“All right, let’s start opening the gifts.”
“““Roger!”””
Sharp, strong voices responded in unison to Chisaki’s call.
After school, Masachika and Alisa made their way to the disciplinary committee room to find it already packed with members, including both its president and vice president.
“Uh… I really appreciate that everyone came to help…but isn’t this a little much? There aren’t even enough presents for everyone to open one.” Masachika smirked in a troubled manner, taken aback by how many people were there. The president, Chisaki, however, shot him a quizzical look.
“What are you talking about? I’m the only one that’s going to be opening anything today,” she replied.
“What…? Why?”
“Because I can handle it if it ends up being something dangerous.”
“Are you being serious?”
“What do you mean by ‘handle’?”
But despite Masachika’s and Alisa’s skepticism, Chisaki nodded with complete seriousness, then gestured behind them with a subtle glance.
“I’m dead serious. Now, go stand behind the shields.”
Masachika’s eye twitched as he turned to discover three individuals equipped with transparent, reinforced, plastic shields—the kind he had only ever seen police carrying on TV.
“Come on, you’re not defusing a bomb. Why does the disciplinary committee room even have shields?”
“For riot control, obviously.”
“You’re never going to need these—oh, wait.”
Masachika grimaced as he recalled the recent chaos from the school festival, then glanced around at the others and tilted his head.
“Hold up. Why did you need this many people if you’re the only one who gets to open presents?”
“‘Why’? Because there’s no telling what’s in these boxes. We need all the fighting power we can get.”
“‘Fighting power’? What are you expecting to find?”
“…Worst case scenario: a child-snatching box.”
“Seriously, what do you think this is?!”
“Anyway, the Renyouhou Renheki Gaiju isn’t reacting, so I think we’re okay.”
“There it is: the ultimate weapon from the final dungeon.”
Masachika’s eyes went slightly vacant the moment he spotted the black prayer beads wound around Chisaki’s right wrist. But upon closer inspection, he realized that Sumire, along with the Sisters of the Four Seasons, were also equipped with the same replica swords they had wielded at the school festival. Other members of the committee brandished brass knuckles, special batons, and even talismans. Meanwhile, Sayaka…seemed to be holding an iron fan.
“…Is the disciplinary committee secretly fighting monsters from another dimension after school or something?” Masachika asked with a note of exasperation, prompting Chisaki and the other disciplinary committee members to simultaneously furrow their brows, casting their gazes toward the ceiling.
“Hey?! Come on?! Say something! Why is everyone looking around like I’m onto something?!”
“What is going on at our school? I’m starting to worry that I’m not fit to lead the entire student body…”
“Nah, I mean, Touya can do it, so…”
But Masachika fell silent before he even finished his sentence, suddenly realizing that Touya had the vice president to take care of the shadows of Seirei Academy.
“…Then again, I guess he has a professional to handle stuff like this.”
“Yeah…”
Sensing it was best not to pry, Masachika and Alisa quietly slipped behind the shields, pressing themselves against the wall. Meanwhile, Chisaki, having made sure they were safe, shifted her attention back to the presents on the desk.
“All right, I’m going to open the gifts.”
“““Roger!”””
Masachika and Alisa recoiled slightly at the committee members’ overly enthusiastic reply as they watched Chisaki immediately reach for the largest box.
“I’m going to start with the biggest one, okay?”
“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”
Once she received the recipient’s approval, Chisaki meticulously peeled away the tape, opening the package without tearing a single piece of the wrapping paper.
“Oh, wow. That’s actually pretty difficult to do.”
“Yeah, no matter how careful you are, the tape usually ends up ripping some of the print off the wrapping paper when you peel it off.”
“Right? And sometimes you want to save the wrapping paper so you can use it again someday, but you have to throw it away because it ripped.”
While they found themselves oddly captivated by her expertise, which was entirely irrelevant to the matter at hand, Chisaki began folding the wrapping paper and mentioned:
“By the way, of course, I’m being careful because these presents don’t belong to me, but it’s not only that; I’m being cautious just in case there are razor blades glued to the back of the wrapping paper.”
“…Oh. Right.”
“Of course, I’ve already conquered razor blades.”
“‘Conquered’?”
While Masachika’s expression went vacant at the utterly bleak reality of her logic, Chisaki finally placed her hands on the box itself.
“All right, I’m opening the box.”
“““…!!”””
The surrounding disciplinary committee members collectively braced themselves, prompting Masachika and Alisa to recoil again.
“One, two, three!”
“““…!!”””
Do they have to react to every little thing she says?!
But Masachika kept that thought to himself, afraid to voice it aloud for some reason. Without delay, Chisaki opened the box with a satisfying pop, gazed inside, then slowly reached in before pulling out what appeared to be a homemade plush toy—white, fluffy, and…
“Is that…a goat? Or is it a sheep? Or a cat?”
“Beats me…”
Masachika tilted his head in curiosity alongside Alisa. From a distance, it seemed to bear no horns or ears, and its face was a furry mess, making it hard to identify. It was so goofy-looking, however, that some people might have found it cute. Then again, most people would probably just find it unsettling, especially with its red eyes.
“…It’s a plushie. A homemade one, too, I think.”
After flipping it over in her hands and thoroughly examining it, Chisaki decided to rummage deeper inside the box.
“There’s no letter. No name, either.”
“““…!!”””
“Seriously? Overreact much?” Masachika pointed out, as if he couldn’t help himself. The disciplinary committee members were either being good sports and playing along, or these were conditioned responses from some sort of absurd training.
Meanwhile, Chisaki, who had been re-examining the plushie, suddenly froze for a moment before gripping it tightly in her hand, prodding it with her fingers while furrowing her brow.
“There’s something inside.”
“““!!”””
Even Masachika and Alisa were visibly taken aback this time. As the tension in the room noticeably rose, Chisaki continued to feel around the plush toy with her fingers.
“It’s hard… It’s shaped…like a rectangular box? No, the corners are round… Size-wise, it’d fit in the palm of my hand…”
She placed the plushie down for a moment and shifted her eyes toward Alisa.
“What do you want to do, Alya? I could tear it open and check, but…”
Alisa pondered for a few seconds with a slightly stiff expression…then shook her head.