Il Cielo dei Tre Regni

by Lunar Wave

Hongou Kazuto carries a great burden. He's the so-called Heavenly Messenger that is supposed to lead this country of chaos to peace. While he's not truly certain he's the Heavenly Messenger, there is no doubt that he is one loved by the Sky: the Heir of the Vongola. Kazuto/Harem.

35. First Winter

Il Cielo dei Tre Regni
by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series as they both belong to their respective owners. Also, considering Koihime†Musou could be considered a fanfic of the Three Kingdoms, I'd like to say I don't own anything related to the stories of the Three Kingdoms.

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First Winter

-()-

The following are stories that happened during Kazuto's first winter in this world.

-()-

"The nerve of those Joshuu bastards… sending a delegate!" Kakouton growled. "It's like they're making fun of us for losing to them the first time!"

"Well, she's just a delegate, right?" Soukou asked, "We don't need to accommodate her. She can live at an inn for a few weeks, and once she realizes we don't care, she'll go home. Can't stay in the country if you've no place to sleep after all."

"Who is this delegate, Rin?" Sousou asked.

"A Chinkei Kanyu, Karin-sama." A bespectacled brown-haired girl told Sousou, as she looked at the letter. The girl in front of her is Kakuka Houkou, one of a pair of strategists that they recently recruited for two reasons: their contributions to the defense of a fort during Choubaku's occupation, allowing the Sousou army to retrieve supplies from it, as well as a recommendation from Jokou Koumei. If Jokou, who is a rather silent person by default, is willing to speak up for the two, then Sousou sees no problem with it.

Still, the name that she mentioned is one familiar to her. Very familiar. "Tou, huh?" Some of the only good memories she had in Joshuu re-emerged, as she smiled in amusement.

"Y-y, wait you know this one, Karin-sama?"

"Around a year or two ago, I visited Joshuu and met a rather interesting mother and daughter, both members of the court." Sousou clarified. "The mother is a capable politician and served as my guide for most of it. She eventually introduced me to her daughter, who, interestingly enough, was making measurements at the farms."

"Wait, an official doing farmwork?" Soukou said, now rather interested, looking up from her work.

"Not necessarily farmwork," Sousou shrugged. "She was studying the methods, how much the methods improve, and how to improve them better."

"A scholar then." Soukou corrected, "An unusual scholar who focuses on agriculture when most of that profession look down on the job." Because it's a dirty job, literally. Always in mud…

"Why don't we meet her, then?" Sousou said, interested.

"We're going to accept her!?" Kakouton balked at that.

"Depends on her answers." Sousou smiled. "Also, have Chiihou called as well." She should be in the residential hall, with her sisters. The ai-do-ru activities that she spoke of are still in their infancy, as there are things that people around here just aren't suited to doing just yet, due to lack of experience. She'd like an update on that while she's at it anyway. And frequent interactions with her should be able to tie a few more connections between them. It is an unfortunate thing that she can't seem to connect with the girl as she can others. She tried inviting her to a taste testing event, but she was busy making new clothes for her sisters. Thinking about it, Sousou recalled the sheer fear that Tenhou expressed when Chiihou came. How troublesome, these three sisters… Unless she can win those three over, it is unlikely that they'll go out of their way to support her, and if Hongou becomes their enemy again, Chiihou is likely to shut herself in her room in protest.

"Karin-sama! I've brought Chinkei." Jun'iku's voice was heard as she came in. "And well… you should probably hear what she has to say first."

"It's been a while, Karin-san." Chinkei bowed to her with a grace that few Sousou could think of match.

"Hello, Tou." Sousou nodded, "You did not bring your daughter with you?"

"Her interest is in farming, not diplomacy. If I could've, I'd have brought her, but there are projects that she has started with the strategists at home." Chinkei sighed.

"You sure revealed that quite easily." Kakuka frowned. "Shouldn't you hide those sort of internal information from us? What if we use it against you?"

"It's not as if I revealed any specifics." Chinkei whimsically replied.

"I've brought Chiihou, Karin-sama."

"What do you want this time, Karin-s… Ah, it's the traitor lady." Chiihou blinked seeing the woman, as she stood on guard, her hand fingering the knife that was tied to her leg. "What are you doing here? Betraying Joshuu again?"

Everyone blinked at the accusation.

"Uhh, what?" Jun'iku said, "Betraying Joshuu again?"

"You don't know?" Chiihou blinked, "She told every general and official under Touken to step down so that you guys can sweep the floor with Touken when you come!"

"You did, Tou?" Sousou frowned, uncertain how to feel about that.

"Is that what Kazuto told you about me?" Chinkei said in amusement, before turning to Sousou, "While that is how it looks on the outside, what I did is not that insidious. I advised Touken to send your father's murderers to be sent to you for execution. However, Touken-sama chose to execute them himself. I considered it a fool's move, and since my position as an advisor was clearly ignored, I chose to quit. Others merely followed in my path."

"…" Chiihou grimaced, unable to refute her words. All of what she knows Chinkei did are all second-hand. She never interacted with her personally, and only saw her once while the blue-haired woman was flirting with Kazuto. That already put her in the 'clearly evil' category as far as she's concerned. Only people they know are allowed to flirt with Kazuto. Or something like that. Still, Kazuto isn't the type to lie to friends unless he was keeping a big secret. And Chiihou doubts Chinkei is a big secret. So she simply settled to glare before turning to Sousou, ignoring everything. "So what did you want from me? Unless the stage is done being built, I'm not going to do any idol activities."

"Do you know how expensive what you were asking for is?" Soukou scowled. "Something as big as what you want is clearly impossible!"

"… Here's a suggestion?" Chiihou said in amusement, "Learn to scale down? A smaller stage? Or maybe just set up a sturdy platform in the town plaza that's easy to make and dismantle? That's what we did when we started."

"Oh, now you tell us!"

"Well, not my fault you're not good at this whole managing business." Chiihou scoffed, "I'm the performer. Naturally, I want the best of the best. Your job is to figure out what I need and keep it all under budget."

"Grrr…"

"Know what, you should just make Renhou do it." Chiihou casually offered, "All you need to do is see if Renhou's proposal is under your budget. Sounds good, right?"

"… I'm not going to admit defeat to that man, Chiihou!"

"Kazuto is better than you at this, so just accept it already! You're too much of a miser!" Chiihou argued.

"Enough, both of you." Sousou coughed. "I did not ask for Chiihou here to hear you two argue. However, Eika, just let Renhou do it. Renhou is familiar with Chiihou, and, at the same time, realistic enough that she'll keep things easy on us. Just focus on your own work."

"How the hell does that man do so much work at the same time?" Soukou sighed. Chiihou merely laughed triumphantly.

"Regardless, Chiihou, thank you for your time. You can go now."

Chiihou blinked, "Didn't you want me here for something?"

"Yes. And you fulfilled your task perfectly." Sousou nodded. Chiihou tilted her head before sighing and turning to leave.

"Wait, minstrel."

"Just call me Chiihou." Chiihou waved off the title, turning to Chinkei. "What did you want?"

"I believe I have something that belongs to you?" Chinkei smiled, as she pulled out a scroll from… somewhere.

"… Is that…"

"A message from your friends~" She handed it over to Chiihou, who eagerly reached for it.

"Hold it!" Jun'iku got in between the two. "You aren't allowed to just exchange messages in our territory!"

"You can read it after I'm done." Chiihou replied with a frown, as she reached for the scroll only for Chinkei to pass it to Jun'iku, "Hey!"

"I must follow the rules of the land."

"What they're doing is violating my conditions!" Chiihou argued. "I want my freedoms, I said! That includes my messages!"

"And you can have it when we're done scanning it." Jun'iku bit back.

"I already said I'd let you read it when I'm done!" Chiihou argued, "I'm not letting you read a message for me before me!"

"… Let her read it first, Keifa." Sousou sighed, feeling a headache brewing. "Remember that the group uses sorceries. For all we know, there's a curse on that thing that would curse anyone that is not Chiihou when it's opened." Jun'iku flinched, before reluctantly passing it to Chiihou, who hugged it into her chest. "Chiihou, you may not leave this room without us reading that message as well."

"Fine." Chiihou rolled her eyes, breaking the seal. She opened it and…

"The scroll's on fire!" Kakuka yelped. Indeed, there was a pair of orange flames and a single yellow flame on the scroll. It didn't seem to be spreading but anyone would be alarmed at the sight.

"Shut up and let me read." Chiihou scoffed, grumbling, "I'd rather read this in my room… I'm still not that fast at reading." Chiihou sulkily sat at the corner, as she ignored the flames and read.

"… Hold on, does that mean that the message will burn away when you're done reading!?" Jun'iku argued.

"Keifa, leave her be." Sousou sighed, "How many times must I tell all of you to leave her be?"

"But, Karin-sama…"

Sousou only sighed in response. She loved these girls, really, but can they stop antagonizing people when she wants them to be her allies? She wants Chiihou to like her. But with both Kakouton and Jun'iku being suspicious of Chiihou, they only drive her further away from her. She might have to create reasons for both of them to leave her be whenever she wants to visit Chiihou. Unfortunately, that's a problem itself, as Chiihou needs to at least be comfortable in the two's presence, despite their personalities. The two are her most constant companions. Still, Chiihou is at the stage where Karin needs to give her as much space as she can, while still keeping her close. Her communications need to be monitored, but otherwise, she should let her do as she pleases, within reason.

"Seems that your officers have a rather… cute understanding of how to deal with outsiders to their little clique." Chinkei chuckled. It seems Chinkei caught on quickly.

"Shunran, Keifa. If either of you speaks out of turn one more time, I'll be assigning you jobs that will put you as far from me as possible for a week." Sousou seriously told them.

""… Sorry, Karin-sama."" The two bowed obediently.

Sousou nodded, turning back to Chinkei. "Did you truly betray Joshuu to try and get in our good graces?" Sousou asked.

"I thought you knew me better than that, Karin?" Chinkei chuckled, "No, of course not. I merely had a falling out with Touken. If I truly betrayed Joshuu, then why am I still alive? Even Touken or Kazuto isn't that foolish as to leave a traitor to roam free." A fair point and one that baffled Sousou if what Chiihou said is true.

"… Then what exactly happened?"

