落とし穴６１堀：お花見と誕生日会 (Part1)
Pit 61: Cherry Blossom Viewing and Birthday Party
Side: Seraria
Seasons turn.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt that as keenly as I do right now.
Because…
*Whoosh…*
Along with the sound of the wind, cherry blossom petals dance through the air.
“Goi!! Goi!!”
In my arms, my daughter is watching the blizzard of petals, looking absolutely delighted.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Sakura?”
“Ai!!”
Yes, a full year has passed since Sakura and Sumire were born.
Eria, Schans, Yuyu, and Shael were born a little later, but that’s within the margin of error. So, we decided to hold a birthday party for everyone today…
“Alright, everyone, make sure the preparations are perfect!!”
“““Yes, sir!!”””
My husband is very enthusiastic. He’s even roped Steve and the others into it.
“My Lord, he looks so happy.”
Rurua, holding Sumire, stands beside me and whispers as she watches my husband.
“Indeed. I feel the same way, of course, but I don’t think I’m quite as intense as he is. Do you remember how we all panicked and stopped him when he said he wanted to hold a birthday party for every single child?”
“Ahaha. I appreciate his feelings, but if he did that, we’d be celebrating for six children every single April. Celebrations are nice, but there’s a limit to everything.”
“That’s true. Considering our workload, we can’t afford to set aside that much time.”
“Besides, if we held a party for every single birthday, considering the children yet to be born, we’d be doing this every few days—if not every day…”
“We absolutely must avoid that. If we don’t group them together to celebrate once a month, my husband would surely ignore the rest of the world just to focus on the parties.”
Before I knew it, all the mothers had gathered to discuss my husband.
…It’s terrifying because it doesn’t sound like a joke.
Even back when we dealt with Hifii, the moment he heard our daughter had spoken, he went out of his way to seal Hifii and her group away just to return to us.
To my husband, our children and us are more important than the fate of the world.
I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about that.
Well, I wouldn’t want him to be a workaholic like some deadbeat father, either.
Fufu, I suppose I’m being selfish.
“Oh, Seraria-san. Hello.”
I turned around at the voice to find Taiki-kun, who, like my husband, hails from Japan on Earth.
He is one of the people summoned to this world, caught up in its selfish whims.
While I feel sorry for him, I also feel a sense of relief that my husband has an acquaintance from his homeland.
“Thank you for going out of your way to come here, Hero.”
“Please, don’t call me that. This isn’t an official event, is it? I may be the Hero on the surface, but in terms of real influence, Yuki-san is the one at the top.”
“If that’s how you feel, then I’ll just call you Taiki today. Is that alright, Airi?”
“Yes, Seraria-sama.”
“We both have our hands full with strange husbands, don’t we?”
“Indeed. But I am proud of him as well.”
We laughed together. Unlike me, she supports Taiki all by herself, which is truly impressive.
“Whoa. This dungeon has a different atmosphere from the one we prepared back then. It feels… closer to Japan, somehow…”
“So this is the scenery of the Japan that Taizo-dono lived in…”
“Amazing. A path prepared just for trees that only bloom for a moment in spring. It seems wasteful, but seeing it in person… it’s breathtaking.”
It seems Taizo and the others have arrived as well.
“Welcome, Taizo-dono. I am so glad you could make it.”
“My, thank you for the kind invitation. I am honored to be invited to celebrate your daughter’s birthday, and I offer my sincerest congratulations.”
Hifii and Comet are so mesmerized by the cherry blossoms that they haven’t noticed us yet.
Well, I can’t blame them. This place is so beautiful it feels like a dream.
Still, Taizo-dono is quite formal.
Well, I suppose that’s normal for a greeting, but… you know, my husband’s style is a bit different.
“Taizo-san, you came too.”
“Ah, Taiki-kun. Naturally. No matter how tense the situation, one cannot live in constant abstinence. Celebrations like this soothe a weary heart. Celebrating a new life is never a bad thing. In fact, I believe it is precisely because of these times that we must celebrate.”
“Taizo-san…”
“It’s not such a somber topic. Look, Sakura-dono, Sumire-dono, and the other little ones are laughing. This is what we are meant to protect, the vitality for tomorrow, and our pride. Don’t you agree?”
“…Yes, you’re right.”
…That’s so like Taizo-dono.
Knowing the horrors of war, or perhaps, precisely because he knows them.
“Now then, Seraria-dono. My apologies, but I’ve prepared some food. Where should I take it?”
“Oh, in that case, please take it to my husband…”
“Oh, Taiki-kun, Taizo-san, you’re here. Both of you, lend me a hand. We’re short on men.”
“Understood!!”
“You got it!!”
Oh, it looks like the men are gathering to do something.
Honestly, they have no idea what’s going on in our heads.
“…Taizo-dono looks like he’s having fun.”
“He does. When he was with us, he always had such a stern expression.”
“Taiki-sama was also very troubled in the beginning.”
“My husband… he never used to make that kind of face, either.”
In the beginning, even I treated him with hostility.
Well, that was only natural. We didn’t know if he was friend or foe, and my attitude was terrible.
Thinking back on it, we’ve come a long way.
We’re already married and have children, after all.
“Mama?”
“It’s nothing, dear. Papa looks like he’s having fun, doesn’t he?”
“Au? Saku-ra!!”
Sakura says that and reaches out toward the cherry blossom petals dancing before her eyes. She still doesn’t understand the complicated stuff.
“Uu!! Uu!!”
“Hm? What is it, Yuyu?”
“Mama!! That!!”
“Sumire-chan, what is it? Huh? My husband and the others are carrying barrels over!?”
“Yes?”
I look in the direction Sumire is pointing and see my husband and the others each carrying a large barrel.
“Brother, why more alcohol? We’ve already brought plenty of beer and wine, haven’t we?”
“We brought plenty.”
“Yes, we’ve already brought all the alcohol. Why go through the trouble?”
“Whyyy?”
I see, so those are sake barrels.
But they look much paler than standard sake barrels.
Ratz and Kirue are tilting their heads along with their daughters, so it seems this wasn’t part of the plan.
“Hey, honey. What are you doing with those? They look like sake barrels, but we already have plenty of alcohol.”
“Hm? Ah, it’s natural that you wouldn’t know, Seraria.”
“That’s right, Seraria-san. This is something we do in our world—well, in Japan—for celebrations. It’s called *Kagami-biraki*… wait, that’s for rice cakes, isn’t it?”
“You’re not wrong. Some call it *Kagami-nuki*, but as long as the meaning is conveyed, it’s fine.”
“I see. Is this a Japanese tradition?”
“Indeed. Ideally, we would have a sake barrel for every person celebrating, but since we have young children and only three men, this is the number we settled on.”
“Well, I’m sure there are many traditions here, but I thought it would be nice to celebrate with the customs of my homeland.”
He always puts such strange effort into these things.
“It’s for the children’s sake, so I’m actually quite happy about it. So, what are we supposed to do?”
I ask my husband, looking at the barrels placed in front of us.
“Actually, my apologies. I’m not very familiar with the details of this event. I only know we’re supposed to break the top with a wooden mallet…”
“Yes?”
That’s rare.
My husband doesn’t know how to perform this kind of celebration?
Is it not that common even in Japan?