Yuxian was a little confused. He did not want to make the atmosphere so serious, so he gave an awkward laugh and turned to ask, "Brother Fei, what made you think of becoming a deliveryman?"
Siegfried glanced back at Yuxian, then quickly turned forward again, fixing his gaze on the road ahead.
With a faint smile on his lips, he slowly recounted what had happened since arriving in this world. The story was rather ordinary, completely lacking the grandeur of an epic or any deeply moving moments.
It was very ordinary, very coincidental.
Perhaps that was what real life was like. Compared to being a dragon-slaying hero who had always lived amid glory and honor, Siegfried preferred this unnoticed life of an ordinary person.
It was clear that he was very relaxed now, truly enjoying life.
Jack's Wish
As the sky gradually darkened, the city lights slowly came on, taking over from the sun and illuminating the entire city.
Yuxian and Siegfried returned home. The hallway was somewhat dim, with no one in sight before or behind them. The quietness was a little unnerving.
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Yuxian rang the doorbell.
At this time, Mash and the others should all have been home. Yuxian imagined himself shouting, "I'm home!" the moment he entered, then seeing a table piled with a lavish dinner waiting for him to sit down and eat.
What a wonderful life!
But in reality, Yuxian rang the doorbell for a long time, and still no one came to open it.
He stepped back two paces and listened carefully before muttering doubtfully, "I didn't come to the wrong place, did I? Did they go out for dinner?"
Yuxian pulled out his keys from his pocket and said to Siegfried with relief, "Good thing I brought my keys when I left. Otherwise, who knows how long we'd have had to wait outside."
He unlocked the door. The room was pitch-black, without a trace of light. He found it strange that Mash had drawn all the curtains, but did not think much of it. She had probably just pulled them shut before leaving.
He felt his way toward where he remembered the light switch was and fumbled around until he turned on the living room lights.
Click!
Bang! Bang!
The instant he flipped the switch, two party poppers went off at once, scattering colorful confetti through the air. Yuxian was thoroughly startled. The living room was packed with people. Not only were Mash and the others there, but Kobayashi, Kanna, and the rest were in the living room too.
"Happy birthday!" everyone shouted in unison before Yuxian could even react.
Yuxian was dumbfounded.
Birthday? Was today my birthday? How did I not know?
He hurriedly took out his phone to check the date, only to discover that today really was his birthday.
He had been constantly traveling between several worlds lately and had long forgotten that birthdays were even a thing. If Mash and the others had not prepared this surprise, he really would not have remembered.
A huge cream cake sat on the dining table in the living room, already covered with candles.
Yuxian was deeply moved in that moment. It was wonderful to have someone remember his birthday. Being cared for like this felt incredibly happy, warming his heart.
"Thank you, everyone..."
Yuxian's voice was a little choked. Honestly, he truly did not know how to express what he was feeling right then.
Mash lit the candles on the cake and said to Yuxian, "Senpai, happy birthday! Come blow out the candles and make a wish!"
Amid everyone's birthday song, Yuxian slowly walked over. Looking at the words "Happy Birthday!" written in chocolate on the cake, he felt emotional.
He smiled and said, "Good thing you all remembered my birthday. I forgot it myself."
Mash answered honestly, "Jack reminded us. Actually, none of us remembered either."
Jack?
Yuxian turned to look at the adorably sweet Little Jack. He picked her up and vigorously rubbed his cheek against hers, making her giggle.
Of everyone here, only Jack had no birthday. She was a child who had never been born. Perhaps that was why she had firmly remembered Yuxian's birthday.
"From now on, today will be Jack's birthday too!" Yuxian said seriously as he looked into Jack's big eyes.
"Really?" Jack blinked her large eyes, anticipation shining in them.
She had never understood why everyone became so happy on their birthdays. If she had a birthday too, perhaps she would understand why.
"Of course!" Yuxian replied firmly.
