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Chapter 93 – My Ninth Birtday (2)

The birthday party, held in the afternoon—or rather, after school on a weekday—was lively until evening.

Normally, that would’ve been the end of it, but since I had also wanted to have a dinner gathering, everyone stayed for dinner as well. Because of that, we went easy on the cake and sweets during the day, and decided to have a second round after dinner.

Since the only time I get to eat with other kids is during school lunches, I really enjoyed myself. In other words, this dinner party was something I pushed through as a birthday privilege.

Some might say we should have the cake after dinner, but we’re still kids, so we can’t stay up too late making noise. In fact, Katsujirou-kun, Ryuichi-kun, and Youko-chan all went home with their attendants after dinner.

But even then, I pushed through another selfish request.

Tonight, I had the children who are candidates to be my close aides stay over at the Ootori main estate.

Originally, I had planned on having everyone except Katsujirou-kun, but since Gentarou-kun and Koshirou-kun were absent, and out of consideration for Katsujirou-kun, Ryuichi-kun and Youko-chan—thanks to Aunt Sachiko’s thoughtfulness—declined to stay.

Still, getting to spend the night with kids I don’t usually sleep over with had my excitement at an all-time high.

Also, while it might seem like further favoritism toward certain students, it’s common knowledge throughout the academy that these kids are candidates to become my close aides, and there’s no way anyone—student or adult—would dare complain to the Ootori family about it.

Of course, there’s also no one stupid enough to exclude or bully them. I mean, I can’t imagine any student being capable of doing that to these three.

And today is my birthday, so everyone was going along with what I wanted.

“Teruo-kun, you really do look good in that!”

“…This is in bad taste.”

“That’s not true, Yoshiko-chan! Even in kabuki, there are male actors who play female roles, so this is totally normal!”

“…Are you satisfied now?”

“Hmm, okay, then how about striking a few poses!”

After I finished polishing up Teruo-kun, it didn’t go over well with Yoshiko-chan, but Micchan’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.

Once I dressed the handsome Teruo-kun in a girl’s negligee, fixed his hair, and applied a bit of the same kids’ makeup I use, he instantly became a beautiful girl—no, more like a “trap” or “otokonoko”.

Normally, things like dressing up are done for me by Shizu or the maids, but with the skills and memories from my previous life, I can easily do it all myself—including the makeup. I went through so much trouble after hitting my thirties… It’s been a while since I used those skills, but they were still perfectly sharp.

The result was so good, I couldn’t help but frame it with my hands like a viewfinder and peek through. My soul from my past life was practically trembling with joy.

I’d thought it even back when I was still playing the game, but in childhood form, he looks almost too good—like he’s breaking through the limits of cuteness.

“How should I pose?”

“Like this! And put a bit of shyness in your expression! Ah, eyes over here!”

“Like this?”

“Yeah, perfect! Amazing! I need a camera!!”

“Same! A video camera if possible!”

“Stop trying to record this. He’ll never be able to get married.”

“I don’t plan to, so it’s fine. Besides, I’ve never seen the young lady look this happy before, so if I could be of help, that makes me happy too.”

“Hey now, Teruo, you’re corrupting the young lady.”

“…Am I? Then I’ll stop.”

The moment he said that, Teruo-kun immediately ripped off the negligee and was basically naked in an instant.

““Ehhhhh?!””

Yep. Everyone except Yoshiko-chan reacted the way they always do.

And honestly, being naked is just another kind of reward for me.

For the record, this all happened because I had asked for the three girls to share a room together tonight. But since I thought Teruo-kun might feel lonely being alone, I invited him into the room—and this was the result of me getting a bit carried away.

And since it wasn’t a girls-only pajama party but rather just a kids-only one, we naturally got a bit carried away, chatting innocently and goofing around. We’re still at an age where hugging and playing around like that is acceptable—in fact, I think it’s perfectly normal—so I ended up leaning on everyone quite a bit for affection.

And since Teruo-kun basically offers no resistance to me, I nearly went a little overboard with him.

“So, feel a little better now?”

After we tired ourselves out playing and the other two had fallen asleep, Yoshiko-chan quietly asked me as we lay side by side in the dark.

When I turned just my eyes toward her, even in the faint light, Yoshiko-chan’s albino hair and skin stood out softly, giving her an almost ethereal look.

“Not just a little—energy at 100% charge.”

“Well, that’s good. But you don’t do this kind of thing with the other Ootori kids?”

“I do. This is probably the only time in my life I can, after all.”

“If you’re still doing it ten years from now, it’d be a mental health issue. So, was it that rough?”

“Hmm, hard to say. It was productive. But I had to meet with one big-shot after another and talk to them, so the mental fatigue was no joke.”

“Give me the short version, at least.”

“Okaaay.”

So I gave her a super-condensed summary of my spring bullet tour. I imagine this kind of thing will become more regular starting next year, but this will probably be the first and last time I talk about it from bed like this.

“Hmm.”

“Eh, that’s all?”

“I can’t really comment on something that’s already over, and since I wasn’t involved, there’s nothing I can say. Besides, even if I wanted to look into it, my only sources would be newspapers and the school library—there’s just too many limitations.”

“I see… In a much later era, it’d be way easier to access information. If that were the case, I bet you’d be praised as a genius beautiful girl, Yoshiko-chan.”

I said it casually, just letting the thought slip out.

But I really did mean it. If it were the internet age, a globalized society, and she had the means and environment to study abroad in the U.S., even at this age she probably could have actually gotten into Harvard or somewhere like that.

“…A much later era, huh. How much later?”

“Umm, about 70 or 80 years. If we’re being specific, then maybe 30 or 40 years ahead.”

“Thirty or forty years might be doable, but 70 or 80? That’s impossible. Wasn’t it something like a ‘muri-ge’?”

“Ehh? I said that too?”

“I heard it twice. I don’t think anyone understood it. I still don’t know what ‘ge’ means.”

“‘Ge’ is short for ‘game.’ It’s a metaphor for something really hard to do. It’s a word from that 70 or 80 years-in-the-future era.”

“You even dream about a future like that, huh. Where’s the limit?”

“About 100 years from my birth, I guess? Though it’s all patchy.”

“100 years, huh… That’s already into the 21st century, right? Has life gotten more convenient?”

“It will. There are even things more convenient than the future visions imagined by Westerners. Of course, there are also things that don’t exist, but compared to now, it’s a world of difference.”

“Any downsides?”

“The wealth gap might be even worse than it is now. And since information from around the world is connected, the fact that anyone can see it all might be the biggest flaw.”

“Sometimes, people are better off not knowing certain things.”

“Seriously, that’s so true. But Yoshiko-chan, even if it’s only from as far as I can reach, you’re going to end up seeing everything. So be prepared.”

“I’m actually looking forward to it. Before I was taken in by the Ootori family, I used to think, ‘Why is my life so miserable?’ But now I realize you never know what might turn out to be a blessing.”

“I can’t guarantee it’ll be a blessing, though.”

“I don’t need a guarantee. I prefer the misfortunes I know over the ones I don’t.”

“That’s good to hear. I’ll feel safe dumping impossible requests on you, then.”

“Order received, my lady.”

“Yup. Well, good night.”

(Yeah… we understand each other, but our positions are different.)

In a way, Yoshiko-chan is the complete opposite of Uncle Genji—an ordinary man with noble status.

The world really doesn’t go the way you want it to.