Ch.141Chapter 21. Year-End (5)

“You don’t need to worry too much.”

Santa used extremely formal speech with me.

I feel a bit bad saying this, but when he opened his mouth, he really seemed like a yakuza. No, wait, is he actually yakuza? I bet if he took off that red suit, he’d have a dragon or koi fish or something tattooed on his back.

“I raised a daughter too. When she was little, I used to dress up as Santa like this every Christmas.”

“…I…see…”

Well, I suppose his daughter wouldn’t have been scared of him. He was her father, after all.

“…But now she’s all grown up… in high school… and she goes out with her friends on Christmas instead of coming home… It’s a bit lonely these days.”

Well, couldn’t you spend time with your wife when your daughter is out all night?

“The wife just nags…”

“…”

Sir, I think you’re oversharing your family issues.

And that high school daughter of his is probably not just hanging out with friends but with a boyfriend. I don’t have any evidence, so I can’t say for sure.

Actually, even if I did have evidence, I wouldn’t say anything. This guy looks like he’d immediately go after that boyfriend if he knew.

Even though he’s dressed as Santa.

“…Anyway, I’ve prepared the gifts in advance.”

Yamashita said.

“For us, exchanging gifts with each other is fine, but for Koko, ‘Santa’ needs to be the one giving the gift, right?”

How thoughtful.

I had actually planned to secretly place a gift by Koko’s pillow and lie that Santa had visited.

Yamashita had prepared a Santa in case Koko woke up during the process.

And even prepared a gift.

For the record, I had prepared a gift too.

It wasn’t easy. Koko usually tried to stick with me all the time.

Only after my exam period ended and I started working again did I finally get some free time. I went to a department store with Shii after work and bought a large cat plushie with the money I’d saved.

Oh, and I also bought a smaller cat keychain as a bonus. So I have two gifts for Koko. One is the plushie that will be placed by her pillow in the middle of the night in Santa’s name, and the keychain is for when we exchange gifts with each other.

Of course, I bought similar things for my friends too. It cost more than I expected, but it felt worth it.

Yuka, who had received our message in advance and came out at the right time, helped me hide them. We kept them at Yuka’s house and didn’t say anything to Koko.

Yuka’s grandfather probably came by while we were playing and delivered the gifts in advance. I’m really always indebted to Yuka’s family.

Actually, there’s no one I’m not indebted to.

“…Thank you.”

And above all, I was sincerely grateful to Yamashita for arranging this opportunity.

When I bowed my head slightly in thanks, Yamashita looked a bit embarrassed.

As if not knowing how to receive my gratitude, Yamashita shifted her gaze around before simply saying,

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

*

The yakuza guys, who I doubt had ever hosted this kind of party before, had prepared more than just an ’empty room.’

Actually, that empty room alone would have been enough for us. What would high school girls do at a party anyway? Just laugh, chat, eat, drink, and maybe sing a bit.

But perhaps feeling obligated by the term ‘Christmas party,’ the yakuza guys had set up a projector on the wall to play a movie from who knows where they got it.

It was a Christmas movie often shown on TV during this season. The content was exactly as I remembered. A comedy about a child accidentally left home alone who defends the house from burglars.

Even though we all knew the plot, we laughed while watching the movie.

And among us, only Koko was seeing it for the first time.

With sparkling eyes and an open mouth, absorbed in the image on the wall, Koko looked even more childlike than usual.

“…”

I watched Koko’s face for quite a while.

I wasn’t sure what to think. Should I be worried, relieved? Or should I feel sorry?

Probably all of the above.

“Wha?”

But no matter how absorbed in the movie Koko was, she didn’t fail to notice my gaze.

As she turned her head and met my eyes with that sound, I smiled slightly.

Koko smiled back at me.

A face identical to mine, smiling brightly.

Is that smile because of me?

Is she happy that I’m here?

…

It’s a bit selfish, but…

I hoped so.

*

The sun had set outside, but it wasn’t completely night yet.

After dinner, we exchanged gifts.

There was a slight miscalculation here—the girls apparently wanted to pool all the gifts together and pick them randomly.

And I had prepared gifts for each friend individually.

Shii was with me when I was choosing them—ah, now I understand why Shii gave me that puzzled look back then.

…I would have known if I’d been to this kind of party before.

The Christmas parties I knew were just about friends without girlfriends getting together and drinking.

Of course, there was no gift exchange.

“Uuu…?”

And Koko seemed a bit confused by the situation too.

That’s right.

For Koko, a ‘Christmas gift’ was something Santa Claus gave to children who had been good all year. She hadn’t even considered the idea of friends exchanging gifts.

“It’s okay.”

Yuka said, as if comforting Koko.

“I prepared something for you, Koko.”

“Uuu?”

Even after hearing Yuka’s words, Koko still seemed unsure if this was really okay—

“Alright, is everyone ready? Then, let’s start the gift exchange!”

—but before that uncertainty could fully form, Fukuda, holding a Christmas-themed stick like a microphone, shouted as if trying to move things along quickly.

I wondered when she had prepared it, but it seems she took one of the decorations from the tree.

“Now, now, let’s put these notes in this box.”

