Christmas Omake: What is The Best Present?

Winter only comes once a year, and so is Christmas. It is a celebration of a special day.

Though, one thing comes to the mind:

'What is the best present?'

It is exactly the dilemma Nobu was facing just now. 

'A big gift..?'

When he returned home, what greeted him was a big gift box. It was wrapped in a red gift wrapper and a ribbon.

His first instinct is to pry it open with his senses, but to no avail. It is akin to a black hole that ate every light it came in contact with.

'What is this..?'

Several possibilities came to his mind. To create such sophisticated item, one needs to be at the level of Lord Nettesheim at the very least. Although, Nobu couldn't imagine him playing around like this.

Nobu was still confused after a few seconds had passed. Still, he chose to approach the gift box.

Just as he touched it, something strange happened.

Crack-!

Shatter-!

...

Thud-!

The huge box fell with a loud thud. The lid covering it was removed, revealing an unexpected someone.

"Ow..."

The golden-haired girl was wearing some questionable set of clothing. Rather, it couldn't even be called a piece of clothing anymore.

What covered her body from his gaze are nothing but several pairs of red ribbons. That, and a matching Santa Hat to celebrate the spirit of Christmas.

"Nobu."

"...You read too much manga." He deadpanned before facepalming. "I guess your next line would be..."

""I am your Christmas gift.""

Mashiro looked at him with amazement. It was as if he could read her mind!

When she slowly stood up, some ribbons fell out of their place, revealing more things that should've remained hidden.

With the vibes of the previous deadpanning gone, Nobu became vulnerable to such things.

Mashiro's petite body fitted well with the red ribbons. She might be lacking in that department, but her beauty couldn't be reduced by it.

Everything took a second to get everything under control. Even so, Nobu remained in a daze, be it due to her current outfit or their past relationship within several iterations.

By the time he could react, she was already in front of him. Their lips are about to touch when his surroundings changed.

This time, he was in the familia home.

'Huh..?'

Someone came out from one of the rooms. Her long braided blue hair complemented with the Santa outfit she wore. The said outfit is closer to a swimsuit than anything else. All she wore was a pair of tops that covered her chest as well as a mini short.

"Orion..."

'Hey, hey, hey...'

Nobu couldn't believe what he was experiencing now.

'Was this my present? Did I look like someone who would prefers this the most..?'

However, things did not end there. Another girl came after Artemis. There are big changes compared to Artemis, however.

Her red hair looked akin to the blazing flames at the forge. It also suited the colors of her outfit, making her look like someone with a fiery personality.

The biggest trait is... none other than her chest size.

At this moment, Nobu couldn't contain his embarrassment any further.

"Nobu-kun... If you'd like..."

"Orion..."

With two goddesses on both arms, Nobu was struck by confusion. It was his first time being this close with them... nearly naked on top of that.

Fortunately... or unfortunately...

Hum-!

"Ah..?!"

Nobu found himself lying down on his bed. When he looked around, he found out it was his room, however...

"Mister."

He found someone lying on top of him. Her nine golden tails swayed in delight. Her emerald pupils met his confused golden pupils.

Once more, she was wearing a full-on santa costume. While her body wasn't as exposed as Shiina, Hephaestus, or Artemis, her curves made her more... enticing.

"I have nothing else to pay you back... only my body."

"Wait, there's no need to..."

"I will serve you—"

Bam-!

The door to his room opened.

"Haruhime! You cunning fox..!"

"Ein!"

"She took a headstart! What's you say about this, Lili?"

"...Teacher's purity must be protected."

Filvis, Ein, and Lili came from outside. They all have blush of differing degrees on their faces. Clearly, even they were embarrassed with Haruhime's acts.

'What the hell...'

Watching everything escalate to this degree, Nobu was speechless.

'How should I even leave from this place..?'

Unfortunately, he wasn't given time to rest as he went into another place.

Nobu found himself inside a dark closet.

"No way..."

This time, he was keen on who would appear. It could only be her.

When he looked around, he saw one hundred photos plastered on the ceiling. It is all their pictures since childhood up to their reunion.

Creak-!

The door of the closet was opened. The god of introverts, Gotou Hitori, entered the dark closet.

"Mn... It's a bit tight."

Nobu noticed the red sleeves he was wearing. It seems he also wore a santa outfit along with her. Only, something else stood out from her santa outfit.

'...Was it...'

It was usually hidden inside her oversized pink jacket, but when Bocchi wears something else, they would stand out.

It was at that moment would she become a cute girl instead of a gloomy introvert.

"We... We will record something. I will post it, right?"

"Alright..."

