"Hey, hey, Kevin! Don't just stand there grinning like an idiot, get to the next step already!" Michael urged Kevin silently using his Sentience powers, while outwardly clapping along with everyone else, singing the birthday song.
"Ahahaha, I know, I know, but what is the next step again?" Kevin mentally replied, panicked.
"Ask yourself!!!" Michael groaned internally, utterly exasperated. He patted Elysia's hand, signaling the already eager girl to step forward and rescue both Kevin and Mei from the awkward situation.
"Oh my! Look everyone, Mei is so shy she's speechless! This is a rare opportunity, quick, take pictures!" Elysia, ever prepared, immediately whipped out her phone and snapped a photo. By the time the others reacted, Mei had already regained her composure, putting on a stern face and huffing coldly, "Elysia—"
"Mei, you're not really going to make us stand here and sing the birthday song five, ten times, are you? You wouldn't, right? You wouldn't be that cruel?"
"I..." Mei was already flustered. As pink petals drifted past her face, a warm breath gently lifted her hair, brushing against her earlobe. Simultaneously, a weight settled on her shoulder as Elysia suddenly materialized beside her. Mei's brain short-circuited again.
"I know what you're thinking, Mei," Elysia whispered, practically nibbling Mei's ear in front of everyone. "This kind of lavish celebration is indeed extravagant, in a way – not just in terms of resources, but also time. But it's necessary. On a larger scale, everyone understands the current situation; we need various ways to boost morale. Soldiers without morale can't fight. Captain Himeko taught us that back in the day."
"I'm not—"
"And of course," Elysia continued smoothly, cutting her off, "on a smaller scale, just for this birthday, just for you – isn't it necessary? Regardless of whether the final outcome is the world's destruction or its rebirth, I hope that when you, when Kevin, when everyone looks back on this journey, your minds won't only be filled with painful, oppressive losses, but also with many warm, happy, lighthearted memories. Mei, we shouldn't live just for the sake of 'surviving'."
Although whispered, with the enhanced hearing granted by the ICHOR factor, every word was clearly captured by everyone present.
Griseo looked around helplessly, seemingly confused as to why the previously cheerful atmosphere had suddenly plunged into dead silence.
Michael silently turned his head. Under Eden's surprised gaze, he snatched the wine bottle from Himeko's hand, poured himself a full glass, and downed it in one gulp.
"What's wrong?" Eden asked softly.
"Hm? Ely said you never drink."
"'Never' doesn't mean 'can't,' nor does it mean 'won't in the future.'" Michael retorted, pouring himself another glass. The now-empty bottle was promptly snatched back by the barely conscious Himeko.
"Ely..." Mei lowered her head, seeming to want to defend herself, but before she could speak, Elysia cut her off again: "Besides, Kevin prepared for this for a long time! And everyone has presented you with unique gifts! Want to guess what they are?"
"Hmph... hehe..." Mei finally broke into a genuine smile. Elysia seized the opportunity, winking at Kevin before dissolving into petals and drifting back to Michael's side, handing the hosting duties back to Kevin.
But for Kevin, this beautiful moment was also something he hadn't experienced in a long time, making him feel awkward and unsure how to proceed.
After all, during the previous three birthday celebrations, he had either stood silly on the 'stage' receiving congratulations or followed others' directions in presenting gifts and blessings.
Suddenly being expected to command the entire event, even though it was among familiar faces, even though he had planned the entire flow himself, even though he had rehearsed countless times alone last night and this morning... Right now, just saying a single sentence felt harder than killing a Herrscher.
"Ahem! Mei, you'll never guess what gifts everyone prepared for you. Let me think, how should I put this..."
"Oh, forget it! Seeing how clumsy you are, Kevin, maybe I should host after all!" Elysia somehow floated back again. Kevin was too nervous, his lips trembled twice, and he ultimately relinquished the hosting role back to Elysia.
"Hey now! Why is everyone looking so down? Don't be like that! If anyone keeps a straight face, I might just call them out to perform!"
As if hearing something terrifying, everyone – whether they had put on a stern face following the mood, genuinely thought of something sad, or had only felt sad for a moment but didn't dare speak up due to the sudden heavy atmosphere – cracked a smile, forced or genuine.
"Mm-hmm! That's more like a birthday party!" Elysia completely ignored the fact that her words had caused the temporary gloom. She hummed contentedly twice, held up her index finger towards the crowd, and asked with a gentle smile, "Alright then, next up is gift presentation time! Ladies and gentlemen, who wants to go first?"
The expressions on everyone's faces changed again. The budding warmth instantly dissipated, replaced by a chilling silence. Mei could even hear Pardofelis beside her muttering under her breath, "Don't call on me, Sister Ely, I've given you plenty of tributes usually, hahaha..."
Mei couldn't help but feel confused. What was going on? Why did everyone look so scared?
The others wore varying expressions, but mostly reluctance. There were a few confident ones, like Michael and Kevin. Sakura and Kalpas also seemed unfazed. Mei couldn't find a common thread among them.
