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Chapter 15 – Birthday Party

“Birthday Party”

I turned four years old. 

My birthday is April 4th.

I remember reading somewhere that during the game design stage, they debated whether to set it as April 2nd.
In short, it seems they deliberately chose a number sequence considered unlucky by Japanese standards.

However, in pre-war Japan, New Year’s celebrations and birthday celebrations are combined.
For children, The Shichi-Go-San festival served as a kind of substitute for birthdays.

So, today was no different from any other day.
In my previous life, I vaguely recall my parents celebrating when I was very little, but beyond that, my birthday never meant much.

Even as an adult, the most I did was reward myself with a trip.

Setting aside my own matters, nothing significant has happened since New Year’s.

The butler, Tokita, changed from his butler’s uniform to a business suit and set off on a journey—first to Frankfurt, then Switzerland, and finally New York.
To Put it lightly, Tokita ended up suffering great inconvenience because of me. 

Does that mean I’ve altered history again?
Not that there’s anything I can do about it.

Since he now serves me, he bid me farewell, saying, “Well then, I shall take my leave, Reiko-ojou-sama.”

I simply replied, “Take care. I’ll send you some preserved Japanese food later.”

His face lit up with a heartfelt smile as he responded, “That would make me happier than anything.”, which left a lasting impression on me.

Yes, when you’re abroad, you would suddenly start craving Japanese food.
This is even more true for Japanese people of this era, since they would have spent at least several months overseas.

Miso, soy sauce, pickles, nori(seaweed), natto—and most importantly in this time period, Japanese rice.
These were sent once a month to the destination, loaded onto passenger ships and cargo-passenger vessels traveling along the European and Pacific routes.

However, I didn’t send them right away. 

After all, travel in this era is quite difficult.
The primary means of overseas transportation is still ships. 

While passenger ships have become considerably faster, making travel times not too different from the 21st century, it still takes about a month to reach Europe by sea.

Taking the Trans-Siberian Railway would only take about two weeks, but since the country had recently turned ‘red’ and was still unstable, it was avoided this time.

The fastest route was the North Atlantic, connecting Europe and North America.

The competition among massive luxury liners, known as the Blue Riband, had intensified around the world wars, and by the 20th century, the shortest voyage time was around four days.
But even then, it would still take four days.

A luxurious journey by airplane?
That would have to wait at least another ten years.

But putting all that aside—today is my birthday.
And since more people had started coming to the mansion, I decided to make a bit of a fuss.

No, that’s not it.
I must first educate those around me on the concept of celebrating birthdays.

The reason more people have gathered is due to the Ootori family’s educational policy.

The family emphasizes early gifted education for its members.
Since there are many children of the same age or close in age, the idea is to have them study together under excellent teachers.

In short, it’s a way to cut the costs of private tutors.
However, since there are only so many outstanding teachers capable of handling young children, this approach is also quite practical.

There are five children close in age, including myself.
The Kou family also has a few, but they are older and already attending school regularly. 

Among the five, three—including myself—are four years old, so we began gathering regularly in a room within the Ootori mansion.

The reason we start at age four is that in some parts of society, children begin attending kindergarten instead of daycare at this age.

To be honest, I personally started receiving private tutoring at three years old.
The same should be true for my other cousins. 

The two children who will join us next year are probably studying under their own tutors at this very moment.

And so, I call this a “study group”.

“Reiko, how the heck do you know all this?”

The one speaking in such a familiar tone is Ryuichi-kun, my older brother’s eldest son.
He’s a siscon, but without his younger sister, Youko-chan, he basically turns into a musclehead character.

It seems my onii-sama told him something, because whenever he comes to the mansion, he’s always hovering around me.
He was probably asked to be my knight or something.

Meanwhile, glancing at us while desperately working through his problems is Gentarou-kun, Uncle Genji’s eldest son.
He seems determined not to lose to me, for the sake of his intellectual pride.

But right now, there’s no way either of them can beat me.

Even though I’ve forgotten quite a bit, I still retain the memories of my past life, where I went to university.
And on top of that, those memories are being vastly supplemented by the cheat-level intellect of this villainous noble daughter.

It’s like connecting a junky hard drive to an overpowered computer and salvaging its data.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there isn’t a single four-year-old in the world who can beat me.

And if there were, that’d be terrifying.

(Though realistically, my advantage will probably only last until middle school.)