He set Jack down on a chair, then announced the decision again to everyone present. From now on, he and Jack would celebrate their birthdays on the same day.
Mash and the others all understood what this meant. They had no objections and voiced their agreement.
Kobayashi and the others did not know the specific reason, but seeing everyone agree, they would not spoil the mood by saying anything inappropriate.
So everyone congratulated Jack together, "Jack, happy birthday!"
For a moment, Jack did not react. She had not yet figured out what was happening, but being wished a happy birthday made her feel something very special, a feeling she had never experienced before.
Is this what a birthday feels like? It really does seem very happy!
A sweet smile appeared on her face. It was entirely unlike her usual smile. This was the smile of happiness.
Gretel muttered softly from the side, "Master is tricking children again. Hmm... Since it's his birthday, I'll forgive him today..."
She felt a little jealous, a little envious, and happy for Jack as well. Her emotions were contradictory and complicated.
"Senpai, blow out the candles and make a wish with Jack!"
"Making a wish? Is it like the Holy Grail?" Jack asked adorably.
"Yes! Jack's birthday wish will definitely come true!" Mash encouraged her.
Yuxian wanted to stop her, because Jack's wish was to return to her mother's womb. In other words, she meant his stomach. That was not a pleasant prospect.
But when he remembered that Jack had been very well-behaved lately and had shown no intention of cutting open his stomach, he let her do as she pleased.
Yuxian and Jack began making their wishes together.
Unlike Yuxian, who silently made his wish in his heart, Jack softly spoke hers aloud. "I hope I can stay with Mommy forever!"
Whoosh—
The candles were blown out, and everyone applauded together.
Yuxian was somewhat surprised that Jack's wish was not to return to her mother's womb, but to stay with her mother forever.
But he did not ask. This was better. At least he would not have to worry about his stomach being cut open.
"Jack, why is your wish different from before?"
Yuxian did not ask, but that did not mean no one else would. Gretel, entirely lacking tact, asked the question. She and Jack were very close companions.
Jack blinked and answered matter-of-factly, "Because we've already been born! Today is our birthday!"
Gretel was immediately left unable to argue. That did seem to be the case. Having a birthday meant they had already been born, so naturally there was no need to return to a womb.
But then she immediately realized something was wrong and said in a deeply disappointed tone, "Jack, you're way too easy to fool!"
Yuxian lightly chopped Gretel on the head and said irritably, "Alice, stop trying to stir things up all the time. Eat some cake and hurry up and shut that mouth of yours."
As he spoke, he stuffed the first slice of cake he had cut into Gretel's hands. "When it's your birthday next time, we'll celebrate it with you too."
Gretel's eyes lit up at once. She quietly sat off to the side and happily began eating her cake.
The cake Mash had prepared was huge, and everyone received a generous slice. They all happily ate cake together.
Yuxian paid special attention to Kanna and watched her open her mouth wide, then stuff an entire slice of cake inside with one big bite. Chew, chew, swallow...
Yuxian broke into a cold sweat. She truly was the cutest foodie dragon...
Let's Go Exploring
After finishing the cake, everyone returned to their own activities. The lively party had only just begun.
As always, Fafnir was absorbed in gaming. He monopolized the controller in front of the television and played with great enthusiasm, looking nothing like an evil dragon and more like a gaming-addicted teenager.
Jack had recently become interested in these fighting games, so she went over to play a fighting game with Fafnir.
Against a veteran like Takiya, Fafnir naturally lost more often than he won. But against Jack, he was clearly superior.
After several rounds, he easily defeated Jack every time, leaving him quite pleased with himself.
Jack herself did not have much of an opinion about it. She did not care much about such things. As long as she was having fun, that was enough.
But someone could not stand watching any longer.
"Only capable of bullying a child. You truly are an evil dragon." Seeing Fafnir repeatedly use Jack as a punching bag in the game, Siegfried said disdainfully.
"Huh?" Fafnir turned around, his blood-red evil eyes glaring at Siegfried.
