Published at 17th of August 2019 7:00 am

Volume 9, Chapter 2: Everyone's Chocolate Circumstances

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

February 8, Monday

Even after Clan had left, Ruth was still confused.

As a result, her training was wasted and she repeated her failures.

And that confusion continued as they headed towards Kitsushouharukaze high school, to the point that she neglected the classes and followed Koutarou with her eyes.

Koutarou was of course unaware of that, and when lunchtime came by, he care freely chatted with some classmates.

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

“I'm in the same boat as you guys. Even if I got some, it'd be one or two obligation chocolates.”

As the second week of February had started, Valentine's Day was scheduled for the weekend. Since the 14th was a Sunday, chocolate would be handed out on the last day of school that week, Friday the 12th. Today was only Monday, but the entire school was bristling with talk of Valentine.

“You're still sitting sweet, Satomi. Your obligation chocolate is exceptional.”

“Huh? What's that supposed to mean?”

“Don't play stupid!! Obligation chocolate from princess Alaia is on a completely different dimension from the rest!! It's on the level of true love chocolate!!”

“Sakuraba-senpai, huh... well, it's true that she is gentle and has a strong sense of obligation, but in the end it's just obligation chocolate. I can't go into details, but she's pretty popular.”

“It's princess Alaia after all... there would be a lot of competition for her...”

“It's but a fleeting dream..."

However, the unpopular boys alliance that Koutarou was a part of were grieving.

They had no girlfriends and weren't particularly good at anything, so it's not like they had any girl fans.

So to them, Valentine's Day was an uncomfortable holiday. Because of that, around this time of the year, they would gather around in the corner of the classroom and complain. In total there were eight of them, all of them sulking.

“And how do I put this... I want Sakuraba-senpai to get along with the person she really loves.”

“Ah, I know what you mean. It totally fits the role of princess Alaia!”

“So everyone's getting one or two obligation chocolates... we're all in the same situation, huh...”

“That traitor is absorbing all the true love chocolates after all.”

“Kuh... Mackenzie, that bastard...”

“Everything is his fault!”

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

“What!?”

“Is that for real, Satomi!?”

The alliance would always end their sulking by complaining about Kenji.

Kenji was attractive, good at sports, sensitive to fashion, considerate, gentle to girls and had good grades. Since he was active in the drama club, it was predicted that he would get a lot of true love chocolates this year as well. Thanks to that, the unpopular boys alliance would treat him with such envy that it was like he was an enemy from a past life.

This envious behavior was the exact reason for why they weren't popular with the girls, but the boys were too young to notice that.

“Hey, Kou! Don't come up with random crap again!”

At that moment, Kenji fiercely protested what Koutarou had said. This was nothing but trouble for him.

“That's an unsightly excuse, Mackenzie-kun.”

Koutarou put his hand on Kenji's shoulder and showed a mean grin.

“W-What?”

“I saw you coming out from a café by the station with a girl the day before yesterday, you know. What happened with the drama club girl you were so close to up until now?”

As Koutarou whispered that, Kenji's face turned pale and he hurriedly began coming up with excuses. Even the normally smart Kenji came off as desperate in this situation.

“That was just my junior from my middle school. I was just talking with her since it had been a while since we last met. It's not like anything suspicious happened.”

“I understand, I understand. Let's leave it at that, Mackenzie. This time of the year is hard on you after all...”

As Kenji panicked, Koutarou smiled at patted him on the shoulder repeatedly.

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

“You're wrong, that's not it at all!”

“You're a disgrace to all men!”

“How many true love chocolates are you planning on scooping up for yourself, you traitor!!”

“That's not what I'm trying at all!!”

The unpopular boys alliance unleashed a barrage of attacks on Kenji. Doing that would only earn them more scorn from the girls, but they were the unpopular boys alliance because they wouldn't notice that.

“...Serves you right.”

Koutarou had a satisfied look on his face and ate a potato chip. That taste was also satisfying.

This unhealthy stuff is the best...

Since Koutarou rarely had the chance to eat this, Koutarou had spent several days savoring the taste of his potato chips and cola.

That was when a slender arm reached out in front of Koutarou and naturally grabbed a few of the potato chips from the bag.

“Satomi-kun, I can make you some true love chocolate if you'd like.”

After finishing speaking, that person poured the potato chips into her mouth. And after swallowing them, she smiled at Koutarou.

