Volume 3 Chapter 5 (1/2)

“Let’s unravel the mystery around Sakamoto! In this corner, Hikari-chan here will reveal all of Sakamoto’s secrets!”

In this autumn morning, while I longed for the futon.

Is it snowing? It was so cold, one might be wondering. On this day, I was awoken by the cellphone alarm, and it caused me to remember the part. It has been a while. Is it the second time?

“Now then, let’s begin! Why’s Sakamoto so tall? Most likely, it’s because of that, the same reason as to why giraffes reach their necks out to eat the tall leaves, he grew tall because he’s trying to looking at the cleavage of women from high above! As to be expected of you, Sakamoto!”

“What kind of evolution is this?”

I retorted with a grimace, and continued waiting for the rest of the alarm.

“That’ll be all for today! See you!”

“…”

Hikari Yumesaki finished her words. But if my guess was correct.

“…You aren’t listening, right?”

I guessed. I knew she would leave a message like before. Just as expected.

“…Yep. Not listening.”

She cleared her throat with a little cough. Now then, what kind of message will she leave behind?

“…”

“…”

“Sakamoto.”

It’s here–

“………………………………………..What are you hoping for LOLOLOLOLOL? fufufuLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.”

–Ack.

……Dammit. She got me.

“Always doing such stupid things.”

After this idiotic procession, I finally got out from my bed. Whatever, this day wasn’t for staying in bed. Two days ago, I received a message.

“I’ll tell you where the Atelier diary is hidden! Look at the attached map. By Hayato.”

Hayato and I had a meeting during the five shared minutes we had. Two days later, he sent a message to me, so that Hikari Yumesaki would not realize. I wanted to find the magazine immediately, but it was too far away, so II could only wait until the rest day.

“Alright, let’s go after breakfast.”

Saying that, I quickly finished my breakfast, and left home.

I continued on under the clear, freezing blue sky. I followed the map, took the trains and bus, and after five hours of travel, I finally arrived at a dump located in the dumps–right, it’s that Atelier. Dried leaves covered the place, and it was as though time stood still in this world. I proceeded to dig up the thing buried in there.

“This is…the Atelier’s diary.”

The diary hidden in the rusted iron box was so brittle, just flipping the pages might cause them to be ripped off. As rumored, this contained the exchange diary of the two girls. And–

“‘Two days ago, the soul of the other me had left this world. As per her wishes, we recovered all the secrets we know of, for those who were to share the same fate as us’–is that so?”

The dates were already too dirtied to be seen, but recorded on it was clearly the information I wanted.

And so I continued reading the diary entry. Again and again, wanting not to miss out on any word.

“I see.”

After a long while, I put down the diary, and then–

“…Right, I’ve decided.”

—————————–

“So, at the place I died, on the four hundred and forty fourth day–?”

The opening of the diary entry this day contained such a line.

Two days ago, I took the diary in the Atelier, and recorded everything I found in it on the notebook. I wanted to bring it back, but I had a feeling that I should put it back there, so I hid it in a place only I knew of.

Hm, so, I wrote a long~ long entry in the journal,

A body can’t have two souls living in it forever, so the soul living inside will become unsuited, and will vanish. The amount of time the soul living in the body shows up will continue to decrease, five minutes at first, and then thirty, and then, the time reduced would be regular. Four hundred and forty four days after the death, the soul living in the body would vanish forever.

There was only one way to prevent the soul living in the body from vanis.h.i.+ng. That would be to negotiate with what they called the G.o.d of death. This would allow the soul living in the body to remain with the host. But in such a situation, the soul of the original host–would be erased at the moment of the negotiation.

The way to negotiate: four hundred and forty four days after the death, return to the place of death. That would be the only chance to negotiate with the death G.o.d.

Your day of day is the Eighth of April. Four hundred and forty four days later, so the X day will be June 25th next day. On that day, we’ll go to negotiate with the death G.o.d at the crossing you died at. During that one negotiation we have, we’ll have to choose who gets to live.

First off, if we choose that I get to live, just go to the crossing on June 25th, and negotiate with the death G.o.d, saying ‘Akitsuki Sakamoto will live’, and that’ll do. After that, your soul will vanish, and I’ll get my lifespan back.

