On Christmas evening, the planned party ended in great success. This year’s gathering took place at T-party without any restrictions on attendance, so a lot of kids flocked in.
Unlike Nagisa, I spent most of the party being cornered by other kids looking for me, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem unhappy chatting away with Seiya.
Seeing her relaxed demeanor while dealing with the kids from the Filius faction looking for her occasionally was proof that Nagisa was in a truly great mood.
Reflecting on it, I feel that the living-together situation has made her more generous compared to before. Well, that makes sense since she’s sharing her entire daily life with me.
In fact, the only troublesome thing during the party was how many kids came up to me wanting to give me presents.
No, seriously. I can handle carrying them by myself, but where would I even put all of them?
And the biggest regret is that I couldn’t even enjoy a drop of alcohol this year. But maybe next Christmas… if I can sweet-talk Nagisa, it might not be impossible. Perhaps even before that.
Honestly, if I offer a glass of wine during a romantic dinner, Nagisa would surely be defenseless. There’s no way she’d respond with, “Mika-san, as role models for Trinity students, we shouldn’t be drinking in this atmosphere! It’s no use trying to blindfold me! I think I should offer you… a roll cake instead.”
If that line doesn’t work, I’ll just have to try charming Haruna instead.
Anyhow, after the Christmas party ended, I eventually had to rely on the attendants to help move the presents home. Gifts from other academies had also arrived in T-party’s name, and after moving all of those… what a sight it was.
The corner of the living room was now piled high with gifts around a mini Christmas tree I had set up. With this many gifts, it was only natural for Nagisa, being human, to feel a twinge of jealousy, but her jealousy seemed to come from a different angle.
“Out of all these presents, I wonder how many were intended to win your heart? Hmm…?”
“…Ahaha, I wouldn’t know.”
If I knew that, my relationships with women wouldn’t be as complicated as they are now. Even with my substantial sense of intuition, if someone suddenly confessed, my reaction would probably be, “This person? Why them all of a sudden? What did I do?”
It’s customary to open presents on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas morning. So, it wasn’t today that the presents stacked under the tree… or rather, around it, would see the light of day.
What caught my eye was a gift from Nagisa meant for Mika, placed right inside the innermost part of the tree.
We are strangers, so we can’t know.
The heart of a person cannot be proven. Even with things laying right in front of us, we cannot prove a person’s true feelings because, in regard to that, we are utterly strangers.
What Nagisa had asserted as the embodiment of doubt, a future that wouldn’t come while I was around, and what Mika had responded to her.
I wanted to tell Mika something for kicking me out with those words.
It wasn’t like I couldn’t know, but I simply didn’t want to know.
However, it was also a thing I shouldn’t say to Mika, so I was somewhat relieved that she kicked me out.
I still don’t know what Mika saw and experienced. I can’t fathom what thoughts led her to say those words.
One day, there will come a time when I will face Mika again. How to resolve the issue that she may not want to return this body to me is something I have no idea about.
When that time comes, I really want to hear Mika’s story.
*
“Wow, Nagisa-chan. Look at this! This cheongsam, doesn’t it look like it would suit me really well?”
“…How could they possibly know the size to send this?”
“Eh?”
As I held up the cheongsam sent to me under Kisaki’s name and thought about how it would look good with the butterfly hairpiece I received last time, Nagisa’s comment jolted me back to reality.
Now that I think about it, how could they know…?
“Whatever their intention or reason… It looks good, I think. I like it.”
“…Weren’t you saying just yesterday that I was not the kind of woman to pounce on someone in broad daylight? The gaze is too sticky, Nagisa-chan.”
“Right now, it’s not broad daylight; it’s morning! Morning is just an extension of night and dawn.”
“…You’re weak on stamina.”
“Th-that’s because Mika-san is abnormally healthy!”
There’s no way she’d buy that excuse. Nagisa needs to exercise too.
I really want to see those healthy 11-pack abs on Nagisa!
“Is this from the Millennium… Whoa.”
“Hey, what is this?”
“Uh, someone I know likes these things. I didn’t expect them to send a gift.”
“…Could it be Tsuka—”
“Shush. Absolutely, positively pretend you don’t know. Moving forward.”
After cramming something that looked like a completed form of the Avant-Garde army back into the box, I pondered where to hide it. Stashing it in the storage wouldn’t show enough sincerity… Hmm. Leaving it outside seems like it would upset Nagisa too.
I guess keeping it in my office might be the best option.
Among the peculiar gifts from Millennium, one was sent under the Veritas name. One from Asuna and Neru, who are our idol companions. I also received one each from Himari and Noa.
Veritas sent a USB loaded with a security program, instructing me to install it on my personal pc. Asuna unexpectedly sent me sky-blue and white sneakers. The note suggested they might bring luck, so I had the sudden urge to wear them frequently.
But if I wear these, I’d lose the height-enhancing effect of my dress shoes… However, Asuna, our official lucky charm, says they’ll bring good fortune…? This is a conflict I cannot ignore.
Given that the other gifts from Neru contain only a note saying let’s have a rematch later, I have to consider enlarging them.
