The timeline is before chapter 1, and the perspective is that of the chemistry club advisor.
I repeat, this is an utterly trivial story.
“The topic of our first Chemistry Club discussion is ‘What kind of bread is a bread that cannot be eaten?'”
The tragedy began here.
…No, surely, I mentioned it yesterday.
“You guys, if you find yourselves free during experiments, maybe it would be interesting to have a discussion or something?”
And.
There have been various chemistry-related news lately. So, I thought casually that it might be nice to have a discussion. Perhaps that was a mistake.
Because, normally, if you were to have a discussion in a chemistry club, you would think it would involve chemistry-related topics.
When I said any topic is fine, this is what I got: “What is bread that cannot be eaten?”
…I respect the students’ autonomy, and it sounded interesting, so I didn’t stop them.
“……a frying pan.” (T/N: bread = pan)
“Kadomi, that’s naive. You know, there may be people in the world who can eat a lump of iron. And since we cannot confirm whether or not there are people in the world who can eat a lump of iron, it’s premature to categorize the frying pan as a ‘bread that cannot be eaten.'”
Kadomi’s logical statement was swiftly shot down by President.
“No, wait, President. The question here is about a ‘bread that cannot be eaten.’ We need to define whether it is for some people or inedible for everyone.”
And with Suzumoto starting to say such things, the meeting became contentious.
“First of all, what does ‘eating’ mean? Is it okay if you can swallow it?”
Hariu’s point was also valid.
Indeed, the act of eating can be interpreted in endless ways.
“Swallowing, or rather, taking it into the body, might be a good definition.”
Well, Katori’s opinion seems reasonable.
“Oh, if you say that, then frying pans can be eaten. Food cooked in an iron frying pan contains dissolved iron. You can take that into your body, so that means a frying pan can be eaten.”
Maito’s opinion negated the question’s answer.
In other words, “A frying pan is not a bread that cannot be eaten.”
…Now, I wonder how this will go astray from here.
“Then, how about something that can’t be taken in… like a frying pan made of gold?”
Hagasaki is right; we humans don’t have the ability to absorb gold.
“No, gold leaf is commonly used in sweets, and we eat it, so it falls under chewing and swallowing, doesn’t it? And if you say that, probably all substances could be eaten if you shape them right?”
“That would no longer be considered a bread, would it?”
Toriumi was refuted by Kariya.
“We’re back to square one then. Whether it’s a gold frying pan or not, we cannot prove that no one can chew and swallow it. Eating it might kill you, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be eaten. It’s just a reason not to want to eat it.”
…This question is unexpectedly difficult.
Or rather, they’re making it difficult. On purpose!
What drives you all so much? Is it the bread? It’s about the bread, isn’t it? It’s the bread.
“So, what exactly is ‘bread’?”
President reset the discussion, and everyone started pondering again.
It’s almost philosophical now. What is “bread”?
“In the case of ‘frying pan,’ the ‘bread’ refers to cooking equipment, and by mixing it with the bread type of ‘bread,’ they’re making the frying pan also ‘bread,’ right?”
Maito’s opinion was exactly right. Therefore, what we should be looking for is something named “bread” that cannot be chewed and swallowed, nor taken into oneself.
…Ah, the discussion keeps flowing in strange directions.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t what the problem is supposed to be about.
“How about the “pan” from Greek mythology? You know, the one that’s half goat, half human. It’s said to be the model for the constellation Capricorn.”
Kariya surprisingly knows such fairy-tale-like things. Where does he get such knowledge from? I had no idea.
“That might indeed be inedible.”
Oh, I was thinking… and then Kadomi, who seemed to have been looking something up, raised his hand.
“It appears that in Greek mythology, ‘bread’ can also be spelled as ‘Paan.'”
…The laboratory fell silent.
“Alright! So, bread is Paan, not bread, so it’s not an ‘inedible bread’!”
And the members exchanged high-fives.
You guys… are you looking for an “inedible bread”? Are you happy not finding one? Which is it?
“I looked it up in the dictionary, and it says there’s a mutual aid organization at the center of China’s economic activities. How about that?”
Katori started relying on an electronic dictionary.
“A group can be absorbed through merger or acquisition, right?”
I see, absorption is possible, but is that okay?
“In that case, doesn’t the definition of ‘eating’ change a bit? Like, ‘a larger entity absorbs a smaller one, incorporating it as part of itself,’ or ‘the absorbed entity loses its original form and becomes part of the absorber’?”
Ah, indeed, that makes quite a bit of sense.
It makes sense, but I wish Hagasaki would direct his brilliance in a different direction.
“It seems there’s a filming technique called ‘pan’?”
Electronic dictionaries are powerful.
“Could that also be absorbed and made one’s own?”
Well, technology can be stolen and absorbed, so maybe.
“Does that fall under the category of ‘eating’…? Ah, I don’t know.”
Hariu and Kadomi are almost giving up. Come on, guys.
“……Ah. Hey, the dictionary had ‘pan’ as in ‘all, the whole,’ but…”
Oh. That surely can’t be eaten.
…But then.
“That’s an adjective, not a noun, so it doesn’t count.”
…After all this, it has to be a noun, guys!
When I stepped away for a bit and came back, they had already started playing a game of Daifugo.
“Hey, what happened to the ‘inedible bread’ discussion?”
“Oh, it’s over.”
Eh, it’s over?
“What’s the conclusion?”
“Basically, the whole issue of ‘What’s a bread that cannot be eaten?’ ‘A frying pan!’ is that the ‘bread’ referred to by the questioner and respondent differs in its phonetic representation, which is the entirety of the problem. Therefore, the answer is ‘the bread you are thinking of.’ If the questioner wasn’t thinking of a bread, it’s a mistake on the questioner’s part, and not the fault of the respondent. In short, the ‘inedible bread’ exists only in the mind of the questioner.”
…
I’d like to see the “bread” in your minds, really!
Wtf hahaha