Episode 392: The Main Event

The party was in full swing. The lavish and incredibly delicious dinner party had ended, and I’d safely (?) made it through that mysterious game of house where I almost lost something precious. Now, one of today’s main events was about to begin.

The fun known as the gift exchange, followed by the surprise…

「I totally thought Kazunari was going to be the Santa, though.」

「No, I thought about doing it at first too. But if I suddenly disappeared…」

「That’s true. Since Mio-chan is sticking to Kazunari that much, I think it was the right call to change the plan.」

「Yeah.」

That’s right. If Santa appeared right when I went missing, it’s obvious that Mio-chan would start looking for me. Besides, I never expected Sakura-chan and Yuki-chan to get so attached to me, so there was a high chance someone like Sakura-chan would see through Santa’s identity as me. In that case, I can only say it turned out for the best that we changed the plan.

Well, to be honest, I really wanted to be Santa and make Mio-chan happy.

「Hey now, what are you men huddling together and whispering about?」

「…That sounds kind of unpleasant, so I’d like you to stop using that phrasing.」

「Then hurry up and get ready!」

「Yes, yes…」

「Say “yes” only once!」

「Yes, yes…」

「T-this guy…」

Ummm… a wise man keeps away from danger.

I definitely can’t handle this kind of interaction, so it’s best to leave Natsumi-senpai to Yuji (not that I’ve abandoned him).

Now then, I should get ready too… though that just means taking one item out of my bag.

「Alright, is everyone ready?」

「Yaaay!!」

Listening to Mio-chan’s energetic reply, I checked everyone around… alright, it looks like everyone has theirs. Since I told them in advance, it seems Sakura-chan and Yuki-chan prepared theirs properly too.

「Fufu… since Sakura is the present for Onii-chan, don’t worry, okay?」

「Umm…」

Honestly, I don’t really know what’s supposed to be reassuring about that, and there’s a lot I could point out… but for now, it’s certain she doesn’t understand the meaning of her words.

Still, where on earth does she learn lines like that? And she even winked at me so politely. Is Sakura-chan really a kindergartener?

「Haha, Kazunari is really popular.」

「Fufu… Onii-san is handsome, but there’s more to a man than that. So please follow Onii-chan’s example, okay?」

「…Yeah, you’re right. It’s just as Sakura-chan says.」

Hayato answered solemnly to Sakura-chan’s incredibly meaningful comment (regardless of how much she actually understands)… ummm?

「Sakura, don’t say such cheeky things and come over here! I’m sorry, Onii-san.」

「No, no, I think Sakura-chan has a good eye for people.」

「Fufu, she’s just acting grown up and saying whatever comes to mind without knowing what it means anyway. Please don’t mind her.」

「Buuu… that’s not true!」

At her mother’s words, Sakura-chan cutely puffed out her cheeks and turned away peevishly. Seeing her act her age like this is purely heartwarming.

「Onii-chan, Yuki’s present is this one.」

「Haha, then Yuki-chan, let’s exchange it with everyone else, okay?」

「Yeah!!」

As for Yuki-chan, she held my left hand modestly as usual and happily showed me the present in her tiny hand. The way this girl acts spoiled so naturally… she’s going to be a heartbreaker in the future. Well, there’s no need to analyze that right now.

「Present, present♪.」

「Mio-chan is so cute…」

By the way, Mio-chan, who is the first to volunteer at times like this, was in high spirits while getting a piggyback ride from me. Behind her, Hanako-san was stretching as far as she could to stroke her head, which was also a heartwarming sight.

「Well then, everyone, please take your positions.」

「「Okay.」」

It seems Nishikawa-san has finished her「preparations」too…

Well then, let’s start the gift exchange!

「♪~.」

「♪~.」

While everyone sang the classic Christmas song playing from the speakers, we passed the presents in our hands to the right one by one.

