Chapter 8 - Side Story: Birthdays and That Event
The fire in the fireplace flickered.
A blond boy sat in a chair placed nearby. The chair, made for an adult man, was too large for the boy; if he rested his cheek on the right armrest, a large gap opened up on the left side.
Sitting on the left armrest was the fairy housekeeper. She let her legs dangle, watching the boy quietly turn the pages of his book. Though she felt something akin to inferiority toward the boy's refined beauty, she did nothing to disturb his reading.
The fairy, who had accepted the boy as her "owner," relaxed without reservation. These days, she had come to spend much of her time by the boy's side.
As the fairy drifted in a drowsy haze, the boy, noticing her state, urged, "You should return to your cage." The fairy—Elenoa—stubbornly insisted, "I'm still here," and the boy let out a smile mixed with exasperation.
Watching the boy, Elenoa, too, made a face that seemed to lose all its strength.
"Come to think of it, children really do grow. It's been two years since I arrived, hasn't it?"
"Again with the abruptness."
"Humans really do have a growth speed that... Huh?"
Elenoa seemed to have noticed something.
Louis, internally wishing that it wouldn't be anything troublesome, was unaware of her thoughts as Elenoa bluntly voiced her question.
"Your birthday... Come to think of it, we haven't done anything celebratory, have we?"
"Birthday? We do not have a custom of celebrating it."
"Huh?"
"Even if you say 'huh'..."
"But today is your birthday, isn't it, young boy?"
"Now that you mention it, it is. I had forgotten."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
They both wore expressions that said, "What is this person talking about?"
Elenoa, who had gradually grown accustomed to being looked at in such a way by a ten-year-old, seemed to come to an understanding. "...Ah, come to think of it, there wasn't an event for that in the game either," she muttered, nodding to herself.
In this game, birthdays were treated as ordinary weekdays. While there was an obligation to record the date and time of a child's birth, whether to convey it, not convey it, or even forget it entirely was left to the discretion of each household.
It seemed the House of Stylus was the type of household that forgot. Or perhaps the lifestyle of the two children had caused it. Elenoa did not know, but she at least understood that there was no custom of celebrating birthdays in this world. Rather, she remembered. There had indeed been fans who complained, asking how a game with aspects of a romance simulation could lack birthday events!
"Hmm..."
Elenoa did not know how many hopes how many fans had placed on that day called a birthday, but she was the type to think, "Oh well." After a conversation along the lines of, "You don't eat cake or anything?" and "Cake... Ah, that brings back memories. I was often given it in my previous life. So that's what birthdays were like," Elenoa was thoroughly convinced.
—If it's a custom that doesn't exist in this world, then oh well.
It wasn't exactly a case of "when in Rome," but she wasn't troubled by the lack of celebration. Therefore, it wasn't something worth mentioning.
In this world, people aged one year on April 1st.
On that day, meals were made slightly luxurious, but rather than celebrating becoming one year older, the meaning was strongly tied to the joy of welcoming spring.
Elenoa suddenly wondered. How many festivals and events existed in this world?
The general Japanese sense that birthdays meant presents and cake did not apply here. There must be events and celebrations that did not exist in Japan.
She knew of things that appeared in connection with the game's events and story, such as the Carnival, but there might be others. It seemed that many background settings, which the developers had considered but ultimately left unused, were buried. It would not be strange if events unknown to Elenoa existed.
If the people living in the town were not NPCs, then whether religious or secular, events were a matter of course.
When she asked Louis about it directly, he thought for a moment, "Events, you say?" and answered honestly.
"For example... yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"Valeitland Day. It is the day when men give snow to the women they favor."
Valeitland Day?
Elenoa pictured the characters in her head and furrowed her brows, feeling a strange roughness to the name. It was a word that felt familiar yet unfamiliar, carrying a sense of discomfort.
And what did "give snow" mean? It seemed Elenoa's question showed on her face, as Louis closed his book.
"One solidifies snow into a shape, embeds a single flower inside, and gives it to the woman. When the snow melts or breaks, one conveys their feelings through the language of flowers. It is said to have originated when a certain water mage created something by trapping a certain spring flower in ice... if I recall correctly, he dedicated it to his deceased lover. Even now, after 100 years, it is said to remain in a northern cave."
"That sounds more troublesome than chocolate."
"Indeed? First, it must snow. Since it depends on the weather, the opportunity does not arise every year. Those who aim for it seem to look forward to that day with anticipation."
As expected of a romance simulation RPG. What a frustrating setting.
"There wasn't an event like that in the game, though."
"Oh?"
"I heard a similar situation in the drama CD included as a first-run bonus, but that was from the protagonist-chan... and she was giving candy."
"Wouldn't that be Whitedar Day? And candy, no less. It was likely a consolation prize, or perhaps the snow given was merely obligatory. If one is to receive feelings, one must prepare flowers."
Whitedar Day.
By this point, Elenoa lost the will to point it out and gave a lackluster "Hmm" in response.
Incidentally, the content of the drama CD was the female protagonist's return of feelings after receiving "friendship snow" from the male protagonist during an event called Valeitland Day.
Due to the nature of the game, it was impossible for the protagonists to meet and have heartwarming conversations, but this CD made it possible. Fans who supported the minor pairing of Male Protagonist x Female Protagonist wept with joy.
The event, which had only been lightly explained within the CD, had neither its official date nor its name revealed, but she never imagined it would overlap so completely with "White Day."
After that, it seemed the boy decided to give snow to the fairy in years when snow fell at the appropriate time.
First azaleas, then penstemons, hydrangeas, crocuses, clovers; every year, a different flower was frozen within the snow. The snow sculptures themselves became more elaborate each year, evolving from simple snow rabbits to sitting cats, and even things resembling the Virgin Mary he had seen in his previous life, becoming highly sophisticated works.
They were palm-sized works of art that melted quickly.
And in the year the boy turned eighteen, it snowed as well. The snow the boy, wearing a smile, handed to Elenoa was shaped like a tiny fairy, crafted with incredibly delicate features.
Elenoa looked at it, her eyes shining innocently, and thanked him while wondering, "How do you make this?" The flower embedded within the snow fairy's body was a red-purple anchor grass.
First love → I am captivated by you → You are beautiful but cold → Do not betray me → Be mine → I will capture you