| Every Christmas, I looked forward to eating the cake my mother made. |
| A day I could eat sweet foods. That was what Christmas was to me. |
| When I was in kindergarten, Santa would distribute chocolate candy to children in the shopping mall. |
| Being able to receive the sweet candy that I liked, from Santa——. |
| I plucked up the courage and headed there to receive the chocolates. |
| The chocolates I received from Santa were shaped like trees, but somehow I wasn’t able to eat them. |
| Nevertheless, I caught a terrible cold soon after that. |
| The joints in my body, my head, my throat, they all hurt. |
| I didn’t have an appetite either, so I could barely finish my meals, but I remember deciding that I would eat those chocolates after I recovered, as I slipped under my blankets. |
| When I finally recovered from my cold and was ready to eat those chocolates… |
| The chocolates had melted because of the heat from the heater. |
| |
| Juuza | Up till today, I still remember the shock I felt back then… |
| Hisoka | …I think understand how you feel. If my marshmallows had melted, I would’ve been shocked too. |
| Misumi | Me too~. If my triangles melted and lost their shape, I’d be really down too… (1) |
| Tsumugi | Indeed, that’s… really a shame. |
| Masumi | Chocolates… I have a memory too. |
| |
| On Christmas night, the two of us split the small chocolate cake into half. |
| In the middle of the decorations on the plate, that person placed my cake on it, but without thinking, I said, “I don’t need it!” |
| I had actually wanted to say, “I don’t need it so it’s okay if you eat it”, but——. |
| That person had just smiled, but the remorse that filled me up on the inside remained in me even when the New Year started. |
| |
| Masumi | … |
| Tsumugi | Could it be——. |
| Tsumugi | (Masumi-kun’s grandmother… A memory of Hatsue-san, (2) I think.) |
| Tsumugi | …It’s okay, I’m sure your true feelings were conveyed, Masumi-kun. |
| Masumi | …Mm. |
| Tsumugi | Then, my story is next. |
| |
| When I was in university, I was given a chance to perform in a Christmas play at a restaurant that my friends from my club were working part-time at. |
| It was a Christmas that everyone had been looking forward to. |
| We were in really high spirits too, since we wanted to let everyone have a good time through the play. |
| However, it had unfortunately snowed heavily on the previous day. The roads were in terrible condition. |
| “——Uwah.” |
| “Tsumugi!” |
| As I was hurrying to the restaurant that the play would take place in, I carelessly slipped and the things that I was carrying in my hands flew out. |
| Though I had avoided falling down thanks to Tasuku, the crucial costumes were in the mud. |
| Nothing I did was any good, no matter how I wrung them with water or dried them… Using the dirtied costumes, we ended up changing the setting of the play. |
| |
| Tsumugi | My friends told me it couldn’t be helped, but I was truly sorry. |
| Sakuya | It’s amazing that you managed to change the setting right before the play! I want to see the plays that you and Tasuku-san acted in when you were still students. |
| Tsumugi | Ahaha, thanks. I think we have a few recordings of them, so I’ll search for them later. |
| Tsumugi | Uhh, so next is… |
| Misumi | Me—! I have one~! |
| |
| Christmas. |
| I think that day was probably what everyone called Christmas Eve. |
| As I sang a Christmas song that I’d heard from somewhere, I was making paper airplanes, alone. |
| As I was making them, the door suddenly opened——. (3) |
| “Merry Christmas!” |
| With a bright voice, Santa Claus… or rather, my grandpa, who was dressed up as Santa Claus, appeared. |
| “Grandpa, are you acting in a play as Santa now~?” |
| “Wh-What are you saying?! I’m Santa Claus! I’m here to bring you your presents.” |
| As he said that, Grandpa took out many different presents from his bag. |
| |
| Misumi | My Santa was Grandpa~! I wonder if Grandpa acted in a play as Santa after that~? |
| Masumi | …So, Santa’s true identity was revealed——. |
| image |
| Masumi | Guhh. |
| Sakuya | Wh-What an amazing Santa-san! |
| Misumi | Yeah! Even now, I treasure those presents veeeery much~! |
| Tsumugi | I see. Fufu, what a heartwarming story. |
| Juuza | After thinking about it, it’ll probably be good if we did a story where Santa is the leading actor in this time’s play. |
| Masumi | And it’s easy to understand, too. |
| Tsumugi | That’s true. Then, Sakuya-kun’s story is last, right? |
| Sakuya | Ah, umm… |
| Sakuya | I tried thining about it, but I don’t have anything in particular. |
| Misumi | Really~? |
| Sakuya | I’m sorry for not being useful. |
| Tsumugi | Don’t worry about it. |
| Masumi | Well, somehow we’ve managed to decide on what direction we’re going in. |
| Juuza | Yeah. |
| Hisoka | Mm. |
| Tsumugi | Then shall we practice something with Santa as the leading actor in the story? |
| |
| Juuza | ——Something like this, huh. |
| Tsumugi | Yeah. We’ve come up with sufficient content, so let’s end here for today. We’ll continue this tomorrow. |
| Misumi | Good work, everyone~! |
| Masumi | Good work. |
| Sakuya | … |
| Hisoka | … |
