Blythe had noticed that in the planner's calendar. It was weird that Valentine's Day was in late August, but she had bigger things to worry about.

  It was a relatively large event in the game, being inspired by the Japanese take on Valentine's Day—obligatory chocolate and romantic chocolate included. There was a cooking mini-game the player could choose to participate in if they wanted to give romantic chocolate to one of the love interests.

  Obligatory chocolate was typically store-bought and of lower quality than romantic chocolate in real life, and the game reflected that by allowing the player to buy obligatory chocolate during this season from the desserts stall in the dining hall.

  The player could give as many of the boys obligatory chocolate as they wanted, which was mostly a social convention of politeness towards one's acquaintances, but they were limited to only one boy for giving the romantic chocolate. Giving chocolate, whether it was the obligatory or romantic kind, increased that particular boy's affection level for the player.

  Since Magnus was officially engaged to Blythe, he was the only boy to whom the player could not give romantic chocolate the first two years. He would only accept romantic chocolate from the player in the final year if she was on his route.

  The boys who received chocolate from the player would also reciprocate on White Day in September.

  Unfortunately, not giving chocolate to boys that were at least acquaintance level would result in a drop in affection, because it could be perceived as a slight toward them. Not giving Magnus chocolate would be the equivalent of snubbing him, especially since he was her fiancé.

  It looked like Blythe didn't have a choice.

  "I might ask my chef to make some so I can give them to Magnus," she said. "I don't think I'm very good at making it myself."

  Why should she waste hours of her precious time hand making chocolate for him?

  Jessica's eyebrows shot up. "Even though you've already told him you're making him handmade chocolates this year?"

  She was already reaping the benefits of having Jessica as an ally who knew about her 'amnesia'. Blythe wrangled down the urge to clutch her head and groan in frustration. Why couldn't the original Blythe have just kept her mouth shut instead of excitedly sharing every detail of her plans with Magnus?

  Sighing, she looked at Jessica with pleading eyes. "He'd probably understand if I told him how poorly my attempt went, right?"

  "I suppose so ..." Jessica lowered her gaze. "I was looking forward to making it together with you if you were finding it difficult, but it can't be helped if you don't want to make it."

  "You were?" Blythe still remembered Jessica's offer from last week about making chocolate together in the student kitchen. "I thought you were just offering to help me out."

  Jessica nodded hastily. "I was, I was! But I also felt that making chocolate together with you would be fun, since I don't really get the chance to cook with you or Sophie. I'm the only one out of the three of us taking Culinary Arts and Patisserie Arts ..."

  "Oh, well, it does sound like it'd be fun, making chocolate together." Now that Jessica knew she didn't have all of the original Blythe's memories, and now that Blythe knew what those homemade chocolate truffles were for, she had less qualms about accepting her help.

  It wasn't that she didn't want to make it herself; she merely didn't feel like putting in all that effort only to give it to someone as annoying as Magnus. But the idea of doing it as a team activity with Jessica, potentially deepening their friendship even further, was very appealing.

  "Actually, let's do it."

  Jessica's amber eyes brimmed with hope as she stared into Blythe's. "Really? That would be so wonderful!"

  Blythe grinned back at her. "Yeah, really! When should we do it? Should we discuss this while we go to the library? We've been here for some time now."

  "Oh, yes!" Jessica scrambled to grab her bag off the glossy white countertop. "Let's go!"

  On their walk there, Jessica suggested going to the culinary section of the activities block—where the training hall and indoor pool was—after their library visit to check the available reservation slots for the student kitchens. It sounded like a good idea.

  When they arrived at the library, Blythe returned the book on beast taming to the same librarian who had helped her with checking it out. She looked around while the librarian put the book's cover under the registration machine.

  Many of the round, wooden tables were occupied by several students whose noses were buried in their books. The other students in the library were looking through the jam-packed bookshelves, pulling out and putting back books that had caught their interest.

  “Were you curious about beast taming?” Jessica asked as they left the circulation desk. “You were never interested before. Although … I suppose barely anybody who’s not a beast tamer has any interest in reading up on the subject.”

