of zombies.
‘Seriously, what is this!?’
There were easily over a hundred people.
This couldn’t be a simple club performance presentation.
Brody took a photo of the long line.
Finally, their turn came.
A red-haired girl greeted them from behind the stall.
“Janet! You came! And this is Brody? Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Janet.”
“Ah… Yes.”
“Hehe, sorry. Is this our first time meeting? Did I act too familiar? My name is Lina! Nice to meet you.”
Wow.
It was obvious she was famous, but her friendliness was captivating in conversation. Brody, already feeling like Lina was a friend, watched as Lina smiled brightly and asked.
“So, what would you like to eat? I recommend the tangerine. It’s really delicious because it’s so tangy.”
In truth, Brody hadn’t planned on buying any of these unknown fruits. But Lina’s natural recommendation made her respond without thinking.
“T-Then I’ll have that.”
“Hehe! You’ll love it! So, what about you, Janet?”
“I like grapes.”
“Okay!”
Lina smiled and held out her hands.
“One piece for 1 silver.”
“1 silver…?!”
1 silver was equivalent to 100,000 krone.
This for just a few pieces of fruit on a stick.
With white powder sprinkled on top.
And it cost 1 silver?
“A…Ah.”
Brody was too shocked to speak.
Seeing this, Janet sighed softly.
“Spent all your money on another camera, huh? I’ll cover you this time. Here you go, Lina. One for me and one for her.”
Clink.
Lina smiled as she received the silver coin.
“Oh, Janet, you’re such a good friend. So…”
Lina glanced around.
Then.
“Ta-da.”
She took out some fruit from an icebox and added one more piece to each skewer.
“I secretly added one more piece for you! This one’s for Janet. This one’s for Brody!”
“Thanks. You’re the best, Lina.”
Janet accepted hers with a smile.
Unlike her, Brody narrowed her eyes.
Having regained her senses, Brody hurriedly took out her notebook.
“Boss…? This is a club, right? When you say ‘boss,’ does that mean there’s a big capital behind this club? I’ve heard there are forces using clubs for business. Can you tell me more?”
This was a hot topic.
Recently, some clubs had been acting suspiciously.
Janet scolded Brody as she opened her notebook.
“Brody, are you a T?”
“T?”
“Are you going to respond rationally to this situation? Lina risked getting caught by others to give you this precious snowflake fruit as a service?”
Janet’s stern gaze.
Brody quickly shook her head.
“Oh. Sorry. Of course! Thank you, Lina. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Hehe, it’s my pleasure. Take care, Brody.”
As Lina smiled, Brody felt admiration.
She’s beautiful.
This girl is a blessing.
‘…Maybe this is a genuine club.’
With her emotions stirred, Brody watched Lina clasp her hands apologetically.
“I’d love to chat more, but I’m sorry. We have too many customers. Let’s talk again sometime, okay?”
“Ah. Yes!”
“Ah, and if you throw the wooden skewer in that trash can, you’ll earn one more coupon, so don’t forget, okay?”
— Suspicious club
— Lina is pretty and kind.
Closing her notebook after adding this line, Brody accepted the snowflake fruit.
◆
Janet and Brody took a seat on a bench near the garden.
“You have to eat it quickly for the best taste.”
Janet took a bite right away, letting out a sweet moan.
“Ahh… this is it…”
“Janet! Wh-why are you making that sound all of a sudden!”
Brody hastily looked around.
Fortunately, there were no people around.
“Why on earth… huh?”
Turning back to Janet, Brody was alarmed.
Janet’s pupils were dilated.
“Wh-what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Prrrrr.
Janet’s lips trembled instead of answering.
‘…What’s going on? This is really strange.’
Her breathing was a bit rough and hot.
Her face flushed a rosy pink.
It looked like the expression of a girl deeply happy in the midst of love.
‘Could it be this white powder…’
This was definitely a scoop!
And a true journalist remains objective, even with friends!
Brody quickly took a photo of her friend.
Then she took a picture of the ‘snowflake tangerine’ in her hand.
A dangerous scent lingered.
Five large tangerine segments covered in white powder for 1 silver… that’s 100,000 krone?
It didn’t make sense logically.
‘There’s only one explanation for this.’
The fruit wasn’t expensive.
It was the white snowflake powder on the fruit that was pricey.
“It’s… so delicious…”
Janet mumbled.
She looked incredibly happy.
Brody stared at her portion.
The pristine appearance of the fruit.
“Gulp.”
Swallowing involuntarily.
She wanted to eat it.
Realizing this, Brody quickly shook her head.
“This… this is it!”
A true journalist always needs to experience it for himself!
A true journalist must experience things firsthand!
Mumbling to herself, Brody activated the auto-capture magic on her camera.
Setting it to capture her actions, she took a bite of the snowflake tangerine.
Chew.
The first bite filled her mouth with a refreshing coolness.
The powder on the surface sweetly melted and spread in her mouth.
Chew.
As the sour juice burst, it wrapped around her tongue.
This was… yes!
Brody had never kissed anyone.
But she understood.
It was like the act of lovers entwining their tongues.
Sometimes like a gentle embrace, sometimes stimulating.
The sweet and sour coolness swirling in her mouth made Brody’s breath quicken.
“…Huff.”
Brody’s saliva mixed with the tangerine juice, thick and sweet.
Without realizing it, Brody swallowed the contents of her mouth.
“Huff… no!”
Oh, she hadn’t finished chewing yet…!
The smooth and sticky flesh of the fruit, mixed with saliva, slid down her throat.
An unfamiliar sensation in her esophagus.
Brody had a narrow throat.
When taking pills, she couldn’t swallow them in one go, often having to break them into smaller pieces or remove the coating.
But now, she had swallowed pieces twice as large.
In her excitement, she had produced an excessive amount of saliva.
The overly slick texture allowed the pieces to slip down her throat.
“Ugh…!”
A moment of crisis.
‘… But at this thickness.’
She might be able to swallow them if she tried hard enough.
She didn’t want to spit it out.
Brody accepted the pieces sliding down her throat.
— Gulp. Gulp.
“Ugh…!”
The chunks forced her narrow esophagus to widen.
Her breath slightly restricted.
Instinctively, Brody tensed her throat to push the flesh down.
Her toes curled from the effort.
Her mind went blank.
Tremble.
Her body shook for a moment.
“Gulp—”
Finally, the fruit pieces passed through her esophagus, and the sweetness and sourness spread down her throat.
“Haa… haah…”
She regained her breath.
Her mind sparkled.
She stretched her toes, which had curled up.
Tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
Wiping them away, she looked down at her hand.
There were still four pieces of fruit left.
‘…I only swallowed one bite, and it was like this.’
If she ate it all…
“I-I’ll definitely lose my senses…”
But.
But this was for journalism.
Brody brought the thick piece of fruit to her mouth.
— Plop, drop.
Her pen rolled off the bench and onto the ground.
◆
That day, there were notably more happy-looking students at the Academy.
Ian was among them.
For a slightly different reason than the others.
- Number of sales: 1,312
- Average number of items purchased per person: 1.9
- Sales revenue: 1,312 silver, or 13 gold and 120 silver. (1,312,000 krone)
- Net profit: 10 gold.
It was a perfect debut.
