“I got lots of loot!”
Rachel said proudly, as she returned to Kent’s house and placed the prizes she’d received at the street stalls on the kotatsu table in the living room.
“While you say that, you only got this one thing, right? Most of the prizes here were won by Marie.”
A mountain of prizes was piled on the kotatsu table, but Marie had won 70%, Kent 30%, and Rachel only a wooden doll that looked like some kind of animal.
“Kent, it’s fine. You came with us, so there’s no need to worry about who won what,” Marie said.
“That’s right! That’s right! Older brother is so narrow-minded!” Rachel chimed in.
“Hmph, say whatever you want…”
Rachel hid behind Marie and stuck out her tongue.
“Rachel, Kent, if you want anything, please feel free to take it,” Marie offered.
“Understood.”
“Marie, you’re so understanding. In that case, I’ll take this one!”
With Marie’s permission, Rachel secured the items she wanted.
“Marie, thank you. I’ll use it with care,” Rachel said, putting her secured items into her bag and thanking Marie.
“Oh, you’re welcome.”
“It’s a bit stiff to keep wearing these clothes, so how about we change?” Marie suggested.
“Yes, that’s a good idea. They’re a little restricting, and I can’t really get into the kotatsu comfortably,” Rachel agreed.
It seemed Rachel and Marie were about to change their clothes.
“Well then, Older Brother, hold this for me,” Rachel said, handing the end of Marie’s obi to Kent.
“Huh? Oh, got it,” Kent replied, holding the end of the obi as instructed.
“Alright, Older Brother, I’m going to pull! One, two, three!”
Rachel also grabbed the end of the obi that Kent was holding, and together they pulled on Marie’s festive obi.
“Wheeeeee!”
As Kent and Rachel pulled the obi, Marie spun around in place.
“Finish!”
With that, Rachel changed the force of her pull, and Marie’s festive garment slipped off, falling to the floor.
“Eek! Rachel, what did you do!”
In an instant, Marie was stripped down to her underwear, standing frozen.
“Ta-da! The classic ‘komadori’ trick from those historical dramas!”
“R-a-c-h-e-l?”
“Y-yes! It was just a little mischief, um, yes, I thought Older Brother would like it.”
Kent secretly enjoyed seeing Marie’s revealing state, but judging by Rachel’s answer, it seemed like a desperate attempt to cover her tracks. Marie approached Rachel with a smile.
“I-I’m sorry. I-I did mean to do it. So, I’m sorry.”
“Rachel, you’re coming with me! Hah!”
Marie pulled on Rachel’s obi, and Rachel began to spin around.
“F-finish?”
Marie then changed the way she pulled, just like Rachel had done. Rachel’s festive garment also slipped off and fell to the floor.
“Haaan! I’ll never get married now!”
Rachel was left in her underwear in front of Kent. Covering her exposed chest with both hands, she dashed into the Japanese-style room.
“Kent, I’m going to change too,” Marie said, though Kent had hoped for something more, as Marie went into her own room to put her clothes back on.
“Man, that was a rough experience,” Marie said.
“If you say so, then so was I. I didn’t realize you’d rigged our clothes like that,” Rachel replied.
“That wasn’t a prank, it’s how they’re made! The fact that my clothes came off the same way is proof,” Marie stated.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. If it were a prank, you would have only rigged my clothes, but Rachel’s came off the same way,” Marie mused.
Kent couldn’t understand it, but apparently, the clothes were designed that way. (They weren’t!)
“Well then, let’s forget about it and have a drink!”
At Rachel’s command, they decided to enjoy a lazy New Year’s by drinking, watching anime, and relaxing.
“We just lazed around all day yesterday too.”
The next day, Al, Hanako, and Emily joined them. They spent the day similarly, drinking, eating (except for Al), watching anime, and playing games. Before they knew it, it was the last day of their holiday, January 3rd. The living room was in a state of disarray, with empty cans and bottles, snack bags, and wrappers scattered everywhere.
“Alright, everyone, wake up. We’re going out today, so let’s clean this place up before we leave.”
Everyone except Kent was still asleep, but with plans for later, Kent decided to wake them up to allow time for cleanup. Then, they all started tidying up the scattered trash and cleaning the room.
