Chapter 7: Chocolate Day

Chapter 7:
Chocolate Day

 

“YOU KNOW Chocolate Day’s coming up, right, Reiji?”

Zeral was here to hang out. On the other side of the counter, he put his chin in his hands, looking melancholy.

“What’s that?”

“You seriously don’t know? Every year, you give people chocolate and confess feelings you otherwise couldn’t.”

Sounds like Chocolate Day is basically just Valentine’s Day.

The young lord across from me had a girlfriend—Feris. She was kind of unhinged, but she’d probably bring him chocolate.

Thunk! I kicked Zeral’s shin.

He completely ignored my envious blow. “Listen, man,” he said with a sigh. “Feris is all excited to bring me homemade chocolate.”

Seriously? He’s bragging? “Great. Wonderful. Fabulous.”

“But she’s the daughter of a good family from outside Kalta. She’s never actually made chocolate before. You reading between the lines, buddy?”

“I’ll prescribe you some stomach medicine, okay? After eating Feris’s chocolate, make sure you take it.”

“Er…I mean, that’d be great and all, but I’d prefer a better solution!” Zeral whined pathetically, flattening himself on the counter.

I grabbed a bottle of stomach medicine off the shelf and put it on the counter as well. “It’s the perfect solution. Aren’t you worried about how you’ll feel after eating your girlfriend’s awful chocolate?”

“I mean, that does concern me, but I’ve still got some stomach meds around. It’s okay.” He quietly pushed the bottle back toward me. “I want to be able to enjoy Feris’s chocolate.”

“Impossible. Besides, why does the recipient have to worry about this gift?”

Zeral pressed his forehead into the counter. “I wear my heart on my sleeve. Even if I say ‘They’re delicious!’ Feris will know I’m bluffing as soon as she looks at my face.”

“On the other hand,” I said, “if she figures that out, she might be like ‘Oh, gosh! My chocolate’s that awful? I’ll work extra hard to learn to make it for you!’”

Heck, if that was how things went down, she’d at least seem loving, regardless of her cooking talent.

That was apparently unlikely. “If only! Feris cooked for me once before, and I lied and told her it was delicious. Unfortunately, she saw right through me and lost her temper. She was all ‘Why don’t you like it?!’”

As usual, Feris and Zeral were major pains in the ass, although—as a third party—seeing them at odds was kind of entertaining. “You do realize a dude with no girlfriend would usually end this conversation and tell you not to be a greedy asshole?”

“C’mon, bud. Don’t be like that. She was like ‘You hate my cooking because you’re eating some other woman’s food!’’”

“She flipped her lid?”

“Yup. If that were all, it would’ve been fine, but then she started swinging a knife around. Let me tell you, her knife skills are improving a lot.”

Ah, I get it. He wants to enjoy the chocolate because he’s gonna be on thin ice. Feris was definitely beautiful, but I couldn’t help picturing her with a dark aura. She smells like danger…mortal danger.

“I do feel for you, man,” I admitted. “Maybe Mina could teach Feris to cook or something.”

“That’d be cool and all, but it wouldn’t help much if Feris couldn’t remember any of her advice.” Zeral sighed. “If things continue like this, I’m going to die, Reiji.”

“That’s true of everyone.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be friends?” Near tears, Zeral wriggled on the counter like a slug. “Help me!”

I sighed and gave up. “Fine. I’ll go see if I can whip up something.”

“Woo!” He high-fived me. “You’re my BFF!”

“Woo!” I echoed. “Same.” What the hell’s wrong with us? “I want you to watch the store in exchange, though. If customers come by, grab me from the lab.”

“You got it, Boss! Wait—where’re Mina and Noela?”

“They left for the Rabbit Tavern before noon. They won’t be back until tonight.” Elaine had come by the drugstore this morning, and the three girls left together; they’d said something about helping at the tavern, although I thought it was closed today.

“Now that you mention it, I saw Paula and that merc lady on my way here,” Zeral noted. “Oh, and that elf girl too. Ah…I get what’s going on.”

“I guess the ladies planned a get-together. What’re you grinning about?”

“Oh, nothing. Good for you, bud.”