Fortunately for Nobu, Bocchi was far too embarrassed to make any moves. She was simply blushing while together with him inside the closet.

By the time they finished playing the guitar, they were affected by the slightly hot temperature inside.

"I forgot to turn on the AC..."

"...You are still clumsy."

"There's no need to tell me that..." She replied with a depressed tone. "Maybe that's why I couldn't get any friends..."

Unlike the other instances, nothing like the things before had happened.

"This should be enough content for your channel."

"Reaally? If you say so..." She muttered. "It's quite hot..."

Due to this temperature, Bocchi became less comfortable. She moved the collars of her outfit now and then. What she didn't know is that the outfit started sticking closely to her body.

Nobu couldn't bear this anymore and decided to open the AC.

"I'm going to open the AC. It is quite hot inside your closet."

Just as he was about to leave, she grabbed his sleeve.

"...Nobu."

"..?"

"Actually... I... I... like you."

'..Ah.'

Four consecutive attacks made him more jittery. Coupled with the slightly dark room and her current state, it was as if a demon is tempting him.

"Apertum..." (Open...)

Just as he was about to cast his magicka, his surroundings changed once more. This time, he is in the center of a desert filled with white sand. The sun hung up in the sky eternally.

"I apologize. I messed up."

These were Galahad's welcoming words.

"Well, it is quite a huge mess you made. Why make me go through them, exactly?"

"It is a failed attempt." He explained. "The power of the grail lies in the immesurable miracle that surrounds it. There are four other relics that came from the existence of Christ, but the Holy Grail's legend was the most famous."

Galahad's world worked around mysteries, though it is actually the most influenced by the collective subconscious of the majority. In their eyes, the Holy Grail is the mortal bridge to understand God. Needless to say, its power is extremely strong, to the point the Counterforce itself acted to erase any probability of it staying in the mortal realm.

Unfortunately for it, the grail landed with Galahad (Nobu) in another world.

For a Holy Relic that contained an entire world's beliefs, being able to use its full power would bring Nobu into another level, thus resolving the greatest threat that he faced: Twilight Syndrome.

"Your wishes are supposed to influence the grail... such as the will to save the world."

"...But these ones came out instead?"

Nobu deadpanned at him. It went from the glorious 'saving the world' into something akin to a lewd dream. Moreover, it is stimulating enough that he felt embarrassment from it.

"My only question is that... Why did them wearing santa outfits became the manifestation of my wishes?"

"...It's a mistake."

Galahad calmly replied. He shifted the topic forcefully. It is unknown as to whether he had any reactions to this episode or not.

"In the end, this shortcut wouldn't work. We will have to find other ways."

"...Alright."

In the end, this small event was settled down successfully.

By the time Nobu woke up on his bed, he found out that everything is normal. There are no oversized gift box on the entrance of his door. His magicka worked normally.

"It's still October."

After confirming the date on the calendar, he began his daily routine. 

When he noticed that Mashiro still wasn't awake, he decided to knock on her door. Unexpectedly, she was the one who opened it from the inside.

"..."

Nobu saw her usual sleepy look. However, the difference was that she wore a tight fitting santa outfit.

"Merry Christmas... Nobu."

'This girl...'

It turned out that Mashiro was half-asleep to the point she mistook it as Christmas... and wore the surprise outfit she bought several days ago...

"Wake up. Today's Monday... Your Christmas present is still two months later."

"...Mn..?"

With this episode settled, Mashiro continued to spend her day, all the whilst accepting it is Monday... and that her holiday break is still two months later.

*****

**

*

A/N: Welp. I had the vision of turning it into a fun omake as last year, but I decided to make things more normal this time around. This is basically a glimpse on what Nobu will face in the future chapters. While he himself still doesn't acknowledge it fully, he will become a harem protagonist in the future. These events might happen to him in reality.

Anyways, this omake is completely relevant to the fic compared to the Padoru one last year. This is more of a wish-fulfillment chapter with a mix of several plot points.

Then again, I am planning to start writing the side stories (omakes if you may) for my other completed fic tomorrow. I will start with the Christmas one before publishing several bits of what happened there (more so when its ending seemed abrupt even to me). That would serve as the closure and the expansion of the leftout plot points I had for my first fic.

The update schedule of this fic won't be affected, so no worries. I'll take advantage of my peaceful holiday break before I return to uni (and my countless lost sleep).

Lastly, I do apologize that I wasn't able to come up with an official chapter now. I was totally spent during Christmas that I slept moments after coming in contact with my bed. This Omake should serve as the official chapter, so the next one would come out the day after.

(PS: I will be pulling for Ruan Mei when she comes live. I do hope I won't lose another 50/50 this time.)

Happy Holidays~!