The banquet hall was exquisitely decorated, with lavish, grand chandeliers hanging overhead.
A piano in the corner played itself, its elegant melody drifting slowly through the room.
Maids arranged silverware neatly across the tables, while a dessert stand along the wall overflowed with all sorts of pastries and teas.
On a chilled tray, square ice cubes and scoops of ice cream sat lined up in neat rows.
With summer deepening, these frozen treats held a special allure for children.
"Mo!"
But the first to arrive at the banquet hall weren't the group of boys and girls — it was Dark's Magic Guide Spirits!
Led by the maids, the neatly dressed Magic Guide Spirits entered first. Popplio, a bow tied around its neck, immediately leapt onto the dessert table and began devouring an entire tray of frozen treats.
One of the maids hurried to tie a bib around it so the ice cream wouldn't get on its little vest.
The other Magic Guide Spirits eyed the treats too, but none lost their composure so badly.
Among this group, the most striking were undoubtedly the mighty Leomon and the towering Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon.
Leomon wore a full suit, its once-shaggy mane groomed into something remarkably smooth — almost indistinguishable from a highly beastified lion-man beastkin, yet without that innate ferocity beastkin carried.
It gave off a warm, gentle impression that made people want to get close to it.
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon, like Popplio, wore only a bow tie and a little vest, which suited it rather adorably.
Due to differences in size, not every Magic Guide Spirit could wear a complete outfit — Trash Slime, for instance, could only hide inside Ditto's clothes.
As for Ditto itself, it had transformed into a miniature Dark, mimicking his appearance, and was quite lively at the moment.
Spirits that walked upright like Gatomon, Meowth, Hawlucha, and Miltank all wore full outfits, even shoes.
Those that couldn't walk upright, like Eevee and Sylveon, wore no shoes but did wear little dresses.
And ones like Shuckle, Honedge, Drifloon, and Magic Guide Scribe wore only bow ties.
Naturally, the ones best suited for dressing up were the human-shaped Vampire Young Lady and the Phoenix Maiden, along with Ditto transformed into a miniature Dark!
The Vampire Young Lady held hands with the newly-met Phoenix Maiden, looking like a pair of little sisters.
Both wore lavish Lolita-style dresses — one pink as sunset clouds, the other red as flame — devastatingly cute.
Ditto wore Dark's old clothes, though it seemed happier in hand-me-downs than it would have been in something new.
Dark had extended [[Paradise]] to cover the entire banquet hall, so the ten Magic Guide Spirits recorded within [[Paradise]] didn't need to worry about spiritual power consumption at all.
The remaining seven Magic Guide Spirits, aside from Honedge, all needed him to supply their power.
The resulting drain on his spiritual power had already exceeded his own recovery rate, but to let the Magic Guide Spirits enjoy themselves fully, he shouldered it all.
It wasn't as if the Duke's household was short on potions anyway — he could just down a bottle every so often.
...
Not long after all the Magic Guide Spirits had entered, Dark arrived at the banquet hall with his family's brothers and sisters.
Coming from the crowded, enclosed room into this spacious, open hall, the young nobles all quietly let out a breath of relief, each secretly plotting an excuse to slip off on their own.
But before anyone could make a move, the boys and girls suddenly noticed the lively, adorable group of Magic Guide Spirits and froze in place.
"Whose Magic Guide Spirits are these?" Thomas of the Griffin Knight Order suddenly asked.
"These... are Magic Guide Spirits?"
Kyle, of the Holy Church's Mystery Academy, couldn't help but sound doubtful.
Thomas shot him a suspicious look. "Seriously? You've studied for a whole year and you can't even recognize a Magic Guide Spirit?"
"But when have Magic Guide Spirits ever looked like this?" Kyle's brow twitched.
Overhearing their exchange, Dark asked with an easy smile, "Oh? Is there something odd about my Magic Guide Spirits?"
At the sound of his voice, Kyle flinched, his chubby cheeks quivering as he blurted, "No, no, no, nothing odd at all, not the least bit odd!"
"You don't have to say that," Dark said gently. "If something seems strange, you can just say so. We can discuss it."
Kyle shook his head even more vigorously. "Completely normal!"
