Chapter 192 – Birthday wish

At a seafood restaurant in Advanced Nurturing High School, Ishizaki, who had finally finished his assignments by dinner time, was happily pouring juice for Yukio and Ryuen.

There was no other option; without Sakagami-sensei around, they couldn't get any alcohol, so they had to settle for juice. After pouring for Yukio and Ryuen, Ishizaki eagerly poured juice for Shiina as well, with a goofy grin on his face.

Shiina couldn't help but laugh a little: "Alright, alright. I'll tell Kaneda-kun not to give you any more assignments before the midterm exams."

"Yes!" Ishizaki pumped his fist in celebration, his face brimming with joy. He was ecstatic; he could finally escape the mountains of assignments!

Of course, where there's happiness, there's also frustration. In contrast to Ishizaki's joy, Ryuen was staring gloomily at the colorful cake in front of him, covered with many macarons.

He glanced at Yukio, who was grinning broadly, and felt even more frustrated: "This is the cake you chose?"

"Yes, it suits you," Yukio replied with a look that said, "I know you like it, so don't be polite," which made Ryuen involuntarily clench his fists.

"Yukio." Ryuen finally relaxed his fists, deciding not to argue with Yukio on his birthday: "In the future, if you buy a cake, try not to take advice from girls."

This statement somewhat placed the blame on Shiina and Ibuki.

"Pfft," Shiina, sitting next to Yukio, couldn't hold back her shy giggle: "Ryuen-kun, this is already good. At first, Yukio wanted to get you a Hello Kitty cake."

"Luckily, Ibuki and I discussed it and suggested he change it."

"..." When Ryuen heard "Hello Kitty," his eyebrows twitched uncontrollably. Indeed, it was something Yukio would do.

He should be grateful that Yukio listened to Shiina and Ibuki's suggestion and switched to this cake. It was colorful, but it was still better than that cat. It was barely acceptable.

Thinking about this, Ryuen helplessly raised his hand to pinch the top of his nose, lowering his voice slightly: "I say, Yukio, if you have time to choose a Hello Kitty cake, why not spend it researching what's going to happen after the midterm exams?"

"This time, aren't you planning to go head-to-head with the third years? Are you that confident?"

This birthday dinner for Ryuen wasn't attended by the entire class; it was just a small gathering of the core members of the class, plus Rika, who was sitting next to Ryuen.

Yukio waved his hand, indicating not to talk about this: "Right now, just enjoy the food and have fun. Don't think about serious stuff on your birthday; it's easy to kill the mood."

"Or perhaps? The fearless Ryuen is actually afraid of cartoon characters? Is that why you're changing the subject?" Yukio teased Ryuen, trying to test his suspicion.

Ryuen turned his head away in annoyance: "Don't joke around. I've said that I fear nothing."

Originally, Ryuen just wanted to have a nice meal for his birthday, but he didn't expect such a cake to ambush him.

Yukio wasn't afraid of Ryuen getting upset and extended the cake topic further: "Speaking of which, Ryuen, when you were a kid, your family should have bought you cakes, right? They must have been similar to the one I picked."

"How could they be similar?" Ryuen retorted instinctively, not expecting this at all: "This is clearly something girls like. When boys eat cake, just a bit of fruit on top is enough."

So, it seems that when Ryuen was younger, there indeed was a family member or members who celebrated his birthday with him?

Yukio wasn't sure about other things, but he did have some understanding of Ayanokouji and the White Room.

Given the abilities and influence of the White Room's owner, there's no chance of a mistaken hospital swap or anything like that. If there was an illegitimate child out there, they would have found out. But Ryuen had never been involved with the White Room.

This suggests only two possibilities: either his suspicion is wrong, and Ryuen and Ayanokouji have no connection to the White Room, or Ryuen is Ayanokouji's brother, but has been deliberately abandoned.

"Hahaha, maybe my family had different ideas." Yukio mused as he probed into Ryuen's family composition: "When I was a kid, even if it was my birthday, it was my mom who asked my dad to buy the cake."

"My dad just loved picking out some pink, girly cakes. I'd eat a bit, and the rest would go to my mom."

Ibuki, listening nearby, felt a bit envious: "Hearing you say that, it sounds like your father really doted on your mother."

Shiina silently took note of this in her heart. So, his future mother-in-law likes girly sweets? She decided to learn how to make such desserts when she got back.

Ryuen fell into a momentary silence at this mention, then smirked disdainfully: "The cake was bought by my mother. Since I can remember, I've never seen my father."

He was never one to shy away from his past. Ryuen was always like this, able to face embarrassing facts head-on. Plus, since Yukio had already shared about his family, he couldn't just keep his own story hidden.

Yukio's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling increasingly certain.

The others were momentarily stunned, then quickly changed the topic: "Hey, Yukio-san, Ryuen-san, come on, the seafood at this place is particularly fresh and sweet. Give it a try!"

"This juice is also nice, very smooth, without much pulp! Once you drink one glass, you want another! Ryuen-san, want me to pour you another glass?"

"Ryuen-kun," Rika, who was sitting on Ryuen's other side, also helped mix the dipping sauce and handed it to Ryuen in a caring manner.

Everyone's reaction warmed Ryuen's heart.

What's with these people? They were all just as bad as those delinquents from his middle school days, yet they were so good at reading the atmosphere and taking care of others.

However, their growth was all thanks to Yukio. Thinking of this, Ryuen even felt like offering Yukio a drink.

At the same time, a fleeting thought crossed his mind. Although he hadn't seen his father since birth, so what?

Over the years, without that father he had never met, he and his mother had still lived well enough. As for that father who had provided his genes but never appeared, it was better to think of him as having died long ago.

Yes, his birthday wish this year would be, "May there be no resurrection of the dead in this world." After all, the dead should stay peacefully buried in the ground and not come back to cause trouble.

Generally speaking, this was an especially strange birthday wish, but Ryuen thought as long as it made him happy, who cares if it was strange or not...

***

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