“Ah, Kent, good morning.”
“Good morning, Patty.”
When Kent entered Marie’s Bakery, Patty was just wiping down a table right in front of him. She stopped and turned to Kent, greeting him.
“As expected of you, Kent. You’ve already received your presents, haven’t you?”
“Ah, this? I just met Otsupain before entering the shop and received this.”
“Is that so?”
Patty said, looking at the heart-shaped box Kent held in his hand. He had received this box from Otsupain earlier, and the heart-shaped boxes he got from Marie and Catherine were at home.
*Gruff gruff*
“Hm?”
As Kent was talking to Patty, someone tugged at his clothes from behind.
“Hanako? Good morning. Do you need something from me?”
“Mm, good morning. I forgot this at home.”
“Come to think of it, Marie-san asked me to bring it. Thank you, Hanako. …Oh?”
It seemed Hanako had brought him a tote bag he had forgotten at home. Marie had given it to him, saying he would need it today. When Kent took the tote bag from Hanako, he noticed something inside.
“Ah, this.”
“Mm, from me.”
“Thank you, Hanako.”
“Mm, then I’ll get back to preparing for the opening.”
Inside the tote bag was one heart-shaped box. It was from Hanako, and after confirming Kent had received it, Hanako blushed slightly and returned to her preparations.
“Kent sure is popular, isn’t he?”
“Hahaha.”
When Patty teased him, Kent didn’t know how to respond and gave a wry smile.
“Well then, this is from me too. Here you go.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Kent put the heart-shaped box he received from Otsupain into the tote bag, and then Patty handed him a box.
“It’s a token of my gratitude for all the help you’ve given me.”
The box Patty handed him was not heart-shaped but square. This box was used to express gratitude.
“And this is from Mother.”
“Oh!”
With that, Patty placed another square box on top of the box Kent was holding.
“Thank you. I don’t get to see her often, so I’d be happy if you could tell Eliza-san my thanks as well.”
“I will. I’ll let Mother know that Kent was happy to receive it.”
Kent only had the opportunity to meet Patty’s mother, Eliza, at her shop. Since he had no plans to visit the shop for the time being, he asked Patty to pass on a message.
“Also…”
“Hm? What is it?”
Patty’s expression changed from what it was a moment ago, and she seemed hesitant to speak.
“Actually, I’m holding onto one more thing. But honestly, I’m really worried about whether I should give it to you.”
“Is that so? But if you’re holding onto it, wouldn’t it be a problem for the other person if you didn’t give it to them, considering they entrusted it to you?”
“Th-that’s right. I’m just holding onto it, so I should just think of it that way. Please take it then.”
“Eh?”
When Kent mentioned that the person who entrusted it to him might be troubled, Patty was spurred by his words and decided to hand over the box she was holding. Patty placed another box on top of Eliza’s box. However, Kent was surprised by the shape of the box.
“This is from my sister, Till.”
“Hahaha, please tell Till-chan thank you too.”
The box entrusted to her by Till, Patty’s sister, was heart-shaped. She was only eight years old, so he wasn’t sure what direction her feelings of affection were, but he interpreted it as likely being similar to family affection and accepted it.
“I’ll tell her. Ah, I’m in the middle of cleaning. Kent, let’s both work hard today.”
“Thank you. Let’s do our best.”
With that, Patty returned to her cleaning work. Kent placed the box he received from Patty into the tote bag.
“Keeeent~”
“Whoa!”
Just as Kent was about to start preparing for the opening, someone hugged him from behind. However, he immediately knew who it was by the feel of their back.
“Elnet? Good morning.”
“Ah, good morning. Say, Kent, weren’t you just thinking something very rude?”
“N-no, of course not?”
“Why the question?”
Kent understood it was Elnet by the feel of her back, which lacked the soft feminine touch. Among those of similar height at this shop, only Elnet had that lack of softness. For those of similar disposition, such as Catherine, Caro, Al, and Hanako, they were excluded from consideration due to their short stature.
*Thump*
“Ow!”
As Elnet asked her question, four yellow washbasins flew and hit Kent.
“Who threw Ke-lin’s washbasin?!”
Kent yelled in the direction the washbasins had come from.
“It’s Kent’s fault for thinking rude things!”
“That’s right. I still believe I’ll grow!”
“I’m intentionally keeping myself small.”
“Mm, I threw one since I’m here.”
There stood Caro, Catherine, Al, and Hanako, protesting to Kent.
“You fairies, stop reading people’s minds!”
Contracted fairies gain the ability to read their master’s thoughts to a certain extent. Therefore, Kent deduced that one of them had sensed his rude thoughts.
“Mm, Master is angry. Apology.”
“Wh-what, I can’t read minds that precisely! Hanako read yours!”
It seemed Hanako was the one who had read his mind.
“Mm, Su-ma-ko.”
“Gah! Forget it, all four of you, get back to work!”
After Hanako offered a insincere apology, Kent forcibly dispersed them.
“As lively as ever. Well, I do like the atmosphere of this shop. Oh, I almost forgot. Today is Love Thanks Day. I’ll ride this big wave too. So, here, Kent.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Kent, overwhelmed by Elnet’s momentum, accepted the heart-shaped box.
“Alright, mission accomplished. I’m going back to work now.”
Elnet said and returned to her work. Kent put the heart-shaped box he received from Elnet into the tote bag.
“Good morning.”
“Ah, good morning, Josette.”
“It’s a beautiful day today.”
“Indeed. Though the sky is still completely dark.”
As Kent began preparing for opening and working in the kitchen, Josette spoke to him.
“Th-that’s right. Let’s work hard today too.”
“Yes. Let’s do our best.”
After a brief conversation with Kent, Josette quickly returned to her own work.
“Huh?”
Given their good relationship, Kent had expected Josette to give him a heart-shaped box. However, Josette showed no such signs and simply returned to her work.
“Older brother, you got rejected.”
“Kk, no need to say unnecessary things.”
“Ow!”
Rachel, who had been watching the scene, teased him. Hearing this, Kent instinctively lashed out and lightly chop-smashed her on the head.
“Violence is not tolerated!”
“I didn’t hit you that hard!”
“Well, I do understand that you’re holding back.”
Rachel, having been Kent’s sister in a previous world, was accustomed to such exchanges.
“Hmm, my older brother, hm~. So popular. Before, you never received Valentine’s chocolate from anyone other than me. You’ve got a great catch this year.”
“W-well, yeah.”
Rachel said, looking at the tote bag placed near Kent. Having never received Valentine’s chocolate from anyone other than his sister before, Kent was a little embarrassed by her words upon receiving boxes from multiple women for a similar event.
“Just in case, I prepared something for you too, older brother, but maybe it wasn’t necessary.”
“That’s not true. You’re the only one who’s given me one every year, and I’m very grateful. So, please give it to me again this year.”
“If you say it like that, I can’t refuse. I’m telling you, this is as family, okay? Make sure you don’t mistake that.”
With that, Rachel, her face bright red, handed Kent a heart-shaped box.
“Thank you always.”
“You’re welcome. Well then, I’ll get back to work. Marie-san will get angry if I stop working for too long.”
“Yes, yes.”
When Kent expressed his gratitude, Rachel, with a satisfied expression, returned to her work.
