The gathering began.
At first, some of the participants who hadn't met each other were still a bit reserved, but three little gluttons quickly loosened up the atmosphere.
Shin, Kanna, and Sora started up a sort of big-eater showdown, shoveling huge bites into their mouths. It shocked everyone yet also made them laugh, relaxing the mood.
Coupled with four mature individuals—Sayuri, Ai Sakurajima, Shizuka Hiratsuka, and Sonoko Machida—who actively guided the conversation, everyone became more at ease.
Even the normally socially awkward Yukino got pulled along by Haruno to build friendships for herself.
In fact, Haruno was doing this on Yukino's behalf. Now that she was acting as Yukino's big sister, she was very worried about Yukino's future happiness.
Even if there really were situations like "battling for attention," she hoped Yukino would have her own "allies."
Of course, Haruno also had a last resort—an idea her mother had mentioned: she herself could be Yukino's strongest ally. Yet she was still conflicted about that.
…
Watching everyone happily chat together put Rei Ao in a good mood.
"Pff, why are you smirking so sleazily?"
Noticing the slight curve of his lips, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who was sitting by his side, spoke bluntly.
"Ah."
Rei Ao gave a faint laugh. How could his handsome face look sleazy? Though, admittedly, his thoughts were a bit indecent—like possibly hosting a group "party" right here. But it wouldn't be so simple.
"Hey, why won't you respond? Aren't you going to look after your lovely girlfriends more?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka elbowed him lightly.
"Uh!"
The next moment, her body flinched. She looked down. She was wearing a skirt today, and now there was a big hand on her thigh. Already feeling a bit flushed from the drinks, her cheeks grew even redder.
"W-what are you doing?"
She panicked slightly, but in front of everyone, she had to appear calm and hoped no one else noticed.
"My dear Shizuka, I'm just following your suggestion to take good care of my lovely girlfriends," Rei Ao murmured meaningfully, stretching out the phrase "take good care" in a strange tone.
"?"
At first, Hiratsuka didn't get what he meant, but upon reflection, she realized her wording had let him twist the meaning, and her pupils quivered.
"You…"
A perfectly normal sentence sounded downright dirty when he said it. Even if she glowered, Rei Ao wouldn't remove his hand. In fact, he took it further. And his gaze shifted away from her, moving instead to Fumino and Rizu.
He said, "Fumino, Rizu, you two ought to be the main characters here. But we messed it up and turned it into all this. Let me say sorry."
"Eh!"
They waved their hands frantically.
Ogata Rizu: "It's okay. I don't mind."
Furuhashi Fumino also nodded quickly.
"Me neither."
"And actually, I really like it when everyone's happily mingling… It feels like…family."
Talking about family, Fumino's expression dimmed slightly. She'd hardly seen her father in a while. She'd forgotten what a real family felt like.
Sayuri noticed her shift and guessed there might be some backstory in her family. Heart aching for her, Sayuri hugged her:
"There, there. We can be a family, too~"
"Umm, if it's a family, maybe our group's name should be something like 'One Big Loving Family'?" Eriri joked out of habit.
"One Big Loving Family, huh? Sounds good to me," Rei Ao said with a laugh, going along with it.
Then he waved his hand. Suddenly, the lights in the room went dark.
"Hmm? Did the lights go out?"
No one understood what was happening, until a faint glow appeared at the center of the dining table.
"That's…"
By the candlelight, they saw it was a four-tier cake.
"Cake?"
Kasumigaoka Shiwa blinked. "Is today someone's birthday?"
They looked at each other, all confused. Then Rei Ao looked at Fumino:
"Today should be our One Big Loving Family's Fumino's eighteenth birthday."
Everyone's gaze fell on Fumino.
"Eh?"
Fumino was stunned.
"Today's my birthday?"
Yumiko: "You didn't even know your own birthday?"
"Ugh…"
Fumino hunched her shoulders, did some quick mental math, and realized—it really was. But—
"Rei Ao-kun, how did you know it's my birthday?"
With her mom deceased and her dad obsessed with math, it had been so long since anyone celebrated her birthday. She'd forgotten the exact date.
"As a family, I should at least know everyone's birthdays, right?"
He didn't bother explaining more. Being this world's sole god, it was easy to figure out. "Anyway, happy birthday. Sorry it was so last-minute."
"No…"
Fumino pressed her hands to her chest and shook her head.
"I'm not upset at all—I'm incredibly grateful."
She never expected anyone to remember her birthday or to do something for it. Just hearing "happy birthday" was enough to fill her with warmth.
"Hold on!" someone said. "If it's her birthday, we gotta sing 'Happy Birthday!'"
Sonoko Machida exclaimed, "Let's all sing for Fumino, okay?"
Sayuri clapped her hands, "Sure, I'll start us off!"
"Happy birthday to you…"
Amid the crowd's chorus, Kanna and a few others who didn't know the words simply mumbled or hummed, but to Fumino it was the best sound in the world. A tear sparkled at the corner of her eye.
When the song ended, Kanna couldn't help but ask, "Michiru, what was that about?"
"We're celebrating Fumino's birthday. Next she'll make a wish and blow out the candles," Michiru whispered, clarifying.
"Go on, make a wish, Fumino," Rei Ao said, moving the cake in front of her.
"Mm."
Surrounded by everyone's expectant faces, Fumino took a deep breath, laced her fingers, closed her eyes, and made a wish. Three seconds later, she opened them and blew gently at the candles.
Whoosh—the candles went out.
Pop—the lights came back on.
"Fweh, what did she wish for?" asked Shin.
"Shin," Kobayashi scolded, covering her mouth. "If you say your wish out loud, it won't come true. Don't ask."
"Heh-heh…"
Shin blinked, acting like she understood.
"All right, it's time to cut the cake and hand out slices!" called Mai Sakurajima, approaching with plates. She started helping pass them around.
Fumino quietly watched everyone bustling about, looking soft and peaceful.
"Fumino, what was that wish? If you tell me, I can help make it happen." Rei Ao had slid beside her, apparently not wanting anyone else to hear.
As the world's unique god, making a wish come true would be easy.
But Fumino shook her head.
"No need. I'm certain my wish will come true anyway. Hehe~"
She smiled impishly at him. Her wish was:
May everyone remain one big loving family forever.
Fumino believed that wish would be fulfilled—because she believed in Rei Ao.
~~~
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