Hideout in Another World: I Tried Building a Secret Base in the Middle of Nowhere

Chapter 75: Short Story : Chocolate and Neighbors

(Mil’s Perspective)

One day at the hideout…

Out of the blue, Bonus asked for ideas for a new chocolate menu.

“Hey, Mil. If you don’t mind, could you come up with some new chocolate menu ideas?”

“Hmm? Are you making a new product?”

Kuro aside, even Shiro seemed unusually interested. I also have a sweet tooth. Recently, Zamza was delighted with the compote I made. I also wanted to feed him like Bonus does, with my fingers… But no, just thinking about it makes me blush and my hands tremble.

“I want to make something that won’t get boring quickly. Well, if possible. Can Kuro and Shiro help?”

“Gyagyu!”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Then, Mil, could you work with them on this? It’s okay if it fails. Just enjoy it casually.”

Kuro and Shiro seemed unusually motivated.

Hmm, could it be that I’ve been dragged into something really troublesome? Suddenly, I have a bad feeling about this…

“Gyagyu!”

“Umm… Kuro, maybe bugs shouldn’t go into chocolate.”

“Gyau?”

“Maybe frogs aren’t right either…”

Kuro clenched bugs in her right hand and frogs in her left, looking at me with sparkling eyes. Bonus is exceptionally indulgent towards Kuro. If Kuro happily takes them, she might eat chocolate with bugs or frogs stuffed inside. But since Kuro and Shiro were entrusted with this task, it wouldn’t be fair to just leave it. And perhaps I was assigned to oversee this outcome.

Oh well…

“Hey, Kuro. If you can get eggs, we might be able to make interesting sweets with chocolate. Can you get some?”

“Gyaa! Gyaa! Gyagya!”

With that, Kuro ate the bug in her right hand, handed me the frog in her left, and dashed off. She seems to have some idea. Kuro is agile, and she might even be able to get bird eggs. For now, let’s consider Kuro’s part done.

Now… I can’t just ignore this any longer.

“Hey, Shiro. You’ve been buzzing around a lot lately… What’s going on?”

“Bees.”

“Oh, well, I see…”

After Bonus asked Shiro to do something, she disappeared for a while and returned with a large number of bees. A terrifying number of bees swarmed around Shiro. They had impressive stingers, and just hearing the sound of their wings made my skin crawl. Yet, Shiro looked unbothered, and upon closer inspection, she didn’t seem to have been stung.

I thought maybe she used her oni’s regenerative powers to collect them forcibly while being stung, but it seems that’s not the case.

“I want to use this.”

“This is a beehive, right? How did you get it?”

“I got it.”

Shiro held out a shallow dish filled with honeycomb, brimming with honey. It exuded an indescribably sweet and rich fragrance reminiscent of the fruits and flowers we harvest at the hideout.

“This is… incredible.”

I have a good sense of smell. Perhaps that’s why I love anything with a pleasant aroma and have enjoyed various scents during our collections. However, this honey is exceptional. While the hideout is filled with the fragrance of beautiful flowers, trees, and fruits, this honey’s aroma is an incredibly intoxicating blend of them all.

Certainly, I’ve been curious about honey. However, the place where this buzzing sound comes from is avoided even by Kidanakemo. Even Elizabeth avoids it. Normally, it would be impossible to approach such a place…

But then, what does it mean when Shiro says she got it as a gift?

“I often squeeze sugarcane, and bees started coming around one day. So, I shared some of the sweet juice with them, and we became friends. They’re quite cute.”

As Shiro said this, she pinched one of the flying bees with her finger, and it wriggled around without particularly resisting. Seeing it like this, its fluffy round body somehow seems cute…

“However, won’t they get angry if you take their hive?”

“These bees become smarter when they swarm. They gave it to me when I asked.”

No matter how much I listen to Shiro’s story, I can’t quite understand it.

To summarize as far as I understand, it seems that these bees have individual intelligence and will to some extent, but when they form a swarm, they can develop complex thoughts to the point of understanding human language. Yeah, I still don’t quite get it…

“But, honestly, I find them scary… I’m not a fan of that buzzing sound.”

“Elizabeth seems to dislike it too. But I think they’re cute.”

Shiro is still as eccentric as ever. Well, she’s deeply involved with Bonus, after all. He’s definitely quite peculiar. If it were up to me, I’d prefer Zamza… No, now’s not the time for such thoughts.

“With this honey, it’s bound to turn out well no matter what. It’s fine as it is.”

“Since Bonus asked for it, I want to incorporate it into chocolate.”

“Then, shall we simply mix it into regular chocolate?”

“Yeah. Oh, I want them to be bite-sized.”

“Got it.”

It’s good that Shiro’s part seems to be resolved easily. But when will these bees leave? It’s a bit scary.

“Gyagyu! Gyagyu!”

“Welcome back.”

As soon as Kuro returns, the bees all fly away. Come to think of it, Kuro often catches flying insects and eats them…

“It seems the bees are afraid of Kuro.”

“Gyau gyugyau?”

“Well, that can’t be helped, I guess.”

It seems only Shiro can understand what Kuro says. I often see the two of them chatting.

“Kuro, did you get the eggs?”

