After picking up the gifts at Alice's General Store, the preparations for Aoi's birthday celebration were finally complete. We headed back home. The plan was to host the little party in my room after dinner.
With that in mind, Hina came straight to my room the moment we returned to scout out the location.
"I guess decorations are... probably overdoing it, right?"
"Yeah, decorations might be a bit much. I bought some candles, so I think that'll be enough."
"That's true. We decided to keep it simple with just the cake and presents, so that should be plenty."
"Well, for what it's worth, I can customize the lighting in this room quite a bit."
We had already decided to keep the celebration modest, so we weren't going to put up streamers or anything like that. However, the lighting in my room was surprisingly versatile, so I figured I could at least set a decent mood.
To test it out, I knocked on the wall in a specific rhythm. A panel slid open, revealing a magic tool used to control the room's lighting.
"...Kaito-senpai? Why did a panel just slide out of the wall? Is this room a secret base or something?"
"Honestly, I'd like to know exactly how many hidden features this room has myself. Every time I ask Alice, she just dodges the question with some nonsense. This is one of the few things she actually showed me. It's my room, but there are way too many functions I don't know about."
"I-I see?"
Hina looked bewildered, but to be honest, I was also largely in the dark regarding my room's hidden features. It seemed like there were even functions that connected to hidden rooms; my own living quarters were a complete mystery to me.
I had eventually managed to pry information out of Alice regarding the sliding panels for storage and magic tools. By knocking in a specific rhythm or cycling my magic power on and off a set number of times while touching the wall, I could activate certain features.
"Well, knowing Alice, I don't think she's installed anything I'd actually hate... Right?"
"Please, just look into these Transcendent Beautiful Girl Eyes of mine. Don't they look clear and innocent? I would never dream of doing anything wicked..."
"...I'll trust you for now, but if I get the feeling you've added some weird prank later, I'll have Canaris perform a full sweep."
"...Wait, bringing in a Serious God is foul play, isn't it?"
I trusted Alice, mostly, but I also knew she was the type to get carried away with a joke, so I made sure to give her a stern warning. If I really did ask Canaris, she could probably strip the room's secrets bare in an instant.
(I can do that too, you know? I can do that as well.)
...In that case, if it ever comes to that, I'll ask you, Shiro-san.
I felt a wave of—well, let's call it dissatisfaction. It was the same vibe I got from her when I relied on Eden during the situation with Fia-sensei. I sent a mental reply to Shiro-san, promising to let her handle it if the time ever came.
Anyway, we had gotten a bit sidetracked, but our brief planning session was over.
"...We still have some time before dinner. What should we do?"
"Oh! In that case, I want to play a game with you, Kaito-senpai!"
"A game?"
"Yeah! You played one with Aoi-senpai before, right? It's not fair that she's the only one. I want to play a game with you too!"
"Hmm..."
I didn't have any problem with that. It was easy enough to set up, and playing with Hina sounded fun. The only question was which game to choose.
Hina wasn't really into hardcore online games. She viewed gaming as a social activity—something to enjoy boisterously with friends and family. She was definitely looking for a party game.
"...How about a classic board game, then?"
"Sounds good! But you seem like you'd be really strong at those, Kaito-senpai."
"Well, I've asked Shiro-san to make sure her blessing doesn't affect these kinds of games. Besides, winning or losing isn't the point. Let's just relax and have fun."
"Okay!"
And so, until dinner, Hina and I played a game where you compete for total assets with the entirety of Japan as the board—a staple back in our original world.
Aoi joined us once she got home, and the three of us had a noisy, wonderful time... though in the end, I won by a landslide.
Bugged Luck Value: "Don't worry. I'm using my Room-reading Correction, so I'll make sure it's a close, exciting match while ensuring Master wins decisively in the end!"