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

“No thank you. More importantly, don't eat my chips without asking, Aika-san.”

“My, it’s delicious... is it the limited winter special, Consommé taste? Maybe I'll buy some too.”

The name of the potato chips thief was Aika Maki. She was a classmate that had gotten friendly with Koutarou recently. She paid no heed to Koutarou's protests and reached out towards the potato chip bag once more.

“Ah, hey!?”

“Fufu.”

The amount of chips that Maki had gotten a hold of this time was far more compared to the first time. Koutarou tried to protest about that as well, but when he opened his mouth, Maki pressed the chips into his mouth and his words were replaced with a crunch.

“There's no need to be so stubborn. I'll make a splendid chocolate fitting of the cost.”

Since Maki had shoved most of the chips into Koutarou's mouth, the amount she had left wasn't very different from what she had taken before. Instead, Maki reached towards Koutarou's bottle of cola.

“Mmmh.”

Seeing that, Koutarou accidentally got some chips stuck in his throat. He had gotten surprised as Maki reached for the cola while he was swallowing. Unable to breathe, Koutarou repeatedly pounded his chest.

“Here you go, Satomi-kun.”

“Mhhmm.”

Maki handed the bottle over to Koutarou, and he took a mouthful. As he did, the chips that were stuck fell down into his stomach.

“Phew, I'm saved...”

“You're like a child, Satomi-kun.”

“Leave me be.”

“Fufu.”

After Koutarou had drunk from the cola, Maki took it from him and took a sip like it was her natural right. Seeing that, Koutarou wanted to complain, but since she had helped when he was choking, he let her do as she pleased.

“...Hey, Kou.”

Before he knew it, Kenji was looking at Koutarou. He had an expression that was half amazed, half angry.

“Hm?”

Koutarou couldn't understand what Kenji's expression was about and he tilted his head in confusion. The next moment, more chips were presented to him and he opened his mouth. As he did, Maki pushed the chips into his mouth.

“...No, it's nothing.”

“Ish that sho?”

But in the end, Kenji didn't say anything. Unaware of what Kenji wanted, Koutarou continued chewing on the chips and tilted his head once more. That was when Maki called out to him again.

“So what will you do about the chocolate, Satomi-kun?”

“You really don't get it, Aika-san.”

Koutarou chewed on his chips while shaking his index finger left to right.

“What we want isn't the taste of chocolate or a nice design! The chocolate itself is unimportant! Isn't that right, everyone!”

Koutarou asserted himself and looked back at the unpopular boys alliance, expecting to hear their agreeing voices. What Koutarou wanted was true love chocolate, not chocolate of an equivalent design.

“Aika-san, make one for me!”

“Me too!”

However, the alliance felt differently than Koutarou and one after another they ordered chocolates from Maki.

“Welcome, welcome! Please pay up front!”

Maki put on her business smile and used the backside of the print out she had used in the previous lesson to accept orders.

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

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

“I want three, and if possibly with different packaging.”

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

“I can deal with that. Don't worry about the cost.”

“Okay, with pleasure~!”

Maki's paid for true love chocolate was a big hit. She received 20 orders before long and they were still pouring in.

If they weren't going to get a true love chocolate through normal means, they'd rather pay Maki for it. They wanted to eat a gorgeous handmade chocolate and at least feel like they had gotten a real true love chocolate. That's just how much the unpopular boys alliance had been cornered.

“Y-You guys...”

“So, what about you, Kou?”

“I don't need any!”

“You should buy some. It might be your last 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 a true love chocolate. And with Kenji grinning in front of him, that choice was flat out impossible.

“You're the one who doesn't understand though...”

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

“Quiet you! Your business relies on the pure hearts of men!”

As a result, it looked like Koutarou would spend yet another lonely Valentine's Day.

Part 2

Koutarou continued speaking with his classmates with a loud voice. Meanwhile, Ruth was observing him while deep in thought.

Looking at him like this, he doesn't seem to have changed much from before...

Ruth came to that conclusion after staring at Koutarou since morning. Koutarou didn't seem to have changed much since he and Clan had vanished. He was cheerfully chatting with his classmates like always.

But there's no way there's no change...

However, some kind of change should have happened to Koutarou. If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't have gotten so skilled with the sword in such a short time, and his relationship with Clan wouldn't have changed.

