Ikebukuro Christmas Concerto Episode 5 Part 1

Things start off with narration from Pollux, though that’s not immediately apparent. He talks about how there was a fight over sharing, and that it was supposed to be just playing around. Things had always gone well with his brother, so he thought it’d always be so.

He forgot that he was immortal and that Castor wasn’t. Looking back, things going well back then was just coincidence. The final goodbye could come at any time, and Pollux never noticed that fact. Castor died, and the events from there lead to the Trojan War.

In the end Pollux was left alone, unable to understand death. He cried out, asking where he went. He reached for the stars, and then he was taken by the light of summoning.

Title card pops up. This chapter is titled The Christmas Present from You Guys. Location subtitle says the fourth checkpoint, Shinjuku, Shinjuku Academy.

Camera then tunes back to the present with Pollux zooming at you when he sees you. Scene then shifts to the arena as Andvari says a huge accident has occurred, with both your team and Krampus’s team having crashed in a forest. Whatever cameras they have running can’t see anything clearly but Andvari figures you guys ran into a wyvern party.

Ded says a volunteer rescue team has been dispatched to make a search, and he hopes there aren’t any serious injuries. Andvari says the race itself is still ongoing and that Team Claude is in first place.

Scene shifts over to Claude’s side, who is shocked to hear the announcement coming from his phone. Snow asks if he wants to turn back for you guys, and Claude decides to keep going after considering it. Snow follows along, though Yule questions this. Nomad is worried too, but he suggests continuing on because things should be okay.

Claude says to continue because he believes you guys won’t fall down from this. Yule still expresses worry over Krampus, Tanngrisnir, and you though. Scene then shifts again to your side with a garbled announcement from Andvari. Things are still hazy to you, and you either wonder if you were thrown from the sleigh, comment that it was a big crash, or say your consciousness isn’t fully back together yet.

Time passes, and your senses start processing information again. Someone is shaking you hard, and your vision starts to kick in slowly as you pick up on seeing red hair. When you call his name, Pollux hugs and cries over you. You can either ask what happened, say you worried him, or say he’s holding you so hard you can’t breathe.

Pollux says he’s glad and says he was worried he did it ‘again.’ A little bit later, Tanngrisnir is relieved you came to. Krampus asks if you’re okay, but before he can finish saying it all, Garm smashes him out of the way, glad to see you’re up again and asks if you recognize him. He also starts licking you, which forces Krampus to pull him back and tell him to stop since that might be bothering you in your state.

Melusine notices and comes up, asking how you feel. She also wrings a wet napkin and uses that to wipe your face. You can try to say you’re okay or apologize for taking up time, or say Garm is tickling you.

In any case you get dizzy when you try to stand, and Bathym catches you, telling you you shouldn’t force yourself to move right away. You’re surprised by how close he is and ask why that is. Melusine tells you you’ve been sleeping on his tail. After both teams crashed, Bathym used his tail as a cushion to save everyone.

Bathym says in a fair race, everyone is responsible for themselves, but if unexpected trouble happens then people should come together. And personally, he feels that with something so fun happening he doesn’t want anyone to drop out because of circumstances. You can either thank him, say you believed in him, or apologize for thinking he was attacking.

In any case you try to stand up again, but you end up falling over and lying on his tail. Ikutoshi says that since you’re hurt, you shouldn’t push yourself. You ask if it’s the same for everyone or why just you.

Melusine asks if you remember the crash, and Krampus says you hit your head. Bathym gave you first aid and you only just woke up. Bathym says demons nowadays need to be strong and smart, and asks how cool he is. You thank him again.

Bathym says as a close associate of Shaytan he’d have to be able to do this much. He also says Lucifuge is probably fretting over you again. You apparently try again to get up, but Bathym tells you to stop and pulls out a scarf and rolls it up as a new cushion for you to put your head on.

Bathym then asks what you guys will do. Tanngrisnir says you guys should stop and take you to the hospital. You try to protest this, but Tanngrisnir shouts no. Everyone present is surprised by how loud he was, and he apologizes for that. Still, he is a teacher even if he’s from a different school, so he can’t let you continue if there’s been an accident.

He also says being one person down on a team would make it fairly clear how they’ll end up. Melusine says you should rest and asks you to hold still while she changes your bandages. As this goes on you look around.

