Chapter 1: A Valentine's Day in Chaos
Seeing Mordred so heartbroken, the Knights of the Round Table discussed the matter and decided to buy her a gift to cheer her up. Upon receiving the gift from everyone, Mordred felt very happy.
"What is it? What is it!?" Mordred looked at the exquisitely wrapped gift box with excitement, filled with anticipation for the unknown present.
"Heh heh~ You'll know when you open it! This is a delicacy from Sweden!" Gawain wore an expression that screamed, "This is all my doing."
"Oh, oh, oh! That sounds like it's going to be great!!!" Although she had no impression of that country, it was precisely because of this lack of knowledge that Mordred's expectations were maxed out.
She impatiently tore open the gift. Resting inside was a can of surströmming.
"This is...?" It was a food she had never eaten before; when she was summoned, Alaya had only instilled the most basic knowledge, not detailing everything to such an extent. The events that followed became blurry in Mordred's memory. She only remembered opening the can of surströmming on the spot, and then the situation spiraled completely out of control.
"Waaaaah!!!! What on earth is this thing?! Even the Beasts of Humanity aren't one-tenth as terrifying as this!"
Gawain, whose eyes were spinning from the smell, replied indistinctly: "I... I don't know—Ugh~!"
It would melt if you got close, and it would explode if you took another look at it. The odor permeating the room was world-shattering, causing severe magical damage to all the members of the Knights of the Round Table.
When Shirou and Sakura returned home from grocery shopping, the moment they opened the door, they discovered this terrifying situation. "What happened? Did you guys blow up the toilet?"
Finally, with everyone in agreement, they established the rule that no one is allowed to open unknown food in the house—a rule that left some people puzzled—and only then did the farce finally come to an end.
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February 14th.
At dinner, Sakura suddenly blinked and gave Shirou a cunning smile. "Shirou~ Do you know what day it is today?"
"Huh?" Shirou was stunned for a moment, then went through a brainstorming session. "Valentine's Day?"
If Sakura hadn't suddenly brought it up, Shirou might not have remembered that today was Valentine's Day. In Japan, there is a custom on this day for women to give chocolates to men they admire. It's not just adults who give them; students of all ages, and even elementary school students, can give them. As for the men who receive the chocolates, they must return the favor a month later, on March 14th, which is known as White Day.
After hearing Shirou's answer, Sakura showed a sweet smile and took out a delicately packaged box. "Correct answer. This is your reward."
The center of the front was transparent, and the heart-shaped chocolate inside was quite eye-catching. A cat's face was drawn on it; it looked very exquisite and full of maidenly heart. One look was enough to tell it was handmade, filled with sincerity.
"Thank you, Sakura. I'm very happy." Sakura's cheeks flushed slightly. She lifted her hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, her eyes filled with undisguisable affection: "I'm just glad you like it, Shirou."
Following Sakura, Illya, not to be outdone, took out a gift box and handed it over. "Shirou~ This is for you."
"…Thank you, Illya."
Shirou took the box and looked at the oval-shaped chocolate inside the transparent packaging that was trying hard to resemble a heart. It was clear that because she knew nothing about making desserts and it was her first time, she couldn't balance the taste and the shape. He didn't know how many failures she had behind the scenes to barely make this finished product, so he could also feel the girl's overflowing sincerity and cuteness contained within.
"You did a great job, Illya," Shirou encouraged.
"R-really!?" Joyous stars popped out in Illya's eyes, and at the same time, she patted her chest lightly as if relieved. "Great... This is my victory!"
Sakura also smiled at this time: "That's amazing, Illya."
It was clearly a kind smile, but unintentionally, there was a sense of ease to it, making Illya feel as if she had been firmly suppressed. "Ugh—"
While Illya was feeling somewhat uneasy about this: "Shirou, I don't know much about days like Valentine's Day, and the chocolate I made seems a bit of a failure... but I still hope you will accept it." Saber said this and took out the chocolate she had made.
Then, under Sakura's twitching gaze, such scenes continued to unfold.
Medea: "Master, I have studied dessert making seriously. Please accept this."
Nero: "Umu umu... Don't misunderstand! This is just a repayment for letting me live in this house, just a friendship chocolate!"
Jeanne: "After doing so many terrible things to me, are you still expecting chocolate? Well... I did have a piece that I wasn't very satisfied with, so I'll just use it to torture you. It doesn't matter to me if you refuse."
Ana: "Shirou, I really worked hard on it. Although it looks a bit like a failure, the taste should be barely passable, you... can you accept it?"
And then— Ding-dong! The doorbell rang, and Shirou went to open the door.
Rin, Scáthach, Karna, Arjuna, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the knights of the Round Table... It was already a lot of people standing at the door, but shouldn't it be the women giving the gifts on Valentine's Day?
"You guys are..."
Before Shirou could finish his sentence, Rin shoved the chocolate into Shirou's hand with a flushed face. "Why are there so many people here? It's so shameful... Anyway, just hurry up and take it!"
"Heh, it seems your way with women is quite good. I made liqueur chocolates. Although there is a rule here that minors cannot drink, I don't think you will strictly follow it, so you should just take them." Scáthach handed the chocolate to Shirou with a mature and charming smile, then walked into the house with Rin.
As for the remaining Heroic Spirits, they had no intention of entering the house, but took out their chocolates directly.
Wait a minute... "Are you guys also going to—!?" Shirou's expression became quite strange as he watched these guys pull out chocolates.
"Although Valentine's Day is not quite suitable, we cannot stay here for too long, so let's treat this as a farewell gift," Karna said with a smile. "We have shared some unforgettable memories. It is a great regret of mine that I could not win to the end with you. I hope we will have the opportunity to fight side-by-side again in the future."
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