Fukuda, with an extremely happy expression, put numbered notes that were roughly folded into a cubic box with a fist-sized hole on one side.

I wonder when they prepared that too.

…Hmm, seeing Yamashita looking proud, it seems the yakuza guys prepared it.

I guess you’re not embarrassed about that, Yamashita. Well, there’s no need to be.

“Then, Kotone-chan, who generously gave gifts to everyone, goes first!”

Fukuda said, pointing the box opening toward me.

Since everyone was looking directly at me, making it impossible to decline, I silently put my hand in.

And I picked out one of the irregularly torn notes.

Unfolding the twice-folded note—

“Yuka.”

When I read the name on the note and looked at Yuka, she smiled brightly.

Now that I look, she was clenching her fist tightly.

…Well, that makes sense. If you had to choose who’s closest to Yuka here, it would be me. She’s friendly with the others too, but still.

“Alright, shall we open the gift then?”

At Fukuda’s words, Yuka stood up, took the gift in front of her, and came to me.

Then she carefully placed the box on the floor.

It was a meticulously wrapped box. The kind of typical Christmas gift box that would appear first if you searched for ‘Christmas gift’ online.

When I opened the box—

Inside was what looked like a hand-knitted scarf.

And fur gloves and a fur hat.

There were even two sets of each.

…Anyone could see these were for me and Koko. The colors were opposite—blue and red—but they looked exactly the same.

“I thought… you looked a bit cold when you’re out.”

Yuka said shyly.

“Thank you.”

I said with a smile, and took out the scarf to wrap around my neck.

I didn’t put on the hat and gloves. It would be cumbersome to wear them indoors. I’ll use them when we go outside later.

And I also wrapped a scarf around Koko, who was sitting next to me.

Red for me, blue for Koko. This way it’ll be easy to tell us apart.

Maybe I’ll tease Yuka about it later.

“Okay, then would Yuka-chan like to pick next?”

Still not fully accustomed to Fukuda’s way of addressing peers with such honorifics, Yuka blushed slightly but put her hand in the box.

And the note she picked—

“Koko! …But, is this okay?”

“Uuu?”

That’s right. Koko hadn’t prepared any gifts, and Yuka had prepared one on her behalf.

So if she received a gift now, it would be like Yuka giving a gift to herself.

“It’s fine.”

But Yuka cut it off decisively and gave the gift to Koko instead.

“Here.”

“Uuu…?”

Clearly confused that Yuka was giving her a gift that Koko should be giving to Yuka, Koko tilted her head.

“It’s really okay.”

Though hesitant, Koko didn’t refuse Yuka’s offer.

When she opened the box—

“Waa!”

It was full of snacks.

Yuka smiled and took out just one chocolate bar from the top.

“This is enough for me. The heart is what matters in Christmas gifts, right?”

“Thank you!”

When Koko exclaimed with sparkling eyes, Yuka’s face flushed a bit.

But pride seemed to outweigh embarrassment, as Yuka puffed out her chest toward Koko.

It was just like an older sister feeling proud in front of her younger sibling, and I had to bite my lip hard to keep from laughing.

*

The gift exchange continued smoothly.

While Koko, Yuka, and I coincidentally exchanged gifts with each other, the rest of the girls’ exchanges were completely random.

For example, Yamashita’s expensive shampoo went to Kaoru.

“Am I… supposed to use something like this…?”

Kaoru turned the shampoo around in confusion.

Well, among us, Kaoru is the one who dresses most plainly.

“Try it when you meet a boy. He might fall for your scent.”

When Izumi said that with a smile, Kaoru’s face reddened slightly.

And Yamashita was looking at the two of them as if they were strange.

That’s right. Neither of them gives the impression of being particularly fashionable. And to Yamashita, that shampoo is probably just a bit high-end, nothing more than an everyday item.

I’ve heard that women are interested in such things even if they don’t seem to dress up much, but I’m not sure if that’s because this world is based on a light novel or just because I haven’t met many women.

Kaoru’s gift went to Shii.

“C-can I really accept something like this?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Try it on.”

…It was a flashy patterned jersey that looked like something delinquents on motorcycles would wear, so when Shii put it on, it looked incredibly bizarre.

No, it’s not that it doesn’t suit her.

How should I put it? She looks like a delinquent’s girlfriend. Like she borrowed it. That kind of vibe.

Anyway, it was amusing how it strangely enhanced Shii’s pure image.

It was a bit big, but that shouldn’t matter, right?

Izumi’s strange mystery novel by an author whose full name exceeded 12 syllables went to Yamashita, and Shii’s pretty hairpin went to Mako. Mako’s rather expensive-looking fountain pen went to Izumi.

“Wow!”

Izumi’s eyes sparkled.

“You were interested in fountain pens too?”

When Kaoru asked with wide eyes,

“Ah, not really, but you know. People who read want to try writing someday. And writers have a romance with writing instruments!”

“So you’re not using it right now?”

Kaoru tactlessly interjected, but Izumi easily ignored such comments and looked at Mako.

“Thank you, junior!”

When Izumi thanked her somewhat intensely, Mako scratched her cheek shyly.

