Ch.140Chapter 21. Year-End (4)

Thinking about it, if the Yamashita household had appeared as a setting in a children’s animation, wouldn’t that episode have been deleted during the import process to Korea?

That’s how completely Japanese-style the Yamashita residence was.

Even though there are similarities in building styles across Korea, China, and Japan, honestly, how could anyone call this place a hanok when it was built to look exaggeratedly like a “yakuza house”?

Christmas in such a place.

…They must have had a hard time.

That was my immediate thought upon entering the mansion.

Indeed.

This enormous Japanese-style mansion was already decorated in a “Christmas style.”

I suppose Yamashita must have told his father, “I’m spending Christmas with friends,” and Mr. Ryohei Yamashita must have thought, “Then we should create that atmosphere.”

Honestly, he doesn’t seem like someone with a sense of humor, so this probably wasn’t meant to be funny.

“……”

And Yuu Yamashita’s face was slightly red as he passed through the entrance.

He seems extremely embarrassed.

Is there really anything to be so embarrassed about? Our house is decorated for Christmas too, after all.

“Wow!”

Koko shouted happily. Seeing her eyes sparkle, it seemed she liked the twinkling lights in the corridors of the Yamashita residence.

“Meow.”

And Kuro, nestled in her arms with a sullen expression, meowed as if displeased.

Perhaps it was because he’d been petted by all my friends we passed on the way here. Kuro was the type who sometimes seemed to long for human company, and other times wanted to be alone. His moods changed frequently—very cat-like.

Speaking of “my friends,” Yuka naturally came with us too.

When Yamashita suggested “inviting friends from around,” I did contact people I knew, but looking at who actually showed up, it seemed I was the only one who had invited acquaintances.

Quite coincidentally, the members gathered here were the same as during the summer retreat, minus three people.

For reference, the three missing people were Sasaki, Hagiwara, and Nakahara.

“…Hmph. I don’t know anyone like my brother.”

Seeing Shii, who had decided to come with me, fold her arms and turn her head away sharply while saying that, it seemed Sasaki must have done something that greatly annoyed her.

He probably made Christmas plans with the other two before her.

Not wanting to get entangled in whatever strange triangle or relationship they had, I decided not to ask any further.

Besides, I already had a somewhat uncomfortable relationship with Hagiwara.

“Hey, hey, Izumi, this place is totally—”

“Shh, shhh!”

I overheard Kaoru and Izumi whispering to each other.

It seemed Kaoru wanted to say this place looked like a yakuza den, but Izumi quickly jabbed an elbow into Kaoru’s side. Kaoru made a “guk” sound and couldn’t say anything for a while.

As we continued down the somewhat excessively decorated corridor,

“…This is it. Basically, you can stay here. I won’t stop you from wandering around if you want to, though.”

Yamashita said with a very sullen expression.

I suppose it would be hard not to feel that way when yakuza men bow at right angles every time they see us friends hanging out in the corridor.

“…For your information, my father went out on a date, so you don’t need to look for him.”

As he said this, Yamashita’s expression grew even more sullen.

I wonder if he went on a date with Ms. Mori.

…It should still be Ms. Mori, right? I haven’t heard news of a wedding yet.

Anyway, following Yamashita’s guidance, the room was an extremely large tatami room.

The distinctive smell of tatami rose up. I’ve heard they can smell terrible if not properly maintained, but since there was no such odor in this room, they must have either completely replaced the tatami or were maintaining them meticulously.

I had no idea what the exact purpose of this large room was, but that hardly mattered.

What really mattered was the large tree in the center of the room.

The large tree in the middle of this blatantly Japanese-style tatami room was wrapped with the same twinkling lights from the corridor, and a large star shone brightly at the very top.

They had even wrapped small lights around it. Since the tree was in the middle of the room, they had used quite a long power strip to connect it, which made the tree look even more conspicuously out of place.

…….

I appreciate the effort put into decorating, but it’s painfully obvious this was done by people who aren’t used to this sort of thing.

Don’t yakuza men often have children too?

“Um… it looks great!”

The first to speak was Fukuda.

“My dad brought a huge tree to our house too. It’s so big it partially blocks the TV when you sit on the living room sofa!”

“……”

“…Harumi, I don’t think that’s helping.”

Seeing Yamashita’s face turn redder, Mako tapped Fukuda’s arm and said that. Fukuda quickly shut her mouth.

…Well, fine.

At least there were no older men in this room. They probably arranged things so we wouldn’t run into them while moving around the mansion. Besides, we could just stay in this room.

“So……”

In the silent room, the first to speak was Mako, with her class representative experience.

“Shall we get started?”

“Oh, ohh……”

Kaoru raised one hand trying to liven up the atmosphere, but seeing that no one followed suit, she lowered her arm with an awkward expression.

Come on, what are we going to do about this atmosphere?

*

What could we do? Nothing much.

After all, we’re all high school girls. Though my identity hasn’t quite escaped that of an old man, I’ve spent enough time among high school girls to know how to match the atmosphere.

Still, once we brought in various snacks and different kinds of drinks, it started to feel somewhat like a party.

