In This World That Favors Men, I... ~Starting a Sweet School Life in a World With a 1:8 Gender Ratio~ - 142

Chapter 142: Glimmering Christmas

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“Yuu, the show’s about to start.”

“This is a great spot. We can see everything. I’m excited to see what happens to that tree!”

The Luke Plaza, a commercial complex adjacent to FF21, had at its heart a spacious indoor courtyard known as the “Center Yard.” It was an open atrium spanning from the first to the fifth floor, creating a sense of openness and grandeur.

Since it was the Christmas season, a Christmas tree inspired by the forests of Northern Europe had been set up on the first floor. Standing eight meters tall, the tree sparkled brilliantly white, as if made of snowflakes. When we saw it from below, it was so massive it filled our entire field of vision.

Now, Yuu and I were looking down at it from the fourth-floor balcony. From here, we could see the large silver star on top of the tree clearly, giving us a real sense of its size.

You’d probably get a better view of the show from a lower level, but the balconies on the second and third floors were way too crowded. Since we came on a date, we didn’t want to end up squished against strangers while trying to enjoy the show.

At the scheduled time, the lights in the courtyard dimmed. Melodic music began to play, and the massive tree lit up with a dazzling glow. The glowing tree floated in the dim space. It shifted from vivid blue to purple, then to a deep navy. As the tree changed colors, like it was being dyed with the hues of the night sky, a white light streamed smoothly across its surface.

“Ah! A shooting star? Again…!”

As Yuu watched the tree from above, mesmerized by the falling stars, I gently covered her delicate hand resting on the balcony railing with my own. Startled, she looked up at me. Leaning close to her ear, I whispered a promise—one not for now, but for the future. Close enough that her silky black hair nearly brushed my cheek.

“Someday, let’s go somewhere where we can see real shooting stars. Just the two of us.”

“…Yeah.”

She answered in a small voice, blushing sweetly. She looked absolutely adorable. Just then, the tree began to glow an even more brilliant white, marking the grand finale of the show.

“What? Snow? That high up…?”

“Wow. I didn’t expect this much snow to fall, especially indoors.”

The audience gasped in delight at the snow show that capped off the event. From nearly 30 meters above, silver sparkling snow fluttered down. Of course, it was fake snow—but what really mattered wasn’t whether it was real, but the sweet, magical atmosphere it created.

As the snow continued to fall and more shooting stars flowed across the tree’s surface, a blue light in the shape of Santa Claus on a reindeer sleigh began circling around the tree in a loop.

It would surely have looked beautiful even if I’d seen it alone—but sharing this view, at the same time and from the same perspective, with my cute girlfriend, getting excited together—it made the happiness of being here now truly well up inside me.

It had been a while since our last date, and honestly, all this felt a bit too corny to me. But for guys like me, sometimes this embarrassing level of sweetness made Christmas felt complete.

A dream-like Christmas date that every girl longs for—did I manage to give her even a little of that? There was actually a reason we were having such a lovey-dovey date.

It was our last Christmas as high schoolers. With exams right around the corner, we obviously couldn’t throw a big party. Still, I felt like we should at least make some memories. So, despite how busy they were with studying, I nervously brought up the idea of Christmas dates with the girls…

“””We want to go on Christmas dates!”””

They all said in unison. …Yep. All three of them enthusiastically requested one-on-one Christmas-themed dates. Not group dates—just one-on-one.

They were oddly fired up about it, but I understood their point too. Once the real exam season kicked in, school would move to self-study, and we wouldn’t be able to see each other for a while. So honestly, I didn’t mind spending time cuddling up with them on solo dates.

But dating spots around Christmas were absolutely packed with people, and we were way too close to the standardized test at the end of January. So I decided to move the schedule up a bit and plan things for early December instead.

Apparently, even in this world full of women, Christmas was still a special day for girls. A special date for a special day. Naturally, they’d be expecting something romantic.

So I racked my brains for ideas.

Doing the exact same date course with all three of them would’ve been way too boring. But I also didn’t have much time left, and I couldn’t afford to skip scouting the date spots in advance. I had to check the place first just to be safe. And so, I needed someplace close by, with a romantic, girly atmosphere, where I could still vary the experience for each of them.

In the end, I settled on the area around FF21, where we’d had that summer sweets event.

Which brings us back to the start. This futuristic city area had more than just an international exhibition center—it also had multiple shopping malls, restaurants, museums, hotels, parks, and various plazas. It was huge.

