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There were chocolates on the counter.
This was what Little Sun saw when he scrambled for breakfast that morning.
Because of his duty as the pope, Little Sun often had to go to the church early in the morning, having to miss breakfast or just make do with any edible ingredients he could find. Although he loved food very much, he was as skilled in the kitchen as Mr. Star was with poetry.
Even though an angel didn't need to eat as much anymore, he still felt delight in eating delicious food. It reminded him to always be grateful and that this wonderful new home Mr. Fool had graced them was real. Besides, Ms. Justice always encouraged such a human routine.
One day, Mr. World, who always woke up even earlier than him, saw him hurrying out with a piece of radish hanging from his mouth. To his extreme embarrassment, secret delight, and overwhelming gratitude, Mr. World started to leave him a plate of breakfast whenever he had the time to cook in the morning.
Little Sun was beyond happy. Mr. World was such an excellent cook!
Today's breakfast was a huge plate of sandwiches. A simple dish in Mr. World's standard. Perhaps because he had to hurry and head to Intis for his next mission. Little Sun had just picked up the plate and was about to go to the dining room when his eyes landed onto something on top of the kitchen counter.
Nine little gift boxes were stacked neatly, with different Major Arcana cards pinned on top of each.
‘Take according to your card,’ was written on a piece of paper next to them, the penmanship sharp and elegant.
It was Mr. World's handwriting.
The Tarot Club members were used to this. Since Mr. World had taken to recreating ancient recipes, he would share his experiments with everyone. But as not everyone was available all the time, he would always ask first and tell them whenever he planned to make something to figure out how many servings he should make. As a true Moretti, he would never allow food waste. He'd often leave the share belonging to the absent members in the kitchen for them to find when they came home.
But he didn't say anything this time.
“Is it from Klein?” Mr. Star popped up out of nowhere, startling the poor child. Really, one could never guard against the silent footsteps of a Servant of Concealment.
“Good morning, Mr. Star. Yes, it appears so.”
Mr. Star languidly returned a good morning, stealing one of Little Sun's sandwiches and inspected the gift boxes with interest.
“Chocolates? Quite fancy.”
He proceeded to eagerly rummage the pile for the Star gift box.
Little Sun looked up to see two people coming in from outside. “Good morning, Ms. Justice, Mr. Moon.”
Ms. Justice had just inspected her garden while Mr. Moon had spent yet another night in his laboratory.
Mr. Moon just nodded as a greeting, not answering the good morning verbally, clearly still sulking about his latest debate with Little Sun.
Ms. Justice sighed in her heart. When would Mr. Moon act like a proper adult? Even Little Sun had become more mature than him. But then again, his awkward and clumsy ways to bond with everyone was certainly what was endearing about him.
“Good morning, Mr. Sun, Mr. Star. Is this a gift from Mr. World?” Ms. Justice smiled as she walked into the kitchen, inspecting the chocolates on the counter with curiosity. “He should've said something. Some of us had gone to work.”
Mr. Moon took a box with his card on it. “Where's he?”
“He has to go to Intis this time. Ms. Empress isn't around and something suspected to be a grade 0 artifact is causing trouble in a small town,” answered Little Sun, setting aside his finished sandwich plate and picking up his box eagerly. He loved everything Mr. World made!
“The one suspected to have been corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire?” Mr. Star chuckled. “Klein's gonna hate it.”
Only the four of them were in the manor today. Or five, if they had to count Ms. Magician who had locked herself in her room fighting against the latest installment of her novels. Ms. Judgement had said that she could sleep like the dead for fourteen hours after finishing a manuscript. Not even a doomsday could wake her up.
The boxes were not big, each containing a dozen pieces of thumb-sized chocolate pralines. Soon, they knew the reason why each box was pinned with their respective cards, because each set of pralines were different.
When Mr. Star opened his box, a strong scent of roses filled the air. On each praline, a single red rose petal sat delicately.
