落とし穴５９堀：男にはつらい日 (Part1)
**Pitfall 59: A Man’s Hardest Day**
**A Man’s Hardest Day**
**Side: Yuki**
The date is March 14th.
Commonly known as White Day.
This malicious culture is unique to Japan—or rather, it is a conspiracy concocted by confectionery manufacturers. Even Valentine’s Day, which serves as the counterpart to this day, is already being misinterpreted and run rampant across Japan.
*Do these candy companies really want money that badly?* I’d love to ask them that, but the truth is, White Day is even more malicious. It’s not just the candy companies anymore; countless other industries have joined the fray, acting as if they are obligated to provide "returns."
They talk about "triple returns," "tenfold returns," or even "thirtyfold returns" on Valentine’s gifts. By now, even a 100-yen "obligation chocolate" results in a 300, 1,000, or 3,000-yen price hike. Consequently, giving sweets as a return is something only students do. Once you become an adult, you’re expected to use your increased financial power to show off your generosity and prove your taste in gifts. It’s an incredibly infuriating event. It’s nothing short of female supremacy and male oppression.
And so, we live in an era where companies outside the confectionery industry are jumping on the bandwagon, using White Day as an excuse to tie in their own products.
Fortunately, this is another world.
That shitty Japanese common sense doesn’t exist here. Just last month, we decided to rebrand Valentine’s Day—which was only popular among my wives—into a day where ordinary children could enjoy sweet treats. We proposed making it a trend on February 14th.
Since I’m not doing this for some corporate scheme, but for my pure-hearted wives, it doesn’t feel disgusting at all. That’s why I’m currently preparing.
I didn’t have the time to give returns last year. At the time, we were in the middle of avoiding a collision between Zilba and Enaria, dropping enemy armies into pits, and dealing with the birth of our children.
Ah, thinking about that, the kids are turning one soon.
Well, we’ll hold a proper birthday party for that later. Right now, it’s time for the wives’ returns.
"So, why am I helping with this?"
"And what exactly is... 'White Day'?"
My supporters for this endeavor are Taiki-kun and Eoid.
Since they are both men with wives, I figured we could work well together, so I borrowed the kitchen at the Lancer Magic Academy. I did ask Steve first, but he ran away crying, and I’m not enough of a demon to force him to help.
"Don’t worry about it, Taiki-kun. Just think of it as a return for your wife, Airi. I plan on spreading Valentine’s Day next year anyway, so taking the initiative to pamper your wife now will only be a plus."
"Well... I suppose you’re right."
"And Eoid-kun. In our country, exactly one month ago, there was an event where women gave sweets to men. Today, one month later, the custom is for men to give a return gift to the women."
"Oh, I see. That’s a thing, huh? But that might actually be nice. Amanda likes sweets, too."
"Glad you’re convinced. We’re going to start making sweets now. I’ve already arranged for some taste-testers."
"“Taste-testers?”"
"Yep. I’ll be in your care."
As I said that, the kitchen door opened, and two women walked in.
"P-Principal!? And the Vice Principal!? W-why are you here!?"
"Now, now, Eoid. It’s well known that the sweets from Yuki-dono’s place are delicious."
"Yes. Have you never eaten cakes or the like with Amanda-san?"
"Ah. So that white, incredibly delicious cake was from Yuki-san’s place?"
"That’s the situation. If Yuki-dono and the others are going to make sweets, it’s best that we act as the tasters."
"The other women have never had that cake before, so they’d only be able to say it’s 'delicious.' It’s important to have women with refined palates who have tasted it before to provide a proper evaluation. Not just for Yuki-san, but for the two of you and your relationships with your wives, we will assist you with all our might."
Well, they’re saying all these high-minded things, but the truth is they jumped at the chance the moment I asked if they wanted to taste-test since I was making sweets anyway. They’ve been completely "fed" by Eris.
Oh, a lot has happened, but both Comet and Hifie are alive, and they’ve met each other, so in many ways, a weight has been lifted off their shoulders. I’ve used them, too, so this much is fine.
"B-but, I can’t make sweets. I can manage a simple cookie, but a cake like that is way beyond me..."
"Ah, don’t worry about that. I’ve never even made a cookie myself."
"I-is that really okay!?"
Taiki-kun came to this world when he was a student, and as a man who had nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, he wouldn’t have had any reason to make sweets. It’s natural he wouldn’t know.
"It’s fine, it’s fine. Cooking is just about following the book properly. The people who try to add weird arrangements are the ones destined to fail."
"There’s a cookbook?"
"Yeah, there is. Well, you probably can’t read the text, so I’ll explain it. Here, this is the book."
"Whoa. Amazing. But I’ve never even seen these ingredients or tools before."
"For now, I’ll provide the ingredients and tools. Let’s decide what to make."
"U-understood."
While we were at it, I brought out the necessary tools and ingredients, handing the cookbooks and pamphlets to Popuri and Lara.
"Well, it’s handmade, after all. I’ll give you some proper sweets later, so please help me out today."
"Hmm. Well, I trust Yuki-dono’s cooking skills, so I don’t think anything too terrible will come out of this, but I appreciate the consideration. And..."
"How much can we ask for? Five? No, ten?"
"No, no, Lara. It’s the kind of thing where you can ask for whatever you want, whenever you want. As long as you do your job properly. Right, Yuki-dono?"
"Y-yeah."
"R-really!! Then, I shall follow your every command!!"
No, that’s terrifying.
These people are saying they’ll accept sweets as a performance bonus for their work.
It’s a good thing they’re cooperative, so I’ll just let them do their thing. Making sweets takes time. If I don’t hurry, White Day will be over.