Evening.
Everyone had gathered in the parlor.
Though everyone looked a bit grubby and disheveled from a full day of deep cleaning and decorating, the radiant smiles on their faces shone brighter than any light.
"I'm turning on the lights now!"
As Rose gently pressed the switch, the colorful strings of lights draped across the house, beneath the courtyard eaves, and over the Christmas tree all lit up at once, washing every corner in a warm, festive glow.
Ornaments twinkled on the carefully decorated Christmas tree. Garlands hung down, bells and gift boxes swayed gently among the branches, and woolen stockings waited by the fireplace. Together, they filled the entire residence with festive warmth.
Leon set his hands on his hips and surveyed the fruits of everyone's combined effort, an unmistakable satisfaction welling up in his eyes.
"Finally feels like the holidays. A whole day of hard work wasn't for nothing after all."
Rose's eyes curved into crescents, and she tilted her head playfully, tapping the corner of her lips with a fingertip, deliberately drawing out her sweet, soft tone.
"My, my~~ Let me think… It seems a certain someone is always saying that life needs its little rituals, hmm~~~"
Leon's face reddened, and he laughed it off, eyes wandering.
"…"
Seeing that Jeanne and Rose were both still watching him with those half-smiles, Leon could only fake a cough and quickly change the subject.
"Ahem, the clothes I had custom-made for everyone at the tailor's earlier, Aura and Laurier already picked them up. Why don't you all head upstairs and try them on? There's everyday wear, uniforms, formalwear, and training gear, several sets of each."
"These dozens of custom outfits cost me tens of millions of Valis, you know!"
The new year was almost here, so naturally the Familia had to start fresh too. And new clothes, in any world, were an indispensable part of ringing out the old and ringing in the new. Orario was no exception.
By now, through everyone's combined effort, the Familia was thriving. Whether in capital reserves, overall strength, or connections, it was already far beyond what it had been a year ago.
To have grown this much in just a single year, a gratified Leon naturally wasn't about to fob everyone off with cheap clothes. Especially the uniforms, which represented the Familia's public face and were just as important as the banner and the crest.
So he'd made a special trip to the old elf master tailor he knew well, spent a small fortune, and had outfits tailored for everyone to suit different occasions, all according to each person's style and figure. Of course, he hadn't laid down any hard rule about which set anyone had to wear. It was all left to personal preference.
Hearing that Leon had prepared new clothes for everyone, a knowing smile surfaced on Rose's lovely face.
"Oh? When I saw Laurier dragging Aura out earlier, all sneaky and secretive, so it was your arrangement, was it?"
Rose had already seen through everything. The moment the Holy Maiden heard Leon mention new clothes, certain memories buried deep in her mind came rushing back. Things like "Metatron and calf socks," "academy-style suit uniform with a pleated skirt, knee socks, and little leather shoes," "high-slit evening gown with side-cutout heels," "bunny girl outfit," and other mortifying getups flashed through her mind one after another…
Her face flushed red, her eyes went wide, and she bit her lip and glared "ferociously" at Leon.
"Y-y-y-you… these aren't that kind of weird clothes this time, are they!"
"You'd better explain yourself clearly!"
The instant those words left her mouth, the warm smile on Rose's face froze, then her gaze shifted, glancing at Leon with a hint of deeper meaning.
"Oh? Truly the artistically gifted gentleman, aren't you. To think… the little games between you and our Holy Maiden are even more inventive than I imagined."
"…"
Leon's mouth twitched. The jealousy rolling off Rose instantly put him on edge.
"Ahem, ahem… Jeanne, my dear, what I had made this time really is proper attire, nothing like what you're imagining. At most… the cut is just a touch bold and the design leans a little on the sexy side. Ah… to put it the way the gods do, it's an elegant piece fusing modern trends with classical aesthetics!"
Jeanne and Rose, one indignant and embarrassed, the other watching him with a deep, searching gaze, said nothing. They merely stood there and listened to Leon spout nonsense.
Laurier naturally noticed the strange atmosphere and Leon's obvious fluster. She grabbed Aura, ducked off to the side, and craned her neck for a better view of the spectacle.
Likewise, after listening in for a moment, Kureha, Iri, and Margaret gradually came to understand why Jeanne wore such a mortified expression.
At the thought that they too might end up wearing those figure-hugging, provocative outfits, all three felt their cheeks heat up at once.
Margaret rolled her eyes at Leon and muttered under her breath.
"Pervert, scumbag!"
Less inhibited than Margaret, Iri stole a glance at Leon, her fingers unconsciously twisting together as she mumbled in a low voice.
"B-but I think… those clothes are actually pretty cute, aren't they?"
Hearing that, Margaret was floored!
"Huh?"
Kureha's cheeks were just as crimson, her gaze drifting as she sank into thought…
Recalling scene after scene from that morning, how she'd been put through the wringer and forced to cry out all sorts of mortifying things, and how her mind had finally gone blank, to the point of fainting, her legs went weak on their own and her face flushed.
"Uuu…"
Watching the differing reactions from Iri and Kureha, Margaret bit her lip, feeling like the sky was falling.
"No way!"
"I will never give in!"
What a pity that she was already well on her way to being molded to Leon's tastes, yet had no idea of it…
…
…
After a string of little episodes, the day slipped quickly by.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Christmas Festival arrived.
3 a.m.
The sky was pitch black.
Unable to contain her excitement, Laurier bounced right out of bed.
Worse still, she dragged the sleeping Aura out from under her warm covers, paying no mind to the resentment written all over Aura's face. Laurier skipped over to the Christmas tree in the corner and eagerly started tearing into her presents!
"Aura, Aura, Aura! Hurry and come open presents!"
"Lau! ri! er!"
"I! only! slept! three! hours!"
"Huh?"
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