The party scheduled for Christmas evening concluded with great success. Although it was hosted by the Tea Party this year, there were no restrictions on attendance, so many students flocked to the event.
Unlike Nagisa, I had many people looking for me, so I spent most of the party held captive by other students. Surprisingly, however, Nagisa, who was chatting with Seia, didn't seem to have any complaints.
Seeing her leisurely handle the Filius Faction students who occasionally sought her out was proof that her mood was at its absolute best.
Looking back, it felt like our living situation had made Nagisa more lenient than before. It made sense, given that she now shared every aspect of her daily life with me.
The real trouble during the party wasn't that, but the fact that far too many students came up to give me presents directly.
No, seriously. I had no problem carrying them myself, but where was I supposed to put them all?
And the most regrettable part was that I hadn't been able to touch a single drop of alcohol all year. Still, maybe for next year's Christmas... I could try to sweet-talk Nagisa? Perhaps even sooner.
Honestly, if I recommended a glass of wine during a romantic dinner, Nagisa would surely fall for it. There was no way that, even in that kind of atmosphere, she would react by saying something like, 'Mika-ssi, us, drinking? We are meant to be role models for all of Trinity's students. It is no use trying to blind me with this mood. For you, Mika-ssi... I believe a roll cake is in order instead of wine.'
...And if even that didn't work, I'd have no choice but to persuade Haruna.
Anyway, after the Christmas party ended, I had to enlist the help of my attendants to move all the presents home. There were also gifts sent from other academies addressed to the Tea Party, so after moving those as well... Oh, dear.
The area around the mini Christmas tree set up in a corner of the living room was completely filled with my presents. At this point, Nagisa, being human, couldn't possibly not feel jealous. However, the target of her jealousy was aimed in a slightly different direction.
"Of all these many gifts, I wonder how many are intended to buy your affection? Hmm...?"
"...Ahaha. Well, I really couldn't say."
If I knew that, my relationships with women wouldn't be this complicated. Even now, when I prided myself on having developed some intuition, if someone suddenly confessed to me, my first reaction would be something like, 'Her? No, why would she suddenly confess to me? What did I even do...?'
It was customary to open presents on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. So the gifts piled under... or rather, around the tree would not see the light of day today.
My eyes fell on the gift placed deepest under the tree... the one from Nagisa, intended not for me, but for the real Mika.
*Because we're strangers, we can't know.*
A person's heart cannot be proven. Even with things laid bare for the eyes to see, one can never truly prove another's innermost feelings, for we are complete strangers.
The claim made by a future Nagisa, who had been the very embodiment of paranoia—a future that would never come as long as I was here. And the answer Mika had given that Nagisa.
There was something I desperately wanted to say to the Mika who had unfairly chased me away after those last words.
That it wasn't that she couldn't know, but that she couldn't know simply because she hadn't tried to.
But that was also something I should never say to Mika, so it was a relief that she had chased me away.
The reason being, I still didn't know what Mika had seen and experienced, or what thoughts had led her to say such things.
The day I finally face Mika will come. The fact that she didn't want this body back was a problem I didn't know how to solve, but.
When that time comes, I truly wanted to hear Mika's story.
***
"Wow, Nagisa-chan, look at this. Don't you think this qipao would look great on me?"
"...How on earth did she know your size?"
"Huh?"
I was holding the qipao, sent in Kisaki's name, against my body, thinking how perfect it would look with the butterfly hair ornament I had received before. Nagisa's words snapped me back to reality.
Come to think of it, how...?
"Whatever her intentions or reasons... it does look like it would be a fine sight. I approve."
"...Didn't you say just yesterday that you weren't so classless as to pounce on someone in broad daylight? Your gaze is so sticky, Nagisa-chan."
"It's morning now, not broad daylight. Morning is merely an extension of night and dawn."
"...And you have such poor stamina."
"Th-That's because your body is abnormally healthy, Mika-ssi."
Not a chance. I wasn't falling for that excuse. Nagisa needed to work out, too.
I absolutely must see healthy, 11-shaped abs etched on Nagisa's stomach...! (TN: "11-shaped abs" is a Korean beauty standard for a toned female stomach, defined by two vertical lines resembling the number 11.)
"This one's from Millennium... ugh."
"Um, what on earth is that?"
"Well, there's a girl who likes this sort of thing. I never thought she'd send me a gift, though."
"...Don't tell me, Tsuk—"
"Shh. Absolutely, positively pretend you don't know. From now on, forever."
I put the object, which looked like a mini plastic model of a completed Avant-garde-kun, back into the box and seriously contemplated where to put it. Sticking it in a warehouse wouldn't be very gracious... hmm. But leaving it out would probably upset Nagisa.
Maybe it would be best to just leave it in my office.
In addition, there was one gift from Millennium under the name of Veritas, one each from my fellow idols Asuna and Neru, and one each from Himari and Noa.
Veritas sent a USB containing a security program to install on my personal PC. For some reason, Asuna sent a pair of white sneakers with sky-blue accents. The memo saying that wearing them might bring good luck made me feel like I should wear them often.
But, if I wear these, the height-boosting effect of my heels will be gone... but our official lucky charm Asuna says they'll bring good fortune...? This was a dilemma I couldn't help but agonize over. The internal conflict was intense.
As for Neru's gift, which was just a single memo that said "Let's have a rematch later" inside a box devoid of any actual content, I felt like I should report it for excessive packaging.
