After a while of skating like a regular person, I hopped back on the subway to return to the familiar ground. Then I savored a quiet dinner at the restaurant where I had made a reservation, cutting into my steak. Every time, I feel a bit disappointed without any drinks… My face is all over the place now, so if I get caught sneaking into the black market, it’s going to be a scandal.

Thinking about it, I suppose it wasn’t easy to give up the Christmas Eve dinner date to Nagisa. Since we had planned a small party on Christmas Day. Is this truly the mark of a generous mistress? I really need to serve her well from now on to avoid any regrets.

Walking down the path I strolled with Nagisa not long ago, I enjoyed the fully decorated scenery of Christmas. As we stood before a small Christmas tree adorned with bright decorations, Hina spoke up.

“Originally, I was thinking about asking if I could kiss you when we were about to part… Just like I would with Nagisa.”

“I see… Yeah, I think the atmosphere here is definitely better. But earlier, I honestly found it hard to resist.”

“…I’m grateful that you came out to me like that. It means I can ask for you again here.”

“Wow—oh… Our Hina-chan is being quite assertive today! Hahaha, This is charming in its own way!”

The sight of me and Hina facing each other in front of the Christmas tree… Well, from a third person’s perspective, it must look like a picture-perfect scene, right?

…Setting aside how strange it would appear to have an angel and a devil like this on Christmas Eve.

“Mika, I recently chatted a bit with Nagisa…”

“Huh? With Nagisa-chan?”

“Nagi said it would be hard to spend time together so neatly next year. And I think I feel similarly about that.”

“…Ah.”

This was hard to deny. But love is supposed to be a two-way street, and while I have several girls who like me, the one who truly flipped my heart upside down remains Haruna.

That single person was likely the source of Nagisa’s greatest concern.

“How about being honest with Nagisa this time? She seems to care more about your happiness than anything else.”

“What about you, Hina-chan?”

I was surprised to find out Hina and Nagisa had opened up to each other like that, but thinking about it, given Hina’s personality, Nagisa couldn’t have been overly tough on her. She is such a kind person.

At the very least, Haruna was the only one who bothered Nagisa enough to achieve a one-on-one confrontation. However, it had calmed down quite a bit recently—honestly, this felt more like resignation. When we first visited Sanhaegyeong with Haruna, Nagisa sighed deeply with all kinds of emotions upon hearing Haruna would be my companion.

“I’m, hmm. In a way, I’m like a rolling stone…? So if you just treat me like this, I won’t have any complaints… Honestly, I’m happier now than I ever expected.”

“If I embrace Haruna-chan too, that means less time for you, Hina-chan, right?”

“…That part’s somewhat disappointing. However, I can’t keep ignoring the obvious problem forever. Neither you nor Nagisa can win against me, Mika. And I know better than anyone how much you’re struggling, so I don’t want to see you in distress.”

“…”

Hina’s words shifted my focus away from the state of my own relationships. Instead, it made me reflect on the fact that I couldn’t just cover up the blatant problems forever.

But where on earth should I start approaching this? How do I bring up the fact that I came from outside Kivotos… Even if it wasn’t voluntary, I stole Mika’s body and that I plan to return her eventually? Who should I even tell?

It’s something I should definitely reveal to Hina, who is now my girlfriend, but I haven’t even mentioned to Nagisa that I intend to return Mika’s body. In the tangled, complex situation involving the manipulations of Gematria and the secrets Mika keeps that I don’t even know about, it’s not easy to lay out the entire truth clearly.

Nagisa assured me she’d see me as my true self, but how much of the feelings that the other girls have for me is influenced by my appearance as Mika?

Initially, I can’t even be sure if the bodies Gematria plans to prepare will be living beings. Considering that the Golkont side referred to it as an artificial angel, it could mean they plan to shape a human form for a total war boss like Jeronimus.

In such a scenario, letting my relationships with the other girls deepen further isn’t exactly desirable. In the midst of that, if I suddenly take Haruna in after seeking permission from Hina and Nagisa, my already complicated situation would only become more tangled.

It’s difficult. It’s a problem far too challenging for someone like me to come up with an answer immediately.

At the very least, there isn’t a clear solution that springs to mind right now.

“About that… For now, I’ll talk to Nagisa. Thanks for being honest with me.”

After saying that to Hina, I pulled out a gift from my handbag that I had packed away. Normally, I would have saved it and given it later, but because we often kept our distance, I brought it to hand over directly this time.

“Hina-chan, this is your Christmas present from me. You can wait until Boxing Day to open it, or if you want, you can open it right now.”

“I think I’ll wait. It seems like it might be a bit burdensome to open right now.”

…Oh? The box may be small, but did she perhaps mistake it for a ring? It’s not that…

After placing her gift carefully in her handbag, Hina took out another elegantly wrapped gift and handed it to me. Her face was red, gripping it with both hands—a sight that I would definitely love to capture in a photo, but perhaps just engraving it in my memory would suffice.

