While we were playing an online game together, I’d realized once again that Aoi-chan’s birthday was coming up. Since the timing was right, I’d been thinking about doing something to celebrate.
Aoi-chan herself seemed to favor the idea of extending her seventeenth year, but since it was a birthday nonetheless, I still wanted to do something for her.
"…That’s what I was thinking, anyway. What do you think?"
"That sounds great! A surprise party! I’m sure Aoi-senpai would love that."
And so, I decided to consult Hina-chan about Aoi-chan's birthday celebration. Hina-chan was clearly enthusiastic about the idea, and we agreed to make our preparations in secret.
Aoi-chan was actually out at the moment attending a lecture on golem-related magic at the academy, which made it the perfect time to hatch our plot.
"…Though, how big of a celebration are we talking? If you really set your mind to it, Kaito-senpai, I bet you could make it something incredibly grand…"
"Hmm, that would be nice, too, but… if I make it too flashy, Aoi-chan would probably just end up feeling overwhelmed. Besides, if she’s planning on ignoring this birthday anyway to stay seventeen a bit longer, maybe we don’t need a massive, formal party."
"Ah, yeah, that whole situation is a little tricky. My own birthday is December 23rd, but with the timing of when we were summoned here… it feels like my birthday got pushed back by about six months. I think I get what she means about the time difference between worlds."
Hina-chan had a point. If I set my mind to it, I could certainly host a proper birthday party. I could handle the arrangements myself, or I could just mention it to Lilia-san; she’d likely be more than happy to get everything ready for us.
However, since Aoi-chan intended to treat this birthday as something to skip over, I thought a simple celebration with just me and Hina-chan would be for the best.
"…For now, I think it’s fine if just the two of us prepare something. Nothing flashy—we’ll just get a cake and some presents…"
"You’re right. A small celebration in your room might be the perfect way to do it, Kaito-senpai."
"Oh, what about Seigi-kun?"
"Hmm, it takes a fair amount of time to get here from the city where Seigi is. And since he’s technically a noble and a lord now, wouldn't it be a nightmare for him to clear his schedule on such short notice? I mean, I know he’d drop everything to come if you asked, but…"
"That’s true, it might be a lot to ask of him… I only intend for this to be a light celebration, so maybe we should stick to just the two of us this time."
"Right! If we start calling Seigi, or inviting Lilia-san and Luna-san, it’ll end up turning into a medium-scale event before we know it. Let’s keep it to just us!"
Since we had decided on a modest celebration, and since Hina-chan was right about how quickly the guest list could spiral out of control, we settled on keeping the circle small.
"In that case, should we go buy the cake and everything now? We could do it tonight."
"I'm all for it! Let's go find the most delicious cake in town!!"
"Was Aoi-chan coming back in the evening?"
"She said around 5:00 PM."
"Then we don’t have that much time. Let’s get moving."
"Understood!"
Hina-chan gave me a boisterous salute in response, which I couldn't help but smile at. After making a few quick preparations to head out, we both set off into town to hunt for a cake and some presents.
Serious-senpai: "…And meanwhile, Kaito has completely forgotten that his own birthday is right around the corner…"