That’s right—the game’s love interests are mostly cheat-level geniuses.

Gentarou-kun is aiming for Teidai—Tokyo Imperial University.

Ryuichi-kun is following in his father’s footsteps to become an army officer.

And both of them have the brains to reach the top in their respective fields.

The other love interests who will eventually join us all have some kind of cheat skill as well.

At this rate, my only true source of comfort is probably going to be my cousin, Youko-chan.

“Fuaaah~”

The warm spring weather makes me yawn without thinking.

“Are you mocking me?!”

“I’m not. More importantly, why don’t you study? So, you wouldn’t have time to think about stuff like that.”

“O-Oh…”

It seems my onii-sama’s guidance has had a good influence on him.
He may be a musclehead, but he’s earnest.

That’s definitely a plus.

“Ah, that part is wrong.”

“Huh? Where?”

Since I had finished my own assignments and had no one to talk to, I peeked over at what Gentarou-kun was writing.

He was working on an arithmetic problem, but to be honest, he’s only three years old—technically still a toddler—so this isn’t the kind of problem a three-year-old should be solving.

In the first place, the fact that a three-year-old—or even a four-year-old—is doing arithmetic is already a bit strange.
The fact that he’s actually managing to solve it makes it even stranger. 

And to top it all off, most of the adults in our family have gone through the same kind of rigorous education.

This family is seriously weird.

But the most ‘weird’ one of all… is me.
That was officially confirmed by the family elders during New Year’s.

On top of that, they labeled me the “Dreaming Miko”.
All I did was talk about my past life memories, but they interpreted it that way.

And now, I’ve also been declared a ‘child prodigy’.

I have a feeling these peaceful days won’t last much longer.
That’s exactly why I want to enjoy this tranquility while I still can.

“…Still, it really feels like spring.”

“What’s with that all of a sudden? More importantly, where’s the mistake?”

“Right here. You forgot to carry the one.”

“Huh? Oh, you’re right! Thanks!”

(Mhm, he’s a much better kid than I expected. In the game, he was way more stubborn, and it was tough to get through to him…)

And for him to already have a bit of a tsundere side at this age? 

That’s a huge plus.

Today, I’ve planned for these two to celebrate my birthday.
I’ve already asked Mari, one of the maids, to prepare a cake under the guise of an afternoon snack. 

Of course, it’s made exactly to my specifications.

And now, it’s about time.

“Hey, once we’re done studying, let’s go flower-viewing!”

“Hanami? You mean like at Ueno Park?”

So Ryuichi-kun already knows about places like that.
Now that I think about it, I remember my onii-sama mentioning that their family went there before.

He actually wanted to invite me as well, but considering the political balance within the family and the succession struggle, it wouldn’t have been a good look.
I didn’t want to see my brother apologizing awkwardly for it either.

Meanwhile, my grandfather—who has become my nominal father—has been too busy with military work lately.

So the only place I can go for hanami is right here at the mansion, where a magnificent cherry tree stands in full bloom.

If I remember correctly, this very cherry tree was one of the romantic meeting spots for the protagonist and love interests in the game.

“No, we’re going to have tea under that cherry tree.”

“Oh, that one? Wait, does ‘tea’ mean there’ll be snacks too?”

“I’ve prepared something absolutely special.”

“Then I’m totally in! Gentarou, you can keep studying. I’ll eat your share for you.”

“What?! Of course I’m coming too!”

“Then it’s decided.”

Watching their exchange, I reward them both with my brightest smile.

(Nice! I’ve already figured out that provoking Gentarou-kun a little gets him to jump right in. And Ryuichi-kun—he may be a musclehead, but doesn’t he have a bit of a bossy, leader-type personality?)

—

And so, we arrived at the cherry tree, where the maids—already dressed in aprons over their kimono—had everything set up perfectly.

For a child, this is pure paradise.
A true embodiment of “Hana yori dango”—”Dumplings over flowers”.

The Ootori family leans toward Western customs whenever possible, but since this is hanami, the setup is traditional Japanese.
A goza mat is spread out, with a small table in the center.

Normally, there would be dango and sakura mochi prepared, but today is a special occasion.

“What’s that?”

“That’s… not kagami mochi, right?”

Both of them tilt their heads in confusion.
In response, I take a few deliberate steps forward and turn to face them.

“That—” I announce with pride, “is my birthday cake!”

My grand declaration is met with… complete silence.