What the hell’s he talking about? “Yeah, good for me…or something,” I mumbled, bewildered. Paula, Annabelle, and Ririka are at the Rabbit Tavern too? Did they rent it out for a party or something? Nice.

I still had no clue what the deal was, but I made my way into the lab. “A product that’ll help Zeral enjoy Feris’s chocolate, eh?”

Folding my arms, I scratched my chin in a classic thinking pose. The problem is, everyone likes different things. It’s totally possible that Feris’s cooking isn’t actually awful—Zeral just doesn’t like it. Still, if he’d asked me to try it, I would’ve turned down the sample faster than the speed of light.

“Hmm…Zeral did say he wears his heart on his sleeve.” The moment I remembered that, my medicine-making skill reacted. Great. Once I formulate this, maybe Feris won’t swing knives around anymore.

After finishing up, I carried the new treatment into the drugstore. “This ain’t gonna make Feris’s chocolate taste good, Zeral. Got it?”

He nodded. After we got on the same page about that, I explained the treatment. Despite my opening statement, Zeral seemed happy with my results. “Thanks, bud! Now I don’t have to worry about getting stabbed!”

Well, he should still generally watch his back. Feris is, uh…scary. I waved goodbye as Zeral headed off. I should’ve given him more stomach meds.

It got dark. As I closed the drugstore, Mina and Noela returned.

“Home, Master!”

“We’re back! Sorry for being gone all day, Mr. Reiji.”

“No need to apologize. Nice to see you. How was your party?”

Upon inspection, I noticed that both girls held paper bags. Had the kind Rabbit Tavern staff given them goodies?

“Master! Master!” Noela was on the verge of saying something.

“Noela, stop!” Mina covered her mouth. “How many times did I tell you to keep that secret today? You can talk as much as you like tomorrow, all right?”

“Garrooooo! Noela forgot!”

Mina turned back to me. “Um…er…the party was loads of fun.”

They were hiding something, but apparently, they’d tell me what was up tomorrow. I opted not to pry deeper.

Noela was squirming like crazy; just before she reopened her mouth, she snapped to her senses, shaking her head over and over. Man, Noela really wants to spill the beans.

 

***

 

The next morning, I awoke to my mattress shaking violently. “E-earthquake?!”

No—Noela had just crawled onto my bed. “Morning, Master!” She held a box with a ribbon bow. “Noela grateful!”

“Uh…what’s going on?”

Before my eyes, Noela unwrapped the box, taking out some chocolate. “Eat, Master!”

She forced the confection into my mouth. Smoosh!

“Noela make! Yummy?!”

Ah! Today’s Chocolate Day. Duh. She’d absolutely stuffed my mouth with chocolate, but it quickly melted. “Wow. That’s pretty tasty!”

“Garrooo!” Noela hugged me tightly, wagging her tail.

As we prepared to open the drugstore, I heard a horse-drawn carriage outside. Its door opened to reveal Elaine, as I expected.

“Sir Reiji! Noela! I’ve arrived.” Elaine brushed one of her drill-like ringlets off her shoulder. “Good day to you both.”

“Yo, Elaine.”

“Morning!”

“Um, S-Sir Reiji, could you please come here?” Elaine returned to her carriage, beckoning me.

Curious, I climbed inside the carriage; Noela followed after me. “Not you, Noela.”

“Arroo.” Looking irritated, she headed back to the store.

I sat across from Elaine, as she directed. “What’s up? You’re here early.”

“W-well, I’ve never given a man besides Father anything before, so forgive me if I’m awkward.” Elaine held a small box. “Um…please accept these. I-I don’t know whether they’re any good, but I made them myself, just for you…whom I admire so deeply.”

“Oh, wow. Thanks.” I wondered why she seemed so on edge. Guess it’s because she made me chocolate.

“I do hope you enjoy them.”

“Thanks. I’m sure they’re delicious.”

Elaine closed her eyes. “Mother, Father, please forgive your shameless daughter.” She pursed her lips slightly. “Sir Reiji…”

“Hrm?” Glancing outside the carriage, I saw that Noela hadn’t opened the drugstore yet. Gah! She’s skipping work. Where’d she go?