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

When Ruth had asked Koutarou before, she had only gotten a rough outline of what had happened, but no details whatsoever.

He and Clan had been sent to a different world and they had to work together to return. During that process, he and Clan had become friends.

That had been Koutarou's answer every time she had asked him. She wanted to hear more details, but he wouldn't tell her. In order for Koutarou to break his silence, she needed some kind of vital information. So Ruth had been observing Koutarou the entire day, looking for such information, but she hadn't found anything that fit the bill.

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

As Ruth was deep in thought, Sanae appeared in front of her, upside down. Being able to fly freely as a ghost, Sanae was resting in that position while facing Ruth.

“Kyaa!?”

Ruth had been surprised by the sudden event, but when she realized it was a familiar face she soon smiled.

“O-Oh, it was just you, Sanae-sama.”

“You've had this big wrinkle on your forehead and have been glaring at Koutarou since this morning, it’s as if you're trying to curse him to death. Did you get into a fight? Or are you pretending to be a stalker?”

Since Sanae could see spiritual energy, she was extra sensitive to the changes of emotions in people. Because of that, she had been the first to notice the doubts Ruth had towards Koutarou.

“Uhm...”

Ruth stumbled for an answer, but that was when she noticed that Sanae might be able to tell her what has changed with Koutarou. Since Sanae had noticed her doubts, there was at least a chance of it.

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

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

“Oh, it's about that.”

“So you did notice it then?”

“Yeah.”

Sanae turned back around with a smile on her face. Like Ruth had suspected, Sanae had noticed the change in Koutarou.

“The feeling inside Koutarou has changed a little.”

“The feeling inside him?”

Ruth was perplexed by Sanae's explanation.

“Oh right, sorry. You know how I'm often sleeping inside of Koutarou, right?”

“Ah!”

That was enough to allow Ruth to understand what Sanae meant and she lightly clapped her hands.

Since Sanae didn't have a physical form, she could enter other people's bodies. Sanae's favorite body was Koutarou's, and she would often slip into his body to sleep. Ruth had stumbled upon that sight several times, and she quickly understood what Sanae was trying to say. 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 wider than before.”

“Wider?”

“Yeah.”

Sanae nodded and spread her hands out in an attempt to express the size.

“Before, when I entered, it felt really narrow, but now it feels like there's room for several more.”

Based on Sanae's exaggerated gestures, that size seemed to be equivalent to room 106. It probably felt that Koutarou's insides had expanded from the size of the wardrobe to the size of room 106.

Satomi-sama's inside have gotten wider. I guess that means he's gotten more mentally mature, or that he has grown into a man of larger caliber...

That was how Ruth interpreted Sanae's explanation.

In the past, Koutarou's heart only had the room for one or two others. However, now there was room for many more. That meant that Koutarou had grown more tolerant and mature.

“That's right. You should sleep together with Koutarou too, Ruth.”

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

“Really? But it's so warm and pleasant.”

Entering Koutarou's body might give her the possibility to find new clues, so Sanae's suggestion was attractive to Ruth. But Ruth was unable to leave her own body. Since the only way she could do that was death, she had no choice but to give up.

That said, there seems to be no mistake that something big happened to Koutarou-sama and Clan-sama...

Thanks to Sanae, Ruth had learned that Koutarou's sword skills hadn't been the only things that had developed. And Ruth wasn't optimistic enough to believe that this had happened without reason. After her conversation with Sanae, Ruth's doubts towards Koutarou had grown deeper.

Part 3

To the girl known as Sakuraba Harumi, this year's Valentine's Day held a special meaning. That was because this Valentine's Day was the first since she had experienced the feeling of love, which she had only read of in books in the past. Of course, this wasn't the first time Harumi tried her hand at making chocolate. She had made chocolate for her family and the children in the hospital every year. However, this had been the first year she had tried her hand at true love chocolate. So she was carefully proceeding to make sure she made no mistakes.

Aau, I should've started on preparations earlier!

Harumi stared at the mountain of candy on the desk in the clubroom and was secretly panicking. The clubroom was still cold as they were approaching the middle of February, but Harumi didn't have the time to freeze. As a result, not even her knitting was going very quickly.

Actually, Harumi hadn't realized that she had someone she wanted to give a true love chocolate to until very recently.

“Are you going to give Satomi-san your true love chocolate, Sakuraba-senpai?”