"As I said. I had a falling out with Touken, and I quit the job. I told other officials as to why I did so. I'm a relatively influential member of Joshuu's court, and they chose to quit with me. After Touken's… victory," She tentatively said, and a wave of ire was felt in the room. It can't be helped though; that war really was Joshuu's victory in the long run. "the other officers wanted their old jobs back, so they were quick to shift the blame to me. That may be why Chiihou is under the impression that I betrayed Joshuu." All true, as far as Chinkei's concerned. She did not force anyone to quit. However, she did make it seem as though it was an option that would be worth their while.

"… Chiihou." Sousou turned to her. "Did Hongou specifically claim that Chinkei is a traitor?"

"… No. He never said anything about her betraying anyone…" Chiihou replied. "All he said is that we should avoid being around her as much as we can because she'll…" She got tongue-tied here. Clearly, she was about to say something that she thought she shouldn't say. "… she's a politician to the core." She finished lamely.

"Oh dear, then why are you so sure about my 'betrayal' as it were?"

"Because that's what it sounds like." Chiihou pointed out. "You left Joshuu in their hour of need, and dragged many others with you." Chiihou then looked at her letter again.

"I suppose that is what it seems like from the outside." Chinkei said, "Still, it wouldn't do for you to spread rumors that you now know is false, yes, Chiihou?"

Chiihou just ignored her, as she continued reading the message. It seems she decided that this wasn't worth it anymore.

"… You do realize that all messages from them will be brought here by me from now on, right? Might be better if you treat me well."

Chiihou continued ignoring her as she grinned and laughed at something she read. "Rinrin's handwriting is horrible. She should've just gotten someone else to write."

"Leave her be." Sousou sighed. "For now… to who are your allegiances, Chinkei?" Sousou asked.

"Myself and my daughter, of course." Chinkei shrugged.

"I see… And what do you hope to do while here?"

"Simple." Chinkei shrugged, "It seems that Kazuto and Ryuubi,"

"So you really are just calling Kazuto-niichan 'Kazuto' just because. You aren't friends with everyone else." Chiihou laughed slightly. So she definitely is still listening to the conversation, not tuning them out.

"… It seems that Kazuto and Ryuubi" Chinkei repeated, a bit annoyed at being interrupted, "are under the mistaken impression that you are a tyrant on par with Toutaku. I'd like to correct their view by giving them information from the city itself."

"Hoh? And what would you gain from that?" Sousou said, interested. "Didn't you say you only care about your family?"

"What I'd gain is rather simple: I believe that this age of war will end quicker if Hongou and Ryuubi were to realize that you are a just ruler and a worthy king." Chiihou glared at her annoyed, but Chinkei pressed on, "Once they see that, if their goal truly is for peace, then they'd choose to ally themselves with you, maybe even become your subordinate. With their sorcery, skilled generals, and talented officials, combined with your own impressive generals, there is no army in this era that can stop you. Whether it be Enshou or Enjutsu."

Sousou frowned, a bit conflicted by her admittance.

"… May I speak, Karin-sama?" Jun'iku finally raised her voice, asking for permission.

"… Do so." Sousou nodded.

"Hell no." Jun'iku told Chinkei. "Why do we have to ally ourselves to them? That Ryuubi's preaching pampered…"

"That is the same problem that I spoke of from Ryuubi's side." Chinkei interrupted her. "If neither side is willing to make concessions, then you'll just wind up fighting each other every time. And whether either of you likes it or not, if your two armies clash, neither of you will get out unscathed. Ryofu, Kan'u, and Chouhi are all skilled and powerful warriors. And their sorcery is nothing to sneeze at. A morning walk from them lets them clear an entire road of snow. If you two keep fighting, if you win, you'll lose potential access to Kazuto's sorcery."

"Then we merely capture Hongou and force him to tell us the secrets to his sorcery." Jun'iku pointed out.

"Pray tell me how you plan to capture a flying warrior?" Chinkei asked. Jun'iku's mouth snapped shut at that rebuke. Without someone who can fly as well, Hongou is a clear threat that none of them are capable of dealing with effectively just yet, especially since he's skilled enough to knock an arrow from the sky.

"… Tou." Sousou looked up, "If you are the delegate, surely you have a message that Hongou meant for me?"

"Karin-sama?" Jun'iku asked. Chinkei shrugged, as she pulled out a scroll.

Sousou took the scroll and opened it on her desk. "Hmm… there's no flame on this one." It was an official-looking scroll appointing Chinkei as Joshuu's delegate for the capital. Cut and dry, no sense of humor in the writing… aside from the singular postscript to send her home in one piece if they don't like Chinkei. Her daughter would be sad if she died. Judging by Chinkei's amusement, she probably already read this. "What is the flame on your message, Chiihou?" She asked conversationally.

"Just their personal seals. Orange Flame on a Cross Sign is Kazuto. Orange Flame on Ryuu is Touka. Red Flame on Kan is Aisha. Yellow Flame on Chou is Rinrin." So judging by the flames, it's probably Hongou, Ryuubi, and Chouhi who wrote the message to Chiihou. It's rather amusing to know that their personal seals are something so utterly unique.

"Huh, is that so?" Chinkei hummed. "And the delegation letter?"

"It's sealed with the seal of Joshuu's Imperial Protector." Sousou shrugged, noting the seal.

Chiihou told her, as she passed by Jun'iku. "Here, I'm done. I'll want it back later. I'm going to be writing my reply." Jun'iku looked slightly offended but did not speak out.

"… Rin, help Chiihou write her reply letter." The hidden order is clear. Rin should make sure that Chiihou does not add any hidden messages in her reply. Chiihou rolled her eyes at it before leaving the room, with Kakuka at her heels.

"… So what do you have for me, that I would even consider someone that would easily betray their masters?" Sousou asked.

"I've never betrayed anyone." Chinkei chuckled, "I made my position clear to everyone. Kazuto is aware that I'm not on his side. Ryuubi is aware that I'm not on her side. Touken knew that I wouldn't be on his side from the start."

"And what assurance do I have that you are on my side?"

"For the sake of my family and the country's futures, I'll side with the strongest warlord. And that, in my view, is you."

"Even knowing that we lost against Ryuubi?" Sousou sharply pointed out. "Even knowing that Sonsaku down south is making waves." Sonsaku has already started to earn a moniker, the Little Conqueror.

"Sonsaku is a warrior, not a politician. Her dream of uniting the country under her banner will not last longer than a generation with her at its head. As for Ryuubi, her ideals will always be in conflict with that path. Unless she betrays them, she'll never conquer this land. And if she does… well, she's lost the right to refer to herself as a hero. As for the En Family, their current generation leaders are so foolish that they'll be easily stomped out by greater forces." Here she gave a meaningful glance at Sousou.

"… If you truly are on my side, give me information that can be used against Ryuubi."

"You've heard the rumors of Hongou sleeping with women every night?"

"That has existed since the coalition. No one cares about the proclivities of someone from Heaven." Sousou dismissed. "Besides, it would be hypocritical of me to denounce them on those grounds." Seeing as she too spends every other night sleeping with one of her subordinates. She may be many things, but hypocritical is one of the few things she refuses to be.

"Then, of their sorcery?"

"I see… what do you know?"

"All their sorcery is based on the rings on their fingers. Without them, they cannot use their sorcery."

Make sense. Which is why not all of Hongou's officers learned sorcery.

"Their sorcery manifests as a differently colored flame. Each has its own properties, but in the end, they all radiate heat, enough to melt snow on the ground with a swing." Hence Kazuto's old joke of calling his ring a fancy lighter.

"Kan'u uses a red flame referred to as Storm Flames. It appears that it's power is to utterly destroy its targets."

"And that's how the dust cover was destroyed so easily." Turning dust itself into basically nothing. A fearsome technique. Also how Kan'u swing easily broke Kakouen's bow, and the damages that Kakouton's blade received. Kan'u can fight for far longer than her opponent in a duel, merely aiming to destroy their weapons if they block.

"Chouhi uses a yellow flame referred to as Sun Flames. It makes her faster and has the properties to heal others."

"That, I'm aware of." Sousou shrugged, gesturing to Kakouton. Specifically, her eye. "But the speed aspect is one that's good to know."

"Chouun uses a blue flame referred to as Rain Flames. It creates a field of blue flame that slows down her opponents."

"That's…" Sousou grimaced. Dangerous. If it slows down a person, then fighting her at close range is not ideal. She nodded for Chinkei to continue.

"Ryofu uses a purple flame referred to as Cloud Flames. It can make her weapon bigger." That's a lot tamer than Sousou expected. However, this ability can make Ryofu an army killer. No; Ryofu is already an army killer. This ability makes her more of an army killer.

"And?"

"Shokatsuryou and Houtou use an indigo flame referred to as Mist Flames. I'm not aware of its properties, as they do not practice in the open." So both Shokatsuryou and Houtou are in their employ. Josho, the last member mentioned by Shokatsuryou is likely also part of their group at this point.

"Oh, so that's how you knew all this, huh?" Kakouton nodded. "Thought the sorcery thing was some big secret of theirs."

"They did not bother hiding their abilities." Chinkei shrugged, "They'd rather their subordinates be aware of their abilities if anything."

"So it will be difficult to turn people against them for having powers beyond their understanding." Sousou laughed. While they were powers that no one else can use, it is not beyond the understanding of the soldiers, having seen them used constantly around them. "And Ryuubi and Hongou?"

"Neither are generals, so I've not seen them train as much either." Chinkei shrugged. "According to the stories I've picked up, both seem to favor using it to light their blades on fire. However, Kazuto has also trained to use it to walk in the sky. Tottering steps last time I saw, but he'll probably improve sooner or later."

"I see." Sousou frowned. "Good to know. Is that all?"

"I believe so." Chinkei nodded.

"Karin-sama!" Kakuka bowled in the room as she blubbered.

"What happened, Rin?" Sousou asked in surprise, as Kakuka clutched a bamboo scroll.

"I… I was writing Chiihou's letter, right? And then when we're done, I checked and said it's okay! So Chiihou pulled out her magic tool and then… well look!" The bamboo-slits have writing… however… there was a sparkling green… thing on the end. It appears like a lightning strike.

