Chapter 40: Christmas with the Ice Lady

December 25, Christmas.

As soon as you stepped out of your apartment, it was impossible to avoid the scenery portraying the delightful smiles of couples and the glow of the illumination that radiated their happiness.

It was a scene that should be no different than yesterday – Christmas Eve.

“…It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty.”

Asahi and Fuyuka stood shoulder to shoulder, muttering the same thought.

The location was the balcony of Asahi’s house.

What they were seeing was pure white snow.

It seemed that even God was on the side of the couples this Christmas.

God’s gifts, pouring down from the heavens, colored the surface pure white.

“Oh, yeah, the weather forecast said something about a White Christmas.”

“Apparently, it’s been a few decades since the last White Christmas.”

“Oh, so it’s unusual.”

“You don’t seem to be interested.”

“Well, it snowed last year too.”

“But isn’t the snow on this day special?”

“Is that how it works?”

“It is.”

Fuyuka’s caramel-like eyes sparkled as she turned her attention to the snow.

Asahi wondered if girls liked this kind of romantic development.

Well, it also may be due to the fact that Fuyuka liked to read romance novels.

Even though it was just a cold winter night with the snowfall, Fuyuka was immersed in the fantasy silver world for a while.

“…Sneeze.”

A lovely sneeze echoed through the room and Fuyuka became embarrassed.

She had been looking out on the balcony for more than ten minutes in her casual clothes, so her body must be cold.　

Asahi had also just performed a powerful sneeze earlier.

In retrospect, Asahi wished he had worn a jacket or something.

First of all, he didn’t have time to think calmly when Fuyuka just took him out to the balcony.

“Here, warm yourself up with this.”

“Thank you very much.”

Offering one of the hot milk that he just made, Asahi sat down next to Fuyuka who was sitting on the edge of the sofa.

“So, why did you leave for a moment?”

“Um… That’s…”

“If it’s something you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to.”

“Oh, no, that’s not really…”

When Asahi asked the question that had been bothering him, Fuyuka swam her eyes in plain dismay as she wrapped her hands around the steamy mug to keep it warm.

What Asahi asked was after they had finished their Christmas dinner of roast chicken, white stew, and prosciutto salad.

Fuyuka went back to her room once and came back.

And so, it was snowing and Asahi was dragged out onto the balcony.

Perhaps the reason for her return was not the snow.

She must have noticed it by accident when she went outside.

There must have been another reason that she came back.

As Asahi stared at her and waited for Fuyuka’s words, he heard a quiet thump next to him.

Asahi’s body moved naturally, echoing the same sound.

Then, just as the two mugs were lined up next to each other on the long table in front of the sofa, Fuyuka slowly opened her mouth.

“…Can you close your eyes for a moment?”

“Close it? …Like this?”

“Keep it close until I say it’s okay.”

It brought him back the memories of Hinami saying the same thing to him once and giving him a forehead flick for no apparent reason, but there was no way Fuyuka would play such a prank.

Asahi did as he was told, closing his eyes and with his consciousness descending into the darkness, as the sound of small footsteps moved away and then arrived closer.

Then a slight weight was added to his knees.

As soon as he understood that he was being loaded with something, a voice asked him to open his eyes.

“…This is?’

The first thing he saw was a long, thin rectangular box, neatly decorated with red and green striped wrapping paper.

An image of an old man in red with a white beard suddenly came to mind.

“This is?” He asked, but he already vaguely knew what it was.

“It’s a Christmas present.”

“Of course… My bad, I don’t have anything to give you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I prepared it on my own.”

Fuyuka smiled with her eyes slightly downcast.

“Can I open it?”

“Yes. I don’t know if you’ll like it but…”

This time, Asahi asked permission from Fuyuka, who had a worried expression on her face, and carefully opened the taped wrapping paper.

What popped out from inside was a familiar mechanical pencil.

Both the functionality and design of the said product were Asahi’s favorite.

However, while the usual colors were red, blue, and green, the mechanical pencil he picked up was black.

It was a limited edition model commemorating the tenth anniversary of its release, and one that Asahi secretly wanted.

However, it was produced in limited quantities and the popularity was so great that he had to give up buying it in the past.

He later saw them on sale on the Internet, but they were all at a premium price, and Asahi, who had a style of saving money as much as possible, couldn’t afford them.

“Why this? It’s a limited product and it’s insanely expensive to begin with.”

“Before the final exam, you were depressed because your favorite mechanical pencil was broken, so I thought you would be happy if I gave you a limited edition model.”

“Well, I’m happy but… Is it really fine to take this?”

“Of course.”

“Because,” the little Santa Claus continued.

“I’m always on the receiving end. So, please let me repay you.”

“…Did I give something to you?”

Asahi didn’t remember giving Fuyuka a gift, and the only thing he could think of was yesterday’s dinner, but that was a gift from his parents, and he didn’t do anything.

However, Fuyuka seemed to have a lot on her mind, and for some reason, she nodded her head with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

Asahi wondered if their memories aligned, but there was no reason to disregard the gift she had prepared.

“Thanks, I’ll take good care of it.”

When he thanked her honestly, Fuyuka smiled calmly and happily.

For some reason, Fuyuka’s smile made his heart flutter, even though it was different from yesterday and he was used to seeing her all the time.

Lately, whenever Asahi saw Fuyuka she made his heart flutter.

Then, he couldn’t help but look away, and there he saw two mugs next to each other.

The white steam rising high into the sky showed no signs of disappearing, and in the middle of the day, it blended into one, shimmering in a friendly manner.