[TSSIM] Chapter 505: Emotion Tester?

"Mm... Yeah, I'm sure now... I guess I'm not immune like Mashiro."

Elf shook her head lightly and smacked her lips after tasting the diluted Akiko's jam.

"But the aroma is really something. Just one-twentieth of it gives off this much fragrance—Akiko's jam really lives up to its name."

"Alright, I wanna try too." Eriri walked over, clearly interested in tasting something that was said to be good.

Upon tasting the diluted Akiko's jam, she showed an astonished expression.

"For real, the aroma could totally make high-end desserts even better."

She was honestly a bit surprised for Homura to come up with something so amazing.

"And this light, floaty feeling... kinda feels like when you're still half-asleep..." Eriri added, then shook her head. "Or maybe like when you've soaked in a bath for too long and start feeling lightheaded? Either way, it's still pretty mild for now..."

Hearing this, the other girls, tempted, stepped up to try it too, and soon, they all found it fascinating.

"I don't really feel anything... just that it smells really nice..." Megumi shook her head lightly.

"Same." Muramasa chimed in.

""Huh?""

All the girls were confused upon hearing the two.

Everyone else was feeling a bit floaty, so why were Megumi and Muramasa unaffected?

"Wanna try a different dose?" Eriri suggested.

Dose?

Everyone couldn't help but roll their eyes.

Did she think it was medicine or something?

Nevertheless, after thinking about it, the girls figured it made sense—trying different dosages might reveal something.

Ultimately, they started experimenting, with Homura watching curiously.

At fifteen times dilution, the floaty sensation got a little stronger for most of them, but Megumi, Mashiro, and Muramasa still felt nothing. In any case, they agreed that at fifteen times dilution, Akiko's jam tasted way better than at twenty times.

Next was ten times dilution.

As the girls tasted it, their vision started getting a little blurry, yet Megumi, Mashiro, and Muramasa still felt nothing. By this point, aside from these three, everyone else needed to take a short break.

About half a minute later, they tried eight times dilution.

As expected, the effect intensified again, but this time, something worth noting—Muramasa finally started feeling just the tiniest bit lightheaded.

"Hana started feeling it...?" Elf muttered, deep in thought. "Hmm... what's the reason? I feel like this thing Homura made mutated or something. It doesn't really seem like the original Akiko's jam."

Hearing her mutter, Homura spoke up.

"I made it based on the description, but honestly, I think mine might be even more perfect than Akiko's... You can tell just from the effects."

"Ah! Mashiro! You're almost done eating it!" Nanami exclaimed, half laughing, half exasperated.

Everyone looked over, and sure enough, while they had all just been testing it out a few times, Mashiro hadn't stopped eating the jam at all.

"Feels floaty..." Mashiro finally muttered.

"Okay, Mashiro, that's enough." Homura said with an amused tone. "Eating too much of this jam isn't good for you."

"Especially not such a terrifying jam." Utaha nodded in agreement.

Homura: "..."

Mashiro reluctantly put down the bottle in her hand, but the girls still decided to continue testing.

Eventually, they figured out the limit—when diluted seven times, Sagiri and Izumi were already feeling a bit uncomfortable, and one by one, everyone also reached their own limit.

Megumi, on the other hand, only started to feel something when it was diluted three times, but even after eating a full dose of Akiko's jam, her reaction was surprisingly not as strong as Homura's.

Seeing such a bizarre thing, the girls were a bit confused.

"Maybe it has something to do with emotions or feelings?" Homura made a guess.

Hearing this, the girls started thinking.

Mashiro used to be completely expressionless and emotionless, and it was only lately that she had become a little more expressive, but compared to most people, she was still pretty emotionless.

However, considering Akiko's jam still had a slight effect on Mashiro, then it would actually make sense if it really was tied to emotions.

It was the same with Megumi and Muramasa.

Megumi aside, Muramasa didn't have any issues expressing emotions, but she easily got lost in her own world, which made the outside world not affect her much, so that might be part of it.

When everyone thought about it like this, Homura's guess actually seemed pretty reasonable.

"Simply put, Homura-kun ended up making an emotion tester?" Maki suddenly blurted out.

Girls: "..."

They couldn't help but agree!

"So, basically, when Mashiro starts feeling something from drinking the jam that's diluted twenty times, that's when she'll be just like us?" Elf guessed thoughtfully.

Homura: "???"

"Bruh, the way you put it makes it sound kinda sketchy." Homura rolled his eyes. "No matter what, Mashiro's emotions can't be only one-twentieth of ours, right? I'd say she's at least at one-third now."

"Doesn't that mean your guess just now's wrong?" Elf pointed her finger at Homura.

"I was just guessing randomly. Didn't say I was right." Homura shrugged helplessly. "Forget it, let's stop overthinking this. Hurry up and help me out—don't tell me you girls don't wanna have dinner?"

A moment of awkward silence followed before the girls turned into assistant chefs, helping Homura get things ready.

"Hey, Homura, is this Akiko's jam something only you can make?" Elf asked while working.

"Nope, anyone can make it." Homura answered right away.

"Anyone can make it?!" Elf's hand paused for a second.

"Yeah, I mean, Akiko's jam is such an iconic food. Wouldn't it be kinda pity not to give it out as a gift for the fans?" Homura chuckled. "So, once the fans talk it over, that's when I'll share the recipe."

As soon as the girls heard this, they all stared at Homura with blank expressions.

He was seriously a demon, but somehow, the image of their fans collapsing on the floor after tasting Akiko's jam was kinda funny.

"So? You want the recipe or not?" Homura asked.

"Of course! How could I not check out such an interesting recipe?" Elf grinned.

"Alright, I've got ten versions in my head, ranging from Akiko's jam at 10% power to 100%. Which one do you want?"

"Huh? What's the difference? Don't tell me it's just different dilution levels?" Elf gave a suspicious look.

"You're underestimating me, huh? How about Akiko's jam that smells just like the original but has different power levels?" Homura said with a smirk.

As soon as he said this, the girls all stared at him like he was some kind of divine being.

"Do I even need to say it? I want them all!" Elf said without hesitation. "By the way, if it's at 10% power, we can totally just eat it like a normal jam, right?"

As soon as her words dropped, the others imagined it and instantly started drooling.

No one dared touch the original version, but 10% should be perfectly fine, right?

"Homura-kun! Make more of the 10% jam!" Honoka said with excitement.

"Sure, but only after you finish your vegetable juice."

Honoka: "..."