After the break concluded and I returned to the venue, Alice spoke from the live commentary booth.
"All right then, we have a bit of time before the next event, so please feel free to enjoy some conversation until then!"
Those specific words... I had heard about this from Shiro-san in advance. Using Alice’s announcement as a temporal anchor, she was going to utilize parallel worlds to allow me to receive all my birthday presents.
To be precise, once I spun the lottery drum and received a gift from whoever came up, I would be moved to a parallel world. From my perspective, it would feel like looping back to the exact moment Alice spoke. If I spun the lottery again, the person I had already received a gift from in the previous world would be excluded, and the machine would draw someone new. This cycle would continue, with Alice’s current line serving as the reset point.
Well, it didn't really matter for this first go-around, so I decided to just get on with the drawing.
"Epsilon."
The name that came up was Epsilon-san, and she approached me a few moments later.
"Happy birthday, Kaito Miyama-sama. It is but a humble token, but I have prepared a gift for you."
"Thank you very much."
I took the package from her. It was wrapped elegantly, so the contents remained a mystery, but based on the weight and size, I suspected it might be a tea bowl or something similar. Just as I was about to thank her, she held out another item—a package wrapped in a traditional karakusa pattern.
"This is something I was asked to deliver by someone who was unable to attend the party today."
"Oh? Thank you for going to the trouble... but who is it from?"
Virtually everyone I knew had been invited to this event. That included everyone whose face or name I recognized, even those I had only briefly introduced myself to. If the person wasn't here, it meant they were someone I hadn't met yet. I wondered why someone I didn't know would go to such lengths to prepare a gift for me.
"It is from my housemate. To put it simply, she is like a wife to me. We aren't officially married, but that is the role she holds in my life."
That took me by surprise. I hadn't realized Epsilon-san had a partner. While marriage between women was a matter of personal choice and something I saw no issue with, the way she spoke made it clear how much she cared for this person. Since she specified they weren't officially wed, I assumed it was something like a common-law marriage. Regardless, her affection for her housemate was unmistakable.
"Her name is Tendouin Miyabe. She is actually a former Otherworlder who once served as a Hero-role."
"What? Really? Wait... former?"
I was shocked to hear about another Otherworlder from a past summoning living here as a migrant. But something felt off. When I had asked Alice about migrants before, she hadn't mentioned anyone named Miyabe.
"Yes, Miyabe was a Hero-role from quite a long time ago. Normally, her human lifespan would have run its course by now, but I performed a Race Reincarnation to turn her into a Demon. She lives on now as one of my kind."
"I see... I'm amazed that such a person exists."
"I probably should have introduced her sooner, but there were certain complications. Because I was still inexperienced when I performed the Race Reincarnation, Miyabe lost her memories from before the Hero Summoning. She had almost no recollection of her time as an Otherworlder."
Epsilon-san’s explanation clarified why Alice had skipped over her. If she had lost her memories of Earth and her race had changed to a Demon, it made sense that her situation was too complex to include in a simple list of Otherworlders. Since the woman herself had no sense of being from another world, she had been excluded from the count.
"However, she recently had the chance to receive the grace of the Earth God. Since Miyabe regained her memories of the Otherworld, she has taken an interest in the other people from Earth, including you, Kaito Miyama-sama. She insisted on sending this along... These are pickles that Miyabe made herself. I may be biased, but I personally find the flavor to be exquisite."
"Thank you. Please tell Miyabe-san how much I appreciate it."
"I will. And if the opportunity arises, I would like to introduce her to you properly."
"Yes, I'd like that."
Seeing Epsilon-san’s gentle smile, I could sense the deep love she held for Miyabe. Honestly, it felt far more intense than whatever feelings she harbored for Ozma-san... Well, setting that aside, it was a fascinating story. I was genuinely glad to hear about another person from my home world. If we ever met, I would be sure to give her my thanks in person.
Serious-senpai: "Miyabe and Epsilon are always flirting, after all... They're people I'm quite bad at dealing with."