“And here’s a gift from me, Charlotte,” Eluka said. “It’s a set of cooking utensils.”
“What?!” Allen did a double take.
“You too, Eluka?!” Charlotte exclaimed.
The box was full of things like pots and knives. Charlotte peered in with shining eyes as Eluka proudly explained the items.
“They’re all enchanted, so it’ll be a breeze for you to heat things up or freeze them. And they come with more handy features too. I heard you’re practicing your cooking these days? Thought you’d have fun with them.”
“They look really useful! Thank you so much!”
“That big box over there, it’s a set of textbooks on magic from Papa, and books about beast taming from Mama. They said if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask them any time,” Eluka said.
“Ah, there’s a present from Chris too,” Natalia said. “Some seeds for a rare flower. And an assorted box of sweets from my followers.”
“Plus some cute clothes and stuff from Papa and Mama,” Eluka added.
“Oh, um...all this?!” Charlotte watched the presents getting piled up in front of her with round eyes. She was soon surrounded by a heap of gifts.
“Wait just a minute!” Allen blurted out. “How do you and everyone else know about Charlotte’s birthday?!”
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘how’...?” Eluka turned to him with a look that clearly wondered what planet he was on and casually explained, “You know how Charlotte sneaked into our school under an alias? I asked her what her birthday was when we made those fake ID docs.”
“I told Chris and the others,” Natalia said. “They wanted to thank her because she was good to them.”
“Y-You’ve got to be kidding...!” Allen could accept that Natalia would know about the date before him. But Eluka, Harvey, Liselotte, and even the students at the academy? It was quite a serious shock to him that they were already aware of her birthday. He stood stock-still, as white as a ghost.
Natalia sensed that something was wrong. Her lips twisted into a sneer. “Oh, what’s this, Dark Overlord? Don’t tell me...you didn’t know it’s her birthday tomorrow?”
“Ack!”
“I see... And you call yourself her boyfriend, hmm? Is that how you live up to your role?”
“Arrrgh...”
They were the very picture of a bridegroom getting bullied by his sister-in-law. But Natalia’s criticism was so valid that Allen couldn’t say anything to defend himself.
Gosetsu fell to the ground and groaned as if the world was coming to an end. “Ah... I have failed to prepare a single offering for my dear Lady’s fête—what dishonor for a loyal subject! I shall live in shame for the rest of my life...!”
“Are we all giving presents to Mommy? Then count me in! I wanna give her something too!” Roo piped up.
“D-Don’t worry,” Charlotte said hastily, “I’m happy just with your wishes—”
“It doesn’t work like that!” Allen grasped her hands and spoke with earnest determination. “Wait for me, Charlotte. I’ll prepare the best present for your birthday!”
“And I shall dedicate a matchless treasure for you!” Gosetsu joined in.
“I’ll go ask my mother!”
“Everyone...” Charlotte’s eyes grew teary.
Observing the three of them getting fired up, Natalia flashed a confident grin. “Fine. Well then, let’s see who can make my dear sister the happiest with their gift... It’s a battle!”
“Bring it on!” the trio yelled.
And so, the tumultuous birthday festivities were set in motion. But at that moment, none of them could have predicted that their merrymaking would give rise to a drastic turn of events.
♢
A few hours later...
“It’s...done...!” Allen murmured with a raspy voice, clenching his fist.
He was in his laboratory in the depths of his mansion, which was off-limits to Charlotte and the others due to the dangerous ingredients he stored there. Usually he’d come down to the lab to brew potions. The room was packed with strange instruments for experiments, flasks, and other various tools around a magic kiln. And right now, these apparatuses were in full operation.
Among the pieces of equipment, the most prominent was the giant cultivation tank made of glass that stood in the center of the room. The chamber was filled with a suspicious lime green liquid, with bubbles rising to the top. A small figure floated inside. Allen gazed at it in satisfaction, then jotted down some notes on his clipboard.
“Right, all that’s left now are subtle adjustments...”
“Hmm. Pretty neat handiwork there,” a voice behind him mused.
“Whoa?!” Allen whirled around and stared with wide eyes. “D-Dorothea...? You’re still alive?!”
Dorothea the dark elf cast him a withering look. “Don’t go killin’ me off.” She was in her usual lazy outfit: a stretched, oversized shirt and bare legs underneath.
Dorothea was the previous owner of Allen’s mansion. But since she’d locked herself up in the basement under the garden, everyone had thought she had run off for good, and the mansion was sold to Allen. When she reappeared, there was a brief debate over the ownership of the property, but after various turns of events, she’d been whisked off the premises.
“Phew, I gotta admit, it’s good to breathe the outside air again,” Dorothea laughed brightly. “I’ve dealt with my work, y’see. Yoru, my editor, gave me permission to come home—so here I am!”
A look of concern crossed Allen’s face. “Uh... Do you intend to live here?”
“’Course I do. Ah, but don’t worry ’bout me. I think I’ll just be holed up underground. Though I might come up to get a bit o’ sun once every few years or so.”
“What are you, a cicada?”
Dark elves were a rare species, and they only occasionally appeared in human settlements. It was a unique experience just to be able to speak to one. But somehow, talking with Dorothea didn’t make Allen feel any gratitude.
As Allen looked on with a scowl, Dorothea peered into the cultivation tank with curiosity. “By the way, this is a nice piece o’ work...but why in the world are you making such a thing?”
“Well, the fact of the matter is—” Allen filled her in briefly: how he and Charlotte were now in a relationship, how he hadn’t known it was her birthday tomorrow, and how he was preparing a gift for the celebration.