[ES!!] A Wan-derful Misunderstanding
[Ominous Hunch] Midori Takamine
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Midori accidentally watches a horror movie, and it starts haunting his mind. He then goes to the kitchen and sees Niki cooking something in a large pot…
Translation Note: The story’s title, wandafuru na gokai, is a wordplay of wan (sound a dog makes in Japanese) with “wonderful”.
Season: ES 2nd Year, Spring
Location: Hallway
Uu…
I shouldn’t have watched that movie…
I shouldn’t have gotten curious when Tetora-kun and Shinobu-kun said they’re gonna watch the new trending movie…
And I thought the movie was a comedy or something, ‘cause the plot was so ridiculous at first… But then it got more and more sinister as the story went on…
How was I supposed to know it was gonna turn out to be a gorey horror movie by the end… I got tricked so bad…
If only Morisawa-senpai was also there, at the very least… ‘Cause whenever there’s someone who’s even more terrified than me around, it calms me down instead.1
But that guy’s never around the moment I actually want him to be.
If Morisawa-senpai was there, he probably would’ve collapsed at the sight of that bright red lump of meat at the end.
That lump of meat… Whose meat was it, anyway…?
—No. Let’s not think about it any further. I don’t wanna remember anyway.
…Mm? What’s that? I smell something really tasty coming from the kitchen…?
I ate something only before watching the movie, so I’m feeling pretty hungry by now. I should go look for something to eat, too…
Location: Kitchen
♪~♪~♪~
Ah…
(So it was Shiina-senpai who was cooking.)
(It’s not unusual for him to cook, but it’s the first time I’ve seen such a massive pot. I think it’s called a stock pot?)
(What’s he boiling…? I think there’s some kind of bright red, mushy soup in it…)
…………
Eh…
(Is that a dog’s collar in Shiina-senpai’s hand? I think it belongs to Akehoshi-senpai’s Daikichi-kun…?)
(There’s a huge pot before my eyes… One that a dog could easily fit into…)
(I’ve seen that sort of red, soupy liquid before, too… There was something similar plenty of times in that movie I just watched…)
Huh… Huh—…!? D-Don’t tell me…
—Mm? Ooh, Takamine-kun. Heyaaa~☆
You’re here at the perfect timing. I was just looking for someone to taste-test this for me~ Couldja try this and let me know what you think?
N-Nope! No thanks! I’ll pass!
Huh? Just tasting a small bit is enough for me, y’know?
Not doing it!
You’re against it that much!?
(Er, actually, Takamine-kun’s acting pretty odd… He keeps looking at me with fear in his eyes.)
(Did I do something to Takamine-kun~?)
(All I’ve done in the kitchen is make a huge load’a tomato purée for the new Cinnamon menu item, and I can’t think of anything I could’ve done to him…)
(Maybe he hates tomatoes so much that it scares him?)
(But Takamine-kun comes from a greengrocer family, so he must like all vegetables…)
…(Staring at Niki’s hand)
(Mm? Takamine-kun’s been staring at my hand for a while now.)
(What’s up…? All I’m holding is a collar. And I just picked up this collar ‘cause I saw it dropped in the kitchen—)
(Mm…? W-Wait a sec…)
(A huge load’a tomato purée in this pot… In my hand is a dog’s collar… And Takamine-kun’s looking at me with fear in his eyes…)
(—I think there’s a huge misunderstanding happening here!)2
Takamine-kun! You’ve got the wrong idea!
Eeek!?
You’re imagining something ominous inside your head there, aren’tcha!? This is all a misunderstanding!
A misunderstanding…?
Yup!
(But the bloodthirsty murderer in that movie was also someone who was nice on the outside… That’s why everyone got fooled and slowly became prey…)
(Shiina-senpai’s a good person on the outside, but I don’t know what he’s like behind the scenes.)
(No matter how I look at it, the evidence perfectly aligns with each other… It’s too suspicious…)
Um… I didn’t see anything, really. I won’t tell anyone, either…
No, no, no! That just means you’ve totally gotten the wrong idea, haven’t you!? Ah— Hey, please don’t step away from me!
It’s a misunderstanding! All the red you see in the pot is tomato purée! I was coming up with a new menu item for Cinnamon!
And this dog collar was dropped on the kitchen floor for some reason, so I just happened to pick it up, is all!
There isn’t a single weird thing like you’re imagining, Takamine-kun! I swear to God that my hands are clean!
Tomato purée…?
Yup! Do you get it now?
…………
But all the culprits say that, don’t they…?
He’s already treating me as the culprit!? No, you’ve got the wrong idea! I swear this is all a misunderstanding!
Um. I’m going now… I really will keep it a secret, okay…
Nonono, hold it! I can’t let you leave when you’ve still got the wrong idea about me, y’know!?
Wh— Are you trying to stop me from leaving so you can find an opportunity to keep my mouth shut…? I’m scared…
The hole between us just keeps getting deeper!?
You have the wrong idea, seriously~! Listen to me a li’l, c’mon!
Stop it. Please don’t come any closer…
—Hmm~?
Ah! There it is, found it! I knew I forgot it here~ Sorry, Shiina-senpai. Thanks for picking it up for me! ☆
Aren’t you so glad, Daikichi~! We found your collar~♪
Huh… Akehoshi-senpai? And Daikichi-kun, too… You were safe…?
…? Whatcha mean, “safe”?
Ahh, to be fair, maybe it is hard to say that Daikichi was safe.
While we were taking a walk together, Daikichi started messing around and got himself covered in mud~ It was real tough on me!
So I just got him sparkly clean a second ago.
That’s when I took off his collar here and then accidentally forgot about it. I’m sooo glad it didn’t get lost~
Then what Shiina-senpai was cooking really was just tomato purée…?3
That’s what I’ve been telling ya from the beginning, man~
Ahh, dammit! Could you please not do something so misleading ever again…!?
Huh!? How am I the one getting told off in this situation!?
Ahh, jeez… All I did was make tomato purée… I feel so exhausted now…
Midori Feature Scout Stories
Translation Notes
- ↑ Midori feeling calm once he sees Chiaki scared has happened plenty of times before, with the most prominent one being in Sweet Halloween, the story that uncovers Chiaki's fear of ghosts and horror.
- ↑ Midori has had a huge misunderstanding related to Daikichi happen before, in Zodiac, Senpai Turned Into A Dog!?, where he mistakes Daikichi for Chiaki.
- ↑ In Zodiac, Senpai Turned Into A Dog!?, Subaru is also the one who clears up the misunderstanding.