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Chapter 38
“Rihart, help! It’s a ghost!”
It was Aven, wriggling tightly wrapped in a blanket.
Rihart found this hilarious and held his stomach, giggling.
Apparently, he thought it was funny that Aven had mistaken Izrael’s magic for a ghost.
I gave Rihart a smack on the back to snap him out of it. Only then did Rihart join the others, and they quickly finished the setup.
Once everything was ready, the flickering lights and the furniture floating and making noises in midair returned to their normal state.
As the surroundings quieted down, Aven, who had been thrashing about, stopped moving.
“Rihart… you’re really there, right?”
Of course, Rihart didn’t answer.
Frightened by the continued silence, Aven clutched the blanket even tighter.
Unlike before, when he had tried to escape, now he treated the blanket as if it were a lifeline, not moving at all—even though Izrael had released the magic that had been holding it down.
We waited patiently, like hyenas stalking prey.
Finally, Aven, unable to resist his curiosity, cautiously lifted the blanket like a minor character in a horror movie who dies first.
“Rihart…?”
As Aven peeked out, Rena and Rihart immediately lifted the blanket.
Aven’s safe haven was taken in an instant, and he opened his mouth wide as if to scream—but our loud cheer came first.
“Happy birthday!”
Let’s skip the “to our beloved Aven” part because it’s too embarrassing.
Aven stared alternately at the birthday cake with candles and the faces surrounding him, dumbfounded.
He was trying to figure out what was going on.
“…Today’s my birthday?”
Blinking his wet eyelashes, Aven spoke for the first time.
I nodded, justifying his tears as ones of emotion rather than fear.
“It’s midnight. We’re the first to celebrate you.”
I held the cake closer to him.
“Blow out the candles and make a wish.”
Aven fixed his gaze on the cake, which had his likeness drawn on it.
Though the colors were faint in the reddish light, you could clearly tell he had sky-blue hair and blue eyes.
After moving his lips for a while, Aven muttered cautiously.
“I already had a birthday party last time…”
“Don’t ruin the mood. Just blow it out, Aven.”
“Birthdays are celebrated on the actual day.”
Seeing Rihart and me rushing at him, Aven finally straightened his posture.
Then, with a solemn expression as if praying, he closed his eyes and blew out the candles.
“Phew.”
As the warm candlelight vanished, the room lights brightened instantly.
Aven carefully opened his eyes and saw the transformed room, his eyes widening.
Balloons with his name, a garland wishing happy birthday, and a shiny party curtain made of foil—all were there.
In front of him were also all the desserts he liked.
“When did you do all this? The room was normal before I got wrapped in the blanket.”
“When you were fighting the invisible ghost.”
Rihart teased him, and Aven’s pale cheeks turned red.
Then, with a defeated expression, he glared at Izrael.
“So the ghost was actually you, Izrael.”
“It was so naive it was fun teasing you.”
Enjoying Aven’s embarrassment, I moved on to the next event at the right moment.
“Humhum! Now, let’s start the gift ceremony.”
“A gift ceremony?”
Aven, still listing the gifts he had received at the party, was ignored as Rihart pulled out a golden sheet of paper.
“This is a gift from a fellow student council member and friend, not from family to family. Happy birthday, Aven Reithers.”
On the sparkling paper was written: “Exclusive Servant Ticket for the Crown Prince for One Day.”
“It’s a special ticket you can’t buy anywhere, so be happy about it.”
Though the words didn’t seem to match the luxurious paper, the meaning was huge.
Who would ever get a chance to be served by the Crown Prince?
Thinking about Rihart’s effort made a strange feeling stir in my heart.
Even Aven, who had been stunned all this time, finally smiled faintly.
“I’ll use it for something meaningful, thinking of your heart. I wonder how much I can get from making the Crown Prince run errands all day. Want to try at an event?”
“I didn’t mean that! I meant at school…!”
“When suggesting something, you need to write warnings. Seeing you, you’d sign a contract without checking for poison clauses. I’ll stay with you just in case.”
Aven quickly stopped Rihart from adding extra conditions to the servant ticket and tucked the golden paper into his chest, shyly smiling.
“Who’s next?”
He seemed fully back to his senses.
Izrael gave a pure magic stone he had made himself, and Cassel gave a plant that clears the mind.
According to him, it was a plant he had carefully nurtured for a long time.
Rena, noting that Aven seemed to drink a lot of coffee, gave him a set of coffee beans collected from various regions.
Despite pretending it was a hassle when asked to choose gifts he would like, the results were excellent.
Finally, I brought out a polar bear I had hidden behind the door.
It was a pure white, fluffy doll.
“This is the instruction manual. Read it at home, not now.”
Aven’s eyes widened, clearly surprised by the unexpected gift.
He received both the doll, large enough to hug with one arm, and a sheet of paper.
“You do know I’m a fully grown adult, right?”
“Your imagination is too much. You’re still a student.”
“Could this be a doll you made yourself, Archel?”
Izrael’s eyes lit up at the word “manual.”
“Yes, I made it carefully stitch by stitch.”
I hadn’t just attached the eyes when I was young—I added stuffing, fur, everything. I was quite the veteran.
“Hmph.”
Rena, who had been watching, glared at me like a grumpy cat.
I ignored her subtle glare and held her hand, offering a defense.
“Hey, as a friend, it’s fine to put this much effort in, right?”
“Yes, as a friend, you could make a doll yourself or give a handmade cake full of care.”
Rena scoffed elegantly, giving a captivating smile, her red eyes shining.
“I’ll be looking forward to it too, Archel.”
“Mm…”
Thankfully, Aven’s laughter echoed through the room.
Wearing a birthday hat and smiling brightly, he sparkled, letting me relax from the silent pressure.
Dawn light flowed in through the window.
The bluish light formed a long, rectangular shadow along one wall.
“How long have we been at it?”
Three hours?
We had been playing cards in Aven’s room without noticing the time, and a whole day had passed.
If Izrael hadn’t cast soundproofing magic, the professor would have caught us immediately—the atmosphere had gotten that heated.
Especially the birthday boy, Aven Reithers, whose luck in cards rivaled his fortune, had slaughtered the innocent, and the room was filled with cries.
“No matter how I think about it, luck seems innate.”
He turned his pouting face briefly, but a gentle smile appeared, thinking of the fun he’d had.
“I’ve never seen Aven smile so brightly.”
Wearing the funny birthday hat, the birthday boy shone, and I marveled at enjoying a day without worrying about a bad ending or the world ending.
“Friends… Are these really my friends?”
“They were just candidates for the male lead to save the world before.”
But entering Judea had changed many things.
Unlike my past life, I realized daily that this was my reality.
I savored the unique atmosphere of dawn and slowly turned my head.
On the adjacent bed, Rena slept silently, without a sound.
Even asleep, she was angelic.
I watched her with a perverted smile and whispered softly to the ceiling, making sure she couldn’t hear:
“Status window.”
A familiar, simple interface appeared, almost lazy in its design.
I checked Izrael’s affection, which had been bothering me, and…
‘What the heck is this guy?!’
I jumped up in anger.
