Chapter 16: Valentine's Day Great War (Part 1)

  If you compare the world of Zorvath to Earth, one gold coin is roughly equivalent to 100 RMB. So when Cecilia casually tossed a delicate small pouch containing 200 gold coins onto the table, Eliysha suddenly felt like biting her.

  But it's still not enough.

  Fundraising has reached its limit. This isn't the wealthy B class, and it's already a miracle that they managed to scrape together 237 gold coins from the "Passing Soy Sauce Crowd" formed by A-class students. Perhaps Sophia might have a way to raise funds comparable to Cecilia's, but Eriol doesn't think this noble lady who didn't even bring an escort would lower herself to ask her family for money. So, that's all there is.

  This amount of money is enough to show sincerity, but Eri always felt that helping others should be done thoroughly, and she really wanted to make up the rest of the money.

  However, she has no way of making money now, unless she uses the gold coins in front of her as capital to gamble - which is clearly impossible.

  "Well, anyway, I've handed over this month's allowance to you." Cecilia said leisurely as she sipped her red tea, "Next, I won't bother with it anymore. I still have to prepare Valentine's Day chocolates for Little Fa a week later."

  It was truly a wake-up call for Eliya, who suddenly realized that the best opportunity to make money was right next to her.

  "Sophia, is it allowed for students to set up stalls in the academy?" Eliysha rearranged her thoughts and found that it was indeed possible, so she asked.

  "Ah, yes, the lawn in front of the lake between the male and female dormitories is where the stalls are set up. On rest days, it becomes a flea market among students."

  "Alright! Everyone, let's set off immediately. We're going to the wholesale market outside of school to buy things!" Elisia stood up and announced loudly, but was met with a chorus of groans, which were naturally ineffective in changing her mind.

  "Are you planning to use this money as capital, buy some goods and sell them in the college on Valentine's Day?" Sophia asked quietly while everyone was walking out of the door. "Although it's a good idea, what if we lose money?"

  "Don't worry, I won't use that big shot's 200 gold coins. We've always only done small-time and no-cost business." Elisia winked at Sophia with a smile.

  This time even Sophia didn't know what she was up to.

  Zorvath's exchange rate of gold coins to silver coins, and silver coins to copper coins, was 1:100, leaving Eriol feeling that Rockli's shameless spirit knew no bounds. However, in this world where goods were abundant, inflation wasn't severe, and just a few silver coins could buy many things - of course, referring to daily necessities. So Eriol didn't worry about the cost.

  However, it's worth mentioning that Little Loli went to exchange gold coins with the members of the Light Music Department and Mahjong Department yesterday. As a result, she was informed by that despicable three-nothing voice that the rewards were random - she suspected that this was all set up by Lockley on purpose. Under her utter speechlessness, her spatial bracelet ended up with the following items:

  A set of 20 bottles of Spring Brother's Miracle Water that can cure any injury no matter how severe in just a few minutes... sorry, it's actually Treatment Medicine; two sets of Recovery Medicine that greatly increase magic power and HP recovery speed; two Colt M1911s with infinite bullets loaded with selectable elemental magic bullets - Eri always thought this was definitely tampered with by Lockley to let her play Cosplay; next is a wind-element dual-handed magic sword, its golden luxurious hilt and sharp shining blade are quite impressive, if not mentioning its name, Little Lori would probably be very happy to accept it - the Victory Oath Sword. By the way, if you really want to reward someone, at least give them the scabbard!! And having a head of blonde hair with a stupid-looking cowlick doesn't make anyone a king!!

  Finally, what made Xiao Loli collapse was that the rewards actually included game poster character figurines, new comics, body pillows, daily necessities such as rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, as well as a pack of sanitary napkins with the words "Comfort Prize" stuck on it...

  If all of the above can still be considered understandable, then the "Thank you for your patronage" note exchanged by Kyotaro is enough to make one's eyes well up with tears.