For Yuu, the first girl I went on a Christmas date with, we watched the Christmas show at Ark Plaza, then visited the Christmas Market being held at the Red Brick Warehouse.

“So this is what a German Christmas market is like?”

“The stores look like mountain lodges—it’s so cute. There’s even a snowman on the roof.”

The shops, styled like mountain huts with red and white striped roofs, were lined up in front of the beautifully lit red brick building. It was modeled after authentic German Christmas markets, with large decorations displayed all over. Just walking around and looking at them was already fun to do.

The shops sold traditional German food, drinks, sweets, and Christmas-themed goods.

“Look, they have limited edition mug sets in pairs. The designs are so cute—even if it’s kind of typical.”

“Should we buy them?”

“Yeah!”

The original event-exclusive pair mugs were designed to fit together—with the handles facing out, they formed one complete illustration. The image showed the Red Brick Warehouse and a large, ornamented Christmas tree. A couple looked up at the tree together, surrounded by falling snow.

Whenever I looked at those mugs, I was sure I’d remember this date. And each time, Yuu’s smile and that warm, cozy feeling would come back to me.

On another day, I had a date with Shizu. Shizu had specifically requested, “I just want to relax somewhere!” So we headed to the Sky Yard—273 meters above ground, with a panoramic view of FF21 and the harbor.

We took Japan’s fastest elevator and arrived in no time at the Sky Yard on the 69th floor of Luke Tower. Whoa! It really felt like something out of a sci-fi movie. I could almost feel my body floating.

Maybe because of that, Shizu clung tightly to my arm. She’d told me she was okay with heights beforehand, but maybe she was more scared than she let on? Staying close together, we arrived at the Sky Yard, which had the calm atmosphere of a sky lounge, with a wide view that stretched far into the distance.

“Wow, there are so many places to sit. Oh! Look, it’s Mt. Fuji!”

Luckily, it was a clear day, so we could see all the way to Mt. Fuji and the mountains of Hakone. Maybe it was thanks to the teru teru bōzu that Yui made?

“There’s a café here too. The front-row sofas are for café guests only. I reserved seats just in case, so I’ll go confirm while I grab us some drinks.”

SoI said that, but Shizu didn’t want me to leave—she clung to my arm like a little bug. So we strolled all the way around the 360-degree view together, then picked up our drinks and sat on our reserved sofa facing the ocean.

“You can really see the harbor. Oh, and the amusement park too.”

“Yeah. From this height, you get a great view of the whole area. The sky feels so wide. Sitting here really feels relaxing.”

Every few meters along the outer edge, where the windows stretched all around, two-seater sofas like the one we were sitting on were lined up. On the inner side, across the aisle, there were many tiered wooden bench decks. There weren’t as many people as I’d expected, but maybe it would get crowded later.

Next to the café space was a library, and while we peeked into a book we’d borrowed together, Shizu and I talked about all sorts of things.

“Entrance exams… What if the exam doesn’t go well? Lately, I’ve been having dreams.”

“What kind of dreams?”

“I’m taking a test, but I don’t understand the questions at all. I try to solve them somehow, but I run out of time, and it’s over… In the dream, I was all alone. I was the only one failing the exam and getting left behind by everyone. That kind of dream.”

Shizu looked like she was about to cry. She was incredibly smart, but her first-choice school was Japan’s most difficult university. The pressure on her must have been enormous. I pulled her small shoulders close and looked into her uncertain, trembling eyes.

“It’s okay. Even if, by some chance, a mean god tries to get in your way, I’ll be here for you. I’ve seen how hard you’ve been working all this time. Just because the girl I like stumbles a little, there’s no way I’d leave her behind. Trust me.”

“Okay. I… I trust you.”

Shizu was a hard worker, but maybe that was exactly why she knew there was no such thing as a guaranteed result in entrance exams. Still, I wanted to do something to help ease those nightmares. In that case…

“As a charm, so you can dream about me instead of those scary ones…”

Saying that, I gave Shizu a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“M-my dream?? With Yuusei-kun in it?”

Suddenly turning bright red, Shizu pressed her fingertips to the spot I kissed. She seemed a little flustered, but did I manage to cheer her on?

“How about it? Do you think you’ll be able to see a dream like that?”

“…It’d be nice if I could. Thanks to the charm…”

That was how we flirted a bit, just enough so she could recreate it in her dreams! …Well, maybe I just wanted to flirt with her. I mean, Shizu was really cute, fussing and touching her forehead like that after I kissed her.

