Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 9 - Chapter 2

Everyone’s Chocolate Circumstances

Monday, February 8th

Even after Clan left, Ruth couldn’t get past the mystery of what had happened to Koutarou and Clan. She was distracted enough that she was unable to focus on her training and ended up making lots of mistakes. It stayed on her mind as she walked to Kisshouharukaze High School, and well into class as she ignored the lecture to simply follow Koutarou with her eyes.

Koutarou remained unaware of Ruth’s gaze, and when lunchtime rolled around, he spent it carefreely chatting away with some classmates.

“So, Satomi, how many do you think you’ll get?”

“I’m in the same boat you guys are. Even if I get some, it’ll only be one or two obligatory valentines.”

It was now the second week of February, and Valentine’s Day happened to fall on a weekend this year. Since the 14th was a Sunday, students would be handing out their valentines on the last day of school that week, Friday the 12th. Today was only Monday, but the entire school was abuzz with talk of chocolates and love.

“You’re still sitting pretty, Satomi. Even your obligatory valentines are exceptional.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t play stupid! An obligatory valentine from Princess Alaia is a big freaking deal! It might as well be a real valentine!”

“Sakuraba-senpai, huh? Well, it’s true that she’s awfully kind, but it’ll still just be an obligatory valentine. I can’t go into details, but she’s pretty popular.”

“Duh. We’re talking about Princess Alaia here. Of course there’s a lot of competition for her.”

“It’s but a fleeting dream...”

The members of the unpopular boys alliance—including Koutarou—were grieving their situation. They had no girlfriends and no particular skills or assets that would make them popular with girls. To them, Valentine’s Day was just a miserable reminder of that. And so around this time of the year, they would huddle together in the corner of the classroom and complain to each other. There were eight of them in total, each one currently sulking.

“And... How do I put this? I want Sakuraba-senpai to focus on the person she actually likes.”

“Ah, I know what you mean. Of course the princess has her one true love!”

“So everyone’s going to end up getting one or two obligatory valentines... We’re all in this together, I’d say.”

“That traitor is the one stealing all the valentines that could be ours.”

“Feh... Mackenzie, that bastard...”

“Everything is his fault!”

“Did you hear? He was walking around with a new girl the other day.”

“What?!”

“Are you for real, Satomi?!”

The alliance usually ended their meetings by complaining about Kenji. He was attractive, athletic, fashionable, considerate, kind to girls, and even a model student. He was also active in the drama club now, so it seemed like he might get even more valentines than usual this year. And that was exactly why the unpopular boys alliance regarded him with such contempt. He was their natural rival. An enemy. Of course, that envious behavior was a major reason they weren’t popular with girls, but they were too young and immature to realize that.

“Hey, Kou! I don’t want to hear you making up random crap again!”

Hearing all this, Kenji finally put his foot down and fiercely protested what Koutarou had said about him. This was a constant issue, and nothing but trouble for him.

“Don’t be like that, Mackenzie-kun. It’s unbecoming.”

Koutarou leaned over and put his hand on Kenji’s shoulder as a wicked grin crept across his lips.

“Wh-What are you talking about?”

“I saw you coming out of a cafe by the station with a girl the day before yesterday, you see. What happened with that drama club girl you were so close to?”

Kenji’s face turned pale as Koutarou whispered into his ear. Kenji normally had a smart look to him, but now he looked nothing short of desperate as he scrambled for an excuse.

“That was just a classmate from middle school. I was just talking with her since it had been a while since we’d seen each other. It’s not like something suspicious happened or—”

“Of course, of course. Let’s just leave it at that, Mackenzie. I know how hard this time of year is for you, after all...”

Koutarou smiled and patted the panicking Kenji on the shoulder repeatedly. It was like he was saying that he truly understood him.

“So, how many have you fooled with that trick, Mackenzie?”

“I said it’s not anything like that!”

“You’re a disgrace to all men!”

“Just how many valentines are you planning on scooping up for yourself, you traitor?!”

“I have no intention of doing any of that!”

The unpopular boys alliance unleashed a barrage of attacks on Kenji. Doing so would only earn them more scorn from the girls, but again, not realizing such things was exactly what had landed them in the unpopular boys alliance.

“...Serves you right.”

Koutarou had a satisfied look on his face as the other boys tore into Kenji, and he popped a potato chip into his mouth as he watched it happen. The taste was just as satisfying as the sight unfolding in front of him.