Chiihou poked her head in. "What? That's my personal seal." Chiihou said, offended. "Stop overreacting."

"… We'll have a soldier deliver it." Sousou decided, as even Chinkei looked disturbed. "Chiihou… what was…" She's already gone. "… Keifa."

"Yes?"

"It seems that the magic tools can be used to channel sorcery as well."

"It seems so…"

"Keifa, Shunran, neither of you are allowed anywhere near Chiihou anymore. Eika, Shuuran, I'll leave it to you to handle her. I don't want her spoiled, but I want her to feel comfortable among us." If Chiihou can use sorcery, and she can teach her sisters too, she wants to be able to get them on her side. "Who are Chiihou's closest friends right now in our group?"

"… No one." She's been a bit of a recluse since her arrival.

"… Have Kii and Ruru spend more time with her then… Maybe the new recruit, Sawa, as well. There should be some common ground in their interests." Sousou gave her orders. She then turned to Chinkei, "… Tou. Do you have anything else that you can tell me?" Any secrets that they can figure out?

"I'm afraid I only know that there are two recluses that have been getting special priority. Unfortunately, I'm only aware of their True Names…" The hidden question is clear: does Sousou want to hear them?

"… Say them." Sousou decided the culture around True Names be damned for this one instant.

"Kuutan and Fan. The former has a sister named Ryuukyou who's been helping out the leaders as well. All that I'm aware of the last one is that she, and thus her sister, is Ryuubi's cousin."

"… Does any of those names ring a bell for anyone?" Sousou asked, and everyone shook their heads.

"Then we've got nothing." Sousou sighed. She could swear she's heard of a Ryuukyou before, but there are far too many Ryuus in this country for it to matter. There's Ryuutai, Ryuuhyou, Ryuubi, Ryuushou… Being the family name of the reigning monarch for so long, there are far too many offshoots for it to count. "Well, figures that Hongou wouldn't easily leave an opening to be easily exploited. If these people are truly worth something, then we'll find out eventually. If not, it matters little."

"Shouldn't you question Chiihou?" Chinkei pointed out, the letter still crackling on Sousou's desk.

"She will not say anything," Sousou replied. "Her loyalty to Hongou and Ryuubi is still far too strong."

"Then there's nothing to do but wait till you can open her shell then." Chinkei shrugged, as she took the letter from the table, and rolled it up.

"Then, we're done here for now. Keifa, lead her to a spare room in the residential hall, and have her escort situated in the barracks."

"More mouths to feed." Soukou sighed.

"We can afford it, right?" Sousou asked.

"Yes." Soukou nodded.

"Then, welcome, Chinkei Kanyu."

-()-

"Was it really wise to let Chinkei leave for Sousou when we know that she's supporting her?" Aisha asked.

"Better than letting her find out about Kuutan and Paitan which she might secretly report to Sousou." Kazuto sighed, "The gag order on their identities was never going to last forever."

"Overall, your dealing with her is fine, but not perfect. There will be future problems." Reborn shrugged, "A better solution is to have executed her…"

"Touka and I refuse that option out of sheer principle?"

"You'll refuse to execute dangerous criminals?"

"Do we really have to talk about this on the table?" Touka sighed. "And no… if the criminal really is dangerous, we'll do it. We don't have to like it but…"

"Unfortunately, I looked into the evidence of what she did." Kazuto sighed, "What she did wasn't necessarily illegal. Just really, really dirty." Kazuto idly sipped on his soup to wet his throat a bit. "It's not as if she told the officials to jump fence, which would be treasonous. She told them that the best path for their safety is to quit so that if Sousou wins their heads don't roll for being on Touken's side. That's all. A suggestion. The cascade effect it caused is likely intentional, but that's just speculation with no evidence."

"You figured all that out?"

"Yuuka told me about it. Apparently, Tou tried to do the same to her. After that, I just cross-referenced every other 'account' of the other officials and spotted the common thread." Kazuto nodded to the girl who was leaning back with a sake cup in hand. "… Yuuka, it's far, far too early for this."

"One cup's not gonna make me pass out." Yuuka scoffed, "Also, I'm going to be working outdoors and, you know, not all of us have fancy rings that summon fire."

"You know that alcohol does nothing to make you warmer, right?" Kazuto asked.

"Doesn't feel like it." Yuuka blinked.

Reborn shrugged, "Alcohol tricks your body to think it's hot. But that's it." He's personally never been fond of the drink, preferring his coffee.

"It's really just your body numbing to the cold." Kazuto sighed. "It's still cold, but your body isn't telling you anything."

"… Craaap…"

"Moving on from that," Reborn shook his head for the tangent, "Failing execution, you could have tried to convert Chinkei to see your side instead. She is skilled, for what it's worth. But since you chose that path as not worth the hassle, you now have someone who knows the ins and outs of Joshuu and its politics in Sousou's territory."

Aisha raised a question, "And how sure are you that Chinkei really doesn't know anything about Kuutan-sama and Paitan-sama?"

"She likely knows Paitan as Ryuukyou, since our soldiers usually call her by that… as for Kuutan… Have you told anyone your name, Kuutan? Aside from all of us?"

"Hmm? No?" Kuutan shrugged.

"Fan?"

"I see no reason to introduce myself to anyone as well." Fan shrugged.

"Would Sousou know your True Names?"

"Unlikely." Fan replied. "The only one that knows Kuutan-sama's identity would be Enshou…"

"And Kataigou and Kashin," Pairen added. "They're with Enshou."

"So Kuutan's safe… as safe as it is for Enshou to have the knowledge…" A wildcard that none of them can easily predict. "But what about Ryuukyou? Strictly speaking… the only ones who should know would be… Kataigou, Kashin, and…" here Kazuto turned to Yue, "Chouryou?" He asked, trying to confirm.

Yue winced slightly, "… Shia's definitely been with us… so she definitely knows Paitan-sama's names, but…" So she'll definitely know Ryuukyou is Kentei is Paitan. Gotcha.

"Shia won't say anything unless someone chooses to directly ask her." Ei decided for them.

"…"

"Worrying about what-ifs is not worth it. For any of you." Reborn decided for them. "I only intended on reprimanding Kazuto to inform him on how to handle future situations. For what it's worth, you did well dealing with an insubordinate subordinate. She'll always be a source of trouble for you, whether she's here or not. And even if you didn't send her to Kyoshou, she could still theoretically send all that information to Sousou anyway."

"… Maybe we should have someone escorting Kazuto-sama everywhere…" Shuri frowned. "I know we joke about it a lot, but… Kazuto-sama's penchant for making big decisions without us is starting to get out of hand."

"I'm sorry."

"So… I think we need to assign at least one person as an escort. That person should not have any jobs that day at all, and so that she's always close by Master. She doesn't necessarily need to be with Master, just nearby enough that if something serious happens, she can join in the conversation…"

"Should we just use the same turns we're already doing at night?" Touka asked.

"N-no… The night turns are a different thing because anyone can do it." Shuri shook her head, "But escort duty has… qualifications. But, we'll definitely need a turn system for the escort as well…"

"Can't we go by availability?" Kazuto asked.

"That's everyone out, Master." Shuri pointed out. "All of us have jobs that need to be done. It's less a matter of availability, and more a matter of whose job can be passed on to someone else to do… and… some are better suited to the job than others…"

"Like?"

"Rinrin can't do it, for example."

"What's that supposed to mean, Shuri!?" Rinrin complained.

"We need someone who can intervene with Master when he's being reckless… not someone who would either not know he's being reckless or would encourage him… you're…"

"Both." Aisha cruelly finished her statement. Notably, no one rose to defend her.

"… Meanies, all of you! Even though Rinrin's the one with the least work out of all of us!" And thus wins by the availability argument. Most of Rinrin's work are one-and-done situations. Her only serious work involves the training of soldiers when Rouan requests for her help. Every soldier under them is starting to learn to dread her presence. Because if she's not fighting them, then that means she's there to heal them. In other words, it's a training situation that requires magical healing. Not a fun prospect for any of the soldiers.

"So who can do it?" Sei asked.

Aisha nodded, taking charge here, "Touka-sama has duties that usually parallel Master. If they're not together, it's because there's something the two need to do separately. So Touka-sama is out." Touka merely shrugged. She's always with Kazuto anyway, in their office.

"And since Mifa's current designation is Touka's escort, she's always out," Kazuto added to the conversation. A job that Mifa immediately assigned herself to.

"I can take a few shifts," Aisha frowned, "But I'll be largely unavailable due to my own work." As the main head of their military.

"We already discussed why Rinrin can't do it… but… as for me…" Shuri frowned, "Hinari, Genchoku-chan, and I can probably take a few shifts ourselves… But we do have work outside of that…" Not to mention their semi-regular illusionist lessons, courtesy of Mammon.

"I won't mind taking a few shifts, stretch my muscles here or there." Yuuka piped up.

"Might be easier to list the people who can't do it." Kazuto pointed out, "Everyone can more or less take a break if they need to, so…"

"Rairai and Denden are out. Same reason as Rinrin." Aisha decided. "Kuutan-sama and Fan for… obvious reasons. Paitan-sama too. Otherwise… I won't complain about anyone else."

""Meanie."" Rairai pouted, with Denden mirroring her. Kuutan seemed slightly disappointed, although Fan merely smiled politely in response. Paitan had her own disappointment written on her face.

"Is it necessary if I'm just going to spend the day inside the entire time?" Kazuto asked. "Look, just decide for today who'll be my escort. Tonight, discuss what your plans are and decide among you who will be my escort tomorrow." Honestly faster to do it this way.

"I'm free." Shuri declared quickly, before eeping. Rairai and Denden looked enviously at her. Judging by the looks that Kazuto can see in Hinari and Josho's eyes, that's probably a lie. They probably had some form of plans but…

"Isn't that nice, Kazuto?" Reborn smirked, "You're so popular, Oikawa's going to tell you to explode." Oikawa, the man with a new girlfriend every other time, telling him to 'go explode'. If he even dares do it, he'll smack him over the head and call him out for hypocrisy.

"Then, Shuri's my escort? What about you Hinari?"

"Eh… uh… I guess I can come along…" Hinari sighed. Figured. Since Shuri decided to declare today her day, Hinari probably suddenly had her schedule freed up.