  “Something like that,” Blythe said. There was no need to tell her that she wanted to know why there were animals riding on the students' and professors' shoulders. "I think my interests have changed quite a bit after ... Wednesday."

  "Tell me about it," Jessica agreed, chuckling. "You'd never have tried so hard in PE class before that."

  She'd bought it somehow, even though Blythe didn't think amnesia affected one's interests.

  Suppressing a sigh of relief, Blythe turned to the numerous bookshelves on the first floor.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  "I'll browse around for a bit," she said. "We can sit at the café after that. Are you going to look for a book too?"

  Jessica shook her head. "I was thinking of going through our Beryllian literature reading. I'll go with you."

  Why did Blythe's friends always want to follow her around?! "Or you could get something to drink at the café while waiting for me—how about that?"

  "If that's what you want, Blythe," Jessica said, pouting throughout the sentence.

  She smiled reassuringly. "Yes, I don't want to make you follow me around. It's better for you to rest and wait for me."

  "It really wouldn't be any trouble—"

  "But I feel like it would be troublesome for you."

  With that, Jessica gave up on insisting and left for Luscious Cocoa, waving at Blythe as she went.

  Finally, she was free to check out books without restraint. She'd been planning on skimming through any interesting-looking introductory books related to her school subjects, and she didn't want any comments on just how devastating her 'memory loss' was.

  After some heavy searching, Blythe found a few books of various subjects providing intense revision material of the topics that specific-year students were expected to have learned by the end of that school year. She borrowed them, along with an embroidery book teaching different kinds of stitches and floral motifs.

  The borrowed books went straight into her bag before she made her way to the café. Blythe inhaled the mouth-watering aroma of hot chocolate permeating the café space, enjoying the smooth notes of butter from the pastries incorporated in it. She could see herself spending a lot of time here after moving into the dorms.

  Once she picked up her order, consisting of a hot chocolate and a butter scone, she went to Jessica's table.

  Jessica was sipping from a teacup. Upon seeing Blythe approach, she set it down on its white saucer. The clear, green liquid within trembled about as it sought to settle down.

  "Is that green tea?" she asked, sitting in the chair opposite Jessica.

  Jessica's eyes nearly popped out as she looked at the tray Blythe was placing on the table. "Yes, it's green tea. Is that ... hot chocolate? And a croissant?"

  Blythe didn't miss the incredulity in her voice. She could guess at why, especially when she glanced at the singular almond biscotti on Jessica's plate.

  "Yep. I just had this last Friday, but I loved it so much I just had to have it again. I know I never really ate things like this before, but since I've started exercising regularly, my appetite has increased." It was a good enough excuse.

  Then she tore off a chunk of the croissant and dunked it into her hot chocolate. It was delicious.

  "I see." Jessica's eyes were still wide. "Your interests really have changed so much."

  "Would you like to try some?"

  "Thanks for the offer, but I can't." Her smile was wistful. "I already had a sweet beverage during lunch. I don't exercise much, so I have to watch what I eat."

  Blythe suddenly remembered the conversation she'd had with Jessica and Sophie outside the embroidery classroom. They'd been stunned by her simply admitting she was looking forward to lunch. The original Blythe must have been on an extremely strict diet.

  "Oh, speaking of hot chocolate," Blythe said, attempting to change the subject to a more light-hearted one, "whom will you be giving obligatory chocolates to this year?"

  Blythe was technically acquaintances with the aristocratic love interests, but she wasn't sure if she was obligated to give them anything for Valentine's Day.

  Jessica perked up. "Other than my father, I'll have to give one to His Highness, naturally, and one to Cole, although I don't know if I'll be able to actually pass them to him. Let's see ... who else ..."

  "You don't know if you'll be able to pass them to Cole?" The odd phrasing made Blythe repeat it.

