Hyouka

Chapter 36

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Story 6 - The Case of the Hand-made Chocolate1

Today, it is common knowledge that there is more than one perspective to any topic. In this age, it is impossible to survive as a middle school student while being unable to consider the opposite viewpoint. But then again, if you take this one step further, that would mean that while we are under the impression that we know the things around us like they were flesh and blood, we just can"t say for sure, and that is exceedingly bad for our psychological stability. So instead of pursuing the truth, we go for plan B, which is not looking into the authenticity of things above a certain depth, or in other words, we believe. This way, we can finally shake off the evils of duality and lead a perfectly normal life.

But recognizing everything in one"s surroundings yet disregarding all inquiry would be a totally different problem. While believing in something is unavoidable, we should not accept things blindly. This is also common knowledge. To not accept it is unforgivable. While my personal principle does not draw a clear line regarding that belief, I wouldn"t look down on people who do.

This was my follow-up to the tongue-tied Satoshi"s lame excuses in this crucial moment. We were at a stairway entrance in Kaburaya Middle School after the day"s lessons had ended. It was a little late, so there were only a few spa.r.s.e figures of students. It had already turned dark on the other side of the open gla.s.s door, and the cold February wind blew in intermittently. Satoshi turned to look at me as if I had just saved his life, and gave me a thumbs-up.

"Ah, Houtarou, you do understand, right? The phrase "To not accept it is unforgivable" was really interesting. Because, look, what if it were home-made cookies? You can"t simply buy some cookies over the counter, decorate it with fresh cream or something and say, "Voila, home-made cookies!", right? That"s why, I basically, um, don"t harbor any ill intentions, but..."

It was not every day that you could see something cause Satoshi to be so incoherent. f.u.kube Satoshi. He"s someone I"ve known sinec I entered middle school, and our friendship is quite deep. He"s short, gives off a weak image, and has a face that does not exude dignity or strength in the slightest, but in reality he"s quite a courageous guy... But not this time. The opponent"s too strong.

The person who had ambushed and cornered Satoshi was a small female student who could pa.s.s as an elementary school student. Her name is Ibara Mayaka. She has been in the same cla.s.s as me since first grade in elementary school. This is only my opinion, but her appearance has not changed one bit in the nine years I"ve known her, if you discount the changes in her size. In addition, while we may have strong affinity, we have exchanged close to zero words with each other. Even now, Ibara doesn"t listen to my words. With her head cast downwards, her left hand on her waist, and her right hand holding a present wrapped in red wrapping paper, Ibara let out a sigh and spoke in a low voice.

"Basically, you"re trying to say this: For something to be called home-made chocolates, they have to be made from cacao beans. A chocolate plate that is melted in hot water and reshaped is not counter as home-made chocolate. So my Valentine chocolate is not home-made. That"s what you mean, right?"

It was the 14th of February, 2000 AD. Saint Valentine"s Day. It"s the day when chocolate sales skyrocket, and it is absolutely ordinary for advertis.e.m.e.nts to be manipulated if there is profit to be earned. In fat, doing it in February is a smart move. I"m sure that many people would like to believe that the last chance to confess one"s love is right before the season of farewells[1]. They certainly wouldn"t think that this arrangement was planned.

This wasn"t Ibara"s first time confessing her feelings to Satoshi. In each of her previous attempts, Satoshi simply evaded the subject. But with today being Valentine"s Day, that was impossible. Ibara was serious about it. Having been hit by Satoshi"s careless words, she was seething with anger.

Her demeanor was still fairly stable, but I wonder what kind of light those downcast eyes were holding. Those were eyes that would even scare off a fierce G.o.d, I thought, but then again, I"m only having these nonchalant thoughts because I"m not involved in this. Satoshi, being the person concerned, took the full brunt of Ibara"s stare, but he still managed to give a reply.

"I wouldn"t go that far, but..."

"But that"s what you wanted to say, right?"

"Well, put simply, yes."

Ibara raised her head, as her rage spewed forth.

"I see! So that"s what you"re trying to say! I, I took all that trouble... Just for Valentine"s Day! Fine! I get it! If that"s what you want..."

Without pause, she ripped apart the red wrapping paper in one breath to reveal a heart-shaped chocolate wrapped in cling film. She then tore up the cling film, opened her small mouth as wide as she could, and chomped down on the chocolate, which had gone hard due to the cold February wind. With a crack, the pointed bit at the bottom of the heart was bitten clean off and chewed noisily by Ibara.

"I"ll definitely do it, got that?"

Both of us were taken aback by Ibara"s unexpected actions. A few male students who just happened to pa.s.s by peered at us, probably curious about what was happening, but then soon retreated, knowing full well to let sleeping dogs lie. With the chocolate she had taken great pains to make destroyed, Ibara glared at Satoshi. She now had a scary expression that was neither anger nor sadness, just pure burning combativeness. Ibara thrust the broken heart at Satoshi.

"Remember this, f.u.ku-chan, I mean, f.u.kube Satoshi!"

"Wha-What?"

Stunned, Satoshi asked without thinking. Ibara replied with a sonorous declaration.

"Next year! The 14th of February, 2001 AD! I"ll make a masterpiece that even you"ll accept, and cram it right into your face! You better remember it!"

Beginning to cry, Ibara rushed down the corridor. Her retreating figure faded at the staircase and soon disappeared. When I looked back, I saw that Satoshi had an awkward expression on is face, but he shrugged as if that was usual. I asked,

"Is that alright?"

"Perhaps I was a little mean..."

"Wasn"t she crying?"

"Mayaka? Nah, she"ll be fine."

Satoshi said as he removed his shoes from his locker. I did the same and shrugged, deciding to forget about Ibara. Her caustic words were probably just a channel for her to vent her grief, I thought, but then again, I"m not involved in this matter.

More importantly, Ibara was planning to give Satoshi home-made chocolate next year, but I wonder if that would really work out. After all, there are only a few days to the high school entrance examinations. Both of them are aiming to get into Kamiyama High School, but if one of them messes up, they"ll be separated, and as they say, out of sight, out of mind. However, I also have to prepare for the exams, and I don"t have the luxury to worry about them. The cold February wind blew in onec again, causing me to shiver uncontrollably.

... That"s what I remembered about what happened last year.

Come to think of it, I was slightly more indifferent about it last year compared to this year. It"s most probably because Ibara and I were really estranged at that time, so it couldn"t be helped.