Both teams’ sleighs look fine, and Krampus has put them back right side up and is checking everything. Garm says he can keep going, but he’s worried about you and wants to stay. Ikutoshi tells him to calm down and settle his breathing rhythm, then says he’ll massage his feet for him.

Bathym asks about the sleighs, and Krampus says both are fine. Ikutoshi asks about the formation as Garm doesn’t look like he can continue as is. Bathym suggests he takes the lead instead of Garm, but Garm says he wants to be in front and says he isn’t tired.

Bathym tries to talk him down, but Krampus decides to keep things as is. Ikutoshi is surprised about this, but Krampus says it’s thanks to Garm they’ve stayed up in the ranks and wants to let him stay in the front until the end. He also thinks it’s a terrible feeling to want to do something but can’t.

Garm begs to stay in front, and Ikutoshi gives in and tries to play it cool. Bathym teases him and suggests he’s actually fired up inside. Garm is happy and says he’ll get first place with everyone, then starts licking Ikutoshi. Ikutoshi tells him to stop so he can massage his feet.

After a bit of time, Team Krampus gets ready to head off. Bathym asks if you’re okay, and you say you’ll chase after them soon. He figures you’d say so, and Garm says he’ll wait for you and wants to cross the goal together with you. Ikutoshi says you get reckless at times like this and tells you to be careful.

Krampus is at a loss for words, so you either tell him you’re okay and it doesn’t hurt, say no one is at fault, or say the race starts here. He says you’re strong and tells you to catch up. Then the team leaves.

Tanngrisnir apologizes and says his instructions were wrong. He questions why he didn’t try to come up with any other plans during the clash. Pollux says it’s not his fault because everyone was doing as they felt. If anything went wrong then he claims responsibility too.

Tanngrisnir thanks him but says as the most experienced with sleighs he should have stopped. For a moment everyone stays still in silence, then Pollux gets up and says someone is coming. Tanngrisnir thinks it may be another team and says they should get in the sleigh for safety’s sake. Melusine notices it isn’t though.

The noise cropping up is coming from the wyverns, and eventually you hear someone call out. Makara shows up as part of the rescue team, as does Mineaki. He asks who’s hurt and says he’ll start the medical examination. You can either talk to Makara, Mineaki, or freak out over the wyvern.

Going with A, Makara says everything is fine now and that they hurried over when they heard about the accident. He also thanks the wyvern for leading them to you. Melusine asks if they’re the same wyverns you guys ran into, and they nod in response.

Makara says they were having a party when you guys came zooming in and it all turned into a big commotion. But when Makara and the others talked to them they led them over. You thank the wyverns and apologize for ruining their party. Mineaki says externally you look fine, but since you hit your head he’s going to scan you, so he tells you to turn towards him.

After a bit, Mineaki finishes and Tanngrisnir asks what your outlook is. Mineaki says that from what he’s seen there’s no problems. He does say you should get your head looked at after tomorrow just in case. He checks one more time, then says it doesn’t look like you have any after effects either.

Everyone is happy to hear that, even the wyverns, which prompts Pollux to ask why they are too. Makara says that’s because they’ve been watching you from the sky. Mineaki says they seem to like exciting things, so they’re interested to see how the race unfolds.

The wyverns screech some more, which you interpret as cheering. Mineaki does say whether you guys continue is your decisions and asks what you think. You say you want to keep going, so Mineaki turns to your team. Pollux and Melusine seem unsure, and Melusine wonders what Licht would have done. He hasn’t called, so she has to decide herself.

Melusine stammers out that she’s had fun, so she doesn’t want to let it end yet. Pollux is surprised by her, and you can either thank her, say you feel the same, or say you want to be with her. Tanngrisnir seems to think about it, then gets surprised by Pollux clapping his hands against his cheeks.

Pollux says he’s gotten back into the spirit of things, and thinks to himself how he shouldn’t live in fear and regret as he talks to his brother. The two of them lived life to the fullest, whether in battle or in adventures. The way he died was just a random result and not a denial of their lifestyle. He feels that if he had any unfulfilled wishes he’d want Castor to have just shrugged, smile, and say he lived as best he could.

Pollux thinks that he wants to live proudly, with no regrets about what he could have done, faster and stronger like a shooting star. When they meet again he wants to smile and say it’s thanks to him that it was fun all the way until the end.

