February 13th, Wednesday.
Although it was a school day, Kotori, Tohka, and the others seed to have so personal matters to attend to and had taken the day off from school.
Having a fairly good idea of what her younger sister was planning, Shido smartly decided not to interfere. After hearing Yutsuki's explanation in the morning, he was sowhat concerned about Kurumi's situation and decided to head out to school.
Naturally, as the current assassination target locked onto by both DEM and Kurumi, the others absolutely wouldn't allow Shido to act alone. Therefore, his assigned bodyguard—Tobiichi Origami—accompanied him to school.
"Shido, stop."
"Eh? What is it, Origami?"
Halfway there, at Origami's sudden request, Shido stopped walking, looking confused.
"...Sothing is over there."
Origami replied, her gaze locked onto the bushes beside the road. She quietly slipped her hand toward the holster hidden beneath her skirt.
"...ow~"
A mont later, there was a slight rustling in the bushes, and an orange tabby cat crawled out.
"Phew... What, it's just a cat?"
Shido couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"..."
Origami didn't lower her guard. Instead, she drew her handgun and fired two shots toward the cat. Bang! Bang!
"ow—!"
"O-Origami?!"
Startled, the tabby cat instantly darted back into the bushes and fled. Shido stared at Origami in utter bewildernt.
"Do not worry, I did not intend to aim at the cat. I just wanted to confirm if there were enemies hiding in the bushes."
After confirming there was no further movent in the bushes, Origami holstered her gun and explained with a completely straight face.
"I-I see..."
Shido answered, half-understanding.
"Then, let us go, Shido."
Saying that, Origami stepped forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Shido's arm.
"Um... Origami."
"What is it, Shido?"
"No, it's just... do we really have to stick this close?"
Feeling the pleasant fragrance and soft sensation pressing against him from Origami, Shido felt his cheeks growing slightly hot.
"Of course." Origami stated firmly. "We do not know when DEM might launch an attack. To protect you, I must ensure you are within my field of vision at all tis and avoid being separated. Sniff sniff..."
As she spoke, Origami hugged Shido even tighter, burying her face into his school uniform and silently taking a deep breath.
The corner of Shido's mouth twitched slightly.
"I-I see..."
Although there were a million things he wanted to roast her about, Origami was a soldier who had received military training. When it ca to vigilance and escorting, she clearly had more experience than Shido, an ordinary civilian.
This must also be part of the bodyguard protocol, Shido told himself, silently praying they would reach school soon.
"Shido, this way."
"Eh? But that's the long way. We might be late."
"Our usual route to school carries the risk of an ambush. We must be careful."
"Uh... alright."
Even though he felt Origami definitely had ulterior motives, rembering the car crash on the way to school yesterday, Shido obediently accepted her proposal.
Lick~
"Y-Yikes—Wh-What are you doing, Origami?!"
"A health check."
Origami answered with a completely serious expression.
And so, after experiencing a very long and overly stimulating journey to school, Shido finally arrived, only to learn from Tama-chan-sensei that Kurumi had taken the day off.
————————————
"Yutsuki-nee, why did you have Origami guard Shido?"
Kotori asked Yutsuki with a confused look.
"Well, you should understand the reason too. Among all of us, Origami is the only one who has received formal military training. She definitely has more experience dealing with traps and surprise attacks than we do. As soone to protect Shido, I think she's the best candidate."
"That might be true, but..."
Even though she understood Yutsuki's logic, Kotori was still a bit uneasy and muttered softly,
"I just feel like she might use 'protection' as an excuse to do weird things to Shido."
"It's not a 'might', she absolutely will do weird things."
Yutsuki shrugged helplessly and answered with absolute certainty.
"But, in a way, isn't that actually perfect? Weren't you worried that Shido would be seduced by Kurumi, Kotori-chan? This is the perfect opportunity to train Shido's immunity to girls."
"Ugh— That-That is true."
Kotori felt deeply conflicted. As a Commander, she undoubtedly agreed with Yutsuki-nee's approach. But as Shido's younger sister, she deeply regretted the decision to let Origami and Shido be alone together—it was basically throwing a lamb into a wolf's den.
"Well, anyway, let's just trust Origami and Shido. We should get going with our shopping too."
Looking at the distressed Kotori, Yutsuki patted her shoulder with a smile.
"If you say so, Yutsuki-nee... I understand."
Ultimately, out of trust for Yutsuki, Kotori reluctantly agreed.
Yutsuki was currently inside a specialty store for dessert-making ingredients on the main street of Tengu City. Perhaps because tomorrow was Valentine's Day, business was booming. Even from outside the store, she could constantly see custors around her age going in and out.
Judging by the fact that they were all here to buy ingredients for making chocolate, Yutsuki's goal was no different from theirs.
"If only we could make our favorite brother happy, right, Kotori-chan?"
"A-Ah. Don't misunderstand, Yutsuki-nee. The only reason I'm doing this is because I don't want Shido to be seduced by Kurumi. It's not like I want to give Shido—"
"Yeah, yeah~ Anyway, let's go inside. Everyone is waiting for us."
Looking at Kotori, whose words clearly didn't match her true feelings, Yutsuki smiled knowingly. Without calling her out, she pushed Kotori's back and guided her into the store.
"Oh... this is actually really impressive."
