I didn’t let my guard down even after seeing the troll becoming vulnerable. Even so, my reaction was delayed for a moment as I was completely focused on the troll.

The orc lurking behind the troll launched an attack at me.

When I noticed it, the orc was only a few meters away from me while holding something like a club overhead.

“[Explosion] I won’t let Rin-kun get hurt.”

Aoi released [Explosion] with precise aiming, and a wholly roasted orc was completed on the spot.

“I won’t let you bother Rin-kun. [Wind Cutter]”

The wind blade severed the monster’s neck again.

“Thank you, Aoi. You saved me twice.”

“No, I just did what I should do as a partner. More importantly, let’s defeat the troll quickly and go shopping.”

“You’re right.”

[Explosion] [Explosion] [Explosion] [Explosion]

After that, the two of us defeated the motionless troll by firing a series of explosions.

“This took quite some time. Let’s hurry, Rin-kun.”

Having said that, Aoi pulled my hand and headed to the shopping mall. We were supposed to return home once to leave our stuff as per our original plan. But, that was also forgotten thanks to this unexpected commotion.

“Aoi, we have already arrived, so could you let go of my……”

“Since it is Christmas, we might as well keep holding our hands. Is it not okay? We are partners after all.”

“N-no, it’s okay.”

I can’t refuse Aoi’s “Is it not okay?” request.

More importantly, is it really natural for partners to hold hands? I guess doing this much should be natural for other partners in the world… Probably.

“By the way, what are you planning to buy by coming here today?”

“Ahh, the thing is… Since today is Christmas Eve, I came here to buy Aoi a present. But, I’m not confident in myself at choosing presents either. That’s why I asked Aoi to come with me so that you can choose for yourself.”

“………………”

“Is something the matter?”

“……I’m so happy. I didn’t expect to get a present.”

“N-no, umm, I’ve constantly been indebted to Aoi so far, so I thought I should at least give you a present……”

“Thank you. However, it should be me who is indebted to you. Rin-kun saved my life after all.”

“Well, you could say that. Anyway, why don’t we go to see some presents? Don’t worry about the price, so is there something you like?”

“Can I look around?”

“Of course, you can.”

Aoi and I decided to look around the shops inside the shopping mall. But, there was an unusually large number of people today, probably due to Christmas.

I’ve been to this shopping mall several times before, but this is my first time seeing it overflowing with people to this extent.

Once again, it made me keenly realize that the event called Christmas was properly recognized by the world, and it was just me who was left behind by society.

There were quite a number of couple-like students inside the shopping mall, and I also noticed several other students wearing the same school uniform. The number of students coming to buy Christmas presents might be more than I thought.

We went around several shops in order, and Aoi stopped at a jewelry shop with a large ‘Christmas Sales’ sentence in front.

“If you’re interested, why don’t we go in?”

“Ok, just entering.”

When the two of us went inside the shop, the clerk greeted us loudly.

“What a cute girlfriend~ Is it for a Christmas present?” (T/N: Kanojo has both girl and girlfriend meanings. The clerk said it teasingly.)

“Yes, it is.”

“And you are… high school students. The section around here surely is popular with high school students this year~”

After saying that, the clerk recommended me a necklace adorned with light-colored gems.

“Aoi, what do you think? Would you like to try it on?”

“Although it is cute, a necklace usually can’t be worn at school. If possible, I’d like something that can be worn all the time.”

“Ah~ that is true. Then, how about a watch if it is something a student can wear all the time? Watches also have a fairly wide price range, so it might be the right thing for her present.”

With that said, the clerk took out three cute watches.

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