Chapter 93 – Birthday Celebration

“Mmm…”

When I woke up and sat up, the petite Marlene was sleeping beside me, curled up perfectly against my side. Grace and Ashley seemed to have already gotten up. Well, they probably have various preparations to make.

They said they would rotate sleeping positions. Since Marlene has grown attached to both Grace and Ashley, she apparently doesn’t mind whether she sleeps on the outside or inside. I remember her happily smiling while the two of them discussed it.

Marlene has what you might call strawberry blonde hair. Her golden hair has just a slight reddish tint.

She has fair skin with a smooth, delicate texture… I think descriptions like “fairy-like” or “doll-like” suit this adorable girl perfectly.

Regarding Marlene, it seems King Melvin believes that regardless of procedural matters, she’d be safer with me than at the royal castle.

Right after that conversation, it was decided that she would accompany me under the pretext of being guarded at my home, with the hope that she would quickly get used to living outside the royal castle.

It might be partly because it’s a household of women, but apparently word has spread about how when Sheila and Irmhild were followed before, I immediately had them double-tracked and smashed the pursuers. King Melvin seems to view my home as superior to the royal castle in terms of counterintelligence and defensive capabilities.

I think even the royal castle has barriers, so I wonder about that assessment, but he just laughed and said, “With two Demon Slayers living there, no one would dare lay a hand on that house.”

Marlene turned over in her sleep, reaching for the spot where I had been sleeping as if searching for something. When I gently held her hand, her expression seemed to relax. I wonder what kind of dream she’s having.

Trying not to wake her, I gently used Circulating Ki to check her magical state. Her throat… there’s stagnation in the flow of ki. This must be because traces remain from being burned by poison. While Circulating Ki can improve her condition, since it’s been some time and the damage has settled in, complete recovery is difficult. Partly because she herself doesn’t wish for it.

As for her magical power—given that she comes from a lineage selected for their aptitude for the Nation Protecting Ceremony, she possesses considerable potential. Rosemary was quite impressive too, but…

Regarding Marlene, we know she originally had high aptitude as a Shrine Maiden. “Prayers,” the unique skill system usable by Shrine Maidens and Clerics… is characterized by having many unusual variants, ranging from blessings and curse removal to field element changes, including special or large-scale techniques.

However, she herself isn’t well-suited for direct combat. While she has powerful skills, they aren’t easily usable.

Therefore, for the safety of this girl who cannot speak, we need to consider other measures. In other words, I want her to be capable of some degree of self-defense even when we’re together.

When considering magical professions with aptitude conditions similar to Shrine Maidens, who excel at communicating with gods and spirits… that would be Summoners who employ different species or Monster Tamers.

This aspect was also evident in Rosemary’s fighting style, who also had aptitude for the Nation Protecting Ceremony. Magical Creature dolls, Dragon Fang Soldiers… given that the royal family requires a leadership role, this makes sense.

Anyway, it seems best to consider her self-defense methods starting from this point. The problem is that monsters in the Labyrinth cannot be tamed or contracted… but well, I have some ideas.

As I was pondering, Marlene slightly opened her eyes. She rubbed her eyes, still looking somewhat sleepy.

“Good morning, Marlene.”

When I greeted her, she sat up and smiled at me.

Now then. Considering today’s schedule and that people will be gathering, I should probably have her wear the Disguise Ring. After all, the procedures aren’t complete yet.

“Alright. Shall we go downstairs?”

Marlene, now as Marian, nodded slightly, so I took her hand and we left the bedroom to go downstairs.

Then—

“Happy birthday!”

“Congratulations, Theodore-sama!”

When we went downstairs, Grace and Ashley welcomed us with smiles while saying these things. Sheila and Irmhild were also applauding, and cheers rose to match.

“Congratulations, Theo-kun.”

Alfred, Rosetta, the Forestbird members, and receptionist Heather were there too. The house had become quite lively. Tables were set up in the garden too, with plans to arrange food there as well. They must have gotten up quite early to prepare.

“Mmm. Thank you.”

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I scratched my cheek.

My 11th birthday, huh.

Usually, only Grace and Father celebrate with me. Kathryn and the others… well, they went along with Father, but only as a formality.

So, having my birthday celebrated by so many people like this… is something I haven’t experienced much.

“Theo, would it be alright if we combine Marian-sama’s welcome party with this?”

“Yeah. That’s fine. Celebrations are better when they overlap.”

When I said this, Marian’s expression brightened.

“Then Marian-sama, please come this way. Let’s get ready.”

Ashley took Marian away for changing clothes and preparations.

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations, Theodore-kun.”

“Thank you, everyone.”

I was shown to the seat of honor, and Rosetta and the Forestbird members came to offer their congratulations.

