Ch.268Side Story: Birthday Banquet – 3

“Let me make this clear in advance, don’t even dream about offering yourself as a gift. Birthdays are for celebrations, not for such nonsense.”

“What a shame. It seems quite a few people were planning exactly that.”

“A gift… hmm, considering Mira’s household can probably bathe in money, something expensive isn’t necessary…”

“Your scale is too small for a hero, child. Not bathing in money, but building mountains with it. Prepare something with heart rather than just expense.”

“You’re rubbing your lower abdomen while saying ‘prepare something with heart.’ That’s clearly insane.”

“I can’t think of anything. Should I go ask the Royal Guard seniors and the others…?”

“I doubt the Royal Guard would know anything. They’re all women. Wouldn’t it be cleaner if you just came up with something yourself?”

“…I could just say that I’m the gift. Stingy Laura.”

“Finally, time to repay the human! Nova, what would you like to do?”

“Hmph. Why should I care about a human’s birthday? Though I suppose giving something wouldn’t be terrible, lest they become sad about receiving nothing.”

The club room was bustling for a while. Outlandish suggestions were calmly proposed and rejected, and all sorts of ideas appeared and disappeared as differences in opinion couldn’t be reconciled.

Leona and Latina suggested they could be naked, embracing each other, tied up with ribbons on the bed, but were rejected with comments that they should do that without Mira if that’s what they wanted.

Erestica proposed wrapping up a positive pregnancy test, only to face a barrage of criticism starting with how a dragon would even use such a thing.

Laura offered the position of consort to the next emperor as a birthday gift and was promptly scolded, while Elishiere, who had been sitting quietly beside her, was swept up in the criticism for having a perverted expression.

Karna and Priscilla were struggling to come up with suitable ideas. Meanwhile, Rosaria seemed to have thought of something good, making an “Ah!” sound, but shrank back when met with expectant gazes.

The Heavenly God was diligently scribbling something on the floor, saying this was a chance to repay all the meals she’d received. The Demon God, who initially grumbled about why she should bother with such things, ended up contemplating even more deeply than her sister.

“By the way, what will Nika do?”

Elishiere’s sudden question silenced the commotion. Indeed, there was a member missing compared to usual—Nika, who hadn’t shown herself even once since Mira gave her the demon sword and made her a Demon King.

“Before we worry, she should show herself first. What has that woman been doing to remain so completely silent? Even Mira doesn’t know, correct?”

The Succubus Queen, Nika, was a succubus who constantly clung to Mira demanding spiritual energy, saying succubi have poor fuel efficiency and need regular replenishment.

It was surprising that she hadn’t appeared for so long, especially since Mira said he didn’t know her whereabouts either. They weren’t secretly meeting somewhere. The seven years when Mira was gone was an extremely exceptional case, so that didn’t count.

“You seem to know something, Lady Erestica.”

At Leona’s words, Erestica smiled lightly.

“I do know. She told me before she left. I can tell you if you promise to keep it a secret from Mira. What do you say?”

Sounds of agreement came from all around. Anyway, Mira had been banished to Earth for the time being, told not to set foot in this world. There was no risk unless someone deliberately contacted him first.

With everyone’s agreement, Erestica spoke. She explained that Nika, having ascended to the position of Demon King, was fighting to permanently end the conflict between humans and demons. It meant she was trying to conquer all demons.

When she had contacted Erestica a few days ago, she had completed just over half of her goal.

“Why this sudden conquest of the demon realm?”

“She said there must have been such a meaning behind being given the demon sword.”

“No matter how I think about it, that doesn’t seem to be the meaning…”

Priscilla muttered quietly. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Anyway, if you’re curious, you can ask her directly. Hey, Demon God? Where might the demon sword be right now?”

“Don’t use me for such purposes!”

The Demon God shouted and grumbled, but closed her eyes as if concentrating, then opened a dimensional gate somewhere. Through the clockwise-moving oval, the desolate landscape of the demon realm appeared.

Nika was at its center.

“…This is the first time she’s looked so befitting of a Demon King, isn’t it?”

Someone murmured. It was Elishiere’s voice, and no one denied it.

There was no trace of her usual demeanor, either as the brown-haired maid Yustera or the occasionally seen sweet and affectionate Succubus Queen.

Her pink hair, soaked in demon blood and stained red in places, fluttered brilliantly behind her back. Sharp horns had grown on her head, long enough to remind one of Elishiere in her Demon King days.

Her pink pupils, fixed in a sharp gaze straight ahead, were filled with killing intent, and her lips were firmly pressed together. It was hard to believe this was the same gentle Nika they knew.