The two had never gotten along because their auras clashed badly. Now, just a few words were enough to make them start trading insults.
Because Fafnir was glaring at Siegfried, he failed to control his character in time. Little Jack seized the opportunity and won a round.
Seeing that he had lost due to being distracted, Fafnir became even angrier.
He had already been displeased with Siegfried, and now he rose furiously to his feet, ready to fight him.
Seeing this, Yuxian immediately stepped forward to stop them. If those two fought inside the house, the whole building might end up flying into the sky.
Although Yuxian's intervention prevented a fight from breaking out, the two continued glaring at each other, neither willing to yield.
Yuxian had a headache over it, but there was not much he could do.
Fafnir suddenly opened a dimensional gate leading to another space and said coldly, "Today, I'm definitely going to kill you!"
Siegfried did not back down in the slightest. Drawing his holy sword Balmung, he stepped into the other space. Today, he would slay a dragon once more.
Everyone followed them over. Some were worried, while others simply wanted to watch the excitement. Each came for their own reasons, ready to witness this epic battle.
The grassland in the other space was boundlessly open, with no sign of human habitation anywhere around. It was an excellent place to fight.
Siegfried and Fafnir stood facing each other, battle ready to erupt at any moment. Yuxian and the others watched from afar, whispering among themselves as they discussed the outcome.
"Lord Tohru, will Lord Fafnir win?" Kanna tugged at Tohru's sleeve and looked up to ask.
"Hmm..." Tohru held a hand to her chin, looking thoughtful.
"He won't." Yuxian gave the answer from the side. "But whether he'll lose is hard to say. Brother Fei definitely won't lose, so it'll probably be a draw. This isn't really a fight to the death, after all. They'll definitely hold back, right?"
"Senpai, aren't you worried? What if they really get carried away?" Mash asked with some concern.
"With so many of us here, what can they do, fly into the sky?" Yuxian curled his lip, but he still called out loudly to Siegfried, "Brother Fei, don't overdo it! Just take it easy!"
The two nearby began fighting fiercely, but Gretel had no interest in it.
"Let's have a tea party!"
She took out a tablecloth and spread it over the grass, then sat cross-legged and invited everyone to have tea with her.
The atmosphere suddenly became strange. What was clearly supposed to be an epic battle between an evil dragon and a dragon slayer somehow turned into entertainment for a tea party.
Everyone happily drank tea, ate little snacks, and chatted about pleasant topics as though they did not see the battle in the distance.
With Dragon Blood Armor, Siegfried appeared entirely at ease against Fafnir. His body possessed extremely high defensive strength and could offset part of the damage, making Fafnir unable to inflict any effective harm on him.
Fafnir, meanwhile, had not revealed his true form. He was fighting Siegfried in human form, clearly not using his full strength, especially not his specialty: curse magic.
In truth, given Siegfried's extraordinarily bad luck, curse magic could practically be called his natural enemy. Once he was afflicted by curses, he would probably choke on water for the rest of his life.
After all, his Luck rank was E!
Of course, if Siegfried unleashed his Noble Phantasm, Fantasy Great Sword: Demonic Fall, Fafnir would be in for a rough time. Siegfried had the benefit of dragon-slaying legends, granting him an innate advantage against dragons.
But none of that had anything to do with Yuxian and the others. They were happily holding their tea party and taking the opportunity to continue the unfinished birthday celebration in this scenic place.
While drinking tea, Gretel leisurely asked, "Kanna, is another world fun?"
"I don't know either. I rarely go out," Kanna said as she picked up a snack and stuffed it into her mouth.
Gretel's eyes lit up. She had a new idea. "Then let's go exploring!"
"Don't run around!" Seeing that Gretel was about to stir up trouble again, Yuxian gave her an early warning.
"Don't worry, Master! If we get lost, we can have Kanna open a dimensional gate and take us back!" Gretel clapped her hands and stood up.
Before you continue