Tatsuya had paid ample attention to ensure that no one was peeking or eavesdropping on the location. However, he had stopped short of using Elemental Sight. He simply could not risk exposing a classified skill for something as trivial as Valentine's Day.
But Tatsuya should have used Elemental Sight.
It was true that no human intended to eavesdrop. Until that very moment, the observer had possessed no consciousness at all.
Inside a garage nestled in a corner of the First High grounds, something slumbering within a heartless doll awoke, roused by a wave of fluctuation similar to the power that had dragged it into this world.
To say it "awoke" might be slightly inaccurate. Bathed in a strong, pure thought-form akin to a prayer, a new ego sprouted within it. Consciousness was born in a vessel that had none.
The doll had gained a soul.
Upon arriving at the classroom, Honoka barely dropped off her bag before dragging Miyuki—who had arrived a step earlier—straight to the ladies' room. Her destination wasn't a stall, but the mirror.
Treating the hair tie she had received from Tatsuya like a sacred relic, she began to tie back her hair. The accessory was simple in design, yet the craftsmanship and materials were clearly far from cheap.
"Hey, Miyuki, what do you think? It doesn't look weird? Does it suit me?"
"Rest assured, Honoka. It suits you very well."
"…Really?"
"Really. Onii-sama would never choose a gift that didn't suit the recipient. …I'm envious."
Honoka, soaring on Miyuki's praise, failed to hear the quiet murmur at the very end.
"Still, I wonder how Tatsuya-san knew I was preparing chocolate?"
"Oh, that? I told Onii-sama about it yesterday. I mentioned that your head was so full of thoughts about the chocolate you were giving him that you couldn't focus on your work."
Miyuki was deeply jealous of the gift Tatsuya had given, but her mask was not so thin that Honoka would detect it. Wearing her usual perfect smile, Miyuki explained how Tatsuya had come to prepare the return gift.
"I'm sure you've heard this from Onii-sama himself, Honoka, but regarding his ability to fall in love with someone..."
"Yeah, I heard. But the possibility isn't zero, right?"
"That is true. But it is an incredibly difficult path. Long ago... someone to whom Onii-sama had opened his heart died right before his eyes."
Honoka was struck speechless by Miyuki's words. Naturally, even Miyuki had no intention of revealing more than that. She gently guided the frozen Honoka back to reality, and they returned to the classroom.
Meanwhile, Tatsuya was under siege on his way to the classroom.
It began with classmates from Course 2, then connected through the kendo and kenjutsu girls, Sayaka and Tomoe, followed by upperclassmen from Course 2, and finally upperclassmen from Course 1. One after another, they handed chocolates to Tatsuya. It was as if they were taking full advantage of Miyuki's absence...
"Yo, Tatsuya. That's a hell of a haul."
"Quite a greeting for someone just back from the hospital. Are you fully recovered?"
"You bet! Though, my stamina might have dropped a bit from lying in bed."
Greeting Tatsuya upon his arrival was Leo, who had been discharged yesterday and returned to school today. Tatsuya had visited him a few times, but recently, he had been so busy with new magic development that his visits had tapered off.
"I believe the proper morning greeting for both of you is 'Good morning'..."
"Oh, Mikihiko. Morning."
"Morning, Mikihiko."
"Right, good morning... But still, that really is an amazing amount."
Satisfied with the greeting, Mikihiko turned his eyes to Tatsuya's chocolate pile. He looked surprised—no, "terrified" might be the more appropriate description. The day had only just begun, yet Tatsuya was already holding more chocolate than he could count on both hands. It wasn't just Mikihiko; almost every boy in the class was directing gazes of jealousy and envy toward him.
"Tatsuya-san, Leo-kun, Yoshida-kun. Here."
Amidst this tension, Mizuki handed chocolates to the three of them without any particular self-consciousness. To her, Valentine's Day was simply a scheduled event. They were, at a glance, clearly Giri-choco—obligation chocolate.
There was one boy who looked visibly dissatisfied with this fact, but Tatsuya, exercising a warrior's mercy, chose not to point it out. Leo, on the other hand, stared intently at the chocolate he had received.
"This is the first time I've gotten one from someone other than family."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You must have gotten plenty in middle school, right, Tatsuya?"
"No, never from a classmate."
There had been plenty of girls who wanted to give Tatsuya chocolate. However, after the summer break of his first year in middle school, Miyuki had become glued to his side due to "certain circumstances," effectively blocking any attempts.
Incidentally, outside of classmates, he had received chocolates that were "more than obligation but less than true love" from Kyoko (already in the military), his second cousin Ayako, and Yuuka from the branch Tsukuba family.
"Hmmm. And here I thought you came back immediately after discharge just to score some chocolate."
"Erika. Good morning."
"Yeah, morning, Tatsuya-kun."
Leo started to retort, but because Tatsuya greeted Erika (or perhaps thanks to it), the argument didn't escalate.
"Isn't it chaos over at your place, Erika? You have a lot of male disciples, don't you?"
"I prepare exactly one chocolate. Only the one who wins the tournament gets to eat it. In that regard, Miki's place must be nice. Lots of female disciples."
"Is that true, Yoshida-kun?"
Mizuki didn't understand why she felt compelled to ask that, but she couldn't stop herself.
"No! We don't train with such frivolous attitudes at my place!"
"Heeh... So are you saying the guys at our place train with frivolous attitudes?"
"N-No, that's..."
"Well, whatever. More importantly, Tatsuya-kun. Here, this is for you."
Erika brushed aside Mikihiko's protest and pulled a small box from her bag. The contents, of course, were chocolate.
"Thanks."
"I'm expecting a return gift, you know."
"I knew that was your aim. What a calculating woman."
"Excuse me!?"
Leo's unnecessary comment finally snapped Erika's patience. Or rather, Leo knew exactly what would happen, so why did he say it? That was the common thought shared by every male in the room except Tatsuya.
"By the way, Tatsuya-san... I feel like the air around us has been prickly for a while now..."
"Hm? Well, it's just the guys who want chocolate from Erika and Mizuki."
When Tatsuya glanced around, the boys awkwardly averted their eyes.
"I feel like that's not the only reason..."
"It's also the glare from the girls who want to give chocolate to Tatsuya-kun," Erika added.
At Erika's words, the girls also awkwardly averted their eyes.
(As for why Mikihiko looks so dissatisfied... for the sake of his honor, we shall leave that untouched.)
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