“Ha ha, you’re alive. I’m still not used to this operation, you see. Hmm, so you enter it like that.”
“Right, you just have to use the characters you’ll log in with. And….”
While assisting with the input, Shirud suddenly noticed something while entering the resident registration number.
“What’s this, Luke? Your birthday is coming soon, isn’t it? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t think it was necessary.”
“Still, it’s your birthday. Aren’t you having a party?”
Shirud said with excitement.
However, the birthday boy himself seemed rather uninterested.
To begin with, a birthday is a day when a Mage’s skills and luck reach their peak, so he had only planned to research or meditate at home.
Well, his 10th birthday 5,000 years ago was quite grand, but back then, everyone was in tough and difficult situations, using any excuse to hold an event; it wasn’t a strict obligation among the nobles to throw a feast just because it was a birthday.
“I’m not having one. I’m just planning to stay home.”
“But still, it’s your 10th birthday!”
Indeed, turning 10 is special among birthdays. The number 10 symbolizes ‘completeness,’ and it is also the age when one enters the Academy, a fact that hasn’t changed even after 5,000 years.
Luke had skipped a year and was currently in second grade, but technically, he should still be in first grade.
In the past, turning 10 meant being treated as a semi-adult, but that expectation could probably not be relied upon in this era.
“Well, still, you know. My place is small and my finances are tight, so I don’t really have the means to hold a party.”
After all, a feast requires some abundance.
Yerna has been trying to save money as she prepares to move, and the house where Luke currently stayed with Yerna is far too small to host a party.
Thus, even if they wanted to hold a party, they couldn’t.
But Shirud, seeming to wave away the worries, patted his chest and said, “What are you worried about? We can rent a place, and I can help you save money!”
“Hmm… Really?”
“Of course! I have quite a bit of allowance saved up! We should party!”
“Hmm….”
It’s not that he particularly disliked parties.
Who among people doesn’t enjoy seeing others gather and have fun?
To be honest, if he could hold a party, he would want to.
It might not be possible to throw a party of the scale he did 5,000 years ago, but he thought that now, he could genuinely enjoy it.
Moreover, he figured that Pyris and Diana would likely enjoy it as well.
Seeing Luke’s expression brighten, Shirud excitedly continued, “So you should go home and discuss it with your mom…”
Suddenly, he stopped.
He had just remembered that Luke didn’t have a ‘mom.’
“Um, sorry. That elf wasn’t your mom, was she?”
“It’s fine. Yerna is now my mother.”
“…Huh?”
Luke responded as he looked at the questioning Shirud.
“You heard, didn’t you? Yerna is now officially my parent. So you didn’t make a mistake at all.”
Shirud stared blankly for a moment, then smiled brightly and congratulated him.
“Wow, wow! Congratulations! Then we should celebrate your birthday even more! Right? It’s a new beginning!”
‘New beginning’ wasn’t wrong.
It was the first birthday he was celebrating with open eyes in this era.
And certainly, after hearing Shirud’s story, it felt too precious to spend it only on meditation and research.
“Hmm, I guess so?”
“Absolutely!”
——
The next day, Luke expressed his gratitude to Mary.
“Thanks, Mary. Just by saying it the way you showed me, I was immediately forgiven.”
Mary replied confidently.
“Well, of course.”
In fact, Luke received not only the advice on how to look up at others when talking to them but also coaching on the general content to include in his apology from Mary.
Is it true that a child’s heart is better understood by another child?
What Mary said about, ‘talking before making the formal apology’ was quite accurate.
Just reciting those words seemed to soothe Shirud’s anger instantly.
Of course, Shirud did not dislike him. In fact, he liked him very much.
It was a clear truth that he liked him ‘in a different way,’ as a friend or a disciple, so it wasn’t a lie.
Yet, who would have thought that just saying those few words could diffuse the anger so quickly?
It seemed that children accept the fact that someone likes them more significantly than one would expect.
Luke watched Mary with admiration.
“By the way, how did you know why Shirud was angry? That intuition of yours is truly impressive.”
“Not knowing that is strange! You should watch some dramas regularly!”
Mary said rather curtly to Luke.
“Hmm… I’ll think about it. Got any recommendations?”
“Really? Then start with ‘Afternoon of Berryche!’ It’s really fun!”
Honestly, she genuinely suggested watching dramas as it would mean more topics to discuss with Luke, which could only be good!