Man, junk food really is the best...

After going so long without junk food, Koutarou had spent the last several days really savoring the taste of his potato chips and cola. As he did so now, however, a slender arm reached over and casually grabbed a few of the potato chips from the bag.

“Satomi-kun, I can make some bona fide Valentine’s Day chocolate for you if you’d like,” said the thief.

She then shoved the stolen potato chips into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she smiled at Koutarou.

“That is, if you pay for the cost of the materials and labor.”

“No thank you. More importantly, don’t just steal my chips, Aika-san.”

“My, they’re delicious... Are these the winter limited edition consommé flavor ones? Maybe I’ll buy some too.”

The potato chip thief was none other than Aika Maki. She was a classmate that had gotten friendly with Koutarou recently. So much so, in fact, that she paid no heed to his protests and reached out towards the potato chip bag once more.

“Ah— Hey!”

“Heehee...”

Maki snatched up a whole handful of chips this time, but when Koutarou went to protest, Maki shoved several of them in his mouth. Instead of words, there was only a crunch.

“There’s no need to be so stubborn. I’ll make you splendid chocolate well worth the cost.”

Since Maki had fed Koutarou most of the chips she’d taken, she’d really only ended up stealing the same amount she had the first time. Next, she reached out for his bottle of cola.

“Mmmhh!”

Koutarou started to say something, but he was so surprised at the sight that he got a piece of potato chip stuck in his throat. Unable to breathe properly, he repeatedly pounded his chest.

“Here you go, Satomi-kun.”

“Mhhmm!”

Maki handed the bottle over to Koutarou, and he took a good swig to wash down the troublesome chip.

“Phew, I’m saved...”

“You’re like a child, Satomi-kun.”

“Leave me be.”

“Heehee.”

After Koutarou had some of the cola, Maki grabbed it from him and took a sip like it was her prerogative to do so. Koutarou wanted to complain, but since she’d just helped save him from choking, he let her do as she pleased.

“Hey, Kou...”

Turning to the side, Koutarou saw Kenji looking at him half amazed, half angry.

“Hmm?”

Koutarou wasn’t sure what that look meant, so he cocked his head to the side. He then opened his mouth to accept some more chips that had been presented to him. As he did, Maki pushed the chips into his mouth.

“...No, it’s nothing.”

“Ish that sho? Wheirdho.”

In the end, Kenji said nothing. Koutarou still didn’t get it, so he continued chewing on his chips with his head tilted to the side. Kenji ignored him, so Maki took the opportunity to strike up a conversation again.

“So about that chocolate, Satomi-kun...”

“You really don’t get it, Aika-san.”

Koutarou swallowed the chips he was chewing and waggled his index finger at Maki.

“What we want isn’t the taste of chocolate or a pretty package! The chocolate itself isn’t what matters! Isn’t that right, everyone?!”

Koutarou firmly asserted himself and looked to the rest of the unpopular boys alliance for support. What he wanted was a real valentine, not just an imitation.

“Aika-san, make one for me!”

“Me too! Me too!”

However, the other boys seemed to feel differently. They leaped at the chance and ordered chocolates from Maki one after another.

“Of course, of course! I take cash up front.”

Maki put on her business smile and used the back of the printout she had on her desk to record her orders.

“Ah, you idiots! Have you really fallen this low?!”

“I’d rather have chocolate than my pride! Aika-san, please make one for me too!”

“I want three, and if possible, each with different packaging!”

“In that case, two of them will cost extra.”

“That’s fine by me! I don’t care what it costs!”

“All right then. You can count on me.”

Maki’s to-order chocolates appeared to be a big hit. She received over twenty orders before long, and her list was continually getting longer. If the unpopular boys weren’t going to get valentines through normal means, they were happy to pay Maki for one. They wanted to eat gorgeous handmade chocolate and at least feel like they had gotten the real deal. That was just how desperate the unpopular boys alliance was this time of year.

“Y-You guys...”

“So, what about you, Kou?”

“I don’t need any!”

“You should buy some. This might be your only chance, you know.”

“Shut it, Mackenzie! You don’t understand how I feel!”

The serious and stubborn Koutarou couldn’t find it in him to pay for Valentine’s chocolate. Especially not in front of Kenji with such a smug look on his face.

“I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand, though...”

“Yeah, you’re so stubborn... You’ll only lose out like that, Satomi-kun.”