"Then I'll come along, if only to double the number of swords." Josho grinned.

"I'm not paying if you're an escort, got it." Kazuto pointed out.

"Stingy."

"Can I join the Night Duty System?" Kuutan asked.

"… We'll discuss this later." Touka replied to her.

"It's fine, isn't it? I'll bring Paitan with me."

Paitan blushed heavily at that suggestion before shaking her head quickly.

"I said we'll discuss later." Touka firmly said. "When Kazuto's not here."

"It's my room; don't I get some say in who gets to sleep in it?" Kazuto asked. "Also, don't call it Night Duty System. That makes it sound like I have sex with whoever is in my room that night." Kazuto complained. All they do is sleep in the same room as him although some do sleep in the same bed.

"I'll refuse it now!" Fan argued, "Kuutan-sama, you must not let your innocence be sullied!"

"Hmm?" Kuutan tilted her head to her before shrugging.

"Christmas in a week, Kazuto. Have you made plans?"

"… We're in Ancient China, Reborn… And it's not like we have a proper calendar." For all Kazuto knows, Christmas already passed a while ago. He's just been going off his phone calendar, not for months, but days of the week…

"Umm, what's Ku-ri-su-ma-su?" Touka asked, a bit confused, "I mean, I've read it once or twice in the books you brought, but none of them went in much detail."

"It's a religious holiday." Kazuto sighed. "You don't have to worry about it."

"If it's a tradition of your world, we'd love to know about it."

"There are many ways people celebrate it," Kazuto replied. "Usually a feast." Well, that got many interested, "And there's another part… the exchanging of gifts."

"What's that?"

"Depends on how you want to do it. You give gifts to your friends and family, usually, but well… considering that we're all sort of strapped for cash, I imagine most of us would not want to do that right now?" Kazuto chuckled.

"What kind of gifts?" Touka asked.

"Usually we just go with what we know of the other person. Like say, I give Shuri a book or Touka a new brush to use. Or you could always just ask the other person what they want."

"It's usually better not to." Reborn smirked, "That way you can gauge just how much the other person knows about you."

"Sounds like fun!" Touka smiled.

"Why does such a tradition exist?" Fuurin asked. "Usually, when we're talking about Religious Holidays, you spend it by praying to the god you worship."

"It's become secularized quite a bit." Kazuto chuckled. "However, if I recall correctly, part of the story of the event is of men coming to give gifts to a young child, believing him to be a king."

"Huh? Interesting… what kind of gifts?"

"Gifts fit for a king. Gold, a rare perfume, and some incense." Kazuto waved it off. "And we're not talking more about the story aspect of it. Anyway, nowadays, in my world, it's a big thing that all shops capitalize on to say… raise prices for gifts or something… it's really more economic now than religious." He's glossing over some things, but that's the basic gist of it.

"So… will we celebrate it?"

"Let's just have a big feast for now." Kazuto sighed. "We could draw lots and you'll give a gift to the person you get on the day itself."

"But you can get gifts for others if you want?" Touka asked.

"You could, but then, unless you're going to give gifts to literally everyone, they'd just feel left out, don't you think?"

"Ah, right…" Touka nodded. "But can't we do that instead? I think everyone would be happier if they get more gifts…"

"And how many people are we including in this?" Kazuto asked. "Including Suu, that's 23 people… if we include Touken, Tou, and Chiihou, that's 26."

"Chiihou and… Chinkei?" Touka hesitantly asked.

"We could always just send Chiihou a gift, even if we don't expect to get one in turn." Kazuto hummed. "As for Tou, well, since we're going to be sending Chiihou a gift, then might as well let Suu do it too…" Personally, he's just thinking of sending Chinkei a customized writing brush with her name on it. "Ah, now I started thinking of gifts and I can't get it out of my head!" Well, looks like his personal agenda for today is decided. He'll have to be thrifty for the most part, but…

"Kazuto-kun… are you planning on giving everyone gifts just as you told us to not do it?"

"… You're getting better at reading me, Touka."

"Master…" Shuri sighed.

"I'll keep it within my budget!" Kazuto told her. "I have some idea how to do it, so don't worry about it!"

"… Fine." Touka sighed. "But I'll do it too."

"Do you have any plans for what you're going to do? That's a week from now, you know?" And considering how practical-minded many of them are, something that will be of little use would probably not be any good. "That's twenty-plus people too… do you have any savings you can put into this?"

"I'll find a way!"

"… Let's just merge our gifts together, aside from who we get as the one we're giving a gift to." Kazuto offered.

"… That will be helpful I guess…" Touka nodded, with a small smile.

"Ah, but now that both of you are doing it, doesn't that mean all of us have to do it too?" Hinari pointed out.

"Oh, and how many of you have savings?" Kazuto asked. Most of them winced at that. Figures as much. They all have their own hobbies. "I'm going with just us two this time… if you want to give a gift to say… someone you're particularly close to, I won't stop you, but for the Christmas Party, you'll only bring one gift, and that would be for the person you're assigned to give a gift to."

"Assigned to give?' Ei asked.

"Also, the person you're assigned to give a gift to shouldn't know about it, okay?" Kazuto told them.

"Do we have to participate in it?" Fan asked frowning.

"If you want to get a gift, yes. If you don't bring a gift, we'll pass on your gift to whoever you're supposed to be giving the gift to." Kazuto shrugged. And, because of how Kazuto plans to make the ballots, it is not likely anyone will get their own gifts from this. Fan grimaced, looking at Kuutan who was definitely interested. "So… as a starter for everyone, so that everyone can get a feel for it, let's plan a gift for Chiihou."

"Right!" Touka nodded.

"The first rule of this game: don't expect to get an expensive gift. Conversely, don't give an expensive gift and claiming they owe you. It's a gift, not a loan."

"Clothes would be a good option, I think?" Touka pointed out.

"Personally, a muffler might be good, but I have no knitting skill." Kazuto shrugged. "Maybe a coat?"

"We can't make it too expensive, because it might get lost in transit." Shuri pointed out. Bandits are a problem, after all.

"We can't make it heavy either; we'll only overburden the one doing the delivery."

"Food?" Rinrin asked.

"It's fine for the Christmas Party, but if the thing has a chance to rot before it gets to the recipient, that sort of defeats the purpose…"

"So we can give food," Rinrin said in confirmation.

"Things the other person would like, Rinrin, not just what you'd like."

"But Chiihou likes food!" Rinrin pointed out.

"Not on the same degree as you." Kazuto teased.

"A song?" Rairai asked. "She liked listening to your music, right?"

"I can give her the lyrics, I suppose…" Kazuto nodded, "But that seems a bit small… how about a songbook?" Kazuto smiled, "Think about it? We'll give Chiihou a bunch of songs that she liked listening to on my phone, as well as the songs she performed on stage here…" Chiihou should be able to somewhat remember how the songs went by reading and humming the lyrics.

"The only problem with this is that it would be really difficult to transcribe all of it…" Shuri frowned.

"My song list, so I'll be the one transcribing it, for the most part, I guess…" While everyone here has become relatively fluent in reading Japanese kana, writing it is probably still beyond them. "And now you know why it's difficult to plan a gift for someone else in a week~" Kazuto cheerfully replied. "Anyway, we'll reconvene at lunchtime. I'll have the ballots ready." Now then, let's see if that thing he half-remembers from an internet video works.

-()-

"Hmm? A party? I'll join of course. Ah? How interesting so… I see, I see… Very well, I'll be prepared."

Touken's reply to the invitation was as swift as usual. Well, he has already gone into full retirement mode after he finished the hand-off. Still, he'll join them for lunch for the name-drawing. So next…

-()-

"A party? Umm… what's the occasion? Eh, just a gathering? A festival from your home? I see… So it's about giving gifts then? I suppose I can join… It's just one night, right? Yeah, sure… I guess I can join for lunch…"

Suu was reluctant, about as expected of a reticent girl, but she gave her confirmation. Still, there's another thing that they want to know though…

"A gift for my mother? Umm… that's hard… Eh? Tea leaves? How about Sake? I think my mother will be fine with that… She often invites people over for drinks when she has business with them… A high-quality Sake would be good, I think… Eh? Delivering it would be difficult? I suppose so… Umm… Sorry, I don't have much to say…"

Kazuto and Touka merely smiled. They assured Suu that it'll be fine. Personally, Kazuto just plans to have one of their contacts in Kyoshou buy a jar, and not worry about the transportation. Easier that way, really. The only worry is that the messenger would… Eh, Mifa? You'll do it?

-()-

The method Kazuto chose for Kris Kringle is simple: He marked two sets of 24 cards by number, one set dyed red, the other set dyed green. Red is the number of the person you're giving it to, green is your number. He fastened the same number, Red 1 to Green 1, Red 2 to Green 2, Red 3 to Green 3, etc, in a way that he couldn't see the number, no matter how he shuffles it. etc. He shuffled the paired cards and then placed them in a line. He then unbound the first paired card, and, without seeing the number, swap one card with the paired card next to it. He then kept on doing it till he reaches the end, looping around to swap this card to the next. He then rebound all the cards together again and put them away for later.

While it rather removes the fun of someone randomly getting their own number, it's probably better for everyone's experience if they each could get a gift. It's rather questionable if Fan would even consider bringing a gift even if she attends the party, so if Fan doesn't have a gift to give the person she's supposed to, then the gift Fan has will just be passed on. And because of how Kazuto did the cards, this will work even in the extremely unlikely event of only two people bringing gifts. It's just one big cycle, after all. It's still randomized, but all it does is randomize your position in the imaginary circle.

After drawing their cards, they revealed the number on the green card, and Kazuto compiled a list for Yue to hold onto. If anyone wants to ask about who is which number, they can just approach her.

They'll spice it up with White Elephant next year, maybe. For now, a simple gift exchange is better. Let them get a feel for it. Well, if this event doesn't work out, Kazuto and Touka will be giving gifts to them anyway. So everyone should get at least two gifts unless they chose not to bring a gift. Then they get one.

