Today Is Navia's Birthday
Callas stared blankly at the young man before him, the weariness and heaviness that had accumulated in his eyes for many years suddenly dissipating, and a surge of warm emotion welled up in his chest. He paused for a few seconds, then burst into laughter, a warm, moist look appearing in his eyes.
"Alright, I can tell. Don't let Navia's usual warm and cheerful demeanor fool you; she has feelings for you, to some extent."
The sudden matchmaking startled Xingsu, her cheeks flushing slightly. She quickly waved her hand, her tone flustered and embarrassed:
"Um... President Callas... actually I already..."
Before he could finish speaking, Callas instantly sobered up, leaned forward abruptly, his eyes filled with shock, and his voice rose several decibels:
"What?! When did this happen between you two? I didn't hear a thing!"
Xingsu was so frightened that she sat up straight instantly, waving her arms frantically, her face turning red with anxiety, and she tried to salvage the situation as quickly as possible:
"No, no, no, it's not Navia! It's not what you think!"
The study fell silent instantly.
Seeing his flustered and embarrassed expression, Callas put down his glass.
"Alright, alright, don't panic." He waved his hand. "If it's not Navia, it's not Navia. No need to be nervous. Tell me, which family's girl is she that could tie you down?"
Xingsu's ears turned slightly red, and he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly. His gaze drifted to the night outside the window, and his tone was both frank and serious.
"You two have actually met before."
He took a deep breath and said the name.
"It's Arlecchino, the Harbinger of the Fatui."
The moment the words left his mouth.
The study was completely quiet.
The aroma of the wine seemed to be frozen in the air.
Callas paused slightly, his expression shifting several times, staring blankly at Xingsu for several seconds without saying a word.
"You're a man, aren't you? Alright, you've finished your drink, get out of here."
Xingsu nodded in agreement, quietly left the study, and gently closed the wooden door behind him.
In an instant, all the noise and frankness vanished, leaving Callas alone in the large study.
The room was warmly lit, with a faint aroma of fruit wine lingering in the air. A cool evening breeze seeped through the window cracks, ruffling the scattered letters on the corner of the table. Callas picked up his empty wine glass and sat alone on the wooden chair, feeling only weariness and melancholy.
He stared at the empty desk, muttering to himself softly, over and over again, with endless comfort and sighs:
"It's good to have a partner... it's good to have a partner..."
Today is Navia's birthday, a day that signifies her coming of age, and Navia has brought out her favorite board game.
Amidst the lively atmosphere, everyone except the birthday girl Navia, who remained the main character, racked their brains to create roles that were completely unsuitable for them.
The composed Melus becomes the clumsy and careless client, inviting everyone to solve—or rather, bear—the ancient curse of his family. The well-dressed and polite Sonny transforms into a foul-mouthed thief. Silver, who is dragged into the fray while passing by, is tailor-made to play the role of a mysterious and powerful sorcerer.
In the past, Clorinde was in charge of controlling the situation. This time, she chose to "go along with" the famous adventurer codenamed "Young Lady" and appeared as a private doctor who never missed a shot.
The well-informed Xingsu has become an illiterate lunatic who has a particular fondness for bombs and can pull them out anytime, anywhere.
This directly led to the absence of a game host, and Mr. Callas suffered as a result.
He had no choice but to put down his soft drink, leave the audience seats (bench), and sit in the middle of the crowd (sofa).
The game started off unexpectedly difficult.
At the young lady's birthday party, a strange client bursts in, and due to a terrible judgment, plunges headfirst into a three-tiered cake, unable to breathe, and almost resolves the thousand-year-old family curse on his own within the first five minutes.
The young lady quickly asked the kind doctor to treat him.
"Letting him live is helping our enemy," the doctor said, throwing the dice.
The host remained composed, faithfully fulfilling his duties in a deep voice:
The young man who rushed there in the rain was soaked to the bone, his hands trembling.
He tried his best to wipe the cream off his face and body, but there were still some spots he missed.
"Thank you, thank you all kind people, for helping me fight this evil curse!"
Unexpected good luck occurred midway through the game.
To solve a problem, you must first investigate its root cause.
According to the sorcerer's speculation, the client's ancestor made a pact with a demon for some reason.
"If I had better points, I would know why..." the warlock lamented.
"So his foolish ancestor signed a loan shark contract, what a decision to betray his descendants!" the thief said dismissively.
"Then can we steal it and destroy it?" the young lady casually suggested.
"Someone wants to destroy something?! I have a bomb!" Xingsu dutifully played his role.
The inexperienced host will surely regret allowing their actions for the rest of his life.
The thief's luck was ridiculously good.
"..."The young lady is resourceful, and the "phantom thief" is equally skilled.
"No one expected the contract to be obtained so easily, but the words on it are difficult to decipher..."
The game ended unexpectedly well.
Thanks to the host, who was hardworking, kind (and inexperienced) enough, the young lady finally led her teammates, who were in various states, to meet the ancient demon.
The combat wheel is surprisingly simple.
Our Mr. Xingsu, who can pull out bombs anytime, anywhere, relied on his superb DPS, total damage, rotation, and extremely strong versatility and survivability to instantly kill this demon.
"... Why does he get a +15 bonus for throwing bombs, and the normal camouflage is ridiculous." Despite Clorinde's complaints, the host announced that the demon had been killed.
"Maybe this is what a 'super-sized' cup is like." Xingsu scratched his head.
Amidst the commotion, only Mr. Callas, who had begun tidying up the props, remained in a daze.
He took a golden gem from the box containing the dice. "Navia... I think this is yours."
There were many people present, but this Vision truly belonged to Navia.
In the blink of an eye, a giant Geo blade sliced the birthday cake in two... along with the table.
Thankfully, Chef Escoffier didn't attend the Tabletop Troupe; otherwise, seeing his painstakingly made cake merge with the table would have surely caused him to explode with a sharp, piercing sound.
Fortunately, there were still plenty of refreshments left at the banquet, so there was something to enjoy.
Everyone present praised the remaining tea and snacks.
Especially the Xingsu, the taste of which reminded him of the Tasses Ragout he had at Earnshaw Earnshaw's.
What did that taste like...?
Wrong!