“Quiet, you! Your business preys on lonely men’s innocent hearts!”

In the end, it looked like it would be yet another lonely Valentine’s Day for Koutarou.

Deep in thought, Ruth continued to observe Koutarou as he carried on loudly with his classmates.

Looking at him now, he doesn’t seem any different from before...

That was the conclusion Ruth had reached after watching him all morning. Koutarou ultimately didn’t seem any different since he and Clan had vanished together. He was cheerfully chatting with his classmates like always.

But how can that be?

Knowing how much Koutarou had improved with the sword and seeing how much his relationship with Clan had changed, Ruth was sure that something had happened while they were gone. And it had to have been something big. She just couldn’t tell what it was.

Satomi-sama wouldn’t tell me even when I asked him...

When Ruth had asked Koutarou about it before, she had only gotten a vague summary of what had happened. He and Clan had been sent to a different world, and they were forced to work together in order to return. During that process, they’d become friends. That was Koutarou’s answer every time Ruth had asked him about it. She wanted to hear the details, but he was oddly mum on the matter. In order to get the truth out of him, she would need some kind of definitive proof to confront him with. That’s why she’d been observing Koutarou the entire day, looking for something that might give him away, but she had yet to find anything that fit the bill.

“Hey, Ruth, did something happen between you and Koutarou?”

As Ruth was deep in thought, Sanae appeared upside down in front of her. She was able to do such things freely as a ghost, and she floated in front of Ruth like so to talk to her.

“Kyah!”

Ruth was startled by her sudden appearance, but she quickly returned to a smile when she realized it was a familiar face.

“O-Oh, it’s just you, Sanae-sama.”

“You’ve had this big wrinkle on your forehead since this morning and you’ve done nothing but glare at Koutarou like you’re trying to curse him to death. Did you get into a fight? Or are you pretending to be a stalker or something?”

Since Sanae could see the auras of others, she was especially sensitive to changes in people’s emotions. Because of that, she was the first to notice the doubts that had begun sprouting within Ruth towards Koutarou.

“Um...”

Ruth fumbled for an answer, but that was when she realized that Sanae might be able to help her. Since Sanae had noticed her doubts, there was a chance she might be able to tell what was different with Koutarou too.

“It’s not like we had a fight, but... I just feel like the atmosphere around Satomi-sama has changed a little.”

Ruth carefully choose her words as she explained herself to Sanae. In response, Sanae turned around and looked at Koutarou.

“Oh, that’s what you’re talking about.”

“So you’ve noticed it too?”

“Yeah.”

Sanae turned back to Ruth with a smile on her face. As Ruth had suspected, Sanae had also noticed the change in Koutarou.

“The feeling inside Koutarou has changed a little.”

“The feeling inside him?”

Sanae’s choice of words confused Ruth. She had no idea what Sanae meant about the feeling inside him.

“Oh, right, sorry. You know how I usually sleep inside of Koutarou, right?”

“Oh!”

Ruth clapped her hands together as the lightbulb came on. Since, as a ghost, Sanae didn’t have a physical form of her own, she could enter into the bodies of others. Her favorite person to inhabit was Koutarou, and she would often slip into his body to sleep. Ruth had seen it herself—a few too many times for her taste, in fact—so she immediately registered what Sanae was talking about. The sight of Sanae’s head and limbs sticking out of Koutarou’s body wasn’t something she would soon forget.

“It’s still comfortable, but it feels bigger than before.”

“Bigger?”

“Yeah.”

Sanae nodded and spread her arms out in an attempt to express her meaning.

“Before, when I entered, it felt really cozy with just me in there, but now it feels like there’s room for several more.”

Based on Sanae’s exaggerated gesture, she seemed to be indicating the size of room 106. It was like he’d gone from feeling like the size of the wardrobe to the whole apartment.

So inside of Satomi-sama has gotten bigger... I guess that means he’s gotten more mentally mature or that he has grown into a man of higher caliber.

That was how Ruth interpreted Sanae’s explanation. In the past, Koutarou’s heart only had room for one or two people, but now there was room for plenty more. That seemed to indicate he’d matured mentally or emotionally somehow.

“That’s right. We should sleep together inside Koutarou sometime, Ruth.”

“N-No, I... You know I can’t leave my own body.”

“Man, what a shame. It’s so warm and pleasant.”