Yutsuki couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
It was completely different from the ready-made chocolates sold in convenience stores. Every type of chocolate here had distinct differences, from the origin of the cacao beans to the blending ratios. Labels next to the shelves carefully explained which ingredients were best suited for which type of chocolate. Near the checkout counter not far away, there was even a dedicated section selling packaging boxes and molds.
It had to be said, for a first-tir like Yutsuki, this was all very novel.
anwhile, Tohka, Yoshino, Natsumi, Kaguya, Yuzuru, Miku, Nia, and Mukuro, who had entered the store a step ahead of them, were carefully examining the chocolates displayed on the shelves with serious expressions.
"How is it, everyone? See anything you like?"
Kotori asked the group with a hint of curiosity.
Reacting to Kotori's voice, everyone turned around and gathered around her.
"Kotori, everything here looks delicious, but there are way too many kinds. I have no idea what to choose."
" too... Looking at so many... makes my head spin... I'm so lost..."
"Well... as for , I'll just pick whatever. It's just to make up the numbers anyway."
"Kuu— Although I can vaguely recognize these worldly characters, I cannot comprehend their true aning..."
"Agreent. Yuzuru, like Kaguya, does not really understand the difference between each type of chocolate."
"Kotori-san, what flavor of chocolate do you think Darling likes?"
"Imouto-chan, Biri-chan! Do they have oppai shaped molds here? Preferably E-cup."
"At least try to take this seriously."
Yutsuki speechlessly picked up a paper fan and smacked Nia on the head.
"Kotori, what is the difference between cacao beans from Venezuela and those from Colombia?"
"Eh... Um..."
Faced with everyone's questions, awkward cold sweat broke out on Kotori's forehead.
Although it was true that making handmade chocolate was her idea, when it ca to actual chocolate making experience, Kotori had, at best, completed one highly questionable-looking chocolate with her mother's help when she was a little kid. Asking her to explain the differences between raw materials based on their origin was sothing she absolutely couldn't answer.
If anything, she was actually one of the people who wanted to ask that question.
(Yutsuki-nee...)
Feeling Kotori's desperate gaze pleading for help, Yutsuki smiled bitterly and shrugged, indicating she was powerless to help.
"Kotori-chan, if you asked how to make chocolate, I could teach you. But the differences in asking , who is also in this kind of store for the first ti, is useless."
If anything, probably very few custors coming here to shop actually cared about that kind of information. Maybe experienced people would be a bit particular, but since everyone here was a beginner, agonizing over this detail was pointless.
After all, whether it was premium at or cheap at, if you didn't know how to control the heat and ended up burning it, the taste wouldn't be much different.
(Well... it doesn't hurt to ask.)
Yutsuki turned her gaze to Reine, who was standing nearby looking like she could fall asleep at any mont.
"Reine-san, do you know? The differences between cacao beans?"
"Mhm..."
Hearing Yutsuki's question, Reine slowly nodded.
"...Among cacao beans... there is mainly the highly aromatic Criollo variety... the disease-resistant Forastero variety... and the Trinitario variety, which inherits the advantages of both..."
Just as Yutsuki thought, the depth of her miscellaneous knowledge was as astonishing as ever. To think she even knew such obscure facts about cacao beans in such detail.
However...
"Reine-san, speak in newbie's terms."
Glancing at everyone behind her who looked completely lost, Yutsuki reminded her helplessly.
"Mhm... In reality... unless you have accumulated a considerable amount of experience... stressing over the variety and origin of the cacao beans won't make much of a difference... If you have to choose... pay attention to the ratio of milk and cacao... Darker colors will be more bitter, while lighter-colored chocolates will be sweeter..."
"Oh, I see!"
Hearing Reine's explanation, everyone nodded in sudden realization.
Then, as if finding an oasis in the desert, everyone started asking Reine how to make chocolate. And Reine didn't disappoint. Based on everyone's ideas and plans, she provided very practical suggestions for modifications.
"Sa as always, your depth of knowledge is so vast it leaves speechless."
Yutsuki couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"I think Yutsuki-nee is pretty much the sa..."
Kotori roasted with a complicated expression, then asked curiously,
"What about you, Yutsuki-nee? Have you decided what kind of chocolate you want to make?"
After thinking for a mont, Yutsuki answered.
"Mhm... I haven't decided yet. But if I had to say, rather than giving chocolate, I'd much rather be the one receiving it."
"You want to receive chocolate from Shido, Yutsuki-nee?" Kotori asked curiously.
"NO! NO! I want chocolate from Shiori-chan!"
Waving her finger to deny it, Yutsuki corrected her with absolute seriousness.
"Uh... Is Shido's chocolate not good enough?"
Inadvertently sensing Yutsuki's deep obsession with turning her own brother into a sister, Kotori felt a bead of sweat drop.
"Mhm... If it's from Shido, I'd gladly accept it if it was just giri choco (obligation chocolate), but honi choco (true feeling chocolate) is a no-go."
I feel like I'd get a stomachache if I ate that, Yutsuki added quietly in her heart.
"My, my, what a waste~ If it were a honi choco given by Shido-san, I would accept it with the utmost joy."
Just then, a familiar voice rang in her ear. Yutsuki's body stiffened, and she turned her head like a rusty robot.
"Kurumi..."
"My, my. To et in a place like this, what a coincidence, everyone."
Wearing her usual mysterious smile, Kurumi appeared right in front of everyone.
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