“Really, why does he always associate me with feminine things…” grumbled the former poet.
Little Sun honestly thought for an answer, “Maybe it's like that one word that Ms. Empress often said, Mr. Star. It's just your… vibe.”
Mr. Star choked on his piece of chocolate. “Cough, I don't understand what you mean—Hey, it's got rose liqueurs in it!”
“Mine's Sonia Blood Wine,” Mr. Moon announced in approval, sniffing his box and recognizing the familiar scent. It was a favorite liquor of sanguines due to its slight taste of blood.
“Mine doesn't have alcohol, I think?” Little Sun mumbled around his praline. “But it tastes like a mix of citrus and pomegranate, delicious!”
As someone who often made him breakfast, Mr. World surely knew that they were two fruits that Little Sun was most fond of recently.
Ms. Justice's pralines smelled like cherry blossoms, with a mellow yet refreshing scent. Smelling it instantly made one's mood bright.
“Oh my, mine is filled with Kirsch?” Ms. Justice covered her mouth in a delightful surprise. It was a popular liqueur for noblewomen, subtle yet elegant.
“Looks like Mr. World has specially customized these chocolates according to our personality.”
“I'm not like roses,” protested Mr. Star.
“Well, aren't you always melodramatic?” quipped Mr. Moon.
“It's called poetic.”
Mr. Moon rolled his eyes.
Ignoring the two men with protagonist syndromes, Ms. Justice closed her box and asked, “Is there any special occasion today? Why did Mr. World suddenly make such particular gifts?”
Mr. Star shook his head. “I don't know. What day is it?”
“1st February,” Little Sun checked the calendar.
“Seemed like an ordinary day,” Mr. Moon shrugged in confusion. “Well, perhaps he just wanted to experiment with chocolates. After all, it's quite a rare ingredient.”
In the afternoon, an illusory door opened at the entrance of the Manor of Arcana. Madam Hermit stepped out of the library to see the arriving Ms. Judgement. Or what could still be seen of her behind the things she carried.
“What are you carrying, Ms. Judgement?”
Madam Hermit's question paused Ms. Judgement, who had just come back from Backlund. The Arbiter's hands were full of individually packaged cookies, burying her short frame behind a mountain of paper bags.
“Gifts from the Moretti family. Apparently, Mr. Klein had come and taught Little Alice to make some sweets. The entire family made them together. There are some for us too. Miss Melissa asked me to leave this one for Mr. World,” she answered, raising a specially wrapped package.
Madam Hermit nodded. So Mr. Fool had descended again. It was very glad to hear that ‘His’ humanity had become increasingly stable.
She helped Ms. Judgement carry the packages with veiled anticipation. These were also gifts from Mr. Fool.
Due to the Manor of Arcana's concealed location and most Tarot Club members being constantly on the move, the Moretti family would occasionally send their gifts for Mr. World through Ms. Judgement, who was stationed in Backlund. Of course, many a time, the Tarot Club would get a share too.
It was clearly more efficient for them to use spirit messengers, but Ms. Judgement always insisted on delivering things personally. If she was lucky, perhaps she could also meet Mr. Klein in person! Other members had always silently envied her for this.
Ms. Judgement went upstairs to put Mr. World's share in front of his room, while Madam Hermit brought the rest of the packages to the dining room.
There were several varieties. Sugar cookies, chocolate cookies, shortbreads, and some kinds she didn't know. But the one with the most quantity was actually the chocolate truffles. She smiled in amusement when seeing some crooked ones, clearly the work of Little Alice.
It was somehow unusual for the Morettis to send chocolates. Although they had long since stepped into the upper-middle class, their austerity still prevailed. And as one knew, chocolate was quite a luxurious ingredient.
Ms. Magician came down with Ms. Judgement. The author looked listless, her eyebags almost painted her eyes blue. It seemed that she had finally finished her latest installment of the romantic series last night. It was baffling how she still managed to mess up her sleep schedule despite already being a sequence 1. Perhaps even an angel couldn't escape from the curse of procrastination.