"That won't do," Dark said with mock regret. "If you have a problem, you should have the courage to point it out. Kyle, I'm disappointed in you."
With that, he stopped looking at Kyle, whose face had turned bright red, and walked over to his own Magic Guide Spirits.
The boys and girls, trailing along behind him out of sheer momentum, watched as the group of spirits noticed Dark and swarmed toward him at once, showing none of the usual stiffness of ordinary Magic Guide Spirits.
"These spirits' intelligence levels must all be at 3.0, right?"
Those who knew a bit more about Magic Guide Spirits couldn't help feeling a shiver of shock inside.
The way they looked at Dark now was like looking at a living, breathing monster.
"Wait!" Jon and Joy, the sibling pair, suddenly cried out in alarm.
The two of them, following along behind, had also been secretly admiring the lively, adorable spirits — Joy wondering if she might someday have such a cute companion of her own, Jon staring fixedly at the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon with undisguised envy.
But then one of the spirits suddenly turned around, startling them badly.
Both siblings pointed at Ditto at almost the same moment. "Isn't that Dark?!"
Ditto tilted its head, letting out an adorable cry. "Busy busy?"
The whole place went silent.
...
Children's joys and sorrows rarely align with those of adults.
As evening drew near, the adults filed into the banquet hall as well, chatting and laughing amongst themselves.
Since this was a "family dinner," there weren't any particular formalities.
Those who had already heard about the changes in Dark since he started at St. Marian's Academy weren't overly surprised by the presence of the Magic Guide Spirits. Once seated, they fell into their own conversations.
The children, meanwhile, had split into two tables.
Even Dark's Magic Guide Spirits had split into two tables.
As for Dark himself, Alvit called him over to sit beside her — a fact that came as a considerable relief to the other children, easing the pressure on them greatly.
There weren't many people at the main table.
Besides Alvit and Claire, there were only Alvit's two uncles.
The remaining seats, of course, were reserved for the three princesses.
After paying his respects to the two elders, Dark took his seat beside Alvit.
He didn't join in the elders' conversation, simply listening quietly.
Alvit's expression was unusually serious as she exchanged views on the kingdom's situation with the two earls.
In truth, the kingdom's situation had already begun to show clear signs of unrest, with all sorts of omens appearing frequently.
Among them, the Holy Church's movements were particularly suspicious.
Since Alvit hadn't revealed the matter of "the Demon King's reincarnation," the two earls were left puzzled by the Holy Church's behavior, convinced that something must have happened within its ranks.
Their discussion revolved around this point before branching out to other matters.
It was only when Eldest Princess Eliza arrived that their conversation paused.
Eldest Princess Eliza was as beautiful as ever.
Her presence seemed to add a touch of radiance to the entire banquet hall.
Even those with rougher manners instinctively grew more reserved.
After exchanging greetings with several of the nobles, Eliza made her way to the main table and sat down without any trace of unfamiliarity.
In recent years she'd been visiting the ducal estate with increasing frequency, and she knew its facilities quite well.
The two little princesses trailing behind her sat down, giggling, on Dark's other side.
"Happy birthday," the two little princesses said quietly to Dark once they'd settled into their seats.
Dark replied politely, "Thank you."
Their encounter on Halloween had made the three of them familiar with each other again.
"I heard you took first place in the whole grade!" Anna said, hands clasped to her chest, looking utterly starstruck.
Then she added, "By this time next year, you're bound to take first place again, right?"
Starting in on this the moment they met?
Dark immediately realized she was trying to set him up to fail, and he replied with a wry smile, "Bolder than that — every year at this time, I'm first."
"Tch." Anna suddenly lost interest and turned her attention to the food on the table instead.
Meanwhile, Angie reached past her and quietly pinched Dark's side, then pulled her hand back fast.
Clearly hoping to pin the blame on Anna.
Dark ignored her.
Angie reached out again stealthily, only for Dark to slap her hand away with a sharp crack.
She pressed her lips together at once, rubbing her reddened hand and pretending to be angry.
Dark still ignored her.
...
The two little princesses kept up their mischief, but none of it stirred any reaction from Dark.
He responded to them half-heartedly, his mind instead on when Diana and Rose would arrive.
