Before the party officially kicked off, Caraway provided the guests with a brief rundown of the arrangements. Since I was the host, most of the dishes were from my home world—specifically, Japanese cuisine. To be honest, a lot of it wasn't exactly suited for a standing buffet.
Because of that, we had set up tables in one area of the venue so people could sit down to eat and chat if they preferred.
The invitations had already mentioned this, but Caraway reiterated that I would be making my rounds to greet everyone individually, so guests were asked not to crowd around me. After the announcements for the entertainment schedule were finished, it was finally time for my opening address.
"I’d like to thank everyone for attending this party on such short notice, especially since it was a bit of a sudden whim of mine."
Prompted by Caraway, I stepped onto the stage and spoke through an amplification magic tool. Since almost everyone there was an acquaintance, I felt relatively at ease, but addressing a crowd this size still made me nervous.
The speech itself was something I had written and then had Anima and Illness-san polish, so I figured I would be fine as long as I didn't trip over my words.
"...On that note, I hope you all enjoy yourselves for as long as time permits today. That concludes my brief greeting. To mark the start of the festivities, we will begin with a toast."
A toast isn't always a requirement, but since I was the one organizing things... well, the whole plan was based on my own mental image of a buffet party, so a toast at the beginning felt right.
"As for the signal for the toast... at her own insistent request, I’ve asked Shiro-san, the God of the World, to do the honors. Shiro-san, if you please."
That’s right—it actually wasn't me giving the signal. I had originally intended to do it myself, but Shiro-san had been eager, so I decided to step aside. I could guess her motivation from what she had said to Kuro earlier: "Kuro provided the ship for the venue, but I’m helping Kaito-san with the toast, so we're even."
Kuro's response had stayed with me because of how perfectly sensible it was: "...I mean, regardless of being even or not... we aren't even competing..."
Still, no one was going to complain about Shiro-san leading the toast, so in a way, it was the perfect choice.
Following my lead, Shiro-san stepped up onto the stage and raised her glass slightly.
"Cheers."
"Wait, hold on! Too fast!"
True to her usual clueless nature, she had given the signal with zero preamble before the guests even had a chance to pick up their glasses. The terrifying part was that if I hadn't said anything, her behavior wouldn't just be considered "fine"—it wouldn't have been out of the question for people to claim that those who failed to react in time were guilty of lèse-majesté.
I had anticipated she might pull something like this, so I knew I had to be the one to smooth things over.
"...My apologies. Everyone, please take your glasses in hand. Once you're ready, we'll follow Shiro-san's lead for the toast."
I managed to reset the mood, and with everyone’s glasses raised, the party finally began as Shiro-san spoke again.
From there, everyone was free to spend their time however they liked... but my immediate concern was Shiro-san, who showed absolutely no intention of leaving the stage.
"...Shiro-san? The toast is over, you know."
"Yes. But Kaito-san, you were going to greet me first, weren't you? That makes me the very first... number one."
"Uh, yeah, that's right."
"Then is there any reason we cannot simply stay together from now on?"
"...Well... it’s not exactly against the rules... All right, why don't we head over to where Chronoa-san and the others are for now?"
"Understood."
I followed her logic. She seemed strangely fixated on being "first," but I decided not to let it bother me. I couldn't exactly stand on the stage chatting with her forever, so I headed toward the area where the three Supreme Gods had gathered.
"By the way, Kaito-san."
"Yes?"
"What number am I in your greeting order?"
"Huh? Like I said, you're the first."
"Hmm. So, if we were to put it in a sequence, I would be...?"
"...Number one."
"I see. Yes, I see."
Shiro-san nodded with a look of immense satisfaction. I just hoped she wasn't planning on using this to gloat to Kuro later. I really didn't want to deal with a fight breaking out...
Serious-senpai: "Well, certainly, the only ones who can actually complain to Shiro in this venue are Kuro or Kaito... Can Machina barely make it too?"
Machina: "Position-wise I can, but I don't want to. I have a bit of a trauma regarding Shallow Vernal... I don't want to do anything confrontational unless it involves my beloved child. It's scary."
Serious-senpai: "...Even though you were fighting for a super stupid reason during the housewarming party... Well, I guess that was because of Kaito though..."