All three of us graduated from Kaburaya Middle School and entered Kamiyama High School together without a hitch. Then, for some reason, all of us chose the same club activity. I think of Satoshi as a friend, and Ibara obviously liked Satoshi, but the three of us are fundamentally not a close group of friends who would hang out together. The fact that all of us entered the mysterious, meaningless Cla.s.sics Club one after another would be, if put poetically, a practical joke of fate; if put prosaically, the end result of a course of events.

Speaking of the club known as the Cla.s.sics Club, just the three of us would be absolutely inadequate for its activities. In the Geography Lecture Room, which the Cla.s.sics Club borrows, there are four members. The last one is the most hard to please.

That difficult person raised her voice, breaking my peaceful reminiscing.

"Eh? What did you mean by that? I"m curious!"

I turned back, and the first thing to come into my sight was long, black hair. I couldn"t see her face since her back was facing me, but I could still tell what facial expression she was having right now. When she says the usual "I"m curious!", her large eyes, the only part of her that betrayed the impression of a Yamato Nadeshiko [2], would widen even more, and her cheeks would become slightly red. Thanks to her extreme curiosity, the Cla.s.sics Club has been able to function as a club without boredom over the last year. Since I would actually prefer boredom to work, that troubled me to no end.

Chitanda was having a face-to-face conversation with Ibara in the middle of the cla.s.sroom. I was flipping through a book nearby, but probably thinking nothing of me, the two of them were exchanging words at their usual volume. If I hadn"t shifted my attention to the matters of the past, I would be directly receiving the contents of their conversation. Not that I wanted to eavesdrop, but I could hear Ibara"s reply.

"I mean, chocolate remained as a drink for 4,000 years not because the South American people did not have any ideas, but because they lacked the technical means."

Seems like those two have been conversing about chocolate this whole time. It would be more accurate to say that Ibara was lecturing Chitanda, though. That"s probably the reason why I suddenly remembered about Valentine"s Day last year. Last year..., yes, about one year has pa.s.sed since then. It was now February in the year 2001 AD. To conserve electricity, the heaters in school could not be set about 16 degrees, leaving much to be desired. While I must commend their efforts to save energy, I hate being cold.

But as if thrusting aside the cold, Ibara was talking with ever-increasing amounts of enthusiasm.

"After the Spanish conquistadors brought chocolate to Europe, some time was needed for it to spread as a luxury grocery item. That"s because after pulverizing cacao beans, all that could be produced was a sticky liquid with more than 50% fat content. In a time when coffee was readily available, they didn"t want to drink something like that."

"I cannot tolerate caffeine, so I cannot drink coffee, but..."

After a short pause, Chitanda continued.

"A drink with a 50% fat content does not seem to be good."

Well, it seems like she"s tried drinking mayonnaise before.

"It was actually quite bad for digestion."

"But it still spread, right?"

"It became really widespread after people started adding sugar to it. It even became a drink superior to coffee for the English. Moreover, because of its high caloric content, it was often used for medical purposes. It was quite a high-cla.s.s beverage at the time."

"It was used as medicine?"

"Yes, as an aphrodisiac."

I could sense Chitanda tilting her head.

"Eh? How do you spell that?"

Ibara was about to answer, but then she stiffened, and the conversation stopped temporarily. I raised my head, which was buried in my book, to take a peek at Ibara"s expression, and noticed a distinct flush on her face. She was having a hard time trying to spell the word she had brought up without thinking.

"To hold a meeting[3], then..."

"To hold a meeting, then?"

"Anyway!"

Ibara forcibly changed the subject. I was about to laugh at her disconcerted manner, but somehow managed to stifle it. I know how to spell it, I think.

"For the chocolate drink to be edible, it wasn"t enough to simply squeeze the oil out. A method to add an alkali had to be developed in order to neutralize the acidic content and cause the oil to break down."

This technical discussion seems to have piqued Chitanda"s curiosity, so Ibara"s attempt at changing the subject was a success.

"Alkali? I"ve never heard of adding that to food... except for Chinese noodles."

Ibara continued in a somewhat relieved manner.

"However, even after doing that, the beans still had a crunchy texture, causing it to be distasteful, so they had to be crushed even more. Chii-chan, how small do you think the grains are?"

The diameter of chocolate grains? I"ve never considered it before. The book in my hands suddenly seemed uninteresting, and I started thinking about Ibara"s question, but I couldn"t imagine how small they would be.

In contrast, Chitanda hummed quietly and answered the question.

"I see. I"ve only heard this from the people who sell what at home, but the diameter of wheat flour is 40 to 50 micrometer. Are chocolate beans that small?"

But Ibara shook her head as if she prided herself on having this knowledge.

"I"ve heard that they"re actually 20 micrometers in diameter!"

"... That"s amazing!"

Is that a figure I should be surprised at? With no means of comparison, I could not understand at all. Is 20 micrometers that different from 50 micrometers?

... Ah, is it because there"s a difference of 2.5 times?

Chitanda nodded a few times with eager admiration.

"That sounds like a difficult number for a mortar and pestle."

"Just like how you can"t make ice cream without an ice cream machine, it"s impossible to make chocolate from cacao beans using household equipment."

"That"s a shame. f.u.kube-san wants chocolate made from cacao beans, right?"

Ibara let out a small sigh upon hearing those words.

"I didn"t know last year that chocolate was so difficult to make, but neither did f.u.ku-chan, so it"s fine."

"It"s fine, you say..."

As Chitanda gave her reply, a smile appeared on Ibara"s face. No, not the refreshing kind. To exaggerate, it would be something like this: "As her throat rumbled, I shuddered, and couldn"t stop cold sweat from forming on my back. A dark enthusiasm caused twisted pleasure to spread on her lips." With clenched fists, she looked up at an oblique angle and announced,

"I"m going to make the best home-made chocolate ever! If f.u.ku-chan still complains, I"ll lock him up and slowly explain all this to him with additional data. If that doesn"t work... I"ll just shove it into his mouth!"

One shouldn"t incur a woman"s enmity. If it"s wrong to generalize about women, then I would say that I wouldn"t want to provoke Ibara"s resentment. Her words might be exaggerated, but they can"t be treated as a joke. Unfortunately for Satoshi, the little joke that he used to reject the chocolate last year is still hanging over his head, and now it has turned out like this. Well, as they say, you reap what you sow.

