Ch#82
“Bunny, I’ve made my wish!”
“Then now you just have to blow out the candles!”
“Ung……!”
Bunny puffed out her cheeks and blew hard, extinguishing the candles one by one.
After blowing five times to put out the five candles, Bunny burst into giggles.
Kiriel, who had set her down, gently stroked the child’s head. Bunny’s face flushed bright red with joy.
“Hey, what’d you wish for?”
Calvad sidled up next to Bunny and asked.
As Bunny opened her mouth to answer, Allen, who was standing beside her, jumped in surprise and quickly covered her mouth, shouting.
“No way! You can’t tell your wish until your next birthday. That’s the rule.”
“Haa……? So picky.”
“Rules are rules.”
Calvad scowled, clearly displeased by Allen’s sharp glare with his eyes narrowed into triangles, but he crossed his arms and turned his head away with a huff.
“Tch. Acting all high and mighty like you’re some big brother.”
“Who’s your big brother?”
“Me! I’m two years older than you!”
“I don’t treat kids with the mental age of children younger than me like that.”
Allen turned his head away with a snort, leaving Calvad squawking behind him, and approached Bunny, holding something out to her.
“Bunny, this is a present. I bought it with the pocket money I’ve been saving. Remember before… when I said I’d get you some clothes? I wanted to get you something really nice…….”
“Can I open it now?”
“Of course!”
Bunny plopped down on the floor and tore into the wrapping on the box Allen had given her with gusto.
When she opened the box, inside was a navy dress that looked like it held the night sky captive.
It was a beautiful dress with a subtle silver sheen embroidered like stars.
“Super big dress.”
It was just a little too big for Bunny’s size.
No, not a little—quite a lot.
It was so big that if Bunny wore it, it would cover her face and drag on the floor.
Bunny held the dress up high with both hands, but she couldn’t even see the end of it, blinking in surprise.
“I wanted you to wear my dress when you start attending social events or parties later on.”
“Bunny’s still just a little kid.”
From the looks of it, she’d have to grow into a much bigger adult Bunny to wear it.
“Ung. I wanted to give it to you early. I hoped you’d wear my dress for the very first time. Don’t you like it?”
“Oh, Madam Oberlot’s Dress. I hear the boutique is booked solid for the next five years, so it must have been hard to get. Keep it safe and wear it when you debut in society later.”
Levon, with his expressionless face, clapped his hands and crouched down between Bunny and Allen as he spoke.
Allen’s eyes widened round, his cheeks flushing slightly as he nodded.
“Ah… I went there myself and begged. I said I really wanted to give it to my little sister for her birthday. About… thirty times.”
At Allen’s words, Bunny’s eyes went wide.
‘An amazingly awesome dress……!’
Madam Oberlot’s dress……!
Allen’s face heated up in embarrassment, and Bunny beamed, hugging the dress tight.
“Awwen, thank you!!”
Click. Click. Click.
He had knelt on one knee and quickly stepped back, perfectly capturing a two-shot of Allen and Bunny. Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up the dress with an indifferent expression and spoke.
“You’ve received a precious gift. I’ll keep it safe for you.”
“…Levon.”
Kiriel clicked his tongue lowly, calling Levon’s name in a chilling tone.
“Yes.”
“Develop mine and bring it too.”
“Yes.”
Levon nodded familiarly at Kiriel’s stern voice, arms crossed.
Ignoring the surprised gazes, Kiriel knelt on one knee to meet Bunny’s eyes and held out some kind of document.
“A letter?”
“No, it’s a chocolate factory.”
“…Huh? Choco factory?”
Kiriel nodded.
“I named it ‘Bunny’s Chocolate Factory’ for now, but you can change it if you want. It’ll make whatever chocolates you like, however you want.”
Bunny’s eyes sparkled.
Clutching the paper, Bunny bounced in place, her face flushed as she raised her voice.
“Bunny choco factory?!”
“That’s right. All the profits from it will go straight to your account.”
“Choco!!”
Not understanding anything else, but completely hooked on the word chocolate, Bunny hopped around like a rabbit for a good while before toddling over and hugging Kiriel tight.
“Daddy, thank you!!”
Kiriel’s eyes widened.
With a slightly stiffened expression, he slowly raised his hand and carefully patted Bunny’s back: tap, tap, tap.
A very faint smile spread across Kiriel’s lips.
It was then, as Bunny squealed and dangled from Kiriel’s neck, kicking her feet happily.
Rumble—Boom!
Flash!
“Kyaaak!!”
Lightning suddenly struck the balcony of the perfectly fine room.
Melissa, who had been nearby, froze with a startled scream.
Kiriel furrowed his brow, gently lifted the child from his arms, and stood up.
He flung open the balcony door, revealing a mountain of toys and jewels piled high enough to fill the balcony.
And atop that mountain of gifts sat a familiar gift box, all by its lonesome.
Kiriel narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue.
“Jedrian.”
He’d thought he took it. He’d noticed it was stolen but pretended not to know on purpose.
That guy was the type to pull pranks like that. Sneakily take it and return it after some time.
He’d basically provoked him into taking it in the first place. He’d figured he’d fix it and give it back.
But he hadn’t expected him to return it like this.
He hadn’t bothered taking it back since he assumed it would be returned anyway……
“Daddy? What’s that?”
“Trash. Looks like someone dumped their trash from the sky.”
Kiriel grabbed only the one gift he’d received from Bunny and turned away without a second thought.
“Levon, get rid of all that.”
“Yes.”
As Levon bowed lightly and was about to withdraw, he placed something in Bunny’s hand.
“This is my gift, Miss Bunny. Happy birthday.”
Bunny’s eyes widened at the small gift box with a ribbon that Levon had placed in her hand.
“Ah, this is the present I prepared!!! Happy birthday!!!”
“It’s not much, but this is from me. I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Happy birthday.”
“This is from me. I made it myself… I hope you like it. Happy birthday.”
“Ah, th-this is from me to you!!! N-not that I’m giving it because I like you or anything, but I felt bad that no one’s ever celebrated your birthday… No, anyway… it’s a present. A n-necklace made from the highest-grade mana stones… They say kids who wear it don’t get sick, so it’s good.”
Bunny’s arms filled up with gifts from Melissa and Roden Hyner, as well as Jesi and Calvad and the others.
Bunny quietly looked down at the pile of gifts filling her arms, her face blank.
Up until now, Bunny’s birthdays had always been just the two of them—her and Luriel—eating delicious chocolate together.
There had been times when they’d stuck candles in chocolate or cookies and shared them.
Life with Luriel couldn’t exactly be called abundant. It was a struggle just to get by day by day. So they had to earn money, and they lived off whatever they made that day.
To Bunny, her birthday was nothing more or less than a happy day spent with Luriel.
A rare day when she could eat tasty choco.
Not cheap choco, but incredibly sweet, delicious choco that melted smoothly in her mouth—the expensive kind.
“…Ung.”
That’s why Bunny liked chocolate.
It was the sweetest food she could eat on her happiest day.
It was the day she could share the sweetest thing in the world with the person she liked most, and since that day was called her birthday, birthdays were happy days for Bunny.
The corners of Bunny’s mouth twitched, then curved into a big smile.
“Thank you! Bunny is super super happy!!!”
Everyone froze at the lovely smile blooming on Bunny’s face.
She looked so blissfully happy that just watching her warmed their hearts.
