:: ☁ Season • ☀︎ Summer • 2nd Year of ES::

:: ▼ Location • Seisoukan Apartments • Kitchen::

Ritsu: Good grief. Nikipyon, the way you talk to yourself is just confusing.

I thought you were preparing things, but it turns out you were making origami cranes…

You were saying stuff only a total serial killer would say. 100 out of 100 people would picture a bloodied up kitchen with heads and wings strewn all over the place.

Niki: Huh, No way!

Thinking of it, Takamine-kun got suspicious of me like this, too!? just what do you people think of chefs!?

Ritsu: It’s Nikipyon’s daily behavior.

It wouldn’t surprise me if someone reported you for things like that.

Niki: Huh!? Reported!?

Ritsu: You heard me. Since you’re an idol, as well, getting arrested would be big trouble, wouldn’t it?

Niki: If the police locked me up, it would be terrible! I wouldn’t be able to eat whatever I want when I want, like my life now! That’s a scenario I gotta avoid at all cost!

Ritsu: That’s what concerns you?

Anyway, please reflect on your actions— especially the part where you worried me.

Niki: Okay~

But actually, it was Ritsu-kun who assumed wrong, wasn’t it?

I was just folding origami, and then I was the one who got scolded all of a sudden, so I don’t get how that’s fair!

Ritsu: You wasted my time making me concerned. That alone is enough to require reflection.

Niki: That illogical reasoning could rival Rinne-kun…!

Ritsu: Is that it? In that case, why are you the one who was saying things that could be so easily misinterpreted? Why were you doing origami while saying things like that?

Niki: Uuh, it’s kind of a long story—

Ritsu:—If it’s long, forget it.

Niki: D-don’t just say that! —Just wait, I need some advice!

So, the manager at “Cinnamon” asked me to do our stall at the neighborhood bazaar, and I ended up being put in charge of all aspects of it.

Ritsu: So you’re just talking anyway. Sure, I guess. Well, that’s to be expected of Nikipyon. The manager must have lots of faith in you.

Niki: No, no. It’s more like he just dumped the whole project on me. The tone he used was more like a ‘meh, you do it’ kind of thing.

Apparently, because I’m an idol, the bazaar customers should be happier with that.

So my first line of thinking with the bazaar, was trying to open a food stand for Cafe ‘Cinnamon’. However, when I asked the neighborhood association reps about that, they told me the facilities they had could only allow for making simple drinks.

Ritsu: Hm… it’s hard to attract kids if it’s just drinks…

Niki: Right. And as a chef, I absolutely hate serving people half-hearted cooking, too.

I thought about things that would be popular with kids, too, like games and toys, right?

But when I thought about it, I’ve been doing nothing but study cooking since I was a child, and I didn’t even go to High School, so I have no memories playing the same way everyone else does!

Ritsu: Hmm… well, I can’t really talk for the standard, either…

Niki: Cooking was like playing for me, though, so I don’t mind that at all~

I still tried to dig up some memories, and recalled that, oh yeah- Origami was popular in my Elementary School classroom.

Ritsu: I see, so that explains the origami folding.

Niki: Ritsu-kun, did your school also have a bunch of hype over who could throw paper airplanes the furthest?

The people who knew all the fancy folding techniques became legends in class.

Ritsu: I think I recall something similar happening in our local ^{“Children’s Association”}.

Ritsu: Even though I had no interest in that at all, Maa-kun was like “it’ll be fun!” and kept persistently inviting me to join….

Niki: Wow, so you two have been close friends for a long time, hm? ♪

Anyway, I figured making origami stuff that kids would like could work, so I decided to do an origami stand.

So I looked up on my smartphone how to make that kind of origami.

Look, (showing his phone) wouldn’t it be fun if I made a dinosaur or a pretty box for trinkets like this?

Ritsu: This accessory box is pretty cute, for sure. You could probably make something really good if you gave thought to the color combinations.

But, doesn’t this seem like it would be really difficult?

Niki: Yeah, it is! Even if I’m looking at instructions, I still don’t get how to do it!

Even if it says ‘invert the fold, lift the head’, it makes no sense.

Ritsu: Ah~, getting lost halfway through folding origami is so real.

Origami actually requires a pretty mathematical brain, so if you don’t have good geometric cognition, you’ll end up stuck, fast.

Niki: “Geometric cognition”…?

:: End of Chapter 2 ::