It was completely different from the Western movie-style college parties where people stand around and drink bowls of alcohol—this was an Eastern-style party where everyone sat on the floor—but the atmosphere was decent enough.

“Wow, this is delicious! Koko, want to try?”

“Wow!”

After Kaoru picked up a chocolate and exclaimed while eating it, she offered one to Koko, who caught it with her mouth.

Koko’s eyes sparkled as she chewed the chocolate without letting it melt.

I knew that brand too. I’d even tried it before. Not hard, but with a slightly chewy texture… chocolate that strangely reminds one of rice cakes. It seems to be a fairly famous brand.

Kaoru must have tried it before, and was just going with the flow when she spoke like that.

“Having a tree really does make it feel like Christmas.”

Fukuda stood in front of the tree, looking up at the large star at the top as she spoke.

“If not for that, it would just be gathering at a friend’s house. No different from usual.”

“……”

This time, since it didn’t feel like forced praise, Yamashita blushed but didn’t seem particularly upset.

“I like mystery novels too.”

“Really!? We have quite a collection in the club room, want to borrow one? Come by whenever you’re free, and I’ll lend you one. I can confidently say we have most famous novels.”

Does she really have that many books? To be honest, I doubt there are more books in the club room than in the library.

Well, for most famous novels, you could just go to the library. The books Izumi is talking about are probably more niche, less well-known types.

“Kotone and Koko were in the literature club too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. How about coming by after school sometime? If your schedule allows—”

Though she couldn’t say a word to boys, perhaps because Koko was both female and a junior, Izumi was quite passionately trying to increase club membership.

“Hey.”

As I was scanning the room, watching people passing time in their own ways, Yuka gently touched my arm from beside me.

When I turned my head toward her, Yuka slightly moved her chin toward one side of the room.

Shii was there.

Indeed, unlike the others who were starting to get into the mood, Shii alone seemed somewhat deflated.

Yuka and I nodded at each other and headed toward Shii.

“Meow.”

On the way, I scooped up Kuro, who was sprawled on the floor. Though he didn’t struggle to escape, Kuro wore a very annoyed expression.

…I’m grateful he’s grown up healthy over the past few months, but I think he’s become too bold in personality as he’s grown.

When I first saw him, he was extremely wary of his surroundings.

“Why are you sitting like that?”

When I plopped down next to Shii and spoke, she flinched in surprise.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah……”

And when Yuka sat down on the opposite side and asked that, Shii almost said something but then closed her mouth.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”

Yuka said.

I abruptly placed Kuro in Shii’s lap.

“S-Senior?”

Shii seemed a bit surprised at first, but soon began stroking Kuro, who had settled on her knees.

“Meow.”

Kuro, who had looked extremely annoyed in my arms, treacherously rubbed himself against Shii’s hand when she touched him, adjusted his position, and closed his eyes.

“Looks like he likes you more than me.”

“What? N-no, that’s…”

“It’s okay. You were the one taking care of Kuro originally.”

That’s right. If I hadn’t taken Kuro, the attention of that… whatever deity or entity it was attached to Kuro would have been directed at Shii, not me.

“Meow.”

Kuro meowed as if agreeing with that, which annoyed me again. Hey, I’m the one paying for your food, you know.

“I don’t know what’s worrying you, but it is Christmas Eve. Wouldn’t it be good to just let everything go for today?”

Yuka’s face looked somewhat happy as she said that.

I see.

Until now, she must have spent Christmas with her family.

Well, that’s natural, and I’m sure it has its own joys, but conversely, gathering with friends like this for Christmas has its own pleasures too.

“Is… that so?”

“…Is it related to Sasaki?”

Well, strictly speaking, Shii’s full name is “Sasaki Shii” too, but I had too few points of contact with Sasaki to call him “Souta.”

Besides, if I started calling Sasaki by his first name, Nakahara and Hagiwara would be shocked.

I had no intention of becoming a heroine candidate.

“……”

At my question, Shii blushed and couldn’t answer.

“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry.”

“What?”

Well, I don’t often have occasions to meet Sasaki here, but in the original novel, Sasaki was the male protagonist.

No matter how much it’s the norm for light novel protagonists to end up with the heroine, they still need to have aspects that readers can both immerse themselves in and find cool.

More precisely, readers should feel “I want to be like that.”

In my memory, Sasaki was that kind of protagonist. If there was danger, he would sacrifice himself to save the heroine and turn the situation around to bring about a positive conclusion—a hidden card.

…Though things seem to be flowing in a different direction here.

Anyway, such a Sasaki wouldn’t just leave his little sister looking so dejected.

He’ll probably come to apologize tomorrow or whenever.

“I don’t know Sasaki well, but,”

I continued speaking slowly.

Since I couldn’t outright say what I thought without having a good reason to think so highly of Sasaki, I needed to phrase things convincingly.

“…I’ve heard many people fight with their brothers. From what I’ve seen, Sasaki doesn’t seem like that kind of brother.”

“……”

Shii stared at me blankly.

“……”

For some reason, Yuka was also staring at me blankly.

