Valentine Festival! Episode 3 Part 2

Things pick up with the dance nearing its end, and Behemoth slims back down to normal. When it does end, you either say that it was a nice dance, say it looks like you got a show going off after all, or say you’ve managed to fool people.

Going A if it matters, Suzuka says she’s surprised. Not that Behemoth changed sizes so suddenly, but more how well he danced. He thanks her and tries to compliment her back, but all he can come up with is unique.

Ryouta says he’s starting to like dancing now and asks if he’s gotten too thin. Tadatomo tells him he hasn’t changed, and that it’s not like he can change that fast. Moritaka however interrupts to tell Ryouta to keep going because maybe it’ll do something then.

Kengo sighs and says the dancing embarrasses him and that he prefers fighting and training, but he trails off when he notices Tetsuya staring at him. He tells him to spit it out if he has something to say. Tetsuya says it’s nothing so important. Just that he was thinking that Kengo’s gotten better at hanging with people than he used to.

Kengo is surprised, but says it has been a long time since then. Tetsuya laughs and says Kengo is still as selfish as ever. Around this point Shino decides to split off from the crowd, and you decide to follow after him. Tetsuya watches this, and in the corner of his eyes he sees a butterfly land on a early blooming peony.

Camera then jumps to where Shino is, looking at the mess at the tea house and remembering something. You catch up around this point and call out to him, so he asks you what’s going on. You then tell him you were wondering where he went when he left.

Shino apologizes for worrying you and says he was worried about the shop. There’s a faint sadness in his expression as he looks at it. He calls it just a pale imitation but he ended up liking it more than he imagined.

You can either ask if he’s ever been to a tea house or if he remembers anything about one. He starts telling you about a tea house he found along the way between the hometown he was raised in and meeting the master who’d take him in. Since it was getting colder, even if someone wanted to give him some tea and hot water they wouldn’t have been happy with having a filthy dog set foot inside.

Shino thinks about how he was able to see the “walls.” The walls that separate humans and beasts, aristocrats and crude dogs. Walls only Shino could see. Even if he hid his face with an umbrella, he had a dream he might have been better off giving up on.

You ask to sit next to him and talk. He’s surprised by this but agrees to it, sitting on a bench and looking nervous, at odds with his apparent age. Here it’s separated from the crowds and quiet, like it’s just you guys in the world.

Shino decides soon after to get back up and tells you he’ll get some chazuke. Before he can do that, Tetsuya shows up and brings a tray of a set of tea and several kinds of sweets. Shino flushes upon seeing the sweets saying they were substitutes he left out. He’s also upset with the idea of giving them to you.

Tetsuya cuts him off from saying any more by telling him the Seven Colored Manju is sold out at the moment and that this is all that Behemoth didn’t snarf up. Narration describes there being some bite sized decorated dango made from red bean nerikiri dough. They’re lightly colored and arranged to look like a peony flower.

You either ask Shino about it or say it looks beautiful. Shino doesn’t say much, so Tetsuya tells you Shino made them as practice for example sweets and that they have his initial enthusiasm. Since he didn’t want them Tetsuya took them and reasons he can do whatever he want with them now. Shino blushes but doesn’t argue the point.

Tetsuya starts talking to himself and making comparisons. For the one who gave up at the start, there was someone who was given up on. For the one who throws things away, there was someone who was thrown away.

Tetsuya also starts thinking about the first time he met Shino. When in the middle of resisting an attack, Tetsuya treated Shino as expendable. Treating people like that and being treated like that was how Tetsuya lived his life so far, even on the day Kirito disappeared.

But even so, Tetsuya says they’re strays. They don’t do what needs to be done and live and die at their own conveniences. And so, there are times when they do things when they aren’t told to do so. Then he leaves it at that as he holds on tight to a butterfly shaped “memory” in his pockets.

After he leaves, Shino eventually apologizes and says you don’t need to eat them. You can then ask why he shaped them like a peony or say it resembles his birthmark. Going with A, he says someone complimented him and gave him one. They said his birthmark was beautiful. It was the first time he learned what someone else thought. That or it’s the first time he started thinking about someone else.

You can either ask if it’s okay to eat them or just take the things. Going with the former, Shino slides down onto one knee and hangs his head. He says he’s embarrassed by what he’s made there, but he says it would be a bigger shame to not give you tea and snacks when you’re sitting in a tea house.

He gets back up and grabs the hot water, his hand faintly shaking. Then he offers you some tea. You can then ask to eat together, ask him to let you have the sweets, or just take them quietly.

