On the thirteenth day of the Month of Wood, inside her castle deep within the Great Forest of the Demon Realm, Liliwood Yggdrasil looked deeply troubled.
Valentine’s Day was tomorrow, and like many others, she intended to give a gift of chocolate to her beloved partner.
Liliwood had recently assisted the Phantasm King, Alice, in producing what was arguably the world’s finest cacao. As part of their agreement, she had requested a portion of the finished chocolate. Now, she held in her hands a product crafted with supreme ingredients and peerless technique.
She had planned to follow several cookbooks to arrange the chocolate into a proper gift for Kaito, but she had suddenly remembered a critical detail that now left her in a state of distress.
"...This is a problem... After all... I have no sense of taste."
As a Spirit of the World Tree, Liliwood’s nature was essentially that of a plant. She required only a small amount of water and light to survive, and she had almost never eaten anything in her life. While she was physically capable of consumption, there had never been any reason to do so, and thus she had lived for tens of thousands of years without ever having a meal.
Consequently, even when she tried to sample her work, she couldn't tell if the flavor was good or bad. She had no way to judge if the chocolate was actually delicious.
"Mmm... Is this what people call 'sweet'? The recipe should be correct, but I still feel so uneasy."
Unable to trust her own senses, Liliwood crossed her arms and sank into thought. After pondering the matter for a while, a solution finally occurred to her. Gathering the chocolate and her ingredients, she manifested a Teleportation Magic Formula.
"...You can't... taste it?"
"Yes. Since I cannot determine if the flavor is acceptable, I find myself at a loss. If possible, I was hoping for your assistance..."
"...Okay... Leave it to me... I'll... help you."
"That would be a great help, Isis."
After much deliberation, Liliwood had decided to rely on her close friend, Isis Remnant, and visited her castle.
Isis greeted her wearing an adorable apron adorned with numerous ruffles. It seemed she was also in the midst of making Valentine's chocolate. Looking genuinely happy to be relied upon, Isis accepted the request with a joyful smile and guided Liliwood toward the kitchen.
However, in the hall leading to the kitchen, Liliwood spotted something truly bizarre.
"...Isis. What is that massive piece of metal over there?"
"...Hmm? ...That's... the chocolate mold."
"...Unless my eyes deceive me, that thing is larger than Megiddo."
"...Yes."
The mold was indeed larger than Megiddo, whose true form exceeded ten meters in height. Liliwood stared at it in bewilderment, but Isis simply nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"...Why on earth did you prepare a mold that large?"
"...This..."
"A book? Let’s see... 'The size of the chocolate is the size of your love; make a giant heart for your boyfriend.' I see."
The book Isis handed over appeared to be a Valentine feature from a magazine published in the Human Realm. It did indeed contain instructions for making a large heart-shaped chocolate. However, the "large" size described in the magazine was still within the bounds of common sense; it certainly didn't suggest making a chocolate larger than a standard house.
"...My love... for Kaito... is much bigger... than this. ...But... if I make it any larger... it won't fit in the castle... so I... compromised."
"No, let’s not do that. He won't be able to eat a chocolate of such monstrous proportions."
"...Eh? ...But... Shaltier... ate the whole prototype... and was... happy."
"You cannot use Shaltier as a benchmark for Kaito-san. She can convert anything she eats into magic power instantly, but Kaito-san is a normal human."
Apparently, Isis had made a prototype beforehand and had Alice taste-test it. Being Alice, she had finished the entire thing without a second thought. Kaito’s stomach, however, was that of an ordinary person; there was no way he could consume a gift several times larger than his own body.
"...B-But... if it's small... it's like... I don't love him enough."
"Kaito-san is a kind man. If you give him that, he will likely try to eat it even if it makes him ill. Isis, do you want Kaito-san to suffer?"
"I'd hate that!"
"That was a very quick response. In that case, let’s stick to a reasonable size. You can express the depth of your love through the flavor instead."
"...Okay... I understand."
Thanks to Liliwood’s intervention, the plan to gift Kaito a mountain of chocolate was successfully scrapped, and the two began working together. Liliwood’s base chocolate was already finished, so she focused on adding her own personal touch to the gift.
"...To make it more like myself... what should I do?"
"...Maybe... dried fruit chocolate? ...It feels... like you."
"I see, that’s an excellent suggestion. By the way, Isis, you’re very skilled at this."
"...I wanted... Kaito to have... the best chocolate... so I've been... practicing... for six months."
"That is truly impressive. I'm ashamed to admit I have almost no experience in the kitchen, so I would be grateful for any further instruction you can provide."
"...Mm... leave it to me."
The devoted Isis had been refining her technique for half a year in preparation for the holiday. Her movements were efficient and precise, earning Liliwood’s genuine admiration. Under Isis’s tutelage, Liliwood slowly finished her own project.
"I’m truly grateful. Thanks to you, it’s finished."
"...Mm."
With her task complete, Liliwood offered her thanks with a gentle smile. Isis nodded happily, then used Space Magic to pull out a beautifully wrapped glass bottle.
"...Liliwood... this is for you."
"...What is this?"
"...It's one day... early... but I heard... you give gifts... to dear friends... on Valentine's Day too."
"...Isis. Thank you so much."
"...Since you... don't eat... I made... sweet water."
Liliwood gazed warmly at the bottle.
"I’m relieved. It seems I wasn't the only one who prepared a gift."
"...Eh?"
"This is from me."
"...Ah... Chocolate..."
"I apologize if it’s a bit clumsy, but please accept this as a token of my friendship."
"...Thank you... I'm so happy."
Isis accepted the gift with a radiant smile. Savoring the happiness of knowing their feelings for one another were mutual, the two spent the next while chatting and laughing together.
The fact that they both chose to use the word "friend" rather than "family" was, perhaps, proof of just how special they considered their bond to be.