Entering Koutarou’s body might give her the chance to find new clues, so it wasn’t like Sanae’s suggestion was an unattractive one to Ruth. There was just no way it would work. Since the only way she could do it would be to die and become a ghost too, she had no choice but to give up on the idea.

That said, this only makes me more sure that something big happened to Koutarou-sama and Clan-sama...

Thanks to Sanae, Ruth had learned that Koutarou’s sword skills weren’t the only things that had developed while he was away. And she wasn’t idealistic enough to think that kind of growth happened spontaneously. After talking with Sanae, Ruth only grew more suspicious of Koutarou.

To the girl known as Sakuraba Harumi, this year’s Valentine’s Day was special. It would be the first one she’d spend in love—something she had only read about in books before. Of course, that’s not to say it would be her first time trying her hand at making chocolate. She made it every year for her family and the children at the hospital. But even so, this would be her first time making a real, bona fide valentine for a boy she loved. As such, she was going to proceed carefully to make sure it came out perfect.

Aww, I should’ve started on preparations earlier!

Harumi stared at the mountain of snacks on the desk in the club room, secretly panicking. The old club room was still cold since it was the middle of February, but Harumi didn’t have the mental energy to spend caring about the temperature. Or on her knitting, for that matter. The needles in her hands were moving at a snail’s pace, almost autonomously. The truth was that Harumi hadn’t realized until very recently that she even had someone she wanted to give a valentine.

“Are you going to give Satomi-san a valentine, Sakuraba-senpai?”

It was actually a question from Yurika that had prompted it. Until then, she’d only been planning on giving chocolates to her family and the children in the hospital as usual.

Harumi didn’t currently have the courage to confess to Koutarou. But since the difference between a real valentine and an obligatory one was so obscure, she could express her real feelings to Koutarou without having to worry about how he might take it. Thinking of it that way, Harumi definitely wanted to make chocolate for him. It was a quest she couldn’t afford to fail. She knew she had to make the best chocolate she could, but she also wanted to make sure that it was something Koutarou would actually like. She couldn’t do this just for her own satisfaction.

And so Harumi began researching Koutarou’s tastes when it came to sweets. However, since she’d only just started her research the other day, she hadn’t learned much yet. And since she couldn’t flat out ask Koutarou what kind of chocolate he liked, she was starting to panic a little.

“Oh, hey, Sakuraba-senpai, Mackenzie asked me about you at work yesterday.”

Koutarou, who had been ardently knitting, set aside his work and reached out for a cup of freshly poured tea.

Maybe this time...

With his needles and his knitting now on the desk, Harumi paid close attention to Koutarou’s hands. In his left was a cup of tea, and his right was reaching out towards the mountain of snacks.

At last!

This was exactly the moment Harumi had been waiting for, and she instinctively held her breath as she watched with great anticipation.

“He wants you to appear in another play. It seems you were a big hit even with people outside of the school.”

Unaware of Harumi’s intentions, Koutarou casually grabbed a snack and threw it into his mouth.

Another tick for milk chocolate.

Harumi made a mental note of every type of snack Koutarou ate, and this time he’d chosen a milk chocolate one. Harumi had prepared the snacks herself, and while she’d included rice crackers and potato chips, she’d made sure that most of the snacks were chocolatey sweets.

There were three kinds of chocolate snacks in total, each with a different coating. There was the sweet and easy to eat milk chocolate, the bitter chocolate without much sugar or milk in it, and the bittersweet chocolate in between the two. This time Koutarou had taken one of the milk chocolate snacks.

Based on everything so far, it seems like Satomi-kun prefers milk chocolate...

Harumi had secretly been researching Koutarou’s preferences this way since last week. Since she couldn’t find it in herself to ask him straight out, she had taken this roundabout method instead. She felt only lining up chocolates would be too obvious, so she had included various other candies as well. Because of that, however, her research was taking quite a long time and she was starting to panic.

Maybe I should use milk chocolate to make something fun...

Based on the data Harumi had collected so far, she knew that Koutarou was extremely fond of specially shaped candy. When she had brought candy she’d made using flour, water, and syrup in a mold, Koutarou’s eyes had sparkled and he had gone after those first. And based on her findings today, she learned that Koutarou preferred milk chocolate. And so Harumi slowly began thinking of things she could do putting the two together.

“Sakuraba-senpai. Hey, Sakuraba-senpai.”

But as she stared up at the ceiling while thinking up recipes, Koutarou’s face suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Y-Yes?!”