“Woah, they look good,” Ms. Judgement chimed happily, munching on a truffle. “Such an expensive delicacy! How sweet of Little Alice, to give her Aunt Xio some treats to soothe her heart from a long, tedious, and absolutely hectic judicial work!”
“Good morning, Madam Hermit,” Ms. Magician mumbled, searching for coffee.
“It's almost four in the afternoon, but good morning, Ms. Magician,” Madam Hermit answered genially. “There are some chocolates too from Mr. World. You can take the one with your card.”
Ms. Magician's coffee nearly slipped from her hand. “It's packaged individually for each of us?”
Madam Hermit nodded. Ms. Magician's face was a weird mix of fear and interest, her mind already outlining several plotlines centered on Mr. World's individual gifts.
“Ah?” Ms. Judgement tilted her head. “He didn't say anything about chocolates?”
Madam Hermit shook her head.
She was also surprised to suddenly receive such a specialized gift. Usually, Mr. World would ask them before making something for the club, to ask for opinions and avoid waste if they couldn’t come home.
When she opened her box, the surprise doubled. The chocolate praline was coated in a glaze made of Lavender Misty Champagne, its minute bubbles sparkling mystically like a fairytale.
She also saw Ms. Temperance opening her box. Unlike the others, the outer shell of the praline was very dark, almost black, indicating its high cocoa content. The filling was a pale gold Black Poca, a sweet and delicious aperitif, contrasting yet harmonious with the bitter dark chocolate.
Madam Hermit watched in amusement as the two ladies picked up their chocolates. “From what Ms. Justice said, it appeared that everyone's chocolates were different, each unique to the recipients.”
Ms. Judgement, who had just eaten a piece of chocolate, blinked twice in astonishment before laughing, “Mine's Fermo Coffee Liqueur! Is he saying I deserve such a luxurious and high-quality treat or does he want to kill me by combining alcohol and caffeine?”
She didn't say that once, she had let slip that it was also the favorite coffee of her late father.
Ms. Magician chewed on her chocolate with a complicated expression. It was filled with Fennel Absinthe, a beloved drink of authors, poets and painters. Its flavors are rich and invigorating, with a subtle bitter note. It was also her favorite drink during her time in Trier.
“He's… really an attentive man,” she mumbled in a tangled manner. “How could he always wear such a scary and murderous face but then suddenly do something this… sweet?”
Ms. Judgement snorted, “People from the Curly-haired Baboon Research Society have a special term for this. It's called a gap moe.”
“What does it mean?” Madam Hermit inquired, a curious light flashed in her purple eyes.
“It means a charming and endearing contrast between someone's appearance or public persona and their true, hidden personality or behavior. Like the crazy pirate hunter Mr. World who'd secretly save and feed little kittens.”
The room was silent for several seconds before the three ladies chuckled together.
Mr. Hanged Man was the last to open his chocolate. He was very surprised to hear that Mr. World, the Gehrman Sparrow, suddenly gave them such special presents.
Hmm. Sea salt mint liqueur? Quite a niche combination. It was surprisingly fitting for him. He wondered how Mr. World could come up with such an idea.
Mr. Hanged Man was actually the one who struggled the most to treat Mr. World as an equal, as a normal friend. His reverence to Mr. Fool and his silent admiration towards ‘His’ Blessed Gehrman Sparrow over the years had cemented his mindset. He wasn't as flexible as the other members of the club.
But when he saw Gehrman Sparrow silently make breakfast for Little Sun, tacitly working together to look out for their youngest member, he instantly felt the gap lessening.
There were actually such normal things, ordinary things, mundane things that could connect them. Things that put them on the same wavelength.
They were still awkward, of course, as Mr. Hanged Man was not someone who could easily let people in. Even more so than Mr. World.
But there was progress, bit by bit, and that was enough.