As expected, Chitanda had also been pulled in by Ibara"s tenacity, and was using her hands to soothe Ibara. She then asked a question to return the conversation to its original track.

"So what are you making? I know many types of candies you could make with chocolate, but..."

Having decided a long time ago, Ibara answered immediately.

"I plan on making one with a heart-shaped mold."

"Eh? But that"s..."

"I know that it"s quite plain, but last year"s was a failure. I"m going to make sure he accepts this time."

Just when they had finally gotten to the main point, Ibara suddenly leaned forward. Chitanda also responded by drawing closer, such that it was as if their foreheads were about to collide.

"So, I want to make the best chocolate. I"ll need things from a Western-style confectionery. Chitanda, do you know of any shops that sell that kind of stuff?"

For some reason, Chitanda lowered her voice and answered,

"Let"s see... There should be a store that sells ingredients for professionals near the wholesale market. We could try that place."

Ibara also replied in a small voice.

"Could you take me there?"

"Of course. Would this Sunday be fine?"

"It"s settled, then... and make sure you keep this a secret from f.u.ku-chan."

"My lips are sealed."

And thus the two girls shared an unbreakable promise.

I"m fine with it, but I"m a guy, and on top of that I"m also Satoshi"s friend... If they deemed me trustworthy enough to refrain from informing Satoshi, I certainly wouldn"t feel bad about it, but either way, it seems that I wasn"t counted as one of the room"s occupants. As I was having this thought, Ibara called out, as if having just noticed my existence.

"Ah, Oreki."

"... Yeah?"

I answered as if I had also jut noticed Ibara. Without minding my tone, Ibara gave a rare gentle smile.

"Make sure you don"t say anything either."

"Sure."

"If you do..."

I already agreed not to! So please, stop staring at me with those eyes!

After school the next day. Ibara and Chitanda were holding another discussion about chocolate in the Geography Lecture Room. Not wanting to eavesdrop, I decided to head home.

I exposed the front of my trench coat to the February wind and joined the flow of people going home from school. Come to think of it, last year, when I was still in middle school, I would immediately start my journey home after school, no matter how early the lessons ended. My everyday life was devoid of purpose. I would reach home early, but I wouldn"t have anything to do. I tried to think of ways to spend the time after school, but to no avail. Actually, with regards to the characteristic of a daily life lacking in purpose, this year was exactly the same as last year.

Following the crowd to the main street, I left the narrow footpath on the bridge and entered the shopping district. The winter sun, which was weak at the best of times, became even more unreliable when it came to evening. only now did I realize that the figures of my schoolmates had grown spa.r.s.e. It"s probably not because of the cold, but there were simply no people around. Instead, there were only cars driving past continuously.

With a sidelong glance at a dry goods store, a boutique, and a hairdressers", I proceeded along the tiled walkway. The sound of the flowing wind was mixed with the sound of electronics. I had gotten to the game center next to the hairdressers". I was just walking past when I suddenly realized something. Out of all the bicycles lined up outside the shop, I recognized one of them. There was no doubt that this mountain bike, which had a worn-out cloth added to its left grip, belonged to Satoshi.

I checked my watch. It"s not like I wanted to go in and have a few games, but I had no reason to hurry home. According to my motto, which is "If I don"t have to do it, don"t do it. If I have to do it, make it quick.", there was only one course of action... I should continue my journey home.

But the automatic gla.s.s door in front of me suddenly opened, and out came Satoshi. He probably noticed me inside, so he came outside to intercept me. Wearing his usual inextinguishable smile, he lifted a hand.

"Yo!"

"Hey."

Taking a glance at my expression, Satoshi spoke.

"Hmm, you don"t seem to be in a rush."

Since that was obvious, I didn"t reply. Satoshi pointed at the game center.

"You pa.s.sed at just the right time. How about it? A game for old times" sake? I"ve created the sure-kill Satoshi Special, but it just isn"t the same playing against the CPU."

He was challenging me to a game. I yawned.

"I haven"t played for such a long time, though."

"Me too. But Houtarou, according to a report by the Central Education Commission of Inquiry, kids these days seem to be playing games all the time. If so, it would be a educational problem if one doesn"t have an interest in games as a child."

Shrugging at that joke, I advanced to the shop. I had no reason to refuse.

The game center, which I hadn"t been to in a long time, was illuminated way too bright, as if that was part of their plan to promote their image. I remembered it as a place heavy with cigarette smoke, but there didn"t seem to be any smoke at all now. In exchange, there were also fewer people around. The small machines had been pushed to the back of the shop, while larger machines that I hadn"t seen before were throwing their weight around in the center.

It"s been a really long time. I wonder how long it"s been since the last time I was here. I"ve almost never entered the game center on my own. That would mean that the last time I came here, I was most likely with Satoshi. We used to play here often last year..., no, it was two years ago.

I didn"t recognize all those games displayed on the monitors. Well, it"s understandable for someone who hasn"t gone to a game center in two years. As if having entered a strange land, my eyes kept wandering about. With a backward glance at me, Satoshi smoothly advanced to the inner region of the shop, and turned around when he reached a game machine.

"How about this? You remember this, right?"

Satoshi had chosen a game that even I had seen before. To be precise, I used to play it with Satoshi quite often. There were two machines designed to look like c.o.c.kpits placed next to each other. It was a game that simulated a robot battle. Even after two years, or an even longer period of time, this machine was still here. Satoshi held both his hands wide and raised his voice.

"Spraying sh.e.l.ls and shooting beams! This is definitely a man"s kind of romance, so I can"t invite Mayaka."

"She probably wouldn"t join you even if you invited her to some other game. Right, I"ll accept your challenge. Although I don"t think I can control it well."

"Nah, you"ll remember it immediately. Please go easy on me."

With those last words, Satoshi smoothly slid his small figure into the c.o.c.kpit. Shortly thereafter, I could hear stirring techno music coming from inside the machine.

I placed my shoulder bag outside the machine and removed my trench coat to reduce my weight, and entered the other c.o.c.kpit. I inserted a 100-yen coin into the slot, and challenged Satoshi to a match. Satoshi"s robot was the same as the one he used two years ago, a robot which specialized in mobility and was exceptional in aerial combat. It had a sleek form, a cannon built into its right arm, and a beam cannon protruding out of its body. I also chose a robot that I used in the past, one that followed the Battleship Giant Cannon Principle[4]. It was a bulky machine with a low center of gravity. It held a smooth-bore cannon in its right hand, and had two laser guns on its shoulders[5].

