The gifts from my lovers had all been presented, but the party was far from over. With so many guests still in attendance, the stream of presents showed no sign of stopping.
Technically, once the hidden talent show wrapped up, I was scheduled to dive into what I’d dubbed the "Infinite Present Receiving Arc using Parallel Worlds." For now, though, I had to keep accepting them during the lulls in the program.
"Quakle Grandireas."
Wait, Grandireas-san was next? I looked around, puzzled. I couldn't see her anywhere. No matter how expansive this Great Hall was, a dragon of her scale would be impossible to miss—and even harder to fit through the door.
I wondered if I was supposed to go to her instead. But then, I saw Ein-san approaching, leading a small, androgynous, strikingly beautiful child toward me.
"Hey there... Kaito... Happy birthday..."
"...Huh? Um, wait. Could you be Grandireas-san?"
"That's me..."
Grandireas-san offered an airy, relaxed smile. Standing at roughly one hundred and thirty centimeters, they were even smaller than Kuro or Alice. With bright brown hair styled in a naturally curly bob, they looked like a precious young boy... or perhaps a girl. Their gender was ambiguous, but they had clearly taken the form of a child.
"U-Um, what’s with that appearance?"
"Ah... is this the first time... I've shown you...? Magnawell-sama... asked Shaltier-sama... to make this special split body for me..."
"Oh, so it’s the same type of avatar Magnawell-san uses. But you look so young. I never would have imagined this based on your dragon form."
Their speech was still a bit drawn-out, but nowhere near as agonizingly slow as it was when they were a dragon. It made them much easier to understand. I suspected that the incredibly slow cadence from before was likely due to the physical limitations of their massive body or vocal cords.
"Mhm... when I was asked... what I wanted to look like... I said I wanted to be small... This is the result..."
"You specifically asked to be small?"
"Yes... I'm usually so big... I wanted to see what it felt like to be tiny... The view is so fresh... and exciting... I didn't care about anything else... I’m the youngest of the Four Great Magic Dragons... so maybe that’s why I look so youthful...?"
"I see."
So Grandireas-san was the "baby" of the Four Great Magic Dragons. Granted, they were probably ancient by human standards, but their airy tone and diminutive appearance certainly seemed to fit the part.
"Anyway... here is your birthday present... I wasn't sure what to get... so I brought a gemstone from my back... Well, from my Hell Ground Dragon form's back... Apparently... demons trade these for high prices..."
"Thank you so much. The color is beautiful—so warm and clear."
The stone they handed me looked like an exquisite piece of amber. I had no doubt it was valuable, though I lacked the expertise to appraise jewelry myself. I’d have to ask someone about it later.
"...Grandireas-san, if you don't mind me asking a blunt question... which gender are you?"
"My gender...? I am both... and neither..."
"Excuse me?"
"Hell Ground Dragons... are few in number... so we possess both male and female traits... I suppose you could say we are both... or that we adjust which role we play based on our mate... though I am far too large... to breed with my own kind... As for this split body... let me see..."
The explanation made sense once I heard it. Hermaphroditism was a logical survival strategy for a species with low population density. However, as they tried to explain the gender of their current avatar, Grandireas-san tilted their head in confusion.
"...How do humankind... tell the difference...?"
"E-Eh... that’s... a little difficult for me to explain, to be honest..."
"Is it...? Then... you check for me, Kaito..."
"N-No! That is definitely even more out of the question!"
"Hnnn...? Well then... I suppose I don't really know what this body is... I'll have to ask Magnawell-sama later..."
"Y-Yeah. That’s probably for the best..."
Whether I was looking at a beautiful boy or girl, trying to "confirm" the gender of a child-like, androgynous stranger was a line I wasn't about to cross. Grandireas-san looked at me with a puzzled expression, but they seemed to accept my refusal.
When I considered that they were originally a dragon and that humanization magic was normally impossible for them due to their size, it was only natural that they’d be unfamiliar with human anatomy.
Serious-senpai: "Come to think of it, we were missing an androgynous boy trope... Chris is more of a cross-dressing beauty, so that doesn't quite count..."