  After exchanging countless absurd things, the little loli finally gave up on the idea of exchanging items for money - selling medicine is a no-go, that's common sense; the Colt M1911 is a banned weapon and not an option; as for the Sword of Victory, it would definitely sell for a good price, but... as a loving pseudo-otaku, even if she were to reverse-engineer the possibility of her uncle being a weirdo in the 3D world, it's still more likely than her selling the Sword of Victory.

  So there was the scene at the beginning where everyone pitched in money.

  37 gold coins were spent by Eriol leading a group of soy sauce enthusiasts, and in return they got a big pile of small trinkets. Fortunately, Eriol's bracelet was large enough, otherwise it would have been difficult for so few people to carry them. After spending some time decorating some of them with the purchased paint and varnish, Eriol believed that they would definitely sell well on Valentine's Day.

  The only problem is that so many things can't be sold on just a small stall, and when the time comes, the occupied area will definitely be very large. This also means that Eriol alone will absolutely not be able to handle it, she must need help. But finding someone to help from these professional idlers is as difficult as the Chinese men's football team winning the World Cup.

  The little loli couldn't help but start thinking about who she wanted to catch as her partner.

  Ilya should be willing to help, but setting up a stall with him would mean facing Hua Yin's endless harassment, PASS; As for Hua Yin... PASS; (Li Hua Yin: Wait! Why is there only one English word "cup" in the part about me!?); Sophia might be able to come and help if she's given some benefits, but owing a favor to the腹黑女 (腹黑 means "dark belly", referring to someone who appears kind on the surface but has ulterior motives) isn't a good idea, PASS; Cecilia won't have time that day, PASS; Muxue would be a good choice as a signboard girl, but don't expect her to handle money, PASS; I'm not familiar with Yuè Gē, and she's a pseudo-three (meaning someone who is pretending to be something they're not), so it's unlikely she'd introduce products to customers, PASS; As for Qià Xī, there shouldn't be any problems, so it'll just be Qià Xī!

  For no reason at all, Khasi, who was walking on one side, felt a chill.

  ================================I am a divider line================================

  February 11th, another sunny and pleasant afternoon suitable for going out.

  Ilya was dragged away by several brothers in the same dormitory, and now the dormitory is all girls.

  "Huh? Valentine's Day chocolate?" Eriol looked at Vachess in surprise, who had come to ask the soy sauce crowd about their chocolate preparations. "Can't you just buy one casually?"

  Eriol, who had never received chocolates on Valentine's Day while she was on Earth, couldn't help but feel extremely cat-pained about having to prepare chocolates to give out after crossing over.

  "No way, Eriol. Of course, I'm going to choose carefully before buying!" Cecilia pulled out a beautifully packaged paper box and raised an objection, "At the very least, it has to be as good as this 'Sugar House' brand."

  "Normally, no one would spend 10 gold coins to buy a box of chocolates as a gift, right?"

  Watching the daily complaints of the soy sauce department, Wakissa said cautiously: "You know, have you guys ever thought... about making it yourself?"

  Silent.

  "It's really impressive that you can ask such a question in this club where people usually just slack off." After a brief moment of silence, Eriol stood up and patted Vachess on the shoulder who was sitting in her chair looking puzzled about what she did wrong.

  "I think chocolate should be made by hand, don't you?" Wakissa said nervously, fidgeting with the braid on her right side. "That way, it can better convey one's feelings."

  Then Cecilia was the first to raise her hand: "Well, I'll come and do one myself!"

  "It sounds like fun, count me in." Sophia said elegantly, raising her pale right hand on one side.

  "Huh? Sophia, are you going to send someone?" Little Lori couldn't help but be surprised.

  "No, nothing. I'll just spread chili sauce on the surface and tell the boys it's handmade chocolate then throw it into the crowd."

  "...I'll tell Ilya to keep away from you that day."

  "Count me in too." Li Hua, who had been listening on the side, also raised her hand and said, "I want to make a lot of chocolates."

  "I won't accept it beforehand." Eriol said expressionlessly. Then Li Hua turned to stone and shattered.