Compared to these two troublemakers, Diana and Rose really put his mind at ease.
It seemed everything really did come down to comparison.
Held up against the princesses, Diana and Rose's virtues shone all the brighter.
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears.
The three members of the Greatbear family, escorted by a maid, appeared at the entrance to the banquet hall.
Viscount Greatbear's presence was commanding — the moment he stepped in, he drew the attention of the entire room.
Many people only realized at that moment that Alvit had actually invited Viscount Greatbear!
They began murmuring among themselves in low voices, speculating endlessly about why the Viscount had come to attend.
As a result, Camilla and Diana, standing beside Viscount Greatbear, were completely overlooked.
Diana, her hand held tightly in Viscountess Camilla's grip, looked like a little bird with its wings bound, thoroughly dejected.
It wasn't until she spotted Dark that her eyes lit up and her energy returned.
She quickly pulled the Viscountess toward the main table.
Since the family of three needed to greet the host anyway, they followed her lead.
"Hey, Dark, long time no see!" As Viscount and Viscountess Greatbear were exchanging greetings with Alvit and the princesses, Diana poked her head out from behind her father and murmured to Dark.
Dark wanted to point out that they'd been together just yesterday, but he only nodded for now.
Diana wanted to say more, but the Greatbears pulled her away, and she ended up sitting at an empty table, keeping a rather low profile.
Not long after, the Flotly family of four made their entrance last.
Everyone in the hall glanced their way, momentarily surprised that Alvit had invited them as well.
The Flotly family of four also went to the main table to pay their respects before trying to find an empty table to sit at.
The moment Diana spotted Rose, she immediately invited her over, and the two families ended up sharing a table.
Once Rose sat down beside Diana, the tension in her chest finally began to ease.
...
By now, everyone had finally arrived.
Alvit murmured something to those seated at her table, then walked up to the stage with Dark.
She smiled and said, "Thank you all so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend Dark's birthday celebration. All of your gifts have been received, and I'm sure Dark will find many surprises when he opens them tonight. Without further ado, please enjoy the food and drink!"
With that, the banquet began.
...
Before tonight, Viscount Greatbear and Viscount Flotly hadn't had much interaction.
Though both held the title of viscount, one was a man of real power within the military, while the other was a nobleman in name only, idling away at home — their standings worlds apart.
But a single invitation to a birthday party had brought these two men, who had nothing in common, together.
After a brief exchange of introductions, the two viscounts came to understand, almost telepathically, why each had been invited.
The closeness and familiarity between Diana and Rose only made the connection between the three families' children all the more apparent.
For parents on both sides who already had designs on marrying their daughter (or niece) to the Duke's son, this was hardly good news.
It meant a rival contender might have appeared right in front of them, seemingly out of nowhere!
So an unspoken rivalry simmered beneath the surface.
...
Some topics were awkward for men to broach directly, but women had far fewer reservations about such things.
Viscountess Flotly was cautious and reserved, while Viscountess Greatbear, though outwardly gracious, harbored thorns beneath the surface.
The two viscountesses traded pleasantries with feigned warmth — no blood was shed, but the exchange was ruthless all the same.
In the end, it was Viscountess Flotly, lacking the confidence to hold her ground, who came out worse, her family's secrets thoroughly pried out of her.
Viscountess Greatbear, however, was far too shrewd to expose her on the spot.
Viscountess Flotly's cheeks flushed faintly, her composure thoroughly defeated.
Diana and Rose, meanwhile, remained oblivious to the quiet probing between their mothers.
The two girls whispered to each other, plotting how to invite Dark to dance later without being interrupted by the two little princesses.
Diana especially kept a wary eye on Third Princess Angie's presence.
It had been this very princess who'd disrupted her plans last Halloween.
This time, she was determined to get there first and even the score.
Before coming, Viscountess Greatbear had seen right through her intentions and given her a brief, pointed lesson.
She told her: if a girl wants something, she should just grab it.
Muster your courage and take the initiative.
No need to fear failure.
And even if she failed, her mother would be there to catch her.
So she should just go for it without holding back!
The Greatbear family had that kind of confidence to back her up.
...
As for Rose, watching Diana's fearlessness, she couldn't help but feel a touch of envy.
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