落とし穴８１堀：クルシミマス（誤字にあらず (Part2)
At first, I thought, "Well, it's my first time making sweets," but it turned out to be far more intense than that.
Every single day, dessert became mandatory after every meal.
My lunch bento turned into sweets.
My breakfast turned into cake.
Grad got so fed up that he started spending all his time at school, eating his meals there before coming back.
In other words, I became the designated sweets-disposal unit.
I was one step away from never wanting to see another sweet again.
"Well, that's..."
"You should put a stop to it."
"Yeah. Won't you ruin your health?"
"No, it's not that bad. I realized it was getting dangerous, so I did put a stop to it. I talked to her, and we managed to adjust the portions properly. The bento went back to normal, and Grad came back, too."
"Then what's the problem? Why don't you want to go home?"
"Is it related?"
"It is. Since it's almost the end of the year, you know how Weed has that massive sweets-consumption event before the New Year's celebration, right?"
Yes, that event—the one that has become an evil culture of generating massive amounts of "normies" despite being someone's birthday celebration.
Well, since Alfin is here this year, I don't have any particular complaints, but a problem of a different nature has emerged.
"Are you making Christmas sweets?"
"Ah, that makes sense."
"So, you're making up for the time you held back?"
"Exactly. For the past few days, she's been making all sorts of things, saying they're for the kids at school, and Grad and I have been the ones stuck consuming them. Grad has already fled to the school."
"..." The three of them finally understood.
"So, that email earlier was asking when you'd be home to eat the sweets?"
"That's right."
"Eating that every day... that's going to be rough on the stomach."
"I see. Well, why don't we go over and help you finish them off?"
"Oh, that's a surprisingly good idea for a John."
"The 'surprisingly' part was unnecessary. Well, send a message just in case. She might only want Steve to eat them."
"That won't happen. She's still just getting to know the outside world; she's not in a state to be interested in things like that."
That’s exactly why it’s a form of torture, in a way.
Anyway, I’ll send the message right away.
When I messaged her that Surakichi-san and the others would help with the taste-testing, she immediately gave the okay.
Since she said it would take time to prepare, we killed time drinking at an izakaya, but when we finally returned home...
"Oh, welcome back. I have cake for everyone, so please let me know what you think."
With a smile, she placed a whole cake in front of each of us.
"I tried making a few different kinds. Everyone will eat them, right?"
Yes, one whole cake per person.
"..."
I had underestimated her.
I never imagined she’d prepare a whole cake for every single one of us.
"I'll have this fruit mix one," she said, before digging into her own whole cake with gusto.
Damn it. Since we’d already promised to help, we cut up the whole cakes, traded slices, and somehow managed to survive the day.
After that, Alfin started bringing cakes and sweets to the workplace.
At first, we shared them with our subordinates, but after a week of this, they began to freeze up and hide whenever Alfin appeared.
Since we were the ones who said we’d help, we couldn't run away, so we spent our days desperately consuming cake.
"It's only a few more days until Christmas. So, until then... we have to endure."
"Yeah. It's not like Alfin-san has any malicious intent. ...So, until Christmas."
"Right. We have to stick with her until then..."
"I'm sorry, everyone..."
And then, Seraria-neesan arrived to deliver the finishing blow.
"Hey, Steve and everyone. I tried making some Christmas cake. Won't you taste-test it for me?"
"We can't take any more cake!?"
"Huh?"
That was my—Steve's—Christmas, or rather, "Cruel-mas" this year.
It’s unlikely things will get this bad often, but I imagine if you have many women in your inner circle, similar things might happen.
I have a younger sister, and I was often made to be her taste-tester for sweets.
Now, I'm still debating whether to create a "Christmas pitfall," but I’ll let you know what is confirmed for the 25th.
On the 25th, Christmas Day, I’ve decided to upload a video of me playing a game I made on a whim.
I’ll post details about which site it’s on in the activity report on the 25th.
Well, it’s an amateur production, so don't expect too much.
See you then.