Chocolate, you say?
Is the name of this brown, rice cake-like confection chocolate?
“No, thanks, but I’m a bit tight on funds…”
“Today’s a tasting event, so we’re not charging! Please, go ahead and try some.”
Airen accepted the brown, rice cake-like chocolate that the woman offered.
It was a confection she had never seen before, so it felt a bit unfamiliar…
“Huh?”
An incredibly sweet scent vigorously stimulated her nose.
Thanks to that, she could naturally place it in her mouth without any reluctance.
And just by rolling the chocolate in her mouth a few times –
A new world of taste she had never experienced before unfolded.
“…!!”
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
Airen’s pupils dilated slightly.
Naturally, one of her hands cradled her cheek.
Sweet.
So sweet that she was completely unaware that she was making an exceedingly girlish gesture.
No, to be precise, it was sweet with a slight bitterness.
And there seemed to be a hint of nuttiness added to it?
Above all, that slight bitterness was a perfect point, enhancing the confection’s completeness.
As she continued to savor the taste, it melted away far too quickly.
It melted much faster than candy, almost as if she was eating cream.
“Is this confection called chocolate? It’s very delicious.”
“EH? Oh… Sir, it seems like it’s your first time seeing chocolate. Perhaps you’re from the North?”
“That’s right. I haven’t been here long.”
“I see! This is a confection called chocolate! It’s a specialty of the northern regions. It’s incredibly popular because of its sweet taste. Since Saint Valentino’s Day is coming up, our shop specially made some with hazelnuts mixed in. How do you find it?”
“It was truly delicious. A confection of the highest level.”
“Hehe. I’m energized by your compliment. Let’s see, since it’s your first time with chocolate… Here! I’ll pack a few more for you.”
“No… You don’t have to do this.”
“Come on, don’t be shy. Just take it.”
With a beaming smile, the woman packed about three pieces of chocolate, which Airen reluctantly accepted.
Honestly… having tasted the flavor of chocolate, it was an irresistible temptation for Airen.
Perhaps because she always lived a life of restraint and discipline towards all pleasures.
She had a particular weakness for sweet tastes, one of her hidden vulnerabilities.
Airen thought to herself as she pocketed the chocolates.
Hazelnuts, huh.
So, the identity of the nutty taste was hazelnuts.
But more importantly…
“Excuse me, I have another question.”
“Ask away!”
Seeing how the woman didn’t show any signs of being bothered, with a constantly smiling face, she seemed quite professional.
Especially considering it was just a tasting event.
“What day is Saint Valentino’s Day?”
“Oh! It’s a holiday and festival day in the northern regions. It’s a big day because lots of chocolates are sold then.”
“Is that so? A day for eating chocolate?”
“More like, it’s a day when women give chocolate to men they are indebted to! Since women who want to convey their feelings buy lots of chocolates on this day, it naturally becomes a big sales day!”
Huh?
Women give confections to men they are indebted to…?
“If you have someone in mind to give a gift to, please use our shop!”
After parting with the shop’s female employee who bid her farewell with a smile,
Airen couldn’t easily move from the spot, lost in thought.
“Women giving gifts to men… Could this possibly…”
Airen Juliette.
Before being a distinguished general, she was a woman harboring feelings for a man.
Always preferring to act directly rather than pondering as a warrior, Airen’s mind was spinning faster than ever before.
*
Clunk.
As the door opened, a woman’s voice was heard.
“Ah, you… You’ve worked hard!”
Welcoming Airen back to the lodging after completing her mission was Leika.
Syrin, who had been sharing the room, was temporarily dispatched to another castle.
Thus, the spacious room for three was solely used by Leika for the time being.
Knowing Leika must have felt lonely alone, Airen smiled at her.
“Hmm.”
Then, without a word, she handed Leika the confection known as chocolate from her pocket.
“This is…?”
“A confection. They were handing them out up front.”
Leika carefully unwrapped it.
“Ah… this, it’s chocolate?”
“Huh? You know what this is?”
“Yes. It’s a type of confection eaten in the northern continent, right? I’m interested in making sweets. I knew what it looked like, at least. Though I’ve never seen it in person before…”
Come to think of it, she was a daughter of the NightHart family.
Such a confection would be something she could easily obtain and eat if she wished.
“Let’s see… Yum. …Wow, this is delicious?!”
“Right?”
“Yes! Amazing… The northern continent’s standard is no joke. Maybe because it’s where the old empire’s capital was…?”
Recently, Leika had become able to speak more fluently and naturally in front of Airen.
Sometimes she felt even more comfortable than when with Swen, her magic teacher.
Perhaps because Airen was a woman too, but Airen had made her feel very comfortable, which was also a reason.