Next, if we choose that you get to live, on the same day, we go negotiate, and tell the death G.o.d ‘Hikari Yumesaki will live’. Once the negotiation succeeds, my soul will vanish, and the body will be yours.

Anyway, next year, on June 25th, either you or I will have to vanish.

…That’s all.

I wrote the message with as much detail as possible, so that the idiot would be able to understand.

And her response was basically,

“Sorry. I’ll like to think over this for a while.”

It was a short message. However, it was reasonable. Even I was hesitant if I should write it down when I knew of the facts. In fact, this was not an issue that could be set aside.

Hayato and Chiaki had already come to the conclusion that Hayato would vanish. Hayato never told Chiaki when he would vanish, but the latter said that it did not matter. If she had known of the actual date, she would have lost it. Thus, they decided to continue spending whatever remaining time they had left like usual, until the day it happened. With that, there was nothing I could do, except to watch them spend their remaining time.

“So what will the end result be…?”

I had a look at the diary. It was Friday, already in the middle of December. Soon after, winter break would arrive.

The remaining time continued ticking towards the end.

————-

“Nn…”

That day, the moment I woke up, the first thought I had was that it was freezing.

“Have you woken up?”

The blanket was moving. Ah, Yukiko? Why are you in my futon?

“You can sleep for a while longer.”

The voice echoed in my brain, dulled from all that sleep. Okay then, I’ll just continue to sleep for a little while more. But why enter my futon? Well, it’s warm to be hugged, so I’ll let her.

“So warm…nice smell…”

Oi oi, we’re siblings, but don’t cling onto me that much. Also, get rid of ‘that part’. ‘It’s not nice smell’, but ‘smells good’ here, right?

“Again…just one more time…”

Speaking of which, what’s with this strange sound? The pitch should be a little higher than usual–

–Chu.

“Wooooaaahhhhhhhhh!!??”

Eh, what!? What was that about? Something indescribable just touched my lips?

“–Ack, Kinos.h.i.+ta!?”

“Ehehe. Good morning, bro❤“

But that was not all that shocked me.

“–Hey, Kazes.h.i.+ro!? Why are we sleeping in the same room!?”

“What…you’re making a ruckus so early in the morning, Sakamoto.”

And there was something more shocking.

“–Hey mohawk!? Why are you here!?”

“P-please don’t worry!! I did not see bro getting x.x.x by Kinos.h.i.+ta since morning!!”

W-wait a sec. Wh-what’s going on here? And also, I just realized. Where’s this place? Why did it seem like I was in a big hotel room or something?

But one confusing thing continued after another. This time, it the sound of the door being opened, probably a fusuma–

“Brother, hurry up and wake up–fuuee!? Wh-wh-what are you half naked in the futon with Kaoru!? Has it come!? Has it come now!?”

THis time, it was Yukiko’s turn to show up, her drool dripping onto the floor.

“W-wait! Where am I!? What’s going on here!?”

But the confusion situation compounded. Following Yukiko, the girls continued to deliver knockouts.

“…Sakamoto. I never thought you would have such fetishes…”

“Oh deary me, you look happy there, senpai. This Misaki really is an idiot for having hopes about you.”

“Ka-Kasumi-chan…? Misaki-chan too…!?”

My brain was about to explode, but the one reliable guy present, Kazes.h.i.+ro seemed to have realized my confusion.

“Ah, Sakamoto, calm down. There’s a reason for this.”

Those words, together with that lethargic face of his, caused me to understand everything. Ah, so that was the case…

“Hikari Yumesaki, huh…”

“Good morning Sakamoto! We’re off for a three day two night skiing trip! I called everyone in out of a sudden, but everyone quickly gathered! You’re really so popular here, Sakamoto!”

Such a ridiculous line was written in the journal stashed with my belongings.

“Yesterday morning, Hikari suddenly asked us out for a skiing trip. I didn’t expect her to book a hotel at this time. We set off in the afternoon, arrived at night, skied around for a little while, and stayed for the night–that’s how it went.”

Kazes.h.i.+ro and I quickly had our breakfast, and we slipped out, making sure we knew what was going on in the conversation. Goodness, that Hikari Yumesaki. I thought she was brooding over the Atelier. Why did she suddenly came out to travel?

“…Nothing happened last night, right?”

“That’s impossible. We had fun skiing, but after that.”