“Gyua gyagya~ gyau”

Despite her flashy gestures and explanations, I still don’t understand. Bonus, on the other hand, seems to understand what she wants with this strange communication method.

After some incomprehensible explanations, Kuro sticks her hand into her clothes and pulls out three eggs, skillfully arranging them on a flat stone to keep them from rolling.

“Hey, Kuro? What kind of eggs are these…?”

They’re all different in size and color. And one of them seems to be… moving.

“Gyagyu~?”

“It’s moving.”

“Yeah, it’s moving…”

Just as I thought it was rattling along with a tapping sound, the egg toppled over and rolled back into Kuro’s palm.

“Oh, from the shell… a beak… maybe?”

“It doesn’t seem to have opened its eyes yet.”

“Gyau!? Gyau gyau!?”

I somehow understood what Kuro was about to say. So please, I hope you won’t look at me with those terrifying demon-like eyes anymore.

“…Since Kuro can catch bugs, why not try raising them to see what happens?”

The newly hatched chick, still shaking its head, starts chirping energetically. Kuro holds the tiny bird in both hands and watches it intently.

“Wait a moment.”

“Gyau?”

As adorable as the newly hatched chick and the restless Kuro are, they can’t stay like this forever. For now, I’ll take some of Elizabeth’s leftover fur and weave a small basket with some small vines to make a makeshift nest for the bird.

“This should do for now. Transfer it over.”

“Gyau.”

Kuro skillfully moves the chick into the basket and lets out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Shiro watches with interest as she melts chocolate over a double boiler.

“Come to think of it, what about the remaining eggs…?”

“Gyau~”

“Hmm, I don’t feel any signs of life from the remaining two.”

After Shiro picks up the eggs and observes them for a while, she says so. I wonder if onis can understand such things. I’m starting to worry about what kind of eggs the remaining two are…

“From here, I’ll finish up, so Kuro, go find some bugs. Try to get small ones since it’s for the chick’s food!”

Then Kuro runs off, and soon returns to feed the bugs to the chick.

Still unable to see and with a small mouth, the chick seems to be struggling.

“Oh, it looks like the remaining two were regular eggs. Well, we don’t know if they’ll taste good, but let’s make them anyway. Oh, no, Pink, those are going to be turned into sweets.”

Pink was somehow peering into the eggs with greed. This child is quite unpredictable. Before you know it, he’ll sneak into the kiln.

“Mil, the double boiler is ready.”

“Thank you. Let’s get started then–”

For Shiro’s part, it’s simply mixing in the honey, so once the chocolate is melted, it’s just a matter of incorporating the honey and waiting for it to cool. Kuro’s pseudo-chocolate cake is currently in the kiln with Pink. It should be ready in about half an hour.

“It’ll be ready soon.”

“Hmm.”

It seems the chick is sleeping. Kuro puts her index finger to her lips, gesturing for quiet. Shiro, on the other hand, seems to have fallen asleep with her head propped up on her hand. Shiro has a neutral facial structure, somewhat resembling Zamza, but with her eyes closed, she exudes a goddess-like beauty and gracefulness. Watching her face, I can’t help but remember the Shiro who covered me at Bonus in the middle of the night, feeling blood rushing to my face. What I felt from Shiro at that time was the complete opposite of the godlike gracefulness I feel now, it was unbelievably seductive and lascivious.

“Huh? Did I fall asleep?”

“Hmm.”

Kuro warns Shiro to be quiet. Feeling a bit awkward for observing Shiro and thinking strange thoughts, I quietly watch the chick as well. Kuro pulls Shiro over to the chick, urging her to take a closer look. We spend the time quietly watching the sleeping chick until the chocolate cake is done baking.

(Back to Bonus’ Perspective)

After dinner that day…

Kuro, Shiro, and a slightly tired-looking Mil bring in the chocolate prototypes. It’s much earlier than I expected.

“What! They’re already done?”

“Gyagya!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, you managed to make them…?”

Kuro picks up a small cake-like object and looks up at me with a radiant smile. For some reason, there’s a small bird chick perched on her head, but for now, I’ll ignore it.

“Wow, this tastes like Gateaux Chocolat and it’s delicious! Thanks, Kuro. How did you make this?”

“Gyagya~”

“I used eggs.”

Eggs… chicks… huh?

“Then, let me give you some. Here, say ‘ahhh’.”

This time, Shiro oddly leans in close, with a moist smile, telling me to open my mouth. I have no choice but to comply. But what’s with the bee attached to her ear like an earring? It’s scary in a normal way… but for now, I’ll ignore it.

“Wow, what’s this? I thought it was just regular chocolate, but it’s so delicious. What’s the flavor?”

“Honey.”

Honey… bees… huh? Even though I feel like various things are connecting in a strange way, I decide not to dwell on it for now. Looking at Mil’s face, I somehow feel like that’s the right answer. Besides, regardless, the chocolate that the three of them made for me is deeply touching. For now, I want to bask in that afterglow.

“Huh? What’s this…?”

Suddenly, on the stone table in front of me, there’s a small piece of chocolate with a very cute handprint, resembling a small maple leaf. When I glance to the side, I see a lizard peeking at me from the edge of the table.

“Oh… so you made me some too. Thank you, Pink.”