“Henry said he’d try to make arrangements to come back, but who knows if that’ll work out. So he asked me to give this to you just in case.”

Rosetta handed me a letter. From Father, I suppose. He probably gave it to her before leaving Termwills.

Reading through it, it contained apologies for not being able to see me on my birthday.

When he came last time—maybe he had made prior arrangements to be able to visit for my birthday.

The fact that he intends to visit means he probably plans to come and go by Dragon Palanquin. Well, I imagine he’s busy with various things like handling the aftermath of the recent incident. I think he shouldn’t push himself too hard.

“Please enjoy chatting with everyone until lunchtime. I’ll be putting extra effort into today’s cooking.”

Grace said this and disappeared into the kitchen with Sheila.

“Is it alright if I invite a few more guests? Ophelia and Viola and… Talcott. And then a few from the Knight Order. For those who don’t know the location of your house, I thought I should get permission first.”

Alfred said this. Now that he mentions it, even for a surprise party, it’s only people who know where my house is.

Other Knight Order members would be Mercedes and Chester—and Knight Order Commander Mildred, I suppose.

“That’s fine.”

“Mmm. Then I’ll have the driver go pick them up.”

“Can I bring those two as well? They’ll perform their best.”

Irmhild said this. Siren Justia and Harpy Dominique, I assume.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

“Great. Then I’ll be off now.”

My, my. With the Princess, Prince, Knight Order Commander, and then the monster girls… I have a feeling this birthday party is becoming quite extravagant and diverse in terms of attendees.

“—How about the Labyrinth exploration?”

“This is going smoothly. We’ve progressed quite far up.”

Forestbird’s Lucian had his usual atmosphere.

They apparently also discussed how to handle it if a Guardian appears. When a Guardian appears, the number of monsters on that floor increases too. Their policy is to immediately use the Red Transfer Stone if anything seems suspicious.

“The Shield we had made at Brightwelt Workshop is working great. Normally it’s a small shield that’s easy to handle, but when needed, I can deploy a Magic Shield to make it a large one, right? This thing is incredibly strong. It’s even useful with my corrupted magical power.”

Robin showed us a practice swing of his shield bash in high spirits. It must be a trial shield. A specially made one with adjustments so even Vanguard professions with low magical power can use it efficiently.

“Please give your thanks and feedback to Alfred and Viola. They’ll both be happy.”

“Of course. But it was Theodore-kun who introduced us.”

Monica smiled.

As the cheerful trio of monster girls performed with their music and singing, I enjoyed the food while chatting with everyone. This has become quite a lively birthday.

“Theo.”

When my name was called, I turned around. Grace and Ashley were smiling and holding out a package.

“Theo, would you accept this?”

“What is this?”

“We made it together with Grace-sama.”

It seemed to be a birthday present. When I opened the package… it was a muffler. The color matched my coat. It’s going to get colder from now on. I guess they want me to use it when winter comes. It’ll probably come in handy when going back and forth between the Labyrinth and home.

There was delicate embroidery, though small, on both ends. A bird design. Probably something they added themselves. Hmm. I wonder when they prepared this.

“—Thank you. I’m happy.”

When I immediately wrapped it around my neck to show them, they looked at each other and held hands happily.

…Yeah. This makes me happy. I should prepare something in return.

As I was thinking about what to give in return, a carriage arrived in front of the house.

The Gartner family crest. It seems Father has returned. He’ll probably make a quick turnaround and leave again tomorrow or the day after.

“It’s good that I made it in time, but… you’re having quite a lively celebration.”

Father smiled wryly as he got down from the carriage.

“Well, it just naturally turned out this way, I suppose.”

“That just means you’re well-known, I’d say. Happy birthday, Theo.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Father nodded. Then… he helped a woman get down from the carriage.

Heather’s expression turned to shock when she saw who it was. When I mentioned the name before at the Adventurer Guild, she reacted. So they do know each other after all.

“Actually, on my way here, I stopped by the Barony of Silun to pay my respects. Since my short stay actually worked out conveniently, she asked to accompany me, so I brought her along.”

“Long time no see, Theodore-sama. Congratulations on this occasion.”

The one who greeted me was—Beryne, the Guild receptionist.

I see. If she hitches a ride on Father’s Dragon Palanquin, she could make a round trip like a short vacation during work breaks.

“Hahaha. Long time no see indeed.”

“Yes, truly.”

Beryne laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. Our exchange became somewhat theatrical, but that can’t be helped.

She probably expected some reaction from me since she’d been pulling strings behind the scenes regarding Ashley’s situation. But here, deliberately welcoming her normally is the right move.

I do think Ashley’s situation turned out well, and it probably exceeded what Beryne had anticipated. So I’ll take this opportunity to enjoy watching her reaction instead.