Harumi let out a loud yelp in response. She was caught off guard by Koutarou’s unexpected appearance. She was so startled, in fact, that she nearly jumped out of her chair.

“U-Uh, wh-what is it, S-Satomi-kun?”

“Weren’t you listening?”

“I-I’m sorry, m-my mind just wandered off...”

Harumi tried to calm her racing heart and apologized to Koutarou in a fluster. She couldn’t tell Koutarou what she was really thinking about. She couldn’t even bear to imagine what he might think of her if he knew.

“Pffft! Ahahahaha!”

But Koutarou only laughed. Harumi’s flustered face and her panicked excuses were just so cute and funny that he couldn’t hold it in.

“S-Satomi-kun?”

Harumi was baffled by Koutarou’s laughter, and her eyes opened wide in surprise at the sound. That reaction, however, only made things funnier to Koutarou. He nearly busted a gut laughing.

“Wahahahahaha! Wh-What’s with that face, Sakuraba-senpai?! Hahahahaha!”

“Oh you, Satomi-kun!”

“No, not me! Ahahaha! It’s your face that’s funny, wahahaha!”

Harumi quickly realized that Koutarou was laughing at her, but by then there was nothing she could do about it. Koutarou found her face so funny that he had to gasp for breath in between fits of laughter.

“Satomi-kun, you really are a big meanie, jeez...”

Harumi’s angry face—which was 50 percent embarrassment, 40 percent affection, and 10 percent anger—only made Koutarou laugh even harder.

While Koutarou was laughing like an idiot, Sanae and Yurika, who had been getting along well recently, were visiting the supermarket by the station.

“Wow, there’s so much chocolate!”

“I hope some of it’s a good bargain!”

The supermarket was having a special sale on chocolate now that Valentine’s Day was so close. Armed with that knowledge, two girls who rarely went to the supermarket had come to do some serious shopping.

“Don’t be so cheap. Valentine’s Day only comes once a year.”

Sanae cheerfully looked over each and every one of the chocolates on display, and she was currently eyeing the shelf lined with the relatively expensive products. Since she rarely used her money, being a ghost and all, they were well within her price range even with just the small allowance she got from Koutarou. The only other thing she really ever bought was anime related merchandise. Because of that, she was planning on buying something nice.

But if it’s too expensive, Koutarou might not like it, so something around here should be good...

Sanae had perused the top-shelf chocolates briefly, but in the end she decided against them. She was planning on giving Koutarou chocolate, but she was also planning on sharing it with him by clinging to his back as he ate it so that she could taste it too. But that meant if she bought him a kind of chocolate that he was unused to and he didn’t like it, she wouldn’t get the right sensation out of it. She loved the spiritual energy Koutarou showered her with when he was happy, and if all she really wanted was Koutarou to be happy, there was no reason to buy a needlessly expensive chocolate.

In the end, Sanae chose a nice, limited edition Valentine’s Day chocolate from a popular brand. The label read: “A special version of the taste everyone loves, just for the special person you love.” That spoke to her, and she felt like she made the right choice.

“But, but, but! Expensive chocolate doesn’t fill you up like the cheap stuff does!”

Unlike Sanae who headed for the more expensive products, Yurika immediately went for the bargain bin. They were split up, Yurika on the left side of the aisle and Sanae on the right.

Yurika lived off the stipend she received from Folsaria. However, considering the strength of the yen right now and how seriously her stipend was docked to cover all the property damage she’d caused in the past, she had to survive off of very meager means. Despite that, she still couldn’t stop herself from buying her beloved shoujo manga, meaning that she had almost no spare money. If it weren’t for Koutarou generously allowing her to live in room 106, she’d be the first homeless magical girl in history. As a result, Yurika ended up being drawn towards the right shelves.

Do I get ten 10 yen chocolates, two 50 yen chocolates, or one 100 yen chocolate? Auuugh, what should I do?

Yurika was wondering how to use the 100 yen she’d managed to scrounge up. Should she buy a bunch of cheap chocolates, one of the most expensive kind she could afford, or something in the middle? If she were buying for herself, she definitely would have chosen the cheapest chocolate to get as much as possible, but since she was going to give it to Koutarou and the others, she felt like going too cheap would be bad. At a loss for what to do, she began thinking of different ways to spend her 100 yen, such as two 30 yen chocolates and four 10 yen chocolates.

“...I hate this. I hate being poor...”