The present I prepared had already passed by several times, and now it was in the hands of Mio-chan next to me…

「Now!」

The song ended right there, and at the final shout, the hand-offs stopped perfectly. And now, the small box in my hand… I’m secretly relieved because I’m certain it’s at least not the present I prepared myself.

The scariest thing in a gift exchange is getting your own present, after all…

「Yaaaaay, it’s Onii-chan’s present!!」

Mio-chan shouted loudly next to me because, naturally, she had the present I’d handed over right before it stopped. It seems the goddess of fate smiled upon Mio-chan.

Or rather, Mio-chan had clearly remembered the pattern on the box I prepared.

「Fufu… that’s wonderful, Mio-chan.」

「Yeah!! Ehehe, Onii-chan’s present!!」

Mio-chan was so happy that she held the present above her head to show it off, jumping up and down between me and Sara-san. However, seeing Sakura-chan and Yuki-chan looking at Mio-chan enviously made me feel a little sorry for them… but those are the rules, so it can’t be helped.

Besides, to be honest, I chose the gift hoping it would reach Mio-chan.

「Hey Onii-chan, can I open it!?」

「Go ahead.」

「Yay!!」

Once she got my permission, Mio-chan tried to vigorously tear the wrapping paper… but then she looked a bit troubled and glanced back and forth between my face and Sara-san’s.

Umm, what is it this time…?

「Fufu… Mio-chan, please let me have it.」

「Yeah!」

Apparently, Sara-san understood what she meant. She took the box from Mio-chan, untied the ribbon first, and then carefully peeled off the sticker. After carefully removing the wrapping paper with a steady hand, she neatly folded the paper at the end…

…I see, so that’s what it was.

This makes me a little happy.

「Here you go.」

「Thank you, Sara onee-chan!!」

After receiving the folded wrapping paper and ribbon along with the gift box, Mio-chan trotted off somewhere. She opened her backpack sitting in the corner of the room and tucked them away carefully as if they were precious.

And the way she patted the backpack contentedly at the end was just…

「Nfufu, Mio-chan is such a girl.」

「She is. It’s truly lovely and heartwarming.」

「Ah, I had a time like that too…」

「Huh? Natsumi, since way back, you’ve been the type to rip out the contents and toss the outside aside, right?」

「Ah, Natsumi-san is still like that.」

「Yuji!! Don’t say unnecessary things!!」

「Ahaha…」

I also think Natsumi-senpai has a「dumplings over flowers」kind of personality, so that’s quite believable. But judging by Yuji’s tone, there might have been an incident he remembers well.

「I wonder what it is, I wonder what it is.」

「Fufu…」

Mio-chan returned to us and lifted the lid immediately as if she couldn’t wait any longer. When the contents of the box were visible…

「Aaaaah, it’s Miikawa-chan!!」

She took it out of the box with great joy. It was a new mascot of「Miikawa,」the protagonist of the currently popular anime, Miikawa. I’d found this lucky find just the other day while a clerk was putting out new stock, and it was a fortunate item I happened to be able to buy.

According to the clerk, it was a popular item that sold out instantly even online, making it a rare item that’s difficult to buy normally without going through resellers.

Ummm… the popularity of Miikawa is terrifying.

「Ah, I’m jealous!! Sakura doesn’t have that one!!」

「Auu… I’m jealous, Mio-chan.」

「No way, this Miikawa-chan is Mio’s!! Right, Onii-chan?」

「Y-yeah. This is what Mio-chan won.」

Being stared at resentfully by Sakura-chan and Yuki-chan, especially Sakura-chan, I couldn’t help but stammer. This girl is really going to be scary in the future.

