Chapter 102. Christmas Day (6/6)

When I looked at her, Alicia turned away in a natural fashion, pretending she hadn’t seen me. She was eating a slice of the cake she’d baked for Christmas.

I approached her from the side and dropped a coupon in front of her.

“Hey, you dropped one of Rosa’s coupons.” When she noticed it she immediately said that.

“No, that one is for you. It is a special request coupon. You can request one thing of me, however, there is a condition to yours as well. The condition for use is that your request is not for us to be friends. I figured you’d immediately use it on that if I didn’t impose such a restriction.

“What the heck? That’s just about the only thing I’d want to use it for.”

“Don’t be silly, to be able to make any request from me is something you should consider carefully. Remember the situation with your little brother? If you ever encounter a problem you yourself cannot solve, you can use that coupon to potentially solve one of your unsolvable problems.”

“Oh! That would be quite useful.”

“Then make sure to use it wisely.”

“Mm, I’ll seriously think it over. But… what if I used it for something that would greatly trouble you?”

“I said, I will fulfill any request.”

“You really mean… any request?”

“Yes, the devil does not discriminate between good or bad, he only fulfills what he has promised. Haha, at least that’s how your little brother sees me.”

“Even if I requested you to go on a date when you are already engaged to Rosa, would you accept something like that?”

“I would certainly be troubled, but I would still accept it.”

“Aren’t these coupons a bit dangerous then? Should you really be giving something like this to someone who isn’t Rosa?”

“Well, I trust in what a good girl you are. You’re Rosa’s close friend. Even if you asked me on a date, it probably wouldn’t even be for yourself but for someone else’s sake instead. Just like the time with that double date.”

“Even in a bad girl sometimes too, you know…”

“Oh? Name one bad thing you’ve ever done.”

“I went to the school roof that one time.”

“Hah! One time? Even if you went a hundred times you could hardly be called a bad girl.”

“Ugh. Then… I… I… just recently, one time… I think... I felt I liked a guy who was already taken. That makes me bad.”

“But I assume you did nothing, right? You never acted on those feelings you think you had. Just liking or even thinking you like someone who’s taken doesn’t make you a bad girl. Look, the fact you’re having a hard time thinking of something that definitely proves you’re a bad girl just goes to show how much of a good girl you are.”

Her shoulders slumped down when she couldn’t think of an example to prove she was a bad girl at times.

“If I was more like Rosa this would be easier.”

“Oh? Are you calling my girlfriend a bad girl?”

“No, she’s just good at acting like a bad girl when she’s really just a super good girl at heart,” Alicia mumbled quietly.

I beg to differ.

“Hey, aren’t you the only one who didn’t give Mother a gift? Everyone else did, so why aren’t you giving her one?” Chris suddenly asked such a question out of nowhere when it appeared I had no intention to give her anything.

“Chris, don’t be rude.” Irene scolded her son.

“Rude? But I’m just saying. Isn’t it expected to give a gift to everyone on Christmas? It looked like even Mother gave him something too.” It was a surprise that he noticed that little exchange.

“Haaaah. Silly boy, he’s already given me my Christmas present. I just received it a bit early is all.”

“You did? What did he give you?”

“Something really amazing actually.”

“Amazing? Out of everyone’s presents, whose present did you like the most?”

“I loved everyone’s presents.” She didn’t say equally. It was a noncommittal answer. It seemed she didn’t want to honestly answer her son’s innocent question. 

“Come on, mom. Whose present did you like the most?”

“Like I said, I love them all.”

“Love them all? But which did you love the most?”

“Mmmm…” she had a troubled look on her face as she hesitated.

“Mom… when you said his present was amazing… the reason you can’t answer, is it because you loved his present the most?” 

“Uhhh…”

“You did, didn’t you?” She seemed helpless in front son’s interrogation. It was a rather rare sight to see Irene get cornered so easily. She definitely had a soft spot for her son.

“I… I… my son is bullying me~” She took a step back and helplessly said that.

“What did he give you?”

“I can quit my third job because of him. He gave me more time with my children and breathing room. He’s also apparently good with taxes and will take care of mine in the future... so that’s a bonus…”

“What! Are you being deceived by him so easily? He’s obviously just trying to lure you into a trap!”

“Stupid son! He’s not deceiving me~”

“How is he not deceiving you? What could he possibly do that would make you quit one of your jobs?”

She started speaking in a rather cutesy tone of voice while repeatedly poking her index fingers together, “Well… you see… he like… works a part-time job himself… and like… similar to his girlfriend…  he like lives independently... He pays rent… using the money he makes off his part-time job. He wants to... like rent out the free room we have... at a cheaper price. He’s like... offering more than I make monthly at my lowest paying job. So I can quit it because of him… and that’s the story… I guess.”

She looked like a schoolgirl talking about her crush.

The more Chris saw his mother acting like this, the more soul-crushing it was.

He looked at me with a glare as if asking, ‘What did you do to her, you vile beast?’

I didn’t do anything, brat. I’m just renting out a room, bite me.