-()-

Planning Christmas Presents is tough work, but he managed to finish it in time. Still, with Touka's help, he managed to pull off some things well enough. After the drawing, he and Touka compiled a preliminary list of gifts that they would give the others. Naturally, they had their escorts out of the room when deciding their presents. Some of the gifts they decided on need to be custom-made by an expert, so, after deciding, they, with Shuri, Hinari, Josho, and Mifa went around making the orders, while also looking around a bit to see if they find anything that would look good for the others. Some gifts are easier than others, and they managed to pick out quite a few, which they then stuffed under Touka's bed to hide them. Kazuto's room is visited by others quite often and…

"Don't look under there, or I'll shoot you."

"…"

Reborn seems to have claimed that hiding spot, as he had Leon… going full printing press on them. What exactly can Reborn can and can't do? Well, anyway, looks like most of them will get two gifts, rather than just one. Maybe. If Reborn feels like it. In all honesty, Reborn probably would just pick the people he likes or thinks would benefit from the gift. Still… where he got the materials, the money, how he's so sure that this would work, or the time to do any of this is Kazuto's guess.

The next day, Kazuto really toiled hard for Chiihou's gift. The sooner they can finish, the sooner Mifa can leave to deliver it and come back for the event. And order the wine for Tou's gift. It was finished by the evening, and all that's needed is to send it to a book-binder to be hand-delivered by Mifa.

Kazuto and Touka spent the next day finishing a lot of the work that they had ignored for the past two days. Mifa has left for Kyoshou… they don't know what time though. How she's planning to do things there, is beyond Kazuto, but they'll just have to trust her that she'll be back in time for the party. She did seem oddly confident.

The next day, Kazuto finished some of the other personalized gifts that they were planning on making. They're not as difficult as an entire songbook, but some things needed to be done, and some of that has to be done not in the presence of their recipients. He then finished as much government work as he could. He is now cursing Reborn for popping this whole Christmas business a week before the stated event, giving him just enough time to do all the things, but not enough for himself.

The next day is a rest day for Kazuto, after running himself ragged for three days straight. He's not sick, he assured everyone, but he really can't bring himself to go to work or go around town today. Reborn, in an act of rare kindness, moved out of his room for the day so that the Leon Printing Press isn't running in his ears. Yue spent the day taking care of him, that honestly, he's now reconsidering his gift to her to something a bit more personal. She was the one he drew for Kris Kringle. They talked a bit about gift preparations, trying to see if he can coax some gift ideas from her. She didn't give him a whole lot.

The next day, he was kicked out of his room by Reborn. Last he heard, there was lots of loud banging. Anyway, he was back for more government work for the morning, and last-minute shopping for the afternoon, to see if he can find things to buy for the other girls that he really doesn't have a clue what to give. He eventually just gave up with Rinrin and talked to a shop owner into giving him a voucher for the biggest bowl of the food they serve. He did have to explain the concept, but the owner was willing to work with him. That will have to work. He'll talk to Touka about it later. Mifa came home that evening, which is honestly really, really quick, that Kazuto feels bad for it… She did tell them that she passed on the songbook to Chiihou properly… What that means, he's not sure. She also left an order for the wine to be delivered to Tou. It seems she chose not to directly interact with the two though, which is probably for the best.

-()-

Upon seeing the book on her bedside table upon returning from a bath, Chiihou was understandably confused. She does not read, and she does not borrow books. In that shared room between three siblings, Chiihou carefully peered at the cover. Seeing the katakana on the cover, she quickly opened it.

Two dancing orange flames burned on the first page, the seals below clear to see. Chiihou felt somewhat relieved to see them. She flipped to another page, and the flame disappeared from view. Even now, it's rather confusing how this worked. Reborn basically told them how to make these seals, to prevent counterfeits. It wouldn't do for Chiihou to suddenly anonymously receive a message from Kazuto and the others for something that they definitely don't want from her. Still… it must've been made recently. Seal Flames don't last forever.

She opened it to the next page and saw the first few lines of…

"… An angel… without any wings… told me… that he had lost the map that leads home~" Halfway through saying the words, the song's melody played in her mind, and she was singing to the tune.

These are the songs that Kazuto had on his phone… The realization hit her, and she flipped through the book. The handwriting… it's Kazuto's. He even used his pen, rather than a brush to write all of this down. Turning to the last page… This time, brush strokes are clearly seen. There were little encouragements written there, similar to the letter she received earlier that week when Chinkei arrived. But this time, more than just a handful of them put a message. There are more than ten… Kazuto, Touka, Aisha, Rinrin, Shuri, Hinari, Josho, Sei, Rairai, Denden, Paitan, Pairen… In all honesty, probably the only one that's not written anything here is Sosou, and that is understandable…

Chiihou returned to the first page, where the flames of both Kazuto and Touka were… she read aloud the text beneath it… "… Our group decided to have a gift exchange party, where we give gifts to our friends…" what she guessed is Kazuto's note (being written with a pen)… "Since you're not here, we decided to give you memories of your time with us… may we meet again… our beloved family, Chiihou."

Chiihou couldn't help but feel like tearing up… it was a short note, but there were the other encouragements at the back. She'll have to sneak around to read them on her own…

"Chiihou~!" Hearing a noise from outside, she rubbed her moist eyes and quickly stashed the book away in her dresser, where both Tenhou and Renhou should know not to snoop around in. She's yelled at them enough about messing with her clothes. It's usually Tenhou that does it, but… Chiihou knows that Renhou is the one that's getting closer to Sousou out of the three of them. Tenhou is still terrified of Sousou, and loudly expresses as such whenever she has to meet her. Renhou on the other hand… seems to have found common ground… In all honesty, Chiihou's not sure what to think about it all. They've been trying to get her to hang out with some of the… friends they've made in the city… One of which is an Ukin Bunsoku, who easily gave her True Name to her, Sawa, who Chiihou admits would probably be a great friend… if she wasn't part of Sousou's Army, and in her chain of command. Anyway, she's not keen on getting close to the rank and file soldiers of Sousou. Maybe some of the town girls…? Ah, but if she goes out, she'll have a soldier escort, so that will scare them off…

"Nee, nee, Chii-chan~"

"Ten-neechan?" Chiihou cheerfully greeted, turning to her. "What is it?"

"Why'd you leave so quickly!?" Tenhou pouted. "We don't get to have fun as much… it's all been work-work with you…"

"Ah, well… I sort of want to get started so that I don't feel like I owe Sousou anything by not doing my job." Chiihou shrugged. That was true; so far, she's been living the freeloader life.

"But it's work, you know?"

"We get to sing and dance for tens of people. Maybe hundreds if we get lucky." Chiihou pointed out.

"Mmm… that does sound fun…" Tenhou frowned. "But that doesn't mean it's not work… and what will you do once we start working?"

"I'll probably just leave everything to Renhou?" Chiihou shrugged.

"You're pushing it off to me that quickly?" Renhou walked in with a sigh.

"Well, Renhou's smarter than me!" Chiihou hummed. "You probably get how this manager thing works better than I do!"

"It's basically just what I always do, right?" Renhou sighed. "Keep you two out of trouble, while working to earn a profit…"

"Mmhmm!"

Chiihou wasn't sure whether her choice back on that winter day, as Sei left her behind, was the correct path. But still, the smiling faces of her sisters… they're genuine happiness with her presence… can she give this up?

A year ago, she would say no. She'd never give it up. But now that she had a family that's not just these two… that there are people out there who think of her as family… she's not sure somehow. Choose she did, she remained here… but the wedge of regret in her heart will remain as well. The fact that the others had chosen not to forget her, both warms her heart and stabs at her further…

-()-

The day of the party itself…

"Sorry for putting you through so much trouble, Mifa." Kazuto winced, as Reborn produced a Christmas cookbook for Mifa to peruse as she prepared the food for the dinner. Some ingredients are not available, due to season, rarity, and lacking food preservation methods.

"It's fine… hmm… what does it mean by a cup? A pinch of salt?"

"My cooking skills are limited to hunting down wild animals and roasting them over a firepit. That or having an easy-to-follow recipe and all the things." Kazuto honestly replied, "But, I'm guessing it's these random cups and spoons that Reborn kindly left for us…" Kazuto frowned. "I swear, he must have been planning this for a while now and only decided to spring this on me an exact week before just to torment me." Then again, this whole 'I need to give gifts to literally everyone in the family' thing was his decision, so he can't blame everything on Reborn.

"I see…" Mifa looked at the measuring cups and then nodding. "I believe that is enough."

"Why did you choose to be a… servant? You're an official too, you said."

"I simply enjoy it." Mifa smiled. "Being of use to a worthy master gives me great joy."

"Kyoshou couldn't have been an easy task…"

"There is no need to worry." Mifa smiled.

"… If you're sure." Kazuto nodded.

"Have you done all that you needed, Kazuto-sama? I heard you had to stay in bed from overwork." Mifa asked concerned.

"That is an exaggeration. I chose to stay in bed that day." Kazuto replied. "I was neither sick nor sore."

"Hmm… a shame that I wasn't here for it… I would've nursed you back to health."

"You totally don't believe me."

"I believe that Master, in the time we've spent together, likes to downplay his own condition for the sake of not worrying the others."

"… What do you mean?" Kazuto honestly asked, confused.

"Why did you take on the nobles on your own? Why did you handle Chinkei on your own? And after handling them, you went on back to work without even blinking an eye…" Mifa pointed out, "That's the sort of experience that drains a person's ability to work, but you went back to work anyway, even working longer hours than Touka-sama. If it wasn't for the Night Duty system instituted by Touka-sama, would you ever have thought to go to sleep?"

Kazuto flinched. There were many times in his work at night that he was in the thought process of "just one more". If it wasn't for the girls picking him up… but… "Don't call it the Night Duty System…"

"The Night Duty system" Mifa unrepentantly repeated, ignoring Kazuto's muffle groan, "may have initially been made to comfort you in your nightmares, but I don't think that is what matters from that at this point… At this point, the Night Duty System is to reward you. To remind you that you are someone that these girls trust with their lives… That they'll even risk the dishonor of sleeping in the same room as a man."

"That's a thing?" Kazuto blinked, alarmed.

"It doesn't matter in the end. Most of the country wouldn't bat an eye at the idea of a leader having multiple mistresses." Mifa chuckled, reminding Kazuto just how different this world truly is from his own. "As a reminder, Sousou herself has multiple mistresses. If Touka-sama decides to bring multiple girls to her bed, it wouldn't catch anyone's eyes either. The only thing that matters in this situation is the feelings of those involved. And that's why no one among us would complain against you for your proclivities."