I quickly exited the vehicle, telling the elderly driver that Elaine had finished her errand, although her eyes were still closed. Smack! The driver cracked his whip, and the horses began to canter.

As the carriage rolled away, I heard Elaine shriek, “This isn’t the Chocolate Day I had in mind!”

After that episode, I wound up receiving chocolate from Paula, Annabelle, Ririka, and even Rena, the Rabbit Tavern’s barmaid. It was quite a barrage, considering that I’d only ever gotten chocolate from my mom up till that day.

As the sun set, Zeral swung by. “Reiji! Pal!”

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s up, buddy?”

Zeral raised his hand enthusiastically. I did likewise, and we high-fived. We’d gotten into the habit of that little greeting.

“You used that prescription, right?” I asked. “It should’ve kept Feris’s chocolate from grossing you out, if nothing else.”

“It was perfect! It worked just like you said.” Zeral shook my hand, then showed me a half-empty vial—the formula I’d made yesterday.

 

Cream: Dulls palate by impacting senses of smell and touch.

 

At the end of the day, Zeral only wanted to enjoy Feris’s chocolate so that she wouldn’t catch him in a lie and get mad. The thing was, since everyone had a different idea of what was tasty, creating a product that made everything delicious was tough.

Therefore, I needed to keep Zeral from tasting “bad” flavors. Of course, the downside is that he can’t taste “good” flavors either, but eh.

“Good,” I replied. “I’m glad she didn’t stab you.”

“Don’t even joke! I was serious about that. Luckily, Feris seems to realize that she’s not exactly accustomed to cooking. She says she wants to get better.”

“And you’ll be her taste tester?”

“Ha ha! Yup. Next time, though, I’m gonna eat what she cooks without the cream. Drinking that is rude to her. Besides, how else can I tell whether she improves?”

“People like you go down first on the battlefield.”

“Don’t be like that! Anyway, I really owe you one.”

“Let me guess,” I sighed. “After you ate her chocolate, I bet you two got all cuddly?”

“Ha ha! How’d you know?”

“Go home, you damn lovebird!”

Zeral thanked me one more time, laughing, then headed out.

Bleh. Romantics like him unintentionally put guys like me to shame.

I chilled out and watched the store as I snacked on the chocolate I’d received.

Eventually, Mina poked her head in. “Do you have some spare time, Mr. Reiji?”

“Hm? Of course.”

“You take such good care of me daily. I know it’s Chocolate Day, but to say thanks, I made you this instead.” Mina presented me with two slices of roll cake on a plate. “I know you’ve eaten lots of sweets today, but I hope you enjoy it. Oh—and I’ve got leftovers, so if it’s good, come have as much as you like. Once Noela finds it, I doubt there’ll be any left.”

“Ha ha! Thanks.” I plunged my fork into a slice and took a bite. The cake was super light, and the frosting’s sweetness was perfect. “You’re one hell of a baker, Mina. This is delicious.” I almost felt like I could eat that cake forever. “So did all the girls head to the tavern yesterday to prep for Chocolate Day?”

“You figured that out?”

“It explains why everyone’s chocolate was so good.” Mina must’ve kept an eye on the other girls while they made the treats. She smiled warmly, watching me eat. Am I really that fun to look at?

“I’ll pour you some tea,” she said, leaving for the kitchen.

Aw. I should’ve asked for another slice.

“Oh, no! Noela, I made that for Mr. Reiji! Why’d you eat it all?!”

“W-wasn’t me. Noela no eat!”

“You have frosting on your mouth!”

“Arroo?!”

Hearing the conversation, I couldn’t help laughing and digging into some more chocolate. It really was weird how just eating sweets made you feel so happy and fulfilled. Getting chocolate from someone was wonderful; it honestly didn’t matter whether it was a romantic gift.

“Man, chocolate sure is delish.” I’ll have to make sure to give all the girls something in return.

I ended up eating way too much of the stuff, killing my appetite for dinner. Needless to say, that didn’t make Mina too happy.

Eventually, I stocked the cream alongside the drugstore’s cold medicine, which I’d heard was too bitter for children. The combination was perfect, and the cream wound up being popular with mothers whose kids wouldn’t take medicine.