Since Yurika loved shoujo manga so much, Valentine’s Day had a special place in her heart. She also wanted to try giving a boy she liked a big, homemade chocolate creation. But with the market and her circumstances what they were, that was just a pipe dream. Yurika clenched the 100 yen coin in her hand and gritted her teeth. It was all she could do.

“V-Valentine’s Day sucks...”

Yurika stared at the chocolate on the shelf with tears in her eyes.

“Yurika, Yurika!”

That was when Sanae, holding her own chocolate, approached.

“Huh?”

Yurika looked up to see Sanae pointing behind her.

“Isn’t that the one you were talking about the other day?”

“Huh, what?”

Yurika looked in the direction Sanae was pointing.

“Whaaat?!”

Yurika froze when she read the words: “Sale! Kanto seaweed soy sauce ramen! One bag for just 78 yen!” It was a sign for the new flavor of instant ramen that she had eagerly been waiting to try.

While Sanae and Yurika were at the supermarket, two other girls from the Corona House crew arrived. They, however, weren’t headed for the candy aisle.

“Kiriha-san, over here.”

“Thank you, Shizuka. You’re a big help.”

Shizuka and Kiriha were browsing the alcohol aisle, not that they wanted any to drink. What they were after was special cooking liquor.

“It’s no trouble. I’m here to buy something myself anyway.”

Shizuka had guided Kiriha to the supermarket’s alcohol aisle, but it was also her destination. There was a kind of alcohol she wanted to buy too.

“Liqueur, liqueur... Ah, here it is.”

Shizuka was looking for liqueur. She could have gotten regular cooking alcohol at the store by the shopping street, but Shizuka had to come all the way out to the supermarket to find a particular liqueur used for making sweets. This supermarket carried a great selection of them, and Shizuka picked out the yogurt flavored one. It was one of her favorites, and this was the only place that carried it.

“Shizuka, what are you going to make with that?”

“Heehee, I was actually planning on using it as the secret ingredient in my chocolate-covered cake.”

“Oh, a cake, huh? That sounds delicious.”

Kiriha, who was also quite skilled in the kitchen, had no trouble reading between the lines. She could tell Shizuka was going to make a sponge cake with yogurt liqueur in it and then cover it with chocolate. It would give the cake a refreshing flavor and make for a nice contrast against the chocolate.

“Something like strawberry would go well with it too.”

“Oh, I have some strawberry liqueur at home, so I’ll give that a try too.”

As the two continued to talk about cooking, they moved down the aisle some to find what Kiriha needed.

“The brandy for cooking is right around here.”

“Now then, which one should I pick?”

In addition to liqueur, the store had a nice selection of brandy too. Kiriha picked up the closest bottle and read the label. She needed to find something that would work for her purposes.

“You’ll be putting the brandy into the chocolate, right?”

“Yes. I wanted to give it a more sophisticated taste.”

“So you want it to be a little bitter?”

“That’s my plan.”

Kiriha was looking for a brandy to give the chocolate a complex flavor. She wanted it to be mature, and something less sweet than normal. She was planning on making a valentine of her own, so she had to make sure it was something an adult would like. Kiriha’s first love, the man she’d met on the surface ten years ago, should be around thirty years old now.

Unfortunately, she still hadn’t managed to track him down. She’d used various methods and she’d checked everywhere she could think of that he might be, but it was all to no avail. Despite that, however, this was the season of romance. Kiriha couldn’t help wanting to make a valentine for him, even if he wasn’t around. That was just how in love she was.

Heh, I’m sure Koutarou would laugh at me for being so stubborn...

Kiriha herself was well aware that what she was doing was silly, but she didn’t feel like it was a waste. She now had a best friend who understood her. Even if she couldn’t actually give her valentine to the man she loved, she could laugh about it with her best friend. And then they could just eat the chocolate together. It wouldn’t be a waste at all. That’s why Kiriha was looking forward to this year’s Valentine’s Day.

As Kiriha was smiling to herself thinking about the coming holiday, Shizuka presented her with two small bottles of brandy.

“Then try this one or this one. Either you really bring out the bitterness of the chocolate, or you suppress it to make it easier to eat.”

Should she use a dry brandy to make the chocolate’s bitter taste stand out even more, or should she use a sweet brandy to make the chocolate easier to eat? Shizuka was recommending that she choose one of the two.

“Hmm, which one to pick...”

Kiriha returned the bottle she was holding to the shelf and compared the two bottles Shizuka had brought her. Her cooking experience told her that either one of them would be good.