After the two machines had been displayed on the monitor, the computer automatically selected the stage. It was the deck of a flying aircraft carrier. According to my vague memory, this stage had few obstacles, making it disadvantageous for Satoshi, whose robot was based on evading attacks. Well, that still doesn"t make up for my two-year handicap.

"Get ready," a synthesized voice announced. The interface consisted of two joysticks and five b.u.t.tons. "Go."

The match was made up of three rounds. In the first round, Satoshi was probably showing some consideration, and I was somehow allowed to spend the first half of the allotted time to get used to the controls. When there were only ten seconds remaining, I pressed a b.u.t.ton at random, and a laser unexpectedly scored a direct hit on Satoshi"s robot, which was in my direct range. At that moment, I heard some strange sounds like "Pikyaa" or "Higyaa"[6]coming from the next machine. There might be no other customers around, but it"s still quite embara.s.sing. Satoshi"s light-armored machine stalled after taking the hit, and the round was over.

Before the second round began, Satoshi quickly emerged from his c.o.c.kpit and thrust his face into mine.

"So how is it? You still got it?"

"Yeah, I remember most of it. Let"s go."

"OK, I won"t go easy on you!"

I heard Satoshi slip into his seat as the second round began. Satoshi"s machine disappeared from my line of fire immediately, meaning that he was serious now. At that instant, I made my machine move forward, and a blue flame erupted at my previous position. I rotated around to search for the enemy machine. I squeezed the trigger as soon as I saw a figure appear right behind, and fired the cannon on the right arm. But before the projectile hit, the target disappeared from my field of vision yet again. His machine"s speed was incomparable to mine.

Yeah, it was always like this, I recalled as I took evasive action for the time being. To be precise, I was making my machine move in one direction. Satoshi"s robot was now flying in the sky. Machine gun bullets rained down like in an air strike. It"s alright if I get hit, though, since my robot has thick armor.

When we were middle school students, there were only two ways for the fight to end. My machine would either decimate Satoshi"s at the beginning of the round, or Satoshi"s mobile robot would run circles around my machine until the time ran out. Satoshi would win most of the time, and he would often laugh and say, "You were trying to end the match too quickly, Houtarou."

For an instant, I could see the enemy machine right in front of me, flying in the sky. With the situation worsening, I naively aimed and fired the lasers, but the target dived down, avoiding the laser. While I was in the firing position and unable to move, Satoshi pointed his robot at me and used his strongest beam cannon. It was, of course, a direct hit. He then took the initiative and sprayed me with the machine gun to end the fight.

The third round.

As the metallic voice shouted, "Go", I immediately dashed forward to reduce our distance. Satoshi, in an unguarded moment, retreated without a plan. If I took this chance to continuously fire the smooth-bore cannon, I should at least hit once. That would deal a fair bit of damage to Satoshi"s weakly armored robot.

But Satoshi was not the average player. I thought that he was focused on escaping, but he actually stood his ground and fired his beam cannon. Our distance was too small, so I couldn"t react in time. My robot took a shot and toppled over.

While I was trying to get up, Satoshi seized the opportunity to bombard me with all his equipped firearms. An aggressive play. I could either dash out of the barrage or use my thick armor to withstand it.

"Hmm...?"

As I hurriedly moved the joysticks, I suddenly felt that something was off. Was it like this when I played with Satoshi the last time?

No, it"s clearly different.

Satoshi"s play style wasn"t like this. Now, we were wearing out each other"s armor with our respeective firepower, as only a small it of time remained. Satoshi read me and pulled off an amazing dodge on my cannon shot. At that moment, Satoshi"s robot was closing the distance between us. I could see a slender form approach rapidly on my monitor.

But with that straightforward movement, I could easily hit his machine with my laser. I readied my finger on the trigger. At that moment, I remembered.

That"s right, Satoshi"s play style was "Victory Above All". He would do anything in order to win, and when he was in a disadvantageous position, he would retreat and wait for an opportunity. When he could win just by stalling for time, he would only run away, but when it was his turn to attack, he would go all out. That"s not all. He would also sometimes use system faults and bugs. Anyway, Satoshi was a person who only wanted to win. When he lost, he would blame his bad luck, sulk without concealing his rage, and be really sore about it. The reason why I distanced myself from the game center was largely Satoshi"s implacability, but it would be unpleasant if I told him that to his face.

What"s the meaning of this head-on charge, then? ... Could it be a trap?

But I had realized it too late. I had already squeezed the trigger, causing my robot to go into a laser-firing position. If Satoshi stopped, escaped to the skies and fired his beam cannon, it would be game, set and match.

But Satoshi didn"t take that course of action. Instead, all I could see on my monitor was a sword of light sliding out of his machine"s right arm. A melee attack? A reckless move, to charge at me from so far away to try to cut me down.

Before the blade scythed down my robot, the laser connected at point-blank range. Satoshi"s machine flipped and was blown away.

The set count was 2-1. I won.

Before the words "You Win" disappeared from the monitor, Satoshi unexpectedly peered into my c.o.c.kpit. I was wondering what kind of expression he would have on his face, but it was just an anti-climatic, usual smile. He talked on and on excitedly.

"Man, that was a good game. Was it really two years since you last played, Houtarou? That was some amazing joystick handling back there. They say you"ll never learn how to ride a bicycle, swim or ride a horse, but controlling a robot should be added to that list too, right?"

That"s how Satoshi is, always having something frivolous to say without pause. Not unhappy at winning, I smiled.

"I really hadn"t played in such a long time, so I became a beginner again. That victory was just luck."

I replied.

As the winner, I was given the right to play against the computer. Satoshi pointed at the monitor, indicating for me to continue with the game. I played half-heartedly and lost appropriately.

With a backward glance at the Game Over screen, I was about to exit the c.o.c.kpit when a can of coffee appeared before my eyes. I looked up from my half-rising posture and noticed that the owner of the hand holding the coffee was Satoshi. He said,

"Here"s your prize. Enjoy!"

That can of coffee was a can of hot black coffee. Without hesitation, I accepted it and pulled the pull tab.

"What"s up with the generosity toady?"

"It"s also compensation for unreasonably forcing you to accompany me."