From Himari came a letter filled with florid compliments and a photo of her attached. Summarized, the letter reads,
“For you, a lecher like me, a picture of a transcendent beauty who is the only one in existence, along with this sickly cute girl—gifts like this are a dime a dozen, right? Please, Mika-san, absolutely do not contact this person.”
“Oh, huh?”
“Please, do not.”
…If Nagisa is saying stuff like this, then Himari must be extraordinary for a cute girl.
Noa also sent a lengthy letter, but this felt like something I’d have to read separately and reply thoughtfully, so I folded it back and placed it back in the box.
One strange gift from her was a notebook containing a rough review from their visit to a restaurant shared between her and Haruna. Even with just a peek, I could tell they got along incredibly well, which made me smile.
After that, I started opening the gifts sent from Gehenna one by one.
From the Manma Battle side, Makoto sent a flag with her face on it, and Iroha sent a hiring contract along with a book she uses as a pillow.
I tore apart the one from Makoto instantly, but for Iroha… how desperate is she to escape the Manma Battle? Hmm.
But we can’t ruin the Manma Battle without you…
From the Gourmet Research Club, Akari wanted to send a turkey roast, but it was difficult, so it turned into something like a beef—crazy lady.
I received a gift cookie set from Izumi… Wait a minute. Izumi?
Just as I suspected, I discovered it was a bizarre label called wasabi-chocolate cookies. Crazy lady…
By a stroke of luck, the one I got from Haruna was a bit more normal, containing a ticket to a musical scheduled for next week.
The note states that she will give me the real gift separately later.
Does this mean she wanted to set up a date to deliver the present in person? What kind of overwhelming complexity is this?
“…Heh heh. A date invitation?”
“Ahaha, it seems that way…”
“Haruna-san really is so bold.”
When Nagisa saw this from the side, jealousy glimmered in her eyes as she subtly glared at me but let it pass without any further comment.
No, really. Is it possible for someone to become this generous?
“By the way, Mika-san, I still have presents that keep coming…?”
“…Indeed.”
As Nagisa pointed out, while she was starting to reach the end, I still had plenty of packages left to go through.
The gifts from the Pater children appeared to be a drawing of me, but what was peculiar was that all the colors were made up of words. Glancing at a few lines made my face flush with several compliments. I can hardly imagine how much effort went into this.
Similarly, seeing that Nagisa also had a similar present prepared by the Filius faction makes me wonder if Seiya must have received the same.
Our Defense Office Head sent me Sri Lankan black tea leaves as a gift, but the Student Council President and Rin didn’t send anything in particular, which was a bit disappointing. This is why those from the Student Council… Well, except for Kaya.
Nagisa, having fewer gifts to open compared to me, had already moved past the shock of receiving something for a finger from Seiya and a mug featuring Peroro from Hifumi, only leaving the present I sent her. To be clear, they’d sent me similar items, though the mug had a Wave Cat design instead.
“…Mika-san, could I read the letter when I’m alone later?”
“Eh, that should be fine, right? Do what you’re comfortable with.”
Setting the letter aside, Nagisa carefully began to unpack the contents of the box.
What was revealed was a collection of our memories… records from the past eight months spent together.
“…”
“What do you think? Did you like it? Ah, by the way, I included every picture where you looked ugly without omission. How’s that, did I do well? Hmm?”
“…What about you, Mika-san?”
“Come on, where could there possibly be an ugly photo of me? You’re saying bizarre things, Nagisa-chan.”
“Pfft…”
This was an album detailing all our time and memories spent together, something I had intended to gift for Christmas from a long time ago.
“Perhaps you might be the best gift of my life.”
“If you say that, I get quite embarrassed too, you know?”
“I’m more worried about whether the gift I prepared will be satisfactory to Mika-san.”
Well, though she said that, there’s no doubt Nagisa prepared a gift that would surely resonate with my heart. Nagisa is just that kind of girl.
“Then, shall we check right now☆”
While digging through the remaining mountain of boxes, I carefully unwrapped Nagisa’s present. Thankfully, it seemed like she hadn’t added a separate note besides the “Merry Christmas” she included with my birthday gift.
The revealed content wasn’t very large. In terms of weight, it could be described as feather-light. This was no surprise, as the gift was a feather pen adorned with Nagisa’s feathers.
When it comes to discussing its design, there wasn’t much special about the color. Both Nagisa and my feathers are mostly ordinary in appearance. Yet, as a gift, it holds profound significance. I might want to craft something similar and gift it next year.
“I wanted to embed my feelings in this, wishing you’d think of me while working in places I’m not.”
“Wow——o… Nagisa-chan, isn’t that a bit heavy for love?”
“I’m just disappointed that I couldn’t show you a heavier love than this. If I did, you might end up hating me… That’s something I really, really don’t want.”
“…I see. Yeah, I’ll definitely use this carefully.”
Though I’ve never used a feather pen before… I suppose I’ll need to learn how to use it given this situation. It’s just a pen; how hard could it be?
The issue lies in the fact that a mountain of gifts still looms ahead. Those from Trinity, Arius, Abydos, Odyssey, and more.
Even the gift Hina gave was a ballpoint pen of such high quality it was clearly an expensive one, and it bore my name engraved on it. This led me to worry whether Nagisa’s gift might overlap in function.
Hmm, it seems that having too many connections can lead to even more problems…