Yep. They don’t get it at all.

Since there was no helping it, I begrudgingly explained.

“In the West, it’s normal to celebrate the day you were born. And when you’re invited, it’s customary to bring a present—it’s considered good manners and tradition.”

“I didn’t bring anything.”

“It’s fine for today. But in return, let’s celebrate everyone’s birthdays when they come around.”

“O-oh. If there’s sweets involved, then I’m all for it!”

“Then it’s settled. Gentarou-kun, what’s wrong? Deep in thought?”

Dealing with a musclehead is easy, but the intellectual type seems a bit more troublesome.
But he looked so serious that I couldn’t help but ask—perhaps because, despite everything, he is quite handsome.

“Hmm… so it’s like celebrating the New Year, but individually?”

“Aside from celebrating the New Year itself, yeah.”

“I see. So instead of otoshidama, the person who was born gets gifts.”

“Something like that. But you don’t need to overthink it. Isn’t celebrating the day you were born just a natural thing?”

“Natural, huh… yeah, maybe.”

He tried to give a cool, nihilistic smile, but it only made him look even cuter.
It also seemed like both of them had never seen a sponge cake completely covered in whipped cream before.

After all, in Japan, strawberries were still only grown in select areas, and unlike after the war, there was no greenhouse cultivation for early harvesting.
Getting strawberries in April was impossible, so a classic strawberry shortcake was out of the question.

But still, the cake turned out more than good enough.

However, finding a store to get the cake took a bit of effort.

I remembered that Fujiya had already been founded in this era, so I thought about having someone buy a cake from there.
But after the Great Kanto Earthquake, all of its stores in the capital were wiped out.

Apparently, they had just barely managed to reopen one of them in a makeshift barrack.

And then I, with my 21st-century sensibilities, went and placed a custom order for a shortcake that was a bit different from what existed in this era—complete with an explanation and a drawing. 

I must have caused them quite a bit of trouble.

So, I played the role of the spoiled young lady, saying, “I want to keep eating Fujiya cakes from now on~!” and, on top of paying for the cake, sent an additional donation as a gesture of support.

Of course, any future cake or sweets purchases would also be from there. 

With this, my somewhat lacking snack life had been secured.
Traditional Japanese sweets were delicious, but having more variety was always better.

That special-order cake had been chilling in the American-made refrigerator at the estate until just moments ago.
Naturally, in Taisho-era Japan, only a very select few households owned a refrigerator.

Hooray for being rich.

But more than that, the sight of the two of them beaming with joy was the greatest treasure of all.

What made them even cuter was that they both said they wanted to let their younger siblings try some too.
I was honestly a little touched.

But of course, this big sister had already planned for that.

“It’s all good. I’ve prepared a slightly different but essentially the same cake as a souvenir. But fresh cream spoils quickly, so be sure to eat it right away, okay?”

“Awesome! As expected of Reiko!”

“Ah, thank you. Torajirou will be happy too.”

Hearing their unreserved words of praise, I couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction multiple times.

Of course, I had also planned for transportation.
The specially made box had a double-layered structure, with ice packed underneath in place of dry ice.

I think dry ice had already been commercialized around this time, but honestly, that didn’t matter.
As long as I had this happy moment and their smiling faces, that was enough.

However, there was one important thing I had forgotten to mention.

“Hey, there’s something you have to say when it’s someone’s birthday.”

“What is it? It’s not ‘Happy New Year’, right?”

“Then, wouldn’t it be ‘Congratulations’?”

“Genjirou-kun got it right. The correct phrase is, ‘So-and-so-chan, happy birthday!’ Got it?”

“Oh.”

Ryuichi-kun exchanged a quick glance with Gentarou-kun before both of them turned their whole bodies toward me.

“”Reiko-chan, happy birthday!””

“Thank you! The next birthday party will be for Gentarou-kun!”

Yes, more than celebrating my own birthday today, my true goal was to spread the tradition of birthday parties itself.

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Fujiya
A food manufacturer founded in 1910 (Meiji 43).
It is famous for its Western-style confectionery and was the first in Japan to sell shortcakes in 1922.
In addition to confectionery, it also operates a restaurant chain.
It was severely affected by the Great Kanto Earthquake and faced significant hardships.

Dry Ice
Around this time, it was registered as a product in the United States.
It was around the period when the term “dry ice” was either just emerging or had yet to be coined.