The two girls stand in front of me with serious expressions.
And then they start singing Happy Birthday to me.
I almost squirm on the sofa out of sheer embarrassment.
What the hell is this?! Even Rei never sang this song to me on my previous birthdays. Ugh... So embarrassing.
My face gets hot, well, not really because I'm a zombie, but I feel embarrassed anyway.
When did these girls learn this song?
Rei notices my embarrassed expression and smiles broadly.
"I memorized it last year after hearing it on TV! I wanted to sing it to you on your next birthday."
Saya sighs and looks at me with a neutral expression.
"My parents always sang to me on my birthday, so it's normal for me to know the song. Even if it's the first time I've sung it for someone else, it's no big deal."
You say that, but what's that slight blush I see on your cheeks?
After finishing the embarrassing song, Saya picks up a knife and begins to cut the huge cake. She places a generous slice on each of three small white plates.
Rei lifts her plate and examines the cake closely before looking at Saya with admiration.
"Mm! It looks delicious! Did you buy it at an expensive bakery?"
Saya lifts her chin and puffs out her chest proudly as she shakes her head.
"We didn't buy it. I helped my mother make it from scratch last night."
Rei's eyes widen in surprise.
"You really made it yourself?"
Then, for some reason, she puffs out her cheeks like a puffer fish.
Saya freezes upon hearing Rei's tone. She turns her head toward me as her face turn red before waving her hand frantically in front of her in denial.
"I-I didn't make it specifically for you or anything like that! My mother needed help because she's been working overtime every day since my father died!"
I scratch my cheek with an amused smile.
"Huh? Is that so? I thought you did it for me. That's sad."
She shows her fang peeking out from her right lip.
"Hmph! O-Of course not! So you better not have those wrong expectations, understand?!"
"Hai, hai. Whatever you say, Saya."
I can see that she has gone back into her tsundere mode, but I know how to handle a tsundere girl like Saya.
I grab my spoon, cut a piece of cake, and before she can react, I shove it straight into her open mouth to silence her.
"Ekk!"
She makes a small noise of surprise as she gasps at the spoon invading her mouth. I pull the spoon out, and she automatically chews the cake while glaring coldly in my direction as if she wants to murder me.
As she swallows the bite, she opens her mouth to yell at me.
"Why are you—?!"
But I shove another spoonful of cake into her mouth before she can finish her complaint.
Only then does the little tsundere calm down and give up. She starts silently eating her own plate of cake while her eyes glint dangerously.
Why is she chewing as if the cake were my own flesh?
I also cut a piece of my own cake and put it in my mouth before quickly swallowing it.
As expected, the taste is horrible.
Fresh human heart tastes sweet to me like a fancy cake. And this real cake tastes like rotten shit.
My zombie biology is backwards.
I swallow it and make an exaggerated gesture of chewing with pleasure. I pretend to swallow even though it has already gone down my throat before putting my best smile on my face.
"It's delicious, Saya. You really did a great job!"
Saya snorts disdainfully at me, but says nothing else. It seems she is afraid that I will put the spoon back in her mouth if she opens her mouth too wide to speak.
Rei suddenly pokes me in the waist with her finger.
Even though I don't feel pain as a zombie, I'm still able to sense when someone touches me. I turn my face toward her and see that she's unhappy as she has a pouty expression.
"What's wrong, Rei?"
She points a finger at my plate of cake before saying with puffed cheeks and a demanding voice.
"Feed me too!"
'Hm? Is she jealous?'
I laugh at her adorable reaction and nod.
"Okay, okay."
I know how to handle girls like Rei too. I just need to please her by giving her exactly what she wants.
So I start cutting my cake with the spoon into small pieces and feed them to her one by one. She obediently opens her mouth each time like a chick being fed, and eats with a happy expression. She makes little noises of satisfaction after each bite.
I sigh internally with relief as I continue this process.
The reason I'm relieved is because it seems that as long as I distract the two girls this way, I won't have to endure the horrible taste of the cake myself.
Ugh! I spoke too soon and celebrated my victory prematurely.
Because after I finish giving Rei all of my cake, she gives me a charming smile and says in a sweet voice.
"Now it's my turn to feed you, Arata."
'Uhhh...'
I have no choice but to accept being fed by Rei while Saya watches from the side with a jealous expression. But since she's tsundere, she can't express that she wants to feed me too.
After finishing all the cake torture, the three of us play various board games and video games for hours. Rei and Saya have fun while laughing and competing.
Of course, I don't forget to excuse myself to go to the bathroom to discreetly vomit everything I ate. This includes not only the cake but also the lunch we had.
In the afternoon, when the sun is almost setting on the horizon and Rei and I are about to go home, Saya tells us with a serious expression.
"My mother wants to talk to us about something important. Especially you, Arata."
Huh? Me? Why?
Both Rei and I agree to meet with Mrs. Yuriko.
Since her husband Souichiro died, Yuriko has been busy every day as she suddenly had to take over all the business management and responsibilities that had previously been her husband's. That's why she couldn't be present at my party today or spend more time with her daughter Saya as she used to.
In the main living room, the three of us sat together on a long sofa facing Mrs. Yuriko, who was sitting in a single armchair. She was holding an official sheet of paper with stamps on it.
Saya leaned forward and asked her mother hopefully.
"Okaa-san, have you thought about what I asked you last night?"
Yuriko nods seriously at her daughter, then looks at me before speaking in a gentle voice.
"Arata-kun, I have heard from my daughter about the conditions you are currently living in. You are too young to live alone in such harsh circumstances."
She pauses significantly.
"Would you like to be adopted as my son?"
"Huh? Okaa-san?!"
Saya's eyes widen in shock, turning her head sharply toward her mother.
But she's not the only one who's surprised. No. In fact, I'm sure I'm the most surprised of all.
'Huh? What... what did she just say?'
××
20 advanced chapters on Pá treon.
pá treon.com/OlwinMoriarty