Iaar finished cutting the steak and poured the black pepper sauce over it, her movements slow, as if waiting for the sky to darken.
She ate bite after bite.
They had their meal a bit early, and the sky hadn’t fully turned dark yet.
So Iaar’s movements grew slower and slower, even making Will feel as if there was a hint of flirtation.
The leisurely meal continued until the scene Will could barely perceive with his light-sensitive sunglasses turned completely dark. As night fell, Iaar lit a candle.
She placed it right beside him.
From the light shining on the side of his sunglasses, he could clearly see the candle flame.
“How is it? How does it taste? I used a different sauce today than usual.”
“…To be honest, I couldn’t tell the difference, but it tastes very good too.”
“Then Iaar will clear the plates—Young Master, please wait here for a moment, Iaar has something to say.”
Will was ready. The moment Iaar gave herself a “surprise”—
It was like many, many years ago, when she made him experience what it was like to have a real birthday, one that belonged to himself…
*Swish—*
Iaar moved the plates aside. She seemed to have placed something on the table, possibly a very large item, along with a small metal object.
In the days he had lost his “vision,” Will felt his hearing had sharpened.
He could now discern what things were outside through his hearing, and also distinguish what things were and where they were.
*Creak, creak.*
Will heard very clearly, beside him, Iaar winding a spring. The spring turned round and round, and finally stopped.
A spring? What was she winding…
Then, the world before his eyes suddenly went dark.
It was Iaar blowing out the only source of light, the candle.
“…Huh? Iaar… what’s wrong?”
*Ding—dingdingdingding—*
The sound of a music box began, very clear. The music box played a song often sung on birthdays in Entak.
“New World.”
“Where flowers in heaven bloom, and the bells of hell shall ring no more.”
It was said to be a song left by the Goddess Reviers to celebrate the birth of the world, and it was occasionally played as church music. It might also be suitable as a birthday song.
For some reason, Will could still remember the lyrics to this song.
Accompanied by the wordless melody, it played in Will’s mind.
Its lyrics were like a prophecy, and like a historical epic, but Will didn’t hear Reviers’ celebration of the “New World” in them. Instead, he felt a touch of melancholy in her lyrics.
After the music box, Iaar spoke—
“A birthday surprise. Iaar thought for a long time. If the Young Master couldn’t see, turning off the lights and lighting a candle wouldn’t make him feel surprised. So, Iaar chose a music box. If you just wind it up, and it suddenly starts playing ding-dong, perhaps that would be the most suitable birthday surprise.”
“Today is not my birthday.”
“That’s right, it’s Iaar’s birthday surprise!”
“Who ever creates a surprise for their own birthday?”
“This is something Iaar suddenly wanted to do—to celebrate a birthday for myself.”
“The ancient flute music is as melodious as the dawn, the painted scrolls of distant lands are as exquisite as the ocean.”
“In the Hysterm Family, servants are not allowed to celebrate birthdays. Although everyone chooses to rest or take leave on their birthday to make up for it.”
“Iaar has never done this before, but after yesterday, Iaar suddenly wanted to have a birthday. To have a birthday according to my own will.”
She spoke very plainly, but there was still a hint of intense joy beneath her voice.
“Perhaps because yesterday, Iaar experienced some special feelings. Iaar felt, for the first time, the value of my own existence, without anyone else’s.”
“Fall, fly, roar at the earth, sing to the sky.”
As the music box slowly reached the more impassioned, high-pitched part of the song, Iaar’s voice also carried a hint of excitement.
“It wasn’t about completing a mission, or following orders, or seeking a sense of security by being needed. It was simply doing something because I wanted to.”
Her tone held a trace of envy.
“However, because Iaar can’t remember her birthday at all. So, even this opportunity doesn’t exist. Of course, for a very long time, Iaar never thought it was a big deal. As for cake, I could eat it when it’s the Young Master’s birthday and pretend it’s mine…”
“…Moreover, Iaar realized that the Young Master finding Iaar again actually means…”
As she spoke, she lit the candle, and Will’s vision became brighter once again.
In the light, he felt Iaar touch the back of his hand.
“It means the Young Master will never abandon Iaar, no matter when it is. Actually, the words the Young Master said were meant to make Iaar realize this… to realize that Iaar is indeed loved.”
“Fall, run, wave goodbye to winter, look up to the sky…”
*Ding-ding-dong—*
The music box fell silent. Because it was a music box, it always got stuck at an awkward point, as if the song hadn’t finished.
“…Look~ up~ and paint the spring wind.”
Iaar, however, hummed the remaining few notes herself.
Her singing was slightly off-key, sounding a bit awkward.
This was the first time she had sung in front of Will, as a “maid,” singing was considered a “refined” act that was certainly not allowed at home.
And…
It didn’t seem to sound very good.
She looked up, a little shy, at Will. The usual Young Master would probably have openly mocked her.
But he didn’t…
“You sing beautifully. Won’t you continue?”
“Iaar… can only sing up to here. After all, Iaar has only heard a small part of the song ‘New World’ at church.”
Iaar looked up, gazing at the cake.
“However, even though you say that, you’ve actually eaten all my birthday cakes every time?”
“Th-that’s because the Young Master said you don’t like sweets, that children eating too many sweets will ruin their teeth, and that the dentists here are still very bad, so I definitely don’t want to go… th-that’s why I helped the Young Master finish them.”
“Pfft. So, why did you suddenly remember… today?”
Upon hearing this, Iaar vaguely understood that Will might have known from the beginning that she had ordered a cake for herself after waking up and intended to celebrate her birthday.
“Young Master, have you actually remembered what day it is all along?”
“When you said you were going to establish something important, I remembered.”
“Mm. Iaar looked in the mirror yesterday and suddenly realized that today is the day I met the Young Master in front of the Hysterm Family’s door. It was the first time Iaar knew this world had calendars that recorded time, the first time Iaar knew this world had spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the first time Iaar met the Young Master…”
“Iaar feels that from this day on, the always foolish, seemingly ignorant Half-Beastman named ‘Iaar’ was truly born.”
“So, when Iaar suddenly wanted to celebrate her birthday, she chose this day as her birthday.”
She finished speaking and sat down. Will looked at her beast ears swaying in the candlelight, guessing she was looking at the candle.
“Happy birthday, Iaar.”
Only after Iaar had completely finished her statement did Will offer his blessing.
Iaar rarely expressed herself, let alone clearly articulated all her thoughts as she had just done.
She rarely had a moment where she herself clearly understood things.
“It’s just a pity that I really didn’t prepare a birthday gift—if only you had told me earlier yesterday.”
“Uh-huh, but now the Young Master can’t go anywhere without Iaar, and is actually penniless, right? How can you prepare a birthday gift~?”
“…You’ve even learned to blackmail me this way.”
“However, actually, the Young Master did prepare a birthday gift—but, Iaar has to come and get it herself.”
“Hmm?”
Will hadn’t yet realized what Iaar meant by that statement when she interrupted him—
“The wish has been made, it’s time to blow out the candle!”
“Hoo—”
Iaar took a long, deep breath.
“Pfft—”
Then, as she exhaled, she extinguished the candle.
“!?