“Now that I think about...”

In that moment, the face of Kiriha’s best friend flashed through her mind. After smiling once more, she decided on which brandy to pick.

“Let’s go with this one.”

Kiriha picked the sweet brandy that would make the chocolate easier to eat.

“Oh? I thought for sure you’d pick the dry one instead.”

Shizuka lightly shook the bottle of brandy she was left holding. In her mind, Kiriha was a very mature woman, so she naturally assumed she’d go for the more mature option.

“I just felt like it would be better if it’s easier to eat when I share it with everyone.”

Kiriha’s best friend had very childish tastes. Even if she cut the bitterness of the chocolate with the brandy, he would still probably make a funny face when he tried it and say it was too bitter. With that in mind, she saw no need to go out of her way to make it even bitterer. If it was slightly sweet, then it would be ideal for sharing with her friends.

“I see... Now that I think about it, there are friends to share it with this year...”

Shizuka smiled as she said that. She looked happy, but at the same time, strangely sad.

“Oh, that’s right. Your parents are...”

Shizuka had lost her parents and was managing Corona House on her own. Birthdays, Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day... While the world was celebrating all kinds of things, she was all alone.

“Yeah, but this year I have all you guys, you know? That’s why I’m so happy.”

However, Shizuka’s life had completely changed since Koutarou moved in. She now had people to spend those special days with. She was used to spending them at home alone, but things were different now. All she had to do was walk downstairs and open the door to room 106, and there would be smile upon smile there to greet her. That’s why Shizuka was making a whole cake. To see all those wonderful, radiant smiles at their best on such a special day.

“While I can’t say it openly... I feel the same way.”

Kiriha smiled and nodded. She was feeling something similar. She had lost her mother early in life and had felt her share of loneliness. On top of that, she was the daughter of the clan’s chief and, for political reasons, could show no weakness in her day to day life. So like Shizuka, she was happy to be able to come home to so many honest smiles every day.

“Heehee, you can count on me to keep a secret like that.”

“Then please do. I have to think of my position, after all.”

The two girls smiled at each other and began discussing chocolate again. Their smiles, brighter than before, were proof that the friendship between them had grown.

As most of the residents of room 106 were preparing for Valentine’s Day, one lone girl seemed to shy away from the festivities.

“Hahh...”

She was sitting in the corner of quiet room 106, holding her knees and resting her chin on them. She would let out a deep sigh every now and then. As she was looking down at the floor, her long hair concealed her face, hiding her expression. Even then, however, it was quite clear it was a gloomy one, especially compared to the radiant, golden tresses falling over it.

Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe. She was an alien who had crossed the vast universe to invade this small apartment.

“Why... Why did it turn out like this...?”

Theia’s weak voice echoed through the still room. She was normally proud and powerful. Though her body was small, she had a big personality. However, right now, that was nowhere to be seen. She seemed far smaller than usual huddled in the corner of the lonely room. The cause was a very, very troublesome feeling welling up in her tiny chest.

“At first... I thought that he was just a Neanderthal...”

When Theia had first come to Earth, she had only thought of its people as primitive barbarians. As a result, she would often clash with Koutarou and the other invaders, and it kept them from having an amiable relationship for a long time. However, as things progressed and she and the invaders vied for ownership of the apartment, they’d all come to know each other a little better and build trust and respect in their own ways. Before she knew it, she had begun enjoying life with her new friends here.

Back on Forthorthe, as a princess, everything was political and Theia had to live her life with her guard constantly up. So to her, these fun, laidback days in room 106 were irreplaceable. And somewhere along the way, Theia realized that she had fallen in love with the young Earthling. At first she had considered him to be nothing more than an uncultured brute, and as such, she had tried to make him submit by using force. They had brawled, fought, and argued countless times. In fact, they still did every now and then, although the reason had changed greatly.

It was fun to be able to express herself so freely and willfully. She was happy to be treated like anyone else because it meant she could forget that she was princess for a time. Theia and the boy she’d fallen for would still butt heads, but Theia thought of it affectionately. Before she knew it, all hostility she had was replaced with a warm, fuzzy feeling, and she indulged in that even when they argued.

“He’s an alien... Why do I keep forgetting that...? I’ve known it all along...”

