第40話 氷の令嬢とクリスマス
十二月二十五日、クリスマス。
1LDKの部屋から一歩外に出れば、恋人たちの幸せな笑顔と、その幸せを後押しするイルミネーションの輝きが嫌でも目に入る。
それは、昨日――クリスマスイブと何ら変わらない光景のはずだった。
「......綺麗ですね」
「ああ、綺麗だな」
朝陽と冬華は肩を並べて、同じ感想を呟く。
場所は朝陽宅のベランダ。
目に映るのは真っ白な雪。
どうやら、今年のクリスマスは神様までもが恋人たちの味方らしい。
天からしんしんと降り注ぐ神様の贈り物は、地上を白一色に彩っていた。
「そういや、天気予報でホワイトクリスマスがどうとか言ってたな」
「何でも、十数年ぶりの出来事とか」
「へー、そりゃ珍しい」
「......あまり興味なさそうですね」
「まあ、雪自体は去年も降ったし」
「でも、今日という日に降る雪は特別じゃないですか」
「そういうものなのか?」
「そういうものなんです」
今一つピンと来ない朝陽に対して、冬華はカラメル色の瞳をキラキラと輝かせながら非日常へと目を向ける。
女の子はこういうロマンテックな展開を好むのだろうか。
冬華が恋愛小説を好んで読む影響もあるかもしれない。
ただでさえ、冬の夜は寒いのに加えて雪が降っている状況で、冬華は暫く幻想的な銀世界に浸っていた。
「......くちゅん」
可愛らしいくしゃみが部屋に響き、冬華が恥ずかしそうに鼻をすする。
結局、部屋着姿で十数分もベランダで外を眺めていたために、身体が冷えてしまったのだろう。
朝陽も先程、豪快なくしゃみを一発披露したばかりだ。
上着の一つでも着ておけばよかったと今更ながらに思うが、後悔先に立たずとはまさにこの事。
第一、そんな冷静な思考に至る暇など与えられず、冬華にベランダへと連れ出されてしまったのだ。
「ほら、これで身体を温めろ」
「ありがとうございます」
手早く作ったホットミルクの片方を差し出して、朝陽はソファーの端に座っている冬華の隣に腰掛ける。
「それで、どうして一度帰ったんだ?」
「えっと......それはですね......」
「......話したくない事なら無理に言わなくていいけど」
「あっ、いえ、そういうことでは......」
湯気が立つマグカップを両手で包んで暖を取りながら、朝陽が気になっていた質問をすると、冬華は分かりやすく狼狽えて目を泳がせた。
朝陽が聞いたのは、ローストチキンにホワイトシチュー、生ハムのサラダとクリスマスを意識した夕食を食べ終えた後の事。
冬華が一度部屋に帰って、また戻って来たのだ。
そして、何かと思えば雪が降っているとベランダに連れ出された。
恐らく、戻って来た理由は雪ではない。
外に出た時に、偶然気づいたのだろう。
戻って来た理由は他にある。
そう睨んで冬華の言葉を待つと、隣からコトンと静かな音がした。
朝陽もまた自然と身体が動き、同じ音を響かせる。
そうして、二つのマグカップが隣り合ってソファー前の長机に並んだのと同じくして、冬華がゆっくりと口を開いた。
「......少しの間、目を瞑ってくれませんか?」
「目を? ......こうか?」
「そのまま、私がいいって言うまで開けないでください」
以前、同じような事を日菜美に言われ、訳も分からずデコピンをされた思い出が蘇るが、まさか冬華がそんな悪戯をするはずがない。
言われるがまま目を閉じて暗闇に意識を投じると、小さな足音が遠ざかり、やがて近づいて来る。
そして、膝に僅かな重みが加わった。
何かを乗せられた、そう理解したのと同じくして「目を開けてください」と声がかかった。
「......これは?」
真っ先に目に映った細長い長方形の箱は、赤と緑、二色のストライプ柄をした包装紙で綺麗に飾られていた。
白い髭を蓄えた赤い服のおじいさんの姿がふと思い浮かぶ。
これは? と聞いた一方で、薄々答えは分かっていた。
「......クリスマスプレゼントです」
「だよな......悪い。俺、全く考えてなかったわ......」
「気にしないでください。私が勝手に用意したものですから」
正直に言えば、冬華は少し目を伏せながらニコリと笑う。
「開けてもいいか?」
「はい。気に入ってもらえるか分かりませんが......」
今度は不安げな表情を浮かべた冬華に許可をもらい、テープ貼りの包装紙を丁寧に開ける。
中から顔を出したのは、見覚えのあるシャープペンシル。
機能性、デザイン共に朝陽の好みで愛用している製品だ。
しかし、通常のカラーが赤、青、緑の三色なのに対して、手に取ったシャープペンシルの色は黒。
それは、発売十周年を記念した限定モデルで朝陽が密かに欲しがっていた物だ。
ただ、数量限定生産の上に人気が凄まじく、購入を断念した過去がある。
後からネットで売っているのを見かけたが、どれもプレミア価格が付いていて、なるべく節約スタイルの朝陽には到底手が出せなかった。
「どうしてこれを? 数量限定だし、そもそも凄く高いだろ」
「期末テスト前に、お気に入りのシャーペンが壊れたと凹んでいたので、限定モデルを贈れば喜んでくれるかなと思って」
「そりゃ嬉しいけど......本当に貰っていいのか?」
「ええ、もちろんです」
だって、と小さなサンタクロースは言葉を繋げる。
「私は朝陽くんに貰ってばかりですから。少しでもそのお返しをさせてください」
「......俺、何か冬華にあげたっけ」