"Thank you?" Kazuto really wasn't sure how to react to that.

"There is also the fact that the Night Duty System, is a volunteer system, where the girls have to ask to join from, not you, but the main wife to enter."

Kazuto decidedly clamped his mouth from reacting to the words "main wife".

"You already know right? That the reason they do this is a sort of promise. That they think you're worth any dishonor, no matter how minor it ends up in the end… However, that also means you must not dishonor your own name. Be the good man that they met that day, and never ever disappoint them."

"That's a tall order… I'm bound to disappoint someone."

"Well, that's just the path that's in your future now." Mifa smiled. "Just remember that they chose you. That you are their Master. That you are their Lord. That you can be trusted with their everything."

"… Then…"

"When the time comes, will you take responsibility? For everyone?"

Kazuto looked at her before nodding, "Of course."

"You should try relaxing more, Master." Mifa laughed. "Because… I don't think you are suited to serious things all that much. You push yourself to handle them for the sake of everyone else, but…" She then looked at her preparations, "I think this is something you are more suited for. Fun little events, where everyone can have fun. Whether it be an idol show or a party, I think something like this is what you are best suited to."

"I'll… keep it in mind."

"Good. Or I might have to give Yue a few instructions to keep you relaxed."

Seeing the coy smile on the face of Touka's Escort, all he could say in response is: "Please don't."

Mifa merely gave a small laugh in response.

-()-

That evening, twenty-four people sat in a circle, as a large amount of food was brought into the room. It was not an official event, just a celebration among friends. No grand speeches were planned. If he was particularly religious, he may have started by telling the story of Christmas. He's not, so he instead just greeted everyone.

"Merry Christmas to everyone~"

""Me-ri Ku-ri-su-masu~"" is everyone else's reply, still unused to the greeting.

"Now then, if I was particularly religious, I'd tell the story about why this celebration exists. So who wants to hear the story, or should we just get to the presents?" Which really is the whole point of this celebration.

"I'd love to hear it." Fuurin smiled before anyone can voice their disagreement.

"A Son of God was prophesized to be born. Messengers from Heaven came down to declare that he was to be born in a stable, as the son of a carpenter."

"A stable?"

"A carpenter? I thought you said he was the son of a god?"

"All the inns were full so the only place they can stay in is a stable. As for the carpenter part, the Son of God was supposed to live as a human for a reason." Kazuto replied, "Now for the part that is the most relevant for us, the gifts. Three wise men, some say they were kings, others, sages. Either way, they saw a star and chose to follow it. It leads them to the home of the baby, by then a boy a couple years old. There they presented three gifts. Gold, a gift fit for a King. He is a Son of God, after all. Naturally, He is a king among kings. The next is Frankincense, an incense used for worship in their temples, underscoring the boy's divinity. The next is myrrh, a rare perfume ingredient, also a key ingredient in the burial of bodies in their religion. For eventually, he'll have to give up his body of flesh and return to heaven." He is glossing over a lot of things but he's not a missionary; he's not here to convert anyone to Christianity.

"Of course, there is no symbolism needed for the gifts we're giving today. At most, I expect some trinkets that we found while unsure about what to give someone. Maybe it'll be useful for their work. Either way, the point is that we have gifts to give to each other~"

Kazuto then pulled out a small box. "Now then, I'll start, so everyone can tell how this works then~" Kazuto hummed. "The person that I drew for my gift is… Yue."

"Eh, ah, that's!"

Kazuto then walked over to her and gave her his present. "Open it?" Kazuto teased. Yue nodded. She pulled out a…

"This is?"

"A handkerchief." Kazuto sheepishly replied. "Sorry. It's not that inventive. I'd have wanted to embroider your name on it but…" He had no talent for it.

"No, no, it's fine!" Yue nodded. "I'll… I'll treasure it, Master."

"You really don't need to." Kazuto smiled. "Now then, it's your turn."

"Hold it!" Reborn popped up out of nowhere. "I've my own gift to give as well!" He then dropped a small booklet into Yue's lap before jumping away. Kazuto spotted it and laughed slightly.

"Cleaning Tips and Tricks, really, Reborn?" Kazuto laughed. Reborn simply shrugged.

"Ah, right!" Touka pulled out a scarf. "This is yours from me, Yue~"

"Thank you, Touka-sama." Yue nodded, before standing up, "Umm… Rairai, here." She held out an abacus. "S-sorry, if you already have one but…"

"Oh, you're the one giving me a gift, Yue~ Thank you~" Rairai easily accepted it. "Now I don't have to borrow from someone else~" Touka and Kazuto's gift was mittens. Reborn's was a math magic book.

"Alright, my turn!" Rairai stood up. In her hands is a bottle of sake. "I don't know what to get Rouan-san, so I just got sake~"

"Ah, I see…" Rouan politely received it. "I'm grateful for the gift, Rairai."

"Well… ours isn't much better." Touka laughed a bit, "It's tea leaves…" She passed the bag containing said tea leaves to her.

"That's them telling you you work too much Rouan-chan~ You need to relax a bit more~"

"Shut up, Fuuri…" A booklet landed on her lap. Rouan raised it up, "Huh this is…"

"A book on training drills, used by army officers in our world."

"This world has no guns, Reborn…"

"It still could prove useful." Reborn shrugged.

"Thank you. I'll make use of it well." Rouan replied. "Also, Rairai… don't worry about it." Rouan stood up, in her hands is a bottle of sake. "It's not like I'm much better…" Rouan sheepishly grinned.

Rairai laughed, in response.

Rouan walked over and, "Umm, here, Touken-sama."

"I'll enjoy it well, Kouhosuu." Touken chuckled.

"Well, we got you a few more poetry writing supplies." Kazuto gave a bag of them.

"I'm grateful, of course." Touken nodded.

"You might start needing this soon," Reborn smirked, as he gave a… a fitness pamphlet for middle-aged men.

"Hoh-hoh-hoh~ Maybe I would!" Touken put it away. "Although I'll need some instruction on how to read these characters."

"I included a cheat sheet." Reborn shrugged. Touken flipped to the front.

"Indeed you have! Now then, I suppose it's my turn?" Touken stood up, before walking over to Ei and passing on a piece of paper. On it is a poem that Ei found… somewhat decent? It's not really her thing…

"Umm… Thank you…"

"It is of no worries." Touken shrugged. "Although, I suppose it's a bit lacking? I apologize for that. I'm afraid I haven't much idea what your generation would consider useful."

"Ei-chan, here!" Touka pressed a bag of tea leaves into her hand. "Umm… sorry as well?"

Ei shrugged, as she looked at the tea leaves. "They're good tea leaves, I'll give you that much. I'll enjoy them well, Touka-sama."

"My gift is of more use," Reborn smirked, as he threw a strategy book into her lap.

"… I'm a servant, Reborn-san." Ei dryly said. However, Reborn has already moved away to pick out the next gift. Ei sighed, before standing up with a bunch of sweets. "Here, Rinrin."

"Mine!" Rinrin cheered, as she took it. "Thank you~"

"Umm… Kazuto got this as your gift…" Touka frowned a bit… "It's a… voucher?"

"Basically, if you give this at the shop, they'll give you the biggest bowl of ramen you could possibly have." Kazuto shrugged. "No payment. It just has to be at the shop specifically."

"Thanks, niichan, neechan!" Rinrin cheered as she stuffed the piece of paper into her pocket. Likely, it'll be used by tomorrow. She then started digging into the sweets that Ei bought for her. "These are good, Ei!"

"Glad you like it." Ei nodded.

"Here." Reborn tossed a small scalpel of sorts at her. "You'll need your ring, but this is a better tool for healing than a random spoon or your spear. More precise. It's not as good as Ryohei's scalpel, but this is a good substitute."

"… Uncle has a scalpel?" Kazuto blinked, trying to imagine the boxing champion wielding a surgical scalpel, before shaking his head, "No, never mind that. Whose money did you use to buy that?" Kazuto warily asked.

"Yours." Reborn shamelessly admitted.

"Of course you did." Kazuto sighed.

"Thanks, sensei!" Rinrin nodded as she pocketed that too, before continuing to dig in into Ei's gift.

"… Rinrin. Gift." Kazuto told her.

"Oh!" She swallowed quickly. "Right!" Rinrin stood up, before picking up the big chunk of meat behind her that they were all politely ignoring for the past hour. "Here Shuri!"

"Mine!?" Shuri yelped.

"You need to get bigger too, after all! And meat helps with that!"

"Hawawa! I, uh, th, uh, what!?"

"… Did you go hunting to get this?" Kazuto blinked.

"Yup!"

"What animal…" could possibly have produced a meat shank this size?

"?"

Kazuto gave up, "… Mifa?"

Mifa nodded, "I'll have it prepared for tomorrow's meals. Is that fine, Shuri?"

"Of course! Please do!" Shuri nodded. And some servants came in to take away the meat. Likely to start preserving it to make it remain fresh for at least another day or so.

"… Reborn?"

"Mental Training Book. From Viper." Reborn tossed it at Shuri.

"Viper is Reborn's nickname for Mammon," Kazuto told Shuri.

"Thank you, Reborn-sensei…" Shuri nodded.

"Feel free to borrow my book from me whenever you want." Ei offered her gift to console the girl. She did get a bit shafted with both her gifts.

"Thank you very much, Ei-san!"

"Don't worry about it." Ei sighed.

"As for what our gift is… it took me a bit to get it right, but…" Kazuto produced three cards. "Bookmarks for the booklovers~ I'll just hand it all out now." Kazuto walked over to Shuri, Hinari, and Josho.

The three accepted them. On Shuri's bookmark, the characters for "Crouching Dragon" was written. On Hinari's bookmark is "Fledgling Phoenix". On Josho's, it is "Silent Wind".

"Umm… what does this mean?" Shuri asked.

"You'll get it eventually." Kazuto cheerfully smiled. The three looked at each other and merely laughed a bit.

"We'll treasure them," Shuri spoke for all three. She then stood up with her own gift, walking over to Nenene, and giving her a sheaf of notes. "Umm… these are some of the notes I had when I was studying with Suikyou-sensei…"

Nenene looked at the offered gift before she nodded. "Thanks," Nenene replied courteously. "I'll use it to better support Ren-dono!"