"Were you really concerned about that?"

"As if!"

A can of coffee would definitely be hot, but I"m actually not very good with hot things. I leaned on a nearby machine and sipped just enough coffee to wet my tongue.

Satoshi wasn"t being unnatural at all. Rather, he was in a good mood. However, that Satoshi-like behavior ran contrary to my memory. He"s being like this even though he lost a game. Why that was the case, I had no idea at all.

"Hey, Satoshi. At the end of the third round."

"Hmm? Yeah, you totally got me there."

"Why didn"t you fly up? If you had attacked me from the air, I would have lost... or rather, why go melee?"

Satoshi shrugged in a frivolous manner.

"When using giant robots, melee battles are the ultimate romance. It really feels good when you see them clash and slash at each other, you know? Well, being countered by a giant laser also makes a good picture, so I"m satisfied with the result."

Satoshi spoke nonchalantly. If that was true, Satoshi chose romance over victory... or in other words he lost in the name of fun.

That was a Satoshi-style loss. A suitable defeat for a spurious man of the world who pursues fun instinctively. It"s not at all strange for the Satoshi I knew.

But then what was that recollection I had earlier?

"Right, moving on to the Satoshi Special 2! I"ll show you the legendary yak.u.man[7] "Iipinraoyue"!"

I continued slowly sipping my coffee, while Satoshi inserted a coin into the mahjong game next to me. As I watched Satoshi try to force a single-colored hand[8], two images appeared in succession at the back of my mind.

One was of Satoshi hitting the machine after losing. The other was of Satoshi giving a can of coffee to the winner.

Judgment day had arrived, even as many humans fervently wished for its delay. Time doesn"t stop, and neither does the calendar. If you refuse to accept it, you could just travel at the speed of light. No one"s stopping you.

It was the 14th of February. The phrase "Saint Valentine"s Day" was written clearly as the day"s event on the calendar that I had received from a nearby shrine on New Year"s Day. I woke up in the morning and noticed a decorated box placed outside my room. Guessing that it was another of my sister"s lame jokes, I opened the lid and found a bar of chocolate, as well as a note with untidy scrawl inside the box. I read the memo... "I present to you one bar of chocolate. From Oreki Tomoe with warm and tender pity."

Out front kick. I gave the box a good kick towards my room and headed to school.

There was no change from the usual at Kamiyama High School. Since students were allowed to wear their cold-weather clothes, the road to school looked livelier compared with other seasons, with people sporting coats and jumpers. I entered the school, which was not filled with the smell of sweets. It was a calm start to the fateful day.

During lunch, I was thinking about buying some walnut bread, so I headed to the canteen and entered the gigantic crowd of people. After securing the last loaf of bread, I escaped from the crowd, and that was when I noticed that Chitanda was also buying something alongside all those jostling students. Regardless of personality, her looks fulfilled the conditions for a daughter of a wealthy family, so it was amusing to see her mix with the common crowd. Probably having noticed me, Chitanda pushed her way through the ma.s.s of school uniforms. Eventually, she emerged and called out to me.

"h.e.l.lo, Oreki-san."

"Hey."

As Chitanda adjusted her scarf, I noticed that all she had in her hand was a drink in a paper pack. Although I should mind my own business, I was interested, and asked,

"Chitanda, is that all you"re having for lunch?"

Chitanda cast her eyes down shyly.

"No, I had prepared a bento. It"s just that... recently, I have been quite hooked onto this.

She held it out for me to see, and it appeared to be a green tea milk drink. Putting aside the strange combination, I wonder if there"s any caffeine, which Chitanda cannot take, in green tea... I suppose there"s the placebo effect. I should keep quiet about this.

It would be a bother for us to loiter in front of the canteen in the middle of the chaos, so we walked away. Our cla.s.srooms were just next to each other.

In the tedious walk back, I asked about Ibara.

"So what happened to Ibara"s chocolate in the end?"

A slight smile surfaced on Chitanda"s face, as she answered with pride.

"We decided to use Cote D"or. I thought using Nestlé would be good enough, though."

We continued walking in silence for a while. Seeing that I wouldn"t be getting an explanation, I asked,

"What are you talking about?"

"...Ah, sorry. We decided to use a Belgian brand. We were thinking about using the Swiss one."

She continued.

"It was a really difficult choice. We bought all kinds of chocolate from the store, and tasted all of them. It was a rare experience, but there was just so much chocolate! To be honest, I would like to avoid chocolate for a while."

She giggled. I imagined Chitanda and Ibara facing each other in the Geography Lecture Room and biting into chocolate piled on a table, and smiled. I bet the chocolate mountain which was almost touching the ceiling would fall down to earth in a twinkle.

"After indulging in so much chocolate, wouldn"t you two get acne?"

"I was fine. Ibara had one on her cheek, but she hid it with a plaster."

An then Chitanda spoke as if she was seeing a dream.

"Mayaka-san made the heart-shaped mold all by herself. I never knew that she could make such handicrafts! And she even added a detailed engraving. Although Cupid is facing the wrong direction, it"s still really cute! Unfortunately, the wooden frame is not very compatible with chocolate, so the texture might not be so good."

"It seems that her experience in the Manga Research Club has honed her skills to the point that she can make smooth cuts. I never used you could use a chisel for this, though."

"Mayaka-san has amazing concentration. So that"s what it means to put your heart and soul into something... Isn"t it lovely?"

As far as I can tell, Ibara"s strong point was definitely her ability to pour her heart and soul into something, or in other words, her concentration. If Chitanda is the person to be absorbed in something, Ibara would be the one to specialize in it. By the way, Satoshi is a guy who finds satisfaction in pursuing many interests at the same time, and needless to say, I hardly show interest in most things. Moreover, to Ibara, this chocolate was her revenge match, so she would work really hard for it.

"So has she given the chocolate?"

Chitanda shook her head in response to my question and frowned slightly.

"It"s quite a shame. It would be better for her to give it to him herself, but... Mayaka-san was planning to pa.s.s Satoshi the chocolate after school in the club room, but she could not draw out of the Manga Research Club."

"What, then?"

"She"s going to leave the chocolate in the club room and call Satoshi there, I guess. Even if it is not done after school, the Valentine ritual will be complete as long as it is on the 14th of February, so I thought that there would be another way, but..."