She hadn't realized that the situation she was in this year was different until Yurika had pointed that out. She had only planned on giving chocolate to her family and the children in the hospital this year as well.

Harumi didn't currently have the courage to confess to Koutarou. However, since the boundary between obligation and true love chocolate was so blurry, she could express her feelings to their fullest. Because of that, Harumi definitely wanted to give some chocolate to Koutarou, but she couldn't afford to fail. She was of course going to do her best, but she also wanted to make some chocolate that he would want. She didn't want to make him some chocolate out of self-satisfaction.

She had started researching Koutarou's tastes when it came to sweets. However, since she had only realized this the other day, her research hadn't progressed very far. And since she couldn't flat out ask what kind of chocolate he liked, she was now starting to panic.

“Right, right, the other day, that Mackenzie said this thing during work.”

Koutarou, who had been ardently knitting, stopped as he reached for the cup with freshly poured tea.

How about this time...

Harumi paid attention to Koutarou's hands. The knitting needles and knitting were on the desk. In his left hand was a cup of tea, and his right hand was reaching out towards the mountain of candy.

Here it is!

Harumi had waited for Koutarou to take that action, and she instinctively held her breath as she watched where the hand was heading.

“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 grabbed a snack and threw it into his mouth.

Another vote for milk chocolate.

Harumi made a mental note of every type of snack Koutarou ate. What he had eaten this time was a snack based on chocolate. Harumi had prepared the snacks, and on top of the rice crackers and potato chips, she had also carefully placed some chocolate based snacks as well.

In total there were three kinds of chocolate snacks, each with a different coating. There was the sweet and easy to eat milk chocolate, the bitter chocolate which had no sugar or milk in it, and the bittersweet chocolate in between the two. This time Koutarou had taken one of the milk chocolate snacks.

Currently, it looks like Satomi-kun prefers milk chocolate...

Harumi had secretly been researching Koutarou's preferences like this since last week. Since she couldn't find it in her to ask him straight out she had taken to this roundabout method. If she only lined up the table with chocolate, she felt like she would be found out, so she put in various other candy as well. As a result, the research was taking a long time and Harumi was starting to panic.

Which means that I should use milk chocolate in a unique shape...

From her research, Harumi knew that Koutarou was extremely fond of shaped candy. When she had left candy she had shaped after molds using flour, water and syrup, Koutarou's eyes had sparkled and he had gone after those first. And based on her research up until today, she learned that Koutarou preferred milk chocolate.

And so Harumi began thinking of recipes in her head.

“Sakuraba-senpai, Sakuraba-senpai.”

As Harumi was looking up into the ceiling, thinking of recipes, Koutarou's face suddenly appeared.

“Y-Yes!?”

Shaken by Koutarou's sudden appearance, she raised her voice. Since it was completely unexpected, she jumped so far back into her chair that she almost fell over.

“W-What is it, uh, S-Satomi-kun?”

“Weren't you listening?”

“I-I'm sorry, I-I was just thinking of something else...”

Harumi tried to calm her beating heart and apologized to Koutarou in a fluster. She couldn't stand for it if Koutarou were to hate her for something like that.

“Kukuku, Ahahahaha!”

However, instead Koutarou began laughing. Harumi's panicked attempts at excuses were so cute and funny that he couldn't hold it in.

“S-Satomi-kun?”

Harumi was surprised by Koutarou's unexpected reaction. And that in turn was even funnier. Koutarou's sides were about to split with laughter.

“Wahahahahaha, w-what's with that face, Sakuraba-senpai? Hahahahaha!!”

“Geez, Satomi-kun!!”

“T-That's because, wahahaha, y-your face, your face is!! Ahahaahahaha!!”

Harumi quickly realized that Koutarou was laughing about her face, but by then it was already too late. Koutarou switched between laughing and gasping for breath.

“...Satomi-kun, you really are such a bully... geez...”

Harumi's angry face consisting of 50% embarrassment, 40% affection and 10% anger only made Koutarou laugh even more.

Part 4

Meanwhile, while Koutarou was laughing like an idiot. Sanae and Yurika who had recently gotten along better were in the supermarket by the station.

“Wow, there's so much chocolate~”

“I hope there are some that would be useful~”

This supermarket was having a special sale for chocolate now that Valentine's Day was so close. With that as their goal, the two who never really went shopping had come here.