“……”

Even Kuro on Yuka’s lap was looking at me.

“…Why?”

Did I say something strange?

“Oh, no, it’s not that.”

When I tilted my head in confusion, Yuka quickly answered.

“Y-yes! I just never thought about it that way. Yes!”

“Meow.”

“…I see?”

Though the reactions were suspicious, I didn’t have any further evidence to doubt them, so I decided to end the conversation there.

I might end up saying something strange if I continued.

“Kotone!”

With perfect timing, Koko called out to me.

As I turned around, something was suddenly pushed into my mouth.

In an instant, sweetness spread throughout my mouth, followed by the slight bitterness characteristic of chocolate.

“How is it?”

Koko, who had pushed a piece of chocolate into my mouth, asked with a smile.

I chewed the chocolate slightly. It had a soft chocolate powder coating like cocoa powder, and the chocolate had a slightly chewy brownie-like texture while also being soft to chew.

Indeed, it had an extremely luxurious taste.

“…It’s delicious.”

“Wow!”

Was she happy that my opinion matched hers?

Koko raised her hands high as if cheering.

As I accepted another chocolate from Koko, I noticed Yamashita slipping out of the room behind her.

Before I had even finished chewing the second chocolate, Yamashita slightly opened the door again and peeked his face through.

I was thinking how cute he looked doing such an action despite his usually cool face when our eyes met.

Yamashita didn’t bother to speak, but instead just extended his hand slightly and beckoned me. It seemed he had something to say.

“Excuse me for a moment, I need to use the bathroom.”

I stood up, wiping my mouth that had chocolate powder on it.

*

The reason I didn’t tell the others was simple.

If he just wanted to call me over, he would have come and asked to talk separately.

Actually, Yuka, who was sitting in the same direction as me, seemed to have seen Yamashita too, but she helped by drawing Koko’s attention so I could go out alone.

Mentally thanking her, I went outside the room, and Yamashita carefully closed the door.

“Come with me for a moment.”

If this had been my first time seeing Yamashita today, I would have been extremely drowsy. Honestly, apart from not having blonde hair and a tan, Yamashita could be classified as a “gal” character.

And as someone who was an otaku in my teens, I didn’t have much resistance to people with this… vibe.

Yamashita started walking, taking me quite far from our room.

Was this something others shouldn’t hear?

I followed behind him with some curiosity—

“…Oh.”

We stopped in front of a certain room.

Something felt off.

No, there wasn’t anything wrong with the room itself. Although this mansion had once been covered in blood, they had repainted and replaced the doors, leaving almost no trace of it.

But still, this room… could this be one of the rooms where I had splattered blood?

Was I feeling this atmosphere because the memory was deeply embedded in my mind?

“…What are you doing?”

As I stared blankly at one spot in the room, Yamashita, who had gone ahead, turned back and asked.

“Oh, oh. Nothing, nothing.”

And I quickly caught up with Yamashita.

Only then did I realize.

Throughout the entire mansion, something felt off.

It wasn’t that there were yokai or anything. If that had been the case, I wouldn’t have failed to notice the discomfort just because I was talking with friends. I would have felt chills down my spine. Yuka would have noticed too.

It was a completely different atmosphere from when Kodoku was here. Rather—

“Here it is.”

But my thoughts were interrupted by Yamashita’s words.

“Here?”

In front of a room that looked no different from the others.

For some reason, Yamashita took a deep breath as if reluctant to show me what was inside.

Could something be happening in the mansion? Had Yamashita learned exactly who I was?

As I worried about various things, Yamashita flung the door open.

And all my random thoughts flew away into the cold sky above the moment I saw what was inside the room.

“……”

“……”

“……”

We were silent.

Yamashita, me, and the people in the room.

Inside the room… there was a “Santa.”

A Santa wearing a red Santa outfit that matched the Christmas season perfectly, with a fluffy white cotton beard attached to his chin.

A yakuza Santa.

“…What do you think?”

“Huh?”

As I stood with my mouth hanging open, having forgotten what to say, Yamashita asked somewhat anxiously.

“…The role of Santa who will bring gifts tonight.”

“Ah.”

“…Koko was looking forward to it.”

I see.

Hmm.

How should I put this?

First of all, the outfit is Santa’s.

And it seemed they might have deliberately chosen someone large to recreate Santa’s portly figure.

The problem was the fierce eyes located between the fluffy white beard and the red hat on his head.

I feel a bit sorry saying this. It’s not like this man is deliberately making such eyes.

But honestly, wouldn’t children burst into tears if they saw him?

“…What do you think?”

Yamashita asked again.

Could it be this wasn’t Yamashita’s idea?

Seeing the men in the room who seemed to have put effort into preparing everything looking at me anxiously, I thought that perhaps Yamashita was actually quite doted on in this house.

“…If he just relaxed his eyes a little…”

In the end, unable to completely ignore the goodwill of the men in front of me, I gave such an assessment.

Koko has a fearless personality, so, hmm.

…It should be fine, right?

After all, Koko isn’t the type to be scared of a large dwarf in red clothes.