“Ah, I’m being rude… Airen, let’s eat together.”
“Huh? No, I’m fine…”
Though she responded that way, unable to resist the temptation of chocolate, Airen took a piece and placed it in her mouth again.
After spending a lovely moment together,
Airen tentatively shared her thoughts with Leika.
“Saint Valentino’s Day…?”
“Yes. It’s a holiday in the northern continent, a day when women give chocolate to men they owe a debt to,” Airen explained.
“Is that so? Sounds quite romantic…? I’ve heard that people from the northern continent generally seem cold and less emotional towards others.”
“Is that so? That’s the first time I’m hearing this. Leika, you seem to have a wide range of knowledge.”
Airen’s remark made Leika laugh awkwardly.
“I was confined to my home, so all I could do was read books… So, I read whatever I could get my hands on. It all ended up being hearsay.”
“Really? Anyway… Hmm, hmm.”
Airen coughed a few times, covering her mouth with her hand, then cautiously began to speak.
Or rather, she attempted to speak.
“…”
For some reason, voicing her plan felt incredibly difficult.
More so than facing an enemy on the battlefield with a sword in hand.
Leika watched Airen for a moment before asking with a slight tilt of her head.
“Are you thinking of giving Swen chocolate?”
“Cough!”
Cough, cough… Coughing as if she had heard something outrageous, Leika was startled and asked.
“Airen…? Are you okay?!”
“Ah… Uh, yes. I’m fine. It’s just, um… That is.”
Why…
Why is it so hard to express one’s true feelings?
“I….”
Despite her best efforts to muster courage , she slowly nodded her head, her face turning a bright shade of red, unmistakably embodying the look of a young girl.
“That’s a good idea, I think. When I first heard about it… I immediately thought of the master too.”
If she’s referring to the master, she must mean Swen.
Previously, when part of the Aishers army, Swen had acted as her magic teacher.
“Hmm. So, you think… asking how he feels about it… would be good?”
Seeing Airen stutter in a way that was uncharacteristic of her, Leika couldn’t help but wonder if this was how she appeared to others.
Airen had always been patient and kind to her… so it was only right for her to do the same.
“I think it’s a good idea…!”
“Is… is that so? Good idea, you say… um, I mean, I’m a bit worried Swen might find it bothersome but…”
“No…! I think he would be very happy. If I were Swen, I would be really happy…!”
“Really…?”
The typically fearless and bold knight, who seemed unafraid of anything, now looked like any girl, unable to hide her flustered state in front of a man named Swen.
Airen had reportedly played a crucial role in the defense of the western fortress of Valhart Castle.
Yet, in front of Swen, she was showing a side that was more vulnerable than any other woman.
Leika thought this side of her was incredibly endearing.
Airen was surely meant to be Swen’s first wife.
Could she, too, share such love with someone…? Could she and Swen share this kind of love?
“…No.”
Now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.
For Airen’s sake, who had always looked after her, it was time to offer support in any way she could.
“It’s a good idea, so let’s go ahead with it…! Let’s both give Swen chocolate…!”
*
The next day.
“All sold out, you say…?”
“Oh dear, it’s such a shame you came back only for us to disappoint you… I’m terribly sorry. With Saint Valentino’s Day approaching, they were sold out in no time.”
Returning to the same shop, it appeared that the hazelnut-flavored new product chocolate had already sold out.
Seeing Airen unable to hide her disappointment, the staff tentatively suggested another option.
“Um, we still have some of the original stock left, would that be okay…?”
“Then I’ll take that instead…”
After purchasing another type of square-shaped chocolate from the shop owner, Airen and Leika shared it right there.
“Hmm… It feels a bit lacking somehow.”
“It definitely feels a bit hollow in taste… The sweetness is fine, though.”
While the confection was certainly tasty enough on its own, there was a notable regret that the full satisfaction they felt upon first tasting could not be shared with Swen.
Lacking the nuttiness, it felt somewhat incomplete, but still, having anything was better than nothing.
“If only I had decided right away yesterday, I could have bought it then…”
Though regretting her moment of hesitation, with the holiday fast approaching, it was an unavoidable circumstance.
“…Can’t be helped, I suppose. I’ll give him this anyway.”
Airen said this, managing a wry smile.
Leika, seeing her side profile tinged with a hint of melancholy, couldn’t help but blurt out impulsively.
“No… Airen.”
“Hm?”
“We should make it ourselves!”
Leika grasped Airen’s hand firmly as she spoke.
“Le, Leika…?”
Airen looked into Leika’s bright, pink eyes.
Occasionally, she would see a passion in Leika she had never witnessed before, her pupils ablaze with fervor.
“Airen! Let’s make a chocolate even more delicious than the first one we tried!”
