Ch.265Side Story: The Crate Family

“Did you pick up a new hobby, sis?”

“What new hobby?”

“Piling up gifts. Even if your family has money to burn, what are you planning to do with all this later?”

In front of us, or more precisely in the backyard of the Crate family mansion, there stood a mountain of gifts without any exaggeration. It was nearly as tall as the four-story mansion, which says it all.

They were all presents sent to celebrate Diana’s birthday. I’d noticed things piling up gradually over the past ten days, but today, the day before her birthday, they had accumulated into a veritable mountain.

“…My dear brother. I can’t guarantee what might happen if you don’t stop teasing your heavenly sister right this instant.”

Diana’s expression soured as she realized I was teasing her. Seeing her face, Trisha laughed even louder than I did. A hearty “Ha-ha-ha!” echoed through the air.

Diana’s glare shifted from me to her, but as always, Trisha didn’t care in the slightest. She even muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I’m jealous. I wish I could receive this much on my birthday too.”

But her expression was far from envious. She was clearly just saying it to tease her sister, who was overwhelmed by the mountain of gifts. Diana wasn’t one to miss such intentions.

“Are you saying you don’t receive this much?”

“Of course not. Do I run a trading company? Do I spend all day locked in my room writing letters to maintain connections? How many gifts would someone like that receive?”

“Hmm, I see…”

A meaningful smile appeared on Diana’s face. It was the smile she typically wore when she’d thought of a way to mess with Trisha.

“Then how about a little bet?”

“A bet? What kind of bet?”

“Whether there are more gifts from connections I’ve personally cultivated, or from elsewhere. The latter would be more likely to remember your birthday too, right?”

“Sis, that’s—”

“Shh.”

As I tried to say something, knowing roughly where these gifts came from, my lips were sealed. Diana put her index finger to my lips and winked. This was clearly a bet with a predetermined outcome.

“I don’t mind. But first, let’s clearly define what counts as your connections.”

But Trisha didn’t know that. I found it absurd that someone who ran the empire’s largest casino would participate in a doomed gamble.

“That’s a given. I don’t cheat. I’ll win fair and square.”

“Oh, really? What are the stakes? Surely you’re not planning to end it with just a congratulatory message if you win?”

“If you win, I’ll call you ‘sister’ all day long. From midnight to 11:59 PM, on a day of your choosing. If I win… well, I don’t need anything. It’s obvious I’m going to win anyway.”

Trisha looked utterly dumbfounded at that arrogant statement. Even with her easygoing personality, she couldn’t let such blatant disrespect slide.

From my perspective, knowing the truth, it seemed like Diana’s last shred of conscience. Trisha burst out:

“If I lose, I’ll kneel on all fours for a whole week!”

“That person over there, that’s your second sister, right? Why is she like that?”

Rosaria commented, looking at Trisha who was kneeling with her hands up in the mansion’s backyard.

“She lost a bet.”

“What kind of bet?”

“Just something.”

Of course, Trisha never had a chance of winning.

After the entire mansion’s maid staff sorted through the gifts, it was determined that items from people connected to me were more numerous, and Diana faithfully kept her word about not demanding anything if she won.

Trisha also faithfully kept her promise to kneel on all fours. Diana, finding it ridiculous to do such a thing on her birthday, banished her to the backyard, away from people’s eyes.

And I had just arrived at the backyard. It’s not open to outsiders, but I’m not exactly an outsider.

“B-brother?! You, you—”

Trisha, who had been glumly kneeling, jumped up in surprise when she saw me. Her lips froze and stammered when she saw the women standing on either side of me.

“Shh. Don’t make too much noise. I came through the backyard specifically to enter quietly, so what happens if you make a scene?”

“Uh… uhh…?”

Leaving behind Trisha, whose face had turned deathly pale, I headed inside the banquet hall building with my companions. Befitting the obscenely wealthy Crate family, an entire building served as their banquet hall.

“Which floor is sis on right now… I think I heard she was on the third floor.”

“Do you hold such grand birthday parties every year?”

Elysier asked with an expression slightly overwhelmed by the scale of the banquet hall.

“Not quite this big. Maybe half this size? This year they decided to go bigger because the number of gifts skyrocketed.”

“…Their way of thinking is truly different from ours.”

People standing in the corridor parted like the Red Sea as soon as they saw the three walking ahead. Even though anyone invited here would have some level of influence, it was nothing compared to those three.

No matter how influential they might be, they couldn’t compare to these three.

“Thank you for coming to celebrate the young lady’s birthday.”

Beatrice, who had rushed over after hearing the news, bowed respectfully. It was appropriate for the head servant herself to greet them, not just any maid.

“How should I address you, Your Highness the Crown Princess? Should I treat you as the young master’s friend? Or—”

“I would like to be treated as Mira’s friend.”