If it were just Sakura and Kalpas, she might associate it with "cooking" or something similar. But setting Michael aside, based on her knowledge of Kevin, he should only know how to make noodles... although his noodles were delicious.
"Oh dear, oh dear! Everyone is so shy, no one's volunteering? What a pity... Just like when the teacher calls on students in class, since no one wants to raise their hand voluntarily, ehee, then Miss Pink Elf♪ will have to call on someone!
"No objections, right? Whoever gets called can't back out!"
Everyone nodded hastily. Since no one wanted to be the first victim of social death, leading to a stalemate, letting Elysia call on people was the only way forward.
"Alright then, first up, let's start with the only two here who have children! Little Griseo is exempt!"
"Ha... I knew it..." Ato shook his head helplessly. "Speaking of which, because that task was rather difficult, Blanka and I worked together on one dish. Plus, Griseo painted a picture for Mei. That should be okay, right?"
"Whoa! Ato, you cheated! Michael and I each prepared one dish!" Before Elysia could put her hands on her hips, Ato had already slipped into the kitchen, leaving Blanka to face Elysia with an awkward smile.
Mei still hadn't figured out what the "gifts" actually were.
Ato scurried into the kitchen, the wave of heat hitting him making him squint instinctively. On the table nearby sat the Divine Key, Judgment of Shamash, radiating warmth. Arranged around it were about ten covered plates – clearly, apart from a few desserts or dishes needing refrigeration, everyone else's "masterpieces" were here.
The honest Ato quickly located his dish based on memory. He picked it up, intending to leave, but paused suddenly. After a brief internal struggle of three or four seconds, he turned back again— Just pretend I forgot where my dish was and needed to look around, that seems understandable, right?
---||---
"Oh my, what is Ato doing in there! Bringing out a... er, it's taking him so long!" Elysia grumbled.
"Um... Griseo, maybe you can show everyone your painting first?" Blanka suggested.
"No, Daddy said my painting has the same theme as the dish you made, they have to be shown to Auntie Mei together..."
"Auntie... Mei..." Blanka pressed her hand to her forehead. She really wanted to know who taught her child to call Mei "Auntie Mei" and Mobius "Grandma Mobius."
Just then, Griseo looked up innocently towards Elysia: "Right, Sister Elysia?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Blanka, Mei, and Mobius all fell silent. Based on the principle of 'he who benefits most is the culprit,' it was blindingly obvious who had coached Griseo.
Michael silently turned his head away again, just in time to see Eden's elegant wine-drinking posture freeze mid-motion. She slowly lowered her glass, straightened her head, covered her mouth, and swallowed the mouthful of wine with considerable effort.
Kalpas kept snorting, but it definitely wasn't out of anger, because his shoulders were shaking too.
Sakura lowered her head, perhaps thinking of Rin calling her "Big Sis" and Ato "Uncle," sighing deeply for a moment. But just two or three seconds later, Michael saw her long fox ears twitching back and forth.
Dystopia, however, looked excitedly at Griseo. "What about me? What about me? Little Griseo, what are you going to call me?" She tightened her arm around Kosma's neck, her other hand unconsciously reaching up to touch the horns on his head. Kosma struggled briefly, then sighed resignedly, completely giving up resistance.
Griseo's eyes grew even more innocent. She made little "oh," "ah" sounds while glancing sideways at Elysia – further incriminating evidence against a certain someone.
Vill-V laughed so hard she slapped Mobius's shoulder repeatedly, nearly pounding the smaller woman into the floor. But Mobius clearly didn't care about that anymore. She ground her teeth and spat out that woman's name: "E—LY—SI—A—"
She was about to lunge forward recklessly, but thankfully, Ato returned just in time, interrupting the brewing chaos—
"Yo! I was just gone for a second to grab something, why does it look like you're all about to fight?" He announced loudly, puffing out his chest, holding a platter in one hand. He even tossed his head slightly, making his bangs flutter – a stark contrast to the awkwardness and lack of confidence he displayed before entering the kitchen.
"Ahem! Allow me to proudly present," he declared, "what I hold in my hand is the famous dish that Blanka and I created in just one morning, sharing the same name as the painting my daughter Griseo will soon present— Stargazy Pie!"
With extreme confidence, he reached out and lifted the hemispherical lid. The distinct salty, fishy smell of sea fish wafted out first.
Mei wrinkled her nose slightly. She roughly understood now; they really had each made a dish... However, if she remembered correctly, the famous dish Stargazy Pie was supposed to be a pie filled with ingredients, arranged, then sprinkled with cheese... Logically, it should be golden brown. But why was the one before her... purple, blue, yellow...?
Actually, looking closer, the two pairs of fish heads and tails did resemble four giant stars in the night sky. And the purple, blue, and yellow cheese swirled together did somewhat resemble that famous "Starry Night" painting.
