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#600 ｈａｐｐｙ
🕑 Added 2023-01-05 19:57:32 +0000 UTCIt’s me.
I hope that the beat-up dragon will take this opportunity to turn over a new leaf.
But that doesn’t concern us anymore because the day has finally come for Junior’s birthday!
Happy birthday, Junior!
You’re two years old now!
Your dad is super happy to see that you’ve grown up so much!
I know you’re going to face many challenges in your life, but you don’t need to worry about that today, so just enjoy yourself!
After all, today is your special day!
As such, I made a huge birthday cake for him, but...
Something equally bigger was already arranged—mochi.
A giant mochi is enshrined flat on level ground.
“It’s ginormous...”
Is this the mochi to be used for the mochifumi?
It’s much bigger than I imagined.
It’s so big and wide that you might mistake it for a plaza.
The mochi used for mochifumi is also called issho mochi, and one shou is equivalent to 1.8 liters. If I were to eyeball the measurement of the mochi in front of me...
...I’d say it’s about 180 liters?
That should give you a rough idea of its size now.
Of course, our orcs are the ones who made this gigantic mochi.
“We made it to celebrate the growth of the young master!”
I’m glad you feel that way, but how did you make a mochi this huge?
It’s clearly too big to fit in our mortar.
How it was made is a mystery to me.
It’s Mission Accomplished when the baby steps on the giant mochi for mochifumi, but...
With the sheer size of it, I don’t think it’d take a few simple stomps.
You have to run on top of it!
“Of course, there’s another item that is essential for mochifumi. That’s where Gobukichi’s handmade straw sandals come in!”
“We’ve been keeping them warm under our clothes!”
Please don’t make a Hideyoshi reference here.
I feel a mystical, almost cursed-like force emanating from the sandals he proudly presents to me.
“I weaved these sandals with a prayer for the young master’s steady growth! Please use them for today!”
“T-Thanks...!”
I can’t tell if it’s a prayer or a curse...
When I put the sandals on the ground, the surface glowed faintly. I turned them over to check and saw that the earth was covered in footprint-shaped moss.
“The magic breathed life into the ground...!”
What a magnificent artifact this is.
Actually, I think our residents are too casual about mass-producing legendary items.
Huh? I’m not one to talk, you say?
Well, never mind.
Today is a happy day.
Let’s just celebrate Junior’s second birthday with a blast.
“Happy Birthday to you.”
“Happy Birthday to you.”
“Happy Birthday to you.”
“Happy Birthday to you.”
“Happy Birthday to you.”
“Happy Birthday to you.”
There are lots of people celebrating with us, so the song echoes.
“Happy birthday, Dear Junior.”
“HAAAAAPPY BIRTHHHHDAAAAAY TO YOUUUUUU!”
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!!!
Junior is happy to receive everyone’s blessings.
Carried by his mother, Platy, and dressed up in fancy clothes sown by Batemy, he really is today’s star.
“Thank you.”
At two years old, Junior is now able to express his gratitude.
As his father, I’m so glad to see him all grown!
“It’s amazing how children grow so fast in the blink of an eye.”
Oh, Sensei’s here representing the birthday party attendees!
Our Lifeless King makes the great mediator during times like this.
“An old man like me cannot feel the difference between one or two years, especially if I’m not practicing caution. But for this child, all the time he has lived carries a different weight entirely. His growth reminds me of the significance of the passage of time, which I have taken for granted.”
You are absolutely right!
Sensei blesses Junior with a prayer for sound health as his present to him.
The prayer is 100% effective when Sensei does it, so it’s a marvelous gift.
On Junior’s birthday last year, he brought a more tangible gift—a great sage’s staff—which was too extravagant for us to accept.
But, as expected of a Lifeless King, any of his gifts will at least fall under the treasure-class, so we discussed it as not suitable for the child’s upbringing. Ultimately, this is what we agreed on.
Nonetheless, his prayer is guaranteed to be effective, and as a parent who wishes for my child’s health, I couldn’t be happier.
“With the formalities over, let’s move on to the main event.”
And that is stepping on the mochi—mochifumi.
This event is limited to one-year-olds, but today, a two-year-old will step on the mochi.
We’re in a different world, so I hope you let this slide.
“Go on, Junior.”
“Roger!”
He puts on the straw sandals made by Gobukichi and stands on the ground, or rather, on the mochi.
It’s as solid as a kagami mochi, so getting on top is no problem.
The 100-shou mochi is so large that it was no different from standing on regular ground as far as our eyes could see.
“Are you okay, Junior? Can you stand by yourself?”
Platy feels anxious, but don’t worry, Junior has grown up enough to be able to stand and walk by himself.
“Woah.”
Junior isn’t just walking; he’s running!
He’s running on top of the mochi.
It still looks to me like a plain ol’ flat surface.
“Uohhhhhhhhhh! Amazing! You’ve really grown, Junior! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Veil is moved to tears seeing Junior run around energetically.
Don’t cry before his own blood relatives.
“You really have a bright future ahead of you as a champion, Junioooooooor! I could even cut off Gardampnie’s head right now and turn it into Pendragon for youuu!”
Stop it.
You and I collaborated to create a wooden dragon-shaped toy as a present for Junior, didn’t we?
Look, it’s standing out among the various gifts with how sparkly it is.
I’m relieved to see that, despite being my son, Junior hasn’t lost the gusto for material things.
“Of course! It’s collaborative work between us! It can completely transform into a human, dragon, or Gerwalk without the need to replace any parts!”
“Huh? Was it always capable of doing that?”
Oh, wow. It really transformed. Now that’s something that would grip the hearts of boys.
It’s incredible that a mere toy made of wood could have such a mechanism.
“I couldn’t be happier, sniff...that so many people are celebrating...my son’s growth with so much enthusiasm, sniff...!”
Platy cries tears of joy as a mother.
“It makes me realize all the more that it was not a mistake for this child to be born. As a mother, I am so happy! Thank you all! Thank you for celebrating Junior’s birthday with us!”
“So? What’s your gift to him?”
“For a child, time with his mother is the best present, isn’t it?”
What?!
But Platy is also nurturing a new life in her belly, so I guess I can’t force her to do much.
Junior will be a big brother soon, and then he won’t have his mother’s undivided attention, so now’s probably the most crucial time for them to bond.
“All right, let’s keep the birthday party going! We still have the birthday cake, so we’re blowing out the candles next.”
That’s the highlight of every birthday party.
A toddler’s lung capacity should be able to handle blowing out two candles.
I’m looking forward to seeing the number of candles increase to the point where they will no longer fit in the cake.
Afterwards, the mochi Junior stepped on was made into soup with vegetables, which we all enjoyed.
This can almost be confused with a similar New Year’s event where we cut rice cake.
All in all, it turned out to be an enjoyable memory for everyone.
Junior’s second birthday ended peacefully.
* * *
Well, at least, peaceful.
It took a lot of effort to keep the gods out of the birthday party for that to happen.
“O’, saint! Why did thee not let us attend thine son’s birthday party?”
“Exactly! I even prepared the best present for thine child!”
Ugh, the god of the underworld and the god of the sea are so annoying.
Had I invited them, they would just bestow immortality or other gifts beyond mortal control.
I saved you some leftover soup made from the 100-shou mochi, so just bring that with you and go back to your respective realms.
