(POV Kaito)
In December, as the year drew to a close, the grand event known as Christmas was approaching once again. Last year, things somehow went well, so this year would be no exception.
Once again, I intended to purchase presents for the four of them and host a joyful celebration. Well, they would probably tell me what they wanted, and we would smoothly carry out the event.
“Kaito.”
“Yeah?”
It was time to leave the house soon after finishing breakfast. Chiaki handed me a pure white hand-knitted scarf with a smile on her face.
This one… is the one I made the other day for her? Maybe she thought it was lame and didn’t want it anymore? Did she find a better one?
“T-this…”
“I made it for Kaito! So, use it!”
“Did you make it, Chiaki? How did you do it?”
“Hmm, I remembered how Kaito looked when he was making it before… and somehow succeeded.”
“…. I see”
Was she a genius? My daughter that is. Although I showed her the process of making a scarf the other day, I didn’t really teach her much. I was too absorbed in my own work.
“You’ve done a great job… Maybe even better than me.”
“I don’t think so. Anyway, here, use it!”
“Sure.”
“By the way, I made it in the same color as mine!”
“Oh, thank you.”
“Ehehe, you’re welcome. Now go out there and do your best at work!”
“Thanks.”
I don’t know where the apple came from, but I was genuinely happy with the scarf. If someone makes something for me, I make something in return. A scarf exchange… I wanted to say that, but it was getting colder lately, and I couldn’t afford to make the room any colder with my words, so I kept quiet.
“Well then! Kaito, I’m off!”
“Yeah, take care.”
The four girls, including Chiaki, opened the door and went outside ahead of me. I also put on my suit, wrapped the scarf around my neck, and stepped outside, heading toward work.
Despite it being winter, I didn’t feel the cold. Both my body and soul were warm.
◆◆
(POV Kaito)
“Hey, that scarf…”
“Oh, this? It’s like an early Christmas present from an angel.”
“No, not that. I mean, you don’t have to wear it inside the office. We have heating.”
I had wrapped the scarf that Chiaki made for me even at the workplace when Sasaki pointed out whether it was appropriate.
“That’s true. But Chiaki went through the trouble of making it for me. I should make the most of it.”
“Chiaki, that girl who loves to eat?”
“If you call her a glutton, she gets a bit upset. When she’s around, just say she’s in her healthy-eating stage or going through a growth spurt.”
“I see… Girls can be quite complicated, huh?”
We continued our work, exchanging a word or two. We had to be careful not to talk too much, as it would slow down our work pace.
“By the way…. remember when I told you that I was interested in Ono-san?”
“Ahh, that’s right.”
“Lately, we’ve been talking on the phone a bit,” Sasaki said.
“That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, well… it is, but…”
Sasaki seemed to be a bit uneasy. I thought maybe he was also told and was concerned about what Ono-san had told me that day, but it turned out to be something else.
“Ono-san told me on the phone that her pet dog can talk… I mean, can dogs… actually speak?”
“…Hmm, who knows?”
“Surely, that’s just a joke, right? Dogs… don’t really talk, do they?”
“That might be true.”
I’ve heard of talking cats before… Well, that’s based on my knowledge of the game, at least.
In the game, Chifuyu’s friend character is a cat. Despite being a friend, it was actually a cat. Moreover, it’s a special cat that can speak. It’s said to possess supernatural powers, intelligence, and vocal cords resembling those of humans.
Could it be that the dog has similar abilities? Or is Sasaki simply making a joke… Either way, I can’t dismiss it lightly. It’s best not to delve into speculations based on game settings until I have solid confirmation.
“But even if it’s a joke, she went out of her way to mention it. Maybe you can start a conversation from there?”
“Yeah, maybe…”
I don’t know what will happen with Ono-san and Sasaki, but I’m not well-versed in love and such, so I can’t really say. I’ll just cheer from the sidelines occasionally. Besides, Chiharu and the others are my top priority. There’s not much I can do anyway. I’ll watch over them from a reasonable distance.
◆◆
(POV Kaito)
Watching TV alone at night used to be my regular routine, but recently, I’ve been watching it more often with Chiaki. Chiharu, Chinatsu, Chiaki, and Chifuyu would go upstairs, and after a while, Chiaki would come back down and sit on my lap.
We would then chat or watch TV together…
“Kaito! I worked really hard to make this scarf!”
“Thanks. It kept me warm.”
“Yours was so cozy and warm too!”
Today, Chiaki and the others went upstairs again to sleep, but she came back down alone and settled on my lap. It feels like this is happening more and more each day, but maybe it’s just my imagination. Chiaki would sit down, leaning her back against my chest, with a sparkle in her eyes as she looked up at me. It was incredibly adorable, and I couldn’t help but feel fond of her.
“Kaito, let’s make a roll cake together next time!”
“Sounds good, let’s do it.”
“Today, Mary told me about these super heartwarming animes called ‘Fate? Zero?’ and also Made? in Abyss? Have you heard of them?”
“I see… Maybe we should subscribe to AbemaTV at our place too…”
“Christmas is coming soon, and there’s something I want.”
“Let’s buy it then.”
I focused my attention on listening to Chiaki’s rapid-fire chatter. The parenting books always said that it’s good to listen to children’s stories, so I figured I should put it into practice. It was one of those moments where I needed to act on it.
“Oh, by the way, I heard that a super popular actress got married to a young actress. I don’t know their names, though.”
“Oh yeah, I heard about that news too.”
“So, it’s a same-sex marriage, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Hmm, is there something different about getting married between people of different genders and same-sex marriage?”
“…I don’t think there’s any significant difference. Marriage is about two people who love each other the most coming together. Love takes different forms for different people.”
I silently cheered myself for providing an educational response. Chiaki crossed her arms and pondered; her head tilted in thought.
“Kaito, are you not going to get married?”
“For now, I’m okay without it.”
“Don’t you have someone you like?”
“Someone I like… It overlaps with the meaning of ‘important’, but I care about and like all four of you, including Chiaki.”
“Huh!? So, does that mean Kaito will marry one of us!?”
“No, it’s not like that… It’s more like… the direction of my affection is different.”
“…I see… Kaito, among us, who do you like the most?”
“Why are you asking such a thing?”
“Just curious.”
Chiaki stared into my eyes, her mismatched red and blue irises piercing through me. It seemed futile to try and evade the question, so I decided to answer honestly.
“You’re all equally important. No one is above no one.”
“I see…”
“W-What’s wrong?”
Chiaki looked a little saddened. I quickly tried to console her with my words.
“…I thought you would say it’s me.”
“I-I see. I’m sorry.”
“…I am the one who looks at you the most. I’m the one who talks to you the most. I’m the one who gets my head patted by you the most. And hugs… I was the first one to become close to you…”
“…Well, um, it’s not that… I mean, I really love you, Chiaki. It’s just that I also love everyone else… We’re all important as a family, so there’s no sense of superiority. I’m sorry.”
“…Yeah, I understand. I can’t really say that on of you is the most important to me either…”
Chiaki got off my lap.
“I’m going to bed now. Goodnight, Kaito.”
“Goodnight, Chiaki.”
The slightly unsatisfied and sad expression on Chiaki’s face lingered in my mind for the rest of that day.
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