“Don't be so cheap. This is a once in a year festival.”

Sanae cheerfully looked over each and every one of the displayed chocolate. She was currently looking at the shelf that had lined up the relatively expensive products. Since she rarely used money, being a ghost and all, this was well within the range of something she could buy with the small allowance she got from Koutarou. The only time she might go over her allowance was when buying anime related merchandise. Because of that, she was planning on buying relatively expensive chocolate.

But if it's too expensive, Koutarou might not think it’s good, so something around here should do just fine...

Sanae had perused the most expensive chocolate, but in the end she changed her mind.

She was planning on giving Koutarou chocolate. And when he was eating it, she was planning on clinging onto his back and sharing his senses. So if she bought something that he was unused to, Koutarou might not find it as good, and that sensation wouldn't be transmitted to her. And since Sanae enjoyed being showered in the spiritual energy Koutarou emitted when he was happy, there was no reason to buy a needlessly expensive chocolate.

In the end, Sanae chose a little expensive Valentine's Day limited edition chocolate from a familiar maker.

'A refined version of the taste everyone knows, delivered to your special person.'

The words written on the product fit well with Sanae.

“But, but, even if I buy a more expensive chocolate, that won't fill the stomach any more.”

Unlike Sanae who headed for the most expensive products, Yurika headed for the low-priced commodities. They had split up, with Yurika headed for the right shelves and Sanae for the left shelves.

Yurika lived using the salary she was getting from Folsaria. However, with the strong yen, and with her salary docked to cover the repairs of the buildings she had destroyed in the past, she was forced to live a strict life. Despite that, she couldn't stop herself from buying Shoujo manga and she had almost no spare money. If she hadn't been allowed 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... Auu~, what should I do...?

Yurika was wondering how to use the 100 yen. Should she buy a bunch of cheap ones, or a single more expensive one, or somewhere in the middle? If she had been the one to eat it, she would definitely have chosen the cheapest chocolate, but if she was going to give it to Koutarou or someone else, she felt like too cheap would be bad. Troubled, she began thinking of several ways to spend her 100 yen, such as three 30 yen chocolates and four 10 yen chocolates.

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

Since Yurika loved Shoujo manga, she adored Valentine's Day. She also wanted to give a boy she loved a large chocolate. However the distortion of the market principles and modern society didn't let her. Yurika grasped the 100 yen coin and ground her teeth.

“V-Valentine's Day should just perish...”

Yurika stared at the chocolate with tears in her eyes.

“Yurika, Yurika.”

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

“Fuee~”

When Yurika turned towards Sanae, she pointed behind Yurika.

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

“Eh, what?”

Yurika looked where Sanae was pointing.

“Hwha!?”

Yurika froze.

'New Sale! Kanto seaweed soy sauce ramen! One bag for 78 yen.'

Behind her was the ramen that she had eagerly been waiting for, a new flavor of instant ramen.

Part 5

While Sanae and Yurika where in the supermarket, another two people related to room 106 arrived. However, they weren't headed for the candy aisle, but a different one.

“Kiriha-san, over here.”

“Thank you Shizuka, you're a big help.”

Those two, Shizuka and Kiriha, were standing in the alcohol aisle. That said, their goal wasn't to drink it. What they were after was alcohol for use in cooking.

“There's no need for thanks, I'm going to buy something too.”

Shizuka had guided Kiriha to this super market's alcohol aisle. Shizuka had some alcohol she wanted to buy as well.

“Liqueur, Liqueur... ah, here it is.”

Shizuka was after liqueur used in cooking. She could buy normal alcohol for cooking in the alcohol store by the shopping district. However, Shizuka had to come all this way to buy liqueur used in making candy. In this supermarket, there was a corner for specialized cooking using alcohol, and there was a large selection of goods available. Shizuka picked up a yogurt liqueur. It was one of her favorite articles that only this store sold.

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

“Fufufu, I was actually planning on using it as a secret ingredient for my chocolate cake.”

“I see, a cake huh? That sounds delicious.”

Kiriha who was also skilled at cooking quickly picked up on Shizuka's intentions. She was going to make a sponge with yogurt liqueur mixed with it and cover it with chocolate. By doing that, the sponge would have a refreshing taste that would ease up the persistent taste of chocolate.