So it did happen huh? I was already feeling very angsty seeing how she went out travelling with this bunch of weirdos. Looking at Kazes.h.i.+ro’s face however, it appeared it was really bad.

“There was a huge ruckus large night. Hikari proposed that we play the King’s Game.

So, the night after the travel X a bunch of hopeless companions X King’s Game X Hikari Yumesaki. What’s with this fiendish equation?

“It was crazy. Hikari became king a few times, had Sanada and Koudera kiss her on the lips, had Mohawk jump into the snow in his underwear, and had Kinos.h.i.+ta say the name of the one he likes, which ended up causing your little sister collapse on the floor in a nosebleed…”

Ooohh…well, that’s a tragedy…

“And when Hikari was king, she had a round of strip rock-paper scissors with the girls. She was G.o.dlike when she kept winning over and over again, and had them strip. You should apologize to them.”

“What the h.e.l.l did that idiot do…”

d.a.m.n it. I’m jealous. Speaking of which, what’s with her doing that with all the guys around?

“Kazes.h.i.+ro, you didn’t see Kasumi and Misaki strip, did you?”

“I have no interest in any females other than Hikari.”

Ah, I see…

“And then, it was troublesome when we had to sleep. Kinos.h.i.+ta wanted to attack Hikari at night, so I defended for the entire night. I was trying to hold back from attacking her myself.”

Good job Kazes.h.i.+ro. I’ll just pretend not to hear the dangerous words you said.

“I kept waiting until you switched with Hikari; it was tiring. After that, I just let Kinos.h.i.+ta do whatever he wanted. That was really amazing. I’m amazed you didn’t get woken up like that. Haha.”

This isn’t funny at all! Secure my innocence until the very end, man!

“Dammit…that’s why I hate to travel…”

Just to note, I guess Hikari Yumesaki was rather happy last night; in the journal she brought along, she drew the scenes of them playing strip rock-paper-scissors and them looking angry as they kissed her. But–

“…”

I remembered something similar to this sudden trip happened back in the summer. I knew what this point.

The journal in the Atelier presented a painful choice before us. This trip was definitely for the same purpose as before, to wipe out the uneasiness, and escape from reality. Otherwise, it could be to finish any unfulfilled wishes–

“Kazes.h.i.+ro.”

“Hm?”

I said to the guy before me.

“Did Hikari Yumesaki…sat anything after that?”

“…Nope.”

I told Kazes.h.i.+ro about the Atelier. It’s amazing that he could continue being with us as per usual, but actually, he probably did not feel at ease at all.

“Sakamoto.”

But he definitely understood what we were going through.

He understood my thoughts, he understood Hikari Yumesaki’s thoughts, he understood–

“No matter the outcome, I’ll choose the future you two will decide.”

“…Okat.”

The future Hikari Yumesaki wanted to choose.

“Watch out!”

In the afternoon, we arrived at the ski slope,

“A-are you alright, Kasumi?”

I asked Kasumi from below, as she had collapsed upon me.

The weather at the ski slope was clear. The blue sky and white snow glittered, and looked really dazzling. The songs that would typically play near the elevator in the winter was echoing happily.

“So-sorry about that, Sakamoto. I-I’m terrible at skiing…”

Oh really? I saw you catching up to me at a really fast speed, and stumble around as you knocked me down, or that’s just me. Whenever you tripped over, your amazing b.r.e.a.s.t.s would press on my face; I guess that’s definitely a coincidence.

“B-but, you’re skiing fine today, Sakamoto…”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Yesterday, you were going ‘woah, I can’t stop! We’re gonna cras.h.!.+’, and you knocked me down so many times…tch.”

!? Did I just hear her click her tongue, or was it just me!?

“Hahaha…”

Anyway, the three of us, meaning Kasumi, Misaki and I were skiing together. Yukiko seemed terrified of the lift, and was playing around in the snow with Kinos.h.i.+ta. “The mountains are calling for me.” Kazes.h.i.+ro said that, went to the expert areas, and did not return. As for mohawk, probably a.s.saulted with s...o...b..a.l.l.s by the elementary school girls there, and soon vanished before I knew it. I saw a large snowman with a mohawk in the corner of the ski slope, but it was probably just me, right.

Misaki should be around just a moment back, but she vanished. Kasumi seemed to have knocked someone aside when she skied down, so I guess Misaki’s disappearance had something to do with that.

