Lilia, who had been led into the special dimension by Alice, felt as though her consciousness might slip away at any moment. Faced with the Gods of World Creation—Shallow Vernal, Machina, and Canaris—alongside pinnacle entities like Kuromueina, Alice, and Fate, the mere prospect of joining their circle caused a violent physical reaction to assail her in the form of an agonizing stomach ache.
Lilia was not the only one suffering under the weight of the atmosphere; Ryze, Chris, and Laguna had also been summoned, and their expressions clearly telegraphed the same desperate sentiment: "How did it come to this?"
"Everyone is here. Then, let us resume," Shallow Vernal announced.
"No, wait, Shiro. If you just jump back into it, Lilia-san and the others won't be able to keep up, right?" Kuromueina interjected, pausing to explain the situation to the newcomers. "I'm sure you've heard that this is a discussion regarding Kaito-kun's Birthday. We summoned you to help coordinate with the Human Realm, but more than anything, birthday celebrations are a core part of human culture. We're counting on your expertise in that area."
"...Now that you mention it, the demons don't really do that sort of thing, do they?" one of the humans noted.
"Right," Kuro continued. "Many demons belong to long-lived races. We don't really have a culture of celebrating anniversaries. There are plenty who don't even remember their own birthdays or ages. But humankind holds parties for the birthdays of royalty and the like all the time."
"I-I see, I understand. I don't know how much help we can be, but we will do our absolute best," Lilia replied, her voice trembling slightly.
"Thank you. Oh, and for the duration of this meeting, we’ve established a contract that ensures everyone participating can speak as equals. Normally, you probably couldn't speak to Shiro so carelessly, but for this occasion, it’s perfectly fine to even complain about Shiro's opinions. It won't have any repercussions later, so please rest easy."
The four humans shared a look that defied description. They understood the logic, but being told they had the right to argue with Shallow Vernal and actually having the courage to do so were two very different things. Shaking their heads "yes" seemed like an impossible feat.
Still, they couldn't exactly say that to the gods who were showing them such immense consideration. They remained rooted to the spot, mentally paralyzed.
In that moment, Canaris glanced toward Lilia's group and spoke up. "Kuromueina-san, I understand the logic, but isn't that practically impossible? Someone like myself can voice an opinion to Shallow Vernal quite calmly, but for Lilia-san and the others, the pressure must be crushing. So, I have a proposal... Why don't we split into teams?"
"Split into teams?"
"Yes. Of course, the representatives from the Human Realm are used to parties, and I'm sure they'll draft an excellent plan. But if we leave it all to them, it might be stable but lack novelty. Tahaa~ I mean, to put it in a highly multifaceted way, sometimes fresh ideas born from a total lack of familiarity are exactly what's needed."
Canaris spoke in a bright voice, her expression remaining as unmoving as ever. Thanks to Nebula's guidance, she had sensed the psychological weight crushing Lilia's group and had devised a way to alleviate it.
"So, let's split into two teams to create draft plans. One side will be the Four from the Human Realm, with Alice-san acting as their representative who can summarize their vast knowledge. The other team will consist of myself, Shallow Vernal, Machina-san, Kuromueina-san, and Fate-san. We'll each make a rough draft of a plan, then compare and adjust them."
"Ah, I see. A discussion format," Alice said. "If I act as the spokesperson for our team, I'll be the one addressing Shallow Vernal-sama directly. That makes it much easier for Lilia-san and the others to speak their minds comfortably."
"Exactly. Tahaa~ My apologies for a newcomer like me suddenly starting to take charge!"
To Lilia and the others, that proposal was a literal salvation. If Alice was the one summarizing and presenting their ideas, the pressure was significantly reduced.
Consulting while comparing two separate drafts was a much more manageable format, and the members other than the Four from the Human Realm seemed to have no objections.
"Well then, since there aren't any objections, let's go with Canaris-san's plan," Kuro agreed. "Lilia-san, you all gather over here. Everyone else, gather around Shallow Vernal-sama. For now, let's aim for about thirty minutes to sketch out a general flow. Even if we aren't finished, we'll present what we have once the time is up and discuss it from there."
With the strategy decided, the teams split up as Canaris had proposed, and the consultation for Kaito's Birthday Plan truly began.
Serious-senpai: "As expected of a sane god who received guidance from an Absolute One..."
???: "Well, we'll leave the discussion there for now. As for what kind of plan they came up with, you'll have to wait until Kaito-san's actual birthday to find out. Next time, we'll move on to the date with Olivia-san and Kaori-san."