Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 117: Birthday Party

"Happy birthday!"

That's what I hear from two of Kazuki's classmates as they enter the ballroom with Mom standing at the entrance bowing to them in her best blue party dress.

Yep, today is the day. Before every Christmas, we celebrate my little brother's birthday and since he's turning 13, we're going to celebrate in style!

It's enough to make me smile seeing some of his friends are willing to accept our invitations to celebrate my little brother's big day. But they're not the only ones. Some of our cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends are here, too. I can imagine how Aunt Mary and Machi will compete in the "Pinch Kazuki's Cheeks the Hardest" contest and Uncle Ralph will sing "Dame Dame" during karaoke hour. Of course, Zac and Damon are also here along with a few friends and club members who support me and Kazuki. I don't know about them, but I guess they are willing to drop everything on their schedule to meet us on this special day. I only pray that Zac doesn't say anything funny about me or else...

Speaking of which, they are still busy upstairs doing a certain thing. For this party, the dress code is semi-formal and I'm currently wearing a black tuxedo suit with a green shirt underneath it. Dad is wearing a simple blue jacket, black dress shirt, green striped tie, blue slacks, and black shoes. He's currently chatting with a few teachers from Kazuki's school along with his work colleagues we have known for a while. As for Kazuki himself, he's too busy dressing himself back in the dressing room upstairs. Though, I'm more worried that he might bite Zac's hand while he's trying to dress him up. He really doesn't like neckties for obvious reasons...

However, this year will be different. Because the next set of people entering the ballroom is a familiar pair of girls. One is a blonde girl wearing a pink blouse, orange skirt, and brown boots holding a purple purse and another is a young girl wearing a simple auburn dress and a pair of red Mary-Jane shoes carrying a big gift box that I'm guessing it's for Kazuki.

"Welcome to the party, Arin," Mom greeted before turning to the young girl accompanying her. "And you must be Annie... Uh..."

"F-Fortune," Annie stuttered behind Arin. "A-Annie Fortune. A-Are you Wind and Kazu's Mom?"

"Why yes. I'm guessing you're one of the friends Kazuki was raving around. My name is Tsukino. Nice to meet you!"

"N-Nice to meet you! Y-You, too, Hayate!"

Fortune, huh? Guess her <Annie+Luck> name is not just a coincidence on her part. "Yeah. Same here, Annie. And if you're looking for the star of the show, he's busy preparing for it," I say to her gently. "But if you want to personally give that to him, then I'll let you keep it. But I advise you not to put it on the table for everyone's sake."

"R-Really?" Annie's brown eyes perked up while trying to carry the big box that seemed too big for her size. "Thanks, Mr. Hayate!"

At least she worked up the courage to talk to me this time. Small steps, but it's good. Looks like Kazuki did wonders for her confidence. I hope she's okay meeting him outside the game, too. Although I'm a little concerned about her still carrying that box. Maybe I should take the box for her sake...

"Don't worry, Hayate." Arin grabbed the box from her cousin twice removed. "I'll take care of this. Annie, how about you find us a table to sit at? Maybe in front of the stage?"

"Sure! I'll see you soon, Kazuki's Mom and Mister Hayate!"

And she's off. Annie really is a nice girl both in <Isekai> and in real life. I turn to Arin and help her put down her cousin's gift.

"Are you sure you want to leave her to find your table?" I ask.

"She doesn't look much, but Annie is a responsible girl and she's not the type to wander off while I'm not around unlike her brother." Arin sighs in frustration. "And before you ask, I gave some invitations to him and the rest of Force Blade. Unfortunately, they're too busy with some guild stuff and some school club shenanigans at the moment."