After the Battle (1)

Chapter 36: Episode 18 - After the Battle (1)

"Not only is the genius Fraise in this school, but even the brilliant Honey?! That's amazing!" Cafe explained miraculously.

"She's with the president, so they must be a genius pair," Chocolat brought up.

"Let's go get her autograph." Caramel smiled happily.

"Hey," Kashino interrupted. "You guys came to the human world from the Sweets Kingdom for training, right? How many humans at this school have been paired?"

"Ah, I'd like to know, too," Andou said as he began drying the dishes I made during the pudding battle.

"Me as well," Hanabusa said, cleaning up the dishes.

"Around now... it should be about 50 people. Although, they're mostly paired up with the high school division. We primarily come here to learn about human creativity. In exchange, we teach the genre we specialize in," Cafe explained to us.

As Cafe explained, I grabbed the pudding Tennouji gave to me before she left.

"Since it's like that then this pudding must taste like honey," I said, holding the light pudding with white angel wings decorated on top.

"Ah, that's president Tennouji's "Angel Pudding!" Andou explained as the three sweets princes looked at me in surprise.

"How did you get it? I thought it was sold out," Hanabusa claimed and I walked closer to them.

"Well, after the crowd of people left once I'd won, I asked the president if I could get one and she gave it to me for free," I explained and their eyes widened even more.

"For free?!" Kashino looked shocked but I shrugged it off.

"Do you guys want some?" I offered, showing them the pudding.

"Maybe one bite will do," Hanabusa said hesitantly and the others agreed as well. We all took a bite of Angel's Pudding, closing our eyes to envision its flavor.

"Amazing, the sweetness, smoothness, and depth are exquisite; almost like a pudding from heaven. To think we'll be battling against her and her team in the Grand Prix… Will we even make it?" I said out loud without thinking the others would hear.

'I've heard that she's amazing, but now that I've tasted something that she's made, I feel a bit doubtful of my skills. If we ever go against them, I'll never get the chance to study abroad at the Paris branch—like Mom…'

Without realizing how deep in thought I was, the sweets princes looked me dead in the eye, bothered by my words.

"Have you lost your nerve, Michiko?" Kashino said frankly and I shook my head to get rid of my doubts. The sweets princes continued to stare at me who was troubled.

"No… It's just… I don't know if I can really do this," I avoided eye contact with them and looked at the ground.

'Am I even good enough?'

"Keiko, what are you talking about?" Fraise looked at me seriously. "With this kind of attitude, do you think your m—I mean, she would like what you're saying right now? You're already giving up, yet the Grand Prix is in just 15 days. You've won against Ojou with this pudding battle but it already seems like you're throwing in the towel."

"No… that's not—"

"—If she were to see you like this, she'd be deeply disappointed in you, Keiko," Fraise scolded and I clenched my fists in irritation.

'That's right. I already gave up once on my dream but this time, I need to achieve it! If she were looking at her worthless daughter right now, she'd be disappointed…'

As I thought more about how incapable I was, I started to lose balance where I stood. My head hurt and I was starting to get dizzy as I wobbled on my feet.

"Hey, Michiko!" Kashino called out.

I noticed that my breathing was becoming heavier and that my heart was racing.

"Michiko, are you alright?" Andou asked but my vision started to get blurrier.

"What's wrong, Michiko? You're turning pale," Hanabusa said worriedly.

'Ugh, my head hurts and my vision is getting blurrier… But why am I thinking like this? Mom never looked at me like I was worthless… Instead, she always gave me a smile of hope, telling me to never give up on my dreams. I can't fail her now…'

"Keiko, are you okay?" Fraise asked in concern as her words brought me out of my thoughts. I caught balance and tried my best to focus my attention on them.

"You're right, Fraise. She would be disappointed if I gave up now," I said to her who flew beside me.

"Keiko, that's not important right now! I just said that—" I cut Fraise off before she could continue.

"—Also, I apologize to everyone for saying such troublesome things. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling tired so I'll be going back to my dorm." I bowed my head respectfully and left right away.