However, now that she had realized her feelings, a new problem had arisen. There was no denying that Theia was an alien to the boy she loved and vice versa. Even if he were to respond favorably to her feelings and the two of them married, they were still from two different planets. A relationship between them would be fraught with problems. On top of them being different species, Theia’s position would pose an issue. And as she thought these problems out one by one, she grew more and more depressed as it set in on her just how unrealistic the whole thing was.

“He and I... will never be married...”

She had fallen in love with someone she could never really be together with. That was what was troubling Theia now. And while it sounded simple enough when put into words, it wouldn’t be that easy to reckon with.

“Haha... This is what I get for getting carried away with ‘Theiamillis’s Blue Knight’... The real Blue Knight couldn’t be together with his princess either...”

A dry laugh leaked from her lips as large tears fell down her cheeks.

In the past, Theia had secretly given the man she loved the title of “Theiamillis’s Blue Knight.” But the Blue Knight of legend could never be together with the Silver Princess. The Silver Princess loved him, but he left Forthorthe all the same. And just like the legend, Theia would never be together with her own Blue Knight. That was all she could think of right now.

Having served Theia for a long time, Ruth was in tune with her emotions. She had already realized that something was wrong with her.

Her Highness has been acting strange lately... Is she struggling with another problem, I wonder...?

However, Ruth hadn’t yet pinned down the cause. Since Theia and Koutarou’s relationship had improved during the ski trip, she couldn’t imagine that anything bad had come up between them since then. Unfortunately, however, that was essentially the case. What troubled Theia now was something of a blind spot for Ruth.

But if it’s not about Satomi-sama, I don’t think I need to worry too much. I’ll simply start by giving her this to cheer her up.

Ruth was working on preparing a Valentine’s chocolate for Theia’s sake. Upon learning of Valentine’s Day, she knew she wanted Theia to participate. She believed that if Theia gave chocolate to the boy she had feelings for, even an awkward girl like her could express her gratitude and love. Their relationship might even develop further. Ruth was also hoping the prospect of that would cheer up her depressed princess now.

No, maybe I should be worried about Satomi-sama instead...

Ruth was certain that Koutarou was hiding something from her and the others. As such, it was hard to gauge exactly how he would react to certain situations or being put on the spot. Ruth’s intuition told her that there was no way she needed to worry about Koutarou becoming Theia’s enemy, but it would still be troublesome if things started to develop in a strange direction. He had been spending an awful lot of time with Clan lately. Ruth didn’t want to let go of an ally as trustworthy as Koutarou. She needed him to protect Theia alongside her. Theia needed him too in her own way, and that’s why she felt Theia needed to actively take part in events that would improve her relationship with him.

Contemplating all this, Ruth carried a paper bag full of ingredients and tools to the kitchen on board Blue Knight. Since she wanted to keep Theia’s chocolate a secret until the day of, using the kitchen in room 106 was out of the question.

The paper bag Ruth was carrying was heavy. When she put it down on the kitchen counter, the metal bowl and utensil inside banged together, making a loud noise. Despite the weight of the bag, however, Ruth didn’t seem the slightest bit tired from carrying it all this way. After setting it down and stepping back from the counter, she put her finger on her chin and started thinking.

“All that’s left is to get Her Highness... but I guess it would be best to do that after dinner.”

After dinner, they would be holding their usual games for control of room 106. Since that would take some time, if she and Theia were going to make chocolate together aboard Blue Knight, it would make the most sense to do it after that. Having settled on a plan, Ruth turned her back to the equipment on the counter. In no small part thanks to her training with Koutarou, her steps were so light that it almost looked as if she was dancing.

“Now, what should I make for tonight? Heehee, I guess I should make something simple in preparation for Her Highness’s chocolate this weekend...”

Ruth smiled as she imagined Koutarou eating tonight’s dinner. She loved seeing him enjoying her cooking, especially when he couldn’t seem to get enough. She also loved seeing Theia eat, but that had a different charm to it. Between the two of them, Ruth always made sure to do her best when it came to cooking.

“If I cook a steamed chicken, the texture and taste should be great, and then I can focus on the calories and—”

As Ruth was walking down the hallway that led to the inner room, the bracelet on her right arm began to slightly vibrate.

“Oh?”

It was a signal that her bracelet had received information of some kind. Ruth brought the bracelet up to her face and accessed the information that had been delivered.

“...A hyperspace communication from Pardomshiha?”

Seeing what was displayed on the bracelet, Ruth tilted her head in confusion. It meant that she’d received a message from her family.