Pollux swears he won’t expose you to danger again and says he’ll show all his best efforts. You thank him and say you’ll be watching. Tanngrisnir is surprised by everyone’s decisions and sees a shooting star when he looks up to the sky. He remembers that he lived like that too and that it was fun, and he notices his leg hurting. You ask Tanngrisnir to let you continue with the race.

Makara asks what he thinks and tells him he can choose to stop. Tanngrisnir quietly talks to himself about regretting it if you guys resign. When he looks at you guys again he says he’ll agree to continue. He does add that you guys will drop straight out if something strange happens though. You agree and thank him.

Pollux says you guys should hurry now that you’ve decided. Melusine asks you to get in the sleigh. Makara says they’ll head back and tells you to be careful, and that they’re cheering for you. Mineaki says you can see him for a check tomorrow, then wishes you luck. You thank them.

You guys set off, and Melusine asks Tanngrisnir about whether his decision to continue was as a teacher. He says it is, and says that while it may be unfortunate to them, if something goes wrong soon he’s pulling them all out. In the worst case, pushing yourself might impact your future.

Pollux speaks up and asks if that’s only his professional opinion. Tanngrisnir says that it wouldn’t change either way, and that he doesn’t want students to regret anything. Any dream or wish could break without anyone meaning for it to.

As Tanngrisnir looks down, Pollux says he understands, as does Melusine. Melusine wonders why it is despite considering herself a tool, she’s talking about her past sadness that she’s never told anyone outside of Licht before. She says she thought she found eternal love, but one day it was taken away because someone saw what she shouldn’t show anyone else. She gave up on love as a result and left her world.

Tanngrisnir is surprised they share the same sort of sadness he does, then says that may be the bond tying them all together. You ask if his leg injury is related or if he has any regrets. He says it’s not that interesting a story, but he decides to talk about it.

He sets his story back to the time he was still in Yggdrasil pulling Thor’s chariot. One day they went to a banquet being held in the country. That was the time he got his leg injury. The problem started after that. He was able to move around independently to some degree, but his artifact stopped working since then.

Pollux is surprised but says there are cases where one’s mental state makes it harder to use an artifact. Melusine asks if it stopped working at all. Tanngrisnir confirms that, and says he thought it was just unstable at first. But even now it still it can’t activate.

He describes it as being stronger than anyone and having wheels that make him faster than anyone. He thinks it’s because anyone who can’t get around on their own won’t need it and smiles wryly about it.

Pollux tries to say something though he can’t figure how to say it right. You speak up and say you’ll help Tanngrisnir or that the team can compensate for him. Pollux says that’s what he was thinking of and pats you on the shoulder. He’s confident in his own speed and says he’ll show you.

Melusine says Licht told her to win. The team is counting on her to run with them and she says she also wants to do so. Tanngrisnir is touched and his chest burns with emotions. He stares at his hands in silence, then suddenly slaps himself. After that he adjusts his glasses and stands on the sleigh. He says he shouldn’t be taught that by students your age, then says even if his leg hurts and his artifact doesn’t work, he can still stand alongside you guys and walk forward. If everyone wants to run with him, then he wants to run again.

He jumps off the sleigh and walks to you. His leg doesn’t feel like it hurts but he’s still aware of the injury. But even still, he feels like it’ll work this time. You’re in some disbelief about where this is going, but Tanngrisnir suggests switching places and taking the lead reindeer spot.

Pollux tries to bring up the leg thing, as does Melusine who heard about how the race started for the team. Tanngrisnir says he was alone at first but now they’re there. You get on the sleigh while Tanngrisnir takes the ropes. He still has some worries, but he still has confidence in this. Even if one leg is bad, there’s still the other. And also, he asks if he can count on them.

Pollux and Melusine agree, and you signal your team’s restart. Tanngrisnir takes a step but the pain still comes, though he tries to ignore the tingling. However by matching steps with the team the pain seems to disappear, and the sleigh accelerates.

Before long you get a clear signal again to your phone to hear the situation on the race. Andvari announces you guys are back in this and heading to the fourth checkpoint. He’s surprised when he realizes the position change, but notes this was the original set up. Ded says he and everyone worried is glad you’re all okay. Andvari points out you still fell behind and says he’s expecting something to happen, and the episode half ends.