Chapter 510: The War Has Already Begun
"Knock, knock."
As the sound of knocking echoed, they all quieted down, and Yukino, as the club president, spoke up.
"Come in."
The door to the clubroom slid open with a "whoosh," and two familiar figures walked in.
"Yumiko, Hina? What brings you here?"
Yui was a bit surprised to see her two close friends.
"Hi there, Yui."
Ebina greeted her with a smile.
"We're here because we have a request, well actually, it's Yumiko's request."
"Yumiko's request?!"
Upon hearing this, Yui was curious, but Yukino seemed to have guessed something and sighed.
"Have a seat first."
At her words, Yumiko and Ebina took their seats.
Looking at Yumiko sitting across from her, Yukino spoke in a cool tone.
"Go ahead, what's the request?"
Yumiko looked a bit embarrassed, especially when she glanced at Hachiman sitting on the other side, quickly averting her gaze.
Fidgeting with a strand of her hair, she hesitantly began, "Well... how should I put it, that time of year is approaching, so I thought I'd try making some chocolates."
"Eh, Yumiko, you want to make chocolates by hand?"
Upon hearing this, Yui puffed up her cheeks, a bit displeased.
"But earlier, you said making them by hand was too much."
Yumiko looked away, feeling a bit guilty. "Uh... well, when I thought it over, I realized making something by hand really shows your feelings."
"Yumiko, that's so unfair."
Yui wore a betrayed look on her face.
Seeing this, Ebina quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Come on now, I actually think making chocolates by hand is better too."
"For instance, Hachiman could even exchange handmade chocolates with Hayama to really show their friendship."
Upon hearing this, Hachiman immediately replied, "I refuse."
"Besides, I heard that Hayama doesn't accept chocolates."
Yukino confirmed this rumor. "That's right. Back in elementary school, whenever Hayama received chocolates, the atmosphere in class would become quite heavy the next day."
"Since then, he hasn't accepted chocolates from any girls."
"Well, maybe he wouldn't accept them from girls," Ebina said, evidently not ready to give up on the idea. After all, she was dedicated to her favorite pairing.
"But if a boy were to give them, he might accept. Who knows?"
"Hachiman, why not give it a try? You might break Hayama's no-chocolate rule."
"I refuse."
Unfortunately, Hachiman firmly rejected the suggestion, leaving Ebina slightly disappointed.
At that moment, Yukino spoke up again, "So your request is for me to teach you how to make chocolates?"
"Yes, that's right," Yumiko nodded, looking a bit embarrassed.
Seeing her expression, Yukino sighed.
"If that's the case, I can agree to help you."
While Yukino agreed, her keen intellect easily deduced who Yumiko intended the chocolates for.
Darn it, why do I have to teach a rival how to make chocolates? It's that indecisive idiot's fault.
This thought left Yukino feeling a bit annoyed, prompting her to glare at Hachiman sitting across the table.
Noticing her gaze, Hachiman shifted his eyes away guiltily, unable to dodge the blame this time.
However, when he glanced toward the clubroom door, he saw a familiar figure.
There was Saki Kawasaki, peeking in through the partially open door, half her face visible.
Finding this amusing, Hachiman waved her in.
"Saki, do you need something? Come on in."
Surprised at being noticed, Saki Kawasaki shyly entered the room.
"Sorry for interrupting."
Unknowingly, the girls had filled one side of the long table, leaving Hachiman seated alone on the opposite side, facing them across the table.
After Saki Kawasaki took a seat, Yukino, as the club president, spoke again.
"Kawasaki-san, is there something you need?"
"Well, actually..."
However, Saki had barely started speaking when Yumiko interrupted her.
"Hold on a second, I haven't finished talking with them yet."
Being interrupted by Yumiko made Saki feel a bit annoyed.
"What? I'm just drinking tea."
"Huh? You were clearly about to say something."
Once again, Ebina intervened to ease the situation, "Come on, let's hear what Saki has to say first."
Hearing her friend's words, Yumiko took a sip of her tea and held back from speaking further.
Saki then hesitantly continued, "Actually... it's about making chocolates."
No sooner had she spoken than Yumiko burst out laughing again.
"Really? After all this, you want to make chocolates too?"
Being interrupted once again increased Saki's annoyance, and she glared at Yumiko.
"Do you think I'm the same as you?"
"What do you mean by that? Everyone sees what's going on, no need to pretend."
Yumiko was equally displeased and glared back.
"Oh?"
"Huh?"
The two girls stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
Watching the two girls stare daggers at each other, Hachiman hastily spoke up from the other side of the table.
"Alright, alright, let's not do this. Let's get along..."
But before he could finish, several of the girls on the other side turned to glare at him in unison.
[Who do you think got us into this situation?!]
Reading their expressions perfectly, Hachiman shrank back and decided to stay silent.
Having scolded the source of their woes, Yukino addressed Saki again, "So, do you want to learn how to make chocolates?"
"Actually, it's for my little sister. I was wondering if there's a way to make chocolates that even kids can do?" Saki looked away, speaking a little awkwardly.
"Chocolates that kids can make..." Yukino mused.
Ebina spoke up, curious, "I thought you were pretty good at household chores, Saki?"
"Well… the things I make tend to be too plain, and kids might not like them."
"Plain? Like what?" Yui asked, puzzled.
Blushing slightly at the mention, Saki glanced briefly at Hachiman and then, somewhat shyly, responded, "Like… simmered taro and such."
"..."
The room went silent at Saki's words.
After a moment, Yui broke the silence, offering comfort, "That's fine, really. I'm not very good at cooking either, so it's okay."
Despite her efforts over time, Yui's culinary skills had only improved to the point of being edible, not necessarily tasty.
Yukino added, "If you want to learn to make chocolates, Kawasaki-san, I can teach you. I've already agreed to help Miura-san, so one more person is not an issue."
"Really? Thank you so much, Yukinoshita."
Hearing Yukino agree, Saki quickly expressed her gratitude.
"Tch, in the end, you're just benefiting from my request," Yumiko remarked with a hint of disdain.
Saki wasn't about to let that go, and she glared back.
"What are you talking about? I would have asked them for help even without you."
Once again, the two girls found themselves in a glaring contest with each other.
This time, Hachiman wisely chose not to intervene to avoid becoming collateral damage.
It was ultimately Ebina who stepped in to calm things down.
"Well, if everyone wants to make chocolates, why not just do it together?"
Hearing this, Iroha's eyes lit up.
"That's right, we could organize an event and invite all the students interested in making chocolates to join."
With that thought in mind, she took out her phone and dialed a number.
"Hello, Vice President? I need you to draft a proposal for an event..."
Before long, the little schemer ended the call and gave everyone an "OK" sign.
"Everyone, let's make chocolates together."
Upon hearing this, the girls in the room exchanged determined glances.
Each of them shared the same thought.
They were set on getting Hachiman to declare that their chocolate was the best.
Thus, a war without weapons had officially begun!
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