Chapter 217 — Ah, Wishes Really Do Come True~

“Christmas—a major Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus. It began in 336 AD, when the Roman Church first celebrated it on December 25th.

Later, it spread to Japan, where the religious meaning gradually faded, turning instead into a joyful pre–New Year celebration.

For the Japanese, its importance is no less than—”

Morning light filtered into the room.

Sitting on the living room sofa, Aoki Kei closed the sixth volume of Chitose-senpai in the Ramune Bottle, looking helpless as Ryou continued reading aloud from Wikipedia beside him.

“Ryou-san, it’s already Christmas today. Don’t you think you should go home and at least let your parents know you’re doing fine?”

Counting the days, it had already been nearly a month since Ryou moved in.

That woman never told the truth—she’d said she’d only stay for a week, yet here she was, looking more and more like she planned to stay indefinitely.

Still, no matter how much trouble she caused, Aoki Kei couldn’t bring himself to dislike her.

Sometimes spoiled, sometimes childish—but in certain moments, she could be surprisingly thoughtful and gentle toward him.

“It’s fine, suki-san~ Christmas isn’t even a national holiday here. My parents are still away on business.”

“...They work hard, huh.”

So much for trying to convince her to go home.

Honestly, Kei didn’t really mind their current arrangement.

Before Ryou moved in, his days were monotonous—reading, practicing, and little else.

His motivation was low, his desires even lower; no matter what he did, life felt dull and sluggish.

But once Ryou arrived, everything changed.

They’d bicker over what to eat, she’d drag him into late-night gaming sessions, and even during his music practice, she’d hover nearby, occasionally tossing in blunt, unhelpful comments.

Since she moved in, Kei felt like his whole life had gained new rhythm—more energetic, more alive.

The downside?

She kept him up playing games until dawn, and his sleep schedule was now completely wrecked.

Oh, and as a side note—Ryou was a hardcore Mario Kart fan.

Unfortunately, her actual skill level... was somehow worse than Kei’s, and he was a beginner.

Anyway—December 25th, Christmas Day, had finally arrived.

Ryou, who had been reciting from Wikipedia just moments ago, had vanished somewhere in the apartment.

It was still early. He had plans later to meet the girls from Kessoku Band for shopping and dinner, but there was no need to rush.

9:12 a.m.

Aoki Kei picked up Chitose-senpai in the Ramune Bottle again and resumed reading.

However—

A few pages in, he began hearing a faint rustling sound.

Then, from the other side of the living room, a familiar voice called out:

“Hey, suki-san—! This thing’s too heavy! Come give me a hand—!”

Sighing, Kei closed his light novel for the second time that morning.

Whatever strange idea she had this time, he might as well go see. Rising from the sofa, he let out a long exhale and followed the voice.

————————————————————————

At the apartment entrance.

Having just received a delivery, Ryou stood in front of a Christmas tree that was nearly as tall as she was, her expression torn between joy and distress.

It was a decorative tree meant for home use—artificially grown, carefully shaped, and obviously expensive.

Some ornaments already hung from its branches, but many hooks remained empty—probably for gifts or more decorations.

Beside the tree sat a large gift box of unknown contents.

When Kei reached the doorway and saw the scene, he froze.

Turning toward Ryou, he found her staring at him expectantly, eyes bright.

“You want me to carry it in?” he asked after a pause.

She nodded eagerly.

Kei looked back at the tree. Judging by its size, it wasn’t exactly light. Moving it inside alone would be quite a task.

Suppressing a sigh, Kei glanced back at Ryou’s hopeful face and fell silent.

He wasn’t particularly attached to Christmas, nor did he care about decorations.

But he certainly hadn’t expected Ryou—of all people—to actually buy a real tree just for the occasion.

Wait a minute—

Didn’t she move in claiming she was broke and couldn’t even afford food?

And yet this thing looked expensive.

His lips twitched. After another quick glance at her, Kei decided to hold back the urge to expose her obvious lie.

With a resigned breath, he said, “All right... leave it to me.”

