Everyone, Today Is My Birthday
Everyone. Today is my birthday.
“A little disappointing, Miss Lene.”
Those were the first words I heard after revealing that today was my birthday.
I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed. I’m screwed…!
Today was Bora’s birthday. I was the one invited to her birthday party. The main character of the day had to be Bora. Yet I had carelessly blurted out that it was my birthday too…!
What was I supposed to do now? The mood had naturally grown cold, and it was obvious I would be resented from now on….
“If you had told us in advance, we could have prepared some of your favorite dishes, Miss Lene.”
Exactly….
“…Pardon?”
Startled, I lifted my gaze. Bora’s mother was cupping her left cheek with one hand, lips pursed in a pout. She looked genuinely upset.
“We only prepared Bora’s favorite foods today. Since it’s your birthday too, Miss Lene, I’m sure you would have liked to eat your favorite side dishes….”
“Ah, um… well…. T-today is Bora’s birthday, so preparing the foods that Bora likes… since this is Bora’s birthday party, Bora should be the main character… otherwise Bora might feel disappointed….”
“Pardon?”
My head was spinning so badly the words wouldn’t come out right. How was I supposed to explain this? One thing was certain: I was a tactless idiot who had announced my own birthday when I had no right to receive congratulations here.
Even though her mother had spoken that way, from Bora’s perspective she was bound to be angry….
“Bora, sweetheart. If we had prepared Lene’s favorite foods today, would you have felt disappointed?”
“Huh? Why would I?”
Exactly….
“Lene and I have the same birthday, so I’m actually super happy about it?”
“You heard her, right?”
Bora’s mother continued as if to say I should stop worrying over nothing.
“You have no idea how much Bora adores you, Miss Lene.”
“Yeah! I’m going to marry Lene later!”
“…As her parents, hearing that does make us feel a bit complicated.”
Bora’s father also smiled gently, as if to say it was fine.
“But… I don’t want to cause you any trouble….”
“Oh come now. How could we possibly say something like that? We’re always grateful to you, Miss Lene. My husband already told you earlier, didn’t he? If there’s anything we can do to help, we’ll do it. I feel the same way. Preparing a few extra dishes is nothing compared to everything you usually do for us.”
What on earth had I done to deserve them speaking to me like this? If anything, I was the one always receiving help from Bora, her mother, and her father.
“We were both working, so we were always worried about Bora being home alone. Thanks to you, Miss Lene, we’ve been able to relax so much. It might be shameless of me to say this, but please keep playing with Bora from now on too.”
“Huh? I’m the one who plays with Lene, though?”
“Sweetie. This is the part where you honestly say thank you.”
“…Thank you always, sis.”
“You don’t have to worry about being polite. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to tell us.”
Bora quietly took my right hand. The warmth of her small hand was so gentle that tears threatened to spill for no reason at all.
“Thank… you….”
“We’re the ones who should be thanking you. …Ah. And I suppose I should say this too, right?”
“Yes…?”
“Happy birthday, Miss Lene.”
“Happy birthday, sis!”
Today I was invited for the first time to the house of the little sister who lives upstairs—the one I’ve mentioned several times on stream.
It felt strange to be the one being welcomed instead of the one doing the welcoming.
To be honest, she didn’t tell me why she was inviting me, so I worried unnecessarily… but it turned out today was that little sister’s birthday.
I was incredibly surprised. I never imagined we would share the same birthday.
So I accidentally let it slip that it was my birthday too. At first I thought I had made a mistake. She’s still a child, so of course she would want to be the main character on her birthday… and from her parents’ perspective, it’s a truly precious day. They would want to focus entirely on their daughter… What if the guest they invited ruined the mood by saying something like that…?
That’s what I was thinking.
But everyone congratulated me. I almost cried. I barely held it in.
It’s been so long since I had such a happy birthday. No. This might be the first time ever.
So… could I ask all of you—my dear viewers—to congratulate me too?
Everyone. Today is my birthday.
I loved the languid, hazy feeling of waking up.
The sensation of floating between dream and reality. That feeling of my body gently drifting let me forget all the hard things that had happened.
So even after my eyes opened, I would roll around in bed on purpose.
“Lene! Get up right now! Do you know what time it is!”
And then the familiar roar of the Pope grandpa would ring out. Lately heretics barely even appeared, so why was he always telling me to wake up so early? I had already finished my morning prayers while lying down.
All sorts of complaints bubbled up inside me, but I didn’t want to watch an elder who was much older than me throwing a fit right in front of me. So I curled up and pulled the blanket over myself. If I then peeked just my face out, the old man would clearly know I was awake.
“I’m up…”
“…I’m coming in!”
“Yesss…”
At my answer, the wooden door burst open with a bang as the Pope grandpa entered. Seeing me, he clutched his forehead with his right hand.
“…Didn’t you say you were up?”
“I-I am up…”
“You know that’s not what I meant by now, don’t you? …You did pray, right?”
I quietly nodded at his question. Of course I had done it while rolling around in bed, but I wasn’t so tactless as to say that out loud.
“…Sigh.”
For some reason the old man let out a heavy sigh at my answer. Strange. Normally he would leave after this, so why was he still in my room?
“Lene.”
And then the old man strode straight toward me.
“Eep?!”
I instantly pulled the blanket all the way over my head, blocking my vision completely. What was it? What was going on? Did I do something wrong? Had he found out I prayed while lying in bed? But the one receiving the prayer didn’t say anything, so it should be fine, right?! Still, what if he used this as an excuse to kick me out? Would I have to offer that guy as a sacrifice…?
“Birth… No, I suppose I don’t have the right to say such things to you. I’ll tell the other children in advance, so rest well today.”
“…Ugh.”
When I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling. It had been a while since I dreamed of that other world. I wonder if the Pope grandpa is doing well. He was one of the few people there who would actually talk to me. Well, I can’t imagine him ever getting sick or anything like that.
…Speaking of the dream, what was the Pope grandpa trying to say? There had been a few times when he seemed like he wanted to tell me something but stopped. Honestly, it annoyed me every single time. There are two ways to make someone angry. The first is to start saying something and then stop.
“Hwaaaam…”
While having those pointless thoughts, I stretched and got out of bed. Truthfully I wanted to lie down for another thirty minutes, but the clock pointing at eleven forced me to give up. If I slept any later I would truly become a hopeless person. Someone as diligent and hardworking as me could never allow that to be said about them.
“Mmm…”
After a simple shower, I sat down in front of the computer as always. …Habits really are scary. I didn’t even have anything specific to do, yet I sat at the computer like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Hmm…”
Today Bora was going on a family trip to celebrate her birthday, so I had the entire day to myself. Bora’s mother had invited me to come along, but I politely declined, of course. It wasn’t a matter of tact—if I went with them there was a one hundred percent chance I would die….
Anyway, it had been a long time since I was given time just for myself. Since I posted about my birthday in the Lene gallery yesterday, I should check the gallery first….
Ding!
The moment I thought that, a notification sound from MissCode rang out. The sender was… the illustrator I had exchanged IDs with just in case. It was Miss Tada Shumi.