Luna-san, who had been chosen as the grand finale of the gift-giving, approached me with a look of utter despair and sorrow. Usually, Lilia-san was the one to draw the short straw in these situations, but she had already finished her turn quite early this time.
Granted, Lilia-san’s position in the order had been rather intense in its own right... but it was rare to see Luna-san in such a state.
"...Between the last time and now, Miyama-sama, do you intend to humiliate me at every single one of your birthday celebrations?"
"No, I don't think I was really involved in that karaoke incident last time... and this was just a coincidence too..."
Now that I thought about it, she had sung "Koigokoro Lovely Vampire" at the karaoke contest, hadn't she? I recalled her being overcome with shame while singing that bubbly, sugary idol song.
When I looked at it that way, I couldn't exactly deny that she seemed to suffer through an ordeal every time my birthday came around... though this was only the second time.
Regarding the karaoke contest, it was true that I was the one who kept her advancing despite her protests. However, that was because another pair had become a sort of strategic weapon—producing a mountain of victims through their singing—so her embarrassment had been a necessary sacrifice to protect the other guests. As for today, it truly was just luck.
"...Can you really, truly say it was a coincidence?"
"Huh? I mean, yeah. It was a Garapon lottery, after all..."
"Yes, I certainly don't believe Miyama-sama planned to make me the final act from the very beginning. However, I’m sure that at some point, you must have realized that among the people you see every day, I was the only one who hadn't appeared yet."
"I did notice that. I realized that even though almost everyone from my house and Lilia-san's mansion was done, you still hadn't come up..."
It was true. Among those I had known for a long time, there had been a moment where I realized Luna-san was the only one I hadn't drawn yet.
But that was just a normal observation; it shouldn't have had any effect...
"...And didn't you think to yourself then, 'It might be funny if Luna-san was the last one,' or 'I bet she’s going to end up being the finale'? Didn't you have thoughts like that?"
"............"
I totally had. I definitely remembered thinking something along the lines of, "Wait, is Luna-san actually going to be the very last one?" as the event reached its final stages.
If someone were to tell me that my idle thoughts had been bolstered by my various layers of Luck Correction, effectively pulling the result of "Luna-san as the grand finale" into reality... I had to admit that it seemed plausible.
"W-Well, I'm sure it was just a coincidence."
"You did think it! You definitely thought it, didn't you!?"
"...Luna-san, there's no end to searching for causes, and we’ll never know the truth anyway, so let’s just leave it at that."
"Urgh... It’s true I have no hard evidence..."
Listening to Luna-san, I began to suspect that my thoughts might have been the cause after all... though I couldn't be sure. Luna-san seemed to realize her words were nothing more than speculation as well. She let out a frustrated sigh, seemingly unable to complain further.
"...Haaah. Honestly, I didn't prepare a gift grand enough to serve as the finale. I just bought this at a general store I frequent..."
"It's not like the gift has to be something incredible just because it's the last one."
After that exchange, Luna-san pulled a slender box from her Magic Box and held it out to me.
"...Um... Happy birthday."
"Thank you. This is... marshmallows?"
A portion of the box was transparent, revealing the contents. Inside were cute marshmallows shaped like various animals, such as cats and bears.
"They are marshmallows for tea and coffee. They aren't overly sweet, so you can put them in cocoa too."
"Oh, so these are a thing... Do they melt slowly to add sweetness?"
"Yes. They float on the surface, so they are quite pleasant to look at..."
Luna-san spoke with a hint of bashfulness. It was a very charming gift—one that exuded high feminine power.
The idea of drinking coffee or cocoa with cute marshmallows floating in it felt very stylish. Since Aria-san had just given me some cocoa earlier, this would be the perfect time to try them together.
"They look adorable. I’m looking forward to trying them. Thank you."
"Well, I’m glad you like them... but having presented such a gift while everyone was watching, I feel like I might collapse from the sheer embarrassment. I finally understand how Milady feels. Honestly, Miyama-sama, your fetish for hurting a lady's stomach is quite the problem."
Despite her words, Luna-san’s smile was soft. Even as she complained, her voice carried a certain gentleness.
Serious-senpai: "...Wait, wasn't there supposed to be a break after this? But look, Kaito doesn't even seem tired, so maybe we should just keep going... L-Look, there’s no need to take a break and be alone with a lover..."