"Oh, this," Ato explained proudly, "I thought since it's called Stargazy Pie, it had to look like a starry sky. The purple here is blueberry jam, the yellow is cheese, and the blue part is taro paste with a tiny bit of food coloring. Not bad, right?"
Okay, Ato did have reason to be proud. Although a distinct fishy and burnt smell emanated from it – evident from the still slightly bloody fish heads and the charred edges of the pie crust – at least visually, it passed.
"But... Ato," Elysia began, pulling at the corner of her mouth, "isn't the name Stargazy Pie supposed to come from the fish heads poking out, gazing up at the stars... Why did you make the pie itself look like the starry sky..."
Before her吐槽 could fully form, Ato gave an even prouder thumbs-up: "It's beautiful, right! Griseo made it look like that, so actually, Griseo had a hand in this dish too!"
Okay, fine! Griseo gets full marks. Ato and Blanka fail.
"Ahem!" Realizing he might have revealed too much, Ato coughed heavily twice, then asked with a mixture of hesitation and anticipation, "Mei... um, would you like to try it first?"
"Maybe let's not..." Kevin silently stepped in front of Mei. For the first time, he questioned his own decision – What was I thinking? All these dishes eventually have to be eaten!
But directly expressing disgust seemed inappropriate. So, he forced himself to say, "Well... one dish per person, it's better if everyone tries them together, right? There's no reason for Mei to try first. Let's quickly see the next person's creation, right, Uncle Ato?"
Seemingly thinking of something amusing, Ato didn't look discouraged. He quickly covered his mouth, placed the "Stargazy Pie" on the dining table, and returned to his spot. "Oh right, Griseo's painting has been given to Kevin..."
"Don't worry, I'll look at it later," Mei understood immediately. Griseo's artistic talent was self-taught, but the content of her paintings was often obscure and difficult to understand, certainly not something to elicit easy laughter.
During Michael's birthday last time, her painting radiated an overwhelming sense of oppression the moment it was unveiled. So, it was better left to be viewed alone.
"Oh my, oh my! Are you two done talking? If you are, then it's time for the next contestant! I can't wait to see everyone else's gifts!" Elysia clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes darting around, searching for the next "victim."
Her gaze swept over Dystopia, who quickly waved her hands dismissively. Then it moved to Kosma beside her. Although the boy met her gaze seemingly unfazed, his jaw muscles were visibly clenched from nervousness, bulging slightly and trembling faintly.
Seeing his nervous state, Elysia smiled slightly and announced, "Alright then, next up will be the old—" She deliberately dragged out the word. Kosma's trembling quickly escalated from barely perceptible to clearly visible.
Satisfied with this reaction, she finally revealed the verdict: "—the oldest among those remaining will present their creation!"
All eyes focused on three individuals – Mobius, Eden, and Himeko.
Himeko was immediately excluded. Although retired from combat duty, she was only in her early thirties, actually two years younger than Ato, despite having enlisted two years earlier.
As for Eden, an entire generation had practically grown up listening to her songs, but no one knew her exact age.
The same applied to Mobius. Mei remembered reading about Mobius's exploits in motivational stories in her elementary school textbooks...
Of course, if Aponia were present, she could have joined the age competition.
In an unnoticed corner, Kalpas snorted softly.
Elysia's eyes darted back and forth; her intention was blatantly obvious to everyone – wasn't she just trying to use this opportunity to figure out these two's ages? But this also aligned perfectly with everyone else's curiosity.
Even if they couldn't get the exact age, at least determining who was older... oh wait, no need for that.
Even Mobius in her prime couldn't compare to Eden in certain... assets.
Eden remained perfectly calm and composed, as usual, offering no further reaction.
"Tch!" After clicking her tongue, Mobius resignedly walked into the kitchen.
"Oh my, Grandma Mobius truly lives up to her name!" Elysia couldn't resist adding a final jab from behind.
Half a minute later, just like Ato before her, Mobius emerged holding a bowl of intensely green eel soup, her confidence practically bubbling over like the foam in the soup itself.
"Sigh..." Someone started it, and sighs rippled through the room. Making the dishes wasn't the issue; the terrifying part was that everyone had to eat them eventually!
At this thought, even the faces of Kevin, Michael, and Sakura, who were confident in their own creations, turned distinctly green. As for Kalpas, his mask hid his expression.
Michael suddenly turned his head towards Himeko, who was slumped over the table, muttering drunkenly— So she was the truly wise one. After all, getting drunk beforehand meant avoiding the torture of social death. And... also escaping the final "tasting" segment.
Michael's breathing grew heavy, not for any emotional reason, but because as more bizarre dishes were brought out, the small space filled with a cacophony of pungent odors. This combination was far worse than even the deadly mix of cheap perfume and body odor.
He began scanning the room, searching for the wine Himeko and Eden had brought, contemplating the possibility of getting himself drunk now to escape this ordeal.
But... listening to Himeko's repetitive mumbling, and seeing the single empty wine bottle on the table, a question suddenly occurred to him – Is she really drunk?