And so, time passed—it was finally Christmas Day.
Quite a number of people had gathered at our house.
Ryūya, Neika, Kotono, and Noa. And to my surprise, Rion and Riza-san were there too. Even Hiyori and Asahiko had come along.
When I asked if it was really okay for them to come to our Christmas party on the actual day of Christmas...
“I went on a date with Riza-san yesterday,” Rion said.
“Hiyori and the others too~! We did so much~!” Hiyori added.
...Or so they said.
Wait, Hiyori. By 'did so much,' you mean on your date, right? It's not just my mind being dirty that it sounds suggestive, is it?
As I was thinking that, Asahiko scratched his cheek apologetically.
“Ahaha... I’m sorry, Akito-san. For me to intrude like this as well...”
“What are you talking about? We’re friends, aren’t we?”
“! ...Ehehe... T-That’s right. Thank you, Akito-san!”
Whoa, what a dazzling smile...! When a handsome guy gives such a carefree smile, does it really shine that much?!
As Asahiko and I were talking, Ryūya and Neika leaned forward aggressively.
“Hey, hey, so your name is Asahiko? You’re Tsuchimikado’s fated person, right? I’m Ryūya. If you’re Akito’s buddy, you’re my buddy too!”
“Hey, hey, hey~! I’m Neika~. Nice to meet ya~!”
“Y-Yes! Nice to meet you too!”
As expected of the bundles of social energy that are Ryūya and Neika. They closed the distance with Asahiko in an instant.
Well, if the only guy he knew was me, he’d inevitably feel awkward. I figured those two extroverts would be fine, and it turned out exactly as I thought.
Riran and I carried the food from the kitchen.
Making everything from scratch was impossible, but we properly made things we could handle at home, like potato salad and salmon marinade.
The rest, like the pizza and chicken, were store-bought, but everyone raised their voices in delight as the dishes were brought out one after another.
“This is incredibly lavish. Sorry, boy, for having you prepare all this,” Riza-san said.
“No, no. If it makes everyone happy, it’s a small price to pay.”
“I’m the one who cooked it, though,” Riran pointed out.
“I’m the one who plated it,” I added.
“That’s not exactly something to brag about.”
What was she saying? Plating is important too, even if I just put it on the plates.
Then, Kotono and Noa held up their cups and began to protest loudly.
“Hey, Onii-chan. It’s fine to flirt, but I’m hungry~!”
“Senpai, let’s eat already~!”
“Ah, right. Then, shall we do a toast? Also, we weren’t flirting.”
“““Eh?”””
...Hey, what’s with those eyes that say 'What is this guy talking about?' Stop it, don’t everyone look at me like that!
I cleared my throat and passed around the cups and drinks.
Riza-san is an adult, but I apologized and asked her to settle for juice instead of alcohol for today. Most of us are minors, after all.
Once everyone had their drinks, there was a brief moment of silence.
Then, everyone turned their eyes toward me.
“Eh... Me?”
“What are you saying? If you don’t lead the toast, Akito, it won’t start. You’re the master of this house, after all,” Riran said.
“That’s right, that’s right~! Aki-tan, get it together~!” Hiyori cheered.
Goaded by Riran and Hiyori, everyone else started clamoring as well.
Ugh, seriously... I’m not cut out for this kind of thing.
Well, if everyone’s pushing me, I’ll do it.
Standing up with my cup in hand, everyone looked up at me expectantly. Ugh, the pressure...!
“Ahem. Ah... while it’s presumptuous of me, I will lead the toast. Uh, first of all, thank you all for taking the time to come here today—”
“That’s too stiff!! Akito, be more frank, more frank!”
“I told you, I’m not used to this...!”
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.
Alright.
“...A lot has happened this year. I’m sure I’m not the only one whose life changed completely when the Red Thread of Fate appeared. For Kotono and Noa, that will be next year... but as you can see from looking at us, it’s been a year where we were truly... truly jerked around.”
At my words, everyone except Kotono and Noa gave a wry smile and nodded.
Just as we were jerked around, it seems everyone else had their own various experiences in places I didn’t know about.
But because we overcame them, we’re all able to gather like this now.
We’re able to be happy like this.
“Today is Christmas. The last and biggest event of the year. Let’s forget the hardships of this year and enjoy ourselves today. Cheers!”
“““Cheers!!”””
At my lead, everyone raised their cups at once.
Phew, it’s over... What a heavy responsibility to have at the end of the year...
As I sat on the sofa, Riran, who was next to me, handed me a paper plate with a smile.
“Fufu. Akito, that was a good toast.”
“Thanks. I was incredibly nervous.”
Taking a breather, I looked around at everyone.
Here and there, conversations were lively and everyone looked like they were having fun.
As I took a slice of pizza, Riran continued.
“I think you’re right, Akito. We had our own things happen. But everyone else had their own things too... It was that kind of year.”
“For me, Riran was seriously my natural enemy for the longest time.”
“Ugh. Stop talking about me back then...”
Riran seemed to hate having that time brought up, and she pouted whenever we talked about it.
Well, a pouting Riran is cute too, though.
“I can’t say it’s just in the past, but I think I am who I am now because of that time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Rather than going from indifference to love, going from a negative starting point to love feels like it has a bigger, better impact, right?”
“Does that mean you were in the negative, Akito?”
“Back then, yeah.”
“...That’s true. Yeah, I guess that’s true...”
Oh, instead of pouting, she actually got depressed.
Good grief... she really gives the cutest reactions, this Riran.
Can't be helped. I was originally planning to bring this out later to surprise her, but...
“Riran, close your eyes.”
“Eh?”
“Just do it.”
“...Okay, like this?”
Good, she closed them.
I took out what I had prepared beforehand from my pocket.
Taking Riran’s left hand, I slowly placed the present on her ring finger.
“Eh...!?”
Startled, Riran ended up opening her eyes.
What was fitted onto the ring finger of her left hand was a ring.
It was a simple piece embedded with a ruby—the birthstone for both me and Riran—and one was shining on my left hand as well.
Yes, the item I received as payment for working at Ishite-dera-senpai’s shop was this—
A wedding ring.
Riran’s mouth hung open as she looked on in shock.
It was sudden, after all. It’s no wonder she’s surprised.
“This is my Christmas present to you. ...I love you, Riran.”
“—W-Wa... I... I love you too...!”
Large tears spilled from Riran’s wide-open eyes.
Wait, why are you crying? Isn’t this the part where you’re supposed to be happy?!
As I panicked at the unexpected reaction, everyone else began to tease us loudly.
“Hey, hey! What are you two getting all heated up for?! Neika, let’s get heated up too!”
“That’s right, that’s right~! We can’t lose to them! *Chu*!”
For some reason, Ryūya and Neika started kissing in the heat of the moment.
No, seriously, what are these guys doing?
But instead of the mood being ruined, the place got even more fired up, and Hiyori kissed Asahiko on the cheek. Wait, you guys too?!
“Nuhehe. Hiyori and the others are lovey-dovey too~”
“Ahaha... it’s embarrassing, though.”
Well, they are fated partners, so it’s fine, but... wait, whoa?! Rion and Riza-san are flirting too!
What is this chaotic space! Whose fault is this! ...It’s mine!
“Awawawawa...!? I-Is this what adult spaces are like...?!”
“Is it okay for us to be here, Kotono...?!”
Ah, crap. I forgot there were middle schoolers here.
“You guys, stop! Stooooop!”
“Akito, look at me instead of everyone else.”
“Wait, Riran!?”
Whether affected by the atmosphere of the room or not, Riran began to lean her weight onto me.
Hey, seriously, wait—!?