“Is this about it?” Marie said, looking at the cleaned room. The scattered trash had been collected and placed in the outdoor collection bins, and after sweeping and wiping, the living room was restored to its pristine condition.
“Well, we’re heading to the castle now, but what about you, Al and the others?” Marie asked.
“I’ll pass. Emily and I are going to hang out,” Al replied.
“Therefore, I cannot accompany you either,” Emily added.
Kent and his companions were planning to attend the New Year’s celebration event at the castle. Marie had asked Al, Emily, and Hanako what they would do.
“Hmm, I’ll go with you,” Hanako decided.
“Understood. Then let’s get ready and head to the castle, the four of us,” Marie said.
Al and Emily were not going, but Hanako decided to join them. In the end, Kent, Marie, Rachel, and Hanako headed to the castle together.
“Older Brother, there are more and more people,” Rachel observed.
“Yeah, they all seem to be heading in the same direction,” Kent replied.
Kent and his companions left their house after getting ready. They were planning to go to the castle to participate in the New Year’s celebration event. This event was where the King of this country would personally address the citizens at the start of the New Year. Normally, this was the only day the King would appear before his people. Therefore, it seemed many people gathered to see the King. The castle was located some distance from the town of Tiol, where Kent and his companions lived, a short walk along the road. Normally, towns are built around castles, and in times of emergency, passing through the castle town would buy time for the enemy to reach the castle. However, when the castle was built, the king at the time, out of consideration for the citizens, had the castle and town built separately. As a result, in times of peace, the distance between the castle and town made travel slightly inconvenient. As Kent and his companions left the town and stepped onto the road leading to the castle, they saw many people heading towards the castle for the same purpose.
“The flow is getting slow around here,” Marie said, observing the situation ahead. Kent and his companions’ walking speed gradually decreased, and eventually, their steps stopped. Ahead of them, a line of people stretched towards the castle.
“It looks like it’s going to take a while to get in. Well, compared to lining up for the summer and winter doujinshi conventions, this is nothing,” Rachel remarked.
“Yeah, compared to that, it really is,” Kent agreed.
Thinking of the doujinshi conventions, famous for having tens of thousands of people in line before they even started, Rachel was right. This line seemed trivial. However, Kent wondered how this would turn out, as the motivation for lining up for a hobby was different from lining up just to see something.
“Hmm, I’m hungry,” Hanako said after they had been lining up for a while, grabbing Kent’s sleeve.
“Hanako, you’re hungry? Then I have something good for you,” Rachel said, pulling something out of her pocket.
“Zen-hon Manzoku!”
Rachel handed Hanako a snack with a name that made one want to sing and dance at around five in the evening.
“Mmm, thanks. Nom nom,” Hanako said, taking the snack out of the bag and starting to eat it.
“There are a lot of people lined up behind us too,” Rachel observed.
The line moved slowly but steadily, and Kent and his companions finally reached the castle gate. Looking back, the line of people stretched all the way back to where they had started lining up.
“Those participating in the New Year’s celebration event must register here. We will conduct a simple baggage inspection, so please be prepared,” a guard, who appeared to be an usher, shouted loudly to the people in line.
“Do we have to take off our clothes or something for the inspection?” Rachel asked Marie nervously.
“That’s not usually the case. They just check the contents of your bags and pat you down lightly to see if you’re hiding anything dangerous,” Marie replied.
As they were talking, the line moved forward, and Kent and his companions reached the reception area.
“Now, after the baggage inspection, we will perform body checks. Men, please proceed to the right; women, to the left,” an attendant announced.
After the baggage inspection, Kent proceeded to the right as directed, while Marie, Rachel, and Hanako went to the left.
“I’ll lightly touch your body. Alright, alright, alright. Hmm? What is this?” the attendant said, patting Kent down.
“Um… this is…”
The attendant checked Kent to see if he was hiding anything suspicious. When they touched his chest, their hand stopped.
“What are you hiding in your pocket? Show me!”
“Huh? Yes, here it is.”
Kent showed the attendant the terminal he had in his pocket.
“Hmm? That’s an unusual object. What is it used for?”
“Th-that is…”
Kent wondered how to answer. He doubted they would believe him if he said it was a device that allowed him to summon items by paying money given to him by God.