And so began the battle of the Christmas tree.

Meanwhile, Ryou cheerfully thanked him, grabbed the mysterious gift box, and dashed off toward her room.

It took quite some effort, but after much shuffling and adjusting, Kei finally managed to bring the neatly shaped tree into the living room.

He exhaled deeply, washed his hands, and returned to the sofa—

—only to find Ryou there again, sitting quietly as if nothing had happened.

He had seen her three times that morning already.

But now—

The outfit Ryou was wearing was completely different from before.

For the first time, Aoki Kei truly felt the Christmas spirit.

She was dressed in a bright, vivid red Santa outfit, trimmed with soft white fur.

Aside from those white accents... her smooth, pale shoulders were bare, exposed by the daring cut of the costume.

And when his gaze inevitably drifted lower—beneath the short red skirt were her perfectly shaped thighs, gleaming faintly in the morning light.

A slender waist, a modest chest that somehow looked far more alluring under the festive fabric...

Aoki Kei took a deep breath and instinctively stepped back.

‘This is bad...’

If, back when Ryou had stepped out of the shower wearing only his dress shirt, her “attack power” had been about thirty— then this version of her, in that Santa outfit, had to be a full hundred.

On the couch, Ryou instantly noticed his gaze.

A faint blush spread across her cheeks, and she tugged nervously at the neckline of her outfit, trying to act composed.

Then she cleared her throat, pretending to be calm even as her ears turned pink.

She was obviously embarrassed—but still trying to put on that “I totally meant to do this” look.

“S-So... what do you think, suki-san? Not bad, right?”

Not bad? That was an understatement. It looked so good he wanted to reach out and feel the texture of the fabric himself—

—though, of course, he didn’t actually say that.

Keeping his composure, Kei took another cautious step back and replied evenly,
“It looks great on you, Ryou. Honestly, if I’d just met you today, I’d probably fall for you on the spot.”

A dangerous line, half-joking and half-serious—the kind of thing only a self-aware scoundrel would say.

Kei hesitated, then quickly looked away.

Ryou was always talking about wanting to give him a “harem ending,” yet in reality, she kept teasing him with these little, subtle gestures that constantly tested his resolve.

It left Kei with this weird, lingering guilt— like she’d already opened her heart this much, and yet he was still standing still, doing nothing in return.

But then again... that same sense of guilt was what reminded him of his boundaries.

Still—

If he kept doing nothing, could he really handle the thought of being apart from her... or from the other girls?

It felt like one of those “no-right-answer” questions straight out of a light novel.

Kei sighed inwardly.

Part of him almost wished for one of those classic romcom “love triangle disasters” to just happen already—

Sure, it’d be chaos, but at least it’d force him to face things.

Unfortunately, life wasn’t a light novel.

In the real world, dramatic “showdowns” like that didn’t just appear out of nowhere.

And so, there was no real solution.

Shaking off his thoughts, Kei exhaled and spoke,

“Anyway, we’ll be heading out soon. Maybe you should change out of that Santa outfit first? You can put it back on later if you wa—”

But before he could finish—

A new voice suddenly echoed from the entryway.

“Huh? Why’s the door open...?”

————————————————————————

Christmas Day.

Holding a wrapped gift in her hands, Kita had come by, hoping to drop off her Christmas present a bit early.

But as she approached Aoki Kei’s apartment, she noticed the front door was slightly open—probably left ajar when he was moving something earlier.

Tilting her head curiously, she stepped inside, slipped off her shoes, and made her way to the living room.

And then—

She froze.

There was Ryou, sitting stiffly on the sofa, clearly caught off guard.

Kei stood beside her, equally stunned.

“Eh...?”

“Ryou-senpai...?”

“What... what’s going on here...?”

“Eh?”

“Eh?!”

Kita’s eyes darted from Kei to Ryou—and then locked on Ryou’s bright red Santa outfit, every detail perfectly visible.

Her pupils dilated.

“W-wait... is this... is this some kind of sexy cosplay?!”