Little Sun's heavy steps scattered Mr. Hanged Man's reverie. The boy came in with a carefully wrapped box.
“Derrick, what is it?”
As other creatures couldn't enter the Manor of Arcana, letters and packages sent to the manor were mailed to the Berg residence. Every time he came home from the church, he'd check his house and bring back the things mailed there.
“Oh, Mr. Alger, you're back!” Little Sun greeted the older man happily. “It's gifts from Ms. Empress and Mr. Chariot for everyone.”
He ran upstairs to call the other members.
Unfortunately, only Ms. Judgement, Ms. Magician and Ms. Justice were home.
Mr. Hanged Man carefully opened the box to reveal assorted chocolate confections.
“Chocolates again? Why are everyone suddenly sending chocolates? Is there any special meaning to this?” Ms. Jugement said in confusion.
Little Sun searched for a bit and pulled out a pink card and a letter. The card read ‘Happy Valentine's Day!’ surrounded by several little hearts.
“Ah, Ms. Empress did explain in the letter.”
Ms. Judgement and Ms. Magician came to read over Little Sun's shoulders.
“She said she had received Mr. World's chocolates, and these are the return gifts.
“Apparently, it's an ancient holiday called ‘Valentine's Day’. It's to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. On this day, couples give each other tokens of love, most commonly chocolates or flowers, to express their affection.
“But it's not just for lovers. People also give presents to friends and family, or those they admire and respect. Basically, it's to express our love for them!”
Little Sun was astonished. There was such a great holiday! He wanted to participate too!
Their church didn't have many holidays.
There was the Day of Dawn, the anniversary of the gate opening of the Giant King's Court, where they would honor the fallen warriors and celebrate a new beginning. No lamps or candles were lit the night before, and when the dawn came, they would open their doors and gates, solemnly embracing the sunlight before going to the church to participate in a mass. For coastal dioceses, the celebration would take place on the beach.
The other was Fool's Day, celebrated on the 4th of March. It was to honor the birth of their god, the day he awakened and took his throne above the Spirit World. For certain special people, this was the day they celebrated the birth of Klein Moretti and Zhou Mingrui.
Believers would typically sacrifice homemade food on this day. In the New Cities of Silver and Moon, a fierce cooking competition would be held for the honor of presenting their best dishes to be sacrificed at the mass of their main cathedrals, the Fool's Cathedral and St. Gehrman Cathedral, respectively.
Little Sun had never heard of a celebration like this ancient Valentine's Day.
“Wait…” Ms. Magician stopped dead on her tracks. “So… does this mean that Mr. World's chocolates are also a Valentine's Day gift?”
The room went silent.
Ms. Justice touched her temples.
Really, Mr. World…
They knew that he was a man of action rather than words. But wouldn't it be good to at least leave a card to explain?
Ms. Justice cleared her throat, “Perhaps Mr. World is a bit embarrassed to express his affection out loud. He is not a gentleman who easily reveals his emotions, after all.”
Little Sun was deeply upset. “I want to give everyone something too!”
Mr. Hanged Man forcefully collected himself. “Then those cookies and truffles from the Moretti family too… Mr. Klein—Mr. Fool—helped to make them…”
The silence was more pronounced this time.
Suddenly, Little Sun jumped up, full of determination. “I'm gonna tell everyone!”
Having a god who had the authority over the Door pathway was really convenient. That was one of the reasons for the Mystery Seekers being the most mobile and flexible enforcement body among the churches.
In two days, they had subdued the rampaging artifact, purified the corruption, and shattered it into Beyonder Characteristics, ready to be sacrificed to Mr. Fool to be tamed inside Sefirah Castle.
Gehrman easily left the cleanups to several other Lampbearers and a couple Hounds of Fulgrim, then went back to the New City of Silver to seal the spoils of war behind the Gate of Illiad. He didn't enjoy being in the vicinity of something that had been touched by the Mother Tree of Desire.