「Mio-chan, let me see it too!」

「Wow, it’s cute.」

「Umm… so this is why the girls in class are so obsessed with it.」

「Is that so?」

「You wouldn’t know because you’re only interested in Takanashi-kun, but it’s a huge trend in the world!」

「I know that much. I even have a large plushie of it.」

「Eh!? Is that by any chance a prize from a claw machine!?」

「Yes. When we stopped by the game corner before, Kazunari-san won it for me.」

「Whoa, you actually got that one, Takanashi-kun! I couldn’t get it at all…」

「Well… it took a bit.」

Since Sara-san praised me, I don’t want to say it too loudly, but that was a so-called scavenging strategy. It seemed the previous customer had put in quite a bit, so when I tried just one coin, I got it easily.

Once a probability-based machine exceeds the set amount, it’s easy to get the prize even with a standard approach.

「Well, those three-pronged claws are like that…」

Similarly, Yuji, who is knowledgeable about such games, grinned, and Hanako-san and Hayato nodded in agreement.

Well, this kind of information is easy to find if you look it up a little…

「Mama, look, look, Miikawa-chan!!」

「Oh, that’s nice, Mio. You got the Miikawa-chan you wanted.」

「Yeah. Onii-chan gave it to me!」

Mio-chan seemed truly happy, looking at the Miikawa mascot over and over, occasionally hugging it tightly and stroking its head with joy.

I didn’t think she’d be this happy, so I guess I can say「Good Job」to myself.

「Oh, this is a digital photo frame?」

「Ah, that’s mine! Please use it if you’d like!」

「Fufu… thank you very much. I’ll use it to display photos with Kazunari-san.」

The present Sara-san got was a simple design photo frame that Tachikawa-san apparently prepared. Since「Slideshow Compatible」was written in large letters on the box, it might be nice to pick out some good photos and relax while looking at them together.

「Umm, mine is… oh, is this soap? It smells really good.」

「Fufu… you can use it as a fragrance for your room too, so please feel free.」

「Which means it’s Sara’s present.」

The present Natsumi-senpai got was soap prepared by Sara-san… what you’d call fragrance soap. Since the good scent is already wafting over to me, it might be a bit of a waste to use it in the bath.

「Ah, a cute ballpoint pen!」

「Heh… a tabletop humidifier.」

「I got an aroma stone.」

Everyone else opened their presents one after another, happily showing the contents to each other. There were various other items like handkerchief sets, hand cream, and stylish snack sets. It was clear that everyone had been particular about what they prepared, so just watching them was enjoyable.

「Now it’s just Kazunari-san.」

「Eh? Oh, that’s right.」

Pointed out by Sara-san, I realized I hadn’t opened my present yet.

I was so busy enjoying watching everyone else that I forgot, but before I knew it, I was the only one left.

「It seems my present went to Takanashi-san?」

「Haha, looks like it.」

Since Nishikawa-san is the only one who hasn’t stepped forward with their gift yet, it means the present I’m holding is the one she prepared.

Well then, if you’ll excuse me…

「Fufu… if I’d known Takanashi-san would be the one receiving it, I should have made it a more masculine present.」

「But that would take away the best part of a gift exchange, Eririn.」

「I know that.」

「Haha…」

Following everyone’s lead, I carefully peeled off the wrapping paper without tearing it as much as possible, and slowly opened the box while suppressing my excitement. What was inside was a single cute-sized tin with a design that had some difficult English (?) and the word「tea」… umm, so this is.

「Is this tea?」

「Yes. It’s a tea I usually drink, and I highly recommend it.」

「Thank you. Then, maybe even tonight…」

「Fufu, I’ll brew it for you right away, okay?」

Since I usually drink tea too (thanks to Sara-san’s influence), I’m honestly grateful for this. Besides, I feel like I’ve seen the same design tin at the Satsukawa residence… so maybe I’ve actually drunk it without knowing.

「Did everyone get a present?」

「Seems so. Well then, that’s it for the gift exchange…」

「Ho ho ho… Merry Christmaaaaaaaaas!!」

「!?」

「What?」

「Whose voice is that?」

Just as we were about to end the gift exchange, a particularly loud voice echoed from the ceiling, and everyone looked around in surprise.

Who on earth does this voice belong to…?