Zannen Kei na Ojou-sama no Nichijou

7. Now then, have you prepared?

​I had Aoi head back first after school. Giving my notifications, I headed over to the promised destination, the second tea ceremony room. The tea ceremony club uses the first room so this one isn’t used for anything other than class work.
 
“Apologies for being a bit late”
“N-No…”
 
Entering the room, sat Sumire and Hitomi-sama in seiza. One can tell their nervousness from the expressions they held… could they have been doubting whether Maria was scheming something, I wonder?
 
Sitting opposite the two flowed a tense atmosphere of silence…
 
“So, um… Maria-sama, were you serious?”
“Yes”
“That Maria-sama is going to eat It is Sour Ninja Arts!?”
“Can’t I?”
“It’s not that you can’t… for Maria-san to wish to try this type of cheap snack, it was a bit unexpected”
 
The condition I placed was to have a portion of It is Sour Ninja Arts out of the three shared to me. I mean, it brings back memories, and having been so long, I did want to eat the snack I liked. But it looks like the two who got stunned wide-eyed have still, yet to believe the condition I laid out.
 
“I liked this type of snack too, actually”
 
Smiling as though signalling ‘It’s a secret, okay?’, Sumire-sama raised her ecstatic voice going “My!”, biting the bait hard. However, since she was in seiza, her legs that were seemingly asleep pulled her back, knocking her face to the mat at full power as she let out a voice similar to that of a squashed frog.
 
How should I say… my impression of her changed quite a bit.
 
“Sumire, calm down”
“B-But~! It’s that Maria-sama liking cheap snacks! It’s like a dream!”
 
A Sumire-sama said in somewhat excitement as the rubbed her head, nose still red from the slam, against the mat. It appears that’s she’s happy.
 
“I was surprised too, to think the two of you also liked them”
 
Our other classmates mustn’t have known… I can totalling see them happily imagining the two’s relationship.
 
“In my case, I was just dragged along by Sumire. Sumire was originally fond of sweets… she got hooked on cheap snacks recently”
“Was that so?”
 
It’s unexpected for Sumire-sama who seems like she’d only ever eat high class pastry to be fond of cheap snacks but looking at the Sumire-sama now, one probably wouldn’t be too surprised. There is just that much of a gap… she did well to hide such a nature.
 
“Uwahahaha! Now, let’s begin the first It is Sour Ninja Arts competition at once!”
 
Sumire-sama’s way of laughing is weird, and what did she mean by first? Don’t tell me, they had them multiple times?
 
Opening the It is Sour Ninja Arts package lined three circular gum, two are sweet, and one sour enough to surprise.
 
“I’ll explain the rules”
“Eh?”
“Wait a moment. Sumire, I haven’t heard of any rules”
“This is not a game of just eating, sour! and you lose”
 
I daresay the rules were what she created on her own accord as she continued her explanation in a serious manner.
 
“The one who picked the sour one will… put all effort in making a funny face”
 
F-Funny face… can noble ladies actually make them? Maybe something like swelling their cheeks?
 
“Half-hearted weird faces are inexcusable! I’ll stuff chopsticks in their noses if anyone swells their checks like Buu-n”
 
Just now, I think I heard some terrifying words.
 
“Please make use of you facial muscles, in all effort, to make a funny face. Now then, is everyone ready?”
 
Like so, me and Hitomi-sama got led by Sumire-sama to the It is Sour Ninja Arts game.
 
Starting the selection with Hitomi-sama who won rock, paper, scissors followed by me, then Sumire-sama, together, we put the gum in our mouths and start chewing.
 
“!!”
 
First was the sweetness of the gum, but soon enough, what flowed from the crushed bits was sourness that stimulated the mouth.
 
Thi-This is too sour! Was it supposed to be this sour!?
 
“Uwahahahahaha! Maria-samauwahahahaha! Funny face! To make one so promptly… uwahahaha!”
 
I’m making no weird face! My face is like this only cause of the sourness!
 
“Uwahahaha! Maria-sama, too interesting! Hiii, my stomach hurts~!”
 
Aren’t you laughing to much? Even Hitomi-sama looks as though she’s trying to contain her laughter… was I making such a weird face!?
 
Being mortified, later told that Sumire-sama had more It is Sour Ninja Arts, I gave my wish to compete another round. The two acknowledged, and soon, was the start of the second round.
 
This time, it was in the order of me, Sumire-sama, then Hitomi-sama. Putting the gum in our mouths again, we chewed. Ooh, it’s sweet this time. A-re? But the two are acting fine. Weird… even though it was so sour, even though a sour one is supposed to be in there without a doubt…
 
I see, there’s the way of pretending that it’s not sour too. If it’s not me, it’s one out of the two, Sumire-sama or Hitomi-sama, who can it be?
 
Observing the two, there was Hitomi-sama who chewed the gum as per normal, the same as before. As for Sumire-sama, her lips were pursed… what is she doing, this person… lightly shaking as tears start to form… the offender can only be this person.
 
“Sumire-sama hit the sour one right?”
“Her face gives it away. Now, go ahead? Weird face”
 
Resigning to her mission, the funny face made by Sumire-sama was terrific. Widened nostrils, half opened eyes, tapered lips showing the front teeth within combined with a special move of lifting her chin.
 
Me and Hitomi-sama held our stomachs bursting into laughter upon seeing such a scene. Sumire-sama really did, make the funny face with superb amounts of effort.
 
After that was the third round. I lost again. Is Hitomi-sama’s luck good or what for not striking a hit once.
 
We laughed so much to be tired of it, leaving the tea room after school. Me, Sumire-sama and Hitomi-sama’s strange relationship began like so.