Going with A, you take one to your mouth. You say it’s great and smile at Shino. He’s happy about that and offers you another cup as his tail starts wagging unconsciously. You can then split one with Shino or feed him one.

Going A, he takes it and eats it. Shino talks about how sweet it is and compares it to a dream. Narration goes into his thoughts, and Shino thinks about how what he once gave up on exists here, and his old self that just looked past the walls he saw smiles. Shino then talks about how he hopes this dream he has of being with you will go on just a bit longer.

Some time later, everything has been eaten and Shino uses a phrase of humility about his food. You ask if you can have seconds, which Shino agrees to. But before he can finish his sentence, narration dramatically points out he’s dropped his guard down, and Behemoth barges in yelling for candy.

You can either be shocked at his arrival or more casually say he seems different. Anyways it turns out Behemoth has dropped down from somewhere and crushes a bench. Shino goggles at him trying to process all this, and in that moment Behemoth gobbles all the things Shino was bringing over, plate and all.

Shino freaks out over this turn of events. You comment on Behemoth eating it all, and Shino pulls out his sword and says he’s gonna cut Behemoth’s head off. You try to make him stop.

Tetsugyuu comes in chasing after Behemoth, then freaks over Shino going postal. Ryouta says Behemoth suddenly disappeared then yells for Ziz. She runs in and readies a basket, but Kengo stops her and points out Behemoth seems to have changed again. Suzuka asks if this is him calming down after tasting something.

Behemoth grunts a bit, then yells that it tastes great, shocking all present. A little while later Ziz asks if it’s true that it filled him up. Behemoth says it is and asks Shino for more. Shino is upset and says he just made them to pass the time and that there isn’t any more. He also threatens to knock Behemoth’s head off if he bothers him about it any more. Behemoth gets scared and apologizes.

Kengo questions why Shino’s goofing off candy registers a taste while Ebisu’s Seven Colored Manju did nothing. Ryouta says they both have Ebisu’s red bean paste, but it seems there’s still something missing. Ebisu says that since the way something is made affects the texture, he thinks the paste isn’t the only thing relevant.

Ryouta laments that you seem to be back at square one, then says he wanted to eat some. Tadatomo says that since Shino won’t make any more, you guys can only ask the people who’ve actually eaten the sweets. All Behemoth has to say is red bean paste. You can say that too, or say it was nice but all you can describe is that paste.

Moritaka is sad that’s all you guys got. Suzuka says it’s useless as testimony and asks what you’ll do next. You say there aren’t enough clues, so you’ll have to keep going around. Then you turn to Shino to tell him it was great, asking and promising to have tea together again. He’s surprised but thanks you for that, swearing to come back if he survives, no matter the battlefield.

Scene then focuses on Ziz as she monologues about Shino. She calls him “someone who was sacrificed” and a scattered memory fragment. Ziz then talks about how Sacred Artifacts are objects that hold gods, but everything else in the world are objects that hold memories. She makes some comment about the memories in the candy Shino made, but makes no clear statement about them.

Anyways Ryouta says you guys should go and thanks the Outlaws and Ebisu for the Seven Colored Manju. Suzuka wishes you guys luck and says to let them know if you find anything out. You then say your goodbyes to them and leave.

Camera stays a bit longer as Suzuka asks about Marchosias and Ibaraki. Tetsugyuu says he hasn’t seen them and asks if they didn’t come. Tetsuya says they are coming, but they have something to do first. Gyoubu says Tetsuya is here as his bodyguard, and that that’s another reason. He’s substituting for someone else.

Suzuka wonders why Marchosias would come to this event. Ibaraki she doesn’t care as much as to his reasons. Tetsuya says she should leave the subject be because maybe Marchosias has his own reasons. She agrees to that, then tells Ebisu she’ll help him. Tetsugyuu offers to help with physical labor if his party snacks will be made. Ebisu agreed and says it’s time to reopen.

Scene then shifts to just a little bit before to focus on Shirou and Kenta. Shirou apologizes for the wait saying the one they’re waiting for will be there soon. Kenta says he and Inugami are fine, but he asks who’s coming.

Shirou says it’s a friend, one with the same goal Kenta has. A voice asks if Shirou plans on being a guidance counselor, then apologizes for getting caught up in work. Shirou says it’s fine and prompts Kenta to introduce himself. He does so, and Touji does the same for him. Then the episode ends.