I continued receiving gifts, round after round. By now, I had finished quite a few, but since my physical fatigue was restored every time I moved between parallel worlds, I only had to contend with mental weariness—and even that was no problem at all.
In fact, receiving gifts didn't exactly expend much energy. Most of the time was spent in pleasant conversation, which hardly felt like work. I honestly felt as though I could keep going until the very end without needing a single break.
"Tre."
Ah, Tre-san was next. I wondered what her gift would be; knowing her, perhaps a Magic Crystal? As I mused on the possibilities, Tre-san arrived, escorted by Ein-san. She wore a look of utter confidence—a classic Doyaaa Face—which meant she was likely about to say something like, "It's finally the turn you’ve been waiting for."
"Heh, sorry to keep you waitin', Kaito! At long last, the turn you’ve been waiting for has arrived—it's time for your big sister!"
"That was exactly the line I expected," I replied.
"W-What... You read me?! Kh, your skills have improved, Kaito... but don't think you'll have it so easy next time!"
It was fun how easily she was provoked. She always provided the exact reaction I was looking for, which I sincerely appreciated.
"Well, once again... Happy birthday, Kaito!"
"Thank you very much."
"By the way, what number are you on now?"
"Oh, you know about the parallel world system?"
"Yeah. We were all notified beforehand. They explained that you’d be receiving gifts at this timing and that there would be an Integration of Parallel Worlds afterward where our memories would merge. We were briefed so we wouldn't be confused when the memories hit."
"I suppose that makes sense. If the worlds are going to merge at the end, not knowing would be chaotic."
It seemed the participants had been informed beforehand about the gift-giving process utilizing parallel worlds. Given the sheer volume of guests, receiving gifts from everyone directly would have taken an eternity. Since the method itself was so supernatural, I didn't think anyone would complain.
"Let's see, right now... I'm at the thirty-second person."
"Oh, you've already made quite a bit of progress. Are you sure you're okay? Not getting tired?"
"Not at all. My physical energy is replenished, and mentally, I'm just chatting while receiving presents. It's actually quite enjoyable."
"Hee... you’re tough. I know a lot of people from our side are here, but there are plenty of others, too. If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, there are about five hundred people, right?"
"That sounds about right. Almost everyone from Kuro's Family and Lilia-san's household is here, along with people I greeted at events like the Harmonic Symphony Tea Party. It adds up."
It definitely hadn't reached a thousand. I suspected the guest list was limited to those I had exchanged at least a word with. If it weren't, it wouldn't be strange for the entire God race to show up. However, even a single word seemed to make someone a candidate; honestly, there were a few people whose names didn't come to mind—people I had greeted in passing but hadn't actually formally introduced myself to.
"And you’re going to receive gifts from every single one of them? Isn't that exhausting? Even assuming things go perfectly, if you spend just one minute on each of the five hundred people, that’s eight hours. If you average ten minutes for some small talk, you're looking at eighty hours."
"Well, everyone came here to celebrate me, so I’m actually happy I get to see them all personally. It's not like I'm doing something monotonous. Compared to walking for a hundred years through a void where the scenery never changes, this is nothing..."
"Listen, it's a little hard for me to respond when you compare it to a soul-crushing torture like that. You're a strong kid, Kaito. Big sister is impressed."
I wasn't sure if the final count was exactly five hundred, but even if it were... Sure, I might get tired if I talked to each person for an hour, but for light conversation and a gift exchange, the fatigue factor was basically zero.
"Anyway, we got sidetracked! Here it is—the gift you've been waiting for!"
"Thank you. It’s a fairly large box."
"Heh heh. It’s a desktop bookshelf! The middle section slides out to adjust the size. Isn't it neat?"
I had half-expected something related to magic tools, but this choice was actually quite thoughtful. I had been thinking lately that it would be nice to have a small bookshelf for my desk. I could store things in a Magic Box, but for books I was currently reading, it was much better to have them right there on the desk rather than pulling them out of storage every single time.
"I'm surprised. You gave me something unexpectedly practical and exactly what I needed."
"That’s a weird way to put it. It sounds like you were expecting me to bring something for a laugh."
"...Well, I did consider the possibility."
"I'll admit, I was torn between this and a hyper-realistic Rainbow Frog pen holder."
"I’m really glad you went with this one. Anyway, thank you again."
"Don't worry about it! Besides, that's how it is, right? In otherworld culture, you're supposed to return the favor threefold! I'm looking forwa—wait, I don't actually need three bookshelves."
"Haha, it doesn't quite work like that... But if you want a return gift, I'll need to know when your birthday is, Tre-san."
"...When was it again?"
"What?"
"Well, when you live as long as I have... and the Demon Realm doesn't really celebrate birthdays... But I want a gift, so I'll think of one!"
I watched her give me a firm thumbs-up. I swallowed the urge to point out that a birthday isn't something you just "think of" and settled for a wry smile.
Serious-senpai: "It’s easy to forget, but Kaito... he really does have demon-tier mental resilience. It's been said he's the strongest in the series when it comes to that."
???: "I mean, for a man who can walk for a hundred years in a place with no scenery and call it 'surprisingly fast,' receiving gifts from five hundred people isn't exactly a heavy mental burden."