Birthday Party (1)
When I arrived at the training grounds with Pearl, everyone greeted me with warm smiles.
I thought, as usual, that it would just be a family gathering—but among the crowd were my brothers, Belle, Lord Eric, Mr. Gandarl, and even Nikki—none of whom should’ve been here.
“Eh!? Why!?”
(It’s a surprise.)
Apparently, Pearl was in on it too. I was the only one kept in the dark.
“Alright, now that the birthday girl’s here, everyone got their glasses? Ready? Then—Joan, happy birthday! Cheers!”
“““““““““Happy birthday!!”””””””””
“Thank you, everyone!”
“Happy birthday, my lovely Joan.”
“Happy birthday, Joan.”
“Thank you, Father, Mother. How do I look?”
I spun around on the spot to show off the dress I’d been given as a present.
“Oh, it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, really beautiful. And such a lovely Joan will be dancing with me later, right?”
“Eh? Dancing?”
“Oh my, Joan, you’ve been taking lessons at the academy, haven’t you? You’ll be fine, right?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Happy birthday, Joan.”
“Thank you, Grandfather, Grandmother. And thank you for the present—it’s really easy to wear.”
Their gift was the pair of heels I had on. Lighter than normal ones, and very comfortable to walk in.
“Joan, next time I’ll teach you how to fight even while wearing a dress and heels.”
“Yes…”
… There are situations where I’d have to fight in a dress? That’s terrifying.
“”Happy birthday, Jo.””
“Happy birthday, Joan.”
“Thank you, Brother Noel, Brother Gene, Lord Eric. When did you all get back?”
“Just now. Couldn’t miss our cute little sister’s birthday.”
Their gifts were a lantern, a sword, and a book.
“The lantern’s from me. It’s a magic tool that helps you sleep better when you leave it on at night.”
“Thank you, Brother Noel. I’ll treasure it.”
“The sword’s from me. It’s one you can use once you enter the knight course in spring. Same model I’ve been using all along. If it doesn’t feel right, just replace it.”
“Thank you, Brother Gene. I’ll put it to good use.”
“And last one’s from me. Looks like a book, but it’s actually a notebook. The knight course surprisingly has a lot of written lessons, so I figured you might find it useful.”
“Thank you, Lord Eric. I’ll use it well.”
“Happy birthday, Big Sister.”
“Happy birthday, Big Sister.”
“Thank you, Hu, Ly..”
The twins handed me a beautiful glass bottle filled with liquid.
“I did the mixing, and Ly made the bottle.”
“It’s perfume.”
Their skills are: Hugo—Alchemy, Aqua, Body Enhancement; Lyla—Crafting, Dry, Stealth.
“Thank you, both of you. I love it.” Hug
Psh! I tried it right away. A sweet, fruity scent wafted up.
“Now Big Sister will be super popular.”
“Eh!?”
… I didn’t understand what Lyla meant.
“Because you never get a boyfriend, Sister.”
“That’s right. Adventure’s fine and all, but you’re already fourteen. You look like a perfect lady, though~”
“The looks part… uh, sorry.”
“This perfume will fix that.”
“It’s made with Dora’s leaves, flowers, fruit, and Aqua water.”
“Dora’s leaves—wait, what!?!”
Mandrakes are used in aphrodisiacs… I need to search that later. I hate to say it, but these eight-year-olds are way too advanced.
“You okay, Joan?”
“… Ah, Belle. Thank you for today. You really surprised me.”
“Hehe, happy birthday. Here, a present from Cathy and me. We picked it out together.”
“Thank you. Can I open it?”
Inside was a gorgeous hair ornament, like a kanzashi.
“Wow, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“It’s pretty amazing, actually. See here? You can hide poison inside it. Cathy-chan and I had matching ones made.”
“P… poison…?”
“Yeah. Cathy said you never know what might happen once she debuts in high society, so we chose this.”
Poison in social circles… scary!!
“Happy birthday, Joan.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Big Sister Julie, Big Brother Gil.”
“This one’s from us.”
Their gift was a pair of bangles.
“These have recognition inhibition and eavesdropping prevention functions. Turn the gem on the bangle—right for concealment, left for anti-eavesdrop, and press it for both.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll take good care of them.”
“Oh? You’re wearing perfume?”
“Eh? Ah, yes, Hugo and Lyla made it… apparently with mandrake leaves…”
““What!?””
“Amazing! Fuu-chan!! I need to ask for the recipe and have your brother file it with the Commercial Guild immediately—”
“Hey, Julie…”
…Seriously? They’re more worried about that than about me wearing mandrake perfume!?
“Huh? Where’s Father?”
“Oh, he went to see Hugo.”
“I see. Happy birthday, Joan. This is from Brother and me.”
“Thank you, Vee.”
From Brother Aran and Vee, I received earrings set with pale blue stones.
“Wait, these stones are…”
“Yeah. Same kind of magic stone as the pendant we gave you on your tenth birthday. No enchantments this time, though.”
“Thank you. I’ll treasure them.”
“Good. You can thank me later—with a dance.”
“W-What!? How did you know about that…?”
“Ahaha! Your uncle told everyone we’d be dancing later.”
“Seriously…?”
“Well, I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Father… please… spare me.
Just as I slumped in defeat, Nikki and Mr. Gandarl came over.
“Happy birthday, Joan-chan.”
“Congrats, young miss.”
“Thank you, Nikki, Mr. Gandarl.”
“Here, this one’s from me. The ones in the bag are underwear.”
From Nikki—clothes and underwear.
“Thank you. But is it okay for you to be here? Isn’t Lily due any day now?”
Nikki, who works at the Adventurers’ Guild, had married receptionist Lily, who’s about to give birth. They met when Nikki—who’s actually male but cross-dresses—needed measurements for lingerie production, panicked, confessed everything to Lily, and she helped measure him. One thing led to another, and they ended up married.
“Yeah, I thought so too, but she insisted I come.”
“Thank you. I’ll bring some cake later for you to give her.”
“This one’s from me, young miss.”
From Mr. Gandarl, I received a beautifully painted small sculpture—two pegasi, one fenrir, one carbuncle, and one mandrake. In other words, finely crafted figures of my contracted beasts.
“Wow, they’re adorable! Thank you, Mr. Gandarl. I’ll put them on display.”
“Heh, thanks to you, I got to reunite with my brother and ended up in General. Glad I came.”
After that, I got gifts from my private guards and the servants too, and we all ate until we were stuffed and laughed together.
All that was left was to take a bath and dive into bed…
—or so I thought.
What do you think about this chapter?