"Here, a board game we found interesting." Kazuto gave their gift to Nenene.

"W-what?" Nenene blinked. A board game? What would she use that for? Kazuto shrugged.

"Strategy book. Beginner Edition." Reborn tossed the book at her.

"Beginner!?" Nenene complained.

"Am I wrong?" Reborn smirked. "You're not fooling me. You were not responsible for the timing back at the beginning of the Touken-Sousou war. It was likely Ryofu, which you followed along with."

"Guh…" Seems Reborn hit the nail on the head. Seems that Ren was the one who decided to charge in at that timing. Ren merely tilted her head at the mention of her name.

"You need a solid grounding on tactics." Reborn finished. "This will help with that."

"… Grrrr…" Nenene sighed. "Then it's Nene's turn, huh?" With a sigh, Nenene stood up and awkwardly moved towards Paitan and handed over a shoulder bag. Paitan obliged by wearing it and smiling.

"Thank you, Nenene."

Nenene nodded and sitting down.

"Right then… Well, we got this brush for you to use, I suppose?" Kazuto shrugged. Paitan graciously accepted the brush, which had her True Name marked on it.

"Thank you, Kazuto-san~"

Reborn tossed a scroll of something to Paitan. Paitan opened the scroll to find…

"Is… is this a map of the country?"

"Ehhh?" Everyone looked at it and nodded that… it was indeed a map of the country.

"The locations of certain cities may be wrong. Or the names are wrong. You'll just have to correct it. Otherwise, the topographical features should be roughly the same." In other words, mountains and rivers.

"… Thank you, Reborn-sensei!" Paitan bowed as well. She then put both away into her bag. "My turn then…" She stood up and turned to Pairen. "Umm… here." She gave some sort of bottle.

"Oh, perfume?" Pairen nodded, smelling it. "That's nice, I suppose."

"Sorry… I just sort of took from the story Kazuto-san said…"

"It's fine, it's fine. I'm the same anyway…" Pairen assured. "Thank you."

Kazuto walked over and passed on a sword wrapped up in cloth. She unwrapped it to see a sword with a somewhat modestly decorated handle. There's a horse design on the crossguard, and it is a mostly white handle. The scabbard has white horse designs running down its length. Drawing it, the blade itself is normal but…

"Thank you, I suppose…" Pairen nodded.

"Don't like it?" Touka frowned.

"Sorry if you thought it too… garish?" Kazuto frowned.

"No, no, no, it's fine! I'm just… used to using a normal sword. If I use this, I'm afraid I'm just going to lose this in a battlefield somewhere."

"Is that why you only use a standard-issue sword, Pairen-dono?" Sei laughed.

"Oh, leave me alone." Pairen smiled as she hit Sei on the shoulder, "Thank you, Master, Touka."

"Horse Care Book." Reborn handed his gift before moving back to his dwindling stack of books.

"Thank you." Pairen nodded. "My turn, I guess?" Pairen then stood up, with a bottle of… something? "Here, Touka… Sorry for not being as creative as everyone else."

"Oh, it's perfume!" Touka blinked at it. "It smells nice~ Thank you, Pairen-chan."

"Well, the good thing is, as long as the gift to the person in question is not the same as someone else's, it's not all that awkward." Kazuto chuckled, as he handed a small box to Touka. "Here."

Touka blinked as she took out the object in the box. "This is…" A comb. A beautifully decorated comb.

"Thought you wanted it when we were out and about." Kazuto shrugged with a smile.

"Thank you, Kazuto-kun~"

"The health book that you keep hounding me to bring with me." Reborn tossed the book to her. "Now you can stop."

"Thank you as well, Reborn-sensei." Touka carefully put it away. "Now then, my turn! Mifa-chan~"

"Oh my, thank you, Touka-sama~" Mifa politely received the gift that Touka gave her. It appeared to be a hair clip of some fashion.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to give you, so I just got this." Kazuto laughed with a shrug, giving her a feather duster.

"I'll make good use of it, Master." Mifa smiled. Reborn dropped a book in her lap, before moving away. Mifa took one look at it before putting it away without letting others see it.

"Eh? What did Reborn-sensei give you?" Touka asked.

"I suppose it's my turn to give my present then?" Mifa moved on quickly, to try and move away from the topic of the book. Kazuto, however, instantly recognized it and sighed at the sight. It looks like the ninja book that he tried to train him in when he expressed difficulty with his Fourth Form, Gofuu Juuu. Or rather, improve it to the point that he can use it for stealth in broad daylight.

Still, Mifa walked over to Josho and gave her a new ribbon, similar in size to the one that's wrapped around her brow.

"Huh, oh, thank you." Josho nodded, as she put down the bookmark she received from Kazuto (likely pondering the two-word title that they chose for her) and, carefully, removed the ribbon on her head to replace it with the one Mifa gave her. "How does it look?"

"You look great, Genchoku-chan~" Shuri praised, with Hinari giving a nod in reply.

"Naturally." Mifa nodded, "I wouldn't have chosen a gift that is ill-suited for you."

"Here. A cookbook from Kazuto's homeworld." Reborn walked over, dropping the book in her lap.

"Oh, that's nice~" Josho received it gratefully. "As for my gift… well, Sei already took it from my hands earlier…"

"It's menma, isn't it." Kazuto dryly said, and indeed Sei is snacking at the corner, waving at the sight. "Here, sake to pair with it."

"Don't mind if I do~" Sei walked over, grabbing the bottle and moving back to her spot.

"Menma recipes book." Reborn tossed to her. "Get someone else to cook it for you."

"Thank you~"

"That book exists?" Kazuto looked amused at the thought. Reborn merely shrugged. "Fair enough. Sei, before you finish your Christmas presents for tonight, give your gift already."

"Bones for Ren's dogs." Sei pointed to a bag that she was holding. "Here, Ren." She tossed it over.

Ren received it with a nod, putting it away at her side.

"A new neck scarf for Sekito~" Touka presented her and Kazuto's gift. This too was received with a nod.

"Dog Training Book." Reborn dropped it onto her lap. "Get your strategist to read it for you."

"Hey!" Nenene half-complained, but seeing Ren's blinking eyes, "Of course I'll help you, Ren-sama!"

Ren then stood up, "… Fuurin."

"Oh?" Fuurin blinked as Nenene approached with a bag, similar but not quite to Paitan's. "I see." Fuurin slightly laughed. It seems that Nenene was the one who bought them. "Thank you, Ren."

Ren nodded, breathing out slightly.

"Fuurin-sensei~ Umm… here!" Touka gave her an extendable rod. "Umm… Kazuto-kun said that it would be useful for pointing to things on a board behind you so…"

"I'm grateful of course, Touka-chan." Fuurin laughed, taking the rod and experimentally extending it and retracting it. "I'll make use of it well, especially once we get that school up and running." Fuurin smiled. "For now, I'll use it to point at things I want people to do."

"A science book meant for kids." Reborn gave it to her. "Of course, it's mostly in kana."

"I believe my studies into kana have been progressing well." Fuurin nodded. "It would be rather interesting to see what knowledge is expected of children in your world."

"Use it well."

"Of course." Fuurin stood up, "Now then, Fan-san. Would this suffice for you?" A perfume bottle appeared once more.

"A lot of you really took to my mention of perfume, huh?" Kazuto chuckled.

"I didn't have much time to think of what gift would suit her more." Fuurin shrugged. To be honest, Fan is something of a "friend no one really likes" among them. She's polite for the most part, but the only one of value to her is Kuutan.

"I'll accept it, of course." Fan nodded.

"Here. A decorated fan." Kazuto passed it onto her. "Should be useful when you two go out in town." He kindly did not mention that it's mostly because it's a pun for him that he chose that as a gift. Fan accepted it with a hum. Opening it and then waving a bit.

"I'll make good use of it, Kazuto-sama." Fan nodded. Fan then turned to Reborn.

"Your gift is shared with Ryuukou," Reborn said, referring to Reitei (Kuutan) by her Personal Name. "Kindly wait for her turn." Reborn shrugged.

"Very well." Fan nodded. She then produced another bottle of perfume. Fourth one this evening. "Here."

Suu blinked to see her handing the bottle to her, "Ah… I see…" Suu nodded with a frown.

"Use it when you enter the palace." Fan shrugged as she sat down.

"Don't mind her." Touka quickly told her. "Here. A sunhat!" Which is an ironic gift for the winter but would be useful for the girl once spring comes and the farmers start working.

Kazuto took the sunhat and put it on Suu's head, with a laugh. "To be fair with Fan? The fact that she even brought a gift itself means she's not a total outsider to us." Fan merely shrugged as a response.

"A book on farming." Reborn passed another book out.

"Mmhmm…" Suu nodded. "Thank you, Master, Touka-sama, Reborn-san. Also Fan-san."

""You're welcome."" The two skies replied with a smile. Reborn merely nodded, while Fan politely smiled.

"Umm… then, uh… Hinari-san." Suu stood up, and, holding on a book… "Here."

"Awawa, this is…"

"… Shuri-san said you didn't have this book… am I wrong?"

"Thank you!" Hinari replied quickly. "I'll read it well. Thank you, Suu-san, Shuri-chan~"

Suu nodded and went back to her seat.

"Book on Weapons of War. From weapons used by a single person, to siege engines." Reborn said, passing on the book to her. "Be careful who you let read it and be careful not to use it in a way that might prove disadvantageous to you."

"Awawa… Thank you." Hinari nodded, looking at the book with a sort of trepidation. Carefully she put the bookmark Kazuto gave her into it, before putting it down, she turned to Kuutan, "Umm… here…" She scurried off back to her seat, leaving a cute sunhat for her to wear. Kuutan nodded and placed it on her head.

"It's nice~" Kuutan smiled.

"Here, Kuutan. Sweets." Kazuto passed a tray of sweets.

"Thank you." Kuutan nodded, as she took a bite of one. "Tastes good."

"A recipe book for sweets." Reborn gave the book. "Shared gift with your attendant. Get her or someone else to make them for you if you want."

"Thank you." Kuutan received the book, before passing it onto Fan, who quickly started perusing through it.