  Finally, along with the moon song that didn't have this custom, Erihlya who was at a loss, Misheru who completely didn't understand the situation and Chasi who held up a wooden sign for soy sauce were all dragged away together to the activity room of the cooking club where Vachis was.

  "Today our club doesn't have any activities, everyone can use these equipment freely." Wakissa said.

  "Even if you say so, I suppose it's likely that only you will be using this place anyway." Eriol, who had spent most of her time before reincarnation traveling and never cooked, said with a black line on her head, "You'd better teach me carefully."

  "Don't worry, we're all girls, I believe you'll get the hang of it soon." Wakissa said with a smile.

  I've been hit...

  After a period of time, the finished product was made.

  The members of the soy sauce department were all covered in black lines and grayish-white, lying on the ground in an ORZ shape. As for Wakissa, she had long been scared to hide under the table.

  A dark purple mist was constantly emerging from the table where the finished product was placed, and the liquid flowing out of the container was like a juice from a carnivorous plant in the depths of the abyss, making one's hair stand on end. The finished product itself was already obscured by the smoke and could not be seen clearly, but a mournful cry that seemed to come from the other side of the River Styx was distinctly transmitted from within.

  "What is this we're doing?" Cecilia said, completely drained of energy.

  "A one-way ticket straight to the depths." Eriol was at a loss for words, although she had already guessed that this might be the outcome, but when it really happened, she was still speechless.

  "Perhaps we shouldn't have come..." Khrasi shook his head and sighed.

  "No, no, no, we should practice more." Li Hua stood up and said with a loud voice, "Everyone is from beginner to skilled, don't be discouraged!"

  "Woe is me, what's wrong with everyone?" Just then, Misha appeared holding a bright and shiny square of chocolate, "Why does everyone look so down in the dumps?"

  Everyone fell silent as they gazed at the chocolate in Misha's hand, whose appearance could be described as perfect.

  Li Hua suddenly snatched the chocolate from Mishi: "Wow! Mishi, you did a great job! Let me have a taste..."

  Lihua's face suddenly turned dark green and he fell straight down.

  "I knew it." Elisha rubbed her slightly aching head and said, "You can't just eat anything that's naturally stupid."

  "Wo, what a big river... " Li Hua murmured in a daze.

  "Hey! Don't take it so lightly!!"

  At this time, shouldn't it be something like "Don't go past, come back quickly"?

  At the same time, in a certain dormitory of the boys' dormitory.

  "Bartholomew, what exactly did you bring us together for?" Ilya asked, plopping down in a chair he'd randomly selected.

  Bartol swept his gaze over the people in the dormitory, including his roommates Ilya, Tom, Sun Xiang, and Sophie, who had been dragged along to make up the numbers. With a flourish of his hand, he declared: "Brothers, in just three days' time, it will be Valentine's Day! Don't you guys expect to receive carefully wrapped chocolates from girls? Don't you yearn for the chance to start a romantic love affair?"

  Seeing Ilya raise his hand to speak, Batru pointed at him with force and shouted: "You, the master of the (divine beast) palace who joined a club consisting only of beautiful girls, are not allowed to speak!!"

  Ilya had no choice but to put down his hand and remain silent.

  "Butler continued, 'In order to make those male classmates who are not popular with girls feel left out, I proposed a proposal that the two A classes of our first-year martial arts and magic departments would unite on February 14th to attract attention - originally it should have been like this, but later the people in both classes were arguing about who could receive the most chocolate, and the joint activity turned into a competitive performance. However, this has nothing to do with us, we should take advantage of this opportunity to collect chocolates everywhere and look for romance.'"

  "After all this, what are you going to do?" Tom asked impatiently.

  "We won't be participating in the noisy activities of the large group, we'll disperse and act freely on our own." Batru glanced at Ilya, "However, I have a proposal. We have a guy here who is 100% likely to receive chocolates, which makes us uncomfortable. So, Ilya, sorry to ask, but can you hand over your student ID on Valentine's Day?"