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

“Aha, I have some strawberry liqueur at home, so I'll give it a try.”

The two continued to talk about cooking while moving a little to the side, which was where the alcohol Kiriha was after was located.

“Brandy for cooking is around here.”

“Now then, which one to pick...”

There wasn't just plenty of liqueur for cooking, but also plenty of brandy for cooking. Kiriha picked up a nearby brandy and read the label. She had to pick something that would work for what she was going to use it for.

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

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

“So the chocolate will be bitter?”

“That's my plan.”

Kiriha was looking for a brandy to give the chocolate a more deep taste. All to make a chocolate with a more mature and less sweet taste.

Kiriha was planning on making a true love chocolate, so she wanted to make it so an adult would want to eat it. That's because Kiriha's first love that she met ten years ago should be around 30 years now.

However, she still hadn't found her first love. She had used various methods, and she would sometimes check places where she believed that person would be. But she still hadn't found him. Despite that, Kiriha couldn't keep herself from making a true love chocolate. That's because she was still in love with him.

Fufu, I'm sure Koutarou would laugh at me for being so stubborn...

Kiriha herself was aware that she was doing something stupid. However, right now she didn't feel like that was for nothing. She now had a best friend that would understand her. Even if she couldn't hand her true love chocolate to her first love, she could just laugh together with her best friend. And then they could just eat the chocolate together. Then nothing would be for naught. That was why Kiriha was excited for this year's Valentine's Day.

Kiriha smiled as she thought of that day. Then two small bottles of cooking brandy were presented to her.

“Then try this one or this one. Either you improve the bitterness or the chocolate or suppress it to make it easier to eat.”

“Hmm, which one to pick.”

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

“Now that I think about...”

During that time, Kiriha's best friend flashed through her mind. After smiling once more, she decided which one to pick.

“Let's go with this one.”

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

“Hmm... I thought you'd pick this one instead.”

Shizuka lightly shook the remaining dry brandy bottle. In Shizuka's mind, Kiriha was a very mature woman, so she believed that she'd want to make the chocolate even bitterer.

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

Kiriha's best friend had a very childish taste. Even if she dulled the bitterness, that best friend would probably make a funny face and say it's bitter. In that case, there was no need for her to go out of her way to make it bitterer. That would be for the best when she ate the chocolate with her friends.

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

Shizuka said that and showed a happy expression. It was a really happy expression, but at the same time a little sad.

“Oh yeah, 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 events, Shizuka had been all alone.

“Yeah. But this year I have everyone you know? That's why I'm so happy.”

However, Shizuka's life had completely changed since Koutarou moved in. She had now gotten people to spend those events with. She had spent all those events alone in her room, but that wasn't true any longer. If she walked down some stairs and opened a door, a lot of smiles would be waiting to greet her. That's why Shizuka was making a cake. To make the smiles in that room even more radiant.

“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 on and had felt lonely. And since she was the daughter of the clan's chief, she couldn't show others signs of weakness. So like Shizuka, she was happy to be able to see honest smiles every day.

“Fufufu, I'll be able to keep that a secret.”

“Please do. I have to think of my position after all.”

The two smiled at each other and began discussing chocolate again.

Their smiles, brighter than before, were proof that the friendship between them had grown.

Part 6

As most of those related to room 106 were preparing for Valentine's Day, a single lone person turned her back towards the festivities.

“Hah...”

That person was sitting in the corner of room 106, holding her knees. And as she rested her chin on her knees, she would let out a sigh every now and then. Since she had turned her face down, her golden hair got in the way when trying to check up on her expression. However, it was clear that her expression wasn't as bright as her well taken care of golden hair.

Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe.

She was an alien girl who had crossed the vast universe to invade this small Japanese room.

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

Theia's weak voice filled the room. Normally she was proud and powerful. Though her body may be small, she always had an impressive presence. But right now, that pride or power was nowhere to be seen. And her presence was even smaller than her tiny body.

The reason why Theia was depressed was because the worry that occupied her small chest was a very, very deep one.

“At first... I thought he was just a neanderthal...”

When Theia had first come to Earth, she had only thought of the people on earth as primitive barbarians. As a result, she would often clash with Koutarou and the other invaders, and they were far from having an amiable relationship.

However, as time passed as she and the other invaders vied for ownership of the room, everyone’s circumstances had touched her heart, and they had begun respecting each other. Before she knew it, she had started feeling happy about her life here.