“Hey, hey, Sakamoto…are we going to play…the King’s Game again today?”

While I was leisurely skiing and having such wild thoughts, Kasumi suddenly asked.

“You were so bold…yesterday, you were saying ‘if 1 is a girl, then put the ice in the mouth and serve it to the king’s mouth! For boys, do something shocking! For mohawk, jump into the snow in your undies!’…”

“No, that’s…”

“And then, you went ‘if 2 is a girl, sleep with the king in a futon! If a guy, mime something! Mohawk, jump into the snow in your undies!’…”

“Erm, this…”

“And then, you said, ‘if 3 is a girl, step on the king barefoot! If a guy, confess to the one you like! Mohawk, jump into the snow in your undies!’…” If only I was 3…”

He’ll die! Mohawk will die! Also, what did you just say!?

The terror from last night caused me to s.h.i.+ver, and at this point, Kasumi was being so excited that she could not stop. She continued,

“So-so, I’ll secretly tell you what number I drew, Sakamoto. If you become King…I’ll do anything you ask me to do…”

“…Eh.”

That meant…

“I want to repay you…until you let me like you…”

Following that was an unbearable silence. In such an atmosphere, we skied down the snow slope. I was worrying about what to say as I reached the elevator.

“Sakamoto…”

The presence around Kasumi changed.

“I…have something I want to tell you again…”

“Eh…”

Her face was blus.h.i.+ng, her lips quivering as she stammered. Her anxious eyes caused my heart to itch

And so, at the highest point of the elevator, it seemed Kasumi made up her mind, her warm, moist eyes were staring at me–

“Sakamoto! What I feel about you is–“

“Now then, senpai! Take the lift with Misaki! Ah, please move aside.”

Thud!

“Ah…!”

Kasumi let out a squeal.

Knocking aside Kasumi before the elevator arrived, and arriving before my eyes was–

“Goodness, uppercla.s.sman Sanada, that was dangerous. Please take the next ride.”

It was Misaki. She took the cable car ride that had just arrived–and sat beside me. As for Kasumi, she could only give chase after us alone in the back seat.

“More importantly, aren’t you cold, senpai? Misaki shall lean over to you to provide warmth.”

“Eh, ah, erm…”

I had no right to refuse. Misaki’s body was clinging towards me, and the head covered in the knit cap filled with warmth was leaning on my shoulder. Not good, this is bad. There was a loud coughing sound of an old man from the cable car behind me. This lift’s going to be filled with blood.

“More importantly, senpai. Yesterday was intense. You actually said to play strip rock-paper scissors, and had Misaki strip to almost nothing. Please continue tonight. I am prepared now.”

Ugh…I can’t agree to that…

“So-sorry. I think I went overboard…having you do such a thing even with guys around.”

Anyway, better apologize for the idiocy yesterday. Misaki sighed, and seemed a little peeved as she said,

“…Well, please don’t mind. We stripped, but uppercla.s.sman Kazes.h.i.+ro was just grinning stupidly away at you, senpai, and I’m starting to wondering if he’s gay. Kinos.h.i.+ta’s inching close to you, and I tell that he’s gay. As for that mohawk uppercla.s.sman, he pa.s.sed out there. With so few people watching, I really wasted my efforts there.”

..Sorry.

“So, you’re going to have to repay me today, senpai.”

“Eh? Repay?”

Misaki gave a teasing smile, and said,

“Misaki shall whisper to you the number drawn later, and you can enjoy the Misaki you want for as much as you want, so please look forward to me.”

“Eh, wh-why this…”

“Misaki just had a talk with uppercla.s.sman Sanada, that we’ll tell each other our numbers. If senpai knows of Misaki’s number and chooses her number…you know the consequences.”

“Ugh…”

Not good. I could hear more coughing from the lift behind me…no matter the option, I’m going to die.

“Fufufu. Misaki’s looking forward to it.”

With this strange sense of dread, the lift continued up. I guessed it’s my psyche at work, as I felt the wind blowing by my face was icy too.

“I say, Misaki.”

Once I saw the drop off point, I subconsciously asked,

“Do you…like me?”

“Huh—-?”

Once I asked, I realized. d.a.m.n it. What did I just–

“No, sorry. It’s no–owowowow! My-my finger! Don’t twist it there!”