From Himari came a letter filled with all sorts of flowery language, along with a photograph of herself. The letter could be summarized as:
"For a libertine such as yourself, a photograph of a transcendent beauty like me—one of only two in this world, and the one and only frail beauty—should be more than enough of a gift... Mika-ssi, do not. Absolutely do not contact this person."
"Uh, huh?"
"Do not. Ever."
...Certainly, if Nagisa was reacting like this, Himari must be no ordinary beauty.
Noa also sent a long letter, but one glance told me it was the kind that needed to be read separately and replied to with great care, so I folded it back up and returned it to the box.
Her gift was a bit unusual; she had sent the actual notebook containing the first draft of her and Haruna's food critiques, filled with their reviews from restaurant visits. Even a brief skim was enough to make me smile, seeing how well the two of them clicked.
Next, I opened the gifts from Gehenna.
From the Pandemonium Society, Makoto sent a flag with her face on it, and Iroha sent an employment contract and a book she apparently uses as a pillow as "gifts."
I ripped up Makoto's immediately. As for Iroha... does she want to escape the Pandemonium Society that badly? Hmm.
But if you leave, the Pandemonium Society will collapse, so no...
From the Gourmet Research Society, Akari wanted to send a roast turkey but couldn't, so she sent a... crazy woman. (TN: The original text implies she sent something infused with the scent of turkey, which Mika finds insane.)
From Izumi, a gift set of cookies... wait a minute. From Izumi?
Just in case, I checked and found the bizarre brand name "Wasabi-Choco Flavored Cookies." Crazy woman...
At least the gift from Haruna was a bit more normal. Inside the box was a single ticket to a musical scheduled for next week.
According to the memo, she would give me the real present then.
Don't tell me she came all this way to give me a gift that was really just a way to set up a date so she could give me her real gift in person...? What kind of high-level maneuver is this?
"...Fufu. It's a date, isn't it?"
"Ahaha, looks like it..."
"Haruna-ssi is quite bold, isn't she?"
Watching from the side, Nagisa shot me a brief glare with a hint of jealousy in her eyes before letting it go without another word.
No, really. Is it okay for a person to be this magnanimous?
"More importantly, Mika-ssi, there seems to be no end to your gifts...?"
"...You're right."
Just as Nagisa said. While her pile of gifts was beginning to dwindle, I still had a long way to go.
What appeared to be a gift from the Pater children was a portrait of me, but the peculiar thing was that the entire coloring was made up of text. I skimmed a few lines and found it was full of enough praise to make my face flush. I couldn't even imagine how much effort went into it.
Seeing as Nagisa had received a similar gift from the Filius Faction, Seia probably got one too.
Our dear Chief of Defense sent Ceylon tea leaves as a gift, but I was a little disappointed that the General Student Council President and Rin didn't send anything. This is why you can't count on the GSC folks. Except for Kaya.
Nagisa, who had fewer presents to open than I did, had already recovered from the shock of Seia's... finger-mounted-something and Hifumi's Peroro-printed teacup, leaving only my gift unopened.
For the record, they both sent me the same things, with the only difference being that my teacup was printed with a Wavecat.
"...Mika-ssi, would it be alright if I read the letter later, when I'm alone?"
"Well, I don't see why not. Do as you please."
Setting the letter aside, Nagisa took out the contents of the box and carefully unfolded them.
And there, collected within, were the records of the past eight months... of the time Nagisa and I had spent together.
"..."
"So, what do you think? Do you like it? Oh, and for your information, I made sure to include all the ones where you look ugly, Nagisa-chan. I did a good job, right? Huh?"
"...And you, Mika-ssi?"
"Hey, where would you find an ugly picture of me? You say the strangest things, Nagisa-chan."
"Pfft..."
An album containing all the time, all the memories we shared. It was something I had been preparing to give her as a Christmas present for a long time.
"Perhaps you... are the greatest gift of my life."
"I-If you put it like that, it makes me really embarrassed, you know?"
"On the contrary, I'm worried that the gift I prepared won't even meet your expectations, Mika-ssi."
Well, she might say that, but. I was sure Nagisa had prepared a gift that I would absolutely love. Because that's the kind of person Nagisa is.
"In that case, shall we find out right now☆"
From the still-massive pile of boxes, I fished out Nagisa's and slowly tore off the wrapping. Thankfully, it seemed she had said what she wanted to when she gave me my birthday present, as there was no letter inside other than a note that said "Merry Christmas."
The contents revealed were not very large. In terms of weight, you could say it was as light as a feather. And for good reason, since the gift was a quill pen decorated with one of Nagisa's own feathers.
In terms of elegance, the color itself was nothing special. Both Nagisa's and my feathers were generally quite plain. But as a gift, it was a truly meaningful object. It made me think about making one for her next year.
"I made this with the hope that you would think of me even when you are working in a place where I am not."
"Whoa... Nagisa-chan, isn't that love a little heavy?"
"I only regret that I cannot show you a love even heavier than this. If I did, I might end up being hated by you... and that is the one thing I would hate, even in death."
"...I see. Well, I'll be sure to use this well."
I've never used a quill pen before... but since it's come to this, I'll have to learn how. How hard can it be just to write with a pen?
The only problem was, there was still a mountain of gifts left. Things from the students of Trinity and Arius, gifts from Abydos and Odysseia, and more.
To top it off, the gift from Hina was a ballpoint pen, clearly of high quality, with my name engraved on it. This made me worry a bit, as its purpose overlapped with Nagisa's gift.
Hmm, maybe having too many connections is more of a problem than a blessing...
***