Back on Forthorthe, Theia spent her life never letting her guard down and always remaining political. To her, the time she had spent in room 106 was irreplaceable.

And during those days, Theia had noticed that she had fallen in love with a young earthling. At first she had considered him to be nothing but a neanderthal, and had tried to use force to make him submit. They had brawled, fought and argued up until now. That might be true even now, as their fighting and arguing continued, but her reasons had completely changed.

It was fun being able to throw out her true feelings. She was happy to be treated as an equal. She had started to forget that she was princess.

Theia, and that person she felt for would still fight. However, Theia thought of it as skinship. Before she knew it, her hostile feelings had vanished, and she now only clashed to confirm her happiness and love.

“He's an alien... but why do I keep forgetting that... I knew that from the very beginning...”

However, now that she had realized her feelings, a problem had surfaced. It was the fact that she was an alien.

Even if he were to respond favorably to Theia's feelings, and the two were bonded, they were still born from two different planets. That would cause a lot of problems. On top of the problem of being different species, Theia's position was yet another one. And as she went through each and every problem, she understood just how unrealistic the entire thing was.

“He and I, will never be connected...”

She had fallen in love with someone whom she could never be together with.

That was Theia's worry.

While it sounded simple when put into words, it wasn't a problem easily dealt with.

“Haha... this is what I get for getting carried away with 'Theiamillis's Blue Knight'... the Blue Knight could never be with the princess either...”

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

In the past, Theia had secretly given the person she felt for the title of 'Theiamillis's Blue Knight'.

However, the Blue Knight of legend could never be together with the Silver Princess. The Silver Princess loved him, but he still left Forthorthe.

And like the legends, Theia could never be together with her Blue Knight. That was all she could think of right now.

Having been in a master/servant relationship for a long time, Ruth had already realized that something was wrong with Theia.

Lately her highness has been acting strange... Is she struggling with another problem? I wonder...

However, Ruth hadn't realized the cause of it. Since Theia and Koutarou's relationship had improved during the ski trip, she couldn't imagine that a problem would have surfaced regarding the two. Unfortunately, Theia's worry was in a blind spot for Ruth.

That said, if it's not about Satomi-sama, it might be unnecessary to worry too much. For starters, I should start by giving her this to cheer her up...

Ruth had started preparations to make chocolate for Theia's sake.

Upon learning of Valentine's Day, she definitely wanted Theia to participate. She believed that if Theia were to give the person she felt for some chocolate, her awkward master would be able to express her gratitude and love, and her relationship might develop further. She was also hoping that the process of that would cheer up the depressed looking princess.

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

Ruth was certain that Koutarou was hiding something. As a result, she wasn't sure what he would do if that something was brought to the surface. Ruth's intuition, or rather her wish, told her that there was no way that Koutarou would become Theia's enemy. However, it wouldn't be good if things developed in a strange direction. She also had to worry about Clan bringing Koutarou to her side. She didn't want to let go off an ally as trustworthy as Koutarou. She needed him to protect Theia alongside her. That's why she felt like Theia needed to actively take part in events that would improve her relationship with Koutarou.

Because of that, Ruth was bringing a paper bag full of material and tools to the kitchen onboard the Blue Knight. Since she wanted to keep Theia's chocolate making a secret until the day, she couldn't do it in room 106.

The bag Ruth was carrying was heavy; when she lifted it off the kitchen counter, the metallic bowl and apparatus collided and made loud sounds. However, Ruth's steps were light and it certainly didn't look like the bag was very heavy. After leaving the kitchen counter, she put her finger on her chin and started thinking.

“All that's left is to bring her highness with me... but I guess it would be best to do that after dinner.”

After dinner, they would be holding their normal games for control of room 106. Since that took some time, if they were going to make chocolate, it would be best to do so after the games.

“What should I make for tonight... Fufu, I guess I should make something plain and prepare for her highness's chocolate this weekend...”

Ruth imagined Koutarou eating tonight’s dinner. She loved seeing Koutarou enjoying her meals, especially when he couldn't stop eating. She also loved seeing Theia eat, but for a different reason, so Ruth would always do her best when it came to cooking.

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

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

“Oh?”

That was the signal that the bracelet had received information. Ruth brought the bracelet 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.

That meant that Ruth had received a message from her family.

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