“Ah, me too. Just as Mira’s friend is fine.”

“Me as well.”

“…Understood. I hope you enjoy your time, young master’s friends.”

Beatrice gestured with a softer posture and tone. The doors opened, and the three entered the banquet hall with dignity.

That alone was enough to draw everyone’s attention. The lively atmosphere instantly quieted down. Dozens of people suddenly fell silent.

“Crown Princess… Your Highness?”

Anyone would react that way if the Crown Princess, the Saint, and the Hero all showed up at once. Moreover, the daughter of Duke Agnes was standing a little distance away, right next to me.

Diana, who had been conversing with someone else, hurriedly approached us even though her conversation didn’t seem to be finished. Her conversation partner even pushed her back, urging her to go quickly.

I slipped to the side with Elysier, Latina, and Priscilla. It shouldn’t look like I brought these three people. It should appear as if they came to celebrate of their own accord.

Which was actually the case.

“I would like to—”

“Let’s dispense with the unnecessary formalities. Seeing how we quietly entered without prior notice, don’t you understand? I don’t see why we should stand on ceremony with each other.”

“…Pardon?”

Diana, who had been wracking her brain to recall the proper formalities, visibly faltered.

For Laura, it was half annoyance and half sincerity. There was no reason for her to endure such things, and the probability was high that they would eventually have a relationship where such formalities were unnecessary.

“My goodness… When did we become that close…”

“How surprising. Then the Crate family has already…”

It was obvious how those words would be interpreted by the attendees. Whispers gradually began to spread. Diana’s face trembled at this unexpected favor.

“Th-thank you… Your Highness…”

“Think nothing of it. Greetings are done.”

“Y-yes…”

Diana awkwardly approached Rosaria, trying somehow to change the atmosphere. Rosaria smiled sweetly.

“Th-then, Saint…”

“I too would prefer if you addressed me comfortably. After all, it is our relationship, is it not?”

Diana’s already trembling face turned even paler.

Following the Crown Princess, now even the Saint had made such a bombshell statement. The question “What relationship do we have?” must have risen to the tip of her tongue.

“Would it be wrong for me to ask to be treated casually too?”

“After what they just did, I think it would be fine?”

After hearing such things from the Crown Princess and the Saint, a duke’s daughter was relatively manageable. Priscilla smiled brightly.

“Okay, then I’ll do it later too.”

While another bomb was being scheduled without anyone knowing, Diana—who had just achieved the feat of being allowed to address both the Crown Princess and the Saint casually—faced Leona with a noticeably haggard appearance.

Leona took Diana’s hands with a determined face.

“C-can I address you casually too, sister?”

“…”

Ah, if my little sister had seen that expression, she would have teased her mercilessly.

“The way people were looking was no joke.”

After the Crown Princess, the Saint, and the Hero had each given their greetings, interest in Diana’s birthday celebration had amplified tremendously.

It was somewhat ironic that her own wishes hadn’t been reflected in this fact.

“I merely told your sister to address me comfortably.”

“I just said to treat me casually.”

“M-me too…”

The three brazenly claimed they had done nothing wrong. Thanks to them, only Priscilla, who had been able to talk to Diana without much surprise, was grinning beside them.

“But it’s better to lay the groundwork early than to barge in later and shock everyone, right?”

In truth, they really hadn’t done anything wrong, just as she said. Sooner or later, they would have to become close anyway.

Nodding, I looked at the two goddesses happily munching on cookies beside us. Both had changed their appearances to avoid being associated with us. The Evil Goddess returned my gaze with a curt response.

“What is it, human?”

“If you’re going to pretend to be gruff, might I suggest wiping the cookie crumbs from the corner of your mouth first?”

“Ugh…! I-I knew that!”

The Evil Goddess hastily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I heard from Beatrice. Apparently, you two consumed 26kg of cookies.”

“…”

“…”

Even with a normal appetite, one couldn’t eat that much. The Heavenly Goddess awkwardly apologized.

“S-sorry, human. We’ll try to show some restraint tomorrow and the day after.”

“No, please eat as much as you like. We can always buy more. What I wanted to say was something else…”

I looked down intently at the Evil Goddess. She furtively avoided my gaze. I pinched both her cheeks and returned them to normal. The Evil Goddess flailed her arms and legs.

“Why would you play such a prank after eating so well?”

“Ow, oww! Let go!”

In the middle of it all, the Evil Goddess nearly caused the banquet hall to flip upside down by calling me “daddy.”

Fortunately, it was passed off as a joke since the two goddesses’ appearances were too mature for me to be their father. I didn’t want to think about what might have happened otherwise.

“Answer me, Evil Goddess.”

“I-I was asked to do it…”

“Not going to say who asked you?”

“Y-you know who…”