Hmm. Chitanda was constantly feeling disappointed about it, but throwing out the chocolate as if it was nothing seems like quite a refined method. I"m sure that Satoshi would prefer it that way.

Chitanda suddenly turned around, as if having just thought of something. I faced Chitanda, who had a serious look on her face.

"Ah, right, Oreki-san. It"s Valentine"s Day today."

"......"

She lowered her head airily. When she looked up, clarity had returned to her expression.

"In my family, we do not give year-end gifts or Bon Festival gifts to those we are truly close to. So I apologize for failing to pay my compliments with a Valentine chocolate."

...Is that so.

I had never imagined that anyone would group Valentine chocolates and year-end gifts together.

Probably having overheard our conversation, a pa.s.sing second year student quickly overtook us with a face that betrayed a smile. As I watched his figure recede, I was actually thinking of kicking his a.s.s as hard as I could.

After school, as I was stuffing my shoulder bag with my textbooks and other miscellaneous items, I was visited by Satoshi. The drawstring bag he always carried around had been filled until it swelled into the shape of a right-angled parellelepiped. What does he even put in there? He swung his bag around in a circle and asked,

"What are you going to do now, Houtarou?"

I decided not to go to the Geography Lecture Room as it would be absolutely foolish to do so. I wanted to get home as soon as possible, and I was about to answer as such, but when I looked out the window, I saw that the sleet that had started earlier was increasing in intensity. My boots and coat were both waterproof, and I did bring an umbrella, but...

"I"ll wait until the sleet stops or turns to snow."

"Here?"

I thought for a while. The heating had been turned off, so it was cold. Furthermore, a person waiting for the weather to improve and killing time alone in a cla.s.sroom on Valentine"s Day after school would probably be a bother to others who might have other purposes for the room. Even I could be considerate for something like this. Even so, as I mentioned earlier, it would still be really stupid for me to go to the club room.

"Nah, I guess I"ll head for the library."

As if he had been waiting for me to say this, Satoshi nodded, retrieved a book from his bag and handed it to me. It was a duodecimo-sized[9] hardcover, and is t.i.tle was one that was popular ages ago. If my memory isn"t mistaken, its story went like this: A man and woman were leading an ordinary life, but a small malaise soon escalated into a catastrophe from which there was no return, as the shadow of death swept through the streets! I"m not a fan of horror, though.

"You sure are reading weird books... I don"t feel like reading it even if you recommend it, though."

"I never told you to read it. Just help me return it, please. It"s almost due."

Instead of answering, I inserted it into my bag along with a loose leaf. Without stopping my preparations for going home, I asked,

"You"re going to the club room, then?"

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied absentmindedly. Finding this strange, I spoke.

"Seems that Ibara isn"t going."

Not having expected me to know that, Satoshi put on a surprised expression.

"Wow, you caught wind of that fast... was it because of Chitanda-san?"

I muttered in response,

"Apparently, she had to go to the Manga Club."

"That"s what I heard."

"Chitanda was feeling really disappoint about it, that Ibara..."

Satoshi interrupted my words and went into a monologue.

"Currently, the Manga Club is having a little internal discord. The latent antagonism was actualized after the Cultural Festival, and now the Manga Research Club is split into two factions fighting for leadership: the impressionists and the naturalists. If the conflict gets worse, it would be difficult for the Manga Research Club, which has a long tradition, to avoid splitting into two. The naturalists are outnumbered by the impressionists three to one, and that"s kind of sad, in my opinion. Mayaka"s the ringleader of the realists, so today"s meeting is probably related to that conflict."

I felt that the forced change in subject was rude, but paying it no heed, I asked about the unfamiliar terms.

"Impressionists and, what was it again?"

"Naturalists. The two factions are also known as the character-oriented group and the story-oriented group. Apparently, they"re arguing as fiercely as clashing swords. I would totally like to join if I could.

He was speaking as if he was really enjoying himself. You could say that he was much more interested in this scandal compared to the event of February 14th. Well, in any case,

"You just made up the names of those two factions, right?"

Satoshi shrugged mischievously.

"Some might say that the admiration for the proponents have not yet stopped."

With that line, he swung his completely shrivelled drawstring bag. I quit Satoshi"s company, and left the cla.s.sroom carrying my shoulder bag and trench coat. Satoshi followed after me. Since the pathway to the Special Block and the road to the library were at opposite directions, we would part outside the cla.s.sroom.

"See you next time, Oreki-kun."

Satoshi said in a theatrical tone. I responded with a little joke.

"Good luck."

"Whatever for? Seriously."

It"s obvious. For the opponent of the return match, of course.

The library was surprisingly empty. I was expecting it to be filled, with it being after school in bad weather.

I inserted Satoshi"s book into the return box and placed my shoulder bag on a nearby seat. I headed for a bookshelf to search for a suitable book I could skim through to kill time and returned with a collection of photographs taken at scenic and historic places in South America. There were also collections with pictures from Europe and Central Asia, but I chose South America as a form of respect to the place of origin of chocolate.

First were the usual Mayan pyramids. In the Guiana Highlands filled with greenery, the countless cavities drilled into the pyramids were a strange sight to behold. I turned the page, and the next picture was a weird plant with fruits you could mistake for human faces attached to the trunk. The caption read, "Theobroma Cacao. Theobroma means "food of the G.o.ds"." The book didn"t mention what language that word came from.

As I examined the photograph, I unexpectedly noticed that I was actually aware of the significance of this day. But, if I"m caring about Valentine"s Day, it would be a lie to say that I wasn"t interested in Christmas. Then again, I have no recollection of having such thoughts on the 24th of the month before last. If I were to think back on whether there was anything impressive on Saint Valentine"s Day, it would be my casual interest in Ibara"s return match, as well as receiving a chocolate first thing in the morning. It might be thanks to it that I became aware and wondered if it was the 14th today.

But I can clearly proclaim that this doesn"t mean that my expectations of receiving chocolate was higher this year compared to last year.

So, for example, let"s a.s.sume that right now, as I"m looking at a photograph of the remains of Machu Picchu"s drainage system, a person with a flushed face approaches. That imaginary person would be a female student, of course. She says, "Please accept this!" and presents a heart-shaped chocolate. How would I feel at that moment?

Naturally, I would undoubtedly be ecstatic.