“Fufufufu. You really like to play with a girl’s heart. How about it? If your reply makes me unhappy, you can jump down from here.”

I’ll die! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!

“No, erm…”

I remembered Kasumi’s blus.h.i.+ng face from before.

I really wanted to know. I wanted to know how much everyone liked me…no, how much they liked her–

“Right, sorry. I didn’t say anything, so please don’t mind–“

“I do.”

“–!”

This unexpected reply caused me to widen my eyes.

The sudden thing wasn’t Misaki’s confession, but her pink lips–that touched mine.

“More than the one I admired.”

“…”

Seeing me lower my head with a flushed face, Misaki giggled.

“You seem to be really troubled, senpai.”

“Eh?”

“It was the same yesterday. You were having fun, but you seemed frustrated about something. Misaki can tell. Even so, you got the answer.”

“…Answer?”

“Didn’t you say so yourself? ‘It’s great to come out on a trip with everyone. Now I can finally make up my mind’. Misaki’s glad to be able to help you, senpai.”

I didn’t know what that idiot decided on the previous day.

But it seemed she got something, she got something from this trip with the ones she liked.

“Senpai.”

Misaki gave a cute smile, and said tenderly,

“Is this Misaki today the Misaki Koudera you want?”

“…Yeah. Thanks.”

Really, thanks. Thanks for liking…us

And after that, I got off the drop off with my body sizzling.

…Naturally, the demon lord that appeared from behind brought me a tragedy.

—————-

“…Brother.”

“Oh, Yukiko. Good morning.”

Two days later, the trip ended. Yukiko came to my room with a gloomy face. What’s wrong?

“There’s a fan letter for you…”

“Fan letter? Eh, from who?”

“From brother…”

“…”

Again with the bothersome things.

Recipient’s Akitsuki Sakamoto, sender’s Akitsuki Sakamoto. Most importantly, there’s the line ‘I like you ever since I first saw you! Please give me an autograph!’.　Ugh…Yukiko’s stare has been p.r.i.c.king at me for quite a while…doesn’t this look like some pitiful lonely self-enactment? What was the me yesterday doing!?

“Goodness…hm?”

Then, I spotted a strange line at the bottom of the fan letter.

“D drive–>stored–>hidden.”

“This is…”

Skeptical, I quickly responded.

“D drive → Hidden anime folder → Hidden folder…huh?”

I immediately switched on my computer, and followed the instructions–found it.

When was this created? The hidden folder Hikari Yumesaki created had a little note inside there.

“Read this as you watch the TV.”

Upon seeing the t.i.tle, I knew what she was trying to get at. She’s a kind one; she’s telling me not to watch with seriousness.

Her kindness left me biting my lips. I double-clicked, and I saw it.

The words–that contained Hikari Yumesaki’s decision.

“To Sakamoto. Sorry for making this late reply. I really thought through this, and I’m feeling really uneasy. But I’ve made up my mind. I really thought through this, and made up my mind.”

She made up her mind–

Seeing those words, I nearly broke down in tears, but I continued reading,

“I guess–I’ll be the one vanis.h.i.+ng.”

“…Hikari Yumesaki.”

I see. So that’s…your choice.

“Fufu. Well, I do feel a little scared once I decided that I have to die. But I can’t sacrifice you after all. The skiing trip back then allowed me to be sure of my thoughts. It’s so sudden, but everyone agreed to my summoning, and they all gathered around you. Everyone was smiling so happily on the trip. I really believe that everyone loves you. I can’t bring myself to end your ife and continue living.”

“…”

No. The one everyone really loves isn’t me…

“Sorry. You worked so hard to find a way to let me live, but I choose to die. However, I guess this is my fate. Or rather, it’s because I extended this life that should have ended that I have no regrets. Also, it’s wonderful to experience your life, Sakamoto. That’s why…my life shall come to an end. I’ll go negotiate with the death G.o.d on June 25th. Thanks for wasting so much time for my sake.”

“…d.a.m.n it.”

I knew. I knew she would make that decision. However…

“Also, I made another decision.”

Hikari Yumesaki was not done with her message.

“I’m going to meet mama. I’m going to confess everything to her. I’ve decided. This time, I won’t run away.”

Needless to say, it was a cruel matter. Despite this, Hikari Yumesaki decided to go. There’s definitely a determination no outsider could image.