The scenery outside changed. The sun set, and the view of the port turned crimson. Then suddenly, below us, the glittering FF21 complex lit up brilliantly in the dark. Not just the commercial facilities, but the office buildings and hotels—this whole area was lit up for Christmas, creating a dazzling city of lights beneath us.

“Wow. The whole city’s glowing.”

“It’s beautiful. Do you want to ride that big Ferris wheel next time?”

“In spring?”

“Yeah. In spring.”

“Promise, okay?! That’s a promise!”

As reluctant as we were, we left the Sky Yard and headed toward the station.

The wide promenade leading to the adjacent terminal station had Christmas lights decorating the street trees on both sides. The air was cold, but the trees bathed in crisp, clear blue lights stood tall and striking.

“Today felt like such a luxurious treat. Thank you for a wonderful date, Yuusei-kun.”

“I had a great time too. Taking it slow like this is nice.”

Exploring a bunch of places was fun, but I thought this kind of quiet time together was just as worthwhile.

“Do you think we can come again next year?”

“As long as you want to, Shizu—anytime.”

“Yay! That makes two promises. I feel like I can give it my all on the exams now.”

“I’ll be waiting for you, no matter what. Just go for it, full speed!”

“Okay!”

A promise for next spring, and another for next year. I’d make sure not to forget, and to keep them both. That was what I thought.

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My date with Coco started at the event space in the new harbor district. In the Central Plaza along the canal, media art and illuminations were on display.

「A new kind of illumination experience, created with light and sound.」That was the catchphrase of the event.

A field of flowers glowing in the dark in pink, red, blue, purple, green, and white. Trees and plantings lit up in colorful lights. The large-scale art installations were so fantastical, and the backdrop made them even more extravagant.

Could this count as borrowed scenery too? Behind the glowing flower field, the red brick warehouse lit up like a jack-o’-lantern. They stood out amidst the scenery, and behind the canal, the night view of FF21 sparkled.

“Wow! They made a flower field like this out of artificial flowers. It’s like a picture book world!”

“Over there, there’s light art projected onto floors and walls that are seamlessly connected.”

All non-art lighting had been turned off, and with the glow from below backlighting everything, it was dim enough that we couldn’t see each other’s faces clearly once we were a little apart. In that darkness, we held hands and walked across floors glowing with geometric patterns, sparkling like jewels, and flowing rivers of light cascading down walls like waterfalls.

And the art wasn’t just on the ground or the walls. It was in the air, too. Particles of light floated upward like bubbles toward the sky. Standing among them felt like being a tropical fish drifting in an aquarium. 

Then, suddenly, countless geometric shapes appeared in midair and danced about. On the ground, glowing patterns continuously shifted and transformed. It was a dazzling, dreamlike space that used searchlights, lasers, and projectors to dramatic effect.

“So cool!”

“This could actually be a decent workout.”

We stepped across the projected patterns on the ground like kids playing a game.

“Kyah!”

“Whoa!”

Coco, wearing heeled boots, lost her balance and nearly fell. That was close! I quickly caught her—and before I knew it, her arms wrapped tightly around my back, and we ended up holding each other face-to-face.

“Can you hold me a little tighter?”

I thought I heard the thump of my heart echo in my chest.

“Like this?”

“Yeah. Hey, it’s dark here. No one can see us.”

She slipped her arms around my neck. Her heels made her face almost close enough to feel her breath. Her pink lips shimmered faintly in the dark. We kissed—so light it felt like a feather brushing past. I couldn’t even tell who leaned in first.

“I love you. So much.”

“I love you too.”

It felt like we didn’t want to let go. We stayed close for a while, enjoying the warmth and afterglow, before heading to our next spot.

“The canal was beautiful, but I wanted to see the ocean too.”

“I didn’t know a place like this existed!”

We arrived at the international cruise terminal on the Great Pier. At night, the long glass corridor was lit up and bathed in blue light.

“Is this what another dimension feels like?”

“Everything looking blue like this is kind of surreal. It feels like we’re underwater.”

We climbed the stairs from the corridor and stepped out onto the rooftop wood deck. A wide wooden path wrapped around the edges, while the central area was covered in gently sloping grass, spacious enough to rival a small park.

“You can smell the ocean from here.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m fine. After all, Yuusei-kun feels warm. The sea breeze actually feels nice too.”

Even as the cool wind brushed against our cheeks, there was no space between us. We were sitting snugly together on a bench. Just cuddling there, watching the sparkling night view of FF21, made me feel content.

The lights of the port were too bright to see the real stars in the sky, but I felt like there was a sky full of them twinkling right above us.

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T/N: Wow this is so sweet