But I believe that joy would be akin to the happiness one would feel when being unexpectedly recognized as a singular human being. That feeling is not materially different from having one"s crudely drawn picture win a prize at a citywide compet.i.tion by chance. To express it more eloquently, it would be like saying, "I don"t entirely understand what"s so good about it, but I"ll accept this public acknowledgement with thanks."

I can only say that I doubt I would feel happy over the development of so-called "love".

My main belief is in energy conservation, with my motto being, "If I don"t have to do it, don"t do it. If I have to do it, make it quick." That belief gives me my laziness. But apart from that, it also gives me a trifling point of view of human relationships.

The reason why I feel at ease at the Cla.s.sics Club is that Satoshi, Chitanda and Ibara don"t cling to one another. Even if Chitanda does destroy my tranquility with her curiosity, she wouldn"t go so far as to pull me along forcibly if I seriously don"t want to be involved. In fact, during last year"s "Hyouka" incident and "Empress" incident, Chitanda didn"t say that she needed my cooperation no matter what. She is certainly good at pressurizing me, but she wouldn"t push to have her own way. If she said something like "That is your duty" or "It is natural that you do that", or cried while pleading and pestering me to help, I would have probably quit the Cla.s.sics Club.

But how do you handle a love affair with that att.i.tude? Would one be able to expect that style or force it from the subject of the love affair?

......It is a common saying that living organisms exist to pa.s.s their genes on, or in other words, to bear offspring. Love would then just be the sublimated desire to propagate. From that point of view, I could be said to be incomplete as a living organism. But since I"m also a human being, I don"t need to go out with someone just because of biological needs. That"s why I don"t worry about myself being an incomplete organism.

Speaking of desire, it would be enough for me to say that I desire the chocolate. I like spicy things, but I"m relatively fine with sweet things too.

I was thinking about this while looking at a bright orange poisonous frog which inhabits a dense forest.

"I"ve finally found you, Oreki-san."

Having my name called all of a sudden, I turned around to see Chitanda"s face being surprisingly close. After colliding into the line of vision of her huge eyes, I looked away without thinking.

My throat hurt in the dry winter air. I coughed once.

"Now that you"ve finally found me, do you need anything?"

"No."

"......"

Chitanda took a glance at the deserted library and spoke.

"I thought that if you were here, f.u.kube-san would be here too."

So she was looking for Satoshi, huh?"

"We don"t stick together forever, you know."

"That was what I thought, but... Do you know where f.u.kube-san is now?"

As I was about to respond to the question, I realized that something was strange. Satoshi was heading towards the Geography Lecture Room. But if that was the case, Chitanda wouldn"t be here searching for him.

"He didn"t reach the room?"

Chitanda nodded slightly.

"He seemed to be a little late, so I came here to check on him. Since this concerns Mayaka-san, I don"t think he would forget, but perhaps something happened..."

Hm. I checked my watch. I don"t remember the exact time, but I think it hasn"t been thirty minutes since Satoshi announced that he was going to the club room and parted with me. The time now is a little before five. The sun was starting to set, so I understand Chitanda"s anxiety.

But that"s just f.u.kube Satoshi. It"s inexcusable to make others wait, but it"s just like him to wander off for half an hour or so.

I flipped a page of the photograph collection and answered with a distant view of Mexico City in front of me.

"He"s quite loose with time, but he did say that he was going to the club room. You should wait for him a little longer."

"The exact time was not decided, so I cannot say that he"s late. I understand, I will try waiting for him."

The soft ending of Chitanda"s sentence seemed to project her worry, but with that, she turned her black hair around and left. d.a.m.n that Satoshi, he just can"t let anything proceed smoothly. I was thinking that it was about time for me to go home, so I looked out the window, but the sleet wouldn"t end. Having no choice, I pushed my chair further in and proceeded to the next page.

The sleet only ended after I had completed my simulated experience of South America from Mexico City to Rio De Janeiro. I returned the photograph collection to its bookshelf, and was about to put on my white trench coat when a visitor arrived.

The sliding door was suddenly flung open.

"Oreki-san!!"

With an improper level of energy for a library, where one should be quiet on principle, Chitanda drew nearer. I was about to tell her to not make so much noise, but when I scanned my surroundings, I found that the only people left in the library were myself, the student librarians and the head librarian, Itoigawa-sensei.

Chitanda"s countenance was different compared with the last time she was here. Now, her lips were pursed tightly, and her eyes, which were huge even under normal cic.u.mstances, were wide open. Seems like something bad has happened. Satoshi also appeared from behind Chitanda, swinging his drawstring bag. He had a drained expression, and I could feel that his usual high tension had cooled down quite a bit.

"Houtarou, you"re still here?"

"I said that I would be here until the sleet ended, didn"t I?"

I looked at the two of them one after the other, and said to Chitanda,

"It seems like you have something for me this time, but I"m just about to go home."

Chitanda nodded once slightly, then nodded once more deeply.

"Ah, yes, I understand that it is quite late. But I would really appreciate your help."

"Sorry, but can"t it wait till tomorrow? Whether I help you or not, you can tell me about it tomorrow."

I said and was about to leave the library.

But before I could, Chitanda blocked my path. I unconsciously frowned, and Chitanda spoke with downcast eyes.

"I apologize, but at least hear me out... It"s my fault. I carelessly left the clubroom door open. I"ve done something horrible to Mayaka-san..."

...... It appears that this isn"t simply a manifestation of Chitanda"s usual curiosity. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her originally white skin had become all the more pale. Perhaps because she was disconcerted, or due to some other reason, her legs were also trembling slightly.

I asked Satoshi a brief question.

"What happened?"

"Well, it"s not really anything significant, but..."

Chitanda"s voice, which was supposed to over Satoshi"s words, was small and weak.

"The chocolate..."

"The chocolate?"

"Mayaka-san"s home-made chocolate was stolen! And she put in her utmost effort to make it!"

I looked at Satoshi. He shrugged, as if to say "This sure is troubling" and nodded.

Ibara"s chocolate? Stolen, you say?

Ah, I see.

Again, that"s...

...... It"s been 10 months since I entered Kamiyama High School and joined the Cla.s.sics Club. Over that period of time, I"ve been coerced to act as an intermediary for Chitanda"s problems, which was probably comparable to three years" worth of middle school troubles.

My experience in dealing with all that has not crushed my energy conservation motto. But it"s true that I have gained a degree of adaptability for when I have to move.