記憶を辿っても冬華にプレゼントを贈った覚えはないし、思い当たる事と言えば昨日の夕食くらいだが、あれは親の厚意であって朝陽は何もしていない。
しかし、冬華には色々と思うところがあるようで、何故か少し照れ臭そうに頬を染めながら頷いた。
何故か食い違う記憶を不思議に思うが、せっかく用意してくれたプレゼントを無下にする理由はない。
「ありがとな、大切に使うよ」
素直にお礼を伝えると、冬華は嬉しそうに穏やかな微笑みを浮かべた。
昨日とは違い、いつも見慣れている姿のはずなのに、どうしてか冬華の笑顔に胸が高鳴る。
最近は、冬華を見ると妙に胸がざわつき始めるのだ。
そして、思わず目を逸らしてしまう――その先に、隣り合う二つのマグカップがあった。
天高く立ち昇る白い湯気はいつまでも消える気配がなく、途中で一つに混じり合って仲睦まじく揺らめいていた。
Ch 40
December 25, Christmas.
As soon as you stepped out of your apartment, it was impossible to avoid the scenery portraying the delightful smiles of couples and the glow of the illumination that radiated their happiness.
It was a scene that should be no different than yesterday - Christmas Eve.
"...It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's pretty."
Asahi and Fuyuka stood shoulder to shoulder, muttering the same thought.
The location was the balcony of Asahi's house.
What they were seeing was pure white snow.
It seemed that even God was on the side of the couples this Christmas.
God's gifts, pouring down from the heavens, colored the surface pure white.
"Oh, yeah, the weather forecast said something about a White Christmas."
"Apparently, it's been a few decades since the last White Christmas."
"Oh, so it's unusual."
"You don't seem to be interested."
"Well, it snowed last year too."
"But isn't the snow on this day special?"
"Is that how it works?"
"It is."
Fuyuka's caramel-like eyes sparkled as she turned her attention to the snow.
Asahi wondered if girls liked this kind of romantic development.
Well, it also may be due to the fact that Fuyuka liked to read romance novels.
Even though it was just a cold winter night with the snowfall, Fuyuka was immersed in the fantasy silver world for a while.
"...Sneeze."
A lovely sneeze echoed through the room and Fuyuka became embarrassed.
She had been looking out on the balcony for more than ten minutes in her casual clothes, so her body must be cold.
Asahi had also just performed a powerful sneeze earlier.
In retrospect, Asahi wished he had worn a jacket or something.
First of all, he didn't have time to think calmly when Fuyuka just took him out to the balcony.
"Here, warm yourself up with this."
"Thank you very much."
Offering one of the hot milk that he just made, Asahi sat down next to Fuyuka who was sitting on the edge of the sofa.