He'd better go back home quickly and take a nice, long bath and bury himself in the warm bed.
For some reason, many people looked restless today. They looked at him with such admiration, anxiousness, determination and hope. It was a disturbingly similar look that the residents had when he had just been back to this city, eagerly inviting him to visit their establishments and competing over the honor of serving the Angel of Redemption.
Soon after, he found out the reason.
Cardinal Waite Chirmont specifically waited in front of his office before shoving a whole bag of Teana candies into his hands.
A'dal and Xin had come from New Moon City to personally give him a grand box of assorted candies made by the city's most famous confectionery.
Astrid, Harad and Steinarr, three Lampbearers most often went on missions with him, nervously approached him to present a Midnight Sun fruit, an especially delicious and rare fruit that glowed like a little sun in the darkness of the spirit world.
When he walked through the city, several children would flock to him, eagerly showering him with sweets and pastries, loudly announcing their determination to be strong Mystery Seekers to help Mr. Angel of Redemption protecting their home.
Mrs. Lindberg, an enthusiastic owner of the inn he first stayed in, gave him a box of homemade candied fruits that she knew he especially enjoyed.
Some people had gifted him with a bottle of Aurmir Wine.
All while singing him gratitude and praises, earnestly expressing their respect and admiration.
Gehrman had to try his best controlling the Clown abilities to keep his face straight.
Due to his stoic face and personality, people would instinctively keep their distance. It was even more exaggerated outside of Bayam, where his presence alone could plunge an entire building into complete silence.
Though his fame was unshakable, garnering no end of admirers thanks to Ms. Magician's the Adventurer Series, there was never a single brave soul who was bold—and perhaps suicidal—enough to approach him.
Even the most enthusiastic and devoted people from New Cities of Silver and Moon would still courteously respect his distance, knowing that he liked his space and preferred to be treated like any other ordinary person instead of being an overly glorified savior.
But today, everyone seemed to ignore his carefully constructed walls and showered him with gifts and genuine adoration.
He could face evil gods and corrupted demigods no problem, but he'd never known what to do when attacked by such sincere emotions.
Usually, he enjoyed walking back through the city, watching the liveliness and vibrancy they fought hard to protect. But today, he decisively teleported straight to the manor.
Of course he had an idea of what was going on. He—and the main body—had sent gifts to some of his fellow transmigrators as well. Though he didn't actually send it on 14th February, they would still notice because of the obvious chocolates. It wasn't too strange for them—especially Ms. Empress and Mr. Chariot, to send something back, alerting the rest of the Tarot Club about the nature of the occasion.
And once they knew, everyone would know.
Gehrman sighed.
It started in late January, from the recent reunion dinner in the Moretti family to welcome the Lunar New Year—a celebration that they made into tradition to honor Zhou Mingrui's background.
Alice had pestered the avatars about stories from her Uncles’ supposedly distant hometown, and Merlin, ever the indulgent uncle, started to ramble about various holidays and festivals from the modern era.
Predictably, the little girl latched onto the story of Valentine's Day celebration, as it was the nearest festival in the calendar. The family found this gift-giving custom very loving and warm, entirely supporting Alice to get her Uncle Klein to teach her how to make chocolates.
Of course, the little girl also got Uncle Sherlock, Uncle Dwayne, Uncle Merlin and Uncle Gehrman to promise that they would also send their own chocolates.
And so, Gehrman made various fruit skewers dipped in chocolate caramel and decorated with various sprinkles for Alice, like a sweet chocolate version of tanghulu.
For Melissa, he made chocolate pralines with fillings from Elderflower liqueur, mixed with notes of peach and citrus, refreshing and upbeat. He hoped she would always be full of positivity.
Benson got almond pralines with Verdant Tea liqueur. He had found that this particular blend of tea was very similar to Earl Grey in the modern era, something he thought would fit Benson very well.
