Chapter 68: Chapter 63 - Valentine's Day (2)
For some reason, Akari had been avoiding the topic of Valentine's Day with Takei the entire day.
During lunch, they only made idle chatter that wasn't even remotely related to the current day.
Whenever Takei would bring up Valentine's Day as a topic, Akari would smoothly divert the conversation away.
At this point, Takei was feeling increasingly depressed about the situation.
Akari had left school in a hurry and told him to take his time coming home because she had to prepare something for him.
With no other choice, Takei visited the arcade to waste some time.
It had been quite a while since he had last visited the arcade.
Nothing much was changed, but it was still nostalgic to think that he used to visit this arcade very often before he became an apostle of the goddess.
I still don't get paid for this job...
Chuckling to himself, Takei decided to put those thoughts aside.
Takei felt like getting Akari a present, so he decided to go to the claw machines today.
Heading over to his usual spot, Takei eyed a stuffed animal that Akari most likely would adore.
The claw machine wasn't particularly hard to handle, but the stuffed animal was in a hard-to-reach spot.
That meant that Takei would have to put in more effort than usual.
Sighing, Takei focused on the prize and switched to his game face.
"Let's get to work..."
***
An hour at the arcade passed and Takei finally made it back home with his earnings.
"I'm home."
He stated indifferently as he entered through the front door.
"Welcome back?"
Akari was there to greet him, but she was confused about the big bag that he was holding.
"What is that?" She asked.
Seeing her confused state, a satisfied grin appeared on Takei's face.
"Let's eat dinner first."
For some reason, Takei's whole family was not home on this day.
They decided to suddenly announce that they would be gone all day and would not return home until late that night.
Takei concluded that they were being simply considerate of him and Akari, so he mentally thanked them in his head.
Placing the bag down at the corner of his seat at the dinner table, Takei went into the bathroom in order to wash his hands.
He came back shortly after and helped plate the food with Akari.
Then, both of them sat down and began to eat the food after giving their thanks.
As they were eating, a delicate topic was brought up by the goddess.
"By the way, who gave you chocolates today?"
She asked for something that could be perceived as a simple question, yet was actually a minefield for Takei.
Takei wanted to lie about who he had received chocolates from, but he had a sinking feeling that she would be able to see through his lies.
Deciding that the only choice was to tell the truth, Takei braced himself for the consequences.
"Helena and Rikka..."
"..."
As expected, the temperature of the room dropped a few degrees after Takei revealed who he had received chocolates from.
However, this time he was ready. Takei had expected beforehand for Akari to be jealous, so he prepared insurance.
"Putting that aside... I have a gift for you."
Replacing the displeased expression on her face, an expectant one appeared instead.
Takei mentally pumped his fists as he pulled out the bag from under him.
"Here you go. Take a look."
Doing as instructed by Takei, Akari opened the bag to reveal a multitude of stuffed animals.
There was an exceptionally big animal which turned out to be the big prize that Takei had won.
Earlier in the arcade, Takei noticed a cute panda plushie that Akari definitely would've wanted.
That's why he had to try his best to get it, since he expected it to be her favorite.
Luckily, his predictions seemed to be correct.
Akari was looking at the panda plushie with stars in her eyes.
"Adorable..."
Akari muttered a single word since she was too preoccupied playing around with the panda.
After a few moments of messing around with the panda plushie, Akari returned to her senses and gasped at the amount of animals that were in the bag.
"Hey... Isn't this a lot of money?"
In response to that, Takei could only shrug.
"Money's no object if it brings you happiness."
After such a dazzling reply, there was no way Akari could be unharmed.
"How can you say something like that so naturally..."
The goddess began to melt into a puddle of water as she recoiled from the intensity of Takei's smooth talking.
It took many more moments before Akari would recover from the shame and embarrassment that she was being inflicted with.
After the dinner shenanigans were over and the dishes cleaned, Akari motioned Takei to sit down on the couch.
He did as instructed and waited patiently as Akari went to go grab something from the kitchen.
Returning after a short disappearance, Akari held a plastic bag in her hands that was easily recognized by Takei.
It was the fabled homemade chocolates that he had been waiting all day for.
Akari smiled gently at his excited reaction and handed the bag over to him.
"It's a little bit late, but... I made some chocolates for you."
The gentle expression on her face was replaced by the expression of a maiden-in-love.
Takei was always excited to see the bashful Akari, so he happily accepted the chocolates.
"Is it okay if I try some right now?"
"Please."
The goddess accepted Takei's proposal to eat her chocolate instantly.
With nothing left stopping him, Takei dove head first and plopped a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
"Well? How does it taste?"
Akari was anxiously awaiting Takei's evaluation of her chocolate.
As Takei kept on chewing, many different impressions came to his mind.
The chocolate is surprisingly fluffy, even though it's milk chocolate. Instead of the mature taste of dark chocolate, it has an innocent and springy taste that's just perfect for my palate. It's like this chocolate was specially designed with Takei Tanaka in mind...
After mulling over the details for some time, Takei finally reached a conclusion.
"This is the best chocolate I have ever eaten! If you educate the world about your cooking style and technique, there will surely be a cooking revolution!"
"Denied."
Even though Akari was happy that her chocolate was praised, she refused to share her secrets with the entire world.
"Why?" Takei said, dejectedly.
Akari sweetly glanced at him before revealing her true reason.
"I only want my cooking to be tasted by you..."
Akari ended up saying that in a weak tone since she was feeling extremely bashful about her bold statement.
"..."
It didn't matter though, since that weak tone along with the bold message was enough to send Takei off the deep end.
In other words, the sheer heroine power fried Takei's brain to the point of no return.
Even a higher being wouldn't be able to save him from the sugar overload now.
---
Akari's Final Affection Meter: 3 -> 8%
Of course, the Valentine's Day event was able to bring her affection for him up. She was once again reminded of his kindness and thoughtfulness.
Serious-san: I have come back for my revenge! Bahahaha! Witness my true power in the next chapter!
Sugar-san: More of a cameo than truly coming back...
A/N: Side note, I launched my patroen page today. Only subscribe if you're feeling generous. Donations are cool and all, but please don't strain yourself. Akari would be sad :(
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone