Dynamite Special From My Heart (1)
……
(I still remember the first time I gave Valentine’s chocolate to my beloved,
Happy Valentine’s Day… This is from me. I hope you’ll like it.
Oh, really? Thanks, Yuki-nii!
Wow, they look so good! Did you make them yourself?
Yeah. It was my first time making chocolate, so they’re pretty messy…
No, not at all! I’m super happy with them!
You are? In that case…
I’ll give you chocolate every Valentine’s Day from now on.
I’ll keep practicing so I can get better at making them. I promise.
Yep, it’s a promise! Eheheh, I’m excited just thinking about it!
The chief’s cuteness from back then reminds me of freshly steamed xiaolongbao…
…Okay, we lost the plot. Didn’t you want some advice on making chocolate?
Oh, right. I got a bit immersed in my memories of the chief.
I’m sorry about that. Especially since I’m the one who came to you for advice.
I don’t mind giving you advice, but I didn’t come here to listen to you walk down memory road, so can we get this thing done already?
I mean, the chocolate you made as a test tasted alright for an amateur, so it’s probably good enough to give to people who don’t know any better.
No, it can’t just be good in its flavor. I always put all of my efforts into making chocolate for the chief every year.
*sigh* So what exactly is the problem?
Hmm… Well, at first, the Yukikaze Original Chocolate I made was pretty simple. All I did was melt down chocolate and re-harden it, but…
I tried to make you a chocolate cake this year. I call it the Yukikaze Mach Spiral Chocolate Cake.
Happy Valentine’s Day. I made you a chocolate truffle this time. I named it the Yukikaze Triple Axel Truffle.
I tried making a chocolate sculpture this year. It’s in the shape of a beautiful swan. I call it the Yukikaze Eternal Swan Lake Chocolate.
Th-Thank you! Wow, a swan…!
Your chocolates are getting fancier every year, Yuki-nii.
I can’t cut any corners if it’s a gift for you. I’ll amp it up for next time too, so I hope you’ll like it.
…So I try to make a big improvement once every four years.
What is this? The Olympics?
Hm? But I was talking about chocolate, not sports.
*sigh…*
The chief is happy with what I give him every time and even tells me his thoughts on what I make, so it really makes it worth the effort.
But I don’t have any ideas for this year. I was planning on making something even more special and extravagant.
I just can’t come up with anything. I suppose I’ve hit a dead end.
You were kinda already on your way to hitting one if an entire chocolate sculpture is the bar you’re trying to clear.
And this year…
U-Um, well…! I’d kinda like to give it a try on my own this year, if that’s okay…
……
?
Oh, it’s nothing. I know there are greater heights I can reach if it’s for the chief’s sake… That’s why I came to you for help, Ushio.
I’ve started thinking that I should just go with something bold and fill my chocolates with shumai this year…
Are you being for real right now? You’ve really gone off the deep end, huh?
But I have to express my feelings to him…
Yeah, but you don’t have to keep doing different, crazier gifts every year to do that.
Maybe so…
Everyone can already see that you express your love for him way more than enough anyway.
Hmm…
(Yeesh.)
Well, things have really changed for the both of you recently, so maybe you could just go back to square one and remake something that’s important to him.
(…That’s something I read in a doujinshi once anyway. Man, that some was peak ReiOu content.)
…!
Something important to him… Maybe I focused so much on improving the scale that I lost sight of what the essence should be…
(If I truly wanted to express my feelings through my chocolate, I should’ve considered his feelings while I was making them.)
Thank you, Ushio. I think I’ll be able to make something great because of your help.
I just told you exactly what was on my mind, but okay.
But still, if I didn’t have your advice, I’d end up just forcing my feelings onto the chief.
…Hmph. Well, I hope he likes whatever you make.
Yeah.
(Now that that’s settled, I should get started. I hope I can make him happy this year too.)