His sister-in-law Lucy got chocolate pralines filled with East Balam Vanilla liqueur. It was sweet, rich, warm and comforting, just like her.
After making his family's share, Gehrman was hit by a whimsical idea. Why not make some for the Tarot Club as well?
It could express his gratitude and affection for them. For these people who had built him a home. Perhaps, it could convey just a little bit about how much Gehrman cherished their relationship.
Gehrman perfectly knew that among his other selves, he was the one who struggled the hardest with expressing his emotions. Even though Ms. Justice and Leonard had repeatedly advised him to verbalize his feelings and show his sentiment, he still wasn't used to it. He preferred to show his care and concern through actions.
So he purposely left the chocolates on the counter right before he traveled to Intis, treating it like any other ordinary cooking he usually shared and decidedly ignoring the club's eventual reactions.
He also deliberately came home at this specific hour, because he knew the manor would be empty. He wasn't particularly ready to face the club's responses. Gehrman Sparrow wasn't built to face awkwardness and social death.
So let's leave it for the future Mr. World. For now, he needed sleep.
However, he stopped dead when he saw the pile of things in front of his door.
They knew that Gehrman was a rather territorial person. He could and would pull a revolver on those who dared to step into his personal space. Even though he wouldn't do anything to his close friends, the others still respected his space, so when he received something, they would just leave it outside of his room.
Filled with emotions that he couldn't name, Gehrman brought everything into the room and observed the gifts one by one.
A hefty package was sent by the Morettis. There were several things inside, including a fountain pen from Benson, a personalized pocket watch from Melissa, a scarf knitted by Lucy, and of course, various adorably crooked cookies and truffles from Alice.
Little Sun, true to his name, gave him a bouquet of sunflowers. They weren't the variant with enormous centers filled with seeds, but the ones with bigger petals of an especially vibrant hue. It was such a simple gift, yet it easily brightened one's mood.
Mr. Hanged Man left a rare black pearl he had brought back from Western Continent. When the light hit it just right, it shone with a soft and ethereal yellow luster.
Ms. Judgement was too busy to prepare more complicated gifts, so she only sent him a box of high quality tea. It was a particular variety that was perfect for sweet iced tea.
Ms. Magician had traveled to various places and came back with a delicately layered chocolate cake. It resembled the modern era's Opera cake, though the taste was more intense. Gehrman was very satisfied with it.
Ms. Temperance's gift was a black rose from the spirit world. How very gothic. It was said to improve sleep quality.
Mr. Moon straight up gave a box of high-grade potion and poisons. Well, he certainly meant well and Gehrman did need them for his missions, but was it appropriate to give people poisons for a holiday meant to express love and affection?
Leonard… Leonard left an exclusive book of Roselle's poetry. Of course. But as Gehrman was about to throw it towards the bookshelf, something clacked from within. Picking it up, Gehrman realized that the ‘book’ was actually a hollow box. Inside was a yellow Ranunculus flower, encased into a clear crystal paperweight. It meant joy and friendship. It was also the flowers most often displayed at the front desk of Blackthorn Security Company.
Ms. Hermit's gift was quite grand. She left a charm containing a spell of Mystical Reenactment, based on the story of the Snow Queen, about a girl journeying to save his friend corrupted by evil entities and kidnapped into the castle of the snow queen. It could purify mental corruptions and help regain rationality.
Ms. Justice gave him a pot of Alstroemeria flowers.
Gehrman put it on the windowsill, along with a vase filled with Little Sun's sunflowers.
The Alstroemeria swayed gently.
Gehrman, or rather Zhou Mingrui, had accumulated a bit of knowledge on everything from his days as a keyboard warrior. He wouldn't claim that he knew every language of flowers, but he did know the meaning of this particular one.
It symbolized friendship, long-lasting devotion and mutual support, as well as wealth, prosperity, and the endurance needed to overcome life's challenges.
He also knew that in the faraway Victorian Era, receiving a sweet-scented Alstroemeria told you that you were beloved.