Absolute Choice Ayanokoji

7. Forming Bonds

7.1

"Chocolat, fetch."

The alien girl bounded across the room to chase the stick I threw. She caught the stick in mid-air and eagerly returned it to my hand. A portion of her hair swayed back and forth in the air as she waited for my next move.

The girl had decided to arbitrarily name herself Chocolat, perhaps a play on the world "chocolate", a human food that she enjoyed. She had eyed a tub of my ice cream, which possessing the same word printed on the cover, but I had assured her that chocolate ice cream was not fit for alien consumption. Nevertheless, the fact that she had a name made her easier to address.

The school had provided a stack of books in the student dorms. These included a few classic novels, a variety of magazines, trivia books, and other works on a range of topics. One of these was a cookbook. I had made sure to leave the cookbook on the table every day before leaving for school recently, while secretly stashing the others away.

I had observed that Chocolat's mannerisms were much like a dog's, with the swaying of her hair emulating the wag of a dog's tail. Over the last hour, I had ordered Chocolat to sit, lie down, beg, and fetch, all with great success. Even right now I was stroking Chocolat's hair, which was my interpretation of the dog handling advice on the Internet.

The next task would then be to determine why she obeys. Does Chocolat have a doglike disposition, or do I have some special ability to make people obey? I suppose the best method would be to test it on Horikita. If I order Horikita to fetch with success, perhaps I have some special skill after all.

"Ayanokoji-kun, I want to learn how to cook!"

So the trap had worked. To understand why Chocolat had developed a sudden interest in cooking, consider her surroundings. In the hours when I am out, what can she do? Missions had still not been sent by that lazy hipster God ("ah mou!" is what he said when last questioned on the topic), and I had not made any changes to my dorm since moving in. Chocolat's inability to do anything coupled with the fact that I did nothing to change her surroundings caused her to be extremely interested in whatever she did have access to. And what was the most interesting thing lying around, containing many pages of culinary expertise? The cookbook.

This strange coincidence could be very helpful to me. Learning how to cook could make Chocolat more independent; less reliant on my neverending supply of cup noodles. This would allow me to purchase other items with the saved money. Buying vegetables is healthier than cup noodles yet cheaper than eating at the Keyaki Mall restaurants, a fact that I could benefit from once Chocolat learned to cook.

It seems unlikely that ANHS would have field trips considering the myriad rules against outside contact, but if the first-years students are somehow put on a stranded island for a week of the break, it would reassuring to know that Chocolat would not be starving.

"That is a good idea, Chocolat. I'll gather items from the convenience store tomorrow so you can learn."

Buying cooking materials could be expensive, but it would end up being an overall gain in the end if Chocolat learned to cook. Other students would either have to make their own food or spend a ridiculous number of private points at Keyaki Mall for dinner, while I could effectively use Chocolat as a maid.

"Thank you, Ayanokoji-kun!"

Chocolat smiled happily. She finally had something to do.

7.2

I arrived at school slightly earlier than usual today. It had been a week since the entrance ceremony, and the friend groups had already started to crystallize. I had developed an interesting relationship with Horikita, who alternated between acting warm, kind, and sweet, and cold, annoying, and indifferent. I was also an acquantaince of Ike, Yamauchi, and Sudo, who had been dubbed "The Idiot Trio" by the class. Finally, I held a cordial relationship with Horikita Manabu and a slightly hostile one with his secretary, Akane Tachibana.