“I didn’t prepare anything too expensive… but I hope you like it.”

Cautiously accepting the slightly longer than a palm-size box, I placed it gently in my handbag. Since Hina said she would wait, I intended to hold off on opening my gift until Boxing Day as well.

“Thank you, Hina-chan.”

Without any further ado, I stepped closer and kissed Hina’s forehead, just like usual. But seeing her somewhat dissatisfied expression made me realize that after a while, this wasn’t going to be enough for her anymore.

“Haha! That was a goodbye kiss. Is it okay to receive one now?”

“…Then, do it a little later.”

“Okay, I like how honest you are☆”

After exchanging gifts, Hina and I embraced each other for a while, sharing our body warmth. Hearing her say things like she was grateful for spending such a nice day with me made my face feel all hot.

Eventually, unable to resist the atmosphere, we ended up kissing for nearly thirty minutes right there. I suppose Hina’s wish did come true.

*

“…Fufu. How cruel. Don’t you think it’s harsh to leave a fish flopping around in a net without helping it out?”

Just as I confirmed Hina was leaving and was heading to the subway platform toward Trinity, a familiar voice called out from behind.

As always, Haruna greeted me with a confident smile. She wore familiar clothing, but perhaps due to the cold, she was dressed quite differently than usual.

“Haruna-chan? What are you doing here…?”

“Of course, Hina-san told me. Can you spare a little time for me? Here, I brought warm fish-shaped pastries to eat together.”

Seeing Haruna smile brightly while shaking the bag with the fish-shaped pastries, various thoughts flashed through my mind. If I had known it would come to this, I would have brought the gift I prepared for her to give in person. Now I felt a bit disappointed.

“You don’t really need to stay with me for too long. You have to go back before the day changes, don’t you?”

“Yeah. For now, that’s how it will be.”

“In that case, I suppose about 30 minutes should be okay. Hehe. Let’s go this way for a moment.”

Holding my hand, Haruna led me to a nearby bench. It was an unexpected encounter with someone who had been one of my worries, but honestly, I was quite glad to see her. Regardless, I would see her face again at the practice room after Christmas, but a private meeting always felt a bit different.

“Mika-san, could you close your eyes for a moment?”

“…Uh, Haruna-chan, we agreed not to do that anymore.”

“Hehe. I guess that was the case, wasn’t it? If I keep you here and want to spend a whole day together tomorrow, Nagisa-san might get pretty upset… It won’t be easy, but I think I’ll try to hold back this year.”

Accepting the fish-shaped pastry Haruna offered me, I noticed how much she had changed compared to our first meeting. While she hasn’t completely lost her habit of causing food mayhem, it seems like she’s been more mindful about her recent mischief.

Her laid-back personality is still there, but she seems to hold back about half the time now. Especially her friendship with Noa seems to have had a really positive impact. Now, she feels more like a food critic than a culinary terrorist.

…That said, she hasn’t completely stopped causing trouble with the Gourmet Research Club either. Well, anyway.

“I heard that cream-filled fish-shaped pastries are trending lately, but unfortunately, the only thing available where I stopped by was red bean paste… Mmm! It’s delicious…”

Haruna smiled brightly while taking a bite of the fish-shaped pastry, and it was irresistibly charming, making it hard for me not to gaze. Realizing again how lovestruck I was, it still stood that Haruna glowed the most beautifully when enjoying food.

Sitting close to Haruna while eating the pastries, I felt as if I could finally understand what she often said about the ultimate culinary experience.

Though it’s just a regular fish-shaped pastry, it tasted especially sweet… I wonder. Perhaps this is what makes Haruna special.

After devouring two of the pastries, only one remained in the bag. Haruna took it out, split it in half, and without hesitation, offered me the bigger half.

“Mika-san, I don’t think I can settle for just a simple friendship anymore.”

“…Yeah.”

“However, I can’t just push forward with so many contemplative expressions on your face… So, today, I’ll let this fish-shaped pastry’s warmth serve as my feelings for you.”

Was it that evident on my face? If Haruna could say something like that, I might need to be more mindful of my expression.

“What do you consider the ultimate culinary experience?”

“That’s a bit of a sudden question. Hmm, I haven’t really thought about it deeply, but…”

“Oh, you don’t need to think too hard about it. In fact, your answer right now isn’t that important.”

“…Then, why did you ask?”

“Well, the reason is… When I eventually ask that question again, I want your answer to be ‘me, Kurodate Haruna’.”

“Wow—Oh…?”

As Haruna stood, her tail swayed, capturing my attention. Meanwhile, she pulled out a gift box from her handbag and offered it to me.

“Hehe. This year, Mika-san has been a bad girl, not handing over a single gift. Can I expect things to be different next year?”

“…Well, I don’t know.”

Haruna handed me the gift and coolly got up to leave, just like that day when she boldly confessed her feelings and walked away.

What’s clear is that Haruna was thoroughly satisfied with my response. And I can bet that if Nagisa hears this, she’ll try to stuff a roll cake in my mouth.