“Hikari Yumesaki…”

How much did she struggle when she wrote this journal entry. How much pain did she go through? She’s actually scared, right? But, if she did so, I can’t move forward…

….So I too made up my mind.

“Right. I understand, Hikari Yumesaki.”

I picked up the pen, and wrote my reply to her on the journal.

“I understand. If you say so, I won’t say anything. That’ll be the end of that.”

That will be the end. If not, this rare determination will be for naught.

“There’s only half a year left, but let’s enjoy it as much as we can. You and I are going to create the best life for Akitsuki Sakamoto.”

“Alright!”

Feeling pumped up, I picked up the cellphone, and gave Kazes.h.i.+ro a call.

“What now, Sakamoto?”

“Let’s create some memories together.”

I skipped the greetings and looked up at the winter sky as I said this to Kazes.h.i.+ro.

“Huh? Memories?”

“Yup. Memories.”

The sky was far and blue, looking as though it’s about to suck people in. It just felt within reach.

“Let’s go crazy and make memories, proving that she once lived on this world, in my body.”

“…!”

“Smile as we watch her leave. Smile as much as we can as we send her off.”

“…Sakamoto.”

He’s a sharp one. He’s able to tell what decision Hikari Yumesaki made just by hearing that.

And he’s a kind guy. He never asked anything, just said ‘I understand’.

I hung up, and looked at the calendar. There were four more months, a year since I met Hikari Yumesaki–huh?

“…This is fine, right?”

———-

Time flew.

Hikari Yumesaki probably discarded her bothers, and like before, went crazy every day, pulling pranks everywhere.

“Anyway, I’m going to play as much as I want! On Hikari’s calendar, every day is Sunday!”

“So aren’t you a NEET now?”

Also,

“Anyway, work hard to discarding your status as a virgin! If you’re always thinking about Hikari and not go out with other girls, Hikari here won’t feel relaxed!”

“I-I don’t need you to worry about that.”

And also,

“I want to go into a men’s bath! Just once! I want to enjoy the sight of naked handsome guys after they’re done with their club activities!”

“Please don’t.”

“…I’m satisfied❤ though I was treated as a suspicious person.”

“Heeeyy!! You went ahead with it!?”

And so on. Hikari Yumesaki got more agitated by the day. Goodness, thanks to her, rumors of me doing dumb things is going to spread everywhere. Well, as long as she’s happy, it’s fine.

“Yahoo Sakamoto! I asked the cla.s.s out to go out for karaoke tomorrow. Do your best, okay?”

“Seriously…again with the unnecessary stuff.”

I chuckled to myself as I read on–hm?

“Sakamoto.”

“Hm?”

“Ehehe. It’s great to be in your body❤“

“Eh, ah…hm?”

There’s a strange ill.u.s.tration on the journal, and the Hikari Yumesaki in the ill.u.s.tration blew me a kiss. I couldn’t help but frown. I wasn’t too sure, but it seemed Hikari Yumesaki’s really happy.

But the cruel truth loomed to us. Hikari Yumesaki’s revival time was shortened by thirty minutes, and got shorter, to an hour at this point. However, she did not sigh about this. So, I couldn’t say any deflating words either. I had to pretend to remain strong.

And so, time continued to pa.s.s.

——–

“Ah, Sakamoto…it-it’s cold!”

What’s going on…

On this day, so close to the end of the year, I arrived at the station while the sun was setting. This morning, the journal had the words ‘come to the station at 6pm. Prepare a bag and clothes’.”

“Ah, right. That. You said it’ll be given to me when we meet. Here.”

And at this point it was 6pm, for some reason, there was a girl at the station waiting for me. Kasumi handed me a letter. Eh, what’s this?

“Wh-what’s the matter, Sakamoto? You told me to hand this to you when we meet…”

“Ah, it’s nothing…thanks.”

I received the letter Kasumi received from the yesterday me, and once I opened it, I saw the words “If Sakamoto’s going to keep worrying about Hikari, Hikari will be worried! Be Kasumi’s escort!”.

Hikari Yumesaki probably was worried that I would continue to yearn for her, that I might end up like Kazes.h.i.+ro. She wanted to match me up with Kasumi. I knew her intentions, but this occasion was awkward, because this day was–

“I’m glad, Sakamoto…you chose me…on Christmas Eve, such an important day. So this means, I have a chance?”