I, Who Was Reincarnated as an Evil Character With Cheat-Level Stats in an Eroge, Will Live Freely in This Life
“Happy birthday, Kana!”
“Thank you! Seito-senpai!!!”
After finishing our discussion with Kana’s parents, we had come to my house.
With our worries resolved and having properly informed Kana’s parents that we’d be staying over, all lingering uncertainties had vanished. We greeted this moment with an even greater sense of relief.
I’d only sent brief messages to Miku and Saki, so I’d need to talk to them properly next time… Well, mostly Kana would be the one to handle that, I suppose.
“So, can I give you your present right away?”
“You got me a present too!?”
“Of course! It’s your birthday, obviously I bought something.”
“When we celebrate Miku-nee and Saki-nee’s birthdays, we just celebrate each other’s birthdays without presents, you know?”
“Why’s that?”
“We celebrate each other every year, so choosing presents gets tough. The three of us decided to just stick to birthday parties! !! Lots of close friends do it that way!!! Apparently, many of my classmates do it too!!! I don’t want to bring up my stepbrother right now, but he’s never given me a present either…”
Well, yeah, even in my past life, I remember lots of friends just getting a bottle of juice or something for birthdays. Obviously, I never got that kind of thing.
I mean, high schoolers probably don’t have much money anyway, so maybe that’s just normal among friends. But in my case, I’m not a friend, I’m her boyfriend, so I definitely want to give her a present every year.
As for Nanashima… well, whatever. She didn’t seem too keen on spreading it around, so I’ll just let it slide.
“I see. But since I’m your boyfriend, not just a friend, I’d like to give you a birthday present every year.”
“I’m so happy!! Thank you so much!!! I’ll do the same for you!!!”
Even though I haven’t given her anything yet, Kana already looks thrilled.
She’d probably be happy with anything, but did I really buy something she’ll genuinely love?
Thinking that, I still say:
“Well, Kana, you’re still in middle school, so don’t push yourself too hard, okay? I’ll say this up front, but it’s not like I got anything super expensive either.”
“The price doesn’t matter at all!!! Just getting a present from Seito-senpai makes me so happy!!!”
She said that with a big smile, and she really is adorable.
Any guy would be thrilled to hear that with a smile like that. Honestly, I’m super happy too.
“Here. This is it.”
Saying that, I handed her a small wrapped box.
“Can I open it now?”
“Of course.”
“O-okay, then I’ll open it…”
Kana said, slowly peeling off the wrapping and opening it.
“This is… a pretty expensive hairpin, isn’t it!!!”
“You know it?”
“Yes! When I buy hairpins, I buy them online, and this is one I thought was cute back then!!! I ended up giving up on it because it was too pricey!!! Are you sure it’s okay!!??”
Price-wise, well, it was almost five digits.
Sure, it’s expensive for a hairpin, but I never imagined it was something Kana wanted… Realizing that made me happy too.
It was a bit pricey, but I bought what I thought would suit Kana best.
“Of course it’s fine. I bought it for Kana, after all.”
“Ah, thank you so much!!! I’m so happy!!!”
Saying that, Kana immediately put the hairpin in her hair.
“Seito-senpai!! How does it look? Does it suit me!?”
“Ah, it suits you perfectly and you look adorable.”
“Ehehe, thank you so much, Seito-senpai!!!”
Saying that, Kana threw her arms around me.
“I’m glad you like it. It was my first time picking out a birthday present, so I was a bit nervous.”
“Really?!?!”
“Well, I never had anyone to give them to before…”
“Even so, you have amazing taste, Seito-senpai!!!!”
“Hearing you say that gives me confidence.”
“I mean it!!”
“I’m not doubting you.”
“Well, that’s good then. Still, I need to step up my game too…”
By “step up my game,” she must be talking about my birthday present.
“You don’t have to try hard. Honestly, just having you celebrate it makes me happy.”
“That’s no good!! I’m your girlfriend, Seito-senpai!!!”
“Oh, right. Well then, I won’t hold back, but don’t push yourself too hard. You probably can’t even work part-time yet, Kana.”
“It’s fine!! I have my allowance, and I still have some New Year’s money left!!!”
Kana declared this with absolute confidence.
Seeing that side of her made me feel even more fond of her. I ruffled her hair as I said,
“I see. Well then, I guess I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yes!! Please look forward to it!!!”
――And so the birthday party continued.
“Still, it really worked out well.”
“Are you talking about Kana’s parents?”
“Yes! I’m so relieved now, I feel incredibly at ease.”
“I feel the same way. Didn’t you feel guilty about lying to your parents to come stay over?”
“I can’t deny that… For me, it was a balance between guilt and the time I could spend with Seito-senpai. Spending time with Seito-senpai won out immediately, but that feeling was definitely there.”
“Well, yeah. Thinking about it, I’m really glad I told them properly.”
“Yes! Thanks to that, I can enjoy myself 100% without worrying about anything!! Thank you so much for saying you’d tell Mom and Dad!!! I definitely couldn’t have done it alone!!!”
“For me, it was just because I thought it was the honest thing to do, the right thing…”
“By the way, just curious—what would you have done if they’d said no to me staying over?”
“What do you mean? I would’ve sent you home, obviously. There’s no way I could’ve let you stay over in that state.”
After finally getting permission to date, no one in their right mind would do something that stupid. I’d never want to ruin my future just because I gave in to a momentary desire.
“I guess you’re right… I’m really glad they gave us permission… I, I was looking forward to it so much, you know?”
“Looking forward to it…”
“Y-yes, I am…”
Kana said this, looking both embarrassed and anxious.
I knew it, but sure enough, Kana must have been thinking the same thing.
At this point, the possibility of it being my misunderstanding was practically gone.
“W-well, I… I came here tonight with that in mind… It doesn’t matter that I’m just a middle schooler…”
As I was thinking about that, Kana said it.
When she suggested the sleepover, I decided to be proactive too, but I ended up letting Kana say it again… Maybe I should have invited her sooner.
“Like last time, I’m sorry for always making you say it, Kana… I meant it too, and I was really looking forward to it.”
“R-Really?”
“I really am.”
“R-Really…? Hehe, I’m glad to hear that.”
Hearing my words, Kana’s expression changed to one of happiness.
“We still have time until night. Let’s just have fun, okay?”
“Yes! That’s a great idea!!!”
Maiban