Chapter 49: The Hallowed Night Won’t Come
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The Christmas party had finally arrived.
Shunsuke had reserved a party booth at Grand One, and it was set up so they could enjoy a wide range of activities like bowling and karaoke.
However, there was just one problem.
That was Kazuma and his merry companions.
Shunsuke had been told beforehand that there would be four additional participants, but he hadn’t been told who they would be.
He probably never dreamed that Witch Alicia Miller and Holy Maiden Charlotte Soleil would show up with Kazuma.
“You…!” Shunsuke exclaimed. “You said more people were coming, so I just assumed you were bringing friends from the Support Course! Why are the Witch and the Holy Maiden here?!”
“C-Calm down, Shunsuke-kun.”
“How can I be calm about this?! Huh?!”
“S-Sorry. To me, they’re kind of like friends too.”
“That might be true for you, right? But for us, they’re people who are way out of our league! Do you think we can enjoy ourselves if you suddenly bring Hollywood stars along?”
“I’m sorry…”
Being seriously lectured, Kazuma felt dejected, but he was completely at fault.
If he had at least told Shunsuke about them, he wouldn’t have caused this unnecessary confusion.
Kazuma was the one who hadn’t done that.
No matter how you looked at it, Kazuma was the one in the wrong.
That said, Shunsuke also bore some blame for not confirming, though perhaps not as much as Kazuma.
“Well, what’s done is done since you’ve already brought them. But wait here a bit. I’ll go ahead and explain things first.”
As the one who had planned this Christmas party, Shunsuke was acting as the organizer.
Therefore, Shunsuke was waiting for the participants at the Grand One reception.
That’s when Kazuma and his merry companions arrived, causing a commotion.
Alicia and Charlotte were in disguise, to be sure, but if you looked closely, you’d recognize them at a glance.
That’s how famous they were.
However, Charlotte alone had little media exposure, so she was only recognizable if someone pointed her out.
“Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine, really. More importantly, just be careful not to cause a scene.”
After giving Kazuma that one word of caution, Shunsuke headed to the party booth where the other participants were waiting.
Kazuma, grateful to his broad-minded friend, turned to the four people behind him.
Alicia, Charlotte, Momoko, and Sakura Hakanai—a veritable army of beauties who splendidly attracted attention.
Kazuma himself was also good-looking, so passersby were glancing their way.
Fortunately, no idiots tried to hit on them, nor was there any commotion from Alicia and the others’ identities being exposed.
After a short while, Shunsuke returned.
“Alright, they’re mentally prepared. I’ve told everyone, so I think it’ll be fine.”
“Sorry, and thanks.”
“Don’t worry about it anymore. Just be more careful next time.”
“I’m indebted to you…”
He really was a good friend.
Kazuma, once again grateful for Shunsuke’s generous consideration, followed him towards the party booth.
It seemed most of the participants had already gathered, and in the party booth, groups of close friends were chatting and having a lively, harmonious time.
The five, including Kazuma, joined them, but as expected, most people were being overly considerate towards the big stars, Alicia and Charlotte.
“Well, this was bound to happen.”
Shunsuke, who had guided them, sighed upon seeing the atmosphere in the room turn awkward. However, since there was nothing he could do, he left it to Kazuma, the root of all evil, and went to greet the remaining participants.
Sensing that the atmosphere wasn’t so much uncomfortable as it was one of people not knowing how to interact with them, Kazuma started by introducing the four behind him.
“Uhm, for now, you don’t need to be so considerate towards the four behind me. It’s okay to treat Alicia and Shar like classmates. They’re not the type to get angry over something like that.”
Even if told that, it was normal to be bewildered.
However, this was where Alicia, being a celebrity, shone.
She interacted with the participants in a friendly manner, easing the atmosphere.
Sensing the mood lighten, Alicia took Charlotte with her and went to deepen their friendship with the other participants.
Though called a Witch, Alicia was popular.
It didn’t take long for them to break the ice.
“That’s amazing,” Momoko said.
“Aren’t you going to join in, Momoko-chan?”
“To be honest, I want to. Because of this ability, I don’t have many good memories from my school days.”
“Loner-chan…”
“Could you please not give me unpleasant nicknames? Do you think I liked being alone?”
“Sorry…”
This time, Kazuma was definitely in the wrong.
Because Momoko could read people’s minds, she inevitably had trouble fitting in.
Having seen many people who appeared kind on the surface but were hideous inside, she tended to keep people at a distance.
However, there were some exceptions.
Kazuma was an exception among exceptions, but there were also genuinely pure people out there.
Momoko had been unlucky enough not to encounter such people in her life until now, but then the exception named Kazuma appeared.
For better or worse, he was an important person who influenced Momoko and provided excitement in her life.
“…Well, for better or worse, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be bored by your side.”
Turning her face away from Kazuma, she muttered softly, but the high-spec pervert didn’t miss her whisper.
“I heard that, Momoko-chan! I’m so happy you think that way!”
“Die, you damn bastard! Even if you heard it, it’s common courtesy to pretend you didn’t!”
“Guhaah!”
Taking an elbow to the gut, Kazuma writhed in agony.
As if to follow up, Momoko almost finished him off with the martial arts Kazuma had taught her, but she gritted her teeth and showed mercy.
