Ojamajo Doremi 16 - Volume 3 - Chapter 7.1

Chapter 7.1

CHAPTER 7 – CHASING THE MOON PART 01

We had entered the second half of February, and it was finally beginning to feel like spring . The news programs on TV often showed images of fields of blooming rape blossoms . It was a heartwarming color . And delicious too…… Wait, forget I said that .

Ai-chan’s injury was also slowly getting better . Now, she had turned her focus to muscle training .

Pop, who had successfully been accepted into Karen Girls’ Academy, had also bought her new uniforms and a brand new set of stationery . Mum was also busy preparing for her graduation ceremony from elementary school .

Momo-chan was also excited . Since they never had uniforms to wear in America, she was looking forward to finally donning our high school uniform . I wondered if it was really that exciting .

~~~~~

By the way, we managed to sell all of our Valentine desserts really quickly . Therefore, we immediately started on making spring-themed desserts the very next day .

I guess I should update everyone on what happened during Valentine’s Day .

Starting with Momo-chan . She’d given everyone in class a heart-shaped madeleine cake, decorated with a special Valentine’s day motif . She’d kept it a secret, so even I didn’t know she was planning on doing that . Even the guys who had girlfriends didn’t get a chance to reject the gift . I was sure those who were single were glad to accept her present, but those with girlfriends might find the gift hard to explain . I wished I could have had the chance to advise Momo-chan to give out plain madeleine cakes to those guys instead .

Oh, Yada-kun was the only one who rejected all gifts . It was a rare sight, seeing him apologize to the girls, it was just so cool and cute? Though we were in the same class, I’d never really spoken much to him, so I guess Hazuki-chan was the only one who knew him well . Either way, I thought he behaved like a real man that day .

Hazuki-chan had given Yada-kun a present he’d always wanted: a new trumpet case to replace the one that was damaged during that incident a while ago .

I was still waiting for Kotake to use the towel I’d given to him . He’d also told me that the ‘Experimental Cake No . 3’ was really delicious . He probably received more gifts from other girls, but he never mentioned it to me . If only he’d rejected their gifts like Yada-kun had done . Oh well, I guess I should be proud that I’d managed to give him the gifts .

Also, there was a reason why Momo-chan’s desserts sold out so quickly on Valentine’s Day . Remember when she made three January-edition cakes for Seki-sensei, way back before Ai-chan’s injury?

Seki-sensei had gotten the cakes as presents for Ms . Yamaki Minako, Mrs . Tachibana, and GB-san’s wife, as a show of gratitude for their help with Yada-kun’s incident . Seki-sensei had always wanted to let everyone try out the desserts made by her former student, so that was the perfect opportunity for her .

The cakes were well-received and praised for being cute and delicious . Furthermore, word-of-mouth started to spread that the baker was just a high school girl . It was amazing how far the antenna of these dessert-loving women reached .

That was why we were seeing more out-of-town customers these days . While she could only bake cupcakes and grilled sweets on weekdays, it had spurred Momo-chan to put her heart into making more desserts .

“I’ll bake lots of desserts during spring vacation! Let’s work hard together, Doremi-chan!”

Why me? Oh well . Hazuki-chan had her performance coming up in March, Ai-chan had started training even whilst recovering, and Onpu-chan was busy with her musical in London and Paris .

Everyone was running at full speed towards their dreams .

In contrast, I was…

Though I’d found the worthy task of becoming the soccer team manager, it was only a short-term goal . I had no idea what I wanted to be when I became an adult .

It felt like I was trudging along, far behind my best friends .

As a result, I couldn’t help but sigh, even as I worked hard at the MAHO-do .

“Doremi-chan, you’ve been sighing non-stop for a while now . What’s up?”

I was alone with Momo-chan today, and we were making desserts together .

And so, I told her about my frustrations .

“So…… you’re Naive . ”

“Naive?”

“It used to be a French word, but it’s become English now . Usually, it means ‘pure’ and ‘innocent’, but it can be used to describe a heart that’s ‘lost’ or ‘wavering’ too . ”

“Yeah… That’s what I’m feeling, I think . I just want to spend my youth without any worries, like you, Momo-chan . ”

“Oh, but my hope of reviving Majomonroe’s store is just a dream . ”

“Even so, once you graduate from high school, you’ll be going to France to officially learn some culinary skills and become a professional patissiere . That’s what I’m envious of . ”

“But you’re just 16 years old, Doremi-chan . There are still lots of people to meet and lots more to learn . It won’t be too late to decide later . ”

“Do you really think so…?”

“I may have discovered my ambition already, but that doesn’t mean everyone my age needs to be at the same level as well . I’m sure you’ll find your own path, Doremi-chan . ”

“I really hope so…”

“If you don’t, you can become a patissiere with me . ”

“Hu~~h!?”

“You’ve gotten better at baking desserts . Your gateau chocolat cake was really delicious too! I’ll teach you how to make fruit tarts next . ”

“Ok, thanks . ”

Momo-chan’s honest smile was just too destructive . It made me want to believe her, and I felt that I could really become a patissiere too, despite not having any English-speaking skills at all .