Translator: Haruto.

The main hall is already bustling with life. There are countless guests, and also large tables with various appetizing dishes all around.

Wearing an even fancier dress than the one she had on earlier, Chris-san walks over to us and says, “Thank you for coming, Great Heroes, Alize-sama.”

Ayesha takes a step forward and tells her on behalf of all of us, “Thank you for inviting us. We wish you a happy birthday.”

“Hehe, thank you very much. I’m now twenty years old!”

“It makes me incredibly happy to see that young girl, who used to hide at the sight of strangers four years ago, be able to host such a grand party by herself.”

Chris-san blushes and drops her eyes in response to Ayesha’s comment.

It appears she was a very timid girl four years ago. From what I can see, there’s no trace of her former self, but I guess that just goes to show how much she’s matured in the past four years.

Chris-san raises her gaze once again, and says with a smile, “At any rate, I hope you’ll enjoy the party. I must go greed the other guests, so I’ll have to excuse myself now.” And with those few words, she leaves to welcome the rest of the attendees.

Having been left by ourselves, we decide to try some of the food lying on the table closest to us.

“My! This is salamander meat, right?! It’s absolutely delicious!” the foodie Mia exclaims happily as she grabs a plate and begins to fill it.

“I’ve also heard that salamander meat is delicious, but I was told that it’s extremely expensive as well because there aren’t that many places that sell it,” I tell her.

Mia nods and answers, “Correct! It’s quite costly because of how rare it is! Salamanders are very strong monsters so hunting them for their meat is not a piece of cake.”

In that case, it’s incredible how they managed to get so many piles of it.

Curious, I grab a plate, put some meat on it, and give it a try. “Ohh! Yeah, that’s some good stuff! It’s almost like it’s melting in my mouth!”

Despite being in my late thirties already, I’ve never tasted meat as good as this one. But it’s not just the quality of the meat; whoever cooked this is also an amazing chef.  

“You should give it a try too, Ayesha, Lulune,” I suggest.

The two of them serve themselves some meat and give it a bite.

“Wow, it’s true. It’s hard to find meat as flavorful as this one,” Ayesha says.

“Totally! I think it’s the first time I’ve had such delicious meat,” Lulune chimes in.

We continue going around the tables, trying various other dishes.

After a while, I begin to feel full, but it seems Mia and Lulune can still keep going.

“I’ll go take a break on the balcony,” I tell them.

Ayesha follows me, saying, “Ah, I’m also full so I’ll accompany you, Alize-san.”

Ayesha and I step out onto the balcony. It’s gotten dark outside already, so we can admire the starry sky in all its glory and the town below us, full of life and celebration. The festive spirit appears to have reached not only the castle but the entire capital as well.

“What a beautiful sky…” Ayesha mumbles in awe.

I nod in agreement and say, “It looks just like that sky the two of us admired together the night before you girls left.”

Stars are quite something. Even if ten years have passed, they look exactly the same as I remember them, and I’m sure they’ll remain the same ten years from now.

Ayesha giggles and replies, “Yes… I was still feeling reluctant to leave you, so I asked you to keep me company for a while, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I remember. You couldn’t find the courage to leave, so we got out of the house together and went stargazing on top of a small hill.”

The other girls had already made up their minds about leaving, but Ayesha was hesitating still, so we sneaked out by ourselves and went to look at the stars.

“Hehe… Do you think… do you think I’ve become more mature?” Ayesha asks me.

“Your appearance has changed a lot, sure, but mentally, I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“…You really are a meanie, Alize-san. I’ll prove to you that I’m an adult now.”

Judging from the conversations we’ve had, she certainly has matured a fair amount. I just felt like teasing her a little. I wanted to see if she’d react the same way to my teasing as she did so many years ago.

“My bad, I was just messing with you. Although, I’m now kind of looking forward to that,” I say.

She then stands in front of me with her arms held wide open and the sky full of stars behind her. I’m mesmerized by her beauty, which is why she catches me completely off guard when her lips rest on my cheek.  

“Hehe… Think of this as proof that I’ve become an adult, Alize-san.”

My eyes widen in surprise.  

Just now… she…

The warm and gentle sensation of her lips remains on my cheek.

As though she’s accomplished her objective, Ayesha smiles sweetly at me.

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