Then—

“…Ah…”

Her gaze turned to Fukuda.

“Ah, I’m fine.”

Fukuda smiled and held up a keychain.

“Look, I already received this.”

It was a black cat keychain resembling Kuro.

It wasn’t three-dimensional, but a flat, deformed cat character. It was like a cat-shaped badge.

The shapes were all different. I bought different colors too. I hadn’t thought much about it before, but cat fur colors are surprisingly diverse. The patterns vary too.

…However.

“But everyone else received everything…”

That’s right. I had bought gifts for everyone.

So technically, I didn’t have a gift. While everyone else received two types of gifts, Fukuda alone received just one keychain.

“It’s okay. This is pretty.”

But Fukuda blocked our concern with a bright smile.

“Thank you, Kotone.”

“…”

She said without adding ‘-chan’.

Somehow embarrassed by her tone, I blushed slightly.

“…Yeah.”

That was all I could say.

*

And we continued playing for a while longer.

The mansion was so spacious that there seemed to be many things to do in every corner.

I’m not sure why yakuza guys would have something like a Game of Life, though.

Moreover, this wasn’t even newly bought for us. Judging by the worn-out box, it had been used many times.

At least it didn’t smell of cigarettes, which was fortunate.

It was just a simple dice game. The only special thing was that the board humorously represented a person’s life.

In the first round, I went to university first, shouldered student loans, bought a house, took on a mortgage, and nearly went bankrupt. I was thinking of starting the second round by going straight into society—

Rattle.

Just before we rolled the dice, the door to our room opened slightly.

“Miss.”

A yakuza guy said quietly.

“A guest has arrived. He identified himself as Souta Sasaki.”

“…”

All our gazes turned to Shii.

Shii’s mouth opened slightly.

“What should we do?”

Yamashita, who had heard from Shii about why she fought with her ‘brother,’ asked.

Yamashita was the daughter of the owner—well, it’s a bit strange to call him that, but anyway, she was the daughter of the person who owned this house.

“I…”

Shii’s face darkened a bit.

“…Was Sasaki alone?”

When I asked the yakuza guy, he nodded.

“Yes, just the student alone.”

That meant he had sent Hagiwara and Nakahara home.

What was it like in the original work?

If this were a game, this might have been a watershed moment. A flag that would lead to an ending with the heroine who stays with you here.

But what I read wasn’t a game but a novel.

My memory is a bit hazy, but I think he was with Yuka. But not from the beginning—it started with all kinds of misunderstandings, Yuka displaying her tsundere spirit, Shii jumping into the competition like other heroines, and after all the typical romantic comedy chaos, he ended up alone with Yuka exchanging gifts.

Here, since Yuka had moved out of the ‘heroine’ category, the story had completely changed.

“…Let’s go, Shii.”

I said to Shii, who was lost in thought.

“It’s cold outside.”

At my words, both Shii and Yuka’s faces turned sharply toward me.

…Why?

Did it seem like I was worried about Sasaki?

Well, I was worried, to be honest.

“He must have come to tell you something.”

“…”

After maintaining a slightly clouded expression for a while, Shii nodded.

*

Sasaki seemed very surprised when a group of schoolgirls rushed out of the mansion’s main gate.

“Brother, how did you know to come here?”

That was the first thing Shii said when she saw Sasaki.

Given Shii’s personality, she wouldn’t have left without saying where she was going. Of course, she wouldn’t have needed to be specific. Saying she was staying at a friend’s house would have been enough.

…But thinking about it again, it was a situation that would make Sasaki worry.

Because Shii wasn’t the type to say such things normally.

Didn’t she always tell Sasaki everything in advance, no matter what she was doing or where she was going? So if she suddenly disappeared saying only that she’d be staying at a friend’s house, of course Sasaki would worry.

“Brother?”

“…”

Sasaki glanced at me when he heard Shii’s words.

That’s right.

He was so worried that he even emailed me.

When Shii didn’t answer, he emailed me asking for the exact location.

I was worried he might try to come with two heroines on either side, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

Well, even a dense protagonist should have that much sense.

“Um, well.”

Sasaki stumbled over his words, seemingly feeling immense pressure from all the stares directed at him.

Finally, after gulping, he bowed deeply toward Shii.

“Brother!?”

Shii, who hadn’t expected Sasaki to do this, exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m sorry!”

Sasaki said.

“I should have considered your feelings as family first, but I was indecisive!”

“…”

The surroundings became extremely quiet at Sasaki’s words.

“Brother…”

“I should have been more thoughtful. Um… first.”

Sasaki, with a slightly awkward expression, straightened up and picked up the shopping bag he had placed at his feet.

“Here… Merry Christmas.”

“Brother…”

Tears welled up in Shii’s eyes at Sasaki’s words.

Glancing at my watch, I saw it was just past nine. It seems he had taken both of them home before coming here.

“…”

But, by the way.

It’s a bit cold.

Since we had come out from inside without proper outerwear, it was extremely cold.

Honestly, if they’re going to have a long conversation, I’d prefer if we could go inside.

But because of the warm atmosphere between the two, no one dared to intervene, and we ended up standing there shivering for several minutes.