  "What?! Why?!"

  "Don't let you eat. In case some girl wants to give you chocolate, she'll be scared away by your evil wolf-like appearance." Batru gritted his teeth and said, "You, with your ordinary looks and no charm, who would die if you didn't eat for a day, why did you receive an invitation from the 'Passing Soy Sauce Group'!? I absolutely won't let you get a single piece of chocolate, absolutely not!"

  At this moment, Balthazar is no longer fighting alone.

  Sun Xiang, who had been secretly watching, said: "This isn't right, no matter what, you can't let others go hungry for a whole day."

  Sophie nodded in agreement beside him, "That's right, a bit too much."

  "A bit too much?! Compared to us poor, neglected losers who can only watch with envy as those winners laugh and collect chocolates from girls, this is nothing!!" Bartle roared.

  The blackened soul of Bartholomew thoroughly suppressed that faint dissenting voice.

  Since the die has been cast, Ilya decided to eat as much as possible on the eve of Valentine's Day...

  I am a divider line

  "What is this?" Eriol asked, staring at the object in front of her.

  "Is it a lava volcano?"

  Cecilia: "Hell's Blood Pool."

  Li Hua yin: "On special days every month, girls use... uh! (gets punched)"

  Mishelle: "Watermelon ice cream."

  Sofia: "Abstract art pieces."

  Vakisa: “……”

  "Seriously!!" Eriol shouted, tugging at her hair. "If you want to create postmodern abstract art, use mud or something, not chocolate! Is this really a work of art?! If someone threw this into the hallway in the middle of the night, it would definitely become the school's urban legend!"

  The result was that the second attempt still failed. However, compared to the first time when I was in a deep pit, this time it's at least passable, and there is significant progress here. Congratulations are in order.

  "Whatever, I think I'll just buy a random chocolate instead." Elisha sighed and said, "Who knows what else will happen if we keep going on like this."

  "Right, besides it's getting late and almost time for dinner. Let's head back."

  "Just as everyone was walking out, Cecilia spoke up: 'Sorry, everyone. You all go ahead, I want to stay a bit longer. Don't wait for me.'"

  Sophia was about to persuade, but was suddenly pulled by Eri. The little loli shook her head and drove everyone out. As she walked to the door, Eri stopped and said with her back to Cecilia who was still busy: "I'll send dinner over in a while."

  "Ah, thank you."

  Haha, Fabiano, you're really a lucky guy!

  As a result, Cecilia did not return that night. Early in the morning, Erihija led a group of soy sauce people to rush to the cooking department to see the situation.

  Alicia knocked on the door: "Cecilia, are you still in there?"

  "Oh, it's Eriol. I'm inside, just wait a moment." Cecilia's voice through the door sounded quite exhausted.

  Sophia whispered in Eriol's ear, intentionally using a voice that everyone could hear: "Cecilia sounds like she hasn't slept all night, I wonder if she'll become a witch from now on?"

  "Waaah!" The natural airhead next to her was shocked, "How can this be!?"

  "Misora, this is obviously a joke, don't be so startled." Eriol said helplessly.

  The door opened, and a black impure aura emanated from her entire body. Her face was pale, as if she had aged several decades overnight. The final BOSS of the ancient castle, Cecilia, appeared before everyone's eyes.

  "I've really become a witch~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!"

  Then Eriol yelled at the sky: "I know you're around here! Come out, you damn pyramid scheme monster QB! Today, my favorite senior and Kuroba's grudge will be settled with you!!"

  "What are you yelling about?" Cecilia couldn't help but be perplexed.

  "Not much, just trying to liven up the atmosphere a bit early in the morning." Eriol smiled and said, "Cecilia, how are you?"

  Cecilia stretched out her thumb and smiled sweetly.

  Eriol smiled too, but her smile only lasted for a few seconds before it froze and she burst into hysterics: "What the heck is going on in this kitchen that looks like a battlefield after a real-life PK!!"