"So, why did you leave for a moment?"
"Um... That's..."
"If it's something you don't want to talk about, you don't have to."
"Oh, no, that's not really..."
When Asahi asked the question that had been bothering him, Fuyuka swam her eyes in plain dismay as she wrapped her hands around the steamy mug to keep it warm.
What Asahi asked was after they had finished their Christmas dinner of roast chicken, white stew, and prosciutto salad.
Fuyuka went back to her room once and came back.
And so, it was snowing and Asahi was dragged out onto the balcony.
Perhaps the reason for her return was not the snow.
She must have noticed it by accident when she went outside.
There must have been another reason that she came back.
As Asahi stared at her and waited for Fuyuka's words, he heard a quiet thump next to him.
Asahi's body moved naturally, echoing the same sound.
Then, just as the two mugs were lined up next to each other on the long table in front of the sofa, Fuyuka slowly opened her mouth.
"...Can you close your eyes for a moment?"
"Close it? ...Like this?"
"Keep it close until I say it's okay."
It brought him back the memories of Hinami saying the same thing to him once and giving him a forehead flick for no apparent reason, but there was no way Fuyuka would play such a prank.
Asahi did as he was told, closing his eyes and with his consciousness descending into the darkness, as the sound of small footsteps moved away and then arrived closer.
Then a slight weight was added to his knees.
As soon as he understood that he was being loaded with something, a voice asked him to open his eyes.
"...This is?'
The first thing he saw was a long, thin rectangular box, neatly decorated with red and green striped wrapping paper.
An image of an old man in red with a white beard suddenly came to mind.
"This is?" He asked, but he already vaguely knew what it was.
"It's a Christmas present."
"Of course... My bad, I don't have anything to give you."
"Don't worry about it. I prepared it on my own."
Fuyuka smiled with her eyes slightly downcast.
"Can I open it?"
"Yes. I don't know if you'll like it but..."
This time, Asahi asked permission from Fuyuka, who had a worried expression on her face, and carefully opened the taped wrapping paper.
What popped out from inside was a familiar mechanical pencil.
Both the functionality and design of the said product were Asahi's favorite.
However, while the usual colors were red, blue, and green, the mechanical pencil he picked up was black.
It was a limited edition model commemorating the tenth anniversary of its release, and one that Asahi secretly wanted.
However, it was produced in limited quantities and the popularity was so great that he had to give up buying it in the past.
He later saw them on sale on the Internet, but they were all at a premium price, and Asahi, who had a style of saving money as much as possible, couldn't afford them.
"Why this? It's a limited product and it's insanely expensive to begin with."
"Before the final exam, you were depressed because your favorite mechanical pencil was broken, so I thought you would be happy if I gave you a limited edition model."
"Well, I'm happy but... Is it really fine to take this?"
"Of course."
"Because," the little Santa Claus continued.
"I'm always on the receiving end. So, please let me repay you."
"...Did I give something to you?"
Asahi didn't remember giving Fuyuka a gift, and the only thing he could think of was yesterday's dinner, but that was a gift from his parents, and he didn't do anything.
However, Fuyuka seemed to have a lot on her mind, and for some reason, she nodded her head with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.
Asahi wondered if their memories aligned, but there was no reason to disregard the gift she had prepared.
"Thanks, I'll take good care of it."
When he thanked her honestly, Fuyuka smiled calmly and happily.
For some reason, Fuyuka's smile made his heart flutter, even though it was different from yesterday and he was used to seeing her all the time.
Lately, whenever Asahi saw Fuyuka she made his heart flutter.
Then, he couldn't help but look away, and there he saw two mugs next to each other.
The white steam rising high into the sky showed no signs of disappearing, and in the middle of the day, it blended into one, shimmering in a friendly manner.
How To Melt the Ice Lady
【コミカライズ連載中】氷の令嬢の溶かし方　～クールで素っ気ないお隣さんがデレるとめちゃくちゃ可愛い件～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/how-to-melt-the-ice-lady/
Comedy Romance School Life Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Beautiful Female Lead Caring Protagonist Cooking Cute Story Famous Parents Kind Love Interests Kuudere Male Protagonist Modern Day Popular Love Interests
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2567fv/
高峰 翔