LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 244.2
Chapter 244.2. Christmas
A shard of glass formed in her hand, and her eyes narrowed sharply as Karin’s gaze turned cold and ruthless. Gone was the playful cat-girl she usually was—now, the true Karin, capable of killing without hesitation, had emerged.
She sensed someone hiding in the shadows of the abandoned building. They seemed skilled, accustomed to concealing themselves, leading her to assume they were a capable individual. Detecting three people in hiding, Karin clicked her tongue softly, annoyed at the intrusion on Christmas, and began walking again, trying to appear as natural as possible.
Thinking she’d tell them her name, Fuuma Karin, the moment they attacked, she passed by the side of the building where they were concealed.
“Uh, umm… is that cosplay or something?”
A man emerged straightforwardly from the shadows of the building, raising a hand in greeting while stammering awkwardly. She was taken aback. There were three men, each with a solid build and gait that suggested they had undergone training. Karin wondered if their casual greeting was meant to lower her guard… but that suspicion quickly dissipated.
“What the hell? When you greet someone in a ghost town, you should be more careful. Surprises here could get you killed. Otherwise, you might be the ones getting surprised, little kittens.”
She dropped her guard with an exasperated tone. After all, the men before her were dressed in bright red, fluffy outfits with white pom-pom hats, completely out of place but obviously meant to resemble Santa Claus. There were plenty of men who walked through these abandoned streets dressed in black or as armored warriors, but none so foolish as to parade around as Santa.
“Ah… we didn’t mean to startle you. We’re just really lost and at a total loss. Could you tell us where the Amatsugahara headquarters is? For some reason, people keep running away whenever they see us.”
The man in the middle, speaking with a light-hearted tone, scratched his head as his Santa hat nearly slipped off. The other two, carrying large white sacks, tilted their heads in confusion. Of course, they were puzzled. In this ghost town, anyone with a sense of self-preservation would steer clear of danger, so no one would come close to these strangers.
“Dressing as Santa is suspicious around here. Why are you wearing those outfits?”
“Oh, I’m so glad you recognized our Santa outfits! Your cat costume suits you too.”
The man was clearly pleased that Karin identified their Santa costumes. Understandably so, as only adults would know such attire—and adults didn’t come near this area.
Karin, however, was not wearing a cat costume. Irritated, she bared her fangs and slightly lowered her stance.
“You’ve got some nerve, calling my adorable cat ears and tail a costume.”
She lowered her hips and tensed her legs, preparing to deliver a kick. It was time to teach them how things worked in this ghost town.
But the men quickly sensed the danger she posed. They hurriedly waved their hands and backed away. Apparently, their instincts were sharp.
“Sorry, sorry. See, we’re new around here. We were just happy to see another fellow cosplayer. You’re planning to attend the Christmas party at headquarters, right?”
“Christmas party? What are you talking about? I haven’t heard anything about a party.”
Puzzled, she asked the men for clarification, as there was no way she wouldn’t have heard about such an event. They exchanged glances, looking equally confused. Their words seemed truthful, according to her lie-detection ability, but still, what was going on?
“We pooled our money together to throw a Christmas party. Just thought we’d have some fun, you know? Decided it yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Idiots… That explains why I didn’t hear about it.”
It was far too sudden. Karin was surprised that Sakimori had even allowed it. They usually didn’t approve of spontaneous festivals like this.
It was likely that the ex-soldiers had come up with the idea. Given that many of them were feeling down, they were probably trying to lift their spirits. It was typical behavior. Karin suspected they had concocted some grand scheme, but she realized the men had said something odd.
“You guys pooled your own money?”
“Yeah. We’re new here, but we’ve received so much support. We’re all getting paid now, so we wanted to do something in return.”
“Can’t let that girl outdo us, either.”
“Yeah, yeah. Who knows? Maybe we’re here for a reason.”
The men scratched their cheeks awkwardly, but Karin was impressed. Pooling their own money was no small feat, and her mood brightened as she let out a small chuckle. It seemed these three were genuinely good-hearted.
“Well, well. You guys aren’t bad at all. Alright, I’ll guide you. Oh, and by the way, my name’s Fuuma Karin.”
She gave the man a solid pat on the shoulder and waved her hand, signaling for them to follow. Her mood had improved, and her steps felt lighter. Maybe there were others like her, people who shared her circumstances.
“Oh, I’m Manabe.”
“I’m Suzuyaki.”
“The two of them together are often called sukiyaki pot, right? And I’m Ushiyama.”
“Looks like we’ve got a sukiyaki trio.”
Teasing them, Karin thought that with these good-natured fools around, the divide between the people of Amatsugahara District and the newcomers might lessen, even if just a bit.
Later, Christmas came to be mistakenly remembered as the day of cookie and milkshake distribution, but… the children were happy, so it probably wasn’t a big deal.