"Don't expect us to be able to afford to make everything in that," Kazuto warned Fan. "Our budget is not infinite. Check if the ingredient is available first. If it's not, check if it can be substituted for something else. If it can't, then run it by… Mifa." Fan gave him an annoyed glare before nodding.

"Now then… Fan?"

"Of course, Kuutan-sama." Fan nodded, standing up and walking towards Yuuka.

"Let me guess? Perfume?" Yuuka smiled. Fan merely scoffed as she handed the bottle over.

"Here, Yuuka-chan~" Touka handed a new hair tie for Yuuka. The flower on it, rather than a spider lily, is that of peach flowers.

"Thanks, Touka~" Yuuka nodded, replacing her usual hair tie for the one Touka just gave her.

Reborn dropped yet another book on the lap of the recipient. This time, it is a book on making rings and other accessories. No points for who knows exactly what it would do.

"Okay? Don't know what I'd do with this." Yuuka blinked.

"Eventually, there will be a need for someone to make new rings for this family, more than just the ones Bakazuto brought here." Reborn prompted her. "You, Kanyou, are simply the easiest option right now since you're unlikely to ever choose to leave Ryuubi's side, you're not a Guardian, and have no long-term jobs that require great concentration."

"I see…" Yuuka grumbled. "I'll think about it, but no promises."

"If you encounter a better artisan, I'm perfectly fine with you using that book to teach them." Reborn shrugged. "Still, I needed to pass on that book now."

"Got it." Yuuka nodded. "So, my gift next then?"

There were only three left that hasn't received their gifts through the Kris Kringle. Denden, Aisha, and Kazuto.

Yuuka walked over to Denden with a scarf. "Here."

"Thank you~" Denden wrapped it around her neck. "So warm…"

"Pair it with these, Denden." Kazuto passed on her a pair of mittens.

"Ah, these are!"

"The same gift as Rairai's but the designs are different." Kazuto chuckled.

"Thank you~" Denden cheered, as she put it on her hands and raised her hands to her sister. Rairai, wearing her own pair raised her own. With muffled claps, they cheered.

Reborn nodded, "Here. Playing Cards."

"Wait, really?" Kazuto dryly looked at him.

"I presume some of you would like to have some sort of fun." Reborn shrugged. "And some of the tricks described in the book I gave Bijiku required a standard set of cards."

"… Right… Well, considering how it went, I'm guessing that Denden, you're giving the gift to…"

"Yup! General Aisha!" Denden cheered, pulling out a bottle.

"Perfume?" Kazuto jokingly asked.

"Nope! Hair shampoo~" Denden passed it onto her. "It smells nice too though!"

"Thanks… Denden." Aisha nodded.

"Glad you like it!" Denden returned to her seat.

"Well then, if you have shampoo, I suppose you can use this too?" Kazuto grinned as he pulled out a comb, a similar-looking one to the one that was given to Touka.

"Thank you, Master." Aisha nodded, politely receiving it, before holding it to her chest.

"We match~" Touka smiled, holding out her own gift from Kazuto.

"Yes, Touka-sama." Aisha smiled back.

"Formations used in wars." Reborn gave a book to her. Aisha gave a stern nod.

"So then, Aisha's turn." Touka smiled, nudging her and nodding to Kazuto. "Aisha-chan drew Kazuto-kun, huh? How nice~ I didn't get to buy a gift for Kazuto-kun, though… that means this gift will be the only one from us."

"That's!" Aisha blinked quickly, stammering slightly, "I…" Ah, the pressure.

"Then you can stew in it for longer." Reborn scoffed. "Here, Bakazuto. Your report card."

"What!?" Kazuto balked, looking at the card. "This is?" Relatively decent scores, all around. Points deducted from his non-presence, but still…

"Congratulations on graduating from Second Year. You're now a Third-Year. Don't let your underclassmen down, Senpai." Reborn shrugged.

Kazuto glared at Reborn for that little joke.

"Kazuto-sama!" He was knocked out of his stupor by Aisha standing up, handing something to him, "Umm… here!" A scarf, clearly store-bought, was handed to him. He merely smiled and wrapped it around his neck.

"Thank you, Aisha."

"You're welcome, Kazuto-sama." Aisha nodded, sitting quickly.

"Here's the real gift." Reborn smirked after a while, "Printed all your friends' cards and letters. They're the same as they were before, so there's no need for you to reread them."

"Thank you, Reborn." Kazuto laughed. "Now then, let's have fun! We have quite the feast tonight, so let's see if we can empty it all before we all fall asleep~"

"OHHHH!" Everyone cheered.

-()-

Later that night, Kazuto sighed, walking back to his room. He wasn't entirely sure whose turn it is tonight, but it didn't really matter. He was honestly a bit exhausted. Still…

Kazuto then blinked to see the faint outline of someone sitting on his bed. The outline made by the light outside made it abundantly clear to him who it is.

"… I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be your turn tonight?"

"I asked Rairai and Denden for this one." Touka smiled. "After all, I sort of wanted to give you your present."

"That is?"

"Hmm? What do you think?" A rustling of clothes can be heard, and it wasn't hard to imagine what was happening.

"… Do you want to do this?" Kazuto finally said as he looked at Touka, his eyes finally adjusting to the night.

"I wouldn't want anyone else."

"Alright, then…" If someone is that willing, then it'll only be an insult to not respond in kind.

-()-

"Kazuto-kun?"

Still in the euphoria that Kazuto was honestly still wasn't sure was real, with a naked Touka next to him, with only a sheet covering both of them.

"… Hmm?"

"I love you."

"… Me too, Touka. I love you as well."

"And Aisha? Rinrin? Shuri? Hinari?"

"Them as well. I love all of them."

"Who do you love more?"

"You?"

"But will you love them the same as me?"

"If all of us want to."

"Then… can you promise to stay with us?"

"… There's no reason to imagine it would be goodbye for good if I go back home, you know? I have an obligation to you as well as my world. I won't leave you behind. I promise you that much."

"… Yeah, you're right… I… want to see your world too, after all. I want to see the world that has advanced so far beyond us that buildings as high as the clouds could exist. Where vehicles like your airbike are commonplace… I want to see where you grew up, as you have me."

"Mmhmm. And I hope you see it too."

-()-

Chapter End

-()-

Chapter Release Date: December 25, 2020

-()-

Beta Reader: Seraphius

Hello, Christmas Chapter. For those who celebrate it, Merry Christmas! For those who don't, Happy Holidays! For those who are offended by people greeting them based on their religion, I'm sorry! Either way, I hope everyone is healthy as the year ends and we go into 2021 with more hopeful days to come. Hopefully!

This is a personal reason, but I don't want to write Lemons. I'm already a rather bad romance writer; I'm not writing the culmination of passionate love in written form. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure that counts as MA, and therefore not allowed on this site? But still. If the chapter that I used as an excuse to up the rating of this chapter would have skirted T, then this chapter is what would definitely have bumped it to M. Anyway, I think I'll only bring up sex when it is relevant to the story, so… I sort of want to keep this story as mostly plot progression. Mostly. I honestly only expect two other "sex scenes" (I'll show the start of the scene, and then I'll show the end of the scene) in this story. With who and when? I'm not telling. All I can say is that it definitely won't be Touka again.

So, moving past that, as a person who has never experienced snow, it's a difficult thing to think about. Especially since the KM series… doesn't really have snow, huh? But since I have a normal progression of time in this story, winter needs to exist, and I'm pretty sure China has snow.

I tried to keep Kazuto's religion fairly vague. He's more agnostic than leaning into one type. He is familiar with Christian beliefs because I am, which I'm just going to ultimately chock up to Reborn. Otherwise, he's pretty secular.

This will be the last chapter of Joshuu Days. Coincidentally, this is also the last chapter of the year. Time flies, doesn't it? 35 chapters in, making this story longer than all my other stories. In terms of word count, it already surpassed all my other ones a long time ago. However, it's still basically the fifth most-viewed story on this account. In all honesty, I don't ever expect this story to ever blow up. This story is far, far too niche. So, I ask the question to those who bothered reading my Author's Notes: What do you like about my story? Are there any things I could probably expand upon? Anything I should try to improve on? Do you have favorite characters that I should probably give a bit more spotlight than I have?

Welp, I opened the floodgates with that. I don't particularly enjoy getting criticism, but might as well rip the band-aid off. I genuinely do want to improve. Some personal criticisms that I have for myself:
"I focus on Touka and Kazuto's relationship too much. The other members of the harem should get some spotlight."
"Some of the characters are rather flat in terms of character, especially major ones, like Rinrin and Sei. Others tend to be out-of-character."
"Characters spend too much time around a desk talking to each other, rather than doing things."
"Kazuto is too competent; the other characters are not getting a chance to do anything."
"The KHR part of the crossover is not getting highlighted more. This story is basically just Koihime Musou while Kazuto is an overpowered protagonist."
"Kazuto is basically a completely different person. Might as well have made it an OC story."
"The harem aspect is rather forced and is a bit of an afterthought, rather than a core part of this harem story. Basically, the only reason why this is a harem is that Koihime Musou is a harem story."
"The White Clothes are still being far too passive for apparently being the big bad of this story. They should actually be a presence."
"Kazuto is winning too much. He's not experiencing that much hardship."
"Even though Kazuma (Kazuto's box animal) was introduced many chapters prior, he still hasn't been used in combat."
"Flames are too overpowered in a war-focused story."
"The war aspect is too simplistic."

These are just some of what I think of my story. I have others, but I can't really list all of them straight away. And I doubt I'll ever get to fix some of these problems. I'm sure some of you can think up a few more, that I haven't thought of as I write this AN.

Again: Review Policy: I do not reply to questions in a review. If you want me to reply, add "Please Reply" to your review (or just directly PM me your questions), and I'll likely answer it within a day. Well, it's Christmas though, so I might take a bit longer. A reminder that PMs do not get sent to your email box, so you need to go to your PMs to see any replies. Be warned of spoilers. And be warned that I am not setting anything in stone. The only things set in stone are posted chapters, and even those might get a bit of polishing as time goes on.

See you next week for the beginning of the next arc. I won't spoil the name of the arc, yet, but I did hint at it last chapter. Thank you for reading~