[ES!!] Soleil (Chapter 1 Only!)

Characters

Writer

Nishioka Maiko

Translation

310mc

Season

Autumn

Season: Autumn

Location: Starmony Dorm (Mitsuru, Midori, Tsumugi, and Ibara’s Room)

—Mm?

Midori-chan, Midori-chan!

Hm? What’s up, Tenma-kun?

One of your plushies fell down! The poor little guy is all on its own~! Here you go~♪

Wha!? —Ah, you’re right! Thank you.

I’m so sorry for dropping you on the floor, Pen-tagon…

Ahaha, is it called that ‘cuz it’s a pentagon-shaped penguin? That’s sooo weird~

Exactly! It doesn’t make any sense, right!?

It’s so stiff-looking without the round shape of a penguin, and yet the mascot still acts exactly like a penguin would! It’s adorable!

I just love the contrast in the design so much, it’s the cutest bestest thing in the world~☆

Ohhh~? I’ve never seen you this eager before! It’s kinda refreshing!

Ah—I’m sorry… I blabbered nonstop… I can’t hold myself back whenever I’m excited.

‘s all good, I know how you feel~! I get just as excited about my interests, like, I can’t hold in the urge to dash all over the place~♪

Ah, personally, I wouldn’t run around, but… I’m glad you get me~♪

Hm? Did someone say something just now?

Yeah, someone asked for the door to be opened!

Okie-dokie~! I’ll open it now, gimme a sec!

…Um, why’s there a cardboard box at the door?

Wowie~! Midori-chan, Midori-chan, look~! A cardboard box ghost came to visit us~!

Ummm… Isn’t it just someone carrying a lot of boxes? I can’t see who it is, though.

Oh—! I can see a face from the side! And that voice sounds like Aoi-chan-senpai!

Woah, woah—! Be careful!

Aoi-chan-senpai, we’ll help ya out~!

Ahh, thank you so much, this is a huge help.

Here we go~ Hm? Wow, these huge boxes aren’t so heavy after all! Carrying them is no-problem-o~

Oh, you’re right… Veggie boxes are waaay heavier than this…

Ahh, that’s because there are sweets inside, so they’re easy to carry one by one.

Huh!? Sweets!?

Are you planning to eat it all, Aoba-senpai? It seems too much for one person, though…

Then I’ll help ya get through ‘em~! ♪ We’ll be able to eat them all if we share!

Ahaha, neither of us can eat these.

We can’t? What do you mean?

Mmm… Is this a riddle? I don’t get it~

Oh no, no. Umm, you see, I’m going to need them for a workshop that ES is hosting next Sunday.

Workshop?

Yes, we’ve invited children to come visit ES for a field trip.

Ooh… Like, the typical touring around the place and seeing how people work in the company?

Yes, you could say that.

Huuuh… Okay, but then why sweets?

Well, it’s Halloween soon, right? So we’re planning to have the children wear costumes so that we can hand out sweets to them.

It fits the season and all, and we figured it’d make the kids happy, so I decided to split the sweets into their own wrappings as hand-outs. It’ll be like a small souvenir for them.

I was planning to do the wrapping at the office, but I had another job to deal with first…

But I won’t be able to make it without making use of my free time, so that’s why I’ll be doing it now.

Ooh~ —Ah! Then I’ll help you out, Aoi-chan-senpai!

Wha—? No, no, I’d feel bad. It’d just be volunteer work, you know? I don’t have anything rewarding for this… Also, I’m sure you’re busy with end-of-the-year plans, aren’t you?

I’m not busy this week, though~! Also, I don’t want a reward for helping.

I just wanna help make all the little kiddies be super duper dazzled by us idols!

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could inspire all of them to become idols too when they grow up~!?

Plus, you look super tired, Aoi-chan-senpai! You’ll be able to rest a li’l if I help out, right?

Um, Aoba-senpai… I don’t think I’ll be able to help as much as Tenma-kun, but I could at least help with splitting the sweets into their own wrappings…

Thank you so much. Alright, I’d like to take up on your word then.

Mhm~! You can aaalways count on me!

—Ah! I don’t want money or anything, but if there are any sweets left over, I’d love to have ‘em!

Hehe, that’s completely alright with me. I’ll prepare some sweets for you good boys, too.

Woohoo~! ♪ Ah, but that’d be more like Christmas than Halloween~