Mary excitedly began reciting the titles of the dramas she enjoyed.
Now that they were planning to buy a TV soon, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if he had the time to watch them too.
To study the times, culture, and humanity, after all.
As they were chatting, before long, Shirud, who had come to school, approached and greeted them warmly.
“Hey, good morning, Luke.”
It was quite rare.
Shirud usually didn’t initiate greetings.
Luke thought this was a sign that Shirud had grown closer to him, so he smiled and waved back.
“Yeah, good morning, Shirud.”
“Luke, did you talk to your mom?”
“Yerna is on board. She said she’d do everything she can to help. But the venue is….”
“Guess that’s how it is?”
Mary felt a bit of jealousy as she saw Luke and Shirud continuing their conversation about topics she knew nothing about.
Luke had just been talking to her about dramas, and it felt like she’d lost him for the moment.
While she had helped them become ‘a little’ closer, wasn’t it too sudden?
It was odd.
How could Luke have apologized in such a way that they grew so close?
She couldn’t understand it at all.
“What exactly are you two talking about? What’s so interesting?”
Mary interjected, sounding a bit displeased, and Shirud replied with a questioning tone.
“Oh, Mary. Didn’t Luke mention anything to you?”
“What? What didn’t he tell me? What’s the story?”
“Luke, his birthday is next weekend. We were talking about how to have a party.”
“What? Is that true?”
Upon hearing this for the first time, Mary gasped in surprise and looked at Luke.
“Then it’s your 10th birthday party! That’s so cool! Why didn’t you tell me!”
Luke smiled awkwardly at her slightly accusatory tone.
“Well, ha ha. I was planning on talking once something was more settled.”
“What do you need to settle?”
“I still haven’t decided on a location. You know, my house isn’t really suitable for a party.”
“Oh— I see.”
Mary quickly recalled Luke’s house, which she had been to just once, a home that was, in fact, an ‘apartment.’
Well, one couldn’t exactly have a raucous party in such a place.
At that moment, Mary suddenly thought of something.
“…Guys, if you need a venue, I can help!”
“Hmm? How?”
In response to Shirud’s question, Mary smiled mischievously as she replied.
“My house! I keep saying that I wish Luke would come over! Our place is quite spacious, so having a big party wouldn’t be a problem at all! We could invite the whole class!”
“What? Can that really work?”
“Yeah! If we can show everyone the view from my house, I’d love that! Then I’ll have to contact my parents.”
——-
“See you tomorrow, Luke! Let’s talk more then!”
“Yeah, have a good one.”
After talking about the birthday party all day long, time flew by quickly.
It was quite strange, how a day seemed long when he avoided talking to Luke, yet felt so short now.
Shirud had been feeling quite good since yesterday.
Luke had said he was ‘his favorite among boys.’
That was almost like a confession!
Thanks to that uplifting joy, Shirud was walking on air, only to suddenly realize that he had left his homework in the classroom.
Turning back quickly to gather his homework, he found Luke still standing by the school gate.
“Hey? Why haven’t you gone home yet? Are you waiting for someone?”
“Yeah, I need to see someone off. But why are you still here?”
“I left my homework back….”
“Oh dear, hurry and get it!”
“Okay!”
Once he retrieved his homework and emerged, he noticed Luke had vanished, seemingly having met the person he was waiting for.
Not thinking much of it, he was about to head home when he spotted a familiar figure in his peripheral vision.
‘Huh? Isn’t that Luke?’
However, something felt off.
A girl who looked like Luke was walking alongside someone who seemed very intimidating.
‘Who is that person?’
He couldn’t quite tell if it was an older brother or just some man, but the uniform he was wearing indicated he was surely a troublemaker.
Could it be that Luke was in some sort of danger right now?
But Luke was definitely stronger than he was….
Suddenly, Shirud recalled a time when Luke had struggled quite a bit in holding himself upright during summer vacation.
Thinking back, even then, his grip on Shirud’s wrist had felt weaker than usual.
Could it be that at this moment, Luke was unable to resist and was helpless?
“…!”
If that’s the case, this is serious!
If that’s it, he had to run over right now!
…But setting out directly to intervene felt a bit frightening.
Even if he was a Third Circle Mage, the vibe coming from that man felt somewhat alien.
Shirud immediately began to follow after them.
He thought he would need to report it to the police if he saw anything suspicious.
And if it truly, truly were dangerous….
Then I will step in.