“Next time, I’ll finish you.”
“I knew it.”
Kazuma, who should have been suffering in pain, replied with a nonchalant expression.
Momoko also understood Kazuma, so she knew the previous blow hadn’t caused much damage, and moreover, she knew he was sensitive to killing intent and hostility.
Therefore, she understood that he had deliberately taken the previous hit.
“Honestly… Can’t you be a little more mature?”
“I still want to be a kid, you know.”
“You spent three years in another world, didn’t you? In that case, your mental age should be nineteen…”
Momoko had heard that Kazuma had spent three years in another world and had returned here.
Therefore, she naturally knew that Kazuma’s physical age and mental age differed by three years.
That said, nineteen was still like a first-year university student, barely removed from high school.
It couldn’t be helped that his vibe was childish.
Besides.
No matter how old one got, there were plenty of immature people.
Knowing this, Momoko gave up on lecturing him.
“It’s fine. Anyway, please just don’t do anything that would reveal your identities.”
“Yes. Understood. By the way, where’s Sakura Hakanai?”
“Come to think of it, I don’t see her.”
As the two looked around the party booth, they found Sakura Hakanai using the conversational skills she’d cultivated at a cabaret club and her polished appearance to captivate the young men.
She appeared to be surrounded by several guys, chatting happily, but from Kazuma and Momoko’s perspective, it was an extremely dangerous sight, so they immediately brought her back.
“What in the world are you doing!”
“Oh my, I wasn’t doing anything in particular. Just talking a little.”
“Don’t wander off on your own. Stay by my side!”
“Fufu, how forceful~”
“Don’t cling to me. Go cling to Momoko-chan.”
“Oka~y.”
“Don’t push her onto me. It’s too hot and stuffy.”
“It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s Christmas today, so I’m longing for some human warmth.”
For some reason, Momoko and Sakura Hakanai started acting lovey-dovey.
Beside them, Kazuma was casually killing time.
Not long after that, Shunsuke brought the last participant, and the Christmas party was declared started.
After holding the main event, the present exchange, they would enjoy activities like karaoke and bowling, and finally, it would end with a meal.
In the party booth, everyone took out their presents and passed them around to the upbeat music.
The music was controlled by an AI, so it was a completely random draw.
Kazuma also passed the presents along, looking forward to seeing whose gift he would receive.
Eventually, the music stopped abruptly, and in Kazuma’s hands was a ridiculously large bag.
The texture was soft and springy, so Kazuma guessed it might be a stuffed animal.
“Alright! Then, let’s check our presents!”
Following Shunsuke’s words, everyone checked the presents in their hands.
The present Kazuma received was a body pillow.
It was a plain, pure white body pillow, rather bland, but the body pillow wasn’t the only thing wrapped up.
A thin sheet of drawing paper was also wrapped with it, and as Kazuma tilted his head, wondering what on earth it was, Shinya called out to him.
“Oh! Kazuma, you got it?”
“Whoa! Isn’t that Shinya? What’s this? I get the body pillow, but what about this paper?”
“Fuffuffu. That body pillow is pure white and perfectly ordinary, right? But that’s where you’re wrong! It’s designed so you can print your favorite illustration on that paper, stick it to the body pillow, and warm it with a hairdryer, and the illustration will transfer onto the pillow!”
“That’s amazing! But how did you manage to buy it for three thousand yen?”
“It was on sale, you see. To tell you the truth, it’s not the latest model. It’s a few generations old.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t mind that kind of thing. By the way, is any kind of illustration okay?”
“Yeah. Of course, mufufu…”
“Gufufufu…”
There was a certain understanding between men.
Their minds were dyed pink.
While Kazuma and Shinya were exchanging creepy smiles, the others also finished their exchange and had received their respective presents.
Among them, some had received presents from Alicia or Charlotte and were letting out roars of joy.
The present exchange party ended, they had a blast at the bowling alley they had reserved, had fun at karaoke, and finally, everyone had dinner together before dispersing.
“It ended pretty quickly, huh?”
“Yeah. Still, it was surprisingly fun. To be honest, I thought things would get awkward because of the people you brought.”
“I’m really sorry about that. This time, it’s really thanks to Alicia that it worked out~. She was considerate in various ways, so everyone could have fun.”
“Thank her for me. And tell her, let’s hang out again if we get the chance.”
“Got it. Thanks a lot for today, Shunsuke.”
“No problem. I got to hear about the Academy Battle Tournament, and various things were plenty fun. Well then, this is the last time we’ll see each other this year, so later.”
“Yeah. Happy New Year.”
After they dispersed, Kazuma walked through the town with the four girls in tow.
Since it was Christmas today, many couples were walking along the dazzling streets.
Among them, Kazuma’s group stood out conspicuously.
Kazuma, walking with four beautiful girls, was attracting people’s attention.
“Oh… Snow, huh?”
“A white Christmas, isn’t it? How lovely.”
“It’s fantastical and nice, isn’t it~?”
“No wonder it’s so cold. I want to get home quickly and sleep.”
“At times like these, you’ve got to enjoy yourself more, you know.”
As the snow fell, Kazuma and the others enjoyed the holy night.