Though Chris was annoyed by how his mother explained things regarding what she considered her Christmas present from me, his glare gradually softened up. 

He was probably remembering how hard his mother worked. Realizing she’d get some more time to relax from now on because of me, it seems a bit of thankfulness sprouted in his heart toward me. He really loved his mother.

He approached me and asked me seriously, “Is what my mother said true? You’re going to rent out the free room we have and my mother is quitting one of her jobs as a result?”

“Yeah, what she said is the truth. My girlfriend is staying here, so I figured, why not? It was also an opportunity to save some money for me since I live independently like her.” I scratched my head awkwardly. I wasn’t used to his current attitude.

He suddenly bowed to me and said, “I don’t like you still, but thank you for what you’re doing for my mother.”

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just taking advantage of her to save some money and be around my girlfriend.”

“I’m even more thankful if you’re taking advantage of her and using her for that reason. I don’t need to worry that you’re up to something else.”

After the revelation of Irene’s favorite present, we cleaned up the place a bit. Chris set up the consoles I’d given him in the living room and everyone took turns playing. There was a large variety of games ranging from one player up to four-player games. 

I actually had four controllers for both consoles so we took advantage of that. It’s not that I had people to play with in the past, it was just that I occasionally played games where there was more content that only opened up if you had multiple players. Over time in my childhood, I got my hands on some cheap used ones and broken controllers that I fixed up on my own. Yes, I’m sure many would look at me with pitiful eyes if they knew of the true reason I had these extra controllers.

Exactly the same way Irene was doing right now. It was obvious she’d instantly seen through the truth of the extra controllers judging by the sorrowful head shake she shot my way. Don’t pity me! I enjoyed multitasking and finding ways to beat things intended for multiple people all alone!

Even Irene took part in playing with everyone. I took the liberty to teach her how to play each game since I was the one switching out. I’d already played everything after all, so it was only natural I took up that role.

I held her hands to show her how to properly hold it and press each button. I also let her know what each button did in the games. Honestly, I was taking advantage of the situation. She seemed more than happy to learn from me though.

Chris was quick to understand the controls and helped his sister who was a bit clueless about video games. It seemed she was only familiar with games at the arcade. Rosa had no difficulties, it was obvious she had experience thanks to the console controller she used for her drone.

I also had a Rock Band game among them, but I’d left the drums in my closet, they were too big to fit in the box. The mic and two guitars still fit though.

We were able to play with just those. It was quite fun. The most I could do for this game was the vocals with a guitar or drum simultaneously as a child. One time I tried to master three at once by holding the drumsticks and playing with my feet. For the foot pedal on the drums, I attached a stick to my right elbow and moved it while I simultaneously strummed the guitar and something to hold the microphone up to my mouth. I could manage all the songs on lower difficulties. But when it got to the hardest difficulty I could only get through the easier ones. I couldn’t master all three at once.

The way I was set up was rather comical in nature. Seated on a couch, I laid down on my back. A microphone to my right. The drums were on the short side of the couch. As I pictured it in my head, it made me question my own sanity. Embarrassing. 

As for the extra guitar for the bass piece. I gave up on that impossible task entirely.

I tried drums with feet then used a contraption that strummed the notes if I rotated the guitar slightly. I’d then hit the buttons on one guitar with my left hand and the other with my right hand. The microphone and foot pedal setup was the same as before. Sadly, it was impossible. I racked my brains for a long time as a child to try and solve this difficult problem, but I never thought up a solution to master the art of four instruments at once. It was just too difficult for one pitiful child without any friends.

Everyone had fun playing Rock Band together. Naturally, I’d been the one to teach Irene how to play this game two. My arms wrapped around her from behind showing her the most natural way to hold it and hit the notes.

In this case, I’d done the same for the other two girls as well. Chris wasn’t as good with this sort of game so I had to teach him as well. As I’d done it for all of them, it didn’t look too unnatural. Alicia, though the first to sing, was the last I taught to play the guitar when Rosa switched out to vocals.

She was a bit jittery with how close I was when I taught her. She had a nice fragrant perfume on for Christmas, it was faint and very weak as if she’d barely sprayed any on, but it was still there. A composition of various different flowers was the best way to describe the smell.

When my arms were around her, I couldn’t help but think how much this girl made you want to hug her. I vigorously shook my head and snapped out of it. Such thoughts were a dangerous slippery slope if one were not careful.

In the end, no other major events transpired after my unseen battle with Rosa earlier in the day. She didn’t make any big moves related to Alicia and instead behaved herself. She stuck close to me a lot and enjoyed the rest of the day. It was like she’d given up, but I wasn’t naive enough to think she’d given up for good.

This could simply be viewed as a temporary ceasefire. It would last until Valentine’s Day when the atmosphere was ideal for another wave of attacks.

Today, I went to sleep victorious with a huge weight off my back. I’d been quite stressed over the last few days thinking of how to fend off Rosa’s nefarious plot. Who knew marriage would turn out to be such a powerful trump card that Rosa herself had been gracious enough to provide me with her own request.