"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!"
A scream shattered the quiet atmosphere of the MASK Unit dorm.
"M-m-my pudding is gone!!"
Collapsed on the floor in front of the fridge, Marietta cried like a kid who just got separated from their parents.
Watching the scene from the kitchen doorway were three people.
"Who's gonna ask her…? Alain?"
"I just came to drink water."
"Shirley?"
She didn't even answer Jean, way too focused on eating her cereal bar.
"So this is gonna fall on me, huh?"
Jean sighed, walking over slowly and kneeling beside Marietta.
"H-huh, Marie…? What happened?"
"My special chocolate pudding! It disappeared!"
Jean watched as she cried like her eyes had actual fountains installed.
(Man, what a pain.)
All he gave in response was a tired smile from someone already done before even starting.
He glanced over his shoulder, seeing Alain casually drinking his water while flipping him off, and Shirley had already vanished without a trace.
(Seriously, I'm the one stuck with this bomb?!)
With one last sigh, Jean stood up and started checking the fridge and the rest of the kitchen.
"Don't worry, Marie. I'll figure out what happened to the pudding."
Sniffling, Marietta looked up at him with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
"Thank youuuuu!"
She immediately jumped in to hug his legs.
"W-watch the snot on my pants!"
After a full-on struggle to pry Marietta off his legs, Jean continued inspecting the area.
(Hmm… nothing in the trash, so it wasn't eaten here.)
He slowly checked different spots in the kitchen.
(All the spoons in the drawer… and nothing new in the dish rack.)
Letting out a sigh, he glanced at Marietta, now curled up on the floor in fetal position making sad little noises.
"Marietta, are you sure it was in the fridge?"
"Yes! I made it right after getting back from the mall with Shirley!"
Jean made a confused face, and just as he was about to ask something, a chill ran down his spine.
"But we didn't go shopping yesterday."
Shirley appeared behind him holding a glass of water.
(She seriously loves scaring people, doesn't she?!)
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and turned to her.
"Shirley, did you see Marietta's chocolate pudding?"
"No. I only care about my bars… and honestly, Marietta's puddings are way too sweet."
She waved her hand dismissively, clearly not wanting anything to do with it.
"Ok… Marie?"
"Yes?"
"Did you log the system entry for going to the mall yesterday?"
"I did! … I think?"
She tapped her cheek and looked up, thinking.
"… Wait, no. That was the day before yesterday!"
"… Please at least give me the right info."
Jean responded with a facepalm and a long sigh.
The man kept scanning the kitchen until—
"Oh, finally something decent ~"
With a small whistle, he crouched down to get a better look at a tiny trail of chocolate on the floor.
"Marie, it won't be long until we find your pudding."
"Really?! Let's go, full speed ahead!"
Marietta jumped onto Jean's back, pointing dramatically forward.
"… Could you get off me? It's gonna be hard to move like this."
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!"
She pressed her fingers together awkwardly and bowed her head a little, while Jean just let out another deep sigh.
Soon, they started following the chocolate trail toward the possible target location.
First, they left the kitchen and headed into the main hallway.
Then they passed through the dorm's living room.
Finally, they went upstairs toward the individual bedrooms and then…
"Wait, isn't this the Captain's—"
"CAPTAIN!"
While Jean was still wondering if they were even following the right trail, Marietta, with zero patience, threw the door open.
"Hmm? Ah, good evening, Jean, Marietta. What brings you to my room?"
And to their surprise, casually enjoying a chocolate pudding, there was the culprit.
After a lengthy lecture from Marietta about not touching other people's stuff, it was discovered that she had simply forgotten to put her name on the dessert.
From that day on, a special reserved corner of the shared fridge was created just for her things.
As an apology, Ittetsu bought her half a dozen chocolate puddings.
As for our esteemed detective who solved the case…
"JEEEEAAAAN! MY STRAWBERRY PUDDING IS GONE!"
"… Give me a break."
He would continue being bothered with requests to investigate missing sweets from the fridge right up until the start of the operation in Nereus-0.