  "Did you forget?" Jessica sipped at her green tea again. "He always gets a tremendous volume of chocolates on Valentine's Day. On some years, he becomes so swamped with girls trying to give him their chocolates that I can't even give it to him. Well, it's not like he'd miss any obligatory chocolates with the amount of romantic chocolates he receives."

  Her words jogged Blythe's memory, and she recalled the ridiculous scenes that arose in the game whenever the player chose to give chocolates to Cole on Valentine's Day. After he received too many chocolates to carry, he would begin declining subsequent proffered chocolates and end up being chased down by nearly half the female student body, all of whom desperately wanted him to accept their chocolates. The game even had a mini-game exclusive to Cole that the player had to beat in order to present the chocolate to him.

  As a player, she'd always found the mini-game obnoxious but amusing. In real life, actually having to dodge all those fan girls just to give him some chocolate was indefensibly absurd. She couldn't see why any girl would bother with that.

  Then again, she'd always been the kind of person who shunned long lines and bought food from stalls that had nobody in line.

  "Yes, I remember that," she said, tearing off another piece of the croissant. "I guess I shouldn't bother getting him any, then."

  "Oh, I think you'll have to. Cole often looks for His Highness, so you're more likely to come into contact with him than me. It's better to be prepared."

  Given her earlier declaration of wanting to be a good fiancée, Blythe couldn't tell Jessica that she intended to stay away from Magnus as much as possible.

  Instead, she smiled and thanked Jessica for the useful information. Her friend went back to pondering her original question.

  "I mostly associate with the girls, so I don't really have any other boys I should give obligatory chocolate to. And Clyde will get my romantic chocolate, of course."

  "I'm sure he'll love it." Blythe savored the flakiness of the croissant in her mouth, listening to the background clatter of cups and cutlery around them.

  Pink crept through Jessica's cheeks. "Thanks, Blythe. I really hope so. And I'm sure His Highness will love and appreciate your handmade chocolate too!"

  It was all Blythe could do to keep her smile on her face.

  For the next hour, they sat at the café, nibbling on their snacks and sipping at their beverages while reading their respective academic materials. Wanting to avoid any uncomfortable conversations about how much or how little she 'remembered' in general, Blythe kept her borrowed books in the bag and pored over her current year's botany textbook.

  When they were done with their food, they left for the student kitchens. Jessica led Blythe to an office on that floor, where an administrative staff member showed them the available booking slots. The earliest one was on Wednesday, the day after tomorrow, so they went ahead with that one.

  "If you want to bring your own chocolate recipe book, please feel free!" Jessica said to Blythe as they made for the dormitory building. "I think it would be fun to try making those chocolate truffles together. If not, you could also make the chocolates from my recipe book."

  "Sure." While she wasn't hyped about making chocolate for Magnus, she liked the idea of trying a recipe together with her new best friend. It didn't hurt that Jessica knew her way around the kitchen even better than she did. Blythe could throw together a basic meal, which was probably still superior to anything the original Blythe could make, but it wasn't anything special.

  At the dining hall, Jessica spoke to the administrative staff member behind a counter in the very corner of the hall. Apparently, for the convenience of boarders who stayed in school, they could order ingredients for use in the student kitchens through this provided service. The order had to first be cleared by the parents of the student who placed the order, and then cost of the ingredients would be charged to them. If the ingredients were already available in school, they could be picked up at any time. If they weren't immediately available, then the student would have to wait for it to be delivered.

  They placed an order for a few things that would be needed to make chocolate. Since those were basic ingredients that were already available from the school inventory, they arranged for the item collection to be on Wednesday.

  She parted ways with Jessica at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dormitories.

  After Blythe got home, she collapsed onto her bed, unheeding of Suzy's feeble attempts at convincing her to change her clothes. She'd only been in this world for less than a week, but she was exhausted.

  The only thing that comforted her was that she had Jessica to help her with whatever she'd 'forgotten' now. Sleep hovered over her, forcing her eyelids shut. She struggled to stay awake, knowing that she had so much to catch up on with the books she'd just borrowed from the library, but it was an exercise in futility. Her comfortable mattress quickly lulled her to sleep.