The wings that used to flutter small on her back had grown large enough to easily cover a human and flapped through her coat, while the demon sword in her hand swirled with an ominously deep red color.

The current Nika was literally a Demon King—the instinctive fear of all humans and the ruler of all demons.

“…”

Sensing something strange, Nika’s head slowly turned. Her pink pupils looked in their direction.

“Ah! It’s been a while, everyone!”

Then she smiled brightly and waved her hand enthusiastically.

“It’s Nika.”

“It’s Nika.”

“It’s Nika.”

That appearance was unmistakably Nika, though her hair remained red from being covered in blood. Nika approached the dimensional gate, grinning and looking around the club room.

“What brings you here? Is Master with you? Were you looking for me?”

“No, Mira isn’t here. But yes, we were looking for you.”

“I see… *sniff* I’m sorry, Master. I should have told you I was being sought… No, wait. I shouldn’t. It’s a secret, I need to surprise you.”

Nika’s spirits had dampened at hearing Mira wasn’t there, but she brightened again, saying she shouldn’t have told him anyway. It was an impressive emotional shift.

“If Master isn’t here, what can I do for you?”

“Mira’s birthday is coming up soon. You should prepare a gift too. Birthdays shouldn’t just be passed over.”

“Oh, really?! Thank you! That was close!”

Nika approached the dimensional gate with an excited face. Her tail shot straight up, forming a heart shape.

“Hmm, but I’m still a bit short of being able to give a gift…”

Her excitement subsided again. She seemed to mean that she hadn’t conquered enough of the demon realm to present it as a gift yet.

“You can take a break for a little while, can’t you?”

“I could. But if I meet Master, he’ll surely ask what I’ve been doing, and I can’t lie to him. I wanted to surprise him…”

Her tail, which had been standing straight up, drooped down.

“Ah, I’ve thought of a good idea!”

But not long after, she said she’d thought of a good solution and began swaying from side to side. Her emotions were very easy to read.

Time passed, and eventually the day of reckoning arrived. My birthday.

Though I couldn’t cross over to that world during this time, I had been receiving regular updates. Putting it all together, “day of reckoning” seemed an appropriate term.

I’d heard that Nika, who had been in the demon realm, was running around trying to choose a birthday gift, and I’d also been informed about the outline of the banquet prepared by the Crate family.

Of course, most details were vaguely glossed over with statements like “save it for the joy later,” so I hadn’t really received any concrete information. They all ended with hints that revealed just enough to tease.

That made me even more anxious. If just the outline was this much, how massive would the main event be?

“…Are you sure it’s okay for me to go? Really okay?”

Beside me, Kang Yuna was trembling, though for different reasons than mine. Despite having received confirmation that she could come, she’d been like this since the day before departure.

“Yes, it is. You remember the precautions I told you? Take off your shoes before crossing the dimensional gate, raise your hands and shout ‘Entrance!’ loudly, then jump through. You must follow these steps or something terrible could happen. You might end up drifting eternally between dimensions, feeling the pain of being slowly decomposed at the atomic level.”

“R-really?”

“No. That was a lie.”

“…”

A fist flew at me silently. Beside us, Kang Rahye was chuckling. Teasing her had helped calm my nerves a bit too.

I’d told my family I needed to be away for about a week on an overseas business trip. It wasn’t a lie since the guild master of the Eternal Guild had personally stamped the approval when told my Earth sister was coming.

Though “overseas” was a bit of an understatement, I was indeed going to another country, in a manner of speaking.

“Let’s go in now. Both of you.”

Kang Rahye pushed our backs. Yuna glared at me briefly before crossing the dimensional gate with a tense expression, and I followed. Yuna froze in place as soon as she crossed.

“…”

And I froze just the same.

In the distance, a huge placard was floating by itself in the sky above the imperial capital. The placard alone looked big enough to match an apartment building.

On it, in an elegant font, was written a congratulatory message for Mira Crate’s birthday, along with all sorts of other content. I felt dizzy already.

Below it was even worse—a hologram of me standing proudly on two feet. In one hand I held Eternity, in the other a holy spear, and at my waist was the Dragon Fang Sword.

The placard and hologram must be magical, which meant not only the Magician’s Association but also the Emperor who permitted such a thing to be displayed in the imperial capital must be involved. I felt faint.

“…”

Kang Rahye also looked surprised. Even for the Sword Saint who had been through thick and thin, seeing such a thing floating in the sky of the imperial capital must have been a first.

“Wow, does this world celebrate birthdays like festivals? Amazing.”

“…I’d prefer it to be a funeral rather than a festival.”

At least then I, the subject, wouldn’t have to see this spectacle.