I probably looked as if I had consumed a bitter bug. With that expression, I put my arms through the sleeves of my trench coat and said,

"Let"s go. We"ll look for it."

Ah, and the sleet has already stopped. But this would be the social obligation of a livelihood, I suppose. In my case, Ibara and I aren"t close, even though we"ve known each other for such a long time. I wonder what kind of expression she would have if she found out that her chocolate got stolen. I definitely wouldn"t want to see that!

After all, I"m not a fan of horror.

We crossed the connecting bridge and moved towards the Special Block.

The Geography Lecture Room was on the fourth floor. As we were about to go up the stairs,

"Hold it!"

A voice rang out, stopping me in my tracks. Satoshi thrust his palm out at me.

I didn"t even get the chance to wonder what the problem was, for the flight of stairs I was about to ascend had a yellow and black vinyl rope strung across it. For the past few days, various places in school were being waxed sequentially. Under the rope was a note that said, "Just waxed. Usage of the staircase is prohibited."

There are twp staircases. We went to the other one and ascended it. As we were moving from the third floor to the fourth, a first year student with a perm called out.

"Excuse me, is this level?"

It seems that he had been sticking a poster to the notice board. It read, "Handicrafts Club Graduation Works Exhibition. Venue: Communications Building Cla.s.sroom 1-C" I half-heartedly answered that it was fine and was about to hurry on, but Satoshi spoke up behind me.

"It"s too low."

Now that I think about it, the right side does seem to be lower. Behind Satoshi, Chitanda also gave a response.

"That poster is trapezoidal, but that is intentional, right?"

The craftsman... I mean the handicrafts club member[10] took a step back from the poster, stared at the poster fixedly, then spat out in a small voice,

"Oh, what the h.e.l.l."

He then took out a cutter knife and a ruler, tore off the poster and sat on the floor. His skillful work thus began.

Praying for his success, I headed for the Geography Lecture Room.

The door was unlocked. I stopped upon entering the room, and tried to endure the cold. It"s probably so cold because I was in the warm library for a long time, but even so, it"s freezing here.

Chitanda approached a chair that was in the middle of the room, and put her hand on the table in front of it.

"It was placed here."

I see. Indeed, there was no chocolate on the table now.

Before I said anything, Chitanda summarized the situation straightforwardly.

"The chocolate was wrapped in red wrapping paper. There was no ribbon or anything like one tied around it. As for its size... it was heart-shaped, so it took up a large s.p.a.ce."

She held out her hands to show the chocolate"s width, increasing the gap little by little until it reached the size of her waist. She then tilted her head and reduced the size of the imaginary chocolate by just a bit.

"It was this big."

It seems that Chitanda not only had keen senses, unfailing memory and excellent observation skills, but also possessed extraordinary spatial recognition. Even so, that"s a gigantic chocolate.

"What about Ibara?"

"I have not told her yet. It may seem cowardly, but I plan to try looking for it first before telling her."

Chitanda continuously stroked the table, as if doing so would cause the chocolate to return.

"The chocolate was here when I went off to look for f.u.kube-san. In other words, it was here until 4:45 on my watch. I returned to the clubroom when it was a little past 5 o"clock. If only I hadn"t left the door unlocked for those fifteen minutes..."

Her last sentence was so inaudible that I almost could not catch her words. This is pretty natural for the kindhearted Chitanda, but it seems that she has taken quite a shock.

"But, well, Chitanda-san, you aren"t the manager of Mayaka"s chocolate, so oyou don"t have to agonize about it so much."

"But I feel that it"s inexcusable to f.u.kube-san..."

"As I said, it"s not your responsibility. If you"re in the wrong, then I"m even worse for being late."

That was unexpected. I thought that Satoshi was the cold-blooded type of guy, unable to show this kind of consideration. As for me, while I"m a person with a hot heart and not a cold-blooded person, I decided not to add any awkward words to the exchange.

I surveyed the room. The Geography Lecture Room did not possess any special equipment. As for normal cla.s.sroom objects, it had a teaching platform, a blackboard, tables, chairs and cleaning equipment. With only these items, it would be easy to search for anything.

However, there were over forty tables. I knocked a nearby table with my fist.

"Are you sure that it isn"t in this room? What about the drawers below the tables?"

"Nope, I checked this room with Chitanda-san earlier. There"s no doubt it isn"t here."

Yeah, I thought so.

But wait a minute.

"Didn"t Chitanda confirm that the chocolate was missing on her own?"

In response to that question, Chitanda answered.

"I found f.u.kube-san while I was returning to the room so we entered together."

"It was in that staircase. I met Chitanda-san on the landing between the third and fourth floor."

I see. That staircase, huh.

...... A flash of inspiration hit me. I turned around my trench coat. I don"t like walking round and round, but our destination was close. Chitanda asked a question as I was leaving the room.

"Where are you going?"

"How long has that craftsman been there?"

I spoke as I left the clubroom. The two of them followed behind.

"Who do you mean by craftsman?"

"Oh, that guy with the perm. He was sticking the poster on the wall."

"... You mean the Handicrafts Club member."

There was a slight pause as Chitanda thought for a while.

"He was just unrolling the poster when I met f.u.kube-san."

"That"s convenient."

Satoshi probably understood my purpose with that sentence, but I"m not sure about Chitanda, who can be unbelievably slow. Just to be sure, I added,

"If the craftsman was there the whole time, he"ll probably remember the people who used the staircase. Because of the waxing, this staircase is the only way up here."

"Ah... That"s true!"

Chitanda"s voice, which sounded quite depressed earlier, sprang out like a shining ray of light. But in contrast, Satoshi was solemn.

"Any possibility that the crasftman was the thief?"

"None."

"Huh?"

"Would anyone loiter around the area worrying about the straightness of his poster after committing a theft?"

We went around the girls" toilet and down the stairs. The craftsman was still in front of the notice board, using his cutter knife. When he noticed us, he unrolled his poster.

"How is it now?"

Chitanda took one look and cut him town mercilessly.

"It now looks like a parallelogram with no regular angles."

"......"

"More importantly, we have a question for you. Do you remember who pa.s.sed by since you started work?"

The craftsman seemed intimidated by Chitanda"s earnest look. He turned to the two of us, who were at the back.

"Did something happen?"

I was wondering about how to answer him, but Satoshi gave a quick, easy reply.

"Just some trouble. We suspect that those who pa.s.sed

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